Unite warns employers against attempting to cut pay and conditions

Trade union Unite, which represents workers throughout the construction and mechanical sectors, today (Wednesday) warned employers that any attempt to cut pay and conditions following the collapse of the Mechanical Sectoral Employment Order is likely to be met by industrial action.  The state today accepted the argument of small contractors’ association APHCI that pension contribution provisions housed in the SEO are unconstitutional.

The collapse of the Mechanical SEO means that the dispute resolution procedures provided for in the SEO, which could take between six and nine months to work through, have also collapsed.  This means that workers can take industrial action after conducting a ballot and serving notice as required by industrial relations legislation.

Commenting, Unite Regional Coordinating Officer Tom Fitzgerald said:

“The contractors who brought about the collapse of the mechanical SEO will find that they have scored a Pyrrhic victory.  Not only do all workers’ contracted terms and conditions of employment remain in force – it has now become significantly easier for workers in the mechanical sector to take industrial action.

“Unite is putting employers on notice:  any attempt to reduce our members’ terms and conditions will be swiftly met with ballots for industrial action.

“We are consulting our members regarding a strategy to improve pay and conditions across the mechanical sector, and employers should be aware that we will not hesitate to use the new freedoms afforded by the collapse of the SEO to take action in pursuit of our members’ interests”.