shopfloormandate dec2012

7/30/2019 ShopfloorMANDATE DEC2012

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MANDATE TRADE UNION DECEMBER 2

SHOPFLOORSPEND YOUR MONEY

WHERE WORKERS COUNT

MANDATE LAUNCHES MAJOR NEW CAMPAIG

...MOBILISING THE SPENDING POWEROF CONSUMERS FOR WORKERS RIGHTS

CENT

PAG


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SHOPFLOORy D2

INDUSTRIAL NEWS

Arnotts cease makinpension contribution

Arnotts chiefs informed pension Trustees that they wont be putting any more funds into current scheme Picture:Infomatique (CC

MANDATE members at SarsfieldCredit Union in Limerick haveelcomed the Rights Commis-sioners decision to aard pay-ment of the 2011 Christmasbonus.

At the hearing, credit unionrepresentatives had argued thatthe gratuity or Christmas boxas made at the discretion ofthe Board and as subject to re-

vie. But Mandate counteredthat the credit union had failedto pay last years bonus ithoutthe employees consent and hadtherefore failed to pay agesproperly payable.

It is understood the staff hadenjoyed the Christmas bonus ofone eeks ages for more than10 years.

MANDATE has been forced onceagain to submit a Section 20referral for a pay claim on behalf ofmembers working at Dunnes to theLabour Court.

Assistant General SecretaryGerry Light told Shopfloorthat hewas disappointed if not entirelysurprised that the union had toresort to such an action.

He said: In the past many issuesaffecting our members in Dunneshave been referred to the courtunder Section 20 which is used incircumstances where the employerblatantly refuses to engage withthe union either directly or byattending in the first instance theLabour Relations Commission andthen the court.

Mr Light also claimed that rela-tions with Dunnes had hit an alltime low. He added: Dunnes man-agement this time around did notbother to show basic respect to ourmembers by even acknowledgingour letter seeking the pay increase.

Management now appear tobelieve that they can act with totalimpunity by ignoring a requestfrom their employees chosen rep-resentatives and the States indus-trial relations bodies to engage anddeal with matters of concern.

Mr Light pointed out such atti-tudes displayed by managementhad always been unacceptable tothe unions members employed inDunnes. He added: This is partic-ularly so coming as it does in thewake of other retailers bucking thetrend of recent years and actuallyagreeing with the union pay in-creases for their workers.

Mr Light underlined forcefullythat Mandate was fully committedto its members at Dunnes.

Ultimately it is up to our mem-bers to decide whether they wishto be treated as second class work-ers. Our promise to them is that inthe near future a special union-ledinitiative focusing on Dunnes willafford them the platform to deter-mine their collective futures as em-ployees of this company.

The union is fully committed tosupporting whatever path is cho-sen by our members. Dunnes man-agement must finally realise thattheir past and current treatment ofour members who work for themis unacceptable. It has no place in amodern Irish retail sector but alsowithin an evolving society as we allstrive to fight our way through dif-ficult economic times to hopefullya brighter place for all.

Same old, sameold from Dunnes

over pay claim

Sarsfield CU staff gettheir 2011 Xmas bonus

AFTER many requests by the unionover the past nine months, a meet-ing has finally been arranged withmanagement at Argos about areview to the current nationalagreement.

Divisional Organiser WillieHamilton told Shopfloor: It was amatter of some regret that the em-ployer has taken so long to respondto a reasonable and legitimaterequest by the union to engage indiscussions directly relating to ourmembers terms and conditions ofemployment.

He pointed out that Mandate was

especially anxious to engagewith management after the firmannounced in October that it plansto radically restructure thebusiness across the UK and Ireland.

Mr Hamilton added: Obviouslywe need to establish to what extentthese plans, particularly thoserelating to store closures, willimpact here.

It is expected that a meetingbetween union and managementrepresentatives will take place overthe coming weeks, after whichmembers will be fully consulted.

Argos meeting scheduled

AFTER a series of meetings, nego-

tiations at local level in BronThomas have broken don.

In accordance ith agreed pro-

cedures, all issues in dispute haveno been referred to the concilia-

tion services of the LRC. A Man-date source toldShopfloor:

Despite the fact that the em-

ployer as prepared to o

pay increase, the unions

negotiating team felt the

panys demand for the ef

abolition of the existing g

commission scheme as

portionate and therefore

ceptable. The conciliatio

conference is on Decemb

ARNOTTS have given notice toPension Scheme Trustees that itwill cease making contributions tothe current pension fund fromDecember 7.

Under the provisions of the Trust

Deed, the ceasing of contributions bythe company requires the Trustees towind up the scheme.

The company has advised theTrustees and unions representingmembers of the fund that neither thecompany nor the controlling bankswill support the level of ongoing con-tributions required to fund thescheme in an application to the Pen-sions Board.

While the scheme is in deficit, thedeficit is not substantial in pensionterms, approximately 24 million onan FRS17 basis, on an asset base ofaround 130 million.

In circumstances where the con-trolling banks are not prepared toback the company in supporting theexisting pension scheme, the

Trustees will be left with no choicebut to wind up the scheme.

The structure of the Arnotts Staff

Pension Scheme is somewhat un-usual in that it is termed a sharedrisk scheme, i.e. the employer andthe employees share the funding riskon an equal basis. This means thatthe Arnotts balance sheet shows a li-

ability relating to the staff pensionscheme of 12 million (50% of the24 million deficit).

In the event of a wind up of thescheme, this liability is removed fromthe Arnotts balance sheet, therebybenefiting the company and the IrishBanking Resolution Corporation tothe tune of 12 million, while signifi-cantly disadvantaging the currentand deferred members of thescheme.

If the decision to wind up thescheme goes ahead on December 7, itwill mean that under the current pri-ority ranking in a wind up situation,pensioners will have the first call onthe assets of the fund.

In the case of the Arnotts Fund,this will account for up to 100 mil-

lion of the assets, leaving only 30million for distribution to the activesand deferred, resulting in a coverage

rate for actives and deferreers of between 40% to 50%

Mandate has written to tIBRC, one the banks that cuowns Arnotts, asking that fstitution to support a resol

the pension crisis in Arnottlution that will see the loyaserving Arnotts staff receivpension promise to date.

Mandates Michael Meegpointed out there was a motion on Arnotts bankers toright thing and support thof the deficit in the Arnottssion Fund.

In the meantime, Mandaasked Trustees to defer theto wind up the scheme untiMay of next year when therclearer understanding aboueign annuities and the ruleity ranking which may be c

The purchase of sovereigities along with a change toity ranking could result in t

coverage rate for active andpensioners being greatly imfrom the present 40% to 50

Brown Thomas pay talks colla


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December 2012 y SHOPFLOOR

ASK yourself these questions: hy should it fall on the Irish Stand Irish taxpayers to subsidise lo ages and sub standard tracts of employment to the tune of tens of millions in elfarements each year to orkers employed by major profitablemultinationals?

Is it not the responsibility of employers to offer decent jobs andincomes to workers who do a fair days work?

Is it not reasonable to expect that employers particularly largitable ones offer contracts of employment which allow workersstandard of living?

Is it not reasonable to expect that workers know what their houand how much they earn each week, and that this income is constdoes not vary at the whim of a local manager or budget diktat fromoffice?

Surely major retailers should give something back in the formcent jobs to the communities in which they trade? Surely, it is th

cially responsible thing to do?If workers are given decent jobs and a decent income, they too

come consumers and spend their money in local businesses, thereating even more economic activity and even more jobs.

But, sadly, it seems that the majority of major retailers have no in giving workers decent jobs and or decent incomes. Their actiothe last decade in casualising their workforce into the lowest-comdenominator jobs has meant that for the majority of retail workerployment does not offer a living wage.

Shareholder value and profit margins have been put far aheaany concern for workers and their families.

The culture of demanding maximum flexibility across working and working hours while offering minimum commitment to workshameful, and is causing untold misery and financial strain to retaers.

Scheduling workers hours like some just in time delivery sysmeans not only do workers not earn a decent income from that emment, but they are unable to seek a second job to supplement theiings, trapped by an employer who only seesthem as a cost to be controlled 24/7. In short,

it is a modern form of slavery.We must go back to the future, we need todemand decent jobs and decent contracts,decent training and career prospects.

The flexibility agenda has gone too far,workers deserve and demand respect, theyare entitled to know in advance when theywork and how much they earn they areentitled to be able to plan for the future.

A decent job and a decent income arebasic human rights. In Mandate we in-tend to put these rights firmly on theagenda with Government and withevery employer.

Shopflooris published bi-monthly byMandate Trade Union

Mandate Head Office, O'Lehane House, 9 Cavendish Row, Dub

T: 01-8746321/2/3 F: 01-8729581 W: www.mandate.ie

Design & Editing: Brazier Media E: braziermedia@btinternet.

Shopfloor is edited, produced and printed by trade union labo

INDUSTRIAL NEWS

Retailers hav

gone too far..

John Douglas General SecretaMandate Trade STRAIGHT TALKIN

UNION members at Debenhamsare set to vote on a set of propos-als that ill represent if accepted a third consecutive set of coststabilisation measures.

