Connect April 2011

SPRING 2011 VOL: 13

NO. 1

Spring Seminar, 2011 Breaffy House Hotel 14th - 15th April

eircom Rescue Plan Briefings

Vodafone Recruitment

UPS Dispute, Turkey

Editorial

Dear Colleague,

Contents Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Letters to the Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Organising Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Think Union, Buy Union – SIPTU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Vodafone Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Crisis in the Postal Market! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Postal Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Collection & Delivery Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

FM Downes Annual Travel Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Ten Month Dispute at UPS, Turkey, ends . . . . . . . . . . .

Education Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Budget 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

AVIVA Health Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Equality Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . eircom Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

William Norton’s Oration at Big Jim Larkin’s Grave, 1947 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ICTU Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ESCCU Credit Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Law Civil/Criminal and the Court System in Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Irish Kidney Association ~ Be a Donor . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Is there a sponge in your workplace? . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CWU Charitable Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CWU People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Halligan Insurances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CWU People ~ Death Notices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Book Review . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

An Post Employees’ Credit Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

CWU Charitable Fund Subscription Form . . . . . . . . . . .

CWU Membership Application Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2-3 4-7 8-9 10 11 12 13-17 18 19 20-21 22-25 26 27 28-29 30-33

As I write my editorial, we have just been through what feels like one of the longest election campaigns in history. I do accept that it was one of the most important elections in our history and every day I come into work, I am reminded of the sorry state that this country has been left in by the outgoing government. For many, the lack of economic activity is beginning to severely bite and impact on the businesses which employ the majority of our Members. For once, it is difficult to lay all of those problems at the door of senior Management, since many of the key problems are out of their control too.

It has become more and more obvious to most of us that, more than ever, our jobs are impacted by political decisions. As a result, over the past year we have been more active politically, than any time in my history in the Union. That activity has covered a number of meetings with the Joint Oireachtas SubCommittee on Communications, meetings with the then Minister for Communications, meetings with ComReg, meetings with the Department of Communications, and briefings with individuals and groups of TDs. During that period, we have also dealt locally with County Councils throughout the country and directly with individual members of the Seanad and with groupings of Senators. The whole purpose of all that interaction was to try and establish the viewpoint of the CWU as part of the policies of all parties in Ireland, and particularly for the parties who would form the next government.

To that end, we also wrote directly to the parties and shared the outcome of that correspondence with Members. It is

34-36 36-37 38 39-40 40 41 42 42-49 50 51 52 53 54 55-56

Editor: Steve Fitzpatrick Sub-Editor: Imelda Wall Issued by: Communications Workers’ Union, 575 North Circular Road, Dublin 1.

Telephone: 8663000 and Fax: 8663099 E-mail: info@cwu.ie Incorporating the PTWU Journal, THE RELAY and THE COMMUNICATIONS WORKER The opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the CWU.

Photographs: John Chaney Printed by Mahons Printing Works, Dublin.

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encouraging to report that the answers given to us by the government parties, and in particular by the Labour Party, have been included in the agreed programme for the national government. The following are the excerpts from that programme, in relation to those key questions:

Minimum Wage: “We will reverse the recent cut in the national minimum wage.”

Collective Bargaining and Trade Union Rights: “We will reform the current law on employees’ right to engage in collective bargaining (the Industrial Relations (Amendment) Act 2001), so as to ensure compliance by the State with recent judgments of the European Court of Human Rights.”

Steve Fitzpatrick, General Secretary, CWU

An Post: “A universal postal service is an essential public service, in particular for rural communities and those disadvantaged communities affected by digital divide. A publicly owned, commercially viable, profitable and efficient An Post is critical to the long-term viability of the postal market. We will enact into law the Postal Services Bill which opens the postal market to competition. Will protect universal service obligation by assigning it to An Post for at least 20 years, make provision for state subvention and require that any decision by ComReg to reassign or scrap USO is subject to ministerial approval.

We will ensure that the network of post offices around the country is maintained and that communities have access to adequate postal services in their locality.”

Broadband “A Next General Telecoms Network: NewERA will co-invest with the private sector and commercial semi State sector to provide next generation broadband to every home and business in the state.

This will be achieved by delivering fibre to the home or kerb for 90% of homes and businesses in Ireland with the remaining 10% provided with high speed mobile or satellite broadband.”

It is now incumbent on us, and indeed, the other Trade Unions, to ensure the delivery of those items, as set out in the programme and it will be interesting to see how those matters will develop in the coming months. In particular, the Trade Unions are excited about the guarantee in relation to collective bargaining, as this is something that has not been achieved before in the history of the State, and indeed, something that was seriously lacking and a cause of huge problems for many workers in this Union and throughout the country.

It is now my sincere hope that the new government will take measures to rebuild confidence in the Irish economy and to get people back to work. There is no doubt in my mind that that was the key issue in this election. The suffering endured by the Irish people over the past few years can only really be alleviated in the long-term by the return to almost full employment.

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During the Christmas period one of our members, Mr Cathal Costello, from Sligo rang into Headquarters on a number of occasions as he wished to talk to me in relation to my editorial in the Connect magazine, which was issued before Christmas.

At that time I was very heavily involved in discussions with eircom and its owners, and I was away from the office for some period of days. When Mr Costello asked to speak with me he was told by Union Headquarters that the process for dealing with the Officials and the Executive was through their Branch and/or Section. Mr Costello was unhappy with that position and continued to call the office.

Two members of Head Office staff at the time told me that Mr Costello threatened to leave the Union if I did not call him personally. To be fair to Mr Costello, he has since denied that accusation, but the two members of staff are willing to stand over it. In the circumstances I decided not to call Mr Costello and I have included herewith a copy of my written response to his letter. I have also, as requested by Mr Costello, included his correspondence uncensored.

Given everything that is going on in the country and within the various companies that we represent, the time that the Officers spend at negotiations leaves them with very little time to attend to day-to-day issues within the office. There is a huge amount of concern and worry about proposals that are being discussed at present and as a result many individuals call Union Head Office demanding to speak directly to me. If I was to answer every one of those phone-calls, the reality is that I would not have any time to do any other work. As a result, I generally refer people back to their Branch.

When the occasion arises that I have adequate time, I do make the effort to call the members concerned, but if I can’t, I won’t do so.

I believe I have attended more general meetings, Section meetings, Branch meetings, and individual meetings than any other General Secretary in the history of this Union. I insist that all our Officials and Executive attend meetings around the country in order to ensure every member has an opportunity in each year to address their concerns to a representative of Head Office. It is my intention to continue that and I hope it goes some way to explaining why I can’t deal with every personal phone-call at any minute of the day when an individual feels the need to talk to me.

Steve Fitzpatrick General Secretary The following is a verbatim reproduction of the correspondence between Mr Cathal Costello and the General Secretary of the CWU, Steve Fitzpatrick: again attempted to contact you but somebody in the office quoted the “rule book” as the reason that I cannot talk to you.

My goodness who do you think you are, an Ayatollah?

I am an ordinary member of our Union and I am being treated like muck by your actions. On page 6 of Connect Winter 2010 there is a heading “Two thirds of workers not in Union”, well if your attitude is widespread in the upper layers of our unions then the future is indeed bleak for us.

Co. Sligo 6.1.2011 Dear Mr Fitzpatrick, My name is Cathal Costello and I am a member of the Sligo section. I have been a Trade Union member since 1976 first with the I.P.O.E.U. and then the C.W.U. I am a firm believer in the ideals of a Trade Union and I fully acknowledge the great work done by our members over the years.

However all this has changed in the last few weeks with your petulance and stubbornness in refusing to either answer my telephone calls or return a call at your convenience. The final straw was today when I

Yours faithfully Cathal Costello

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7th January 2011 Mr Cathal Costello Co. Sligo Dear Cathal, I believe you have been on the telephone to Union Headquarters on a number of occasions both before and after Christmas on the basis that you wanted to talk to me, as you were unhappy with the content of my Editorial in the December Connect magazine.

In the first instance, I am sure you will be aware that the content of the editorial is the opinion of the Editor alone, and I take full responsibility for what is written in that editorial and indeed, I stand over every word of it. It is not anything other than my opinion and it is not the opinion of the National Executive Council or the Union as a whole.

I also believe that you were unhappy that I did not immediately return your call and that you said and I quote “It is the members who are paying the wages and Steve should have the decency to return the call”. You should be aware that we have approximately 17,000 members and it would be impossible for me to deal with them on an individual basis.

Indeed, it is the norm that all issues are dealt with through the Branch and Section structure. The Union officials and I deal with a myriad of issues on a daily basis through those agreed structures and rules. Notwithstanding that, I normally do return members calls when I get the time from what is a quite an horrendous schedule, but I am sure you will understand that under no circumstances will I ever return a call to a member who threatens that he/she will withdraw their membership if I don’t say “how high, when they say jump”. In simple terms, I will not deal with you or indeed anybody else under that type of a threat.

For your information, the process for withdrawing your membership is that you write in a letter to Union Headquarters saying you want to leave the Union and that you wish to have your subscriptions ceased. I can assure you of prompt attention if that is your decision.

In relation to the editorial and, in particular, to the attacks on Fianna Fáil, I must admit that I was of the view I had somehow understated the damage that successive Fianna Fáil led governments have done to the people of this country. More importantly, from my position as General Secretary, it is hard to Continued overleaf 5

under estimate the damage successive Fianna Fáil governments have done to the telecommunications industry in Ireland and, in particular, to eircom.

You will recall that it was a Fianna Fáil Minister who privatised eircom, despite our strenuous objections and did so without any efforts to protect the company and the business into the future. It has also been successive Fianna Fáil led governments, which have implemented a regulatory regime that has further undermined eircom and made a bad situation worse. I understand from your telephone conversations that you are a Fianna Fáil supporter. I am sure there are many decent Fianna Fáil supporters throughout the country, but while you may not like my views on your party, I stand over them all and I sincerely believe the recent Fianna Fáil led governments have done a grave disservice to this country and its people. To be frank, I find their efforts to shift the blame and their lack of accountability quite

appalling. It never ceases to amaze me how trade union members continue to vote for politicians who quite clearly operate on behalf of the “golden circle”, and then somehow discover a way to blame others and indeed, often their union, for the policies implemented by the Politicians they have elected.

Co. Sligo

you to return the call immediately and I would not have delayed you longer than one minute.

As you are aware the issue that I have has nothing to do with the Section or Branch structure and I also wish to make it clear that I would never threaten or blackmail anybody with my Union contribution nor would I belittle anybody, let alone someone in your position with the “jump how high” attitude.

I find your remarks about my Union membership very flippant and mean, comming from somebody in a powerful position in our Union. If a member of management showed me how to resign my job

I am also conscious of the fact that you were offered an opportunity as an individual member to put your concerns in writing, and indeed to have those concerns published in the Connect magazine. That offer still stands, and I believe that if you have the courage of your convictions, you will take the opportunity to outline where you believe my editorial was wrong and misleading.

Yours sincerely, Steve Fitzpatrick General Secretary

24.1.2011 Dear Mr. Fitzpatrick, Thank you for your letters which I recently received.

I welcome your clarification that the December Editorial was not the opinion of our Union.

In one of your letters you seem to be able to quote me, I find that strange because as both of us know you have refused to speak to me on the telephone. For your information, I never expected

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and assured me of “prompt attention” there would be uproar. I hope that you or who ever drafted that part of the letter with draws that remark.

Towards the end of the letter you mention the privatisation of eircom and again Fianna Fáil are cast as the villans. Talks on the privatisation were ongoing during the 1994-1997 Coalition Government which contained the Labour party and Democratic Left. One of the sticking points was the percentage share that the ESOP would get.

The then Minister Alan Dukes T.D. would only go as far as 9.9% but the new Minister, Mary O’Rourke T.D. struck a deal for 14.9%. The privatisation could not have been implemented without our consent and I do not remember any “strenuous objections”. What has happened since is of course Capitalism but I am afraid we (the ESOP) were as fond of money as Sir Anthony and his pals, and we also played a part in the carry-on of the last number of years.

On a positive note I would like to thank you for accepting that there are decent Fianna Fail supporters throughout the country. I would like to

count myself in that group. We are very proud of our country, its traditions, its past and its people.

We would never describe our country as “banjacked” like some of our opponents. There is nobody as shocked as Fianna Fail people at how economic events have unfolded. We all share in the sense of frustration felt by many families across the country but the emotive and unbalanced attack on Fianna Fail in your Editorial adds nothing to the national debate. Indeed I found your comments in relation to Fianna Fail very offensive. I first read the Editorial at home the evening that it was delivered and to be honest with you I was shocked because I would have expected a higher standard of analysis from someone in your position. This editorial does a major disservice to our Union and is a major departure from our non party political stance up until now.

You have my permission to publish this letter in full and uncensored in the next edition of Connect.

14th February 2011 Co. Sligo

insist that your letter be printed in full, I will of course have no option but to give the staff the same opportunity to rebut what you were saying in your letter in relation to your conversation with them.

