IWU security officers are working towards organising an industrial conference in Spring 2025. An industrial conference is a sector specific meeting of workers that aims to address and deal with sector specific issues. All security officers in Dublin and from outside will be welcome to attend and participate.

The meeting will run as a half day conference in a Dublin City Center location. The meeting will have a clear agenda of what will be discussed and an opportunity for everybody in attendance to give their input on the nature of the industry and how we can fight for better terms and conditions. 

A representative of the IWU will briefly explain the general organising tactics of the union and leave them for debate and consideration. 

Our goal as a trade union with respect to the security industry is to:

• Advice, support and represent all members of the union
• Provide training to all interested members as to how they can support their co-workers
• Support a focus on collective grievances, an injury to one, is an injury to all 
• Create a member led security officers branch of the union 

For further information please contact info@union.ie

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/RelateCareSurvey

IWU Relate Care members met and decided to launch a survey on pay and conditions in the company. The purpose of this survey is to ask specific questions relating to the pay and benefits package in the company. We ask all Relate Care workers to share it as widely as possible.

Abtran IWU members took their first highly successful industrial action the week just gone. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, communications were sent out to coworkers all over the company about the demand for 15 euro an hour, a more generous Christmas bonus, a clearly laid out service pay and a cessation of disciplinary processes against those covered under the Sick Leave Act.

On the 1st and 2nd of August emails were issued promising to examine pay and conditions within the company. To date, nothing within the company has changed and no improvements to pay or conditions made.

On Friday 23rd we learned Abtran has a new program launched following a recent Pulse Survey conducted within the company. The program suggested that a number of staff teams will be organised to lodge ideas on how to improve conditions in the workplace. We encourage Abtran to be completely transparent with how this will be conducted and how staff will be chosen. We encourage Abtran to use the pay claim as the benchmark of what workers want to see improved in the company.

At the same time, it has come to our attention that a number of staff were removed from various group chats that offered extra curricular activies within the company (such as cooking, music, sports etc…) and no clear reason has been given to the staff that were affected while they were engaging with industrial action. The company also pulled many of our members into “informal” meetings about breach of company policy and issued letters stating they may consider taking further disciplinary action.

We can only interpret this one way.

Our campaign for our pay claim has to continue and it is only the strength of our unity and our unity as members of the union that will determine what we win.

We call on all Abtran workers to unionise and have each other’s backs.

We are mothers, we are carers, we are students, we are fathers, we are young and we are old, we are new in the job and we have been there almost 2 decades.

We are ordinary people with ordinary lives, without whose work, Abtran would not make a cent of profit. We deserve more.

The Independent Workers Union is hiring a part-time organiser for 20 hours work a week.

Location: Dublin

Pay: Will be disclosed in interview stage.

Job Description:
The Union is looking for a motivated and experienced Organiser. In this role, you will be responsible for engaging with workers, building relationships, and mobilising members to take action on workplace issues. You will work directly with our members, National Executive Committee, and potential members to strengthen our union and support collective bargaining efforts.

Key Responsibilities:

• Build and maintain relationships with union members and potential members.
• Develop and execute organising campaigns to recruit new members.
• Conduct one-on-one meetings, workplace visits, and community outreach.
• Coordinate and lead training sessions for members on workers’ rights and union activities.
• Collaborate with union leaders to plan and implement strategies for collective bargaining.
• Monitor and address workplace issues, providing support and resources to members.
• Attend and participate in union meetings, rallies, and other events.

Qualifications:

• Proven experience in organising or community outreach, preferably in a union or advocacy setting.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to inspire and motivate individuals to take collective action.
• Knowledge of industrial relations law is essential.
• Willingness to travel and work flexible hours, including evenings and weekends.

How to Apply:
If interested, please send your CV and cover letter to Jamie@union.ie by Friday 23rd August 2024. Please include “Organiser Application” in the subject line.

Members of our union in the National Maternity Hospital continue to be met with no response from the management of the Hospital regarding their grievances and outstanding issues. Some have been brought before disciplinary proceedings for refusing to ‘follow a reasonable request’ despite this request contravening their lawfully taken work to rule industrial action.

If the concerns of our members continue to be met with silence and non-engagement, they may be forced to escalate the industrial action from work to rule into work stoppages.

After considerable discussion and consultation on the on-going status of the pay claim, IWU members in Abtran and supporters of the pay claim have agreed to commence balloting for industrial action in furtherance of the pay claim that we lodged with Abtran on the 13th of May (see here https://www.union.ie/abtran_workers_launch_historic_payclaim/)

Abtran workers are looking for improvements to their pay and the introduction of service pay to reflect the many years that the workers give to the company. Minimum wage in a highly profitable company is simply not good enough.