Mandate Assistant General Sec-retary Gerry Light pointed out thatthe proposals reflected the reality

that Debenhams business inIreland has continued to struggle.

He said: Hoever, this timearound e have not only stavedoff an attempt by management toactually cut members ages inretaining current levels, but ehave also got a commitment for a2% pay increase that ill beapplied from September 1, 2013.

Obviously, members are disap-pointed that the increase could not

be applied sooner.

Hoever, they realise morethan any hy it had to be deferredto September 2013.

All in all the proposals repre-sent reasonable progress and theaim no is to steadfastly build onthe current situation hen the

parties meet again in August2013.

Ballot over Debs proposals

Mandate meets JJB auditorsMANDATE has contacted auditorsKPMG about redundancies followingthe closure of JJB Sports.

Mandate official Jonathan Hoganmet with Judith Johnston of KPMG todiscuss the restructuring exerciseand agreement that followed May 18talks with JJB management at theLRC.

The LRC document was acceptedby a ballot of Mandate members atJJB Sports on the basis of an agreed

redundancy package, guaranteeingthem the 15% rebate as well as theirstatutory entitlement.

Ms Johnston could not confirmthey would be able to make the 15%payment to members of staff whohad left before the business went intoliquidation.

However, she said she was commit-ted to looking into the matter. Inorder for KPMG to process these pay-ments, they need details of those

who accepted redundancy at thattime. Meanwhile, Ms Johnston con-firmed to Michael Meegan of Man-date that KPMG have been in contactwith the Department of Jobs Enter-prise & Innovations on the issue.

The department has agreed to as-sist KPMG in identifying those whohad taken voluntary redundancy.

After this is done, KPMG will con-firm to Mandate if the 15% paymentwill be made.

DATELINE

LOCATION MORE PICTURES ON PAGES 6 & 7

NOV 24, 2012

ANTI-AUSTERITY RALLY, DUBLIN

Picture:CarlMarkONeill


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SHOPFLOORy D4

INDUSTRIAL NEWS

MORE than 100 payment of wageclaims have been lodged with theRights Commissioners service byMandate on behalf of members atDIY chain B&Q .

Earlier this year, B&Q unilaterallyremoved the summer/winterbonuses and the zone allowances forDublin staff as part of its BusinessRecovery Plan.

Subsequently B&Q managementwrote to staff confirming the com-panys support for external disputeresolution procedures amid Mandateclaims that in doing so it is pre-empt-ing the outcome of outstanding pay-ment of wages claims.

In a letter sent to staff in October,B&Q chief Diarmuid Walsh said man-

agement fully respects these deci-sions to externally challenge thechanges and seek a resolution.

The company stated: It is likelythat any decision from the LRC willbe appealed to the Employment Ap-peals Tribunal and we would like toreassure that we fully intend to sup-port this external process to its con-clusion.

Mandate Industrial OfficerJonathan Hogan has since written toMr Walsh expressing the unions dis-appointment that the DIY chainstorehad pre-empted the appeals processbefore the Rights Commissionersrecommendation has been issued.

Mr Hogan reiterated Mandatesoffer to use conciliation services at

the LRC on a without prejudice basisto resolve the dispute, but pointedout that the claims would proceed asplanned if a settlement was notreached. B&Q responded to theunions position by reassuring staffthat reaching and applying a fair andequitable solution for our colleagueswas one of their priorities.

The firm added that whatever finaldecision was made about the re-moval of the bonus and zone al-lowance, it would apply the decisionto each and every individual affectedby the removal, regardless ofwhether the individual had lodged apayment of wages claim.

Mandate claim B&Q are attemptingto use subtle union-busting tactics

in that the company will not directlydeal with formal correspondencefrom the union.

A union source told Shopfloor: In-stead they revert to the staff assuringthem that no payment will be madeuntil the entire third party route hasbeen exhausted and in the event thatthey are found to be in breach, theywill pay the outstanding monies infull to all affected, including non-union members.

Meanwhile, on November 2, Man-date received positive news from theRights Commissioners service, out-lining how B&Q had been in breachof the Payment of Wages Act 1991and that the firm should pay what isowed to staff. Mandate Assistant

100 claims lodgedRights Commissioner rules DIY firm should pay staff what they are ow

IN LINE ith an agreementreached in 2006, Tesco committeditself to putting in place an up-dated time and attendance (T&A)system significantly reducing ifnot eliminating the need for linemanagers or payroll clerks tomake manual adjustments.

Folloing meetings of the T&Aimplementation group in April andOctober, it as agreed that thecurrent operation should belooked at so that any issues need-

ing to be addressed could be iden-tified.

A number of concerns ereraised about the non automaticcalculation of public holidays, sickpay, holiday pay and overtimepayments hich has resulted inthe mis-calculations of monies forsome orkers.

Mandate representatives raised

these concerns ith management

in October and ere told that all

claims ould be revieed on a

case-by-case basis.

Tesco management insist they

ant to pay their employees the

correct amount but, according to

the union, the non-automation of

the system has consequently

been detrimental to some of our

members pay.

The T&A orking group

in talks and Brendan OH

Jonathan Hogan, of the M

sub-group, are currently

similar T&A systems to es

hat types of payments t

tomated payment system

commodate.

It is understood outsta

payment claims for memb

currently being processe

Management to review T&A payment claim

General Secretary Gerry Ligto the company on Novemb

vising IBEC, as the compansentative, to confirm whetthey will pay what is owedmended by the Rights Comsioners service for the firslodged in July 2012.

In the letter, he also insisthe employer confirms by N30 whether they agree to u2012 payment of wages clatest case to resolve the othstanding zone allowance co

He added that failing thisunion would instruct the Rmissioners service to applyplaints individually andindependently.

MANDATE has advised maat B&Q that the distributioncompany handbook whicare being asked to sign for in no way construed by theas acceptance of any new tewhich may be in the new ha

The union points out thacontained in the handbookfrom the older 2009 edition

been highlighted.

These include the requirproduce a GP certificate onday of absence instead of athird day.

Mandate has requested tconfirms the changes and tcations as required under CS.I. 146 of 2000.

This states: The conseqdeparture from the rules anployment requirements of prise/organisation should set out in procedures, partirespect of breaches of disciwhich if proved would warpension or dismissal.

Union quraised ovnew B&Qhandboo

DECENT JOBS NOw! Mandate NationalCoordinator Brian Forbes, back centre, joinsrepresentatives from the Coalition toProtect the Loest Paid in front of a statueof James Connolly in Dublin last month


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THOUSANDS of retail orkers markedBlack Friday the traditional big salesday after the Thanksgiving holiday by staging demos at walmart storesacross the US in a massive sho ofstrength.

Demos, organised by pressure groupOrganization United for Respect atwalmart (OUR walmart) and support-ing groups, ere held in 100 tons andcities across the country. walmart, ith2.2 million employees, is the biggestretailer in the US. After managing togo nearly 50 years ithout a strike injust a month-and-a-half, stoppageshave spread to stores in 12 cities.

Simply put, walmart orkers are fedup and determined to fight for theright to unionise and to secure a livingage and decent benefits.

US unions stage Black Friday strike

Pictures: OUR Walmart; UFCW (CC B

UNICommercehascalledonitsaffiliateacrosstheorldtodigdeeptosupportstrikingwalmartorkers.Aspokesperssaid:ThisisacriticalmomentfortheUlabourmovement.weareurgingthespsoringofindividualorkershobecaustheactionillhavelessmoneytosuppotheirfamiliesintherunuptoChristmas.Sponsorawalmartorkerat...https://.epay.com/donations/dont-let-almart-silence-orkers-suppoorker-leaders-ho-are-calling-for-chan

SponsoraUSstrike


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SHOPFLOORy D6

MARCH AGAINST AUSTERITY PICTURE SPECIAL


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SHOPFLOORy D8

POLICY DOCUMENT PRECARIOUS WORK

MANDATE has called for concerted

Government action to help elimi-

nate the three "traps" of income,

flexibilty and lo skills that con-

sign thousands of retail orkers,

trapped in lo-paid precarious

ork, to poor quality employment

and the distinct possibility of

being sucked into the ever deep-

ening poverty trap.

The union made the call as it un-

veiled a ne set of policy propos-

als, entitled What Needs To BeDone!, on the issues facing retail

orkers in Ireland at a meeting

ith Oireachtas members, Sena-

tors and policy advisors in Leinster

House on November 28.

Mandate National Coordinator

Brian Forbes toldShopfloor: we

told them that many thousands of

retail orkers are caught in a

triple-bind situation.

He added: It has become clear

after examining all the evidence

that orkers in retail are being

subjected to precarious ork be-

cause they are caught in a flexibil-

ity trap, an income trap and a lo

skills trap.

They find themselves in jobs

that dont provide them ith a de-cent living age but are then de-

nied by the prevailing

circumstances today in retail the

chance to either get a second job

or even qualify for social elfare

support.