Thanking you Cathal Costello

Dear Cathal, Thank you for your letter of 24th January 2011.

Yours sincerely,

Unfortunately, the staff here at Union Headquarters do not share your view of the telephone conversations that took place between you and them when you were looking to speak to me.

Three members of staff spoke to you and two confirmed to me that you threatened to withdraw your subscriptions if I did not return your call. I do not intend to get into a long correspondence course on that point, but all three members of staff found your tone and comments to be of a hostile nature.

Steve Fitzpatrick General Secretary

Notwithstanding that, I still wish to offer you the opportunity to respond to my Editorial, but I do not see the benefit it would be for the members if we were to share the debate surrounding your phone calls.

So therefore, I would ask that you take the points from your letter and put them in the form of a rebuttal of my Editorial and if you do so, in those circumstances, I would be happy to print it. If you

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Zevas Communications American Airlines Committee Training

As part of the continuing campaign to improve conditions for employees in Zevas Communications, the organisers paid another visit to Cork, to meet with staff. A number of issues were raised on the subject of contracts and payments.

After being armed with information and advice, the staff made their concerns known to the company. In response to the determination of the workers, the company revised its earlier position and several staff received payments that had previously been withheld.

Despite this great success, there are still outstanding issues in Zevas and the organisers intend to continue to support the employees in their drive to achieve real improvements in their daily working lives.

The American Airlines Committee attended training in Head Office on the 23rd February. The training focused mainly on grievance and disciplinary processes and the attendees had the opportunity to review case studies and discuss how they might be handled. It was felt to be a very productive and interesting day and marks the beginning of an ongoing process of learning for the committee.

Our thanks to those who took part.

Dell Direct update Global Telesales

As previously reported, the Union had secured a date for a Labour Court hearing in the matter of Dell Direct in December 2010.

The Union attended, accompanied by several Dell members, and the company arrived well-armed with a large delegation of managers and legal advisers. Before the Union could present its case however, the Dell legal team questioned the legitimacy of the hearing and raised a number of previously unheard challenges. In response, the Court had no choice but to defer the submission of the Union’s case, until a preliminary hearing could take place to hear submissions on the validity of the dispute.

The preliminary hearing has been set for the end of March and we will update members in the next issue of Connect.

The long-running saga regarding the introduction of lower salary bands at Global Telesales was the subject of a recent Labour Court hearing. The dispute dates back to 2007, when the company unilaterally introduced new salary caps. These imposed changes resulted in CWU members being denied a number of salary increases which they had a legitimate expectation to receive. The Union sought the assistance of the Labour Relations Commission to resolve this issue. Unfortunately, there was no resolution reached and the case was referred to the Labour Court. At the time of going to print, the Union are waiting for the Labour Court to issue a recommendation.

Youth Open Day The organisers are planning a special event, open to young members, to give them the opportunity to be heard on issues that affect them in their day-to-day lives. In order to represent and speak for our younger members, it is vital that we understand what is important to them and what topics interest and concern them.

During the day, young members will be given information on how the Union works and what benefits can be enjoyed, through membership. There will be a relaxed atmosphere, where the members should feel free to express themselves and can ask questions and give feedback. The Youth Committee is hopeful that these young members will go away with a renewed enthusiasm and express an interest in becoming more active in the Union and in their workplaces.

Of course, there will be the all important chance to socialise afterwards!

Meteor Retail Organisers have held discussions with Meteor management, with a view to visiting all Meteor stores throughout the country. The aim of this activity is to recruit staff in Meteor retail outlets into the Union.

There are already a substantial number of Meteor members in the Union, but some Meteor workers are unaware of the role that the CWU plays in their workplace. In addition to recruiting new members, organisers are seeking volunteers, to act as representatives for their colleagues in Meteor.

If you are a Meteor retail employee and would like to take a more active role in the Union, contact gerard@cwu.ie

For more information on this event, contact Fionnuala at fnib@cwu.ie 8

UNI Global Solidarity Subject: Global solidarity with US workers fighting for union rights To members of the UNI World Executive Board (titular and substitute members) UNI Global Union is supporting its sisters and brothers in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and across the United States, whose Union rights are under attack by Republican politicians, who want to destroy Unions in the public sector.

Bills proposed by Republicans in state legislatures in Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana, would strip workers employed by state or local government of most of their collective bargaining rights, if passed into law.

UNI’s US affiliates are fighting back against this attack on workers and the American middle-class, with massive protests in Wisconsin, Ohio and around

the US, in support of the public employees and their Unions.

UNI and its members around the world are standing in global solidarity with the US workers and their families.

“We will not sit by as Republican governors in Wisconsin, Ohio or any other states attack the workers who teach their children, keep the community safe and care for the sick,” said UNI General Secretary Philip Jennings. “These are politically-motivated attacks that seek to break the back of US Unions, one of the last powerful institutions that promote the interests of working families.”

The workers and their Unions have had tens of thousands of supporters turn out every day in Wisconsin’s capital of Madison. Thousands have also turned out in Ohio, to protest the bill being considered there. Thousands more have staged support vigils across the country.

Democratic members of the state legislatures in Wisconsin have left the state, depriving the Republican-controlled

State House from having the quorum needed to vote on budget bills. Democrats used a similar tactic with great success in Indiana, where the bill to deprive workers of Union rights expired without a vote on Tuesday night.

“The US Unions are fighting, not just for their members, but for the American middle-class,” Jennings said. “The outcome in Wisconsin and in Ohio will set the tone for many other states and for the nation as a whole.”

The fight in the US for human, economic and Union rights, come just as millions of people across North Africa and the Middle East are fighting for the same reasons.

UNI is supporting all of those who want rights on the job and decent wages and benefits.

“We offer the same support to Wisconsin workers and Unions that we are offering in Bahrain,” Jennings said. “We will do all we can to ensure that the US Union Movement and workers win this fight.”

We have achieved over 90% Vodafone retail membership in Dublin stores become more involved with the Union, as local representatives or in the CWU Youth committee.

Organisers have already visited Limerick, Drogheda, Dundalk, Navan, Cork and all Dublin stores. If we have missed you on these visits, or we haven’t visited your store yet and you would like to know more, let us know - we would love to hear from you.

Are you a Vodafone retail employee? Would you like to be more active in your Union? The CWU is always seeking volunteers to act as local reps or get involved with the Youth Committee. If you would like more information, contact your Branch Secretary, Mick Farrell, or email gerard@cwu.ie

Organisers from the Union have completed the first phase of the Vodafone retail campaign. With the assistance of Vodafone Branch Secretary, Mick Farrell, the organisers have now visited all of the Dublin outlets and recruited several new members. The Union is delighted to announce that over 90% of Vodafone retail workers are now members of the Union.

The next phase in this campaign involves training volunteers to act as local representatives in Vodafone retail which will take place during March.

Organisers have now commenced visiting Vodafone sites throughout the country, with the aim of meeting every Vodafone worker and inviting them to join the CWU. The Union will seek volunteers to act as local representatives, based on geographical location.

We are delighted with the response we are receiving in terms of both new members and volunteers, who wish to

Don’t forget, we are now on facebook and have a brand new website: www.cwu.ie 9

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Vodafone Update Caroline McGuinness availed of the recent Voluntary leaving package in Vodafone Ireland to try some new challenges. Caroline, for many years, was the face of the CWU in the Vodafone Call Centre in Dundalk and she will be greatly missed. Caroline was an asset to both the Company and the Union over the years, with her quick grasp of complex issues and her astute and often timely advice to members.

Caroline joined the Company when eircell was just in its infancy and she witnessed the transition of Dundalk from the old eircom Telephone Exchange to a mobile Call Centre, with all the new working arrangements that that entailed. She played a key role with the CWU in formulating the various policies and agreements within Vodafone’s Call Centres that have certainly stood the test of time.

Having left the Company just prior to Christmas, Caroline was able to take some time out of her busy schedule to meet up recently with the CWU’s Deputy General Secretary, Terry Delany, and Mick Farrell (Branch Secretary) Mike O’Conner (NEC), Vodafone Branch Officers, to have a belated send-off at which the DGS, on behalf of the Union, wished her and her family best wishes for the future.

Caroline McGuinness moves on to pastures new from Vodafone

Pictured l to r: Mick Farrell, Branch Secretary, Caroline McGuinness, Terry Delany, Deputy General Secretary and Mike O’Connor, NEC.

Crisis in Egypt – Vodafone Make the Wrong Call

Governments in the world) has a legal power to instruct all operators, in a state of emergency, to do what it deems necessary to preserve law and order. Not respecting such instructions can carry the risk of imprisonment in the context of Marshall Law”. The CEO went on to say,”We were quick in restoring services, as soon as the authorities let us do it”.

At the time of writing this report, President Mubarak has left Egypt and the country is gradually returning to “normality”, but the future is very uncertain and we can only hope that the people in Egypt will attain their objective to live in a peaceful democratic society.

Mubarak and his cronies were not trying to preserve law and order, when they issued instructions to Vodafone. What they were doing, was suppressing people’s rights to protest and their desire to live in a free democratic society. It is unacceptable for Vodafone, to suggest that most Governments in the world would have acted in the same way. Vodafone could have taken a stand, in support of the protesters, by refusing to close down the network, and the CEO’s statement that the company were quick in restoring services, as soon as the authorities let them do so, clearly demonstrates that their priority was not to offend Mubarak and his cronies. Vodafone’s involvement in Egypt calls into question their whole strategy of outsourcing work from countries who have democratically-elected governments and whose citizens live in freedom, to countries like Egypt.

Surely, a prerequisite for setting up business in any country is to ensure that the citizens of the country have the right to protest and a company is not required to close down its network at the behest of discredited regimes. Clearly, in this case, Vodafone made the wrong call.

One of the main reasons for the success of the protests in Egypt was the ability of the protesters to communicate with the outside world, via mobile phones. Mubarak and his cronies recognised this and, in an effort to frustrate the protesters and to hide from the outside world what was going on in Egypt, they instructed Vodafone to shut down their network. Vodafone complied with the instruction and the CEO issued a communication to staff wherein he stated, “a small number of NGOs (Non Governmental Organisations) and some private individuals have criticised Vodafone for having complied with the Egyptian Government’s request to shut down the network. While it is obvious that we did not like it, as we believe in everyone’s right to communicate, it should also be clear that the Egyptian Government (as most 11

CRISIS IN THE

POSTAL MARKET! PLEASE SIGN WD 94/2010 ON POSTAL SERVICES

Dennis de Jong-GUE/NGL Georges Bach-EPP Sa誰d El Khadraoui-S&D Marian Harkin-ALDE Isabelle Durant-Greens/EFA

Postal Update

Seán McDonagh, Cormac O’Dalaigh & Emmanuel Cassidy, outside Leinster House ensure that it does not become a burden on the State whilst it delivers a critical public service.

Campaign Activities The Protect Your Post Campaign really kicked off in the week beginning October 25th, 2010, when two key events took place. On the 27th October, 2010, a delegation of the CWU, comprised of Steve Fitzpatrick (General Secretary, CWU), Seán McDonagh (Postal/Courier National Officer), Joe Guinan (Postal/Courier National Officer), Cormac O’Dalaigh (Vice-President, CWU) and Ian McArdle (Head of Regulatory Affairs), met with the Joint Oireachtas Committee for Communications, to discuss the Union’s concerns regarding the liberalisation of the postal market, and soon-to-be published Postal Services Bill. The delegation brought the Committee through a comprehensive presentation on a number of key areas, including: • • •

Postal Liberalisation Training Seminar In the same week, on the 29th October, 2010, the Union organised a training seminar for all Postal Branch Secretaries in Union Head Office. The General Secretary formally launched the Protect Your Post Campaign by revealing the dedicated Campaign website (www.protectyourpost.ie), which was designed to allow members of the Union and the public to send a message to their elected representatives. In conjunction with this, the General Secretary unveiled the information booklet An Easy Guide to Postal Liberalisation, which is designed to support the national campaign and which includes a tear-out postcard, to allow a message to be sent to the Minister for Communications.

Head of Regulatory Affairs, Ian McArdle, then brought the group through the presentation which had been given to the Joint Oireachtas Committee. Following this, there was a comprehensive Questions & Answers session on the detail of the legislation and on how best to lobby local politicians.

The social and economic value of the postal market Postage costs Key concerns on liberalisation

The overriding message delivered by the delegation to the Committee, which included Deputy Liz McManus of Labour and Deputy Leo Varadkar of Fine Gael, was that An Post is a highly efficient, well-run postal operator that has never received State support or taxpayer handouts. Postage costs in this country are among the lowest in Europe and qualityof-service figures are consistently improving. Despite declining mail volumes that are cause for serious concern, the Company has still managed to turn a small profit, to

National Protect Your Post Campaign Takes Off Since the launch of the website on the training day for Branch Secretaries in Union Head Office, most, if not all 13

Postal Update Branches, have been actively lobbying their local councils to get a motion in support of the postal service passed. In addition to this, there has been a huge amount of activity on the Protect Your Post website, with over 7,000 letters sent to elected representatives throughout the country.

