Unions to meet examiner next week
Plant can play critical role in enhancing Ireland’s recycling capacity
Unions representing workers at Wellman International in Cavan are calling on the government to intervene to find an alternative owner following the news that the plant, currently owned by multinational Indorama Ventures, is to enter examinership.
SIPTU, Unite and Connect met with workers in recent days and will be engaging with the examiner next week.
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Trade union Unite, which represents construction workers throughout Ireland, today (Monday) welcomed the decision by Jones Engineering to drop its High Court case against the union and three shop stewards. Jones has also been ordered to pay Unite’s costs.
Jones Engineering’s unprecedented decision to target union shop stewards arose from a one-day stoppage in March 2023 in pursuit of Unite’s claim against members of the Mechanical Engineering & Building Services Contractors’ Association (MEBSCA) for restoration of the first hour of travel time. Payment of the first hour of ‘travel time’ was originally cut as a so-called ‘temporary measure’ following the 2008 financial crash.
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Action follows commitment from Northern Ireland education minister Paul Givan that he will ask education authority to process requests for permanent contracts “as quickly as possible”
Unite is encouraging all its school support workers working on a temporary engagement forms for more than four years to formally request a permanent employment contract. Unite’s drive follows receipt of communication from education minister Paul Givan in which he said he would “ask the EA to ensure such requests are processed as quickly as possible”.
The commitment follows Unite making public official department of education figures which confirmed that 2,727 workers employed through ‘temporary employment forms’ were in place for four or more years. The minister clarified he would comply with the terms of the Northern Ireland Executive’s own fixed term workers regulations and stated “any temporary staff who have accrued four years of service can contact the EA to request that their contract be made permanent”.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “Unite has spearheaded the campaign to demand action on this disgraceful situation. It is completely unacceptable that temporary employment has become the norm for the employment of school support staff in Northern Ireland. It is grossly unfair and leaves workers facing long-term job insecurity and struggling to obtain loans or mortgages.
“This commitment by the education minister is welcome but long overdue.”
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Unite warns Spirit break-up would threaten NI aerospace sector
Union seeks urgent meeting with business and trade ministers to chart way forward
Unite has written to both secretary of state Jonathan Reynolds MP and minister of state for business Sarah Jones MP seeking an urgent meeting over the future of Spirit Aerosystems. Over 3,700 workers at the company’s five sites in Northern Ireland face growing uncertainty following the Boeing takeover of Spirit globally.
The decision by Airbus to take on only those production lines in its own supply chain threatens an immediate break-up of the company. A loss of economies of scale and the fragmenting of production lines that poses a risk to the long-term future of aerospace in Northern Ireland and the highly skilled jobs in the sector.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “The workforce of Shorts and later Spirit Aerosystems in Belfast, has been an essential asset for the UK aerospace sector for over 100 years. Keeping these workers and their skills together in one place is vital for the future of the industry in Northern Ireland and the UK.
The government now needs to step up to the plate and make sure that is what happens. Potential buyers must not be allowed to break up the site and instead should be working on a joint venture that will protect jobs and safeguard the future of the aerospace sector in Northern Ireland.
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Proposed increase doesn’t resolve long-term problems faced by HSC workers with staff shortages and cuts creating a toxic environment
Unite has warned that the government’s pay proposal for NHS staff still fails to address the long-term issues of low pay and staff cuts which is threatening the future of the service.
The Pay Review Body (PRB) which proposes pay increases for NHS workers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has recommended a 3.6 per cent rise for 2025-26 and this has now been offered by the government to NHS workers in England. The increase is below both the rate of inflation (RPI) which is currently running at 4.5 per cent as well as the increase accepted by NHS staff in Scotland.
The increase will fail to reverse the lost decade of pay freezes and below inflation increases which have resulted in NHS staff struggling with the cost-of-living and a staffing crisis.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Low pay is perpetuating the massive NHS recruitment and retention crisis which is putting an unbearable strain on both staff and services. This combined with large cuts in staffing means many NHS workers are already at breaking point.
“If the government is ever going to resolve the NHS crisis it will need to stop kicking the can down the road. It needs to get Unite and the other NHS unions round the negotiating table, face to face and start making serious inroads on pay and other issues that are crippling our NHS.”
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Hope or Austerity: A Road Map for a Better Fairer Ireland after the Pandemic
Available from all good bookshops or online from www.theliffeypress.com
Unite the Union, Ireland Region 