The unions previous policy doc-

ument, Decent Work? What Needs

to be Done?came from a body of

research presented at Mandates

delegate conference earlier this

year. A survey of

members carried out

by research firm Be-

haviour & Attitudes

found that:l 39% of Mandate

members reported a

drop in take home pay

over the last year, ith

an average fall of 109

a eek;l Since 2011, on av-

erage, retail orkershours had declined by

4.3%. For part-time

orkers the decrease

as 5.6% and for student

orkers it as 12.9%;

l Most Mandate mem-

bers are on part-time con-

tracts orking an average

of 22 hours per eek. Over

half of these ork their

hours over at least five

days.

This research also re-

vealed that six in 10 Man-

date members ere illing to

ork extra hours to make ends

meet but that under half of part-

time employees ho asked for

more hours got them.Assistant General Secretary

Gerry Light said: Both bodies of

research conducted by Mandate

shos clearly that Irelands labour

market crisis ill not be solved

ith a more-jobs-at-any-cost strat-

egy.

we need to look at the quality

of jobs that are being created

otherise, e ill just increase the

number of orking poor. The ne

proposals Mandate placed

before the policy makers

sho clearly the road

map required for lifting

thousands from poverty

ages and challenge

once and for all the real-

ity of the orking poor

in Ireland.

Policy analyst Camille

Loftus, ho helped de-

velop the recently

launched What Needs

To Be Done!proposals,

also outlined and rein-

forced the reality of

retail orkers in pre-

carious ork being

caught in a flexibility

trap, an income trap

and a lo skills trap.

She said: The

flexibility trap oc-

curs here precari-

ous orkers dont get enough

hours to earn a living age, but

cant get another job.

This problem is made orse by

the structure of the PRSI system

hich incentivises employers to

create precarious part-time jobsrather than full-time jobs.

Mandate has proposed that the

higher rate of Employers PRSI be

raised to 450 as a short-term

measure and called for a revised

orking hours code of practice to

help orkers get the hours they

need to make a decent living.

with regard to the income trap,

Ms Loftus also pointed out that

many retail orkers ere caught

beteen to stools hen

hours are cut.

when orkers have th

cut, but not the number o

they ork, they cant clai

the Jobseekers payment

The union has argued f

form of the system so tha

can qualify for a paymen

experience a minimum 20

employment.

She added: In addition

looking for a temporary c

number of orking hours

to qualify orkers for Fam

come Supplement (FIS) fr

15 hours per eek and th

duction of a refundable t

for lo paid orkers.

Ms Loftus said that the

as also calling for effect

ing support system to be

place to help deal ith h

dubbed the lo-skills tra

Mr Forbes added: "ManDecent Workcampaign co

unabated and many more

ing sessions ith decision

are planned over the com

months to challenge the n

that flexibility and casuaemployment creates dece

and decent income.

All the evidence point

opposite direction. Decen

helps to create a fairer so

e aim to promote that c

policy makers everyher

convince them of our arg

on behalf of lo-paid or

retail throughout the cou

By John OBrien

AN ALL-PARTY delegation of North-

ern Ireland politicians and trade

unionists has spent a week in Colom-

bia and shared their experiences of

the peace process in the North.

The Justice for Colombia-organised

visit, which started on November 5,

coincided with the launch of peace

talks between the Colombian govern-

ment and FARC guerrillas.

Key players in the local peace

movement, including Colombians for

Peace the civil society organisation

that helped pave the way for the ne-

gotiations, welcomed the visit which

was also covered extensively on na-

tional TV.

The delegation included politicians

from the DUP, Sinn Fein, Ulster

Unionists and SDLP, including DUP

MP Jeffrey Donaldson and Paul

Maskey MP of Sinn Fein.

They were joined by NIPSA Gen-

eral Secretary Brian Campfield, NIC-

ICTU Chair Pamela Dooley and

UNISON Regional Secretary Patricia

McKeown.

The delegation met with President

Santos and addressed the plenary

session of the Colombian Senate and

Congress.

Many of those involved had direct

involvement in the negotiations that

led to the Good Friday Agreement

and shared their first-hand experi-

ences with their Colombian counter-

parts.

They met with trade unionists, vic-

tims groups, former FARC hostages,

imprisoned human rights defenders

and jailed guerrillas, as well as pay-

ing a visit to the Cauca region

dubbed the epicentre of the Colom-

bian conflict.

Patricia McKeown said: We hope

that our experiences may be helpful

to the Colombian peace process.

Colombia remains the most danger-

ous place in the world to be a trade

unionist, with 20 colleagues mur-

dered so far this year.

We hope from our experience to

demonstrate the vital role that civil

society needs to play in any

process. Meanwhile, the cr

for a ceasefire was demons

after a leading member of t

union ASOINC was murder

Ariel Adolfo Camayo Vale

a geography and social scie

teacher at the Manuel Jose

de Paniquita school in Toto

gunned down on his way h

work on October 26.Justice for Colombia (Ireland

paign committee of the ICTU Gdarity Committee. For further dcontact [email protected]

NI trade unionists join Colombian peace delegatio

INTERNATIONAL NEWS COLOMBIA

Decent work helpsto create a fairer

society and weaim to promotethat concept to

policy makers toconvince them ofour arguments onbehalf of low paid

retail workers

Identifying the triple-bind

that traps retail workers


9/32


Course content:

Background to Mandate.

The role and responsibilities of a Shop Steward/Union Representative

Examining disciplinary/grievance procedures.

Developing negotiating skills.

Representing members at local level.

Communication skills/solving members problems.

Organising, Recruitment and Campaigns. Induction presentations.

Certification and Progression:

Members who successfully complete this course will obtain a

Mandate certificate. They may progress to a Union Representative

Advanced Course and to other relevant training courses

offered by Mandate.

If you are interested in this course, please contact your Mandate official or

Mandate's Training Centre at 01-8369699. Email: [email protected]

INDUSTRIAL NEWS

Penneys staff deservno strings hike in pay

The Union Representative Introductory Training Course is f

shop stewards/union representatives. The course aims to p

information, skills and knowledge to our shop stewards

representatives to assist them in their role in the wor

UNION

REP

ALMOST nine months after Man-date presented a claim in ritingto Penneys, management still re-fuses to concede a 3% pay in-crease.

It follos to meetings ithcompany representatives and IBECon the issue.

Management made it clear atthe meetings that such an increaseould only be considered if theunion and its members ere ill-ing to make significant conces-sions across a ide range ofestablished terms and conditionsof employment.

Assistant General SecretaryGerry Light toldShopfloorthathat made management demands

all the more deplorable and unac-ceptable as that Penneys un-like many other retailers hadactually gron its turnover andprofits during the orst of the eco-nomic recession.

Mr Light said it as clear thereas a lot of anger among Mandate

Get unionised... join Mandwww.mandate.ie/Contact/JoiWere just aclick away...

members at Penneys about theay they ere being treated bymanagement.

They feel they more than anyother orkers employed in the re-tail sector should receive a no-strings-attached pay increase.

They simply cannot understandhy other employers hose busi-nesses are clearly not performingas ell as Penneys have agreedith the union to apply pay in-creases for their respective ork-ers.

Hoever, Mr Light revealed thatPenneys management after ini-tially declining an offer to attendan early hearing at the conciliationservices of the Labour Relations

Commission have no ado so on December 19.

He said: Our membersorked so hard to drive ttic business performancethe course of the year.

Mr Light added that it tunate that Penneys manhad not deemed it approillingly do the right andthing for their orkers.

He reiterated that the uits members ere determextract the full value of tclaim during future talksLabour Relations Commisadding, and this means fspection to hen the claifirst served.

PLATFORM FOCUS IRELAND

By Rebekah ONeill

HOUSING and homeless charityFocus Ireland has warned that re-peated cuts to funding have pushedfamilies and single people to thebrink of homelessness.

Last year it helped nearly 7,500people compared with 6,500 the pre-vious year recording a 18% rise indemand for its prevention services.

The charity points out that thecontinued failure to provide afford-able housing means many people areforced to remain living in temporaryaccommodation that is both unsuit-able to their needs and which cancost the State 30,000 a year.

Advocacy Director Mike Allen said:Rising unemployment and cuts tosome welfare supports have pushedmany people even deeper into debt.

We are already seeing more peo-ple than ever seeking Focus Irelandssupport as they are at risk of losing or have already lost their accom-modation purely for economic rea-sons as they are drowning in debt.

Research published by the charitylast month showed how the cuts inrent supplement forced some peopleinto homelessness. The study, titled

Out of Reach: The Impact of Changesin Rent Supplement, also revealedthat people have to pay top up rentpayments just to keep a roof overtheir heads.

The charity warned that furtherbudget cuts to rent supplementwould see more people becomehomeless and also force many morehouseholds deeper into debt put-ting them at greater risk of losingtheir home.

The Government has cut the maxi-mum rent limits nationwide underthe Rent Supplement Scheme by anaverage of 28% in the last threeyears. It claimed this move wouldforce rents downwards and save theState money. However, Focus Ire-lands research indicates this ap-

proach is failing to drive rents down.The real impact of the cuts has

Welfare cuts:charity warns

of rising risk ofhomelessnessbeen to force tenants already strug-gling on welfare or low incomes tomake under-the-counter paymentsfrom their own meagre resources tolandlords to keep a roof over theirheads.