The passing of motions at Council level, combined with the several thousand email messages that have been sent to TDs and Senators, built up a significant head of steam which ensured that every TD and Senator was very much aware of our concerns on the Postal Services Bill. Just how seriously they were taking our concerns was much in evidence when, on the 1st December, 2010, the Union organised an Information Day in Buswells Hotel and invited TDs and Senators to attend. Over 80 elected representatives attended on the day, which was a hugely significant turnout, given that the day itself was marked by treacherous weather conditions. Those in attendance from Head Office and from the Liberalisation Sub-Committee had their hands full for the day, as they discussed the Union’s concerns with everyone who turned out in such huge numbers.

Postal Services Bill, it was clear that they were all broadly supportive of the CWU position. Again, such was the interest from elected representatives to have their comments on the record in relation to this Bill, the debate was not concluded as planned on the 13th, but was rescheduled for debate on Thursday, 20th January, 2011. Even then, the debate could not be concluded and slipped into another week, before finally being passed onto the Joint Oireachtas Committee. However, before it could be debated by the Committee, the 30th Dáil was dissolved and a general election called. It should be noted that, on the eve of the resignation of the Green Party Ministers, the Minister for Communications, Eamon Ryan TD, met with the General Secretary, where he took the opportunity to put our concerns directly to the Minister responsible for this brief. However the meeting could not be described as a success, as the Minister was not prepared to engage in meaningful debate on the very serious issues the General Secretary raised.

Senate Debate

With a general election called, the Union immediately set about contacting the various opposition parties who had supported the CWU campaign, to ensure that their election manifestoes made reference to postal liberalisation. Fine Gael and Labour have formed the next government and both parties have included references to postal liberalisation in their manifestoes which is vital for our campaign when the legislation reappears.

General Election

In conjunction with the Information Day, the Liberalisation Sub-Committee and others had been busy lobbying Senators, as it became clear that the Postal Services Bill would be debated in the Seanad, before it went to the Dáil, which is not the normal procedure. Usually, a Bill is debated in the Dáil, before going to the Seanad. The hard work of everybody involved in the discussions with Senators was clearly in evidence at the debate, as speaker after speaker spoke in favour of the CWU position and sought to have the legislation amended accordingly. Sadly, however, many of these amendments fell, as the government opted only to support its own amendments. That said, clearly the work done by the Union and its representatives to get our message across had succeeded, as the debate went on much longer than expected, with a huge number of Senators seeking to have the opportunity to air their views and concerns in relation to the legislation.

Next Steps?

Pat Rabbitte became the new Minister for Communications and as well as carefully monitoring which TDs form the new Joint Oireachtas Committee for Communications, the Union is still intent on meeting this group, before any legislation is concluded.

As regards the legislation, while there are a number of options open to the new government, it is expected that the Second Stage in the Dáil will have to be started again which means that our campaign is not over yet, though we are in a much better position than we were earlier this year. The challenge for us now will be to make sure that they do not forget the clear statements they made on the Dáil record during the debates.

In addition to this, the Union continues its battle at the European level also and, along with the Postal Liberalisation Sub-Committee: Cormac O’Dalaigh (Vice President), Charlie Kelly, Ger O’Brien, John Tansey, Martina O’Connell, Damien Tuohy, and Emmanuel Cassidy, Head of Regulation, Ian McArdle met with MEPs in Brussels on Tuesday 1st March, to discuss the UNI campaign which is calling for MEPs to sign a declaration (WD 94/2010) that will force the Parliament to set up a study on the social consequences of postal liberalisation so far, which is badly needed.

Dáil Debate The government had hoped to have the Postal Services Bill discussed AND passed before the end of the final Dáil session in 2010, however, such was the intensity of the debate in the Seanad on the issue, that it was delayed, with the result that the Bill did not make it to the floor of the Dáil before the Christmas break. With the Dáil returning to session on the 10th January, 2011, the Postal Services Bill was debated for the first time on the 13th January, 2011.

Once again, it was clear that, because of the work done by the Union in meeting with and talking to key Party spokespersons and other TDs, our message had got across loud and clear. Of those that spoke in the debate on the 14

Postal Update

MULLINGAR DELIVERY SERVICE UNIT ~ LAST DAY IN BLUE UNIFORM

Pictured l to r, Back row: P. Kiernan, R. McDonnell, J.O’Connor M. McDonnell, P. Freeman, G. Warde, E. Montgomery, C. Casserly, B. Carr, K. Donoghoe, M. Murray, A. Stalenburg, W. Gilhooley.

Middle Row: G. O’Connor, A. Grey, J. McKnight, N. Daly, J. Martin, D. Duncan, P. Earley, M. Scully, D. Tyrell, R. O’Connor, J. Quinlan, I. Ryan, P. Collins, K. Gavin, L. Mattews Front Row: T. Keenan, J. Irwin, A. Tyrell, A. Rickard, P. Rickard, G. Purcell, J. Thorne, M. Little, J. Kiernan, K. Hynes

An article taken from the Westmeath Topic on Postal Liberalisation (23/30 December 2010) 15

Postal Update

Postpersons’ New Uniform The Company has also brought to the attention of the suppliers, concerns raised about other elements of the uniform, including the beanie hat, belt clasps and the cord on the rainwear.

The New Uniform for Delivery Staff was launched on the 4th January, 2011, with the Company and the Union having agreed a review after a period of time. As part of this review, the Union sought feedback from Postal Branches. The National Executive Council appreciates the level of submissions made by them. The overwhelming view was that the new uniform is a success, although the organization and distribution had its shortcomings.

Safety Footwear The Union has raised concerns with the Company in relation to the Safety Footwear. The primary difficulty relates to the soles of the boots, as they have leaked. In response to our concerns, the Company advised that they have purchased over 6,000 boots. They met with the supplier, to discuss the difficulties. It was the opinion of the suppliers that the damage was not normal wear and tear, but they agreed to send a sample of the boots to an independent footwear testing company, to conduct appropriate technological tests.

It has been agreed to conduct trials of a similar style boot with an alternative sole. It is unlikely that the trials will be concluded in time to meet the deadlines to place orders for the 2012 distribution. However, safety boots can be returned and replaced if delivery staff encounter a leak (unless of course, the leak emanates from the management suite in the GPO which has the propensity to travel upwards and onwards!).

The Union received a total of 29 Submissions from the following Branches: Ballina, Ballinasloe, Bandon, Birr/ Roscrea, Bray, Carlow, Carrick-on-Shannon, Castlerea, Cork Area Managers, Dublin Drivers, Dublin Mails Managers, DPDB, Dundalk, Ennis, Enniscorthy, Galway, Kilkenny, Killarney, Letterkenny, Lifford, Limerick, Longford, Mullingar, Naas, Portlaoise, Thurles, Tuam, Waterford and Westport.

The main issues raised by Branches related to: • • • •

the requirement for a Jumper trousers being too cold difficulties with sizing problems with distribution

The Union raised members’ concerns with the Company at the Joint Uniform Group and the Company undertook to examine the feedback, with the intention of providing an early response.

The Company advised that it was aware of the shortcomings of the distribution programme, including the difference between the sizes of garments fitted and the garments actually supplied. The Company raised these with the suppliers and the Company has confirmed that measures have been put in place to ensure that such problems are not encountered in future annual uniform distribution. The Company has introduced an exchange programme and it is expected that most staff should have the correct number and size of garment by the end of April, 2011.

In response to other issues raised, the Company has confirmed the following: • • •

In the shirt, a different, softer fabric will be used.

An option of trousers made of a heavier fabric will be included in future.

An option of a jumper will be included in future.

The Company has advised that these changes will require that new fabrics will have to be sourced and, in the case of the jumper, the manufacture of a new line of garment. It is the Company’s intention to have these changes implemented for the 2012 distribution of uniform.

16

Postal Update

An Post Automation Investment 2011 – 2013 In June 2010, An Post made a presentation to the National Executive Council concerning its Automation Strategy, to deal with requirements to update the existing automation architecture and to replace equipment and software. The Company view this strategy as a critical measure necessary to ensure performance, efficiency and cost improvements in order to achieve Quality of Service targets set by Comreg and also to maintain its Universal Service Obligations.

The main features of the Company proposals are as follows: •

Six Sigma methodologies and Industrial Engineering practices to apply to all work activities.

•

Work content to agreed work standards sized at 100 BSI.

•

Staff reductions of 453 full-time, equivalents as follows: DMC – 231 PMC – 16 AMC – 32 CMC – 37 C&D – 137

•

Increase the level of Inward sorting at DSUs

•

Surplus staff (a) Terminate existing temporary contracts (b) Cease further permanent employment (c) Offer, on the most cost effective basis, VS/VER (d) Explore redeployment options

•

Management Structure: – Introduce Front Line Managers at all plants – Abolish the Work Area Organiser position.

– Revise Job Description and numbers of Managers posts and apply Performance Related Pay as evaluated by the HAY Group

Following detailed discussions and analysis, the Union agreed to progress the Company’s proposals on the following basis:

The Company will invest upwards of €40 million to replace end-of-life mails processing equipment at the four Mail Centres, with state-of-the-art technology to sort Letters, Flats/Packets.

•

•

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

Permanently transfer some mails from DMC to the PMC.

7.

The Union accepts the Company’s absolute necessity to invest in the long-term viability of the Company, which in itself will help protect our Members’ longerterm interests in An Post The Union will engage in discussions, to ensure that the Company delivers on its obligations to staff by dealing fully and fairly with the staff impact issues that arise.

Severance/Redeployment options to be agreed with the CWU RWA Contracts/Permanent Contract Pay levels will be maintained.

Future staffing levels/final design to be agreed, following Trialling/Testing and Review of standards Managers issues to be dealt with by Joint Working Group.

Review Acting/Temporary positions.

Get into print!

Anyone wishing to submit articles or photos to appear in the Connect journal, please, either email to:

imelda@cwu.ie or post to Imelda Wall

Communications Workers’ Union 575 North Circular Road, Dublin 1.

17

Collection & Delivery Update

Collection & Delivery Redesign Implementation Schedule 2011

The roll-out of the Collection & Delivery redesign of Delivery Service Units is continuing. The schedule for 2011 is outlined, adjacent to this article. A number of delays to the programme have arisen, principally around accommodation issues.

It is acknowledged that this is the largest project of development to have taken place in recent times, and that An Post has set aside considerable capital expenditure investment for this year.

Staff in Killarney, in conjunction with C&D Redesign, relocated to their new premises on Monday 28th February, 2011. After a hundred years, An Post Management has given the green light to a move to a new office for staff in Castlerea.

This new office is intended to become operational in conjunction with the redesign Go Live of office redesign, which is targeted for April of this year.

The Joint Accommodation Committee will continue its endeavours to have the remaining offices that have poor conditions, dealt with by An Post as expeditiously as possible. In addition, the Union is in the process of conducting a health and safety audit of sub-offices.

Office

Castlerea

79

James St DO8

Q 1 2011

80

Blanchardstown DO15

Q1 2011

81

Clones

Q1 2011

82

Nenagh

At CSG

83

Killarney

14-Feb-11

84

Castlerea

11-Apr-11

85

Cobh

27-Jun-11

86

Macroom

27-Jun-11

87

Phibsboro DO7

11-Jul-11

88

Letterkenny

25-Jul-11

89

Belturbet

22-Aug-11

90

Boyle

05-Sep-11

91

Gorey

19-Sep-11

92

Kilmallock

03-Oct-11

93

Ballinasloe

17-Oct-11

***Newbridge

17-Oct-11

94

Roscommon

17-Oct-11

95

Loughrea

07-Nov-11

96

Thurles

07-Nov-11

97

Castlebar

21-Nov-11

98

Swords

21-Nov-11

Killarney D.S.U.

18

Go-Live

19

Ten Month Dispute at UPS – Turkey, ends with Reinstatement of 163 Staff The Union is happy to report that the long-running dispute at UPS in Turkey has finally been resolved. The dispute which began in early 2010, saw 163 UPS workers dismissed from their employment for Trade Union membership. It also saw remaining workers face constant victimisation and harassment, in order to dissuade them from joining the Union, with some even being forced to resign.

The dispute began in April 2010, when 33 UPS employees were sacked for allegedly encouraging their fellow workers to join the Union. Following an initial outcry, 24 workers were reinstated. However, the situation worsened and a further 70 UPS staff were dismissed for Trade Union membership in May. As the dispute escalated, it turned violent, as shots were apparently fired by a manager who, it is claimed, had been trying to force workers to resign their Union membership. This prompted mass rallies by Union affiliates from across Europe at the Turkish picket line in Istanbul.

The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) and Union Network International (UNI), to which CWU is affiliated, held a number of high-level meetings with UPS management from the Company’s HQ in Atlanta, Georgia.

