Connect June 2008 by Communications Workers' Union

JUNE 2008 VOL: 10

NO. 2

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Communications Workers’ Union

4th Biennial Conference, Kilkenny 2008 Lyrath Estate Hotel

Editorial

Dear Colleagues, We face into the summer holidays with many unanswered questions, including the outcome of the

Contents

talks on the next stage of the national agreement Towards 2016, the outcome of the consultation

Editorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

2-3

paper from the Department of Communications on

Charlie Kelly, newly elected President, CWU . . . . . . . . .

postal liberalisation and indeed the outcomes in

eircom Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

relation to the wider application of high speed

Health & Safety Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6-8

Irish Times Article . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

we must now put the outcomes of those debates into

Postal Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-14

practical effect in order to impact on the events

Equality Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15-16

outlined above which will shape our immediate

Organising Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17-22

future.

broadband. All of these issues have been debated at our recent Biennial Conference in Kilkenny and

Our Conference in Kilkenny this year was a highly

4th Biennial Conference . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23-27

successful event which is due in no small part to the

CWU Band . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

UNI Women . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

to the organising skills of the office team here at

UNI Europa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Union Headquarters led by Imelda Wall.

activities of the Kilkenny Organising Committee and The

professional manner in which the Conference was

UNI Global Bulletin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-38

organised

Trade Unions under attack in Columbia . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39-40

meant

that

the

delegates

could

concentrate on the key debates which were

CWU People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41-44

conducted in a manner which allowed space for all

Pakistan Project . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

opinions. Our Conference also for the first time had

Party is launched to help Indian Street Children . . . . . .

the pleasure of welcoming new delegates from

ICE Campaign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

British Telecom, O2, Meteor and Global Telesales.

Changing Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

ESCCU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The Conference also passed a number of emergency motions with the key one relating to the failure of the Department of Communications to live up to its commitments in relation to the An Post

Editor: Steve Fitzpatrick Sub-Editor: Imelda Wall

ESOP and at this stage to be honest we have been

Issued by: Communications Workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union, 575 North Circular Road, Dublin 1. Telephone: 8663000 and Fax: 8663099 E-mail: info@cwu.ie

Department and the new Minister, Mr Eamon Ryan

Incorporating the PTWU Journal, THE RELAY and THE COMMUNICATIONS WORKER The opinions expressed by contributors are not necessarily those of the CWU.

avenues open to us including legal ones in order to

extremely disappointed by the reaction of the to this long standing grievance and as a result of the emergency motion we are now examining all resolve this issue once and for all. One could be forgiven for thinking that the onus to abide by agreements of this nature seem to be solely on the workers and it would be difficult if not impossible to

Photographs: John Chaney

listen to any argument from the Government in

Printed by Mahons Printing Works, Dublin.

relation to honouring agreements in circumstances 2

where they have quite blatantly failed to honour this agreement for our members in the Post Office. Notwithstanding the scandalous behaviour of the Department in relation to the An Post ESOP, the critical issue facing our members in An Post in the upcoming liberalisation of postal markets which is due to be finalised by 2011. To this end, the Department have issued a public consultation document seeking views on a number of key questions. That document is available on the CWU website for members who wish to examine its contents or indeed members who wish as individuals to make submissions to the Department on the basis of the questions contained therein. If one was to be a complete cynic you would believe from reading the questions that the key officials in the Department and ComReg have already made up their minds in relation to the outcomes. Notwithstanding that your Union will put together a highly motivated professional campaign in our attempts to save the postal service for its workforce, its customers and Steve Fitzpatrick, General Secretary, CWU citizens of this state. You will receive separate communications from Union Headquarters in relation to that campaign and I would urge each and every one of you to assist us in any way you can in our attempts to save and maintain the Irish postal service. At the time of writing there is still no real progress on the key issues in the national discussions. Those issues are the obvious one, pay, along with the highly controversial issues of Trade Union recognition and the Agency Workers Directive. It is widely recognised that these discussions are the most difficult discussions in the history of national pay talks and there is no guarantee that we will reach agreement. It may well be that both the Government and the employers are beginning to believe those commentators who have been quick to seek an end to social partnership and indeed to underplay the real improvements this country has seen during the social partnership era. I believe this could be a case of â&#x20AC;&#x153;be careful what you wish forâ&#x20AC;?. Our members in the Telecommunications industry continue to live in an ever changing environment driven by new technologies and more and more competition. We now see the market consolidating into three main players with a myriad of smaller companies competing around the edges. Vodafone (the biggest mobile company in the world) have recently purchased Perlico which now allows them to offer bundled mobile, landline and broadband services. A similar relationship is being pursued between British Telecom and O2 and obviously we have the incumbent eircom with its mobile arm Meteor. How this market is regulated by ComReg given the presence of these massive multinational companies will have a major bearing on the development of the Irish Telecommunications market. The obvious need for a strategic approach to that market by the Irish Government has still not been fulfilled and the constant prevarication and hiring of consultants by the Department of Communications and ComReg do not disguise the simple fact that this small Ireland still does not have the type of telecommunications strategic plan absolutely necessary for this island nation to attract ongoing investment. The fact that the British Government could deliver such an infrastructure to Northern Ireland a number of years ago only highlights the blatant inability of our own Government to get its act together in this key area. Finally, I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate all of the newly elected National Executive Council members. On this occasion we have seen fourteen changes from the Executive elected at our Conference in Cork. This is an unprecedented level of change around the Executive table and I look forward to working with all of the new people elected along with the members who have managed to keep their seats. I would also like to take this opportunity to pass on my commiserations to those Executive members who lost their seats in the election and to thank them sincerely for the work they have done on your behalf during their tenure. Also on this occasion we had a number of executive people who did not stand for election for one reason or another. I would also like to thank them for their unstinting efforts on your behalf over many years. 3

