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MARCH 2012

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Unions slam Osborne’s millionaires’ Budget Page 2

LISTEN UP, ANGELA... AUSTERITY ISN’T WORKING






Picture: Paula Geraghty

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WEF

CONGRESS general secretary David Begg hastold German Chancellor Angela Merkel Irelandneeds measures to stimulate demand and easethe burden of bank debt – not more austerity.

Mr Begg met Dr Merkel on March 22 as partof delegation of EU trade unionists, organised bythe German trade union confederation, DGB.

Speaking before the visit, Mr Begg said: “Chancellor Merkel needs to hear directly thatthe imposition of ever tighter austerity in Irelandis not working and will not lead to recovery. Instead, it will lead to a lost decade.

“I will be saying that we need measures tostimulate domestic demand and create jobs im-mediately. The jobs crisis needs to be addressedurgently if we are to have any hope of recovery.

“Permanent austerity means that the debt wehave will become even more unsustainable andunpayable. In addition, there needs to be someaction at an EU level on the Irish bank debt.

“The citizens of Ireland cannot and should notbe required to pay the debts of badly-run banks.That debt burden is hampering any prospect ofrecovery,” he added.

Mr Begg joined other trade union leadersfrom Belgium, France, Italy, Sweden, Greece,Spain and the Czech Republic for the visit. Thedelegation also met Frank-Walter Steinmeier,leader of the opposition Social Democrats.


2 THE UNION POST y March 2012

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Northern Ireland Committee Irish Congress of Trades Unions4-6 Donegall Street Place, Belfast BT1 2FN, Northern IrelandTel: 02890 247940 Fax: 02890 246898Email: [email protected] Web: www.ictuni.org

Irish Congress of Trade Unions31/32 Parnell Square, Dublin 1, Republic of IrelandTel: +353 1 8897777 Fax: +353 1 8872012Email: [email protected] www.ictu.ieUNION POST

THE

Unions attack Osborne’s‘Budget for millionaries’

CONGRESS has welcomed newIrish government proposals onwhistleblowing but insisted theymust be backed up by tough sanc-tions – not just in law but in prac-tice – to stop employers attemptingto “victimise or target people whoblow the whistle on bad or illegalpractices”.

Legal affairs officer Esther Lynchwas responding to the publicationlast month of the Protected Disclosure

in the Public Interest Bill 2012. The billwas described by Minister for PublicExpenditure and Reform BrendanHowlin as a “key part” of the gov-ernment’s reform agenda and a“huge advancement” on the “previ-ous piecemeal approach” to theissue.

Ms Lynch said: “This represents agiant step in the right direction, butin order for the proposed measuresto work, they must be backed by ef-

fective safeguards for whistleblow-ers and real sanctions for those whotarget them.” She warned that whilewhistleblower protection would notof itself prevent wrongdoing, it wasa “necessary component” and some-thing unions had called for consis-tently.

“With effective whistleblowerprotection in place, wrongdoing canbe quickly exposed.”

Ms Lynch said Congress would be

pressing for other changes to theproposed legislation, includingbroadening the range of workerswho are protected to include in-terns and apprentices and protec-tion for employees who report onviolations of labour standards to theNational Employment Right Author-ity. She added that Congress willalso propose that these protectionswould apply immediately, with noqualifying service period.

ICTU welcomes bill to protect whistleblowers

UNIONS were quick to lash UKchancellor George Osborne’s“Budget for Millionaries”.

Unite regional secretary JimmyKelly claimed it marked the returnof “robber barons”.

According to the union, thesuper-rich gained £6bn in tax cutswhile the welfare bill was slashedby a further £10bn.

Mr Kelly said: “The Con-Demshave proved to be the allies of therobber barons who will pocketthe money and place it in their taxhavens.”

Turning to the government’splan to reduce Corporation Tax to20%, he added: “It will mean that abillion pound company will pay thesame level of tax as someone onminimum wage.

“All Osborne has done is in-crease the wealth gap and the di-vide between the poorer northernregions and the affluent south-eastof England. It is purely tribal poli-tics that will have catastrophicconsequences.”

NIPSA also weighed into thechancellor’s plan to introduce re-gional pay.

General secretary Brian Camp-field said: “This is a continuation ofthe strategic attack by this currentgovernment on public servantsand public services.

“There is no economic ration-ale for depressing the wages ofpublic servants in areas likeNorthern Ireland.

“There is plenty of research,which has demonstrated thatwhere public sector pay is higherthan the regional private sector,that this is explained primarily bythe educational and skills require-ments of the different sectors.

“Neither is there a sustainableargument that levels of public sec-tor pay have a detrimental impacton the private sector. The fact isthat with the current levels of un-employment the private sectorshould have no difficulty whatso-ever in recruiting employees.

“The rates of pay in the public

sector are just not relevant inthese circumstances.”

Meanwhile, NIPSA’s sister unionPCS claimed the Budget hadwidened the gap between rich andpoor and warned it would donothing to create jobs.

General secretary Mark Ser-wotka said: “This is a Budget forthe rich, and is outrageous at atime when unemployment is rising,people's pay is being frozen, pen-sions are being attacked, and socialsecurity slashed.

"It is a very arrogant demon-stration of the fact that we arenot all in this together.”

CWU insisted Osborne had of-fered little for ordinary people buthad helped the wealthiest in soci-ety by cutting their tax.

General secretary Billy Hayessaid: “What else do you expectfrom a Cabinet of millionaries?

“Reducing the deficit by cuttingwelfare spending means the poorwill pay for the mistakes of therich.”

Usdaw chief John Hannettclaimed his union’s members werefacing the “biggest squeeze ontheir family incomes for a genera-tion”, but the Budget had donenothing to alleviate their moneyfears or give them “any hope of fu-ture respite”.

He added: “Even with the wel-come increase in the amount peo-ple can earn before paying tax, thepoorest working families will notbenefit from this and the vast ma-jority of our members will remainworse off as the changes to taxcredits and benefits already an-nounced will hit our memberseven harder next month than theydid in April 2011.”

United in opposition: NIPSA general secretary Brian Campfield, Usdaw chief John Hannett and Mark Serwotka, who heads the PCS, spoke as one in attacking chancellorGeorge Osborne’s ‘millionaries’ Budget’ Pictures: NIPSA, Usdaw, PCS

3March 2012 y THE UNION POST

CONGRESS has welcomed confirma-tion from the Irish government that itwill legislate to ensure union rights inthe Republic are brought into line withhuman rights standards across the Eu-ropean Union.

