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TRADE UNION SIPTU has presented a €20,000 donation on behalf of members to UK rail union leader Mick Lynch.
The union said the donation was made to the National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers (RMT) general secretary “in a gesture of solidarity with striking rail workers in the UK”.
Siptu general secretary Joe Cunningham presented the cheque to Lynch at the Imperial Hotel in Cork alongside Siptu deputy general secretary Ethel Buckley and Mary O’ Sullivan, Siptu honorary president.
Cunningham “congratulated Mick Lynch for the impressive manner with which he has articulated the demands of his members during their ongoing dispute and the views and frustration of working people in Britain over the soaring cost of living”, the union said.
Lynch is currently visiting to Cork, his father’s home city, and will attend a Cork City FC game in Turners Cross tonight.
He has shot to prominence in recent months for calmly crushing politicians and interviewers alike.
RMT have called four national strike days in the UK since 21 June and two more are planned for later this month.
Members of RMT will walk out on 19 August, in between strikes on August 18 and 20 on Network Rail and 14 train operators in the long-running row over pay, jobs and conditions.
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So you are a member of siptu , paging a contribution fee to the union who just hands 20k of members money to another country that doesn’t effect Ireland whatsoever..?
@Ciaran: paying *
@Ciaran: makes a change from them handing our contributions over to the Labour party to run candidates. God knows where that money is going now, probably to the SDs. Wonder how much Joe is on these days. They’ve more members money than they know what to do with.
@GrumpyAulFella: haven’t handed labour dues in years
@Ciaran: its a act of solidarity, an act that would be returned if needed.
Workers must stand together against such draconian cuts and assaults on workers.
@Ciaran: excellent example of international workers solidarity…….congratulations.
@Ciaran: = a man who had zero understanding of what solidarity means.
@GrumpyAulFella: if you are a member of Siptu, you have access to the info on salaries of all officials. If you are not a member, it’s none of your business.
@Ciaran: workers off all countries unite.
All workers in every country have a common enemy, the bosses.
@JG: you must have missed the our bit in my post. I am a member. I must check his reward for a laugh. I wonder is the package as obscene as the one that O’Connor was on, about 5 or 6 times the average wage. I think Gino Kenny called it immoral. It’s just members money sure.
@GrumpyAulFella: Certainly agree that the leadership of Unions betrayed their membership when they agreed to the austerity measures brought into repay for the gangsterism of the banks and developers. Especially when so called Labour were receiving contributions from SIPTU. In stating that..on a personal note I am at an age when I was part of of a group of different Unions who collected funds and supported the Miners in their strike against Thatcher and the eradication of their rights . No fan of SIPTU , but would agree with the donation to the striking workers. Funny, but you now appear as a friend of the working man ,where normally your comments support the political parties that are against the rights of workers.
Common David…Liverpool workers kept Dublin fed during the lockout
20k is about 60 cents from each sub
@David cotter: in fairness Dublin and Liverpool was one jurisdiction during the Lockout.
I remember back in the mid-eighties as a school kid giving 50p to the NUM striking miners who were collecting money outside Eason’s on O’Connell Street..week’s pocket money I was going to buy something in Easons with. The plight of the striking miners struck a chord.
I’m a SIPTU member because my work contract says I have to be. That says enough on it own but neither I nor any other SIPTU member I know were asked if we wanted to make this donation. It’s not far off some of the members yearly salary but close to our presidents weekly wage. Make what you will of that
@Bob Murphy: your Union president is on nearly €20,000 a week?
Wow he must be good ?
Could you print your evidence and post it
May be do it over the weekend when u have free time
Which the unions fought for
Or maybe on Monday after your 8 hour working day
Which Unions fought for too
Well done Siptu. Solidarity to all union members involved in industrial action.
There ya go. That’s the Irish union movement for ya. Subscription fees are going to another jurisdiction. Meanwhile their own members get diddly squat. What a laugh! Why not give that €20,000 back to your own transport worker members? Or reduce their subscription fees?
For Mick Lynch I would pay 20k myself if I had it! He has stood up to the bollocks of both politicians and media hypes with such informed clear thinking that simply cuts through the waffle and says what it is. Workers rights are worth protecting. We need the same integrity in our politicians but so far they appear missing in both the UK and Ireland.
@Niall O’Reilly: well said. Mick Lynch is an inspiration
Solidarity to Mick Lynch and for everything he has done. I still think though that it’s not a good move for SIPTU. What right do they have to just throw money to another country. That’s not what people are paying for.
For what???
@RadioMikeOBrien: as a demonstration of solidarity, it says in the report, do you think they should have offered up a Mass instead?
@Tom Hogarty: I loves saying mass
I would love to see the day when British rail workers unions give a cheque to SIPTU!
@Laura McCarthy: really! During the lockout we received donations from the UK to support our workers.
@A -AFC: Applause, I did not know that.
Jimmy hoffa
The Union will give away the members money but they won’t give the water services workers a vote on there agreement with Irish Water with will lead to Irish Water been privatised and water charges been reintroduced. SIPTU and all the other unions are in the government’s back pocket.
Pathetic, Siptu trying to latch on to the Lynchs coat tails, trying to appear relevant
Meanwhile members here are getting fleeced for useless Safe Pass cards,a money making racket,whilst Siptu looks the other way.
@joe oneill: the safe pass for construction workers is a complete racket, exactly the same as the first one years ago and still site safety is a joke.
@Ian James Burgess: absolutely.Sat my 4th one a month ago,5 lads there,not a word of English between them and yet they passed the “exam”.They are probably on sites now paying union fees,no safety,earning 12€ an hour, treated worse than dogs.
A complete and utter scam aided and abetted by Siptu.
@joe oneill: if they join a union they are entitled to the protection of the construction SEO, and minimum wage of around €19 per hour, plus they comply with safety requirements which are given in a language they understand. Join a union and they will protect your rights.
@joe oneill: why are you paying for your safety training? It’s the law that your employer pays for training and pays you for the time spent doing the training.
Unfortunately, I think in the next few years (maybe within 10 years at most), many of the workers who are striking in places like British Rail and Amazon are going to be replaced by robots. You may think I’m off my rocker but the progress being made with automation is both amazing and terrifying at the same time.
I certainly don’t blame workers for wanting better pay and conditions, but if you look at it from the business owner’s / board’s point of view, which option do you think they’ll go with? Human workers who will look for pay rises, phone in sick, have family emergencies, and you have to pay them… or, a host of robots / automatons that don’t get sick, can do the same job as Humans albeit a little slower, don’t take holidays, and you don’t have to pay them?
Look into some of the robots that Boston Dynamics are producing, you may think I’m a header but I’m telling you this is much closer than you’d expect.
@CryptoWilf: The Tyrell Corporation are also doing a nice line in replicants, progress, sure what could go wrong?
@Diaspora’d: sadly the op is more likely to be correct
Siptu is a Dreadful organisation.
Management friends
This is peak something…..not quite sure what but it’s definitely peak something. Answers below…
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