21/11/2007

Power-Cut Christmas Looms

Unions involved with a dispute with the ESB have said they cannot guarantee that there will not be power cuts over Christmas after workers backed strike action.

Staff at the company last night voted nine to one in favour of industrial action over plans to split the company.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said efforts are being made to avert any strike action and said the Minister for Communications, Energy & Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan, was keeping a close eye on the situation.

Union members are now seeking a meeting with management at the state-owned company to discuss their concerns.

Members are opposed to the transfer of ownership of the electricity transmission grid from the ESB to Eirgrid.

They say the commercial viability of the firm will be affected by any change of ownership.

A meeting of the full group of unions will take place next week to update members and decide how to progress the matter further.

Meanwhile, Bertie Ahern has told the Dail that issues of competition in the electricity market must be dealt with.

While noting that workers at ESB have voted by 90% in favour of strike action over the plans to break up the company and transfer ownership of the national grid to another state-owned firm, EirGrid, he said that he accepted that the ESB is a well-functioning company.

However, he said there were "issues of competition and issues of dominance and issues of the competitiveness of the overall economy that have to be dealt with it".

(BMcC)

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