Union warns of public sector industrial relations impact and urges government intervention

Trade union Unite, which represents technical staff working for the National Standards Authority of Ireland’s medical devices section, today (Sunday) slammed the NSAI’s announcement that the section is to close.  The decision was communicated to workers by email at 2 minutes to 5pm by the CEO Geraldine Larkin as workers were about to head off for the bank holiday weekend.

Last week Unite members in the NSAI voted overwhelmingly for industrial action following the authority’s decision to seek government sanction for compulsory redundancies contrary to established practice in the public sector.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The NSAI’s decision to announce the forthcoming closure of their medical devices section shortly before 5 pm on a bank holiday weekend smacks of breathtaking cynicism and malice towards workers, especially as the authority is already facing industrial action after proposing compulsory redundancies”.

Unite regional officer Ed Thompson said:

“The NSAI operates under the aegis of the Department for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment while redundancies require sanction both from DETE and the Department of Public Expenditure.  We are calling on Ministers Peter Burke and Jack Chambers to intervene as a matter of urgency, not only to maintain the integrity of the NSAI, which has build up significant public trust and confidence, but also to avoid undermining industrial relations in the wider public sector”.

ENDS