New Events

National

no events posted in last week

Blog Feeds

Public Inquiry
Interested in maladministration. Estd. 2005

offsite link RTEs Sarah McInerney ? Fianna Fail?supporter? Anthony

offsite link Joe Duffy is dishonest and untrustworthy Anthony

offsite link Robert Watt complaint: Time for decision by SIPO Anthony

offsite link RTE in breach of its own editorial principles Anthony

offsite link Waiting for SIPO Anthony

Public Inquiry >>

Human Rights in Ireland
Promoting Human Rights in Ireland

Human Rights in Ireland >>

Lockdown Skeptics

The Daily Sceptic

offsite link What Fresh Hell is This? The Climate and Nature Bill Mon Dec 23, 2024 09:00 | Paul Homewood
If you thought eco zealot Ed Miliband was bad, wait until you get a load of the Climate Change and Nature Bill, which seeks to turbocharge the Net Zero agenda and already has the support of 192 MPs. Paul Homewood has the skinny.
The post What Fresh Hell is This? The Climate and Nature Bill appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link The Daily Sceptic Christmas Appeal Mon Dec 23, 2024 07:00 | Toby Young
The Daily Sceptic's Christmas Appeal launches today ? an opportunity for readers to show their appreciation of the work we do. Remember, donating just ?5/month or ?50/year will give you access to a range of premium perks.
The post The Daily Sceptic Christmas Appeal appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link News Round-Up Mon Dec 23, 2024 01:12 | Richard Eldred
A summary of the most interesting stories in the past 24 hours that challenge the prevailing orthodoxy about the ?climate emergency?, public health ?crises? and the supposed moral defects of Western civilisation.
The post News Round-Up appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link Staff at ?100 Million Alan Turing Institute Attack ?Chaotic? Management Amid Diversity Row Sun Dec 22, 2024 19:00 | Richard Eldred
Staff at the ?100 million Alan Turing Institute have erupted in protest over a diversity row, accusing leadership of "tokenistic" hiring and sparking fears that the organisation's credibility is at risk.
The post Staff at ?100 Million Alan Turing Institute Attack ?Chaotic? Management Amid Diversity Row appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

offsite link ?Our Irish Leaders Have Contributed to Hatred Against Jews? Sun Dec 22, 2024 17:00 | Richard Eldred
Ireland's Chief Rabbi has blasted the country's leaders for fuelling antisemitism, leaving Jewish children hiding their identities and many others afraid to wear symbols of their faith.
The post ?Our Irish Leaders Have Contributed to Hatred Against Jews? appeared first on The Daily Sceptic.

Lockdown Skeptics >>

Voltaire Network
Voltaire, international edition

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?113 Fri Dec 20, 2024 10:42 | en

offsite link Pentagon could create a second Kurdish state Fri Dec 20, 2024 10:31 | en

offsite link How Washington and Ankara Changed the Regime in Damascus , by Thierry Meyssan Tue Dec 17, 2024 06:58 | en

offsite link Statement by President Bashar al-Assad on the Circumstances Leading to his Depar... Mon Dec 16, 2024 13:26 | en

offsite link Voltaire, International Newsletter N?112 Fri Dec 13, 2024 15:34 | en

Voltaire Network >>

Supreme Court ruling on Registered Employment Agreements poses need for organising drive by union movement as first step in protection of conditions

category national | worker & community struggles and protests | press release author Thursday May 09, 2013 15:10author by Turing Report this post to the editors

9 May 2013

Press statement: Joe Higgins TD

Supreme Court ruling on Registered Employment Agreements poses need for organising drive by union movement as first step in protection of conditions

Commenting on today's Supreme Court ruling that Registered Employment Agreements are unconstitutional Joe Higgins TD said:

"The striking down by the Supreme Court of the REAs will be seen by employers and sub contractors as a signal for a savage attack on the wages and conditions of workers. The trade union movement should immediately declare that any such attacks will be met by all out action and must now go on the offensive to ensure that wages and conditions provided for by the REAs remain intact.

"Today's ruling is further proof that the judiciary in the final analysis contains an inherent bias against the interests of working people. Employers have allies in the top echelons of the state who are prepared to strike down the legal underpining of conditions in the private sector that exceed the statutory minimum wage.

"I and my party will study the judgement closely but a number of points need to be immediately injected into the debate. Firstly this ruling does not automatically empower employers to tear up existing contracts of workers where REAs have been observed. Any amendment to existing contracts requires the consent of workers. Doubtlessly pressure will come from employers across the board on workers to agree to such changes or face redundancy.

"Secondly we might anticipate attempts by employers to wind up pension schemes and even attempts to claw back employer pension contributions from schemes that were underpined by REAs.

"Thirdly, it has to be acknowledged that the REAs were being widely flouted in any case by employers. The six monthly reports that the National Employment Rights Authority have produced since that agency came into being in the aftermath of the GAMA scandal demonstrated high levels of non compliance of REAs uncovered in the workplaces inspected by them.

"Issues of non compliance on REAs, employer pension contributions and bogus self employment have even been brought to my offices attention in recent times on building sites of state funded projects. Ministers including Minister Quinn has been made aware of this fact on school projects his department has funded and he has done nothing to address the situation.

"All of this leads us to the conclusion that while it is correct for the trade union movement and the left to struggle for every possible legal enhancement and underpining for workers rights and conditions in the end it is what is achieved by trade union organisation in the workplace that counts from the point of view of obtaining the best conditions possible and safeguarding them. Any illusions on the part of elements of the trade union movement leadership that employment law can do the job of the unions needs to be utterly dispensed with.

"I welcome particularly the response of UNITE the trade union to the ruling where they fully acknowledge that we are in new territory now where it is essentially a straight fight between unions and employers with no basis for state backed arbitration. The task now posed for the trade union movement is a concerted drive to better and more fully organise those sectors which were covered by the REAs and to prepare a campaign to win and maintain the conditions that the employers have tried to dismantle.

"The court room is their chosen battlefield, the battlefield of the trade union movement is the workplace, building site and the street.

"Finally this is another acid test for the Labour Party, as if they needed further exposure in their betrayal of the people who voted for them. Will they insist on the introduction of fresh legislation to restore the REAs or even initiate a referendum to alter the constitution if that is required required? We should of course demand this but by no means hold our breath because what is necessary now is a revival of the methods of Larkin and Connolly to defend workers rights."

Ends

For information and confirmation

Michael O'Brien 087 2400331

 #   Title   Author   Date 
   Benchmarking too cosy.     Comyn    Fri May 10, 2013 15:07 
   Closed minds and closed shops     Quinsy    Sat May 11, 2013 18:39 


 
© 2001-2024 Independent Media Centre Ireland. Unless otherwise stated by the author, all content is free for non-commercial reuse, reprint, and rebroadcast, on the net and elsewhere. Opinions are those of the contributors and are not necessarily endorsed by Independent Media Centre Ireland. Disclaimer | Privacy