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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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Brayruit?
As long as it doesn’t glorify being a scote…they don’t need any more encouragement!!
@Yzo Sirrius: thats all it does, thats all any of those shows do. Really tired of them now. I wish RTE would glorify ethical lifestyles for a change.
@Mary Fitzsimons: This has nothing to do with RTE, Virgin are responsible for this production!
@Mary Fitzsimons: because glorifying ethical lifestyles directly as the shows medium would be quite boring, good crime television programs can be successful at glorifying the archetypes of different characters and how they potentially react with the story and it really is down to the story, but crime especially of that calibre is at an all time low here, unless its based in the 90s or earlier 2000s other wise its going to be an inaccurate shit show, watch the sopranos or the wire my dear and you will say otherwise about television shows or glorifying criminality, instead it uses the theme as a vehicle to drive the story another great example is a Danish film “pusher” the problem lies with the writing staff not the theme.
There really isn’t anything better than ‘ultra violence’. Endlessly fascinating and a joy to watch. Looking forward to the box set.
@alan: indeed, really difficult to write that stuff
@alan: you spelt sex bot wrong
While Love/Hate was brilliant, sadly we just don’t produce good drama in this country. Great and all as Love/Hate was, it never really took off outside of Ireland.
@Aging Lothario: I heard the Yanks are doing a remake of Love/Hate, set among the indigenous people in the rougher parts of Hawaii.
@Aging Lothario: agree, the production or Irish TV always has a cheap and amateur undertone. It’s sometimes cringey to watch.
@Squiddley Diddley: Supposedly, Denis Lehane (writer of Gone Baby Gone amongst other crime novels) was on board to write the series, which would have been a hell of a coup but that was 5 years ago & there’s not much been heard of it since
@Aging Lothario: unlike the Danes … brilliant stuff sells worldwide.
There’s nothing glamorous about the seedy side of Bray although some work hard at trying to put a ‘respectable’ face on it.
Won’t be able to go to Bray anymore as the up and coming will be walking around thinking there gangsters.
I saw the first series, too many adverts I’ll watch no more.
have your say