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.