Mechanical construction workers remain determined to secure travel time restoration

Employers responsible for prolonging dispute

Unite members working for employers who belong to the Mechanical Engineering & Building Services Contractors’ Association (MEBSCA) will down tools tomorrow in a continuation of their fight to secure the reversal of the austerity-era cut to ‘travel time’. 

Pickets will be mounted from 0.01 am to 11.59 pm tomorrow (Friday 25 October) outside the Echelon DUB10 data centre project in Clondalkin where MEBSCA employers are carrying out works.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Unite members have been counting the cost of the austerity-era cut to travel time for well over a decade, while employers have seen their turnover skyrocket. Our members know that they have their union’s full support in this fight.”

In August Unite mechanical members voted overwhelmingly for industrial action in pursuit of restoration of the first hour of ‘travel time,’ which was cut in the wake of the 2008 financial crash. To date MEBSCA and its parent organisation, the Construction Industry Federation (CIF), have refused to engage meaningfully with our members’ demands.

Regional officer James McCabe said: “By refusing to negotiate, MEBSCA employers bear full responsibility for prolonging this dispute. Unite has always been available for talks: The employers just need to come to the table and make our members a meaningful offer.”