TEETU Dispute with the Electrical Contractors (REA's etc)

Re: NEETU Eletricians Dispute (Eamon Devoy on Joe Duffy)

Eastern European electricians are the biggest beneficiaries of this dispute. No doubt the Ryanair flights are full of them arriving in Ireland to take the jobs of those who wont pass pickets......and at much cheaper rates that the Irish electricians.

The end result of this is that the Irish electricians will be unemployed and contractors will be reluctant to hire union members due to the risk of strike. Its a lot less risky and cheaper to hire a bunch of eastern Europeans who couldnt care less about the unions.
 
Re: NEETU Eletricians Dispute (Eamon Devoy on Joe Duffy)

Where you getting that from? that is unlikely to happen. Besides there are loads of electricians here who are not in unions and would have little interest in joining one.
 
Re: NEETU Eletricians Dispute (Eamon Devoy on Joe Duffy)

Already happening.
 
Re: NEETU Eletricians Dispute (Eamon Devoy on Joe Duffy)

DavyJones said:
Besides there are loads of electricians here who are not in unions and would have little interest in joining one.
Click to expand...

Not so, if this is true...

thedaras said:
...if members of this union do pass a picket ,the union can withdraw their membership,which means they will not be able to work anywhere!!Without this "card" they cannot be employed.
Click to expand...
 
Re: NEETU Eletricians Dispute (Eamon Devoy on Joe Duffy)

This compulsory union card thing confuses me. As the union(s) are exclusively irish in origin and representation, then how can foreign company employees be members? If they can't and so can't work here as a result of this rule, then that's a barrier to free trade. It wouldn't be legal. Or is it a general rule that they can be a member of any union?
 
Re: NEETU Eletricians Dispute (Eamon Devoy on Joe Duffy)

Latrade said:
This compulsory union card thing confuses me. As the union(s) are exclusively irish in origin and representation, then how can foreign company employees be members? If they can't and so can't work here as a result of this rule, then that's a barrier to free trade. It wouldn't be legal. Or is it a general rule that they can be a member of any union?
Click to expand...

I can't see how it would be legal to prevent someone from joining a union just because they are not Irish, but was there not a story on the news a few months back where a non-irish taxi driver was refused to join their union and the rep actually said on the news it was because he was a non-national?
 
Re: NEETU Eletricians Dispute (Eamon Devoy on Joe Duffy)

Shawady said:
I can't see how it would be legal to prevent someone from joining a union just because they are not Irish, but was there not a story on the news a few months back where a non-irish taxi driver was refused to join their union and the rep actually said on the news it was because he was a non-national?
Click to expand...

It wouldn't be legal to prevent someone. It's really where we have foreign contractors tendering for work here. Say the employees are in their own union or no union, does this rule mean that they would have to join an Irish union in order to work? If so, then surely that is a barrier to free trade.
 
Re: NEETU Eletricians Dispute (Eamon Devoy on Joe Duffy)

I would imagine that a union workers only agreement is illegal. Workers are free to join or not join a union - its their choice. You cannot refuse someone a job because they are or are not a union member.
 
Re: NEETU Eletricians Dispute (Eamon Devoy on Joe Duffy)

csirl said:
I would imagine that a union workers only agreement is illegal. Workers are free to join or not join a union - its their choice. You cannot refuse someone a job because they are or are not a union member.
Click to expand...

Good in theory but intimidation by unions is a big problem in these situations. There’s no bullying like union bullying.
 
Re: NEETU Eletricians Dispute (Eamon Devoy on Joe Duffy)

thedaras said:
The reason for this and I think it should the public domain,is that if members of this union do pass a picket ,the union can withdraw their membership,which means they will not be able to work anywhere!!Without this "card" they cannot be employed.
Click to expand...

It was always clear to me that we are becoming more and more like the good old USSR but what is this now, if you are not a party member (or rather union member) you cannot get a job?
Could you maybe point me to where I can read up on this?
 