As you read this, decisions taken atBudget 2013 will be known. Hope-fully the Government will have actedto protect the most vulnerable. What-ever the outcome, the reality on theground is that there are still up to5,000 people homeless and morepeople at risk than ever before of los-ing a place to live. Worryingly, one inseven of those who use homelessservices is a child.

Focus Ireland believes that theremust be action taken to deliver betteraccess to housing:

l The Government should invest400m next year building socialhousing in the capital to help createjobs and reduce homelessness,

l No further cuts in Departmentof Environment or HSE funding forhomeless services,

l No further cuts to Rent Supple-ment limits,

l Maintain social welfare pay-ments for people of working age, and

l Ensure that family and child in-come supports are not reduced for

low income families.To find out more about Focus Irelands

work, log on to www.focusireland.ie or call 1850 204 205.You can follow Focus Ireland on twitter@focusirelandor like it on facebookwww.facebook.com/focusirelandcharity.

wINTER time can be a particu-larly difficult time for peopleho are homeless and there arelots of ays for people to help.You can give up your time andhelp volunteer or you can do-nate in a number of ays via theebsite or simply via text. TextKey to 50300 hich ill cost you

just 2 ith the full amountgoing to Focus Ireland.

Doing your bit...

Retailer has done fantastic business this ye

AFTER the sudden announcementthat the Kinsealy Inn pub in Swordsis to close, Mandate has sought an ur-gent meeting with management andthe liquidator.

The union will seek to establishwhen members can receive theirentitlements as well as discussing thepossibility of re-employment.

Industrial Officer David Miskell

said the news had come as a seriousblow to staff.

He told Shopfloor: They findthemselves unemployed at a timewhen the pub trade is in difficultyalong with also the potential for along wait for entitlements such as re-dundancy. We will continue to pro-tect members interests locally aswell as nationally.

Kinsealy Inn meeting sought


10/32

SHOPFLOORy D10

IKEA WATCH

WEBSITE www.politicaleconomy.ie

SENIOR oficials at IKEA have expressed deep re-gret after it was revealed that the multinationalhad beneited from the use of forced labour to makefurniture products in East Germany from the 1960sto the 1980s.

It follows a study by auditors Ernst & Young ofnearly 30,000 documents from IKEA and Germanstate archives.

The report, released on November 16, concludedthat managers were aware of the possible use ofprisoners some of them dissidents in manufac-turing its products.

The report authors pointed out that some meas-ures had been taken to prevent this, but that theyhad been insuficient.

Jeanette Skjelmose, a sustainability manager atIKEA, said: "We deeply regret that this could hap-

pen. Using political prisoners in production hasnever been accepted within the IKEA Group.

"At the time we didn't have the well-developedcontrol system that we have today and we clearlydid too little to prevent such production methods."

IKEAs deep regret ove

forced labour revelation

MANDATE has slammed globalretailer IKEA for applying doublestandards in the ay it deals ithunions in different national juris-dictions.

Brian Forbes, National Co-ordi-nator for Organising, ho hasspearheaded the unions bid toorganise the 500 orkers atIKEAs Ballymun store, above,toldShopfloor: IKEA have ap-plied double standards acrossthe orld to their dealings ithunions.

In jurisdictions here theyare not obliged to recognise orcollectively bargain ith unionsthey, in the main, ill fail to doso.

Mandate has been trying to or-ganise in IKEA Ballymun since2009. Despite the best efforts bythe company to keep them out,the union has been moderatelysuccessful in gaining membersand sloly increasing densitylevels. Mr Forbes added: work-ers in Belfast have a union and

orkers in Dublin are being de-nied that fundamental right. Thisis because of the lack of protec-tion to union recognition and col-

lective bargaining for orkers inthe Republic. USDAw, our sisterunion in the UK, has a recogni-tion and collective agreementith IKEA and e cant even getan access agreement.

It is understood the union hasmet ith management in Dublinas ell as representatives fromIKEAs global HR department totry and secure reasonable accessto orkers ithout company in-terference but ith no agree-ment being reached.

Mr Forbes said: "The companyis displaying text book unionavoidance tactics in their deal-ings ith us and have created themisguided illusion to their staffthat unions are bad.

Proof of this came hen or-ganisers ere met ith consis-tent statements from some staffat IKEA on three key messages (a) IKEA does not recogniseunions, (b) IKEA has no agree-ments ith unions, and (c) thereare no unions in IKEA.

All three of these statementsare inaccurate and extremelymisleading but staff believe thecompany line.

DIY giants doublestandards on unions

Picture:Infomatique(CCBY-SA2.0)

Picture:sethshoen(CCBY-SA2.0)

Picture:MichaelB

erlin(CCBY-SA2.0)

Grim: Former headquartersof the East German secretpolice in Berlin

By Ed Teller

IF wE break the ords political econ-omy up and look at their constituentmeanings e find the ord econom-

ics comes from the ancient Greekoikonomia, management of ahousehold, administration and theord politics from the ancientGreekpolitikos, of, for, or relatingto citizens.

So, in essence, political economymeans the management of produc-tion and distribution in society.

Hoever, economics today is pre-sented by the establishment mediaand the education system today as aneutral science one that merely re-quires technical knoledge andstudy so as to understand, andthereby conquer, the market system.It does not study the means byhich ealth is created or ho

things are produced. It does notstudy the relations created and ex-ploited in the production process, orthe system of control this gives riseto. In short, it presents the orld asone class sees it the capitalist class.

Political economy, on the otherhand, is concerned ith the study ofproduction, exchange, distribution,the consequent social relations, andthe hole range of political ideol-ogy and las that evolve and relateto the basic economic system.

Political economy is not by defini-tion left-ing or right-ing. Ho-ever, its great proponents: AdamSmith, David Ricardo, Karl Marx,Joseph Schumpeter, etc, throughtheir analyses, identified and ex-posed the different classes involvedin the production process and theirrelationship to each other.

This means there is a different po-

litical economy to strengthen thedifferent classes engaged in capital-ist production and this ebsite isclear in expressing its support forthe labouring class.

It ill promote the political econ-omy of orking people Marxism,so named after the great politicaleconomist Karl Marx.

This ebsite has been setpresent the economics that the majority: orking peoppeople, the unemployed, anho cant ork.

Economics is political, and

forces that claim to represenmajority trade unions, comgroups and political partiesproject a consistent analysinomics and a vision of ho ork for the majority.

This ebsite ill present tof a number of historically itant thinkers, present a conrary analysis from a variety sources including intervieeconomists, and hopefully snumber of reports and articill serve as resources for grfighting for an economic sysserves people, and not the oay around.

Economic analysis you wont find in the F

Picture:dalbera(CCBY-SA2.0)


11/32


VIEWPOINT

By PatrickNulty TD

TRADE union membership nowstands at about 30% of the work-force.

All our main unions are going togreat lengths, through specific or-ganising campaigns, to drive thisfigure upwards.

But unions are fighting with onehand tied behind their backs, be-cause of the absence of the right tostatutory trade union recognition inthe workplace.

Anti-union companies knowwhat is at stake. In 2007, Ryanairtook a Supreme Court case to avoidunion recognition for pilots work-ing at the company.

The Supreme Court found that"Ryanair is perfectly entitled not todeal with trade unions" and further"nor can a law be passed com-pelling it to do so", complying thatstatutory union recognition wouldbe unconstitutional.

Five years later, as we stand on

the eve of the 100th anniversary of

the 1913 Lockout, we are no closerto establishing the legislation that isrequired to establish statutory tradeunion recognition.

In this, our Republic falls far shortof what is basic elsewhere. In theNorth of Ireland, major employers

such as IKEA are statutorily obliged

to recognise trade unions, whichthey can avoid here.

The programme for governmentgave hope that statutory recognitionwould be established. There is acommitment to ensure that Irish lawon workers rights to engage in col-

lective bargaining is consistent withrecent judgements of the EuropeanCourt of Human rights.

I have twice asked Enda Kenny di-rectly, during the order of business in

the Dail to give a date as to when wewould see legislation of trade unionrecognition brought forward.

He was evasive and indirect onboth occasions, giving no indication

that the issue is on his mind.

And so, we have a fight on ourhands as we head into 2013. The

right to recognition needs to be pop-

Picture:LabourParty

2013 must be the year tradeunion recognition is brought i

Our Republicfalls far shortof what is basicelsewhere...

ularised and consistently cpaigned for.

The Labour Party, down the years, has expressed sustatutory recognition and icommitments to introduceessary legislation in electiofestos. Now is the time for acampaign to make sure thaparty makes good on its pleand to win allies for legislawithin the party.

The possibility of the neeconstitutional change is nonot to act.

The constitutional convewhich has a mandate to dissues other than those in th

of reference they have beencould examine the issue if r

100 years after our forbefought a major popular struabout the right to trade unirecognition, this is a campamust advance in 2013.


12/32

SHOPFLOORy D12

NEWS

MANDATE has agreed redundancypackages and redeployment op-tions ith the Arcadia Group afterit as announced that Tempest atthe Omni Park shopping centre inSantry as to close.