Gerard Corr, Ireland’s ambassadorto the United Nations, confirmed theRepublic would honour its commit-ment on collective bargaining rightscontained in the Programme for Gov-ernment.

He told a special session of the UN’sHuman Rights Council in Geneva thatIrish law would be made "consistentwith recent judgments of the EuropeanCourt of Human Rights".

Welcoming the move, Congress legalaffairs officer Esther Lynch said: "Workshould begin without delay to ensurethat this commitment on basic unionrights is fully and properly realised.

"Ireland is seriously out of line withmost developed nations in our failureto fully uphold union rights and appre-ciate how central they are to humanrights.

"We are happy to start discussionswith the Government on this immedi-ately and see no reason for furtherdelay.”

CONGRESS has claimed new figuresshowing Ireland moved back into recession in late 2011 underlines theneed for a major jobs and growth in-vestment programme.

Speaking after data from the CentralStatistics Office, released on March 22,showed falls in GDP, GNP and domes-tic demand, Congress chief economistPaul Sweeney said: “Once again we seeclear proof of the self-defeating natureof the austerity regime. It is collapsingdemand, costing jobs and strangling allprospects of recovery.

“Congress has made several propos-als on how government could movequickly to set up a high impact jobs andgrowth investment programme.

“This can be funded by monies remaining in the National Pension Re-serve Fund, through incentivising pri-vate Irish pension fund investment andleveraging resources from the Euro-pean Investment Bank.

“We need to move on these as amatter of urgency.”

He added: “The latest data clearlyshows that prospects of a recovery arereceding and will continue to do sowhile we fail to act on job creation andinvestment.”

PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins hasspoken of the “huge price” Irelandhas paid for what he called the“speculative period of unsustain-able growth” and “false property-led development” in the firstdecade of this century.

He made his comments to dele-gates at Congress’ Women’s Con-ference held in the WaterfrontHall, Belfast, earlier this month.

President Higgins said: “Forthose who promoted this bubble,personal wealth and material pos-sessions became a dangerous ob-session – at the level of society,ostentation replaced simplicity andselfishness replaced selflessness.

“The sense of community, forwhich our island was so richly fa-mous, was eroded as those whopursued aggressively individualisticgoals had little time for collectiveendeavour, little interest in socialsolidarity and little capacity forethical reflection.”

To build a new future, the “val-ues” and “assumptions” that laybehind “this false economy” had tobe exposed and rejected.

He said: “We are emerging froma dark period in our economic his-tory – and we are certainly enti-tled to curse that darkness.”

Any new economic approachhad to make “sustainability and so-cial cohesion” as much a priorityas “efficiency and competitive-ness”.

President Higgins told delegates:“We must work together to re-claim a better version of Irishness

than the recent one which hasthankfully expired – where weput community solidarity and so-cial cohesion above the demandsof acquisitive individualism.

“Only then can we fully rebuildour personal lives and our com-munities.”

The president said the tradeunion movement had been cen-tral to the development of com-munity in Ireland over the pastcentury and predicted it wouldplay a “pivotal role in rebuildingour damaged society”.

On gender equality, while ac-knowledging the progress thathad been made, he pointed outthat many “barriers” still had tobe “broken”.

He noted that despite high

standards of education, womenwere still not afforded the oppor-tunity to fill many “key decision-making roles”.

This exclusion harmed not justwomen but society as a whole.

President Higgins added: “Inmany instances, women are notenabled and empowered to bringtheir expertise to the table to en-sure that our decision-making isbased on the balanced views andexperiences of both genders.

“It is a matter of regret to methat patriarchy and its related au-thoritarianism still prevails inmany fields and that it conspiresto self-perpetuate, despite all theevidence in support of the valueof diversified decision-making.”

MORE WOMEN’S CONFERENCE PICTURES GO TO PAGE 10,11 & 12

‘False economy’ erodedour sense of community

Picture: Kevin

Cooper/Photoline


Irish presidentMichael D Higginsaddresses Women’sConference inBelfast on March 2

Irish unionrights to meet EUstandards

LEGISLATION

CSO dataflags upneed forjobs drive

ECONOMY

THE UNION POST y March 20124

MANDATE has called on the Irish government to withdraw its “unfairand regressive” proposals for a €100 Household Charge.

However, the union’s National Executive Committee has signalled sup-port for bringing in a “fair and progressive” property tax instead.

General secretary John Douglas said: “One of the causes of the coun-try’s current economic difficulties was the frittering away of the tax baseunder successive governments and our over-reliance on transactiontaxes such as Stamp Duty. In order to rectify this situation we need toput a proper tax system in place and a property tax needs to be part ofthat – however, one that is fair and progressive.”

He added: “The Household Charge is unfair and regressive because itlevies every household – whether they have an income of €10,000 or€1,000,000 – the same amount of money, €100. This is simply not right.People on low and middle incomes have been hit hard over recent timesby a range of different charges and the Household Charge represents thelast straw for many.”

SIPTU’s National Executive Council called on the Irish government to sus-pend the Household Charge because it “subsidised” wealthy people at theexpense of middle and low-income families.

It came as the NEC gave unanimous backing to a motion on the issue at ameeting on February 17. The motion stated: “The Household Charge as cur-rently proposed by the government is a flat tax which is unfair and regressivein that it subsidises wealthy people at the expense of middle and low incomefamilies.

“The NEC supports the principle of a fair and progressive property taxwhich is proportionate and which recognises that wealthy households canafford to pay more than those with modest earnings while those on lowerincomes should be exempt. We call on the Government to suspend the in-troduction of the Household Charge until it is replaced by a fair and pro-gressive property tax.”

CPSU general secretaryEoin Ronayne has slammedthe Household Charge as anindiscriminate attack onlower paid workers.

He said: “It is unaccept-able for lower paid workersto be expected to carry thesame burden as those whoprospered during the CelticTiger amassing high valueproperties and earning highsalaries.”

Mr Ronayne called for thetax to be replaced with acomprehensivewealth/property tax whichwould widen the tax baseensuring those with the

most contributed more toensure public services forthose most in need in soci-ety. He also took the op-portunity to clarify theunion’s position followingrecent comments in themedia suggesting the CPSUwas calling for non-paymentby its members.

Mr Ronayne confirmedthe union’s Executive hadnot voted to support anyumbrella campaign for non-payment of the charge butpointed out that the issuewould be a key debate atthe union’s annual confer-ence in Cork next month.

