Workplace News

The battle against cuts to DEIS schools saw the mobilisation of huge numbers of parents from Tallaght and the Dublin South West area. The remarkable level of pressure exerted on the government and local Labour and Fine Gael TDs forced them to rethink and roll back from what they saw as an easy target. The campaign highlighted the merit of organised opposition, the challenges faced in building a campaign and the need to consolidate and build on the efforts of all involved to fight further attacks.

One hundred and fifteen Irish Cement workers have been on strike since 3 April at plants in Limerick and Drogheda. Despite being a subsidiary of CRH, the fourth largest building company in the world with profits of €711 million in 2011, Irish Cement is attempting to use the crisis to drive down wages and cut jobs.

Why have the leaderships of the teachers unions accepted Minister Ruari Quinn and the governments’ decision to suspended all allowances for new entrants pending a review of allowances for all teachers?

On Monday 26 March GAME workers begun their sit-in protest,  after they were told to close stores early and go home, as there was no longer a job for them. The staff were told they would have to apply to the state for redundancy and that they were not getting wages due to them.

GAME Stores suddenly announced on Monday  the closure of all 14 of their stores in Ireland, resulting in 121 workers losing their jobs without warning. Many of the workers have provided considerable years of service to the games retailer. The workers have now courageously decided to sit-in 13 of the stores across the country, demanding  their back pay and other money their owed.

The occupation, which began on 26 December by the 32 sacked workers in Vita Cortex is rightly seen as inspirational by other workers up and down the country. They have almost 900 years of service between them, are forced to sleep on the factory floor and endure the harsh damp building throughout Christmas and continue to endure such hardships.

Interview with Worker occupying La Senza, Liffey Valley

Workers at La Senza lingerie outlet that has just announced the closure of all its operations in Ireland have occupied the shop in Liffey Valley, with La Senza workers from throughout Dublin joining to assist the sit-in.

Today's action by the EBS workers deserves 100% support from workers and the unemployed. A clear distinction must be made between the obscene rewards still given to the senior management in Ireland’s banks and the hard won pay and conditions of the ordinary employees.

The Socialist Party TD for Dublin West, Joe Higgins, has called on Element Six, which is a subsidiary of the incredibly wealthy mutlinational De Beers to immediately honour the agreed payments into its Defined Benefit Pension Scheme, after it announced that it is winding up this plan.