Complaint related to treatment of workers following 2023 dispute

Unite welcomes OECD offer of mediation

August 19th: Unite today welcomed the decision by the Ireland National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises that a complaint submitted by Unite and the global federation Building and Woodworkers International in respect of Jones Engineering and its American parent company Cathexis merits further consideration. The decision is available here.

The complaint centres largely on the treatment of union members by Jones following a 2023 trade dispute surrounding the union’s claim for restoration of the first hour of ‘travel time’.

The OECD Guidelines include a range of industrial relations provisions including a prohibition on discrimination against employees due to their trade union activity or the use of reprisals.

Welcoming the finding that Unite’s complaint merits further consideration, the union’s general secretary Sharon Graham said:

“This decision is not only a vindication of our members and reps in Jones Engineering and its subsidiaries, but also sends a clear signal to other employers: Unite will do whatever it takes to vindicate our members’ right to organise and take action in defence of their terms and conditions.”

Earlier this year, Jones Engineering’s subsidiary HA O’Neil was forced to drop a High Court case taken against Unite and three named shop stewards regarding the 2023 dispute. This followed a previous Supreme Court ruling that Unite was fully legally entitled to undertake strike action in its dispute with the company.

The decision by the OECD’s Ireland National Contact Point includes an offer of mediation. Unite wrote to Jones Engineering CEO Stephen McCabe earlier this year outlining the union’s demands and seeking a meeting, but this was rejected by the company.

Unite’s Irish secretary Susan Fitzgerald said:

“The Jones Engineering group has had to concede defeat in the Irish courts, and the OECD has now found that our complaint merits further consideration. At this stage I would strongly urge the company to accept the National Contact Point’s offer of mediation, sit down with Unite, and come to an agreement regarding all outstanding issues.”