The initial position of the Company was that the employees concerned were sub-contractors and not direct UPS employees. This, despite the fact that under Turkish law, companies are responsible for all employees, including subcontractors.

The obvious reluctance by UPS board of management in the United States to make any real or meaningful attempt to resolve the situation in Turkey prompted ITF and UNI affiliated Unions across the world to increase the level of pressure on the Company at local, national and international level, to bring about an agreed settlement to the dispute.

On 24th January, 2011, after a 10-month struggle, the dispute was resolved, with dismissed workers being reinstated and compensated by the Company.

20

21

Education Update

Training Calendar for 2011 Launched The Union is pleased to announce its forthcoming training calendar. Nominations have been sought for the following training courses: Chairperson’s Course Tuesday March 29th – Thursday March 31st 2011 (3 days) Branch Secretary Stage 1 Course – Trade Union Studies FETAC April 5th, 6th, 18th, 19th & 20th 2011 (5 days) Branch Officers Course Wednesday April 27th & Thursday April 28th 2011 (2 days) Venue: Dublin All newly elected Branch Officers other than the Chairperson and Branch Secretary should attend or anyone who has not had the opportunity to attend before. The course is open to Assistant Secretaries and Vice Chairpersons.

Treasurers Training Course Tuesday May 10th & Wednesday May 11th 2011 (2 days) Venue: Dublin Branch Secretary Stage 2 Monday September 12th – Friday September 16th 2011 (5 days) Venue: Dublin This course should be attended by Branch Secretaries who have completed Stage 1 and are in their second or consecutive term as Branch Secretary. This course is subject to numbers requiring the training.

Equality Representatives Wednesday September 21st & Thursday September 22nd 2011 (2 days) Venue: Dublin The Equality Representative is a support role to the Branch Secretary who can assist with equality related matters such as work life balance, statutory and non-statutory leave, disability in the workplace etc. This course is open to all Branches but is more suitable to those with 50 or more members.

Committee Courses 2 half days the dates of which will be set with Branches as required.

Venue: To be agreed with the local committees The Education committee will make courses available at regional venues so as to facilitate Branches who have their own individual requirements for committee training. Availability will be subject to numbers and the Branch Secretary will be responsible for attendance. All newly elected Committee members are required to attend the course as well as Committee members who may not have had the opportunity to attend in the past. Please contact Carol Scheffer directly to discuss your requirements.

Please note that it is mandatory for all those who are newly elected into their roles to be trained by the Education Committee.

Please note that all of the forms can be downloaded from our website www.cwu.ie (under Union Education).

Please contact Carol Scheffer in Union Head Office for further details or about training in General.

22

Education Update

American Airlines has a New Committee The CWU is very pleased to introduce the new American Airlines Branch Committee. The committee attended training in Union Head Office on February 23rd. The purpose of the training was to go through representation of members along with grievance and disciplinary procedures.

Those who attended the training were Vanessa Villerot, Roger Martin, Delphine Chabasse and Anne Zanini. The committee is most welcome into the Union family and we wish them well going forward.

Youth Committee Training Members of the Youth Committee attended a two-day Youth Leadership training programme organised by the Women at Work Skillnet in the ICTU. The purpose of the course was as follows: • • • •

To up-skill members of the Youth Committees of Congress and individual Unions in relation to advocacy and communications To enhance awareness of own leadership style and impact on others To build the team in terms of vision; goals; roles and processes To develop a strategic approach to the work of the Committee.

The Union continually provides training for the youth committee and those wishing to get involved should contact Fionnuala Ní Bhrogain in Union Head Office.

FETAC TRADE UNION STUDIES In November of last year the Union piloted its first in-house accredited training course. Six Branch Secretaries undertook the Union’s FETAC (Further Education and Training Awards Council) accredited module in Trade Union Studies. They were Syl Curran, Dublin Postal Amalgamated Branch, Denis Douglas, eircom Dublin No 3, John Egan, eircom Dublin No 1, Willie Mooney, Dublin Postal Clerks, Ivor Reynolds eircom Dublin No 1 and Mick Smith, Dublin eircom C&A. As part of our commitment to learning we are now offering our newly elected Branch Secretaries an opportunity to avail of the FETAC course. Those who wish to gain the accreditation will have assessments to complete. While all newly elected Branch Secretaries are required to attend the course it will be at their own discretion as to whether they would like to avail of the certification. However there will be plenty of support from the tutors with the assessments.

By providing an accredited course we are recognising the important role that our Branch Secretaries play in building Trade Union capacity and we are enhancing the skills of our Branch Representatives.

We would like to thank and congratulate the Branch Secretaries who successfully completed the pilot course. The Union would also like to thank Anne Casey who was crucial to the design, implementation and delivery of the course.

Pictured l-r: Willie Mooney, Mick Smith, Ivor Reynolds, Syl Curran, Denis Douglas and John Egan.

Pictured l-r: Willie Mooney and Denis Douglas making a presentation during the course 23

Education Update

G.S. Circular General No.10/11

INFORMATION 3 March 2011

Re: CWU Education Grant Scheme Dear Colleague, As part of our commitment to lifelong learning for our members and on foot of a recent motion to conference, the Union is pleased to introduce the CWU Education Grant Scheme. This scheme is open to members and their dependents, which includes for the purpose of this scheme members’ children or adoptive children, a person to whom the member is in loco parentis, or a person to whom the member is the resident primary carer or a parent of a person with a disability.

The CWU Education Grant Scheme enhances further education on behalf of our members and their dependents as defined above in approved courses through recognised third level institutions, second level education and through Gaeltacht grants.

The CWU Education Grant Scheme is therefore made up of the following three categories:

1. Members/Members’ Dependents in third level education The scheme will offer six awards every year. Each award will be worth €2,000 for each year of study up to a maximum of four years. These awards will be made to Union members or members’ dependents involved in study or research on a subject relating to trade union issues and industrial relations at Diploma, Degree, PostGraduate Diploma or Post-Graduate Degree level such as through the UCD Quinn School of Business (Centre for Distance Learning) and through the National College of Ireland. Equally, in the event that members wish to attend similar courses in other third level institutions throughout the provinces, their applications will also be considered by the National Executive Council. Members who have already commenced approved courses will likewise be considered.

It is anticipated that participation in this scheme will develop promotional prospects while at the same time improving the skills of our Union activists.

Awards will not be given for a repeat year and will be made on an annual basis to the recipient for each year of study.

2. Second-Level Awards for Members and for Members’ Dependents Up to 20 awards will be made each year to second-level students. Each award will be worth €400 to help with the purchase of schoolbooks and class materials. Members can only avail of the grant scheme for each dependent once while they are in second level education.

Members studying for the Leaving Certificate as mature students may also be considered for this award.

24

Education Update

3. Gaeltacht Awards for Members’ Dependents Up to 20 awards will be made each year for the dependents of members to help cover the cost of their participation in a Gaeltacht course. The grant will help cover course materials, tuition fees and accommodation for up to 22 days to a maximum value of €350. This payment will be made retrospectively.

Application Criteria for the three Grant Schemes 1.

An applicant must have at least one year’s membership (including associate membership) of the Union and be in benefit when both the application and the payments are made and for the duration of the course.

2.

For transparency purposes, applications must be made on the official form and no other version of the form will be processed.

3.

Only one application per member, per year shall be allowed. Members may enter each of the three categories if they have different family members attending the Gaeltacht, second level or third level institutions.

4.

Grants will be awarded by means of a draw which will take place at a date and time to be decided by the National Executive Council.

5.

The decision of the National Executive Council on all matters relating to this scheme shall be final.

6.

Grants will be non-transferable

Review and Monitoring of Scheme This is a pilot scheme and will be launched to coincide with the academic year 2011. The Union is committed to monitoring this scheme and it will be reviewed on an annual basis by the education committee in light of the applications received, budgeting and requirements of members.

Another circular will be issued in the coming months whereby the union will be seeking applications for the above scheme. The application forms will be included with this circular and will be made available at that stage through your Union Branch, from Head Office and from the Union website www.cwu.ie.

The circular will also include the details of the third level approved courses through the UCD Quinn School of Business and the National College of Ireland Bachelor of Arts (Hons) in Industrial Relations and HRM. In the interim should any members have any queries on the education grant scheme, please address them to Carol Scheffer, National Officer.

Yours sincerely

Steve Fitzpatrick General Secretary

25

EXAMPLE 1

BUDGET 2011

Married PAYE Couple with Gross earnings of €80,000 per annum

€40,000 each

PERSONAL TAX CREDITS Single Persons Married Persons Additional one parent Family Paye Age credit-Single Age credit-Married Home Carer Dependent relative tax credit Rent Relief: Under 55 single persons Under 55 married persons Over 55 single persons Over 55 married persons Incapacitated Child Blind persons; Single Married (both blind) Widowed additional Credit Widowed person bereaved in year of assessment 3,660 WIDOWED PARENT 1st Year after year of bereavement 2nd Year after year of bereavement 3rd Year after year of bereavement 4th Year after year of bereavement 5th Year after year of bereavement Exemption Limits-65 years and over Single/widowed Married STANDARD RATE BANDS Single/widowed persons Married couples, one income Married couples, two incomes One parent/widowed parent TAX RATES Standard rate bands Top Rate PRSI Employee Ceiling Employee PRSI rate Employer PRSI rate HEALTH LEVY Threshold (annual) Income up €75,036 (up to €1,443pw) Excess over €75,036 (over €1,443pw) INCOME LEVY Income up to €75,036 (up to €1,443pw) Income between €75,036 and €174,980 Excess over €174,980 (over €3,365pw) UNIVERSAL SOCIAL CHARGE (USC)

<€4,004 €0-€10,036 €10,037 - €16,016 >€16,016

2010 1,830 3,660 1,830 1,830 325 650 900 80

2011 1,650 3,300 1,650 1,650 245 490 810 70

400 800 800 1,600 3,600

320 640 640 1,280 3,300

1,830 3,600 600

1,650 3,300 540

3,300 4,000 3,500 3,000 2,500 2,000

3,600 3,150 2,700 2,250 1,800

20,000 40,000

18,000 36,000

36,400 45,400 72,800 40,400

32,800 41,800 65,600 36,800

20% 41%

20% 41%

75,036 4% 10.75%

No Limit 4% 10.75%

26,000 4% 5%

N/A N/A N/A

2% 4% 6%

N/A N/A N/A

over70s

N/A N/A N/A N/A

0% 2% 4% 7%

0% 2% 4% 4% 26

Personal Tax Credits Married Persons Paye Paye Standard Rate Bands Married Coupes, two incomes Top Rate Gross Earnings Less Paye Prsi/Health Levy Income Levy Universal Social Charge Net Income Net Income per Month

2010

2011

3,660 1,830 1,830 7,320

3,300 1.650 1,650 6,600

72,800 7,200 80,000 80,000

65,600 14,400 80,000 80,000

10,192 12,424 5,871 2,671 1,600 – – 4,237 ______ ______ 62,337 60,668 5,195 5,056

EXAMPLE 2 Single Person with Gross Earnings of €38,000 child, paying rent.

2010 Personal Tax Credits Single Person 1,830 Additional one parent family 1,830 Paye 1,830 Rent Relief Under 55 single 400 _____ 5,890 Standard Rate Bands One Parent/widowed parent Top Rate Gross Earnings Less Paye Prsi/Health Levy Income Levy Universal Social Charge Net Income Net Income per Month

38,000 ______ 38,000 38,000

with one 2011 1,650 1,650 1,650 320 _____ 5,270 36,800 1,200 ______ 38,000 38,000

1,710 2,582 2,776 1,256 760 – – 1,979 ______ ______ 32,754 32,183 2,730 2,682

EXAMPLE 3 Married Couple one Gross Income of €50,000 while the other parent stays at home to mind the children 2010 2011 Personal Tax Credits Married Person 3,660 3,300 Paye 1,830 1,650 Home Carer 900 _____ 810 _____ 6,390 5,760 Standard Rate Bands Married Couple, One Income Top Rate

45,400 41,800 4,600 ______ 8,200 ______ 50,000 50,000

Gross Earnings Less Paye Prsi/Health Levy Income Levy Universal Social Charge

50,000 50,000 4,962 1,736 – 2,819 ______ ______

Net Income Net Income per Month

40,688 40,483 3,391 3,374

4,576 3,736 1,000

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27

Equality Update

Women at Work Skillnet Shortlisted for Aontas Star Award The Women at Work Skillnet was delighted to be shortlisted for the AONTAS - The National Adult Learning Organisation STAR Awards 2011. These awards were part of the fifth annual Adult Learners’ Festival. According to the Adult Learners Website, “The STAR Awards are about recognizing and celebrating the invaluable collaborative work undertaken by adult learning initiatives in our communities. In the current climate it’s even more important that we continue to showcase the value of the sector in responding to the needs of individuals, communities, society and the economy”. More information on the festival can be found on www.adultlearnersfestival.com

Aileen Morrissey (Mandate), Maria Geoghegan (IBOA), Michael D. Higgins, Noreen Fitzpatrick (Skillnet), Alacoque McMenamin (Project Manager) and Frank Vaughan (ICTU)

Members wanting to know more about the Women at Work Skillnet, or who have queries on the training on offer, can contact Carol Scheffer directly on 01 8663000 or can look up the women at work website on www.womenatworkskillnets.ie

Equality Rights Alliance (ERA) Launches their Roadmap On February 14th last, the Reverend Jesse Jackson launched the ERA Equality and Human Rights Roadmap.