Charlie Kelly, newly elected President of the Communications Workers’ Union.

members who operate in rural areas. In a county like Donegal alone where so much of the post is delivered to rural areas the proposed liberalisation will affect all postal workers and the Union will be strongly working to ensure that the right structures are put in place before the market is opened up to protect our workers. Charlie also expressed concerns about Eircom that many members have regarding the proposed sell off of parts of the company. He said the company should have learned their lesson from history (like sale of Eircell and purchase of Meteor), before it was found that the mobile companies are in fact profitable. In the short term the company might make a quick profit but in the long term it is not a viable option and in the current climate it would be economic madness to sell off anymore parts. Charlie is looking forward to a challenging time as President of the Union with postal liberalisation looming, the threat of structural separation in eircom on the horizon, his main concern will be to ensure the pay and conditions of all workers in the postal/courier, telecoms sectors are not eroded.

Charlie is the first Donegal man to be elected President of the Union. He started his career in the Post Office in the early seventies when he followed in his father’s footsteps by joining An Post. Initially Charlie worked in Sherriff Street, Dublin for two years before transferring back to Letterkenny where he still works today. Charlie joined the Union in 1976 attending his first conference in Limerick and in 1996 he became a member of the National Executive Council. Following his appointment to the role of President, a modest Charlie was keen to express that he is very conscious and thankful of the support he has received from the members through the years. He said “while it is a great honour for me and my family, it has to be said that it is a great honour for the local branch. They are the people who have elected me since the early 1990s and they have put me where I am now.” When asked about his concerns for An Post Charlie commented that he is concerned about the proposed liberalisation of the postal service because this will affect the universal service obligation which An Post has to deliver letters in rural areas. If things were to change then there will be huge implications for our

Pictured from l to r: Daire Kelly (Charlie’s Son), Charlie Kelly (President), Ken Goode and Liam O’Grady from the Letterkenny Postal Branch, at Conference where Charlie was elected as president.

eircom Update

New National Executive Council elected at Conference

Back Row L to R: Kevin Donnelly, Ivor Reynolds, Mike O’Connor, Brian Lattimore, John Egan, Gerry Bourke, John Carney and Ger Nolan. Front Row L to R: Pascal Connolly, Brian Harney, Ray Lawlor, Fintan King, Gerry Cuirc (Vice President), Mick Smith, Susan Casey and Jim O’Flynn.

Equality eircom-Style 102 former telephonists got a sample of equality eircom style prior to leaving eircom under the recent Voluntary Leaving programme. The Telephonists concerned, who between them have 1600 years of service, earned quarterly bonuses under the terms of an agreement between the Union and eircom. However, eircom decided not to pay the bonuses for the January/March 2008 period and in response to Union representations eircom stated,

recently published eircom Annual Report informs us that former CEO Phil Nolan received a termination payment of €1.76 million when he left the Company, former Finance Chief Peter Lynch received €1.49 million, and Robert Haulbrook former CEO of Meteor received €2 million and Rob Topfer the Financier who orchestrated the take over of eircom by Babcock & Brown received a remuneration package worth €7.34 million last year. Clearly in eircom' s world of equality there is one law for the rich and one law for Telephonists. To add insult to injury when the Union complained about the delay in paying the January/March quarterly bonuses to serving Telephonists the Company stated the delay was because Voluntary Leaving Schemes placed additional work pressure on the Company resources for calculating bonuses. The Union have referred the case to the Rights Commissioner Service of the Labour Relations Commission.

“the Company's position is that bonuses are paid out to employees who are actually working for the Company at the time of the payout. Employees availing of Voluntary Leaving Packages or otherwise who leave the Company before the payout date do not receive a bonus”. The amount of money owed to the former Telephonists is €50,000 and eircom's miserly attitude towards these people is in stark contrast to the treatment of former Managers. The 5

Health & Safety Update fact that under these Regulations the keyboard shall be tiltable and separate from the screen so as to allow the user to find a comfortable working position which avoids fatigue in the arms or hands. A laptop does not have a separate keyboard and should not be used for long periods of time and a risk assessment must be carried out to assess the usage of the laptop and the set up of the temporary laptop workstation.

Health & Safety in the Workplace Report by Pat Kenny. SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE AT WORK (GENERAL APPLICATION) REGULATIONS 2007 S.I. No 299 0F 2007

Employee An employee is covered by the Regulations;

Chapter 5 of Part 2: Display Screen Equipment

a. b.