UNITE has called on itsmembers to take a standagainst the HouseholdCharge.

Regional secretary JimmyKelly, speaking after ameeting of the union’s Ex-ecutive earlier this month,underlined that the unionwas not against a property-based tax in itself and wasall for broadening the taxbase “on those rich enoughto pay”.

He said: “We believe it isright there should be a taxbased on property as existswidely and generally fairly

throughout Europe, but noton the family home of lowto middle income earnersand not at the scandalousflat rate we are being askedto pay in the short term.”

Mr Kelly added: “We willurge our members through-out the country not to reg-ister. The governmentneeds to think through afairer way to impose tax onproperty.

“It needs to take accountof people’s inability to takeone more punch below thewaist.

“It needs to be fair.”

It’s ‘unfair and regressive’

Don’t sign up for this tax

Charge ‘subsidises’ the rich

HOUSEHOLDCHARGE

An attack on the lower paid

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March 2012 y THE UNION POST 5

DOCKS DISPUTE AUCKLAND

Pictures: M

UNZ

THOUSANDS of people took part in a March 10 rally in Auckland,New Zealand, to show their support for local dockers locked in a long-running dispute with port management. It came after 300“wharfies” – members of the Maritime Union of New Zealand – wereput under threat of dismissal on March 7. The International TransportFederation claims management is attempting to undermine hard-wonworkers’ terms and conditions at the port. MUNZ president GerryParsloe said: “What our members most want is to get back to work,and get this port running again. This can happen with a collectiveagreement that protects basic job security.”


TRADE UNIONMANDATE NEWSMANDATE

A CAMPAIGNING & ORGANISING UNIONWEB: EMAIL:www.mandate.ie [email protected]

LOW PAIDWORKERS: PROTECT

YOURSELVES ORGANISENOW!

Howlin: Coalition to exploreunions’ pension funds plan

JOBS INITIATIVE FISCAL COMPACT

tic economy by 5% for use in selectedjob generating economic activities inreturn for exemption from the con-troversial pension levy.

As well as providing venture capitalfor setting up new enterprises in themanufacturing and service industries,

the funds – raised through the combi-nation of private pension funds, theNational Pension Reserve Fund andEuropean Investment Bank monies –could also create jobs in vital infra-structure projects, including in the en-ergy, utilities and transport sectors.

BRENDAN Howlin, minister for publicexpenditure and reform in the Repub-lic, has said he is committed to ex-ploring trade union proposals to usetens of billions of euro held by Irishpensions funds to help create jobs.

He told SIPTU’s Liberty newspaper:“There is about €70 billion in pensionfunds here owned by workers. About2% of that is invested in this economy.I think workers want money that theyare putting into a pension fund to beactive in sustaining jobs here.

“We are going to have to find amechanism for that and this Govern-ment will engage with the unions andthe pension funds in that endeavour.”

The proposals envisage private pen-sion funds increasing the proportionof their assets invested in the domes-

Picture: Labour Party

THE TUC has described theFiscal Compact as “profoundlyunfair, undemocratic and mis-guided”.

In a February 28 letter toPrime Minister David Cameronand deputy PM Nick Clegg,general secretary Brendan Bar-ber claimed the treaty was un-fair because austerity measures“fell hardest on the shouldersof the weakest” against thebackdrop of a “thriving” finan-cial sector.

He described the manner inwhich it had been negotiated as“undemocratic” because it tiedthe hands of elected govern-ments, locking them into pursu-ing austerity policies. Finally, heclaimed the treaty was “pro-foundly misguided”.

Urging Cameron and Cleggto change their strategy, headded: “Governments are de-luding themselves if they be-lieve that this Fiscal Compactwill bring back market confi-dence – it will be a straight-jacket killing growth.

“Already, austerity risks forc-ing countries back into reces-sion. Where is the growthgoing to come from when gov-ernments cannot invest andwhen workers do not earnenough to spend in their localeconomies?”

Meanwhile former TUC andETUC general secretary LordJohn Monks has called the newtreaty “massively counterpro-ductive” – and warned that Eu-rope was ignoring the lessonsof its own history.

Writing for the TUC’s Touch-stone blog, he said: “Just whenthe EU needed to rise to thechallenge of handling its worsteconomic crisis since 1945, ithas adopted the approach ofPresident Hoover in the 1930sand intensified austerity at atime of economic collapse.

“It is as though John May-nard Keynes, had neveranalysed what went wrong northat President Roosevelt hadnot correctly tackled the 1930scrisis by the New Deal policiesof growth and employment.”

CONGRESS’ Executive Coun-cil met earlier this month todiscuss the Fiscal Compact andproposals for a referendum onthe new treaty.

ETUC general secretaryBernadette Ségol and econo-mist Karl Whelan outlinedtheir reading of its implicationsduring presentations at theMarch 9 meeting.

It was agreed that a briefingpaper would be drawn up toinform and shape debateacross the trade union move-ment. The Executive Councilalso agreed to meet again todiscuss on the issue.

Congress ECto discuss FC

TUC: Threereasons whythis treaty isbad for us all

‘I think workers wantmoney that they are

putting into a pensionfund to be active in

sustaining jobs here’Brendan Howlin

between employers andunions in the contractcleaning industry andclaimed this repre-sented a “big step forward” in ensuringbasic minimum stan-dards for workers intraditionally low paidsectors.

The national agree-ment was brokered be-tween SIPTU, the IrishContract Cleaning Association and employers’group IBEC.

The deal restores pay rates and other condi-tions of employment that existed under the pre-vious Employment Regulation Order.


TUC general secretary Bren-dan Barber has dubbed theUK coalition government the“most female-unfriendly inliving memory”.

He made the comments ashe addressed the TUCWomen’s Conference in Lon-don on March 14.

Acknowledging that thiswas a time of “tremendous

difficulty” for “ordinarywomen and their families”,Mr Barber pointed out thatmore than a million womenwere now without work inthe UK.

But he told delegates thatthis did not just represent a“job crisis” – as women weretwice as likely to be affectedby cuts than men. Mr Barber

said: “Child benefit and taxcredits are being sacrificed asministers look for ways tocut the tax rate for peopleearning more than £150,000,even though they get morein tax breaks than mostwomen earn in a year.

“Women are being dispro-portionately hit by the payfreezes, pension reforms and

massive jobs cull in the pub-lic sector.