The Roadmap contains the following recommendation in relation to Trade Union rights: “Introduce legislation to underpin the right of all workers to collective bargaining through their Trade Unions, in line with the state’s international commitments under International Labour Organisation Convention 98, article 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights, articles 12 and 28 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights and recent judgments of the European Court of Human Rights”. The seminar was held in the Conference Centre at Dublin Castle and several CWU representatives were at the launch, as follows: Terry Delany, Deputy General Secretary, Ray Lawlor, NEC, Charlie O’Neill, Assistant to the General Secretary, Carol Scheffer, National Officer and Martina O’Connell, NEC. Please see www.eracampaign.org for more details.

That evening, a seminar was held by TASC in Liberty Hall titled “Revered Jackson in conversation with Myles Duggan”. The seminar covered the Reverend’s views on the economic crises and his “Restructure Loans, Don’t Foreclose on Homes” campaign. For more information please see www.tascnet.ie The Reverend also signed the pledge to reverse the cut to the minimum wage and protect the existing Employment Regulation Orders (EROs) which are currently under review.

28

Equality Update

Irish Men against Sex Trafficking Event On February 2nd of this year, a seminar was organised in Dublin titled “Irish Men against Sex Trafficking”.

“Chaired by Theo Dorgan, among those to speak were 2 Trade Union leaders, David Begg (ICTU), and Eamon Devoy (TEEU) who called for action to prevent the sexual exploitation of women and children in Ireland through dissuasive measures against those who buy sex”. See www.ictu.ie/equality Mr. Begg said: “Having legislation in place that says we, as a society, do not believe it is acceptable for someone to buy another's body for sexual gratification, exploiting the poverty, past history of abuse or limited life choices of the person being bought, would send a very clear message that we are a society committed to equality.” Mr. Devoy added that prostitution could not be considered “work” and that we should be concerned to ensure that support services are in place to assist people involved in prostitution to exit.

Other speakers were Fergus Finlay (Barnardos), John Cunningham (Immigrant Council of Ireland), and Diarmaid Ó Corrbuí (Ruhama).

These civil societies, including Unions, are now part of the ongoing campaign to raise awareness on the harm of prostitution and sex trafficking.

Legislation In Ireland, sex can be purchased legally, as long as it is away from a public place. During the event, it was highlighted that Sweden had successful legislation implemented that criminalises the buying of sex. Therefore it is the individual who pays for the service that is criminalised. Similar legislation is now being sought through the campaign in Ireland. Therefore the “Turn off the Red Light Campaign” is calling for “the criminalization of the purchase of sexual acts, in addition to criminalizing pimping, procuring and trafficking of persons for sexual exploitation.”

Why not just Legalise Prostitution?

This question was discussed at the seminar and it was highlighted in the campaign material that “countries like the Netherlands that legalized prostitution have had an explosion in organised crime, prostitution and trafficking”.

The campaign literature also highlights that “Amsterdam, with a population of 750,000 people, has over 20,000 women and girls in prostitution compared with 200 in Stockholm, a city with a population of 1.3 million”.

CWU Works with the Immigrant Council of Ireland The event was attended by many Trade Union figures and Carol Scheffer was there on behalf of the CWU. Following on from the event, and in order to discuss the issues further, Carol Scheffer attended a meeting with Anti-Trafficking Coordinator, Nusha Yonkova, who works for the Immigrant Council of Ireland. The Union believes that there are great benefits to building links between our organisation and the Immigrant Council of Ireland. The Union will continue to raise awareness of this important issue and, in that regard, we have highlighted the campaign on our website. Please also see www.immigrantcouncil.ie for more information.

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eircom Update

eircom Briefing held in the Gresham Hotel

The Communications Workers’ Union (CWU) held a number of briefings around the country to give members a chance to debate the proposed “eircom Rescue Plan” ahead of the ballot which would close on 30th March 2011. The briefings were held in Gresham hotel in Dublin, Croke Park Stadium, Killeshin hotel in Portlaoise, Woodlands hotel in Waterford, Rochestown

Park hotel in Cork, South Court hotel in Limerick, Ard Na Ri in Tuam, Sligo Southern hotel and the Headford Arms hotel in Kells. All briefings were very well attended and a special webpage has also been set up on www.cwu.ie website with a list of questions and answers from those debates.

At the time of going to press we are waiting on the result of the ballot.

30

eircom Update

eircom Conference, held in Croke Park

31

eircom Update dependent on mobile broadband to provide the impression of a full telecoms infrastructure; it is too important to our ability to compete for business internationally for our policy makers not to be worried about it.

This is not all eircom’s fault admittedly — once it was sold out of State ownership its national responsibilities were diluted. However, the nature of the competition is that other service providers want to piggyback the existing eircom infrastructure or, if they do it for themselves by investing in their own alternative network, will only do in centres of large population where the volume of customers provides a greater likelihood of a profitable return on investment.

Large swathes of the country cannot get the heavily advertised UPC services for example (where broadband internet and fixed-line phone services are connected to the provision of television services) so competition does not necessarily exist in all parts of the country to provide the answer. eircom is an old-fashioned telecoms business that has suffered from a combination of the loss of its monopoly and a financial assault by a succession of owners who have loaded it with debt and taken the cash for themselves before selling it onto others. Fortunes have been made along the way by previous owners and, it must be said, by the Employee Share Ownership Trust (ESOT) although it now faces a different future as a continuing shareholder. The level of debt carried by eircom has been allowed to grow to frightening proportions. It is slightly complicated but here’s what eircom owes: it has what is called net senior debt of €2.7 billion but also owes €350 million to what are described as “floating rate noteholders” and another €630 million in “payment in kind” notes. What is important is that it has a little time on its side to sort these things out: it is due to make a repayment of €24 million in June this year and €296 million by June 2014. However, the rest of the debt must be repaid over the following three years and there is a pressing problem. If certain revenue and profit projections are not achieved by August then eircom could be in breach of its banking covenants, meaning the lenders could demand earlier repayment. This is very possible as eircom’s revenues declined by 6% to €880 million in the six months to the end of December 2010, and it continued its loss of customers in its fixed-line business and revenues fell too in its mobile businesses.

The recession is having its impact too, with people either having less reason to use eircom’s services or restricting their use because they can’t afford all of the costs. Danger could be averted by the provision of new capital from its owners — probably about €50 million this summer would do the trick in the short term — but not surprisingly they are reluctant to provide the funds with such uncertainty about the ability to make further repayments to lenders and fears about what return they would get on the investment if profits continue to fall. STT and the Esot apparently might invest up to €300 million in eircom but only if this is accompanied by

You should care about eircom — our economic wellbeing depends on it

By Matt Cooper Friday, March 11, 2011 REMARKABLY little has been said or written about the financial crisis at one of Ireland’s most important companies: eircom. The formerly State-owned company owes about €3.8 billion but does not look as if it can repay all of its debts.

Its survival is not guaranteed, even as it tries desperately to cut its costs by removing even more workers from its payrolls and paying the remaining workers less. It is going to ask its lenders to accept only partial payment of what is due to them. If things do not work then it is possible that parts of the business could be sold to rivals and others shut.

You might wonder why you should be worried by this.

After all, the country has enough financial problems to worry about, both with the public finances and the banks before we even consider private debt, with having to care about what’s going on at a privately owned company. But eircom remains an enormous and important company in the Irish economy and its future as a sustainable entity is important to the national economy. eircom remains the dominant provider of fixed-line phones and even if the numbers using such phones are dropping in the mobile era they remain important to many individuals and businesses. Competitors need access to the eircom infrastructure, to rent from it. eircom is Ireland’s leading broadband provider with over 500,000 customers.

Its mobile subsidiary Meteor has more than one million customers and it has tried to build on this with a new brand, E mobile. The eircom business includes the alarm company Phone Watch, directory enquiries and the relatively small number of remaining public pay phones.

Admittedly eircom should be even more than it is. It has been blighted by a history of under-investment over the last decade. It defends itself by saying that it has invested hundreds of millions of euro in new technology and infrastructure in recent years but it has not invested in next generation broadband infrastructure to anything like the extent that it should. For example, customers living more than 5km from an eircom exchange cannot get broadband from it. While things in broadband provision have improved for many — a few years ago complaints throughout the country were legion — there are still large chunks of the country where the service is inferior and if eircom cannot supply it nobody else will (other than on less reliable mobile services). We still do not have a sufficiently strong broadband provision in this country: the capacity and speeds, while much improved, are not good enough and the prices do not compare well to the rest of the Europe.

The lack of investment means that the country is far too 32

eircom Update way of voluntary redundancy. The Communication Workers Union is trying to sell the deal to its members and has organised meetings with workers. It will send ballot papers to workers next week and they have until March 30 to cast votes. It is likely that the CWU will gain acceptance.

But Ireland has not done well out of the eircom debacle.

None of its unfortunate history of financial pillage, some done by Irish and some foreign investors can be undone, but even if continuing in private ownership we need eircom to be restored to good financial health if it is to contribute properly to our economic future.

massive change within the business.

The company is having talks with its lenders, seeking to reduce the debt by about €800 million. It remains to be seen what will have to be given in return but it seems likely that banks and bondholders will be offered shares in return. Part ownership is better for the staff than leaving them have total control. Should that happen then the cuts that would be imposed would be enormous. From a national point of view new ownership of eircom by banks and bondholders would most likely mean chronic under-investment in development of the infrastructure or the sale of assets piecemeal while others were closed.

The company’s 7,170 workforce is being asked to contribute €92 million in “labour savings”. This involves an effective 10% pay cut, delivered by getting workers to take one day in 10 off in return, or in other words having a nine-day fortnight, while delivering the same productivity.

There will be further changes to work practices and more restructuring of business units. Having already shed about 1,800 staff over the last two years another 1,000 may go by

The Last Word with Matt Cooper is broadcast on 100-102 Today FM, Monday to Friday, 4.30pm to 7pm.

This appeared in the printed version of the Irish Examiner Friday, March 11, 2011 Read more: http://www.irishexaminer.ie/opinion/columnists/mattcooper/you-should-care-about-eircom-our-economic-wellbein g-depends-on-it-147769.html#ixzz1GHiKIkju

ComReg Increases Charges for 999 Service by 50%

The Irish Times, 12.02.2011

The Daily Mail, 16.02.2011

The Star, 16.02.2011

For many years, eircom provided the emergency call service free-of-charge, but in 2007, under pressure from the Regulator to reduce its cost base, it asked the then government that it be paid for the service which has cost it €60m to date. Rather than agree payment, the government decided to put the service out to tender.

Despite putting in one of the lowest bids, eircom lost the contract to a consortium of BT Ireland and Conduit, whose bid price was considerably higher. As part of the contract, BT Ireland was compelled to build two new call centre operations; one in Navan and the other in Ballyshannon. Some commentators have noted that

these locations happen to be home constituencies of the then Minister for Transport, Deputy Noel Dempsey and the former Tanaiste, Deputy Mary Coughlan. There were cries of political favouritism at the time, but to add insult to injury, the regulator ComReg has just seen fit to increase the cost of making an emergency call by no less than 50%.

Two stark questions arise from this whole process.

Firstly, why were the lower bids from the likes of eircom not chosen and secondly, how can a price rise of 50% possibly be justified in the current climate, only a short few months after BT took over the contract?

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Throughout all this, Norton and the POWU appealed for unity and stayed true to the Labour Party and ITUC. Labour’s splits meant that they suffered at the polls, dropping from 17 to only 8 TDs from 1943 to 1944, [although the NLP won also won 4 in 1944]. For Norton, a golden opportunity for Labour to make a breakthrough was lost. Larkin’s death was the end of an era but both his son, Young Jim, and Norton in the oration, used the moment to appeal for unity. In the 1948 General Election, Labour returned 14 TDs and the NLP 5, providing the opportunity to become part of the first Inter-Party Government. Norton was Tánaiste and Minister for Social Welfare.

In reproducing Norton’s oration at Larkin’s graveside, CWU members should not just enjoy the nostalgia of the occasion, rejoice in remembering Dublin workers’ struggle in 1913. Like Norton, they should realise that change – badly needed change in Irish society – is achieved only by organisation and commitment to the principles that motivated Larkin and Norton’s lives. That commitment was for equity and justice in society; for equality of opportunity and treatment; and for workers, the creators of all wealth in society, to be central to deciding how that wealth should be distributed and used.

The best act in Larkin and Norton’s memory in the immediate future is to work for the strongest Labour presence in the Dáil.

