Donohoe rules out return to social partnership reports the Irish Times following the minister's address at yesterday's meeting of the ICTU executive. The Indo's take on the same story is linked to the picture above. The "new form of engagement" preferred to by the minister is to deal with issues such as pensions and Brexit. The Irish Examiner's report is here.
That Irish Times piece also carries a reference to Fórsa. Speaking after the meeting, our colleague Bernard Harbor told assembled reporters that Fórsa has said it wants pay scales shortened as quickly as possible for staff who joined the public service after January 2011. He said a new talks process on the issue, announced last week, must lead to equal treatment for all public servants by removing two points from new entrant pay scales.
Meanwhile, our colleagues in Denmark are facing serious conflict. Following the collapse of collective agreements, employers have threatened a massive lockout across the state and municipal sectors if limited strike action goes ahead on 4th April. At the request of the European Public Services Union (EPSU), unions across Europe have sent video messages of solidarity for a mass meeting of up to 10,000 trade union representatives taking place today. Kevin Callinan sent this message of support on behalf of Fòrsa and Congress.
Elsewhere, our colleague Richy Carrothers has highlighted a situation where the Leitrim Development Company was paying Traveller staff just €5 per hour. When challenged the employer cut the hours and raised salary to the minimum wage. Richy says the employer is refusing to engage with the union. The story has picked up local media coverage.
The Irish Times reports that former Clerys workers are “mystified” by the failure of an attempt to prosecute businesswoman Deirdre Foley and others on charges arising from the store’s closure in 2015. Dublin District Court Judge John Brennan struck out charges on Tuesday. The WRC, which brought the charges, and the Department of Employee Affairs and Social Protection, are consulting with lawyers on the court’s decision.
As Fórsa commences its efforts for the remunicipilisation of Dublin city waste collection, Minister for the Environment Denis Naughten is in the Irish Times talking about a restructuring of the Irish waste sector. We're going to be hearing a lot more about the 'circular economy' now that China is closing its doors to recycling waste from Europe.
Your moment of Zen this morning follows a marathon session of editing for the next edition of Fórsa magazine, which goes to print in a few days. Last night I pored over Raymond Connolly's thoughts on the lesser talked about two-hit-wonders of the pop world. I guarantee his next column will provide a quality YouTube hole to go off and explore.
In passing, he mentioned Ricky Gervais. Did you know Gervais was the lead singer and lyricist for an outfit called Seona Dancing in the early 80s? They released two singles, Bitter Heart and More to Lose, which left little impression on the UK charts. The latter song, however, became a surprise hit in the Philippines in 1985.