In continuing our series of guides in relation to the provisions of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (General Application) Regulations 2007 we have summarised below the main points of Chapter 5 of Part 2: Display Screen Equipment, which are not intended to be a legal interpretation of the legislation. Chapter 5 of Part 2 of the Regulations transposes Directive 90/270/EEC on the minimum safety and health requirements for work with display screen equipment. In effect, the provisions relate to the safety and health requirements for employees who habitually use display screen equipment (VDUs) as a significant part of their normal work. Employers are required to evaluate health and safety at workstations with particular reference to eyesight, physical difficulties and mental stress. Appropriate steps must be taken to control any risks identified. The employer needs to carry out an analysis of individual workstations and a competent person with the necessary skills, training and experience must complete this analysis. The analysis of a workstation must take account of the minimum requirements in Schedule 4 to the General Application Regulations which, are outlined below. The results of the workstation analysis must be shared with the employee and a written record must be kept of it. Any changes to be made to the workstation to meet the requirements of Schedule 4 must be recorded.

If the employee has no choice but to the use the VDU to carry out his or her work. If the employee normally uses the VDU for continuous periods of more than one hour If the VDU is generally used by the employee on a daily basis.

Workstation The definition of “workstation” is all-encompassing and includes VDUs and all the individual pieces of equipment, chair, desk and work environment, which can constitute a workstation. One of the most critical factors affecting the health of employees working at VDUs is the design and layout of the workstation.

DUTIES OF EMPLOYER 1. Workstations Workstations must be laid out and kept tidy so as to avoid any employee slipping, tripping or falling. Workstations must be analysed to evaluate possible risks which may give rise to visual or physical difficulties or to mental stress. A competent person must carry out the analysis of the workstation and this analysis must be documented. A documented analysis or risk assessment of a workstation should include the following: •

DEFINITIONS

•

Display Screen Equipment The definition of “display screen equipment” (referred to in this Guide as VDUs) covers computer screens and microfiche readers and applies to both conventional cathode ray tube (CRT) display screens and other display processes such as liquid crystal displays. A laptop is not covered by these Regulations due to the

• •

Brief overview of the tasks completed at the workstation; Evidence that all aspects detailed in Schedule 4 to the Regulations were taken into account as part of the analysis; Details of issues that need to be followed up; Details of an action plan to address outstanding issues, which stipulates who is responsible, what actions will be taken and when they will be completed.

Health & Safety Update which the VDU may be linked, appropriate induction training, instruction on the general principles of ergonomics, the proper adjustment of furniture, screens, keyboard, lighting etc. so as to suit individual employee’s height, reach etc.

2. Breaks Employers must plan work so that daily work at VDUs is interrupted periodically by breaks or changes in activity which reduce the work at the screen. Although the Regulations set no frequency for breaks, no single continuous period of work at a screen should, in general, exceed one hour. There is no generally accepted standard covering the frequency and duration of work breaks although there are employer– trade union agreements on these. The flow of work to a VDU user should be designed to allow natural breaks to occur. Alternatively, a change in the pattern of work by combining VDU and non-VDU work could be introduced. However, rest breaks are essential where continuous VDU work, requiring sustained attention, is likely to result in fatigue. Ideally, the length of the rest should reflect the intensity of the individual job. However, there are four important points: •

•

• •

Provision of Eye Tests and Corrective Appliances The employer must inform employees that they are entitled to be provided with an appropriate eye and eyesight test, which would be carried out by a competent person. The employer may do this in a number of ways including the following: • •

Rest breaks or changes in the pattern of work, where they are necessary, should be taken before fatigue sets in; The employee should not sit in the same position for long periods and should make sure to change posture as often as practicable; Short, frequent rest breaks are more satisfactory than longer breaks taken occasionally; Rest breaks should be taken away from the VDU. Other duties may be assigned during this period, provided they are not too intensive.

• •

Consult with the safety representative(s) and formulate a memo to be placed on a notice board; Inform the human resource manager/specialist and request that he or she inform all relevant employees of the availability of such tests; Inform the employee while carrying out the analysis of the workstation; Other appropriate means of effective communication.

Eye and eyesight tests Every employee who habitually uses a VDU as a significant part of normal work (using a VDU for one continuous hour or more as part of everyday work) has a right to opt for an eye test and an eyesight test, which must be made available by the employer at his or her own cost, except where there may be a social welfare entitlement.

3. Information on VDU Workstations In addition to the requirement on employers under Section 9 of the 2005 Health, Safety and Welfare at Work Act to provide information on safety and health matters to employees, an employer is also required to provide information on VDU workstations. This includes any measures taken to protect eyesight, any risks to eyesight, physical effects or stress, as well as the arrangements for rest breaks in VDU work, or changes in work activity which are planned, as well as the results of any eye or eyesight tests which are conducted.

Schedule for testing Employees have the right to an eye and eyesight test before taking up work if it is habitual work with a VDU as well as at regular intervals. In determining the intervals, factors such as the ages of the employees and the intensity of VDU work should be taken into account in deciding the frequency of repeat tests.

4. Training Provision of eye tests and corrective appliances

In addition to the requirement on employers under Section 10 of the 2005 Health, Safety and Welfare at Work Act to provide training on safety and health matters to employees, employers are also required to provide training in the use of the workstation before an employee commences work on a VDU and, again, should the organisation of the workstation be altered. Training should include, a general appreciation of the computer system to

Where eye tests carried out by the doctor or optometrist reveal that particular lenses are required for VDU work, the costs of minimum requirement frames and lenses must be borne by the employer, taking account of any social welfare entitlement that might apply.

Health & Safety Update user easy freedom of movement and a comfortable position. ii. The seat shall be adjustable in height. iii. The seat back shall be adjustable in both height and tilt. iv. A footrest shall be made available to any user who requires one.