Abtran workers are looking for the re-introduction of the 15 minute welfare break. 7 minutes ‘away from desk’ outside of the 30 minute break is not enough for a normal person to use the toilet or take a breather between what can be difficult phone calls or very busy days. Abtran workers are human too and cannot be expected to take call after call.

Abtran workers are looking for positive changes to their terms and conditions and for their professional and diligent work for many government contracts to be rewarded accordingly.

At the end of the day, if these jobs were not outsourced, Abtran workers would benefit from many of the superior terms and conditions their peers in the respective government departments have right now.

For press queries or further information please email info@union.ie.

The Independent Workers Union has launched a survey aimed at workers in the call centre industry asking questions about pay and working conditions.

If you work in a call centre please fill out the below survey, and if you know someone who works in a call centre please send the survey onto them.

The survey is strictly confidential.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/CustomerServiceAgent

The below letter was sent to all clients of Abtran today – 19th June 2024.

The following list of clients were contacted: Electric Ireland, Irish Life Health, SUSI, RSA – NDLS, Teaching Council of Ireland, EFlow, Repak, HSE, Pobal, Revenue.

“A Chara,

As you may be aware, the workers in the center you outsource work to, Abtran, is not unionised. In recent times, a section of workers have decided to unionise and have since lodged a pay claim reflecting their needs and wants.

The pay claim is reasonable, well thought out and would improve both pay and conditions for every Abtran worker.

At the end of the day, the productivity and quality of the Abtran staff are entirely determined by their terms and conditions. It stands to reason that an improvement would not only be beneficial to the workers themselves, but also to the clients that the work has been outsourced too.

You can find further details of the pay claim found here:

Abtran IWU Members Launch Historic Pay Claim – Independent Workers Union

We ask you to do three things:

1. State your support of our pay claim to Abtran;
2. Confirm your support to the pay in claim in response to our union;
3. Impress upon Abtran that like your own places of work, they ought to be unionised.

We request that you respond in a prompt manner.

Is mise,

_________________

Jamie Murphy

General Secretary

On behalf of Abtran Workers Committee”

The Independent Workers Union wishes to express its full support for the efforts of University College Cork students to oppose the ongoing genocide in Gaza, in addition to their calls for the university to enforce a comprehensive policy of Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions against the Israeli state. We stand in full solidarity with the student encampment on college property, alongside the broader pro-Palestinain movement in Cork in general, and urge UCC management to agree to student demands in full as soon as possible.

The Irish trade union movement has a long and storied history in combating apartheid and international injustice, most notably during the Dunnes Stores strikes of the 1980s, where unionised workers attempted to use industrial action to force their employer to cease the sale of goods from Apartheid South Africa. As the genocide of the Palestinian people continues within such a discriminatory state, the workers movement’s efforts to oppose international injustice must also escalate, using collective power to place pressure on the perpetrators of genocide abroad.

The IWU calls on Irish trade unions to clearly display their support for the Palestinian people through helping to escalate the BDS campaign which current student action is supporting on a national scale. We urge the Irish workers movement to take further material action in the cause of preventing the already desperate situation in Gaza from further worsening, as it is clear that the Irish government, alongside many other states abroad, is unwilling to do so.

Abtran workers were asked a number of questions about their terms and conditions. Approximately 10% of all workers filled the survey in (exl. Management and team leaders).

Here are some of the responses:

If you could change one thing about your place of work, what would it be?

Out of 150 respondents, over half indicated that higher pay was what they would like to see changed.

Other issues that were mentioned included: management, annual leave, no company sick pay policy and lack of recognition for hard work.

A question asked about the Christmas bonus showed that…

Most workers got 50 euro One4All vouchers this Christmas (2023) and the overwhelming majority indicated they were dissatisfied with that low amount.

Some compared that to the 1000 One4All vouchers they received the Christmas before last and wondered why the company did not use the tax free voucher system more generously. Further discussion of the voucher system revealed that the company has the right under the Small Benefits Scheme to give every employee up to 1000.

When asked if Abtran should provide a more comprehensive sick pay scheme on top of the 5 day statutory scheme…

94% of respondents said yes.

