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UP TO 30 people have been protesting outside St. Colmcille’s Credit Union in Kells, Co Meath today in a dispute over recognition of a trade union by the management at the financial institution.
Staff members claim that the credit union has been refusing to engage with their SIPTU representatives. In a statement distributed outside the building, the staff said they joined SIPTU in June 2012 because management had tried to reduce their working hours.
According to the statement, credit union management continues to refuse to meet with SIPTU officials, even after a Labour Court recommendation this May which called for the trade union to be recognised. Kells Credit Union disputes this.
“We are left with no other option but to withdraw our labour in order to ensure that Kells Credit Union respects and complies with the terms of the Labour Court recommendation and recognises SIPTU as our representatives,” the statement said.
The strike will last only one day, but SIPTU sectororganiser Adrian Kane has said there will be further industrial action if credit union management does not implement the Labour Court recommendation.
Outside the credit union building, the strikers encouraged passing drivers to sound their horns and advised visitors to the credit union to come back tomorrow.
In just over 20 minutes, TheJournal.ie saw three visitors decide not to enter the building after hearing what a spokesperson had to say. One other visitor said she needed to go in. Labour Party councillor Tommy Grimes said 99 per cent of visitors have refused to cross the picket line.
“At the end of the day, [management] will have to talk,” Grimes told TheJournal.ie. “This is not going to go away.”
Despite the support shown by members of the local community, Cllr Grimes would not describe today’s strike as a victory. “A message has to go to the [credit union] board of management. It’s not them and us. It’s for the workers. They are entitled to be represented.”
Kells Credit Union has been responding to concerns raised on their Facebook page by referring users to a blog post on their website last December. The post contains a letter addressed to the SIPTU General Secretary which claims the credit union has always recognised the right of its staff to join a trade union.
“SIPTU has complained that Kells Credit Union has declined to recognise SIPTU for collective bargaining purposes,” wrote Cathal Usher, chairperson of Kells Credit Union Board of Directors. “This is distinct from and different to the… claim that there is a refusal to recognise the right of a worker to join a trade union.”
The credit union called on SIPTU to acknowledge that employees are not required to attend meetings with their manager on an individual basis only. The credit union said that employees are simply invited to do this and they also have the option of being accompanied.
The strikers have called on members of the public to contact credit union management and ask them to respect the Labour Court’s recommendation. The Credit Union has apologised to customers for the inconvenience caused.
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The Journal hits a new low
@John B: on the contrary…this is high brow stuff for the Journal.
@John B: Are the taking the piss..??
@Kevin Conway: To where?
@Ally Collyer: To the tannery of course.
@Kevin Conway: I still piss in the bath!
@Damien Leen: they could be anti mask and pro quad, in fairness, couldn’t they?
@John B: Not even close
@John B: you mustn’t listen to radio so as has been a topic recently
Millions of tons of raw sewage are pumped into the sea every year and we are worried about someone taking a pee while they are swimming. Christ on a bike.
Yeah! The fish do, so why can’t I.
@Declan Carr: One of the simple pleasures of life.
Direct delivery, cutting out the middleman…
Are we sanctioning fish now?
@Effrafax of Wug: fish and seagulls pee in the see and by the way Bears shit in the woods
@Derek Long: But they don’t use shampoo!
The struggle of trying to remove a wetsuit when bursting is not worth the hassle
When we are suitably hydrated Urine is about 95% water
Now defecating in the sea while wearing a wetsuit is were I’d draw the line
@Liam Ó hAodha: Pissing in a wetsuit is pretty grim too. I’d have no problem wearing something else but wetsuits you’re keeping a body temperature layer of water next to your skin to keep you warm and then mixing a kidneyload into that to stew until it eventually filters out into the water
@Liam Ó hAodha: I’ve crossed that line.
I can only imagine the conversation that took place between the author and the editor on this article.
What about the option “Are you taking the piss”
TO PEE OR NOT TO PEE… sure its the same “water” that been recycled since the beginning…! methinks that his is a marketing ploy to get us over to the sunny Spain! maybe?
