Vol. 12 No.3 April 2013 ISSN 0791-458X President Higgins on Launchdscsdcsdcsdcsd of Young Workers Gaza:cdscdscdscds a terrible workers rights Network beauty Page xxxxxxxx Page xxxxxxxxx Page 8 Page 9 Page 26 CLARE Row looms How the DALY Countess INTERVIEW on public saved Page 10-11 service pay our By Frank Connolly lives... The Government will face a co-ordinated industrial response across the entire page 21 trade union movement if it legislates for pay cuts in the public service, SIPTU General President, Jack O’Connor has KNOW YOUR warned. RIGHTS: In order to avoid ‘an unnecessary and mutu- ally destructive confrontation’ the Government HOLIDAY should instead negotiate fresh arrangements on pay and reform with public service unions that ENTITLEMENT would retain the protections of the Croke Park Agreement against compulsory redundancy, in- Page 23 discriminate redeployment and outsourcing of their work, he argued. He said that the rejection of the Labour Re- lations Commission proposals on public service reform in mid-April “reflected a deeper resent- ment among workers generally and public ser- vants, in particular, towards the way in which they have been forced to carry the lion’s share of the burden of adjustment while the wealthy have contributed very little.” “It also reflected fatigue with the troika im- LIBERTY posed one sided austerity strategy of the last five years, which transparently doesn’t work,” CROSSWORD- Jack O’Connor said. He said that the recent deal on the Anglo- WIN a hotel break Irish bank promissory notes allows the Govern- ment some room for manoeuvre this year for two... which could be used to ease the scale of cuts in 1 Page 31 2 the October budget. An investment stimulus 3 7 4 package and higher taxes on the rich would 5 6 lessen the requirement for the proposed €1 bil- 8 Continued on page 2 9 10 Membership Information & Support Centre (MISC)11 12 1211 13 15 14 16 17 8.3018 a.m. to 5.30 p.m., Monday - Friday 19 20 20 21 O R G A N I S I N G F O R F A I R N E S S A T W O R K A N D J U S T I C E I N S O C I E T Y • W W W . S I P T U . I E • J O I N O N L I N E 22 Liberty 2 In this month’sLiberty APRIL 2013 16 Liberty NOVEMBER 2012 Water is a public resource Page 5 Medtronic workplace committee interview Page 7 May Day in Dublin: 1913-2013 Unfinished Business The Dublin Council of Trade Beresford Place. Speakers will in- legislation to ensure recognition of Unions will be holding its clude young trade unionists, as well trade unions in all employments and annual May Day demonstra- as representatives from the National negotiating rights for all members. Austerity over by Women’s Council Ireland and the The demonstration will be followed tion on Wednesday, 1st May. Coalition to Protect the Lowest-Paid. by a social event in Liberty Hall. October The event will start in Parnell The theme of this year’s event is There will be music and stalls deal- Page 12 Square at 7.00 p.m., marching to Lib- '1913/2013: Unfinished Business'. ing with various aspects of the erty Hall for a public meeting at The ‘unfinished business’ includes 1913 Lockout. Mine worker buried Liberty View Liberty Mario Francis, the mine worker killed Page 15 in an underground rockfall in the Lisheen Mine, Co. Tipperary, was View buried in his native Philippines on Wednesday, 16th April. A large crowd attended the funeral of Gilroy the Irish Grillo? the SIPTU member in the Catholic Page 17 Church in Balamban on the island of Cebu. Mario (49) died on the 4th April and before his body was repatriated a large number of his work colleagues at- tended a Commemoration Mass in the Church of the Assumption, Urlingford. SIPTU members at the Lisheen Mine Trade unionists outside Leinster House on Monday, 22nd April. They handed in a statement for Taoiseach Enda Kenny, Remembering 1913 have expressed their sympathy to calling for legislation on the ‘X case’. Pictured (L to R) at Mario’s wife My-Ann, their sons Jomar Page 21 front: SIPTU Campaigns and Equality Organiser, Ethel Buck- (9) and Jolrem (5), and his children from ley from SIPTU, Chair of the ICTU Women’s Committee, a previous marriage in the Philippines, Máire Mulcahy, UNITE Regional Equalities Organiser, Taryn Julemar (22) and Mario Jnr (15). Trainor. Photo: Photocall Ireland Continued from page 1 - Row looms on public service pay Justice for Colombia director Mariela Kohon lion cut in the public service pay hesion and introduce a degree of sary for economic recovery. and pensions bill over the next equity into the adjustment pro- “Such an approach would cre- interview three years. gramme. ate the context for negotiation of Page 27 “There is some room for ma- “The Government should take a settlement in two phases entail- noeuvre as a result of the