“Basic employment rightsare under threat and refugesfor victims of domestic violence are being closed.

“The evidence is clear –this is the most female-un-friendly government in livingmemory.”

UK government is ‘female unfriendly’

SIPTU has warned the Irishgovernment the wage gap inthe Republic will continue towiden unless workers in lowpay sectors are given theprotection they need in law.

Ethel Buckley, the union’snational equality and cam-paigns organiser, made thecomments as new researchrevealed that the gender pay

gap in the Republic stands at17.1%.

She said: "Working womenin Ireland are more likely towork in low paid and precari-ous work than men.

“Women comprise theoverwhelming majority ofworkers in the low pay sec-tors covered by EmploymentRegulation Orders.

“We need to ensure thatthe new legislation govern-ing these sectoral agree-ments is sufficiently robustto protect these vulnerableworkers. Otherwise thewage gap between womenand men will get evenwider.”

The EU Commission gen-der pay gap study found that

young women earn morethan 90% of their maleequivalents but this falls to71.5% in the 35 to 44 agegroup and to only 61.4%group for women aged between 55 and 64.

In the Republic, only123,000 women earn morethan €50,000 a year com-pared with 254,000 men.

Wage gap warning to Irish government

CONGRESS has claimed the last decade has seen“no discernible progress” in addressing the gen-der pay gap and that inequality remains a “signifi-cant factor” in the working lives of women.

Assistant general secretary Sally Anne Kinahan,right, made the comments on March 8 – Interna-tional Women’s Day.

She flagged up recent reports by the ITUC andthe European Commission confirming that gen-uine pay and workplace equality had still to be re-alised.

The ITUC report detailed how little progresshad been made on pay over the last 10 yearswhile the EC survey found that women in Irelandearned 17% less than men.

It also revealed that twice as many men thanwomen earned more than €50,000 a year.

Ms Kinahan said: “It is important we recognisesignificant obstacles remain for women in the

No discernible progress in last 10yrs

EQUAL PAY

Picture: Eu

ropean

Parliament

workplace. We should also acknowledge that theevidence from the ITUC is that women in tradeunions are better protected in this crisis andenjoy better conditions than women in non-unionsectors.”

Ms Kinahan pointed to research carried out bythe University of Limerick and presented to theCongress Women’s Conference earlier thismonth.

This showed that women in Ireland are morelikely to work in low paid and precarious employ-ment.

Researchers found that most workers coveredby Joint Labour Committees were female.

The study also revealed that the payment ofSunday premiums, shift allowances and overtimeto JLC workers did not place a major burden onemployers. Ms Kinahan flagged up the recent dealhttp://www.ictu.ie/press/2012/03/08/inequality-still-a-significant-factor-in-working-lives-of-women/


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Broderick: Talks call

THE IBOA has warned plans to slash2,500 jobs at AIB will have a devastat-ing impact on the bank’s staff and theirfamilies.

The union had been expecting anannoucement on a restructuring planbut the number of proposed job losseshas shocked many observers.

General secretary Larry Brodericksaid: "Although we have been expect-ing an announcement for some time,the scale of the proposed job lossesmeans that ordinary bank staff arebeing asked to suffer the consequencesof the mismanagement of the bank's affairs to a disproportionate extent."

The IBOA chief called for a

“balanced accommodation” in any talkson the restructuring proposals.

This had, he said, to take into account all of the bank’s stakeholders,“including staff and customers as wellas the government and shareholders”.

Mr Broderick vowed the unionwould seek to protect as many jobs aspossible during the discussions andthat any job losses are implemented“on a voluntary basis”.

He warned that the “continuinghaemorrhage” of jobs in the financialsector showed “no signs of abating”.

"We need a realistic strategy tostrengthen existing employment andcreate alternative opportunities."

Meanwhile, SIPTU insurance and finance sector organiser Adrian Kaneslammed the number of redundanciesbeing sought as unacceptably high andvowed his union would seek to protectas many directly employed jobs as possible.

He said: “While accepting that ourmembers expected to see a reductionin over-all employment levels due tothe financial crisis they also know thatlabour costs were not the cause of theinternational banking collapse.

“We are concerned that the crisis isbeing used by some in the finance industry to drive down decent pay andconditions.”

Picture: Mark Th

omas/ U

NISON

Scale of AIB job losses ‘devastating’

Picture: IBOA

UNISON has vowed to redouble its effortsto save the NHS.

Members of the union held a minute’ssilence outside the Houses of Parliamenton March 20, left, to mark the end of theNHS “as we know it”.

It came as inside the Lords voted for thecontroversial Health and Social Care Bill –described by UNISON as “pernicious”.

The legislation abolishes StrategicHealth Authorities and Primary CareTrusts and gives greater control over carebudgets and commissioning to GPs andother health professionals.

Professional bodies representing doctors, nurses and other NHS workershave come together to fight the changes.

General secretary Dave Prentis said:“This Bill takes the N out of NHS. It is ascandal that this government is ignoringthe groundswell of opposition from med-ical experts, royal colleges, staff, unionsand the public.

“Patients will have a two-tier healthservice and where they live will determinethe healthcare they receive.

“Make no mistake, this is not the end ofUNISON’s opposition and we are notalone – huge question marks remain overthis Bill. We will continue to campaignhard to try and mitigate the worst ex-cesses of this bill.”

Health bill ‘takes N out of NHS’


Pictures: INTO/TUI

IMPACT has claimed other organisations could learn fromthe approach adopted by Tea-gasc to public service reform.

Matt Staunton, the union’snational secretary, flagged upthe Republic’s agriculture andfood development authority asa “living example” of the effec-tive workiing of the Croke Parkagreement.

Speaking at the annual NewFrontiers in Industrial Relationsconference in Dublin earlierthis month, he said this hadbeen achieved by early planning,good leadership and staff involvement. Mr Staunton tolddelegates Teagasc unions andmanagement had not “hidden”behind Croke Park.

He said: “Instead we have actively used the agreement asa tool to solve problems anddeliver savings and reform on ascale, at a speed, and with alevel of cooperation that wouldhave been unthinkable withoutthe agreement.

“Croke Park is often criti-cised for being too slow in thedelivery of change. But this case demonstrates that time invested in getting service con-figuration right, clearly commu-nicating what you’re doing andwhy to staff and service users,and bringing staff and their representatives along in thechange process, is time investedwell.”