Re: NEETU Eletricians Dispute (Eamon Devoy on Joe Duffy)

Pique318 said:
Not so, if this is true...
Click to expand...


I would say the majority of sparks in this country are not in unions. These electricians are industrail workers, the bulk of sparks in Ireland work in(or used to) the domestic market and would not be in a union.
 
Re: NEETU Eletricians Dispute (Eamon Devoy on Joe Duffy)

There are probably about 1,000 or so sparks on strike, I suspect many of these are unemployed anyways.
Thousands are still working. Sure they only targeted the obvious sites. The guys working are being thanked by other trades on the sites for not going out, as they can work away. On the issue of being in a union, a sparks I know made enquiries and under EU law, it is up to each individual as to whether they wish to join a union.

Secman
 
Re: NEETU Eletricians Dispute (Eamon Devoy on Joe Duffy)

DublinTexas said:
It was always clear to me that we are becoming more and more like the good old USSR but what is this now, if you are not a party member (or rather union member) you cannot get a job?
Could you maybe point me to where I can read up on this?
Click to expand...

You can read the entire REA which is at the heart of this dispute [broken link removed].

Union membership is compulsory under Rule 8 for members of the two employer bodies.
However since the agreement applies to all contracting electricians the union has argued that it is in fact compulsory for all employers.

Funny you mention the USSR; for many years the ETU was outside the TUC inthe UK because of its communist leanings. One of the ETU shop stewards in my first job in the '60s used to go to Russia every year for training.
 
Re: NEETU Eletricians Dispute (Eamon Devoy on Joe Duffy)

I work with a lot of different electrical firms, just off the phone with one of them and asked were they on strike, he replied, "we may as well be with the amount of work we have on". It's a funny ould country.
 
Re: NEETU Eletricians Dispute (Eamon Devoy on Joe Duffy)

Hoagy said:
You can read the entire REA which is at the heart of this dispute [broken link removed].

Union membership is compulsory under Rule 8 for members of the two employer bodies.
However since the agreement applies to all contracting electricians the union has argued that it is in fact compulsory for all employers.

Funny you mention the USSR; for many years the ETU was outside the TUC inthe UK because of its communist leanings. One of the ETU shop stewards in my first job in the '60s used to go to Russia every year for training.
Click to expand...

Thank you Hoagy for that link.

I had to read it twice to believe it but it clearly states that:
All foremen, chargehands, and electricians employed by the ECA and the AECI hereafter called the employer bodies shall be or become members of the TEEU hereafter called the Union and must hold current union cards.
Click to expand...
This incredible, 2 employer groups agreeing that they will only employ union members for sure that must be in breach of some EU rule. Employers discriminating on the basis that one does not want to be part of a political organisation (and a union is nothing else).

This is really the USSR! Comrades if you want to work you need to part of our union, if you are not you can’t work at any company that has an agreement with us. Long live the workers union!
 
Re: NEETU Eletricians Dispute (Eamon Devoy on Joe Duffy)

It's OK for unions to operate restrictive practices but not anyone else. (and these are the same clowns that go on about equality!)
 
Re: NEETU Eletricians Dispute (Eamon Devoy on Joe Duffy)

Purple said:
It's OK for unions to operate restrictive practices but not anyone else.
Click to expand...

It's the employers who impose the condition on staff they recruit (albeit at the request of the union).

Do you think that the so-called "higher professions" do not operate restrictive practices?
 
Re: NEETU Eletricians Dispute (Eamon Devoy on Joe Duffy)

Padraigb said:
It's the employers who impose the condition on staff they recruit (albeit at the request of the union).
Click to expand...
No employer would ever voluntarily enter into such an arrangement. This only happened because of pressure/bullying/intimidation by the unions.

Padraigb said:
Do you think that the so-called "higher professions" do not operate restrictive practices?
Click to expand...
Absolutely. Two wrongs don’t make a right. By the way the legal and medical representative bodies are trade unions (and so, ironically, is IBEC).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top