Moy Park workers need assurance over future as company set for resale by JBS

Posted on June 20, 2017 by

SMcKPolitical leaders have a responsibility to ensure business is not subject to corporate asset-stripping by venture capitalists

Any new owners must respect rights of the three thousand Unite members among workforce in Northern Ireland

June 20th: Unite Regional Officer, Sean McKeever called for action by political leaders to ensure assurances as to the long-term future of Moy Park following news that the company would be sold by world’s largest meatpacker, JBS.

“Moy Park employs twelve thousand workers across the UK, with almost half based at its operations in Northern Ireland; making it the most regionally significant employer here.

“The announced sale of the company by the world’s largest meatpacking company, JBS, casts a shadow over its future at a time when it already faces extensive uncertainties as a result of Brexit. Continue reading →

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Belfast City Council must intervene to defend services and staff at outsourced Leisure Centres

Posted on June 20, 2017 by

052Unite has yet to receive management report over Health & Safety impact of corner-cutting policies

Growing use of casual working is leaves increasing numbers of leisure centre staff in poverty-pay trap

June 20th: Unite Regional Officer, Michael Keenan, has called on Belfast City Council to put an end to management attacks on workers’ terms and conditions and corner-cutting on health and safety in municipal Leisure Centres by bringing the centres back into public management.

“Unite has repeatedly raised our concerns over the impact of corner-cutting by outsourced management company Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) on the health and safety of users. Recently cuts to poolside staffing and management instructions to open inadequately-filled pools resulted in our members having to turn away those with children or disabilities for fear of their safety.

“We are also concerned that employment reductions have left leisure centres operating without the numbers of dedicated staff necessary to oversee an evacuation should there be an emergency such as a fire onsite. Continue reading →

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Crane Operators set to strike for decent wages

Posted on June 19, 2017 by

unite-white-out-of-redMove comes as construction unions press for pay rises as part of Sectoral Employment Order

 “Workers must share in construction recovery”

June 19th: Trade union Unite – which represents over 90 per cent of Crane Operators in Ireland – announced today that members have voted overwhelmingly for strike action in pursuit of pay rises contained within a draft collective agreement proposed by the union and submitted to the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) at the end of April.

Separately, Unite and other construction unions will be attending the Labour Court next week on foot of the CIF’s application for a Sectoral Employment Order (SEO) to govern the construction sector; the unions are seeking rises of up to 15% for construction workers in the context of the establishment of the SEO.

The news comes as construction growth hits a 15-month high, with activity in the sector rising in each of the past 45 months.

Commenting, Unite Regional Organiser for Construction Tom Fitzgerald said that the Construction Industry Federation has yet to engage meaningfully in respect of the pay claim submitted at the end of April:

Continue reading →

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James Joyce: Unite ELT members remember one of their own on Bloomsday

Posted on June 16, 2017 by

unite-white-out-of-red“Poor conditions have changed little since James Joyce was teaching”

June 16th: As Bloomsday festivities take place through Dublin, trade union Unite today pointed out that James Joyce was himself an English Language Teacher and would recognise many of the issues confronting workers in the sector today.

“Precarious work and low pay are endemic in the ELT sector today, just as they were in 1904 when James Joyce was trying to scrape a living as an English Language Teacher at branches of the Berlitz School of English”, according to Unite Regional Organiser Roy Hassey.

“Well over a century later, English Language Teachers are organising to improve their terms and conditions and ensure that the booming ELT sector offers decent jobs.

“Our message is simple.  English Language Teachers – whether James Joyce in 1904 or Unite members in 2017 – are teachers, and deserve to be treated accordingly”, Roy Hassey said.

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Bombardier’s Belfast workforce overwhelmingly agree multi-annual pay deal

Posted on June 15, 2017 by

Unite 041Unite hopes pay deal will stabilise company’s presence in Northern Ireland and allow for future employment growth

June 15th: Davy Thompson, Regional Coordinating Officer for Unite expressed his hopes that the pay deal agreed by the union’s membership will safeguard jobs and underpin future potential growth opportunities in Bombardier.

“We are glad to have reached agreement with Bombardier management on a multi-annual pay deal that has received overwhelming endorsement by our membership. The workforce voted by a 73.5% majority to accept the deal.

“Bombardier has suffered a series of job-losses as the company has experienced unforeseen challenges bringing forward its new C-series as well as difficulties in the private aircraft sector. The company globally has shed a significant number of jobs over the past year. Continue reading →

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