Teagascshows dealworks well

CPSU general secretary EoinRonayne has warned of the bat-tles that lie ahead to protectlower paid public and privatesector workers.

And he called on CPSUmembers to “brace themselves”and expect more attacks from“neo-liberal economists” and“the baying hounds of the right-wing media”.

Mr Ronayne, who took overfrom Blair Horan earlier thismonth, predicted the Govern-ment would come under “re-lentless pressure” to cut thewages of lower paid workers inthe run up to the Croke Parkreview.

He claimed there was now abattle on to “protect the lowestpaid from further cuts in basicpay and increments”.

Mr Ronayne also warned thepatience of low paid public ser-vants was not beyond breaking.

He said they were beingcaught between increasingstealth taxes and pay cuts andwere finding it impossible tomake ends meet.

He added: “There comes apoint where the current attackon low paid workers makes noeconomic sense whatsoever.”

Battle aheadin run up toCroke review

MORE than 1,500 student teacherstook to the streets of Dublin lastmonth demanding equal work forequal pay.

A series of government meas-ures effectively means that new en-trants can expect to earn up to30% less than teaching colleagueswho entered the profession only18 months ago.

INTO president Noreen Flynnwarned of the dangers of continu-ing to load the burden of austerityon to the next generation.

Pointing out that the country’sproblems were not caused by theyoung, she told the crowd: “Theolder generation’s foolishness costthis country its economic inde-pendence. So why then areyounger people, from children tonew home-owners, paying thegreater price?

“There is a fairer way thansqueezing younger people who didnot cause our crisis.

“We cannot risk creating anembittered, resentful new genera-tion sending thousands off on themodern equivalent of the emigrantship with little to show for Ireland’s

Pay fair, minister!

excesses and policy mistakes.”Meanwhile, ASTI president Bren-

dan Broderick, speaking before theFebruary 22 demo, claimed the gov-ernment was guilty of targeting newteachers for pay cuts.

He said: “The government is attempting to pick off a vulnerablegroup of young people who are already facing unemployment, emigration and years of precariousemployment.

“Those students lucky enough tofind teaching work will be treateddifferently than many of the colleagues they teach alongside.

“They will receive up to 30% lesspay than they would have received ifthey entered teaching just 18months ago.”

William O’Brien, a second-levelstudent teacher at UCD told TheUnion Post: “These cuts representnothing less than the segregation ofthe profession. Today is about theunfairness of treating new teachersdifferently than their colleagues.”

Yvonne Rossiter, a second-levelstudent teacher at Trinity CollegeDublin, added: “It is unthinkable thatin 2012 we are having to protest forequal pay for equal work.”

Mask protest: Dozens of ‘Ruairi Quinns’ showed up at the Dublin rally

‘Young are paying the price’: INTO president Noreen Flynn, above centre, with some of the protestors

CPSU

IMPACT


CONGRESS WOMEN’S CONFERENCE I m everyI m everyI m every‘‘‘womanwomanwoman!!!

Speakers Dr Michelle O’Sullivanand, below, Sylvia Walby

SIPTU vice president Patricia King with President Higgins and his wife Sabina

UNISON’sPamela Dooley at conference

Theresa Moriarity gavea presentation on lifein the slums of Belfast


TRADE unions in the North have launched a ‘Justicefor Colombia’ campaign and are seeking cross-partysupport from MLAs and MPs for the initiative.

It is hoped local political parties can join withtrade unions in pooling their experience of thePeace Process in Northern Ireland and offer valu-able advice about conflict resolution to the Colom-bians. The initiative was launched at the Unite HQ inBelfast earlier this month.

Mariela Kohon, of the pressure group Justice forColombia, and Sarah Merrill, of ParliamentaryFriends of Colombia, spoke at the event.

They outlined the historical background to thecivil war in Colombia, which has seen thousands oftrade unionists targeted and killed as the army andallied right-wing paramilitary groups battle FARC in-surgents.

Colombians for Peace is made up of high-profilefigures – including former presidents, journalists,politicians, and academics – and is backed by humanrights organisations and the trade union movement.

It has already secured the successful release ofseveral FARC hostages and played an important rolein advancing prospects for peace as well as helpingto raise the profile of the conflict internationally.

Most recently they have been working closelywith ASFAMIPAZ – an organisation representing rel-atives of soldiers and police captured by FARC – ina bid to secure the safe release of 10 remaininghostages.

Welcoming the delegation to Belfast, Unite re-gional secretary Jimmy Kelly said: “We fully supportthe peace campaign and the right for social justiceand equality for all in Colombia.

“It is vital that the international community sus-tain the pressure in order for the peace process tobegin this brutal and savage conflict.”

In her talk, Mariela Kohon explained how morethan 3,000 trade unionists have been killed so far inthe conflict. She said: “It is the most dangerous placein the world to be an active trade unionist workingfor workers’ rights.

“We in the peace movement would like North-ern Ireland politicians to engage in this process. Wefeel that using their experience of conflict resolutionwould really resonate with the Colombian adminis-tration.”

Adding her union’s backing for the initiative, UNI-SON regional secretary Patricia McKeown said: “It istime for Stormont to join the international debateon world affairs other than thinking solely about it-self. We will be bringing a delegation from Colombiato Northern Ireland in May in order to meet ourMLAs, trade unionists and peace activists.

“They will impress on us all the importance ofsupporting their cause for peace. It is crucial for theStormont administration to play its role.”

NI unions backdrive for peace

Pictures: Paula Geraghty & Kevin Cooper/Photoline

ANDY Snoddy – of the UnitedFederation of Danish Workers,or 3F for short – spoke to theconference about organisingwomen in difficult times.

Claiming that organising was“nothing new”, he told dele-gates: “It’s what trade unionsdo, from organising the Belfastmill workers 100 years ago toorganising cabin crew today, it isthe same process.

“All organising is based on is-sues – the workers’ issues, notour issues. If we take the exam-ple of the mill girls, they hadlow wages and appalling work-ing conditions but they wereorganised around the right totalk or sing in the workplace.

“Likewise, when Unite organ-ised Flybe cabin crew, whilethere were a host of issues, oneof the most pressing was crew

food as the airline providesfood for the crew and thatmight be for all three meals in aday. Sandwiches can becomethe key issue.”

Insisting that the modern organising approach was “noth-ing new”, Mr Snoddy said it sim-ply meant “making a system outof what was often a gut reac-tion”.

“We talk to the workers, findout their issues, find who arethe natural leaders and involvethem in an organising commit-tee.

