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STARK DIVISIONS HAVE emerged among unions representing staff at ESB, after one warned another that threatening industrial action was “not appropriate”.
The apparent conflict has arisen as the government mulls proposals to sell off a minority stake in the State electricity company, as part of a bid to raise capital under the IMF/EU bailout plan.
The leader of Unite, which is one of the Group of Unions representing ESB workers, last week said staff would be balloted on industrial action over the sell-off plans, and he “fully expected” them to vote for a strike. He added that members were “up for the fight”.
However Eamon Devoy, general secretary of the TEEU – which last week left the ESB’s union grouping – this morning hit out at Unite’s position. He said strike threats were “handing the agenda to pro-privatisation” elements in Ireland, adding: “It’s not appropriate to be all the time threatening to pull the electricity supply.”
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Mr Devoy added that workers could not be balloted until it was clear what course of action the government would take. He said: “The TEEU mean what we say and say what we mean. And that means we don’t threaten industrial action unless we really mean it.”
Unite today rejected the comments. The union’s senior official in Ireland, Jimmy Kelly, said: “It has been wrongly suggested that UNITE’s decision to ballot members for industrial action over the sale of the ESB is a knee jerk reaction.”
He referred to a motion passed in July, where all five employee associations in the ESB Group of Unions unanimously passed a motion to ballot for industrial action “in the event of steps being taken” to privatise any part of the company. Mr Kelly added:
UNITE has an obligation to do what is best for all staff,the company and the long term energy security of Ireland. We believe that the maintainance of the company as a state asset is vital to those three elements, and are unwilling to accept that the interests of political ideology and the IMF are more important.
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Does this mean we can change the name of the Aviva Stadium back too Lansdowne Road !!..
allways was landsdown rd.
Maybe if they didn’t blow 10 million euro renaming a stadium, they wouldn’t have to let people go!
These companies moved here primarily for the low tax base. They’re subsequently the exact companies that will up sticks and leave when the going gets tough – all to suit shareholders. The low tax rate in Ireland is folly and this is the outcome. Same can be said about Talk Talk.
Damn multinationals! The sooner we chase them out of Ireland the sooner we’ll all have high paying jobs for life.
Aviva in fact took over Hibernian Insurance a few years ago, Hibernian being an Irish company at the time.
We don’t need to chase multinationals out of this country, we should be stopping their quest for global domination in the first place and not allow them to come buy out indigenous companies, if it was still hibernian and an irish company, this may not have happened.
Joe O Higgins solution is that we should nationalise Aviva. But that’s his solution to everything of course.
In fairness now, this has been known by Aviva workers for a long long time, first I heard of it was off a chap that works there about 4 years ago. Many have been offered to go to India with Irish level of pay. I’d take it, you’d live like a feckin king on that money over in India. Plus better weather and food.
I highly doubt that has happened. Here move to India you can keep your x5 times the indian wages….. (rolls eyes)
Jobs come and jobs go, that is life. If people aren’t willing to get off their butts and start again then where are we going as a country. Bit of start up and go people!
Ah the empathic thoughts of a true Christian.
€44 million over ten years on Landsdowne Road well spent then
http://www.irishtimes.com/sports/rugby/2009/0212/1224241050544.html
If Aviva move 500 jobs overseas, then if you have a policy with Aviva immediately change provider, As far as I remenber it was this implicit threat via the media last time that changed their mind. They have the arrogance to make 500 people unemployed but continue to make vast profits from the Irish insurance market… well f..k them
@ Damien, there is a lot more than 500 working there and while I understand you sentiment all that will do is result in more job losses.
The real worry is that we (Ireland) have now lost jobs in 2 major companies to the UK. That shows how much further we have to go to be competitive, not with India or eastern Europe but right at our own back door
Good point Mark but if no action is taken over this Possibility then will Aviva and others just move all positions overseas and think ahh sure that was painless and look at the higher margins.
If an Irish company like Kerry group or FBD moved a couple of thousand jobs overseas to save (relatively) pocket change, would the nation accept it?
I do think other overheads like energy, rates and comms are not competitive and desperately need to opened up to real competition in order to reduce costs.
Competitive is not in our vocabulary.
Last october in the us the chrysler motor co hired 1000 new employees at $10 per hour while the existing staff were paid in excess of $20 per hour. Their unions agreed to this. 50% less – that was last year and we are still not even close to looking at the Croke park agreement or cutting our wages to become competitive.
1 year from now I expect double the amount of people on the dole – wake up.
More bad news. I’m very sorry to hear this and my sympathy and best wishes for the future are with the employees that are to be affected.
have your say