promis- steps to redress the inequity in ing interim terms to apply to the sory note deal which will afford the adjustment process to date. A end of this year and better terms breathing space of €1bn in 2014 good start could be made by de- for 2014 and 2015. and €1.025bn in 2015. Proper use claring its intention to cap pub- “An unnecessary and mutually of this accompanied by the launch licly funded pensions to a destructive confrontation would of a significant off balance sheet maximum of €100,000 per be avoided. A degree of equality Liberty is dedicated to providing a platform for progressive news and views. stimulus programme as well as a annum, even to the extent of pro- would be introduced into the ad- belated tax contribution from the moting a constitutional referen- justment process and public serv- If you have any ideas for articles or comments please contact: rich would lessen the requirement dum to do it if necessary. ice workers would retain the [email protected] for a €1bn cut in public service “The Fine Gael party should protections of the Croke Park Liberty is published by the Services, Industrial, Professional & Technical Union, pay and pensions. give some ground on the taxation Agreement against compulsory re- Liberty Hall, Dublin 1 He said that capping publicly of wealth and of those on high in- dundancy, indiscriminate rede- SIPTU General President, Jack O’Connor • Vice President, Patricia King • funded pensions to a maximum of comes. Their insistence on pro- ployment and outsourcing of their General Secretary, Joe O’Flynn €100,000 per annum and impos- tecting this tiny minority at the work,” he said. Production: SIPTU Communications Department, Liberty Hall, Dublin 1, ing a greater tax on high incomes top is detrimental to maintaining Tel: 01 8588217 • Email: [email protected] would help to maintain social co- the social cohesion that is neces- SIPTU Head of Communications, Frank Connolly • Journalist: Scott Millar • Design: Sonia Slevin (SIPTU) & Joe Mitchell (Brazier Media) • Publications Assistant, Deirdre Price • Administrative Assistant, Karen Hackett Advertise in Liberty Produced, designed, edited and printed by trade union labour To advertise in Liberty, contact the Communications Department on 01 858 6372 or email communicationsdepart- Printed and distributed by The Irish Times, City West, Dublin. [email protected] • Liberty offers very competitive rates for advertisements which reach SIPTU members countrywide Liberty 3 News APRIL 2013 Killarney Golf Club workers to strike in May Youth Workers Protest SIPTU members and supporters staged a rally against further cuts to youth work budgets outside Dáil Eireann on Friday, 19th April. SIPTU Organiser, Paul Hansard, said: “Over the past two weeks, youth projects working in the most disadvantaged areas in Dublin have re- ceived their budget allocation for 2013, with most facing a 10% cut. These projects are funded by the Department of Children via the City of Dublin Youth Services Board.” Golf club workers, Photo L to R: Susan Bowler, Dan Morris, SIPTU Organisers Paula O’Loughlin and Dennis Hynes Front Row: Patrick Fleming, Sean Moynihan Workers at Killarney Golf side consultant, who in the past in which they have been treated by Club will begin strike action was contraversially involved in a the management of a club which major dispute in Irish Ferries. they have served well for many on Tuesday, 7th May, follow- “Workers are particularly years. The attempt to sack the ing a management refusal to angered that this consultant’s majority of the workforce without engage constructively with approach is being adopted by a negotiation has devastated the Dublin Port advanced shop stewards the Labour Court in relation business of which State agency, workers and the local area. This is On Thursday, 11th April, shop stewards in Dublin Port received their Fáilte Ireland, owns 77%. In view clearly an attempt to remove work- HETAC certificates. Photo left to right. Front row: Ken Murphy, John to proposed redundancies. of this state involvement in the ers so they can be replaced by staff Birmingham, Brian Dalton. Back row: James Kennedy, Margaret de SIPTU members voted over- business the workers are request- on greatly reduced wages and Courcey (SIPTU tutor), Ethel Buckley (SIPTU Equality and Campaigns whelmingly on Thursday, 18th ing that Minister for Jobs, Enter- conditions of employment.” Organiser), Pat Paisley and Maurice O Beirne. April, in favour of strike action at prise and Innovation, Richard Last year, the union referred the the golf club. Bruton, directly intervenes and dispute at the Killarney Golf Club The management served notice ensures that the company to the Labour Relations Commis- of redundancy on 21 of the sion (LRC).