“We have some informal education and plan collectiveactions to win the issue.”

He insisted that unions canstill win and told delegates: “Ex-perience has shown that for thebigger issues we need to com-bine organising with leverage

strategies. A classic examplewas the Unite meat industrycampaign.

“Around 14,000 workers –mostly migrant agency work-ers – were organised from thebottom up using organising, butto win equal pay with directlyemployed workers, to win atransfer from agency to perma-nent employment, required acomplex leverage strategy tocompel the supermarkets toimpose new higher standardson their supply chain.”

Mr Snoddy said the the fu-ture of hundreds of thousandsof Irish workers depended onthe trade union movement.

“We have the knowledge, thetools to win – what we need isthe commitment by unions to use the tools and tech-niques.”

Masterclass on organising women

President Higgins was given a standing ovation following his speech, introduced by David Begg

COLOMBIA

EDUCATION

NORTHERN Ireland’s falling population will ulti-mately negate any use or need for academic selec-tion, it has been claimed

Ulster Teachers’ Union general secretary Avril HallCallaghan made the comments at her union’s annualconference in Newcastle, Co Down, on March 22.

She said: “Most grammar schools have already ex-perienced great change as they are now accepting upto 50% of their local population as opposed to the25% they used to take when the school populationwas larger.

“As a result many of them have adapted to caterfor pupils with the full range of marks and are in allbut name comprehensive schools.

“As the birth rate falls and the population ofschool-age children decreases, there is no longer aneed for two schools in a town.

“Because grammar schools are filling their placesit is the secondaries which are falling short of pupilnumbers. What this is amounting to is the introduc-tion of a comprehensive system of education bystealth – and it is the grammar schools which arecreating that situation.”

Numbers drop leadsto ‘comps by stealth’


CONGRESS WOMEN’S CONFERENCE Pictures: Paula GeraghtyI m everyI m everyI m every‘‘‘womanwomanwoman!!!

Clockwise from top:Congress delegationwith PresidentMichael D Higgins andhis wife Sabina; Unitedelegation; NIPSAdelegation; Congressgeneral secretaryDavid Begg greets thePresident who isflanked by BelfastLord Mayor Niall ÓDonnghaile; CWUdelegation; INTO del-egation; NUJ delega-tion and ASTIdelegation


A SURVEY of NHS employees in Englandhas found that almost half claim not to haveenough time to complete their tasks atwork.

UNISON insisted the official 2011 NHSStaff Survey – involving 135,000 health serv-ice workers – reflected the reality of in-creasing workloads and stress forhard-pressed frontline staff.

Christina McAnea. the union’s head ofhealth, said: “The increase in workload is nota coincidence, it is down to cuts in staffingand to a lack of cover for staff on sick or onleave.”

She also warned that it not only staff thatsuffered as a result, adding: “The increase inworkload and stress is felt by patients andworkers’ families too.”

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Pictures: Paula Geraghty

CONGRESS has warned new EuropeanCommission proposals on the right ofunions to go on strike could lead to theright being undermined across Europe andcould well be in contravention of ILO con-ventions.

Congress legal affairs officer Esther Lynchsaid the Commission proposals – known asthe Monti II Regulation – were flawed and“will almost certainly have to be rewrittenand revised”.

She continued: “In our view they couldwell contravene key ILO conventions. Therationale behind these proposals was to re-pair the damage done by the Viking and Lavalrulings from the European Court of Justice."

“The avowed aim was to provide forbinding legislation to ensure 'economicfreedoms' respected fundamental socialrights, such as the right to strike.

“ As drafted however the Commission'sregulation would undermine the right tostrike. It is our view – and the view of theETUC – that neither economic freedomsnor competition rules should have priorityover fundamental social rights.

“It needs to explicitly state that in case ofconflict, human and social rights shall takeprecedence.”

THE Public and CommercialServices union has vowed tocontinue to pursue a jointunion campaign against UKgovernment cuts to pen-sions.

Following a meeting onMarch 19, the union’s na-tional executive agreed tobuild for a co-ordinated na-tional strike in April.

It comes after a consulta-tion ballot of members –90.5% of whom voted to re-ject the government's offerand 72.1% voted to supporta programme of further ac-tion with other unions – thehighest vote for action theunion has ever had.

The PCS will formally re-ject what the governmenthas tabled to date and offer“solidarity and practical sup-port” to teachers and lec-turers in London who arestaging a one-day strike onMarch 28.

General secretary MarkSerwotka said: "Our over-whelming ballot result camein the face of continuing at-tacks from the government,and during a time whenmany people are sufferingpersonal financial hardship.

"While we remain com-mitted to negotiating withministers, they have so farrefused to move from theirplans to force civil and pub-lic servants to work longerand pay more for less in retirement.

"We will be working withother unions to build forco-ordinated national actionto successfully fight thesecuts to pensions, as well asthose to pay and jobs thatthis brutal government is in-flicting on the public sector."

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PCS vows toforge aheadwith driveon pensions

Congress inwarning overCommissionstrike proposals

SIPTU members involved in a sit-inat Vita Cortex have agreed to enterinto a mediation process under theauspices of the Labour RelationsCommission.

It is understood Kevin Foley, theLRC’s director of conciliation serv-ices, wrote to SIPTU and IBEC onMarch 22, inviting both sides tobegin a “process of mediation” tofind “a basis for resolution of thedispute”.

SIPTU organiser Anne Egar said:“If this proposal from the LRC isaccepted by the owners of VitaCortex it could be the first stage ina process that can lead to a resolu-tion.”

Vita Cortex workers marked the100th day of their sit-in at the for-mer foam manufacturing plant onthe Kinsale Road in Cork on March24.

Ms Egar added: “The workersare adamant that the dispute willcontinue until a just resolution hasbeen secured.”

Running out of time

Vita Cortex workersagree to LRC invite


FORMER RTE journalist EoinRonayne has taken over as gen-eral secretary of the Civil Pub-lic and Services Union.

He replaces Blair Horan whoretired earlier this month.

His appointment goes beforethe union’s delegate conferencenext month in Cork for ratifica-tion.

Mr Ronayne – currently amember of Congress’ Execu-tive Committee – joined theCPSU as financial secretary in2002 after an eight-year stint asNUJ Irish secretary.

A long-time activist at RTE,he led the four-week strike in1992 which is credited with re-versing an anti-union approachby the then management.