Industrial Officer David MiskelltoldShopfloor: we are happy thata good deal has been agreed on

various options availablemembers.

There can be no doubnes as a great shock toand this is a very difficult

Hoever, e believe tthe circumstances a goodoptions have been agree

Tempest redundancy d

Why Im in Mandate

The most profitable part of the

portfolio is overseas. According tothe Dil Public Expenditure Commit-tee, 80% of NAMAs cashflows cur-rently generated from the UK in theform of debtor repayments and assetsales.

NAMA continues to sell off theseproperties, despite rising prices inLondon. It will not be long untilNAMA is left with a multi-billion eurodebt in one hand, and Irish commer-cial junk in the other. The completelack of supervision and standards inIrish construction means that thevery foundation of NAMAs Irish port-folio is, quite literally, unsafe.

The legislation which created thebody states quite clearly that NAMAis required to contribute to the so-cial and economic development of

the State.

The chairman ofNAMA, Brendan McDonagh, told theDil Public Accounts Committee inOctober 2011 that not only mustNAMA meet certain financial objec-tives, it must also meet certain socialobjectives as well.

There are around 100,000 house-holds on the social housing waitinglist, yet we know from the 2011 cen-sus that there are over 230,000 va-cant housing units in the State.

Furthermore, the cost of Irelandsrent allowance scheme is around500 million a year. The Irish gov-ernment is paying private landlordshalf a billion a year in rent, whilehundreds of thousands of housingunits lie empty, slowly rotting away.

In December 2011, NAMA an-

By Dr Conor McCabeTHE popular impression of NAMAis that it currently owns the ghostestates that litter the countryside,but this is not the case. There areabout 10,000 housing units on itsbooks 9,000 apartments and1,000 houses.

However, about half of these arecurrently occupied. This meansthat out of the 254,000 vacanthousing units in Ireland today,only 5,000 are in NAMA. Thatworks out at about two per centoverall. So every time RTE showsimages of a ghost estate on thenews while talking about NAMA, itis certainly not giving you the fullpicture.

NAMAs property portfolio re-lates mainly to commercial prop-erty office blocks, hotels andgolf courses and to green fieldson the outskirts of our towns andcities which had been re-zonedbut never developed.

If you are one of those whobought land or speculated on ho-tels and commercial property,then youre one of those who par-tied. If you did not, then yourepaying for those who did.

There are 11,500 loans belong-ing to 850 borrowers in NAMA -180 of those borrowers accountfor almost 90% of the value ofthose loans and these borrowershave their loans managed directlyby NAMA the other 670 (ac-

counting for approximately 10%of the value of the loans) are stillmanaged by the various banks.

None of those loans relate tomortgages. They may be securedon the back of residential prop-erty, but they are not failed/bro-ken mortgage loans.

nounced with much fanfare and

congratulatory back-slapping thataround 2,000 housing units wouldbe made available for social hous-ing. This was put forward as evi-dence that NAMA was fulfilling itssocial remit, that it was not justabout a bailout for bankers andbuilders.

The Minister for the Environ-ment, Phil Hogan, said at the timethat the move was a welcomeChristmas boost to those mostvulnerable in society.

One week later the Governmentannounced a 23% cut in capitalfunding for social housing a re-duction of 118 million in the an-nual budget.

In May 2012, in a response to aparliamentary question by Sinn

Fin TD, Dessie Ellis, the Depart-ment of the Environment con-firmed that of the 2,000 housingunits identified by NAMA for so-cial housing, only 1,000 were ac-tually habitable, and of these only700 were to be made available tolocal authorities.

Not only does NAMA hold afraction of the vacant housingunits in the State, of those it doeshold, the majority that are vacantare unfit for human habitation.

The hundreds of thousands ofempty housing units in Ireland re-main under the remit of theStates banks. These are a financialtime-bomb, along with the rap-idly-rising arrears and defaults inIrish mortgages.

We need to start looking at theproblem of housing in this coun-try, not only in terms of provisionfor social needs, but also in termsof the crippling national mortgagedebt which is a deadweight to anychance of growth and sustainabil-ity in the future.

MANDATE General Secretary JohnDouglas has asked hy the Gov-ernment pays private landlordsmore than 500m each year on so-cial housing for people on aitinglists hen the money could be bet-ter used building homes andadding to the national social hous-ing stock.

Blasting the privatisation of so-cial housing by successive govern-ments, he toldShopfloor: Youhave to question the logic of pay-ing more than 500 million tolandlords as opposed to investingin building or securing ne socialhousing stock.

This second approach ouldnot only generate rents to theState but also create thousands ofmuch needed construction jobs.

Mr Douglas, right, acknol-edged that rent alloances paid tolandlords for elfare tenants hadbeen cut by 28% since 2009, sav-ing up to 22m, but pointed outthat Focus Ireland had raised con-cerns that this had forced manytenants into sub-standard accom-modation and in extreme cases homelessness.

He said: The Governmentthrough NAMA ons thousands ofvacant housing units and develop-

500m a yeargoes to private

landlords... whynot build insteaHousing policy

built on sand?

The lack of supervision and standards in Irishconstruction means that the very foundation ofNAMAs Irish portfolio is, quite literally, unsafe

Picture:Infomatique(CCBY-SA2.0)

ment land acquired from and developers.

Surely it makes sense these housing units and athem to those families lanon local authority house lists?

Private landlords are n

business to provide sociarather they are in businesprofits.


13/32

By Aideen Carberry

THE era of the Celtic Tiger has had aprofound impact on union organisingin Ireland. For many years, union ne-gotiations with government left adeficit in union participation.

Many members had little interac-tion with their union, apart from see-ing their subs being deducted fromtheir wages every week. It left themovement a little worse for wearafter Social Partnership collapsed.

The state of affairs has been worsein the case of young workers. Therehas been a general decline in thepassing down of union traditionfrom parent to child in Ireland.

Celtic Tiger cubs have had little ex-perience of union activism. Nothingof its history is taught in schools, un-less you studied History for the Leav-

ing Cert. Even then, it was possible topass the exam without paying toomuch attention to the simplistic,school taught history of the 1913Strike and Lockout.

Industrial unrest was absent fromconversations in the family home.And so, Irelands youth had no ideaabout this alien concept of the tradeunion.

Second and third-level studentsunions had little to mobilise over.With no real threat to educationgrants or no prospect of fees beingreintroduced, these unions stagnatedand its students never saw or felt thenecessity to act as a collective. They

never felt the need to activate theirgeneration for a cause.

Important work was done on the

issues of mental health and aware-ness. However, these campaignsoften involved a small number ofpeople, and did little to activate stu-dents as a coherent group.

Many may see the issue of lowyouth participation in trade unionsas unfortunate, but ultimately notdetrimental to the movement. Yes,its sad that weve lost these peopleto our cause but the movement willgo on regardless, we will find a newgeneration to take in to the fold andteach about the power of the collec-tive.

There are also those who believethat, yes, it is important that youngpeople join our unions, but weneednt go out of our way to organisethem. Well keep doing what we are

doing. The young workers will joinwhen they join.

However, there is a more seriousside to the lack of young people inIrish unions. Studies have shown thatpeople who reach 40 without everhaving been a member of a tradeunion are unlikely to ever join.

This will, no doubt, have a knock-on effect in terms of passing on thetradition to members of your family.And, in turn, affect union member-ship and participation as a whole.

There are several reasons whyyounger workers dont join unions.Younger people tend to be in an em-ployment for far less time than an

older worker. They are a generationof workers who are unlikely to stay inthe same employment very long.

They are a transient workforce. Thisis particularly true of the retail sector.

They can also be apathetic towardsthe movement. They feel they do notneed them as they are well educatedand can fend for themselves.

As the role of work changes due tothe recession, employers are askingmore and more from their employ-ees.

And it is for this exact reason thatyoung workers should be mobilisedand recognise that as a group ofworkers they are far more likely to beaffected by these changes.

They are entering the workforceon different terms and conditionsthan the people who came beforethem, and they must feel that theirrights as a young workforce are being

fought for, before there is a genera-tional divide in workplaces.

There is also a real danger that asthe workforce ages and exits employ-ment, and a newer, unorganised oneemerges through the ranks, that therights fought for throughout the his-tory of the union movement will beeroded.

This is not a case of organising agroup of workers for the sake of it.Bringing young people in to the tradeunion movement, and making it rele-vant to their lives, will be vital to thesurvival of the union movement it-self. It simply cannot wait any longer.

Aideen Carberry is a Mandate organiser


Picture:avlyxz(CCBY-SA2.0)

Picture:avlyxz(CCBY-SA2.0)

ORGANISING

Time is upfor Dunnes

Gerry Light Assistant General SMandate Trade UnioVIEW SHOPFLOO

LIKE most other retail businesses, Dunnes Stores have faced atinue to encounter significant challenges as a result of the proeconomic crisis plaguing this country.