Schedule 4 - Minimum Requirements for All Display Screen Equipment The Regulations set out a minimum list of requirements for all display screen equipment which includes the following:

1. Equipment

2. Environment

(a) Display screen i. The characters on the screen shall be well defined and clearly formed. ii. The image on the screen shall be stable, with no flickering or other forms of instability. iii. The brightness or the contrast (or both) between the characters and the background shall be easily adjustable by the employee iv. The screen shall be free of reflective glare. When replacing monitors preference should be given to those with a non-reflective finish. v. The screen shall be able to swivel and tilt easily and freely to suit the needs of the user. vi. It shall be possible to use either a separate base for the screen or an adjustable table.

(a) Space requirements The workstation shall be dimensioned and designed so as to provide sufficient space for the user to change position and vary movements. There should be sufficient space for the employee to feel comfortable and to have room to stretch or reach arms or legs and to turn from side to side. In office environments, 4.65 square metres should be the minimum amount of floor space allowed for every person employed in any room, including the area occupied by the office desk and chair but excluding filing cabinets and other office furniture. (b) Lighting i. Lighting (including room lighting, spot lighting or work lamps) shall ensure satisfactory lighting conditions and an appropriate contrast between the screen and the background environment, taking into account the type of work and the userâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision requirements. ii. Possible disturbing glare and reflections on the screen or other equipment shall be prevented by co-ordinating the layout of workstations within the place of work with the positioning and technical characteristics of the artificial light sources.

(b) Keyboard i. The keyboard shall have a matt surface to avoid reflective glare. ii. The arrangement of the keyboard and the characteristics of the keys shall be such as to facilitate the use of the keyboard. iii. The symbols on the keys shall be adequately contrasted and legible from the design working position. iv. The keyboard shall be tiltable and separate from the screen v. The space in front of the keyboard shall be sufficient to provide support for the hands and arms of the user.

(c) Reflections and glare i. Workstations shall be so designed that sources of light, such as windows and other openings, transparent or translucent walls and brightly coloured fixtures or walls cause no direct glare and, as far as possible, no distracting reflections on the screen. ii. Windows shall be fitted with a suitable system of adjustable covering to attenuate the daylight which falls on the workstation.

(c) Work desk or work surface i. The work desk or work surface shall have a sufficiently large, low reflectance surface and allow a flexible arrangement of the screen, keyboard, documents and related equipment. ii. The document holder shall be stable and adjustable and shall be positioned so as to minimise the need for uncomfortable head and eye movement. iii. There shall be adequate space for users to find a comfortable position.

Further detail in relation to this issue can be found on www.cwu.ie.

(d) Work chair i. The work chair shall be stable and allow the

As cuts loom, let’s scotch bloated public sector myth by Fintan O’Toole The following article appeared in The Irish Times Special Edition on Tuesday, 20th May, 2008. (Reprinted here with permission.) OVER THE next few months, anyone interested in decent public services will have to watch the language. The distinction between two words - “reform” and “cutbacks” - will become vital. To sell cutbacks, we will be told that what is happening is really a process of reform. We need to remember that the two are, in fact, very different things. Mention the words “public sector” to almost anyone who doesn’t work in it, and the chances are that the next word that comes to mind is “bloated”. The bloated public service - a virulent weed, strangling the pure flowers of the private sector - is a notion so deeply embedded in the collective consciousness that we don’t need any evidence to know it exists. The submission to the OECD review of the public sector by Isme, the association for small and medium-sized enterprises, is a good example of the dominant rhetoric. It cited “concrete evidence that the public sector is overpaid, overmanned, underworked and underperforming”. The employers’ body Ibec has often called, especially in times of fiscal turbulence, for publicsector jobs to be slashed, as if they were self-evidently a waste of taxpayers’ money. In 2003, for example, Ibec called for 10,000 public-sector workers to be made redundant. Demands of this kind have always found a ready echo from the analysts for banks and stockbrokers who dominate the airwaves.

The bloated public sector is, however, a myth. In the first place, there has been no huge, unwarranted increase in public spending in recent times. Though you wouldn’t know it from most of the commentary, the OECD report points out that, while public expenditure has risen by 5 per cent a year, “much of these increases have reflected a need to play catch-up from historically low levels.” And even so, public spending here is still relatively low: the third lowest in the OECD as a percentage of GDP. If another measure, gross national income (GNI) is used, Ireland’s public spending moves up - but only towards the OECD average - and it is still lower as a percentage of the economy than it was a decade ago. And these very modest (and arguably inadequate) increases in public spending simply have not created the inflated public sector that the dominant ideology so desperately wants to attack. Buried in the OECD report is a rather astonishing fact. For not only has the public sector not grown inordinately, it has actually, in relative terms, shrunk. Since this goes against the received wisdom, it is worth quoting directly: “Ireland’s real average annual growth rate in public expenditure between 1995 and 2005 was 5.1 per cent, significantly slower than real GDP growth of 7.5 per cent. Government policy therefore has actually decreased the total number of public sector employees as a percentage of the labour force and decreased the overall public sector wage bill as a percentage of GDP.” The “overpaid, overmanned, under-worked” Leviathan has actually shrunk, in pay and numbers, relative to the overall economy. The public sector, at less than 15 per cent of the workforce, is smaller than most other developed countries. “In comparison with other OECD countries,” says the report, “Ireland thus has been able to deliver public services with a public sector that is relatively small given the size of its economy and labour force.” Scotching the myth of the bloated