Since moving to the CPSU,he has played a pivotal role withoutgoing general secretary BlairHoran in representing theunion and its members in publicand in media debates particu-larly during the disputes andprotests over the unilateral cutsin pay and the imposition of thepension levy.

Ronayne newCPSU gen sec

NIPSA general secretary BrianCampfield has expressed deepconcern that incidents of domestic violence will continueto increase in Northern Irelandas services and benefits are cut.

He made his comments at anevent organised by the union’sEqual Opportunities Commit-tee in Belfast on March 7.

Mr Campfield said: “NIPSAwill continue to call on the Assembly to ensure that all victims of domestic violence are protected from any negative impact of these cuts andchanges to the welfare benefitssystem.

“We will also continue towork with employers to acceptthat this is a workplace issueand the importance of havingsupportive systems and proce-dures in place which will createa safe and supportive workingenvironment which gives peoplesuffering from domestic violence the confidence tocome forward.”

NIPSA: Cutscould fueldomesticabuse hike

CONFERENCE

PLAYING down impact of education cuts will have long-term costs, an ASTI schoolsseminar has been warned.

John O’Donovan, who chairsthe union’s Principals andDeputy Principals Committee,called on school heads not tobe fooled by the phrase“greater freedom to allocateand manage staff” used by theDepartment of Education andSkills when describing the axingof ex-quota guidance counsellorprovision.

He said: “This is a straightfor-ward cut in teacher numbersand will result in the loss of almost 700 teaching posts insecond-level schools.

“Rather than giving principalsgreater autonomy, it is forcingthem to choose between reduced curriculum choice orreducing vital guidance provision for students.”

Mr O’Donovan made hiscomments to 180 principals anddeputy principals gathered atthe Raddison Blu Hotel inAthone on February 29.

He claimed a “lowest-unit-cost mentality” should not beapplied to educating young people.

“Schools are collaborativecommunities which seek tosupport all young people at avital stage in their lives and regardless of their abilities,needs, and circumstances.

“All schools strive to be costefficient, but stripping schoolsof key staff will fundamentallychange the type of educationservice they can deliver.”

Mr O’Donovan added: “It willcost us all in the long term.”

School cutswill cost usdear in thelong term

EDUCATION

WITH tongue stuck firmly incheek, a new “RepublicanParty” hopeful has steppedinto the US presidential race.

GOP spoofer CandidateWalmart – who, according tolawyers here at the Post, ispurely fictional and solely in-tended for purposes of satire,parody or lampoonery and isNOT affiliated with WalmartStories, Inc – is campaigning

in favour of “standing up notjust for the rights of the oneper cent but the rights of thetop one per cent of the oneper cent”.

Among his plaform ideas isvowing to abolish the nationalminimum wage and manda-tory overtime pay.

Anyway, you get the idea... Check out his campaign

commerical at...

http://candidatewalmart.org/economy-jobs/

Candy for Prez!

AMERICAN unions plan to mobilisehundreds of thousands of activists tocampaign for the re-election of Presi-dent Obama in November.

It follows recent successful grass-roots initiatives in Ohio and Wiscon-sin – where unions used theirorganising network to wrong-foot Republican Party attempts to under-mine unions.

Last November, the efforts of morethan 17,000 union volunteers in Ohiowere key in winning a vote to repeal alaw curbing bargaining rights in thestate.

And in January this year, organisers ofa petition to force anti-union state gov-ernor Scott Walker to go before thevoters again managed to secure morethan a million signatures.

Though unions plan to spend up-wards of $400m on national, state andlocal elections over the coming year, itis their ability to put “feet on thestreet” during the campaign that willprove to be most effective way of se-curing Obama four more years.

Strongly unionised blue-collarstates – such as Michigan, Ohio, Penn-sylvannia and Wisconsin – will be keyelection battlegrounds.

AFL-CIO president Richard Trumkaadmitted the Republican Party’s well-resourced political action committees –or super PACs – would throw tens ofmillions of dollars in a bid to unseat thepresident.

He said: “We’re going to counter thatby getting people out. We’ll never beable to match them with money.”Trumka: Getting people out

US unions set to back Obama

Got a union [email protected]

Picture: AFL-CIO


AMERICAN union AFSCMEcalled on its members to slaketheir thirst with union-madebeer on St Patrick’s Day.

Unfortunately – and perhapssurprisingly – none of ourfavourite Irish-produced beerswere put forward as suitablebeverages for consumptionStateside on March 17.

Instead, the union suggestedrevellers knock back

Anheuser-Busch Bare KnuckleStout or Mad River SteelheadExtra Stout.

A spokesperson added: “Ifyou fancy a lager, reach for aBudweiser, Busch, HenryWeinhard's Private Reserve,Iron City, Labatt’s Blue, Lion-shead, Michelob, or Pabst BlueRibbon.

“If you are drawn to ale, trya Budweiser American Ale,

Henry Weinhard's Blue BoarPale Ale, or MooseheadClancy's Amber Ale.”

And Union Plus – an initia-tive backed by US unions toendorse products made inunionised workplaces – evenoffered to text trade unionmembers a list of “the mostworker-friendly suds” to theirphone.

Have a think before you drink on St Paddy’s Day, US workers told

A retired SIPTU organiser hasreached for the skies after conquer-ing Mount Aconcagua – the highestmountain in the western hemi-sphere – last month. Keen moun-taineer Kevin McMahon, fromDublin, summited the 22,834 ft peakon February 20. Mount Aconcagua –from the Inca Ackon Cahuak, mean-

ing Stone Sentinel – straddles theChilean and Argentine border. andwas first climbed in 1897. A col-league speaking to SIPTU’s monthlynewspaper Liberty described Kevin’sachievement as a “rare feat... onlyachieved by the most dedicated anddetermined of people”.

Ex-SIPTU activist conquers mighty summit

Pictures: SIPTU

SHOPWORKERS’ union Usdaw has slammed anyfurther deregulation of Sunday trading laws in theUK. It comes after chancellor George Osborne’sMarch 8 announcement that he is to introduceemergency legislation forcing through an eight-week suspension of trading laws this summer tofacilitate the London Olympics.

General secretary John Hannett claimed therewas little backing from either retailers or thepublic for such a change.

He said: "Deregulation would do little to stimu-late growth or create jobs, but would have a verydetrimental impact on the lives of millions ofshopworkers and their families.”

Mr Hannett added: "To suggest that the currentlegislation – which allows shops to open for 150hours a week,– means Britain is 'closed for busi-ness' is frankly ridiculous.

