A petition sent to bar staff asking them to oppose the proposed ban on smoking in the workplace "could be seen as harassment and intimidation", the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) claimed today.
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ICTU vice president Mr Peter McLoone called on the Licensed Vintners' Association (LVA) to rethink the petition.
Mr McLoone said: "Bar staff depend on their employers for their livelihoods. Given that relationship, it is not acceptable that their mployers ask them to declare a view on an issue that affects their personal health and safety, and which has also become a political matter.
What next? Will bar owners be asking their staff how they intend to vote in the next general election? This type of behaviour is unacceptable."
Mr McLoone said ICTU would support any bar staff who felt intimidated for refusing to sign the petition.
The trade union MANDATE also condemned the LVA action. Senior union official Mr John Douglas said the petition was "one of the most blatant attempts to intimidate Irish workers since the 1913 Lockout".
"What does the LVA expect staff to say to their bosses - particularly those vulnerable part-timers - no we don't support you, thus jeopardising their jobs and their livelihoods?"
He also said the survey was in breach of the spirit of the 1990 Industrial Relations Act.
"Trade unions are required to conduct ballots on the basis of anonymity and secrecy so that their members can express their views on vital issues without any sense of fear," he said."Forcing bar workers to declare their position on this vital health and safety issue in full view of their boss is clearly in breach of the spirit of this Act and is extremely undemocratic."LVA chief executive, Mr Donall O'Keefe, rejected the charge saying the petition was an attempt to gauge workers opinions on the matter.
The petition outlines the LVA's compromise proposals which suggests a 50 per cent of a pub would be non-smoking; a ban on smoking at the bar counter and a review of the system after two years.
Workers are then asked to indicate whether they support or reject the compromise by ticking yes or no.
"We have done research which suggest jobs will certainly be lost if the ban is put in place - any where between three and eight thousand.
"What we're interested in is getting a sense of the workers' feelings on this issue. No-one seems to have consulted them yet," Mr O'Keefe said.