Unite, which represents plumbers, fitters, welders and apprentices on construction projects throughout Ireland, has said that a full-day work stoppage today (Friday 6 September) will involve official pickets being placed on selected large construction sites where members of the Mechanical Engineering & Building Services Contractors’ Association (MEBSCA) are carrying out works. The sites involved are in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Kildare, and pickets will be placed from 00.01 am to 11.59 pm.
Last month Unite mechanical members voted overwhelmingly for industrial action in pursuit of restoration of the first hour of ‘travel time’. Unite accepted an invitation to renewed talks on 26 August. After these talks broke down, the union served notice of industrial action on relevant mechanical employers.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “While MEBSCA employers have seen their turnover skyrocket, workers are continuing to pay the price for a crisis that was not of their making.
“Unite members know that they have their union’s unstinting support as they fight to have this shameful cut reversed”.
In the absence of a meaningful offer from MEBSCA, further strike action will follow, with pickets being placed on additional sites.
Payment of the first hour of ‘travel time’ was originally cut as a so-called ‘temporary measure’ following the 2008 financial crash. This austerity-era cut was meant to be reviewed after a year, but over a decade later workers are still waiting.
Restoration of the first hour of ‘travel time’ would mean a significant increase in pay for mechanical construction workers at a time of ongoing cost-of-living pressures.
Unite regional officer James McCabe said: “Unless MEBSCA returns to the table and engages meaningfully with Unite regarding restoration of the first hour of ‘travel time’, industrial action will escalate. Resolution of this dispute is in the employers’ hands”.