William Norton’s Oration at Big Jim Larkin’s Grave, 1947 – Lessons for CWU Members Today

By Terry Delany Deputy General Secretary James ‘Big Jim’ Larkin died on 31 March, 1947. The honour of delivering his graveside oration on Monday, 3 February, at a snowy Glasnevin, fell to Labour Party Leader and Post Office Workers’ Union (POWU) General Secretary, William Norton. This was a signal honour for Norton and our Union.

Larkin, born in Liverpool in 1874, had arrived in Ireland in January 1907 as Organiser for the National Union of Dock Labourers. Later that year, the Belfast Dockers and Carters’ Strike rocked the city to its foundations, uniting all communities in their challenge to repressive employers and their allies in press, pulpit and authority. In January 1909, Larkin became founding General Secretary of the Irish Transport & General Workers’ Union (ITGWU). His arrival in the city is well described in Donagh MacDonagh’s song ‘Dublin City 1913’ – ‘The boss was boss and the employee the slave/ The women worked and the child went hungry/ Til Larkin came like a towering wave’. Alarmed at the threat to their hegemony, Dublin employers combined to smash the ITGWU and the 1913 Lock Out was their cruel weapon. At Larkin’s graveside, Norton would recall that epic battle and Larkin’s heroic leadership.

After a period in the United States, from 1914, Larkin returned to a very different Ireland. Clashes with the ITGWU leadership led to the creation of the Workers’ Union of Ireland (WUI) in 1924. This in turn led to Larkin’s ostracism from the mainstream movement. The WUI were not allowed affiliate to the Irish Trade Union Congress (ITUC) and neither Larkin, nor his son Young Jim, were permitted to join the Labour Party.

During the wartime Emergency, Government restricted wages by law whilst doing little to control prices. Workers’ living standards fell dramatically. The Trade Union Act, 1941, was seen as a repressive attempt to reduce the number of Trade Unions and strengthen Government control of workers. Larkin, through Dublin Trades Council and the spontaneously created Councils of Action, enjoyed an Indian Summer as a street agitator. Young Jim Larkin broadened the protests out to include jobs, housing, welfare and prices.

Labour’s popularity soared and, against the strong wishes of the ITGWU, admitted both Larkins to the Labour Party. Both were elected in the 1943 and 1944 Elections – for Dublin North and Dublin South respectively – but an angered ITGWU split the Labour Party by creating the National Labour Party. The animus towards the Larkins was complete in 1945, when the ITGWU split the Congress by breaking away to form the Congress of Irish Unions.

The Late Jim Larkin Deputy Norton’s Oration at Graveside of Veteran Leader Jim Larkin is Dead What a peal of sorrow was heard throughout Ireland and, indeed, the world at this sad news. Big Jim, as he was affectionately called, was the personification of all that was strong and vigorous in human physique. Massive of body, atomic in mental power, motivated by a passionate and seemingly inexhaustible energy, he welded these qualities into a fiery crusade that had for its object, the rescue of downtrodden men and women from a servitude which, through generations of oppression and economic enslavement, they had come to regard as their inexorable destiny.

It is nearly fifty years since he first blazed the trail of organising the unskilled workers. It was a gigantic task, calling for dauntless courage, for vision, for faith in men who had lost all sense of faith in themselves, but, above all, for faith in his own ability to insulate himself against the neverending disappointments, the daily rebuffs, the faithlessness of the weak and timid, and the harsh iron-like tyranny of an employer class of that period which fought as tigers, rather than shed their economic stranglehold over the bodies and lives of men and women. It was a task before which even 34

and police machine and its legal accessories, in short he fought, as far as they could be employed, the resources of an Empire, skilled in oppression.

But the end came. Hunger had beaten the Dublin workers and that in a Christian land. But if they went back to work, temporarily defeated on the battlefield, the workers planned for another day. They had been tested in the crucible of a bitter experience and they had come out of it better metal and with a new philosophy that would yet avenge 1913.

Of that epic struggle it is not possible on this occasion to say more. With its heroism and its sacrifices, which thrilled the world, will ever be associated the name of Jim Larkin, and wherever Irish men and women of the working class foregather they will look with unforgettable pride on 1913 as the cradle of their present-day independence, and will utter a kindly prayer for that rugged, lion-hearted fighter, Jim Larkin, who ended the servitude of that year and replaced it by the virile independence which workers display to-day.

the strongest and bravest might well shudder. But with dynamic energy Jim Larkin threw himself into the fight – for him a never-ending fight – and wherever he went – Liverpool, Belfast, Cork, Dublin, the United States – the same passionate zeal consumed him in a crusade to raise the standard of life for the toiling, exploited masses. For a person not possessed of Jim Larkin’s granite physique and abiding idealism, the task he set himself would be well-nigh impossible of accomplishment, but Jim’s defiant spirit, his fiery eloquence, his rugged, picturesque personality, enabled him to meet adversity with imperturbable courage and perseverance and to impart these qualities to a growing band of men and women by whom he was regarded as an economic saviour.

Task of Terrifying Magnitude Dublin was his main battlefield and here a task almost terrifying in its magnitude confronted him and that small, but gallant band of Dublin workers who, in 1908, sought to establish the Transport Union as an instrument of protection against the unbridled exploitation of the workers. From humble beginnings the Union grew in strength, the pioneering spirit of Jim Larkin and his human, emotional appeals winning converts daily. An uneasy feeling gripped the Dublin employers. The Union’s growth and Larkin’s prestige were a challenge to their privileges, to their exploitation of workers, to their sense of ownership of men and women and they determined that the Union must be destroyed and the power of Larkin broken for ever.

1913 was the year selected by the employers for the onslaught and, having first declared war, they waged it with an unrelenting ferocity that called forth the bitter condemnation of some of the finest minds in Ireland and throughout the world. The words of Pearse, Clarke, ‘A.E.’, Yeats and others ring to-day with all the humanity and clarity of yester-years as a reproach to the employers for their inhuman treatment of Dublin workers. But it was an unequal struggle. The Union had little or no financial resources, its members were new recruits to the Industrial Army and by using the weapon of a general lock-out the employers were able to impoverish the Union financially.

Never before-or indeed since-has an industrial struggle called forth such heroism on the part of the workers. They endured indescribable privations and pawned or sold their household effects to resist the hunger barrage, which the employers played on them and their helpless children. So deep was the workers devotion to Larkin and Connolly that they risked all, sustained only by their simple faith in the two men who courageously led them. And neither abuse of their leaders by the employers nor the vituperation of the employers’ hirelings could weaken their fidelity to Jim Larkin and his comrades.

Furnace of Controversy Like most pioneers, Jim Larkin was not immune from controversy; indeed in many respects he was a veritable furnace of controversy. But this is not the time or the place to attempt to assess the merits of the contested issues nor to attempt to ascertain to what extent his unique qualities contributed to them. Standing back from the heat of the fray, remembering the herculean tasks that confronted him, comparing the conditions of the Dublin workers to-day with those of 1913, we can say with every pride that the workers are richer by his services, for he gave them new concepts of independence, a new sense of human dignity and the courage and the weapons to achieve them. Truly, it can be said that if service to one’s fellows be the title deeds to a place of honour and affection in the minds and hearts of men and women, Jim Larkin, judged even by the most critical standards, will assuredly enjoy that place of honour among a people whom he loved so deeply and served so well.

Plea for Unity If Jim Larkin had one passion more than another it was to build a great Trade Union and Labour Movement. For fifty years he struggled towards that objective because he realised that only by its attainment could the masses of the people ever hope to free themselves from unscrupulous exploitation – from unending misery and privations – and achieve economic security to enjoy a full life. His ideal has not yet been accomplished and in recent times differences of opinion have temporarily delayed its realisation. But remembering the conditions which relatively defenceless workers were forced to endure in 1913, is it too much to hope that even now as we assemble to mourn our dead comrade, we can efface the dissensions of the past, think of the Movement, enriched and ennobled by the services of Larkin and Connolly, and resolve from this graveside to come together as comrades, to think as comrades, to plan as comrades and as comrades to fight for the attainment of a

Fought an Empire It was not only the wealthy employers that Jim Larkin had to fight. He fought an unsympathetic press, the British military 35

dim or sever the love and esteem in which we shall ever hold your memory. We thank you for your magnificent work, for the courage and inspiration you gave us in such overflowing measure. We shall look with unceasing pride on your achievements which brought happiness to many homes and brought to the workers a new spirit of independence and manliness. In this hour of sadness for all of us, we ask Almighty God to have mercy on your immortal soul and to grant you the peace that your services to down-trodden men and women so richly deserve. Be assured, Irish workers will hold your memory ever-green, your sacrifices will not be forgotten nor be in vain, the fight you fought will be continued with renewed vigour, and in difficulties and adversity your brave example shall always inspire us.

concept of life, unstained by exploitation and giving to the toiling men and women of Ireland a standard of life, unspoiled by the avoidable social evils of to-day. If each of us here would resolve to re-unite our Movement, to eliminate the bickering, the pettiness and the trivialities which divide and impede us, our success in achieving a united Movement is assured. And if the lesson of unity can be learned at this graveside and its potentialities for the workers realised, then Jim Larkin may give us in death even greater inspiration than he gave us in life.

‘Thanks for Your Magnificent Work’ Jim Larkin, we, your old comrades, bid you goodbye. Death has snapped our earthly friendship with you, but it cannot

ICTU Update

Hotel staff say they will continue with picket until they are reinstated http://www.irishtimes.com/newspa per/ireland/2011/0224/122429073 2546.html KITTY HOLLAND HOUSEKEEPING STAFF in dispute with a major hotel operator in Dublin over cuts to the minimum wage say they are determined to continue picketing until they are reinstated in their jobs.

The five women, all foreign nationals, refused to sign new contracts with management at the Davenport Hotel, one of the O’Callaghan group, which would have reduced their wages from €8.65 an hour by almost €1 an hour.

Management said the wage cuts were in line with the €1 reduction

in the national minimum wage which came into effect on February 1st. The five women were taken off the roster three weeks ago when they refused to sign the new contracts. They have not been paid since.

Forty other members of staff at the hotel have signed the new contracts, although these are not members of Siptu, the trade union which placed the pickets.

The hearing of a High Court injunction against the picket has been adjourned until Tuesday. A temporary injunction was granted to Persian Properties, owners of O’Callaghan Hotels, by Ms Justice Mary Laffoy on Tuesday limiting the number of picketers to six at a time.

Among those on the picket yesterday was Raisa Jonaitiene from Lithuania, who has worked at the hotel for three years. “I work from 8am until 4pm. It is very tiring work. I must clean 15 rooms a day, big king-size beds, bring the laundry to be cleaned, wash the bathrooms with bleach.

It is very heavy work. I have a sore back and arms from the work,” she said.

Speaking through an interpreter, she said all

36

accommodation staff had been called to a meeting at the start of February and told to sign the new contracts.

“Then at a second meeting they brought the sheets for us to sign and said if we didn’t sign we would be taken off the roster.

Only we five girls didn’t sign and the next day we were off the roster.”

She said the workers had not been offered translation facilities and had not been allowed to take the new contracts away to have them translated before signing them.

“They told us they had to make the pay lower to help the Government.” She and her four colleagues then went to Siptu who tried to negotiate on their behalf.

Siptu official Pat Ward said he wrote to management seeking a meeting to discuss the new contracts. “Our letters were simply ignored so we were left with no choice but to ballot for strike action and place the pickets.”

O’Callaghan Hotels was not available to comment last night.

From IrishTimes.com

ICTU Update

CWU Supports the Davenport Five One of most despicable acts committed by the Fianna Fáil/Green Party Government was the decision to reduce the minimum hourly rate of pay from €8.65 per hour to €7.65 per hour. The Government attempted to portray this as a requirement under the terms of the EU/IMF bail out and this was later proven to be a lie, when a delegation from the IMF met representatives from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. The IMF stated they never demanded a reduction in the minimum rate of pay, as part of the bail out. In an attempt to justify the reduction, the former Minister for Enterprise, Batt O’Keeffe, stated, “The move to reduce the minimum rate of pay by €1 per hour would help improve competiveness as labour costs represent a relatively high proportion of total input costs across a range of locally trading sectors.” The number of workers on the minimum rate of pay represents a small percentage of the overall workforce in the country and the idea that, by reducing their wages by €40 per week, it would result in an improvement in competitiveness in the country is a sick joke. What makes the affair more annoying, is that Minister O’Keeffe was a member of a government that wrecked the Irish economy. Soon after signing the Act, which brought into force the legalisation to reduce the minimum rate of pay, Batt O’Keeffe retired from Dáil Éireann after 21 years’ service with a lump sum payment of €328,469.00 and a pension for the rest of his life of €94,366.00 per annum.