public service is an important step towards the abolition of another false truism - the notion that the health service has expanded massively without delivering a decent outcome for citizens. The second part of that equation is undeniably true - the political leadership and managerial organisation of the service have been woeful. But the problem is not rooted in having too many people delivering healthcare. We’ve certainly been spending more money on health, but from a very low base. Despite the rapid increase in total health spending, it still accounted for only 7.5 per cent of GDP in 2005 - the OECD average is 9 per cent. The US, which right-wing commentators tend to see as the model for all good things, spends more than twice what we do on health as a percentage of its GDP. The consequences are a system that is, by objective standards, too small. The number of acute hospital beds in Ireland was 2.8 per thousand people in 2005, way below the OECD average of 3.9. We also have 2.8 doctors per thousand people - the OECD average is three. We have, on the face of it, a very high number of nurses, but 40 per cent work part-time and unlike other countries we don’t have lots of nursing assistants. These figures tell us nothing, of course, about the quality of the delivery of public services or the huge deficits in leadership, vision and accountability. They don’t tell us about the insanity of the so-called “decentralisation” policy, or the neutering of accountability under the Freedom of Information Act, or the explosion of quangos. But they do tell us that when the knife of cutbacks goes in, it is cutting flesh, not fat. “To sell cutbacks, we will be told that what is happening is really a process of reform, two very different things.

Postal Update

Monitoring Group issue Findings on 3rd Phase Payment Work Practice Change Agreement â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Collection & Delivery Area An Post. Payment of 3rd Phase of the Productivity Allowance

itoring Group acknowledges that the agreed partnership approach, involving early consultation and input in accordance with the agreed National and Local Implementation Process, ensures a structured, time-bound and accelerated implementation process.

Background & Findings

Determination

The Communications Workersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Union has referred to the Monitoring Group the issue of payment of phase 3 of the productivity allowance provided for under the above agreement; seeking its payment to members from 16th January 2008. The Monitoring Group at a hearing held on this matter on 31st March 2008 received detailed written and oral submissions from An Post and the CWU. The Union contends that it has cooperated fully with the implementation of the Agreement and the 3rd phase productivity payment is now due. The Company has argued that to date insufficient progress has been made with implementing office redesign versus the provisions in the C&D Agreement, which specifies redesign of 74 offices and 96% of savings have to be achieved prior to the payment of the third and final phase productivity payment. Also, the Company argues that as a direct consequence of non-cooperation by a minority, the current pace of implementation and the related implication for the realisation of the scheduled savings, it is not appropriate to make further productivity payments under the agreement at this point in time. The Monitoring Group is aware of the importance of upholding the principles of payment after the implementation of the change and the achievement of savings under the C&D Agreement. The Monitoring Group is again mindful of its own unique role and also if its involvement last year regarding the issues of payment of phase 2 of the productivity allowance when it considered that difficulties were up to that time created by both sides in attempting to progress implementation in accordance with the timetable set out in the Agreement. This then had implications for the achievement of savings by the Company and the payment of the second phase productivity payment to the employees involved. Arising from the experiences of both sides since then in implementing work redeisgn in the first 18 offices, the Monitoring Group, through the assistance of its determinations of 21st March 2007 and 24th April 2007, is satisfied that both parties are now fully committed to working together to implement the major office redesign programme throughout An post C&D operations on an accelerated basis. The Mon-

The Monitoring Group notes the progress made since the latter part of 2007 and is of the firm view that the 2008 Office redesign target (31) can be achieved through the agreed implementation process and commitment to change by the end of the year. However, it is essential that full co-operation with implementation is forthcoming from the outset at local level and in accordance with the realistic timescale specified through the agreed Implementation Process. It is important that any issues relating to the pace of implementation and the level of co-operation at all levels are closely monitored and any issues arising at local level are elevated to and addressed quicly at central level to ensure timely and effective implementation in accordnace with agreed process. This process provides for the urgent referral of local matters arising to the Central Steering Group for speedy resolution, and, if necessary, to the Monitoring Group for determination. Subject to the verification of implementation of the offices scheduled for implementation by end of Quarter 3, 2008, the Monitoring Group will review the issue of the 3rd phase payment at the end of September 2008. However, conditional on: i.

ii.

verifiable full and ongoing co-operation on the implementation of the change programme in those offices and ongoing sustained momentum with the rest of the office redesign programme and with the general implementation of the C&D Agreement, the Monitoring Group is of the view that payment of the 3rd and final phase of the Productivity Allowance, with retrospective effect, should be made at that time.