“...there is understandable suspicion that thegovernment is trying to use the London Olympicsas cover for its wider deregulation agenda."

Usdaw warning overSunday trading move

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THERE is a growing recognition among teach-ers in Northern Ireland that “enough isenough”, it has been claimed.

INTO northern secretary Gerry Murphymade the comment at the union’s northernconference on March 7.

Delegates gathered at the Canal Court Hotelin Newry called on the incoming executive toresist any further attempt to cut their pay.

Teachers were scathing in their attacks onthe Northern Ireland Executive for agreeing toimplement a hike to pension contributions, payfreezes and even considering bringing in regional pay.

Mr Murphy said: “There is a clear angerwithin the teaching community and a growingview that enough is enough.

“Teachers are living through difficult times

with report after report threatening their jobsecurity, or criticising that after 30 years servicethey can be given a severance package.

“The message of this conference to those inpower is clear – invest in the teaching profes-sion; teachers are critical to the success of theoverall economy and without their professionaland valued input today, future executives willreap the cost.”

Teachers are saying ‘enough is enough’

INTO northern secretaryGerry Murphy has sig-nalled his union’s willing-ness to “engage” in achanging agenda for education.

In his keynote address,Mr Murphy called on Education Minister JohnO’Dowd to grasp the nettle of change and workconstructively and inpartnership with theunion.

He said: “The word

‘cannot’ is not part of theINTO vocabulary. As theleading teaching union inIreland we have extensiveskills and expertise and atthis conference we aremaking these skills avail-able to those who wish toengage in the changeagenda.

“In return we expectthat Department of Edu-cation and the Ministerwill respect and value thecontribution of INTO.”

Word ‘cannot’ not in our vocabulary

INTO’s northernchief Gerry Murphywith Education Minister JohnO’Dowd

INTO NORTHERN CONFERENCE

Pictures: Kevin Cooper/Photoline

HUNDREDS of teachers inthe North face a bleak future as sweeping redun-dancies hit the profession,a senior INTO official haswarned.

Brendan Harron, speak-ing just before the union’sconference earlier thismonth, predicted the scaleof lay-offs would reach anall-time high,

He said: “The notifica-tions of redundancies INTOhas received to date already exceed the totalnumber of job losses forlast year and the year before.

“Hundreds of teachersare very worried abouttheir futures. INTO is call-ing on teachers’ employersto do everything in theirpower to redeploy thoseteachers who are madecompulsorily redundant.”

Lay-offswarning

Gerry Murphy gives keynote address

UNI general secretary Philip Jennings hasclaimed policy-makers across that worldhave been “blinded” by the “financialisa-tion of the economy”.

He made his comments following theresignation of Goldman Sachs executiveGreg Smith earlier this month.

The South African-born equities spe-cialist spilled the beans on what hedubbed “destructive and toxic” practicesat the bank

Mr Jennings said: “The Gordon Gekkosof this world may no longer preachopenly that ‘greed is good’ mantra but

they are still humming it under theirbreath and teaching it to the new recruits at investment banks.”

He added that governments were unwilling to tackle the “rotten bonus culture” in the sector.

“Policy-makers are blinded by the financialisation of the economy and thebankers while admitting their mistakesare not paying for the consequences of it.

“The debt is being shifted to the publicwho are paying for it through increasedtaxes, slashed public services, reducedpensions and soaring unemployment.”

‘Gekko’ culture slammed

UNI chief Philip Jennings:Bankers notpaying for theirmistakes

Picture: John

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UNITE regional secretary Jimmy Kellyhas slammed bosses at INM, owners ofthe Belfast Telegraph, for moving printworkers “like pieces on a chessboard”.

He made his comments to morethan 100 people outside the historicTelegraph offices on Royal Avenue onMarch 3.

They were gathered to protest man-agement plans to shift production of theweekday editions of the newspaper outof Belfast to a 60,000 sq ft print facilityin Newry.

The move will see the loss of 24 jobson the Tele’s day shift in Belfast.

Praising the “fantastic strength” ofthe Telegraph’s print chapel, Mr Kellypointed out that not even the Luftwaffehad stopped production of the paper.He told the crowd: “It’s the proud boast

of this newspaper shown on a plaquethat production had never been inter-rupted – not even when the buildingwas bombed by the Luftwaffe during theBelfast Blitz. Don’t let them do whatthe German air force couldn’t do whenthey bombed this building.”

Mark Langhammer, speaking on be-half of Congress, described the Tele-graph as “one of the city’s greatinstitutions”.

He warned the shifting of productionout of Belfast would “depress wages”and “worsen the conditions of service”of the paper’s “real asset... its work-force”. Mr Langhammer also attackedthe “slash and burn, speculative, casinocapitalism” that was “pressing down onwages from Ireland to Italy, from Athensto Lisbon”.

Against this backdrop, it was impor-tant for legislators and politicians to act.Rather than major firms pursuing a “nar-row dash for profit and short-termshareholder return”, they should belegally obliged to take “slower, steadier,long-term routes to growth” and to in-vest in “real productivity, in people andin jobs”.

Kerry Fleck, on behalf of Congress,also spoke to the crowd. She warnedthem that the UK coalition governmentwas being backed by powerful eco-nomic and financial forces – forces thatwere intent on “destroying” public serv-ices and trade unions.

The “unashamed culture of corpo-rate greed”, she added, was continuingunabated while workers and their fami-lies “faced attacks on every front”.

Picture: Kevin Cooper/Photoline

Bosses‘Blitzed’as INM shiftsprintingof Tele

SHOPWORKERS unionUsdaw suspended itsstrike action due totake place on March 16at Primark storesacross the North, following an eleventhhour offer by the company.

The offer will now beput to the 700 Usdawmembers who work at the eight stores.

If accepted, thehourly rate of pay forshop-floor workers willrise from the current£6.84 to £7.14 in April.

Earlier this month,Usdaw members voted88% in favour of takingstrike action in protestat the retailer’s deci-sion to impose a two-year pay freeze.

Usdaw area organ-iser Nicola Scarbor-ough said: "Afterlengthy but construc-tive negotiations at theLRA, Primark hastabled an offer that wehave agreed to put toour members in a bal-lot.

“As a result, we havealso agreed to suspendthe industrial action inorder for our membersto consider the offer.We think it offers thebest that can beachieved through negotiation."

Primarkoffer to goto ballot

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