Employers have now commenced reducing the minimum rate of pay and SIPTU are engaged in a dispute

at the Davenport Hotel, arising from the suspension of five women, who refused to sign new contracts which would have enabled the reduction to take place. One of the women involved in the dispute is Raisa Jonaitiene, from Lithuania, who has worked at the Hotel for three years. In an interview with the Irish Times, Raisa stated, “I work from 8:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. It is very tiring work. I must clean fifteen rooms a day, change big kingsized beds and bring the laundry to be cleaned, wash the bathrooms with bleach.

It is a very heavy work. I have a sore back and arms from the work.” The other women involved in the dispute, who are also non-nationals stated that “they had been called to a meeting at the start of February and told to sign the new contracts. They refused to do so and at a second meeting, they were again asked to sign and told if they did not sign, they would be taken off the roster” and having again refused to sign, they were taken off the roster and the dispute commenced. None of the women involved were offered translation facilities and had not been allowed to take the contracts away to have them translated. The Davenport Hotel has ignored representations from SIPTU and have sought an injunction in the High Court against the official picket. They did succeed in getting a temporary injunction to limit the number of picketers to six at any one time.

The CWU salutes the bravery of the Davenport Five. We commend SIPTU for engaging in a dispute on behalf of their members and we wish them every success.

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The Law Civil / Criminal and the Court System in Ireland Tom Murphy BBS (Honours) Dublin No. 1 Branch Introduction

exceptional cases, the victim does not benefit from prosecution since any fine imposed is payable to the state.

The purpose of a criminal case is to determine the guilt or otherwise of the accused person and if guilty, the appropriate punishment. The main judicial remedies for criminal wrongs known as the sentence are fines, imprisonment, community service orders or binding a party to keep the peace. A criminal case is always based on proving that the defendant failed to comply with some requirement established by law.

The onus is on the prosecution to prove the defendant guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

What is meant when we speak about the Law? Essentially law is the set of rules imposed by the state on its citizens which is designed to regulate human conduct in the state.

For example, constitutional law provides a governmental structure and legislative procedures, criminal law promotes public order and preserves national security, and employment law determines the legal relationship between employer and employee while property law determines the ownership and associated rights of land. In Ireland law is recorded in the Constitution of 1937, statute law, common law rules, judgements of the courts, European Community law and international agreements.

Distinction between Civil and Criminal Cases Generally the distinction between civil and criminal cases is to be found in the legal consequences of the Act. For example, in a case of a road traffic accident where a pedestrian is struck and injured by a driver under the influence of alcohol may give rise to two separate actions. A criminal prosecution where the driver is prosecuted for drunk driving and dangerous driving and a civil action where the pedestrian sues the driver for damages to compensate for the loss and injuries sustained.

Civil Law Civil Law deals with civil or private wrongs.

Civil law provides individuals with legal rights to govern their formal relationships with each other. For example the purchase of a coat from a shop your legal relationship is governed by civil law. If a dispute arises from this relationship the state has no role in such a dispute. It is the responsibility of the aggrieved party, known as the plaintiff, to commence a civil action against the offending party, known as the defendant. In commencing such an action the plaintiff will generally seek compensation for any loss he /she has suffered as a result of the offending partyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s action. The burden of proof in civil proceedings is on the balance of probabilities. The general purpose of any judgement in civil proceeding is to ensure that the aggrieved party is compensated for any damage suffered by him / her.

The main judicial remedies for a civil wrong are an award of damages, i.e. monetary compensation and in the case of an injunction which is an order from the courts in which case it orders the defendant to stop doing something e.g. to stop picketing an employers premises or to stop trespassing on anotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s land.

Industrial Relations The vast majority of industrial relations cases are resolved by negotiations between the parties and using the state institutions to resolve disputes such as the Labour Court, Labour Relations Commission, Employment Appeals Tribunal, Rights Commissioner and the Equality Tribunal.

These institutions deal exclusively with industrial relations and employment issues. However sometimes both criminal law and civil law can be involved in the workplace. For example an employee may be injured in a workplace accident and the employee could take a civil action to sue the employer for damages arising from their negligence. The State could take a criminal law case to prosecute the employer for breach of statutory duty under safety, health and welfare legislation.

Criminal Law The Courts System

Criminal Law deals with criminal or public wrongs such as anti-social behaviour. Criminal law imposes rules on society, breach of which incurs sanctions designed to punish the offender known as the accused by the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The victim of the crime does not have any say in whether a prosecution is brought. Save in

The court system is divided between the civil law system and the criminal law system. The structure of the courts in Ireland is organised on a hierarchical basis. The Supreme Court, as its name suggest is the highest court in the land.

The civil law system is made up of the Supreme Court which 39

Conclusion

consists of 5 judges in Constitutional Cases, 3 judges in Ordinary Cases and unlimited awards appeals. The High Court consists of a judge and can award unlimited amounts and appeals from the Circuit Court. Under the Constitution the High Court has full original jurisdiction in all powers to determine and question all matters of law or fact, civil or criminal; it also has power to review the decisions of all inferior tribunals. The Circuit Court can award up to â&#x201A;Ź38,000 in compensation. The lowest court is the District Court which can award compensation up to â&#x201A;Ź6,000.

With regard to the Criminal Law system, the court structures for dealing with criminal law are as follows. The Supreme Court is the highest. Next is the Court of Criminal Appeal with 3 judges. This is followed by the Central Criminal Court which deals with serious crime cases such as murder and rape and consists of a judge and jury. The Circuit Court consists of a judge and jury. The District Court deals with minor cases. In the situation of the District Court the defendant is not entitled to a trial by jury because he / she have waived such a right or because the offence is minor.

Summary offences carry a maximum of 12 months imprisonment and / or the imposition of a fine. An example of a summary offence would be a motor vehicle without proper cover. The Special Criminal Court has 3 judges which deals with Offences Against the State Act.

In conclusion I want to mention an important power of the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court has the power to decide whether a Bill (or any provision of it), which was passed by both houses of the Oireachtas and presented to the President of Ireland for her signature before being enacted into law, is repugnant to the Constitution, on the matter being referred to the Court by the President. This is allowed under Article 26 of the Irish Constitution 1937 Bunreacht na hEireann which allows the President after consulting with the Council of State she may refer a Bill or part of such a Bill to test whether the Bill or any part of it is unconstitutional. The President makes reference under Article 26 directly to the Supreme Court, by- passing all lower courts. After the Court deliberates it makes its decision, Article 26.2.2 allows the Court to issue only one judgement, representing the opinion of the whole Court. Even if individual judges disagree with the decision they cannot openly express such dissent. If the Bill is found not to be unconstitutional the president must sign the bill into law. Once it is signed by the President, the Bill becomes an Act of Parliament. An Act that is passed after an Article 26 reference may never again be challenged on the grounds that it infringes the Constitution.

40

41

€2,000.00 Donation Made to the Homeless A donation of €2,000.00 was made towards providing the homeless with hats, scarves and gloves, which were delivered to the following centres: 350 Hats, Scarves and gloves were delivered to Merchants Quay Ireland, €300.00 was raised by the CWU Band at Christmas, through a fundraising event in Blanchardstown Centre.

Response received:“ I want to offer you my sincere thanks for your generous donation of hat, scarves and gloves. We are so grateful that the CWU collected funds to help those who are outdoors in severe weather. Your continued support of our work means so much to our staff and our clients. During this extremely cold winter, life on the streets becomes much harsher. Your gift of winter clothes will make sure the homeless people have warm clean hats scarves and gloves at this critical time of the year.”

100 Hats, scarves and gloves were delivered to Peter Mc Verry Trust response received:“On behalf of all here at the Trust, thank you so much for your kind donation of 100 hats scarves and gloves. We really appreciate these gifts, as they are so practical during the very bad winter.”

100 Hats, scarves and gloves were delivered to CROSSCARE, who supports the homeless through their food centres, which provide over 180,000 meals to people who are isolated, house bound, or unable to care for themselves. Response received: “Extreme thanks was expressed to the CWU members, for your care and support.”

The hats, scarves and gloves given were distributed through our various food and homeless service centres throughout the city: 1. In Amien Street, Homeless facility which provides over 50 beds per night.

2. In Charlemont Street, Homeless facility which provides over 50 beds per night.

3. In Bently Villas, Homeless facility which which provides over 50 beds per night.

CWU Charitable Fund A presentation of €10,000 was made to CROSSCARE in Arklow towards providing support for refurbishment of three houses. The houses were donated to CROSSCARE which will be turned into a refuge for women and young children at risk due to Domestic violence, all of which are very sad and heart breaking stories. The cheque for €10,000.00 will help to restore the bedrooms. Grateful appreciation was expressed to the CWU and its members for your continued financial support to help this first Irish Project through the CWU Charitable Fund.

Pictured from l to r: Monica Hempenstall (Financial Officer, CWU), Seán Farrell (Arklow), Kevin Molly (Gorey) & Michael McDonagh (Crosscare)

A Donation of €2,000.00 was made to Our Lady’s Hospital, Crumlin, which was supported by Medisan and the CWU

In a joint venture between Medisan and the CWU, a cheque for €1000.00 was presented to the Matron, Geraldine O’Regan, along with the provision and delivering of toys for Christmas for children at Our Ladys’ Hospital for Sick Children, Crumlin.

Press release:- Christmas cheer arrived early on the 16th December 2010, as members of the Communications Workers’ Union delivered toys for Christmas to children at Our Ladys’ Hospital Crumlin.

CWU members from An Post and telecoms brought sack-loads of toys with them for the boys and girls at Our Lady’s, with the promise that Santa Claus was well prepared for Christmas Eve and would be travelling south to Our Lady’s and homes across Ireland in just a weeks time.

Commenting on what is planned to be an annual event, CWU Vice President, Cormac O’Dalaigh said:“Our postmen and telecoms workers are delighted to start Christmas a little early this year with a delivery of toys for the kids at Our Lady’s. We hope that this will make their stay a little easier and speed up their return back to their own families, happy and well after their stay at Our Lady’s. We have supported this initiative from the CWU’s Charitable Fund. We are also delighted to have been able to add to the toys with a donation of €1,000.00 to Our Lady’s Hospital for Children.”

Cormac O’Dalaigh added, “We plan to make this an annual event and we are particularly grateful for the help and support from the Matron, Geraldine Regan.”

Response received: “On behalf of the patients of Our Lady’s Hospital, I wish to thank the CWU for giving their time to come into the hospital at Christmas time, to bring toys and a donation of €1000.00. Thank you so much – they gave the children a great lift. Your ongoing support to the Hospital each Christmas is very much appreciated. Please extend our thanks to the CWU Finance Committee, National Executive Council, Medisan, and the CWU members.”

Geraldine Regan, Director of Nursing.

42

CWU People

Jack Flood Retires The Union would like to congratulate Jack Flood on his recent retirement. Jack worked in An Post for 49 years and 10 months.

Pictured from l to r: Mike Fennell (Manager Revenue Section), Willie Mooney, Jack Flood (POC) and Alan McGeehan (Head of An Post Management Accounting)

Derek Bell Retires people who are, and should be, very grateful to Derek’s commitment to them in difficult circumstances. His pursuit of their various entitlements in life and, unfortunately on too many occasions in death, was often way beyond his job responsibilities and the working day very seldom consisted of eight hours.

Even after his retirement, I know he called to the various people who he was assisting, to enquire as to their well-being.

All of his work was done in a most unobtrusive and discreet fashion, with total consideration for the privacy of the individual.

So it was in keeping with his personality that, on his retirement, he declined the normal presentation function and preferred a small presentation away from the spotlight.

One can only hope that, now he is retired, he will spend as much time as possible on his golf game, as it needs a lot of tender loving care before he moves off his very generous handicap.

On behalf of us all here in Dundalk, and in the wider Drogheda branch, we sincerely wish Derek nothing but good health and best wishes for many years to come.

The end of August 2010 saw the retirement from eircom of well-known and very popular welfare officer, Derek Bell.

Derek joined the old Dept. of P&T in the late seventies and worked in operations for many years in his headquarters in Dundalk, before joining the welfare service 16 years ago in 1995.

During his time in field operations, and later in the repair service, Derek was a very committed member of the CWU and served both as a section officer and branch officer, before joining welfare. He continued his interest in Union affairs, up to his retirement.

On too many days to mention, I received phone calls from him enquiring about various issues of the day.

I can personally remember him, during the various debates relating to agreement 726, asking Seamus De Paor all sorts of questions about the trainee installer grade and how they would be affected by that agreement. It was probably the first indication of Derek’s concern that all things be seen to be fair to all.

It was on joining welfare, that his commitment to the troubled individual really shone through. There are so many

John O’Rourke Retires Photograph of John O’Rourke receiving Chuchulainn from Dave Tobin HR Manager DMC at retirement bash in Waterside bar in Clondalkin.

John has retired after 41 years’ hard labour! We wish him and his family all the best for the future.

43

CWU People

Drogheda Section Retirement of Mark Kelly from eircom Pictured from l to r: Donie Thornton, Jim Boyle, Pat O’Shaughnessy, Fintan McCarthy, Tommy Cowley, Mark Kelly, Gerry Kirwan, Pat McGahey, Phil Reilly, Seán Heeney, Paul Thompson, Alfie McCarthy and Paddy Mathews.