The Monitoring Group will continue to monitor implementation progress and will be available to the parties to resolve issues and track ongoing implementation. 10

Postal Update Review of Dignity at Work Complete

DSM SALARY REVIEW

In 2007 the existing “Dignity at Work” policy was referred to the Joint Conciliation Council (JCC) Diversity Sub Committee for a review, in the context of a Code of Practice issued by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) entitled ‘Code of Practice for Employers and Employees on the Prevention and Resolution of Workplace Bullying’. This review took place over a number of meetings between October 2007 and May 2008 with final agreement being reached at the JCC meeting in May. The Unions and the Company are in agreement that there is a requirement to switch the emphasis of the policy from one of formal management of complaints as they arise to one of informal resolution of issues as they arise. This is consistent with the recommendations issued by the HSA. With this in mind the new policy contains more detailed explanations as to how the informal process and mediation will operate. The policy recognises the contribution to be made by the Trade Union’s in An Post in the prevention of bullying in the workplace through their participation in the development and implementation of policies and procedures, through their information and training services, and through the collective bargaining process. It also recognises that the Trade Unions in An Post play a role in providing information, advice and representation to employees who have been bullied at work, and to employees against whom allegations of bullying at work have been made and with this in mind the Company has agreed to the release of Union Representatives for training on the new policy. We have also agreed that the success of the revised policy is dependent on the ability of Front Line Managers to deliver what is required of them in managing the issues arising and in that regard the Company has agreed to undertake appropriate training interventions to upskill these and other key managers in the process The policy will be formally launched at a meeting of the JCC at the end of June and shortly after that all employees will receive a copy of the policy.

As advised in the last issue of Connect the Labour Court Hearing on the Delivery Service Managers Review was postponed on the morning of the 13th March 2008 to enable further direct discussions to take place. These discussions concluded prior to Biennial Conference and the document agreed between the Union and the Company was accepted by the Postal / Courier Executive. The main points of the agreement are: • The Salary Levels for DSM 1 and DSM 2 repositioned from Superintendent 2 to Superintendent 1 and DPM to Superintendent 2 respectively. ❏ Superintendent 1 salary range - €52,471, €53,580, €54,706 ❏ Superintendent 2 salary range - €44,449, €46,113, €47,772, €49,427, €51,104 • Assimilation on the basis of xisting starting pay on promotion procedures. • Retention of Existing Change Allowance (including the 3rd phase payment when it arises). • A Performance Related Incentive Payment, to 15% of basic salary. This scheme will comprise two elements:❏ Up to a maximum of 7.5% of salary based on Company Performance to a maximum of 7.5% of salary based on performance against individual Targets / Objectives • Retention of 4% on call allowances • Overtime will no longer be payable to DSMs • Commencement date 16th June, 2008. Having successfully completed the DSMs’ Salary, it is the Union’s intention to seek to finalise the pay reviews for all Managers the Union represents at An Post.

Union Secures Service Leave in An Post

Agreement reached on the Definition of a family for Special Leave purposes

The Company and the Union have agreed to the restoration of service leave lost as a result of the introduction of the Organisation of Working Time Act. At the time of writing discussions were nearing completion in relation to the implementation date of this agreement. The agreement provides for additional leave on the following basis:

Agreement was reached at the last JCC Meeting to include the definition of a family contained within the Parental Leave Act 2006 and which already applies within the Company in respect of Force Majeure Leave to Special Leave for Domestics Reasons and Bereavement Leave. The Force Majeure provisions of the Parental Leave Act 2008 recognises a family member as being • • • • •

A child or adoptive child of the employee; The spouse of the employee, or a person with whom the person is living as husband or wife; A person to whom the employee is in loco parentis; A brother or sister of the employee; A parent or grandparent of the employee.

These provisions were amended by the 2006 Act to include persons in a relationship of domestic dependency, including same – sex partners. The company will be issuing a Company Circular in the next couple of weeks to give effect to this.

Grades

Annual Leave (Days)

Serving POC, Postal Sorter, Postperson, Patrolpersons and Cleaners (On personal to holder basis) Inclusive of the 2 Privilege Days and Good Friday.

23 (24/25 after 5/10 years) + 9 Public Holidays

Future Entrants Retail Clerks, Clerks, Postal Operative and Working Leader Inclusive of the 2 Privilege Days and Good Friday.

21 (22/23 after 5/10 years) + 9 Public Holidays

Postal Update Retail Clerk to be assimilated to New Entry Clerk

Provincial Mails Centre Agreement

Since the introduction of the Clerical and Work Practice Change Agreement the Union has sought the extension of the new Clerk rate of pay to the existing Retail Clerks. Following a recommendation by the Expert Group in December 2007 this was agreed by both sides. The new grade pay scales were introduced in June and applied retrospectively to the commencement date of the agreement.

I have outlined below the finding issued by the Labour Relations Commission which was considered and accepted by the National Executive Council who agreed to recommend it in a ballot of members. At the time of writing the Union is preparing for a ballot of all in benefit members at the three Mail Centres, Athlone Cork and Portlaoise.

Disability at Work Survey

the National Disability Authority. The information provided on the form is used solely by the Company for the purpose of providing the report to the Monitoring Committee. There is no legal obligation on staff to complete the census form. However, An Post is legally obliged to determine, in some form, the disability status of their employees. The form and question used is the recommended method, designed by the National Disability Authority, to facilitate public bodies to meet their statutory obligation to report on compliance with the 3% target. The census was well supported with over 70% of all employees completing and returning the questionnaire with 3.9% of employees declaring they had a disability. Anyone who has not as yet returned a form can still do so.