Interesting that Spain at least see a reason for building public toilets. Reading the original article, they seem more concerned with people washing in the sea with soap and shampoo.
If its good enough for a whale it’s good enough for me
Ah I’m thinking this app is getting annoying with them cutting comments short and all the self absorbed arrogant people and now pee omg
Next poll “Would you consider dropping a ‘brown trout’ in the sea ok”
Madness! Sure, look at all large mammals in the ocean, such as Whales and in particular Humpback Whales are producing tonnes upon tonnes of waste. Mammal waste offers nutritional benefits to ocean life.
Why do you think the sea tastes salty
@Mary Fitzsimons: I always thought it was down to the sperm whales.
You’ll be a shoe in for that pulitzer now Gaz!
So how could this be prosecuted, evidence and witness statement from an eel
The clams saw nothing!
This is is to stop people defecating. Nobody cares if people are peeing.
It also covers spitting, menstruating, ejaculating and vomiting.
It’s all terminology.
@Sequoia: one of these things is not like the other. Menstruation is not something optional
@Sequoia: The mind boggles. Surely if someone is involuntarily spluttering or vomiting, the priority would to be to rescue them, not fine them.
@Elaynehb: nor is vomiting
@Elaynehb:
Uh uh…. That’s not what I meant and you know it.
It’s verbiage covers the normal functions of living organisms. This includes all bodily fluids.
Menstruating. Is total my natural and healthy, it becoming a biohazard (whereby someone would discard used products in the sand or sea) is not.
This law covers that quite rightly.
Nobody is getting fined for minor infractions (peeing – which will become infinitely diluted), but actual offences where there is matter which becomes biohazard to other people will result in a proper fine.
TLDR. A small minority of people are gross and so disgusting things and we have to legislate to stop them doing it which affects the majority of people who are sensible and cultured.
@Fiona Fitzgerald:
In the majority of cases yes.
But, with a majority there is always a minority.
Was once in Florida during spring break and witnessed drunk people drinking a pint of alcohol and then measuring the induced vomit to see who brought up the least.
Some people lack class, brains and culture and ruin things for the majority who do not.
@Sequoia: I can’t help wondering if there’s an aspect of this that excludes homeless people who might otherwise seek to stay clean if they have to resort to sleeping on beaches. It seems more about waste products contaminating their coast.
I wonder if it is worse than pesticides and wastes going into rivers then sea. Can the Journal factcheck do a comparison report?
I surfed at Lahich for many years. Depending on the tide and currents occasionally I found my self swimming in a shoal of “Brown Trout” from the raw sewage out fall for the town. I only got 2 nasty kidney infections that required anti biotics in 20 years surfing there, still 2 to many. So don’t, piss in the sea if you can avoid it, its nasty to fellow swimmers and attracts sharks, and never piss in your wetsuit, its rots the suit and you will end up with a nasty rash down below.
This must be the Spanish version of April Fools.
I don’t think ‘physiological evacuations’ refers to pee. It could refer to pee but somehow I don’t think that’s the evacuation they’re worried about.
Who said “I don’t know “
surely the real question is ‘does a bear shit in the woods?’ #sillyseason
Isn’t pee organic? What effect does human pee have in seas and oceans? Be different if we pee’d out crude oil! Quick and shleeveen way of gathering taxes I think.
Who said “I don’t know “ ha ha ha
Dont know this spanish resort but if they’re banning peeing in the sea (how they’ll know iv no idea) they must be installing plenty of public toilets which will also need cleaning on a regular basis, because u can be sure restaurants won’t want people trudging in n out to use toilets
What’s wrong with you people
What about the seaweed?
But does anyone think it’s ok to shite in the sea?
@Ronan Horan: it’s a bit of a brown area.
Just not next to me please
To pee or not to pee
Seriously? Is common sense completely gone now? Even aside from actual sewage going into the sea, fish, whales, seals, etc all do their toilet business in the water, in fact they literally eat, sleep, poop and breathe in it. What’s one human’s pee when all of that is going on already?
have your say