The leader of the State's largest trade union has declared his support for electricians planning to strike from tomorrow and he said his union would give a "strong recommendation" to its members to support an all-out picket.
Siptu general president Jack O'Connor said the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) was "entirely justified" in the action it planned to take in the dispute with electrical contractors.
The TEEU has served notice of strike action by its 10,500 members in the sector starting tomorrow morning.
Mr O’Connor has said that if the TEEU applies for an all-out picket from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Siptu will ballot members with "a strong recommendation to support the electricians".
"The TEEU is entirely justified in the action it is proposing and our union believes it is most regrettable that electricians in the TEEU have been forced to engage in such action by reason of the employers’ refusal to negotiate, despite a recommendation from the Labour Court that they should do so," Mr O'Connor said in a statement.
“The electricians have only served strike notice having exhausted every possible alternative procedure against a background of the declared intention of the employers to implement a pay cut of the order of 10 per cent and detrimentally alter other conditions of employment, all of which are in contravention of the Registered Employment Agreement for the industry."
Mr O'Connor said that ultimately the electricians must be supported by all workers because the employers' objective of cutting pay and "tearing up agreements" reflected the primary aim of the "wealthy elite" in society to perserve their own position.
“As soon as the TEEU seeks the support of other trade unionists through the Irish Congress of Trade Unions by applying for an all-out picket, Siptu will immediately ballot its members affected, with a strong recommendation that they support the electricians.”
TEEU General Secretary Designate Eamon Devoy said the action also had the support of the Unite trade union and "leading figures" in other construction unions such as BATU and UCATT had also indicated they would back the dispute.
“People are realising that if the electrical contractors get away with tearing up the Registered Employment Agreement for our sector the same can happen in other industries," he said in a statement.
“Hundreds of thousands of workers will be affected if the employers succeed in this dispute. If they do, workers will not just see pay rates slashed but sick leave, pensions, holidays, training and other benefits reduced."
The TEEU said on Friday night it would attend any talks to resolve the dispute but said that the strike notice for Monday remained in place. However, the talks broke down yesterday afternoon, with no plans for further discussions before tomorrow's planned strike action.
The TEEU now looks set to place pickets at more than 200 construction sites and at a number of manufacturing firms around the country. The union wants to push the rate for electricians up by more than 11 per cent, from an existing €21.49 to €23.98 an hour. Employers are pleading an inabilty to pay the increase and are looking for a 10 per cent cut in wages.
Mr Devoy said that his members were looking for money due to them since 2006/2007.
The Electrical Contractors Association (ECA), the body that represents some of the larger contractors, has said its members were not in a position to pay the increases sought by the electricians.
"The members just cannot afford to pay any increases," ECA executive secretary Chris Lundy told The Irish Times. He said members we're getting Government letters "left, right and centre" looking for cuts in the price of contracts, most recently from the OPW.
He said his organisation was willing to discuss all the issues in relation to the 10 per cent reduction it is seeking as well as the union’s claim for an 11 per cent increase, but that the union was intent on holding the strike. “For some reason they are gung-ho in having a strike," he added.
The strike will affect work on a number of construction projects such as the Terminal 2 development at Dublin airport, the new Intel project in Co Kildare, the Corrib gas project and the new Lansdowne Road stadium.