December 15th: Unite is today entering into talks with insurance giant Irish Life in the Workplace Relations Commission.  The meeting, scheduled to commence at 10.30 am, will be chaired by Brian McGinn and comes as Unite members prepare for the first of two planned full-day stoppages on Thursday, December 17^th.

The dispute has been ongoing for some months, with initial action taken on consecutive Thursdays throughout November, when four two-hour stoppages were held.  The dispute centres on the company’s unilateral imposition of a new and inferior pay determination model without agreement and their refusal to attend the Labour Court in respect of all its workers.  Unite represents nearly 1,200 Irish Life workers in Dublin and Dundalk.

Commenting, Unite Regional Officer Maeve Brehony said:

“Unite are fully committed to engaging intensively with the Company in order to find a resolution to this dispute.  Our engagement at the WRC will be focussed on protecting our members’ interests, and in particular their future earning potential which is at the core of this dispute.

“However, notwithstanding our commitment to these talks, we are continuing to prepare for our escalated action with the first of our one-day notified stoppages this Thursday 17th December.

“Our members have worked to make Irish Life the respected and profitable company it is today, and they are not prepared to accept a situation where management unilaterally imposes a new pay determination model while deciding that it will negotiate collectively with some workers but not with others.  Significant progress is needed to warrant any deferral of the planned strike action”, Ms Brehony concluded.