Unlike most other responsible employers in the sector, they havdealt with the industrial relations difficulties which inevitably ressuch an environment by going down the route of constructive engwith workers and their chosen representative, Mandate Trade Un

In fact the degree of disengagement from the union chosen by mment at Dunnes is totally at variance to the approach adopted by otail employers. Other employers proactively engage with us and hagone so far as to award actual pay increases to their respective wo

despite this difficult economic climate.As a direct consequence of the series of national strikes in th

1990s, a comprehensive national procedural agreement emeras hoped at that time that this ould allo for the relationshteen Dunnes management and the union to gro in a ay thould benefit the many thousands of our members employedretailer.

Unfortunately this has not been the experience as witnessed bmany attempts in the years since to deal with issues both at nationlocal level. Constantly our members continue to be denied accesssentation by full-time union officials while management consistenfuses to engage either directly with the union or at the Labour RelCommission and the Labour Court in respect of national issues.

Some years back, we took a case to the Labour Court basically athe company of non-fulfilment of their obligations under the 1996tional Procedural Agreement.

The Court essentially ruled that the parties to that agreement shcomply with their respective obligations contained within it. Despsequent union requests for management to so engage, they have sfastly refused to do so. We even suggested that the company atten

the union at the advisory services of the Labour Relations Commisdiscuss the relevance of and, if necessary, possible changes to the ment. Once again management declined this offer.

As we are about to enter another Christmas and New Year seaare absolutely determined that 2013 will bring a significant shifimprovement in the quality of the working lives of our membersDunnes.

Increasingly our members at Dunnes have been asking the hardtion of the union as to how we are going to respond to this intolera

style of management and the degreeerance show both to them and thei

We have put together a specifiegy that will target all aspects oengage with Dunnes Stores. Thiegy will be focused and sufficiesourced in an effort to bring abpractice on industrial relationising, recruitment, campaignintraining in this employment.

It is envisaged that the plan launched early next year. In esthe strategy is only a means for tial improvements into the futur

remain an empty vessel if ourand future members in D

decide not to get on band drive it forwaenthusiasm.

Whytrade

unionismisaclassi

ssue!

Time is short we must actnow to engage young people

History lesson: passing down of union tradition within families seems to be on the wane


14/32

SHOPFLOORy D14

DOMESTIC WORKERS

By Marco Natale

THE MIGRANT Rights Centre Irelandhas given its backing to the Interna-tional Trade Union Conferations 12by 12 global campaign calling ongovernments to ratify ILO Conven-tion No 189, so that domestic work-ers have stronger protection.

Launched in December 2011, theITUC campaign is seeking to get 12countries to ratify ILO Convention No189 by the end of 2012. Campaignorganisers have already mobilisedtrade unions and domestic workerorganisations in 73 countries.

ILO Convention No 189 recognises

the right of domestic workers to: col-lectively defend their intereststhrough trade unions; protect theirright to a minimum wage in coun-tries where it exists; guarantee amonthly payment and access to so-cial security including in the case ofmaternity; guarantee one day off perweek and regulate their workinghours.

In essence, Convention No 189recognises domestic work as anyother work and ensures that domes-tic workers are treated as any otherworker under labour legislation.

In Ireland, domestic workers haveurged Minister for Jobs, Enterpriseand Innovation Richard Bruton totake action by bringing laws hereinto line with the international con-

vention and to commit to introducingnew international labour laws pro-tecting people working in privatehomes.

Domestic work is one of the largest

Ireland must lead the way inratifying rights convention

Olajokes story, it happens here too...

NEWS

Trade uniodelegationmeets DoSofficials o

Bill concerA TRADE union delegatioith the Department of Stection officials to highligunions concerns over insparticularly difficulties tharisen in securing redundtitlements and ages.

Industrial Officer Davidrepresented Mandate at ting here he as joined bsentatives from SIPTU an

He toldShopfloor: Insocan involve liquidation, rship, bankruptcy or petitind up companies.

Hoever, increasinglyers are simply alking a

out putting their companreceivership or organisinfairs, meaning that emplonot claim their arrears of holiday pay.

If an employer just aithout putting their affaorder and leaves their comlegal limbo, e are seekinsimilar to the redundancyments scheme outstandages can be paid from tfund.

In addition e are seechanges to the Ne Insolwhere employers are invpersonal insolvency, empshould be treated as prefcreditors, so that paymen

protected.Also these employees

have access to the Social fund if the employer cann

Mr Miskell added: Thechanges are particularly for orkers in small compho are left short-changetitlements by employers ply disappear.

Mandate, along ith oleagues in SIPTU and ICTcontinue to campaign onto ensure that members aout of pocket as a result oactivities by employers.

MRCI set up the Domesticworkers Action Group in 2003.It no has more than 200

members ho ork as nan-nies, housekeepers, and eld-erly caregivers in Ireland. Itactively campaigns for therights of domestic orkersboth nationally and interna-tionally.

I wORKED from morning to night 17 hours a day, seven days a eek forover 10 years ithout payment. I never had holidays or as alloed takea day off. I as mistreated by my employer.

I felt helpless in my situation and didnt kno here to go. I asnt al-loed to have any contact ith my family for over 10 years and I am stillsearching for them no.

My only private space as to think and be alone for some time in mybedroom, here I thought about my family and think about my situa-tion.

Olajoke is a live-in carer who moved to Ireland several years ago.

and fastest growing sectors in theworld. There are more than 100 mil-lion workers employed to do work insomeone else's house all over theworld. Some 80% of these arewomen and girls and many are mi-

grants or children. They clean, cook,do the laundry, provide care to chil-dren and the elderly and lots more.

They provide essential caring rolesin society, yet their work is underval-

ued, underpaid, and not respected.

It is estimated there are more than10,000 people employed in privatehomes in Ireland. A total of 40 casesof forced labour, involving womenworking in private homes, have been

registered since 2008. Countlessnumbers of workers are forced tostay in inhumane and undignified sit-uations and many are denied theirmost basic human rights.

Even if they play an important rolein community life, domestic workersrights are often neglected. Mistreat-ment, exploitation, violence, andabuse are frequent and often go un-punished. In many countries, thegreat majority of domestic workersare excluded from labour legislationand social protection schemes. Manyare denied the right to form or join atrade union.

By supporting the 12 by 12 cam-paign, we can help Olajoke, and oth-ers like her, in their fight for equalityand recognition.

Ireland has to play its part, espe-cially in the light of its role of the EUPresidency in 2013. We are calling on

the Irish Government to be amongthe first to ratify Convention No 189in Europe.

We have the potential to pull mil-lions of domestic workers out ofpoverty, exclusion, slavery and abuse.Lets show our commitment to pro-tecting human rights by supportingthe petition that will be handed toMinister Bruton. Sign at www.mrci.ieand show your support for domesticworkers rights.

MRCI set up the Domesticworkers Action Group in 2003.It no has more than 200members ho ork as nannies,housekeepers, and elderlycaregivers in Ireland. It activelycampaigns for the rights ofdomestic orkers bothnationally and i nternationally.

Defending domestics

ILO chief Juan Samavia with jubilant domestic workers after Convention 189 was passed

CHY

7220

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The greatest gift your company can give this Christmas is a home.

So, please sponsor a star on the Focus Ireland Christmas tree

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15/32


MUSIC

By Gareth Murphy

THE United States, like every country,has a great tradition of producingprogressive patriotic working classsongwriters from Woody Guthrie toBob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen.

This list should of course includemany others such as Steve Earle,Robert Johnson and Pete Seeger butarguably should also today includeRyan Bingham.

I was lucky enough to see Binghamin Whelans a couple of weeks ago forthe very reasonable price these daysof 16.50 and was blown away by

the energy and passion he brought tocountry music.Lyrics critical of government and

the religious right tackled issues suchas minimum wage labour, homeless-ness, unemployment, drug addictionand racism.

Born in New Mexico in 1981, hisfamily moved around a lot in hisearly years. And from a young ageBingham took to the rodeo and bull-riding scene that took him aroundthe country.

Bingham released a number anumber of self-release albums Wishbone Saloon and Dead Horses before being signed to Lost HighwayRecords (famous for Johnny Cashs

American Recordingsand releasesfrom Willie Nelson, Ryan Adams andmany more).

Under Lost Highway Bingham re-leased Mescalito in 2007.

A record filled with hard-hittinglyrics such as:

Mostly good folks have tried andtried, To make a livin on your mini-mum wage, Youre coming up shortnearly every day, And what's enoughand what's the cost, You can't stand upcause all is lost, You roll us up andyour doors are locked, There's a poorboy livin on every block. (Hard Times)

Well, I've been workin in the god-damn sun, With just for a dollar a day,

Been workin for a dollar a day, I beenworkin for a dollar a day, Man, I neverunderstand why all my money, Goesdown to man at the bank, And all hedoes is sit and think, About the moneythat I'm gonna make. (Dollar a Day)

Ryan has something to say and thisdoes not endear him to the establish-ment.

In his next record, Roadhouse Sun,released in 2009, he challenged au-thority even more openly in a num-ber of songs including Change Is andDylans Hard Rain.

This last track is a tribute to andcontinuation of the theme of BobDylansA Hard Rain is Gonna Falltracking the continuation of the past

in the present and the repetition ofhard times.

But by far the most overtly politicaltune is Endless Ways in which Bing-ham says: You want more money, inyour hand, You want more blood froma foreign land, I'm a gonna stand up,and say my name, Cause everybody'stired of your endless ways.