As you are aware An Post recently undertook a census of all employees regarding the number of employees with a disability. This survey was fully supported by the CWU. An Post has a number of legal responsibilities under the Disability Act 2005 one of which is to report the number and percentage of employees with disabilities. An Post, as a commercial Semi-State organisation, has a disability employment target of 3% of its total employee population in order to comply with the 2005 Act. Within the Disability Act there is a statutory timescale on An Post to complete their reports and send them to the relevant Monitoring Committee by the 31st March 2008. The census form being used by the Company has been developed with the assistance of

UNIFORM / WORKWEAR I can confirm that cleaning tokens have exchange process programme to ensure that replacement items are sent out by been distributed to staff in the the distribution company Uniform Collection and Delivery area, this year. Express. A garment exchange request form is enclosed in each 'manpack' 7. Redesign of the Postpersons Distribution of Uniforms/ which, in the event of an exchange Uniform Workwear for 2008 request, must be submitted to Uniform As you are aware from our discussions Express within two weeks of receipt of 1. Postmen/Postwomen issue to at the Joint Uniform Committee, the the pack. commence in mid July and complete Company is committed to a new by end August Inspector/Postal uniform for Collection and Delivery Sorter Issue to commence end July. 4. Form for newly recruited staff staff. It is accepted that the Uniform The Company is committed to Cleaner/Patrols Issue to commence in design, which is now over 20 years old, developing a process whereby the mid June for completion by end June needs to be modernised and upgraded uniform requirements of new entrants Post Office Clerks workwear issue to to maximise comfort and protection for commence Late July and completion are submitted and processed within a by the end of August reasonable timeframe. staff and to portray a positive image of the Company. It is also important from 2. The Points System 5. Safety Footwear all of our perspectives that the staff are As you are aware, the points scheme, An extensive field trial of safety proud to wear the uniform supplied. which provides a choice for people in footwear has recently concluded and a In this regard a visit by a sub-group respect of garments and items, requires questionnaire has been issued to all of the Committee to Royal Mail earlier the completion and return of a form those who took part in the trial. To date this week and also to Riverside well in advance to ensure the timely the number of questionnaires returned distribution of uniforms. Distribution Centre has proven to be has been very good and the initial trial Unfortunately, notwithstanding every quite useful and informative. feedback has been very positive. The effort, approx. 1600 forms were not data from the trials is now being returned by C&D staff this year and, as collated and the information will be In the interim, the Company is committed a consequence of this, they can only be shared with the Union at the earliest to commencing trials this year on a number supplied with the standard issue. of items including raingear, with a view to possible date. informing decisions on the composition 3. Replacement Items The Company has put in place an 6. Cleaning Tokens and style of the redesigned uniform.

Set out below are the various headings comprehended by the Joint Uniform Committee discussions:

Postal Update

Labour Relations Commission Proposals issued 1st May, 2008, relating to Mails Automation.

The LRCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s proposals were accepted by the Executive and now form part of a draft agreement which is being balloted by our Members at the Provincial Mails Centres.

this Agreement will be eligible to receive 50% of the 12.5% non-consolidated Productivity Allowance, i.e., 6.25 %; of which 83.67% will be pensionable. This allownace (6.25%) will continue to be paid on a red circled personal to the holder basis and will take effect from 1st April 2007. In order to standardise the position of Future Entrants throughout all four Mails Processing Centres, including the Dublin Mails Centre (DMC), the following will now apply to the DMC: 1.

Payment of the non-consolidated productivity allowance equivalent to 33% of that received by employees fully encompassed by the DMC Revised Working Arrangements Agreement, (clause 14.2.2.4(2) refers) will cease for New Entrants with effect from the Commencement Date of this Agreement.

Effective from the Commencement date of this Agreement, the allowance referred to at clause 1 above will increase from 33% to 50%, with effect from 1st April 2007, for existing DMC New Entrant employees currently in receipt of the allowance and will continue to be paid on a red circled personal to the holder basis.

Proposals to address outstanding matters related to Mails Processing Agreement 1)

The final phase of the non-consolidated Productivity Allowance will be 6.5%; 83.67% of which will be pensionable. The full cumulative value of the nonconsolidated Productivity Allowance (incorporating this phase) will be 12.5%; of which 83.67% will be pensionable.

The payment of the final phase, which will bring the full productivity allowance to 12.5%, will take effect from 1st April 2007.

The existing supervisory position of Process Area Supervisor will be replaced by the post of Process Area Manager. For the purposes of pay and related terms and conditions of employment, this post will be graded at Superintendent 2 level. The Process Area Manager post will not attract any of the three phases of the Productivity Allowance. Existing Process Area Supervisors who become Process Area Managers will be appointed with effect from 1st April 2007. Normal starting pay on promotion guidelines will apply.

The non-consolidated Productivity Allowance will not apply to Future Entrants (i.e. individuals employed following the Commencement Date of this Agreement). Existing Mails Centre stff who were recruited following the establishment of the Provincial Mails Centres but prior to the Commencement Date of

3. The non-consolidated Productivity Allowance will not apply henceforth to Future Entrants at the DMC, i.e., individuals employed following the Commencement Date of this Agreement. 6) The Leave in Lieu procedures set out in both the Collection & Delivery and Clerical and Administrative Work Practice Change Agreements with the CWU will apply to the provincial Mails Processing Centres. However, in recognition of the Unionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s concerns in relation to the administration of the new system of leave in lieu, the parties will meet within 6 weeks of the Commencement Date of this Agreement with a view to addressing these concerns. If these concerns cannot be addressed, the matter should be referred to the Monitoring Group, in recognition of their unique role in relation to both the Collection & Delivery and the Clerical and Administrative Work Practice Change Agreements, for consideration and determination. 7)

This proposal is put forward on the basis that any outstanding local discussions will be concluded by Friday 16th May 2008 at latest.

