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08/07/2009
Call For 'Cool Heads' As ICTU Support Strike
Opposition party Fine Gael have called for "cool heads" as another major union lends its support to the Electrician's ongoing strike action.
The Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU), who have organised the industrial action by tens of thousand's of Ireland's electricians, welcomed the support it received yesterday evening from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
Announcing the support from the ICTU, TEEU General Secretary Owen Wills said: "This decision by our fellow trade unionists in the ICTU means workers are no longer willing to be the fall guys for everyone else.
"There can be no question of our members, or other workers, accepting the proposition that when times are good the employers can engage in a profits binge and, having squandered the wealth can turn around and tell workers to foot the bill when times are bad."
However, Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar has called for compromise on both sides in the electricians' dispute.
Speaking in the Dáil in the emergency debate on the dispute yesterday, Mr Varadkar said: "I am calling on both sides to de-escalate this dispute. Cool heads and compromise must prevail.
"To this end, employers should not put any worker on protective notice, and unions should not engage in picketing companies not party to this dispute."
Mr Varadkar said employers must acknowledge that pay increases due in 2008 and 2009 have not been paid, and should be paid retrospectively if needs be.
He added: "For their part, unions must acknowledge that prices and wages are falling across the economy.
"While it is painful, this is necessary to restore competitiveness and allow the army of unemployed, including tens of thousands of electricians, to return to work sooner rather than later."
(DW/BMcc)
The Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU), who have organised the industrial action by tens of thousand's of Ireland's electricians, welcomed the support it received yesterday evening from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
Announcing the support from the ICTU, TEEU General Secretary Owen Wills said: "This decision by our fellow trade unionists in the ICTU means workers are no longer willing to be the fall guys for everyone else.
"There can be no question of our members, or other workers, accepting the proposition that when times are good the employers can engage in a profits binge and, having squandered the wealth can turn around and tell workers to foot the bill when times are bad."
However, Fine Gael Enterprise Spokesman Leo Varadkar has called for compromise on both sides in the electricians' dispute.
Speaking in the Dáil in the emergency debate on the dispute yesterday, Mr Varadkar said: "I am calling on both sides to de-escalate this dispute. Cool heads and compromise must prevail.
"To this end, employers should not put any worker on protective notice, and unions should not engage in picketing companies not party to this dispute."
Mr Varadkar said employers must acknowledge that pay increases due in 2008 and 2009 have not been paid, and should be paid retrospectively if needs be.
He added: "For their part, unions must acknowledge that prices and wages are falling across the economy.
"While it is painful, this is necessary to restore competitiveness and allow the army of unemployed, including tens of thousands of electricians, to return to work sooner rather than later."
(DW/BMcc)
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