More mainstream recognitioncame to Bingham on the back of hiscollaboration with producer T BoneBurnett for the 2009 film Crazy Heartwriting and performing The WearyKindand I Dont Knowfor the sound-track.

The Weary Kindis a beautifully sad

song about regret and remorse ac-companied by a calming acceptance.This the title track from the movie won Bingham an Oscar, a GoldenGlove and many other awards.

Bingham claimsJunky Star hisbrilliant third album is the saddestand most melancholic of his album.Its final trackAll Choked Up Againwas written in the context of both hisparents dying.

While certainly musically it is thelowest tempo, it still includes bitingpolitical commentary such as ar-guably its best trackDepression aboutthis never ending economic crisisand the consequences on an emotivelevel for working people.

Binghams latest album, Tomorrow-land, released in September, com-bines country with heavier almostgrunge styles its this that gives hislive performances incredible energyand passion for what is still unmis-takably still country music.

Some of the stand out songs on thisalbum, released on his own label, areWestern Shore, Flower Bomb, GuessWhos Knocking and Rising Of TheGhetto.

Despite a heavy touring scheduleand time spent in the studio Binghamhas found time to perform at protestsand marches memorably in supportof trade unionists and trade union

rights in Wisconsin, signing theselines from the song Direction of theWind:

Theres no time for propaganda, ormedia filled with hate, no time forscripted messages that slither aroundlike snakesYesterday is gone, so thata new day can begin, and it seemtheres been a change in direction ofthe wind.

I think we can safely say this is onevote for sure Mitt Romney didnt get!I highly recommend going out toyour nearest unionised retail outletand picking up any one of Ryans fouracclaimed albums.

Balladeerof HardTimes

NEWS

Lab Courtrules oveShoezoneredundan

payoutsTHE LABOUR Court has agroup of Shoezone orkeredundant earlier this yegratia payment of one eeach year of service on tostatutory entitlements.

The orkers ere madedant in May hen Shoezoits store in the Nutgrove SCentre, Dundrum.

A dispute arose folloiclosure hen Shoezone bformed Mandate they elonger in a financial positpay redundancy terms agviously ith the union.

After local and nationabroke don, the issue ato the Labour Relations Csion.

A full conciliation heariheard on June 8 ith the steadfastly refusing to hoterms of the redundancy hich had been agreed company after it had closstores.

Given that there as noprospect of a deal being bthe matter as referred tLabour Court and a full heas held on September 7

The Court, after hearinsubmissions from both sifound the firm should hoterms of the redundancy

negotiated ith MandateShoezone orkers ith vlengths of loyal service aared an ex gratia paymeeks pay for each year

Ryan Bingham:lyrics thatpack a punch

MANDATE members hoat Josef Jeans, a fashion r

that ent into liquidationare still aaiting their enments, including redundaand pay arrears.

The union has contacteuidator ho has yet to cohen Mandate membersceive hat is due to them

Industrial Officer Davidhas lodged legal claims fostanding entitlements anaaiting a hearing on the

He toldShopfloor: It ispointing that it has takento secure monies.

Hoever, e ill pursavailable avenues to ensumembers are paid.

Ex-employeof Josef Jestill awaitiseverance


16/32

SHOPFLOORy D16

EACH day as consumers we are faced witha bewildering diversity of choice aboutwhat to buy and where to shop.

Major retailers spend hundreds of mil-lions, billions even, on high-end advertis-ing and eye-catching branding to try andpersuade you the shopper where youshould spend your hard-earned cash.

But one option we tend to overlook asshoppers is choosing to Spend Your MoneyWhere Workers Count.

In the run up to Christmas, at the NewYear and beyond, Mandate is launching a

new and exciting campaign that could rev-olutionise the way you shop.

This is designed to give you the con-sumer the valuable option of spendingyour money and supporting retailers thatrespect the rights of their employees.

Welcoming the innovative new drive,Mandate General Secretary John Douglassaid it was designed to promote a valuefor retailers by highlighting the advantagesof respecting workers and offering them adecent living income.

He added: Fair Shop is a modern ethicalconsumerism campaign. It is built prima-rily on the principle of putting workers

irst for a change. We would call on con-sumers to shop with a conscience, back thecampaign and support workers rights.

The idea behind Fair Shop is not new in fact, you could say its a 100 years old.

Just look at the archived minutes of theTwentieth Annual Trades Congress held inthe City Hall, Cork, in May 1913.

One of the motions debated at the con-gress concerned Trades Union Shops.

According to the records, delegates TJohnson and A Doran argued for the needfor unions to use the ethical buying

strength of consumers to further workersrights.

We feel sure comrades Johnson andDoran would have wholeheartedly throwntheir backing behind the current Fair Shopcampaign.

Nowadays, Fair Shops recognise theiremployees rights to join a trade union andafford them full collective bargainingrights.

We believe these rights are fundamentaland basic and well worth supporting withyour spending power.

One of the key objectives of Fair Shop isto support and promote quality employ-

ment in the retail sectorconsumers who care abto choose Fair Shop comlocal stores.

Assistant General Sectold Shoploor: As manywill undoubtedly testifyrelationships between aemployees and their un

Disagreements happtime but Fair Shop transday drudgery of industracknowledges those emthe right thing.

And we hope Irelandunion members, their faporting organisations wright thing.

Spend your moneyThis is a

campaigputtingw

NO EXCUSES! The ne .fairshop.ie ebsite ill feature a

Fair Shop location finder as ell as special Fair Shop promotions

www.


17/32


They can make an informed choice byecking out a Fair Shop in their local aread by making ethical purchases on a reg-r basis. In recent years, there have beenreasing assaults on workers rights, payd conditions of service by many un-upulous employers.

Mr Light said: These employers haveught to gain an unfair and inancial ad-

ntage over those competitors that do re-ect their employees entitlements.This approach needs to be challengedoss the retail sector by the spending

wer of thousands of ethically-mindednsumers.As trade unionists and as responsiblezens we should be making the in-med choice each time we make a retail

purchase.Fair Shop not only provides theinformation needed by consumers to makethe choice of spending money where work-ers count much easier but it will alsodemonstrate to retailers the importance ofrecognising the rights of workers to joinand be represented by a trade union.

Our use of collective and individual con-sumer power has the very real potential toimprove conditions for workers across theretail sector and Fair Shop provides thebasic information required for you to makethose ethical purchasing decisions.

Over the coming months and in theyears ahead, Fair Shop will develop brandrecognition and strength by workingalongside Fair Shop retailers and by en-couraging 800,000 workers and their fami-lies on this island to shop Fair.

Our intention is clear, we wish to ac-knowledge those employers who do busi-ness with their employees on issues suchas pay, decent contracts and terms andconditions and we jointly commit withthese employers to support and promotequality jobs and decent work in the retailindustry in Ireland.

Describing the initial reaction to the

campaign as fantastic, National Coordina-tor Brian Forbes told Shoploor: Alreadymany Fair Shop-nominated employers see-ing the value in the initiative have beentalking to Mandate about developing brandawareness and promoting joint actions.

As an integral part and the driving forcebehind the Fair Shop initiative, a new web-site www.fairshop.ie has beenlaunched. The site is compatible with allmodern Smartphone technology and willrun regular Fair Shop promotions that willonly be accessible on the site. It will also

feature a list of Fair Shop employers andsupporters. Added to that the campaignwill also have dedicated Facebook andTwitter social networking pages.

Mr Forbes added: Importantly from aconsumers point of view the site willhost a Fair Shop location inder so youhave no excuse for being unable to locate aFair Shop locally.

Fair Shop is about making the informedconsumer choice and about putting work-ers and responsible employers irst for achange.

Its plain and simple....Its aboutSpend-ing Your Money Where Workers Count.

1913 motion on Trade Union ShoMr T Johnson, proposed, and Mr A Doran (Belfast),

seconded, and it as agreed:

That e call on all Trades Unionists and their famil

make inquiries hen purchasing goods, not only in

regard to the conditions under hich those goods

produced but also in regard to the conditions in the

particular distributive shop in hich they are purch

and to ascertain from the assistant on all occasions

hether he or she is a Trades Unionist.

here workers countconsumerism

the principle ofst for a change

shop.ie


18/32

SHOPFLOORy D18

NEWS

Talks kick over reviewPCC agreemat Superqu

INTERNATIONAL NEWS BANGLADESH

For those who want to brush up on their writing and spelling skills while you develop personal and interpersonal skillswhich are important for dealing with workplace situations and improve communications in everyday life situations

This course is ideal for adults just learning aboutcomputers and confidence for communicating online.

Perhaps youd like to brush up on your everyday maths,including home budgets, tax and weights/measures.

Name

Address

Workplace

Location

Phone

Mandate Trade Union with the VEC network is offering a programme of Training Courses called Skills for Work. Skills for Work offers members the opportunity to get back into eduat their own pace with a wide range of courses to choose from. Each course has 6 8 participants and may be held locally and outside of working hours. Some of the courses incl

Courses are free and open to members who have not achieved Leaving Certificate or who have an out of date LeavinCertificate. You can also achieve a FETAC Level 3 Award. Skills for Work is funded by the Department of Education &

Please tick the box or boxes of the courses which interest

you and return this form with your details to:

Mandates Organising and Training Centre Distillery

House, Distillery Road, Dublin 3

Phone 01-8369699, email [email protected]

Closing date Friday 11th January 2013

TALKS have started ith

perquinn management oducting a revie of the cuAgreement.

