Electricians target major sites in strike action threat
Sunday July 05 2009
THE electricians' union has drawn up plans to hit high- profile construction sites across the country if strike action over a disputed pay claim goes ahead tomorrow.
Talks aimed at averting the strike action -- which could affect up to 200 construction sites nationwide, including the Corrib gas pipeline project, Lansdowne Road and the Intel plant in Kildare -- broke down yesterday afternoon.
The Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) wants to increase the hourly rate of pay for electricians by 11 per cent, from €21.49 to €23.98. Meanwhile, electrical contractors are trying to cut pay by 10 per cent. Both sides were deadlocked last week and sources said last night that a resolution to the dispute seemed unlikely.
The union has warned that the strike could have a serious impact in sectors such as energy, manufacturing and construction, and cause lay-offs across the economy.
The planned strike action could also impact on other sectors, with plumbers and members of the TEEU unlikely to pass the pickets manned by their union colleagues.
The strike has its roots in a registered pay agreement with employers which fixes the hourly rates in the construction and electrical sector.
Electrical contractors went to the Labour Court earlier this year to overturn the registered agreement, claiming the hourly rate of pay was simply too high.
Many contractors claimed they had to pay electricians 'country money', or subsistence allowances of up to €168 per week, if they were sent to work more than 11 miles from their base.
Contractors in rural areas complained that the extra cost was prohibitive. Contractors also had to pay 'travelling time', amounting to two hours' extra pay -- even when the contractor supplied the van to bring them to work.
Eamon Barry, an electrical contractor in Skibbereen, Co Cork, told the court that if he complied with the registered employment agreement he would have to charge rates of up to €50 per hour. This would force him out of business because his clients would not pay rates of that magnitude.
However, the Labour Court found that the contractors' claim that the obligation to pay 'add-ons' and allowances was a misunderstanding.
Some small contractors claimed they were threatened with the Labour Court or criminal proceedings if they didn't facilitate an inspection.
They also claimed they were pressured to sign up employees to the Construction Workers' Pension Scheme, even though they regarded it as poor value for money.
- MAEVE SHEEHAN