When asked if workers were satisfied with their overall pay and benefits package from Abtran…

92% of respondents said no

When asked about changes to terms and conditions that workers were unhappy with…

Respondents shared some of the following:

‘Yes I was advised on a Thursday afternoon that my hours would be changing from 8-4 to 9-5 the following Monday, I had to change around so many plans due to the lack of communication’

“yes, when cutting contracts from 40 to 37.5 hours they tried changing my part time 20 hr contract to 18.75 hours. Had to fight for weeks to get it sorted”

“Ye my paid breaks were taken off me with no notice or consent to change contract”

“Yes, constantly being pushed to upskill and learn more within the account, and take on more tasks as well do mylearning training while the pay is the same. Essentially being told to do more work for the same money. I would like to stay exactly where I am without having to upskill within the account as my pay isnt moving up. On top of that as someone with a chronic illness the sick leave was reduced from 3 spells in 6 months to 12 months which is ridiculous.”

“They removed Welfare Breaks which was 15 minutes allocated to each worker that they could use throughout the day at their own discrection. This was excellent for stress relief or after a hard call. Suddenly they just removed it and nothing was offered in compensation.”

“with the change in minimum wage from january 1st 2024, weekly hours went from being 40 hours per week to 37.5 with no choice in the decision. Min wage was announced in sep 2023, so from then until late December i was under the impression i would at the very least be payed 40hours x 12.70euro per hour as this was the new required minimum, instead i was changed to 37.5hours per week on 13.30 per hour which is actually less, this was also passed on as some form of pay rise.”

When asked if workers felt their voice was heard in Abtran…

75% of respondents stated no

When asked if workers thought their voice would be better heard if they approached Abtran as a union?

87% of respondents stated yes

Finally, here are some of the comments left by other workers on the ‘any other comments’ question:

‘Sick of the exploitation of the workers. I am getting paid minimum wage and commuting in at 200€ a month only to be told I missed out on the pay increase by a month. We as workers are treated like garbage and made to work targets while not being paid a living wage.’

‘The pay to work ratio is completely off, we are continuously told to do mandatory training that benefits us in no way, we get extra training to move up in the company and take on more tasks while the money remains the same. It makes people not want to upskill or move up to other areas within the account because there is no pay increase. With a role change there should be some sort of pay increase as you are increasing your knowledge and taking on more tasks. The once a year performance meeting is not effective as for someone who joins just 5 months before it has to wait until next year to qualify, by then they would have been in the company for a year and a half. When the performance meeting goes ahead and were entitled to an increase it doesnt come into effect for months. On top of that old contacts of 40h were cut to 37.5, decreasing breaks as well as paid breaks with no increase in wage. Meanwhile the workload rises as we are constantly pushed to learn new things and take on additional roles for the same money. We feel used and worthless working for this company, the turnover numbers are high for a reason. If the company actually cared to keep people on and help them succeed within the company they would pay fairly. There are workers in the company for over 10+ years and are on less than 14 an hour. Coffee shop workers make more money serving coffee. There is absolutely no future in abtran for agents for the time being and there wont be unless this issue is resolved. The only people who benefit are the ones at the top, the rest is disregarded completely. People stop trying if the job doesnt seem worth it, therefore morale, work ethic and the overall enthusiast of wanting to do well decreases completely because its not worth the pay. The work will always be reflected by how valued the worker feels, and it wont be with this pay. Also the Christmas bonus was a 50 euro one for all card who was actually never topped up in the first place. Even coffee shops provide a christmas bonus of 150+ euro. On top of everything there is a magnifying glass on everything we do and the micromanaging is ridiculous.’

‘Helping employees getting acomidation in the city would be great for people who are willing to move there to work for the company long therm. and even people who are living in cork that are looking for places to rent.’

‘The pay should definitely be higher. The long working hours should also be changed, most companies work until 6 and even within our company most departments close way before 8. sick days without the requirement to submit a doctors note should be more than 3 days, as some people don’t have medical cards to pay the fees to book an appointment with their doctors.’

See Abtran Pay Claim Here: https://www.union.ie/abtran_workers_launch_historic_payclaim/

Abtran Workers Pay Claim

After a long consultative process based on meetings and surveying, Abtran IWU members are
launching a pay claim.

The pay claim is a series of targeted demands that improve the overall terms and conditions of
every worker in Abtran.
We believe that in the context of a savage cost of living crisis that we deserve pay and
conditions that give us the fair share of the profits that Abtrran makes from its many contracts
around the country.