Ger Long & Liam McEvoy retire from Bray D.S.U. There were two retirements in Bray D.S.U. over the last few weeks: Ger Long, who retired after 18 years’ service and Liam McEvoy, who retired after 15 years.

Pictured l to r: Peter Lowe, Gerard Whelan, Anthony Byrne, Jim ONeill, Ger Long, Liam McEvoy, Brendan Gorman, and Ger Mullen.

Official Opening of Letterkenny Main Street Renovation Pictured from l to r: Letterkenny Town Mayor, Tadhg Culbert, who is a Post Office Clerk in Letterkenny P.O., with Charlie Kelly, National Executive Council, CWU, on the occasion of the Official Opening of the Main Street in Letterkenny, after its renovation.

44

CWU People

Pat O’Connor Retires On November 26th last, Members of the Galway Postal Branch gathererd to mark the retirement of Pat O’Connor, Postman, Oughterard.

Pat was a loyal Member of the Branch for 20 years and we wish him and his family all the best in his retirement.

Pat being presented with his Union Scroll

by Brian O’Connor, Branch Secretary

Pat with his colleagues from Oughterard Post Office

Dublin Mails Managers’ Branch AGM The Dublin Mails Managers’ Branch had their AGM on the 29th January, 2011, followed by our Annual Members’ and Retired Members’ Function. Both events were very well attended.

This year we had twenty-one retirements and a presentation was given to those present on the night. Unfortunately, some members that had retired, were unable to attend on the night. One of those present was our first team leader to retire, Alan Lambert.

The members had over 800 years’ service between them, both in the company and Union.

The Branch would like to wish them all a long and happy retirement and we hope to see them all again next year.

Pictured l to r: Tommy Devlin, Alan and Mary Lambert, Brendan Keating and Frank Burke.

Pictured Back Row l to r: Frank Burke Hon. Secretary JJ McDonnell, Tom White, Willie Buggle, Al McCabe, John Kehoe and Tommy Devlin Hon. Chairman.

Pictured Front Row l to r: Peter Harte, Paddy Langan, Paddy Parnell, Mick Farrell, Brian McKenna, Alan Lambert and Brendan Keating Hon. Treasurer.

45

CWU People

Galway Postal Branch gives Christmas presents to Children’s Ward, UCHG Photo shows Anthony Kelly, Galway Postal Branch, presenting the presents from the annual Children’s Christmas Party to a Staff Nurse at the Children’s Ward, University College Hospital, Galway.

Medals book by Ger O’Connor, Postman & Branch Secretary, launched by Chief of Staff Recently, a book researched and compiled by Ger O’Connor, Branch Secretary, Mullingar Postal Branch, was launched by Lt General Sean McCann in McKee Barracks, Dublin, on 20th January, 2011.

This is the first ever medals book that has been completed for the Irish Defence Forces.

As well as being a Postman & Branch Secretary, Ger is also a Battery Quartermaster Sergeant in the Head Quarter Battery of the 54 Reserve Artillery Regiment, based in Columb Barracks, Mullingar.

Article taken from the Westmeath Examiner, 29.01.11 46

CWU People

Dublin Postal Clerk Storms the DĂĄil Cllr. Joan Collins, a Post Office Clerk and CWU Member, based in Dublin, has been elected T.D. to represent the Dublin South Central constituency in the recent General Election.

Joan ran as a candidate for People Before Profit and was previously successful in the 2009 Local Elections.

Delighted, Joan wished to thank everyone who supported her in the campaign.

Pictured is the new T.D., Joan Colling, being congratulated and presented with an engraved pen by Des Lernihan, Hon. Chairman ~ Dublin Postal Clerks, and Willie Mooney, NEC Member and Hon. Secretary ~ Dublin Postal Clerks Branch.

End of an era for Mullingar DQ

Pictured Back Row l to r: Caroline Maunsell, Jackee Mee, Brendan Smyth, Michael Doolin.

Pictured Front Row l to r: Carmel Scally, Marion 0 Leary, Anna Lovely, Terry Delany, Ray Lawlor, Goretti Plunkett, Cynthia Claffrey.

The Mullingar DQ branch held its last AGM on 25th January. It was a sad occasion for a branch that has been very strong in the years when the Mullingar Exchange was in operation. Sadly now it is closed, and of the staff remaining after the 999 migration, six opted to work in Dublin and eleven now work in Athlone. Four staff have taken the recent V/L deal. As always we were delighted to have Terry Delaney and Ray Lawlor in attendance. The Branch concluded its business by presenting Terry and Ray with a piece of Mullingar Genesis.

Tom Bent Retires Tom Bent, Superintendent 1, Philatelic Bureau G.P.O., Dublin, recently retired after 43 yearsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; service in An Post.

Tom is pictured being presented with his Union Scroll by Branch Secretary, Colin Moore, in recognition of his long and loyal service to the Union, both as a Member and also as Branch Secretary.

Tom will be greatly missed by all who knew him in the job, as he is a true gentleman and a pleasure to work with.

We wish Tom good health and happiness and all the best in his retirement.

Colin Moore, Branch Secretary, presenting Tom Bent with his Union Scroll.

47

CWU People

Bandon CWU AGM

A Presentation made to Donal Horgan who was Branch sec. for almost 20 years.

Picture l to r: Fiona Barrett, Branch Secretary, Martina Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connell, National Executive, Donal Horgan, Steve Fitzpatrick, General Secretary, CWU, and Cormac Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Dalaigh.

Steve Fitzpatrick, General Secretary, CWU, addresses the Members at the Bandon Postal Branch AGM.

48

CWU People

DUBLIN No. 1 AGM

Ian McArdle, Organising Officer, CWU, addresses Dublin No 1 AGM.

Tom Murphy, John Barnes, Frank Cassidy & Margaret Jenkins.

Dublin No. 1 Members applaud at the meeting.

Paul Moran

Mary Mahon

DUBLIN No. 2 AGM

Steve Fitzpatrick, Gen. Sec. CWU, addresses Dublin No.2 AGM

Members of Dublin No.2 Branch listen intently.

Brendan Moorhouse, Steve Fitzpatrick, Steve Crilly, John Dunleavy & Fintan King.

49

Members of Dublin No.2 Branch at AGM.

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CWU People

The late, great Joe Boyle, R.I.P.

In this photo, taken in Cork, in the late 80s, are the late Joe Boyle (R.I.P.), (centre), and from l to r: Brian Newman, John O’Leary, Willie O’Donovan, Paddy “Skipper” Coughlan, Pat Culhane, Jackie “The Bell” Lyons and Tony “Bertie” Lucey.

Mick Dandy, R.I.P. Michael (Mick), who died on 9th February, 2011, aged 81 years, was a true gentleman who started working in the P&T in 1950. He had spells on the Overhead, Fitting, Line and finally the PBX staff Michael retired after 40 years’ service in 1990. Michael really enjoyed his time in the P&T/Telecom Eireann and had many a funny story to tell. He was a Union man all his working life and was proud to be a member of the CWU. The true love of Michael’s life, his wife Kay, passed away in 2005. He is survived by his son, Edward, and daughter’s, Sandra and Karen.

Seán Connolly, R.I.P. his repertoire, which stretched to two, ‘Carrigfergus’ and ‘James Connolly’. Although both are meant to be melancholy, somehow Sean managed to sing them with an air of sweetness, maybe as they are both regarded as very Irish songs, he sang them with pride. He was a very proud man and although he had his own share of sadness in his personal life, he chose to remain cheerful. This was difficult to do when his beloved partner, Margaret passed away, but with the help of friends, he was beginning to return to his old self.

The high esteem in which Sean was held was clearly seen at his funeral, when all his old colleagues formed a guard of honour as their old friend made his final journey to Granlahan Church. Indeed the church was full, family, friends, neighbours and colleagues turned out to bid a last farewell to Sean. There were smiles when his speed and skill on the football field were remembered, but there was an air of sadness’ during the ceremony as he was described as being a wonderful neighbour, a great worker and a kind and generous friend. Sympathies are extended to Cathy and Marie, Carmel and all his extended family and friends.

His colleagues know that a light has been extinguished from their lives and that the Christmas parties will never be quite the same again! May God have mercy on his gentle soul (RIP).

On Friday, April 30th, 2010, as the nation was coming to terms with the sudden death of Gerry Ryan, news in the little village of Granlahan, near Castlerea in County Roscommon was filtering through of the sad and sudden death of another icon, Sean Connolly.

Disbelief was the first reaction. How could such a force of nature be gone so suddenly? As the truth was realised, the local parish priest described how a dark cloud hung over the village that weekend. So too, his eircom colleagues, felt this overwhelming sadness at his sudden parting.

Sean joined the P&T engineering branch at Flynn’s Yard, Castlerea on August 11th, 1980. His quick wit and jolly personality endeared him to all his work colleagues.

He worked in various locations with the company, and was part of the BT contract in the mid nineties. He spent 14 years in Dublin district up until his untimely death.

Sean, or Connolly as he was affectionately known, had a warm and wonderful nature, with his bright smile and twinkling eyes, you couldn’t be sad in his company. If he thought he could wind somebody up, he would do so without giving it a second thought, but always for the hell of it, never out of guile or meanness. He was the ‘life and soul’ of every Christmas party, lighting up the room with his presence telling funny stories, making mischief and of course singing 51

Books reviewed by Adrienne Power THE SNOWMAN

by Jo Nesbo A Serial Killer Thriller This book is set in Oslo, Norway, and features Detective Inspector, Harry Hole.

Harry is the only detective in Oslo who has studied serial killers at an FBI Course. On at least 3 occasions, he has alerted his team that they were on the trail of a serial killer, but it never turns out so.

Once again, he is crying wolf, after receiving a mysterious letter in his mailbox, telling of people who had disappeared, following the appearance of a snowman. When women start vanishing from their homes and a snowman is found outside, the team are set up once again to look into it.

The characters are terrific, especially Harry. The story is intense and intelligent with a sense of unease throughout. The use of the snow and the snowman is especially scary! It is wonderfully written, e.g. “the branches scraped at his face, like a blind man’s fingers trying to indentify a stranger.”

If you are a Stig Larsson fan, you will love Jo Nesbo!

Definitely Creepy!

THIS BOOK WILL SAVE YOUR LIFE

by A. M. Homes Richard Novak lives in Los Angeles, living the so-called perfect life, until one night, he suffers a terrible pain and his flawless isolated world comes to a sudden end. Or rather, he is reborn to enter a new existence, where he has to deal with people and change his entire outlook.

You want to find out what happens to Richard, when he comes out of his shell. Will he get back together with his ex-wife, whom he still loves? Will he make contact with his son Ben, whom he lost contact with after his divorce? When he is released from the hospital, he stops for a doughnut, after years of only eating what his nutritionist told him to eat: lentil soup and the like. This is his turning point. We sit up and take notice, when he stops on his way back to his opulent glass house.

If you like the modern classic “Catcher in the Rye” by the late great JD Salinger, I think you will like this book. Richard isn’t an adolescent like Holden Caulfield in “Catcher in the Rye”, but he is a solitary soul like Holden, on a journey trying to leave his internal worries behind and find meaning, or at least peace of mind, in his life.

There is plenty of humour in the book, e.g. Richard realises his herbal drink tastes like Lemon Pledge!

Will this book save your life? Maybe, or maybe not. It asks a lot of questions and hopefully helps us find a lot of answers.

Strange and Philosophical!

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CWU CHARITABLE FUND donate a regular sum of money directly into the CWU Charitable Fund. Members currently paying into their various charities will have their contributions allocated to their sponsored charities. In the future, all new members will have the facility to pay a variable contribution of their choice, ranging from 50 cent up to â&#x201A;Ź10.00, directly into the CWU Charitable Fund. The money will then be allocated on a percentage basis annually to the various charities. At present, the ratio is 75% to the CWU Development Fund and 25% to other Projects, including The Hospice Foundation and The Intellectual Housing Fund.

As stated at Biennial Conference in Wexford, the NEC is extremely proud of the charitable work carried out on behalf of our members, through the various funds to which they so generously contribute. It allows those members to make a direct difference, through the many projects in which they invest. However for historical reasons we have ended up with too many funds, with a corresponding number of forms to be filled in, leading to administrative problems. Many Branch Secretaries have pointed out that the plethora of forms is making the task of recruiting members to join these worthwhile funds difficult. Therefore, in an attempt to simplify matters, the NEC has decided to create one CWU Charitable Fund, through which all the existing charities will be funded. This fund shall be open to all members of the CWU. Each member of the CWU will have the facility to

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CWU NO. .............................

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__________________________ from my basic pay in respect of my contribution under the Scheme of deductions of Subscriptions to Staff Associations and pay that amount to the Communications Worker’ Union, 575 North Circular Road, Dublin, 1.

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