Mandate representativit clear that members expfull and timely restoratChristmas Bonus paymen

They also outlined a nuissues for discussion incpay increase, restorationments, banded contractsprofit sharing in ongoinsions.

For their part, managemhave indicated they antsible introduction of a nescale for ne starts to forthe talks.

A Mandate source toldShopfloor: while the trad

tion facing the business rchallenging, it is apparenon financial figures presethat a considerable amouenue has been generatedlast 12 months hich hasreinvested into the areasexpenditure and marketi

It is understood talks mstretch into the Ne Year

NEWS

ICTU economist:Govt must actafter chillingjobless figuresICTU Chief Economist Paul

Seeney has described the under-lying unemployment figures asquite chilling and said they un-derlined the need for urgent Gov-ernment investment in jobs.

He said: The ne figures sho atiny fall in the jobless rate, donfrom 14.9% to 14.8% and nobodycould possibly take comfort fromthat.

In addition, hen you look be-neath the headline data the pic-ture that emerges is quite chilling.

Again, e see a further fall inemployment and even less peopleat ork in the economy.

This donard trend has notaltered, hich makes it abun-dantly clear that official policymust change. It is vital that invest-

ment is not cut further but in-creased.

There are also other orryingindicators, such as a male unem-ployment rate that is some threepercentage points above the na-tional rate.

Mr Seeney, belo, also arnedthat total investment in the Irisheconomy is no at the very bottomof the EU 27, belo that of Greece.

Irelands investment level nolonger covers the replacement ofcapital. It is unheard of in any de-veloped economy that invest-ment ould be alloed to fall tothe extraordinary lo levels thatno pertain in Ireland.

THE Clean Clothes Campaign, alongwith trade unions and labour rights

organisations in Bangladesh andaround the world have called on in-

ternational clothing brands to takeaction after the latest in a series of

fires claimed the lives of 100 gar-ment workers in Bangladesh.

Many of the workers jumped to

their deaths trying to escape fromthe six-storey building. Others, un-

able to escape the flames, wereburned alive.

The tragedy at the Tazreen Fash-ions factory in Dhaka comes just a

few months after 300 textile work-ers died in two blazes in Pakistan on

September 11.

According to Tazreen Fashions

website, the factory produces gar-ments for a number of well-known

brands, including C&A, Carrefour,KIK and Walmart.

The Clean Clothes Campaign hasclaimed leading retailers in the

West have failed to address safetyconcerns highlighted by previous

factory fires in developing coun-tries.

The group has joined with unions

and labour rights organisations indeveloping a sector-wide pro-

gramme for action.

This includes a programme of in-

dependent and transparent inspec-tions and an obligatory upgrading of

the buildings supplying participat-ing brands.

The programme for action also in-cludes calls for a review of all exist-

ing laws and safety regulations anda commitment to pay prices that

can cover the costs involved as wellas the direct involvement of trade

unions in worker training on healthand safety.

The Clean Clothes campaign isnow renewing its demand forbrands to sign on immediately.

Ineke Zeldenrust, from the CleanClothes Campaign, said: Togetherwith our partners in Bangladesh,the CCC is calling call for an inde-pendent and transparent investiga-tion into the causes of the fire, forfull and fair compensation to bepaid to the victims and their fami-lies and, importantly, concrete ac-tion from all parties involved toprevent future tragedies.

"As we yet again mourn the loss ofscores of garment workers inBangladesh, we demand that brandsstep up their game.

Tragedy after tragedy underlinesour belief that simple, cosmeticchanges to existing programmessimply aren't enough. Action needsto be taken to address the rootcauses of these fires.

Brands must act

after blaze horror

Picture:ICTU

400 garment workers die in series of factory fires in under 3 months


19/32


PLATFORM OPEN

SPOTLIGHT N.I.C E.C. PROJECTS

Quality child care costs bu

its an investment for us a

Why we need our CE services

By Frances Byrne

THE Social Welfare & Pensions Bill2012 was signed into law on April 30this year. Section Four of the Bill con-tained an unprecedented and hugelycontroversial change to the One-Par-ent Family Payment.

This was to reduce eligibility forthe payment to the age of seven yearsfor the youngest child, by 2014 fornew applicants and by 2015 for thosealready on the payment.

This proposal was not flagged inadvance with OPEN or any of the

lone parents organisations and cameust 10 months after the current gov-

ernment had already reduced the ageof eligibility to age 14.

To add insult to injury for our fami-lies, lone parents had already re-ceived the brunt of the social welfarecuts in Budget 2012.

With support from Mandate, theSeven is Too Young campaign (in-volving Barnardos, the NationalWomens Council and OPEN) had vig-orously opposed the introduction ofthe Bill, and thanks to a groundswellof opposition from lone parentsacross the country, Minister for SocialProtection Joan Burton did make avery important commitment whenintroducing the Bill in the Dil:

She said: I am undertaking tonight

that I will only proceed with themeasures to reduce the upper agelimit to seven years in the event that Iget a credible and bankable commit-

ment on the delivery of such a systemof child care by the time of this yearsbudget. If this is not forthcoming, themeasure will not proceed.

OPEN and our campaign partnersare asking where is this plan?

To be clear, the Minister referencedScandinavian child care throughouther speech and we fully support theintroduction of this kind of child care.Since the late 1980s, our foundinggroups have fought for changeswhich would allow lone parents to

attain economic independence, asmany have already done in Nordiccountries.

Some of the elements that signalScandinavian-style provision arethat it is high-quality, universallyavailable, affordable, is part of the ed-ucation system and is combined withfamily-friendly policies such as paidpaternity and maternity leave.

Who wouldnt want this system?

It means that everyone pays some-thing, depending on ability to pay

and it means that every child gets thesame experience. It is, however, sup-ported by a level of taxation whichwould be higher than we are used tohere.

Quality has a cost in OPEN we seethis is as investment in all childrenand all families.

Our Government has regretfullychosen the path of austerity which isjust not compatible with the develop-ment of such a system. We dontdoubt the commitment of individual

ministers in the cause of ch with respect we ask whthe resources come from?

So, while we agree with tters ambition, it is time to edge that it will not be possfulfil it by 2014, when theseare due to be introduced.

Therefore, we are urgingter to make this clear and kpromise: no further changeGovernment is in the happyto tackle the childcare systetively for all families.

This is an important poinMinister was very clear in h

announcements and at a mwith Barnardos, the NationWomens Council and OPENthere would be no special sone-parent families.

We support this 100% adevelopment would be asBurton herself said very sing. It would also cause resamong other families; whiclast thing we need as a sociis already showing growing

Lone parents have been tionately affected by a serieausterity budgets. Our famface huge uncertainty. In thtext, it is vital that the Govehalts the so-called reforms

The age of eligibility of thyoungest child is now 12 yenew applicants. This is lowSeven is still too young.Frances Byrne is CEO of OPEN, ing lone parent groups in Irelan

Our Government has chosen austerity which isnot compatible with developing a (quality) system

Minister Burton: commitment

Picture:LabourParty(CCBY-ND2.0)

THERE are more than 20 Commu-nity Employment projects in

Dublins North Inner City deliveringa wide range of essential communityservices to thousands of local resi-dents, from infants to the elderly,and providing support for the mostvulnerable groups.

These include child care services,crches, drug rehabilitation pro-grammes, elderly care, after schoolprogrammes, early school leaversand youth work services, commu-nity recycling services, Travellersgroups and adult education.

CE also provides crucial opportu-nities for people who have beenlong-term unemployed so they canexperience the dignity of paid work

and move on to education, employ-ment and other activities in the

community.A former CE participant, who now

has a full-time job, told Shoploor:Being able to go on to a CE schemehas been brilliant for me and for myfamily. The work that CE does is re-ally important for this community for the sake of our children and forthe future of this area. We need ourCE services.

Anna Quigley, speaking on behalfof NIC CE projects, added: DublinsNorth Inner City is saying no to thecuts the are putting our children atrisk.

She outlined how the cuts thathad already affected the CE sector in

the past year. These incude:l Changes to eligibility criteria

have made participation on CE lessviable for lone parents and for peo-ple on disability beneits;l Training budgets for partici-

pants have been cut by 50%;l Materials budgets have been

reduced by between 25% and 50%.Some examples of the impact cuts

have had include:l A number of crucial crche,

childcare and after-schools servicesare now facing the prospect of se-vere reduction or closure of servicesby the end of the year;l As the community continues to

struggle with a serious drug crisis,the very limited drug rehabilitation

opportunities that are in place arebeing diminished even further;

l Youth services working withyoung people are at risk. They havealready been affected by seriouscuts in mainstream funding, are hav-ing to cut direct frontline services;lAs well as the devastating im-

shopfloormandate dec2012

Documents