We are launching the following demands and calling on all Abtran workers to support
them:

1. An immediate company-wide pay increase to 15 euro per hour for all staff.
2. The removal of the ‘welfare breaks’ has caused stress for us in Abtran, we are calling for
   the short 15 minute break to be brought back into the working day.
3. We are calling on the company to stop their policy of bringing workers into disciplinaries
   when they take their statutory sick pay.
4. Under the Small Benefit Exemption*, we could have gotten 1,000 euro vouchers. Instead
   we got 50. We call on the company to give us the maximum amount for Christmas 2024.
5. We want our work to be acknowledged by the introduction of a fair pay scale that
   rewards workers for their service.

The IWU membership reserves the right to take further action to pursue this pay claim, up to
and including industrial action.

In order to make this pay claim successful and make the changes we want to see in Abtran, we
call on every worker who agrees with it to join the Independent Workers Union.

*Small Benefit Exception is deductible for employers from their taxes if issued under the correct
guidelines and therefore, by design, an easier way to give workers in the company a more
generous voucher benefit instead of a taxed payroll / wage benefit.

If you support the Abtran workers’ pay claim, and would like to get involved, please fill in the form below and a member of the union will be in contact.

Join The Independent Workers Union Now

ENGLISH

Just a short time ago, workers involved in food manufacturing and distribution were hailed as the heroes who kept the country fed during the COVID 19 pandemic.

Now the same workers are facing cost of living difficulties as inflation is rising.

Gas, Electricity, Petrol, Rent has all increased in price, but wages have fallen behind.

We need REAL increases in pay now!

In order to achieve this aim we ALL need to be part of the Trade Union for Food Workers.

We are the Cork Operative Butchers Society Section of the Independent Workers Union.

City butchers will be on €19.46 per hour from 1st January 2025. Food factory workers need to catch up.

The Union contribution is €4.40 per week. It will be the best money you ever spent.

POLISH

Dołącz do związku zawodowego!

Nie tak dawno temu pracownicy zajmujący się produkcją i dystrybucją żywności zostali okrzyknięci bohaterami, dzięki którym kraj nie głodował podczas pandemii COVID 19.

Teraz ci sami pracownicy borykają się z kosztami życia, ponieważ rośnie inflacja.

Ceny gazu, elektryczności, benzyny i dachu nad głową wzrosły, ale nie wynagrodzenie za pracę.
Potrzebujemy teraz PRAWDZIWYCH podwyżek płac.

Aby osiągnąć ten cel, WSZYSCY musimy być częścią Związku Zawodowego Pracowników Przemysłu Spożywczego.

Jesteśmy Stowarzyszeniem Rzeźników Operacyjnych w Cork i jesteśmy Sekcją Pracowników Spożywczych Niezależnego Związku Pracowników.

Miejscy rzeźnicy będą zarabiać 19,46 € za godzinę od 1 stycznia 2025 roku. Pracownicy zakładów spożywczych muszą ich dogonić.

Koszt składki związkowej wynosi €4.40 tygodniowo. Będzie to najlepsza inwestycja jaką kiedykolwiek zrobiłeś dla siebie.

ROMANIAN

Alăturati-vă sindicatului!

Cu puțin timp în urmă, muncitorii implicați în producţia şi distribuția de alimente erau apreciați drept eroii care hrăneau întreagă ţară pe perioada pandemiei COVID-19.
Acum, aceiași muncitori se confruntă cu dificultăți cauzate de costul de trai, iar inflația crește în continuare.
Gazul, electricitatea, carburanţii şi chiria devin tot mai scumpe, dar salariile au rămas în urmă.
Avem nevoie de creşteri salariale REALE.
Pentru a obține acest lucru, trebuie ca TOȚI să fim membri ai Sindicatului pentru Muncitori din Sectorul Alimentar.
Noi suntem Societatea Operațională a Măcelarilor din Cork şi suntem muncitorii din sectorul alimentar a Sindicatului Muncitoresc Independent / Independent Workers Union.

Măcelarii din oraș vor câștiga 19,46 € pe oră începând cu 1 ianuarie 2025. Lucrătorii din fabricile de produse alimentare trebuie să ajungă din urmă.
Contribuția sindicală este de €4.40 pe săptămână. Va fi cea
mai bună investiție făcută.

PORTUGUESE

Faça parte da União dos Trabalhadores Independentes!

Pouco tempo atrás, os trabalhadores da produção e distribuição de alimentos foram vistos como heróis que mantinham o país alimentado durante a pandemia de COVID-19.

Agora, esses mesmos trabalhadores estão enfrentando dificuldades com o custo de vida à medida que a inflação está aumentando.

Gás, eletricidade, gasolina, aluguel… TUDO subiu de preço, mas os salários ficaram para trás.

Precisamos de aumentos REAIS de salários já!

Mas para conseguirmos, é preciso que TODOS façam parte do Sindicato dos Trabalhadores da Alimentação.

Somos a Seção da Sociedade Cooperativa de Açougueiros de Cork, do Sindicato Independente dos Trabalhadores.

Os açougueiros da cidade ganharão 19,46 € por hora a partir de 1 de janeiro de 2025. Os trabalhadores das fábricas de alimentos precisam alcançá-los.

A contribuição sindical é de €4,40 por semana. Será o melhor investimento que você já fez. 

UKRAINIAN

Вступайте до Союзу!

Нещодавно працівники, які займалися виробництвом і розповсюдженням харчових продуктів були прославлені як герої, які годували країну під час пандемії COVID-19.

Зараз ті самі працівники стикаються з труднощами вартості життя, оскільки інфляція зростає.

Газ, електрика, бензин, квартплата подорожчали, але зарплата впала.

Зараз нам потрібні РЕАЛЬНІ підвищення заробітної плати.

Щоб досягти цієї мети, ми ВСІ повинні бути частиною Профспілки працівників харчових продуктів.

Ми — Товариство оперативних м’ясників міста Корк та Секція працівників харчової промисловості незалежної профспілки робітників.

Міські м’ясники отримуватимуть 19,46 євро на годину з 1 січня 2025 року. Працівникам харчових фабрик потрібно наздогнати їх.

Внесок Союзу становить 4,40 євро на тиждень. Це будуть найкращі гроші, які ви коли-небудь витрачали.

CHINESE

加入工会！

就在不久的过去，食品生产和配送相关行业的员工 们个个被称赞。他们是COVID疫情期间维持整个国家生计的英雄。

然而目前，同样的这些员工们正在经受着高额生活 成本的挑战。

天然气、电、汽油、房租成本都已大幅度增涨，这 些员工的工资却丝毫未提升。

我们需要工资真正的提升起来。

为了实现该目标、为了支持食品行业的员工，我们 所有人都应该加入贸易联盟。

我们是工人独立联盟旗下科克屠夫运营社和食品员 工科。

该联盟每周仅需€4.40 会员费。

城市屠夫从2025年1月1日起每小时将赚19.46欧元。食品厂工人需要赶上。

请联系以下信息加入我们。

RUSSIAN

Вступить в союз!

Всего несколько месяцев назад, во время Ковида, рабочие, которые, без устали и отдыха работали на фабриках , заводах производящих продукты, складах, упаковочных центрах и магазинах , их называли героями они обеспечивали бесперебойную поставку продуктов на наши столы и холодильники.

Но, на данный момент, те же самые рабочие находятся в состоянии постоянного стресса, из за того, что цены на газ, электричество, бензин, аренда выросли и продолжает расти.

Зарплаты же, практически не растут.

Мы, в профсоюзе, Independent Workers Union, требуем от работодателей и владельцев бизнес, чтобы зарплаты поднимались вместе с ростом цен.

Единственный способ добиться успеха, все рабочие должны вступить в профсоюз, за 4.40евро в неделю, мы будем бороться за права вместе, проводить забастовки и требовать справедливости.

Городские мясники будут получать 19,46 евро в час с 1 января 2025 года. Рабочим пищевых фабрик нужно догнать их.

Все проблемы на рабочем месте, связанные с работой, поможет решить профсоюз.

HUNGARIAN

Csatlakozz a szakszervezethez!

Nem sokkal ezelőtt az élelmiszergyártásban és forgalmazásban részt vevő munkásokat hősként emlegették, akik ellátták az országot a Covid 19 világjárvány idején.

Most ugyanazok a munkavállalók szembesülnek megélhetésinehézségekkel, mivel az infláció növekszik.

Például a gáz, villany, benzin, bérleti díj mind drágultak, de a bérek elmaradtak, vagy nem emelkedtek Most VALÓDI fizetésemelésre van szükségünk hogy túl tudjunk élni ezt a nehéz időket E cél elérése érdekében MINDENKINEK az Élelmiszeripari Dolgozók Szakszervezetének kell csatlakoznia.

Mi vagyunk a Cork Operativ Hentesek Társasága, és mi vagyunk a Független Dolgozók Szakszervezetének Élelmiszeripari Szakszervezete.

A városi hentesek óránként 19,46 eurót fognak keresni 2025. január 1-től. Az élelmiszeripari dolgozóknak fel kell zárkózniuk.

Mi vagyunk a Cork Operativ Hentesek Társasága, és mi vagyunk a Független Dolgozók Szakszervezetének Élelmiszeripari Szakszervezete.

BULGARIAN

Присъединете се към съюза!

Само преди известно време работниците, които участват в производството и дистрибуцията на храните, бяха провъзгласени за героите, които осигуряваха храната на страната по време на пандемията от КОВИД 19.

Сега същите тези работници са изправени пред трудности с разходите за живот, тъй като инфлацията расте.

Цената на газта, електричеството, бензина, наемите се е увеличила, но заплатите изостават.

Трябват ни РЕАЛНО увеличение на заплащането сега За да постигнем тази цел, ВСИЧКИ ние трябва да станем част от Профсъюза на работниците от хранително- вкусовата промишленост

Ние сме Общността на работещите месари в Корк и сме секция на работниците от хранително-вкусовата промишленост на Независимия синдикат на работниците Членският внос е 4,40 евро на седмица.

Градските месари ще получават 19,46 евро на час от 1 януари 2025 г. Работниците във фабриките за храни трябва да ги настигнат.

Това ще бъдат най-добре похарчените пари от Вас.

29.04.2024

The Independent Workers Union congratulates all of its members in the hospitals who have successfully pressured SIPTU into taking further action on the issue of the Job Evaluation Scheme and banding. While it remains confusing as to why SIPTU are now taking action against a process they signed their members up to, it is a positive step in the right direction to see the banding issue being raised in meetings with the HSE.

We note that the pressure for this has been coming from the workers themselves and that IWU members particularly in CUH and LUH have played an essential role in constantly asking questions, raising the matter through elected representatives and approaching the media.

The IWU however is concerned that there seems to be no rush on the part of SIPTU or the HSE to give these workers the band they deserve. The workers in housekeeping have been deserving of the relevant bands (2 and 3) since the JES was announced and there should be no delay through the WRC to see that happen.

The IWU stands behind our members and all other workers fighting for the correction of their banding.

The IWU calls on SIPTU members and shop stewards to put maximum pressure on their officials through their own internal structures.

We note that on 25.04.24 a letter was issued that SIPTU would be referring the matter to the conciliation services. We would like to warn all SIPTU members that this will increase the amount of time needed to see the matter satisfactorily resolved and urge them to push their respective officials to take more concrete action than just referring the matter to a third party.

We call upon all staff to continue to spread the petition below calling for the right of appeal to be implemented for any hospital worker dissatisfied with the outcome of their band:

Give the hospital workers the right of appeal | MyUplift

INDEPENDENT WORKERS UNION NATIONAL HOUSEKEEPERS COMMITTEE

On the 12th of March, human resources in the National Maternity Hospital issued a letter to all porters in the hospital who are members of the Independent Workers Union. The letter made a number of claims relating to the union, to membership rights of union members, to employment law and other matters.

The points below address the claims made by HR and urge all reasonably minded trade unionists, political representatives and media outlets to seriously question what is being put across here.

1. HR states that the IWU does not have any established negotiating or collective bargaining rights and that the hospital will not be engaging with the IWU. We fully recognise the right of the National Maternity Hospital to refuse to engage with our Union, but as a consequence of that refusal, HR will have to recognise that this may mean an escalation in activity which includes industrial action.

2. HR claims that under Section 14 of the 1990 Industrial Relations Act only unions in the Irish Congress of Trade Unions can take industrial action. However, any trade union with a negotiating license, such as the IWU, can ballot its members for industrial action, and if it meets the criteria set out in Section 19 of the 1990 Act, said trade union can take action.

3. HR claims that any follow up industrial action taken by the IWU will be unofficial and may lead to sanction. If the IWU fulfills all of the requirements set out in S19 of the 1990 Act, the action will be official. If any member of the IWU is penalised for taking official industrial action – we will defend them.

4. HR claims that participation in the IWU and/or industrial action may lead to exclusion from pay increases from negotiations with the government. Members who vote against pay deals and who carry no membership of any trade union receive the pay increases negotiated with the government, therefore IWU members will also receive the pay increases.

5. HR states that the hospital
   5. HR states that the hospital

Launch of Uplift Petition Statement

Petition link: Give the hospital workers the right of appeal! | MyUplift

Today we are launching a petition on Uplift to call for intervention on the Job Evaluation Scheme and the granting of an appeal to any worker who wishes to challenge the outcome of their JES.

The (JES) was run over the course of several years and entailed a