Postal Update

New National Executive Council elected at Conference

Back Row L to R: Ger O’Brien, Willie Mooney, Tim O’Donovan, Damien Touhy, Martina O’Connell, John Tansey, Ellen Moore, Vincent Kilroy and Syl Curran. Front Row L to R: John Morris, Willie Day, Emmanuel Cassidy, Charlie Kelly (President), Cormac O’Dalaigh, Frank Burke, Maurice Cassidy and Frank Donohoue.

The Joint Working Groups for 2008 - 2010 are:

Get into print!

Clerical Pay and Grade Frank Burke, Willie Mooney, John Tansey Collection and Delivery Martina O’Connell, Frank Donohoe, John Tansey, Maurice Cassidy, Ger O’Brien Automation Cormac O’Dalaigh, Syl Curran, Ellen Moore, Tim O’Donovan, Ger O’Brien, Martin Duffy Uniform/Workwear Damien Tuohy, Emmanuel Cassidy, John Morris

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

imelda@cwu.ie or post to us at:

LAMP Charlie Kelly, Cormac O’Dalaigh, Frank Donohoe, Emmanuel Cassidy Joint Accommodation Willie Mooney, Damien Tuohy, Cormac O’Dalaigh, Vincent Kilroy

575 North Circular Road, Dublin 1.

Equality Update

Inaugural Meeting of the Steering Group of Women at Work Skillnet

Left to Right Back Row: Anita O’Toole, HR Executive, Penny’s, Aileen Morrissey, Mandate, Alacoque McMenamin, Project Manager, Marian Geoghegan, IBOA, Angela Kirk, Impact, Carol Scheffer, CWU. Left to Right Front Row: Linda McLoughlin, Facilitator Leadership Works, Sallyanne Kinahan, ICTU, Marie Watters, An Post, Bride Rosney, RTE & Orla O’Connor, National Women’s Council of lreland.

The first meeting of the Steering Group of the Women at Work Skillnet took place on May 19th at the offices of the Irish Nurses Organisation. This newly established Skillnet will undertake an ambitious training programme to up-skill women in the work place. The Skillnet is being led by five Trade Unions, namely the CWU, INO, Mandate, Impact and the IBOA and is supported by a cross section of employers. The goal is to up-skill women to enable them to realise their potential in their working lives and fully participant in workplace initiatives such as partnerships, union activism and the management of change. Training will include career planning skills, communicating with confidence, computer literacy, supervisory training, management training, and upgrading women’s technical and professional competencies. Trade Unions are in a unique position within society to access significant numbers of workers in a wide variety of workplaces. This capacity is evidenced in recent research conducted by Amárach that found that Trade Unions were one of the most trusted institutions in Irish society. The Women at Work Skillnet is funded by the five Unions and the Training Networks Programme (TNP), an initiative of Skillnets Ltd. funded from the National Training Fund through the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

For further information please contact Carol Scheffer on 01 8663000 15

Equality Update

CWU launches its Guidelines for Combating Racism and Promoting Cultural Awareness

CWU There are many degrees of inequality in our society and our workplaces. It manifests itself in a way that can be directly or indirectly discriminatory or can seek to victimize individuals for standing up for their rights. One group in society that is exposed to this level of discrimination is those from different racial and ethnic backgrounds. As a trade union we are well aware of the role we must play in combating racism in the work place. This year marks European year of intercultural dialogue and is the year that we launch or own anti-racism policy. Within our policy, we have outlined practical measures that we can put in place, to highlight what we can do as a Union when negotiating with employers, what can be done at local committee level and also what individual members can do to make our Union an integrated and welcoming Union to all from different backgrounds. Our policy is also about increasing awareness of multicultural issues and we have a dedicated section on the issues of refugees, asylum seekers and economic migrants. It is imperative that our members understand the plight of these groups and how they are treated when they come to Ireland. It is clear that we need guidelines in order to reflect the increased multi-cultural society that we live in and also to reflect that migrant workers are now a permanent feature in the Irish workplace. We have already approached several companies with a view to engaging with the Union to put in place positive measures that will assist all employees on this important issue. The Union would like to acknowledge the input of Philip Watt, of the National Consultative Committee on Racism and Interculturalism (NCCRI) and David Joyce, Equality Office at ICTU. Their seal of approval on the policy was much appreciated. The CWU guidelines are our commitment to being an open and inclusive Union and we anticipate that our antiracism initiatives will have benefits for all. Copies of the policy can be ordered from Union Head Office.

Guidelines for

Combating Racism and Promoting Cultural Awareness

Submitted by Ian McArdle

O2 staff vote on transfer deal to IBM

company has already Ian McArdle said that it will not Head of Organising and Regurecognise the CWU for latory Affairs, CWU. collective bargaining purposes. This is particularly disappointing given that, unlike IBM, British Telecom has a long history of dealing with unions and is already dealing with another Irish union following a similar TUPE situation from some years back. Beside the discussions on behalf of staff transferring out of O2 the CWU is keen to progress discussions on behalf of those staff that will remain in O2 and on this issue has sought to begin talks with O2 management on the long term relationship between both organisations.

Following many months of intensive and detailed negotiations the CWU Joint Consultative Committee (JCC) in O2 decided to put the Employee Transfer Terms and the Transfer Payment to a ballot of the members who are moving to IBM. The Transfer Terms set out the details of the terms and conditions that O2 staff will move onto following the transfer and includes some improvements on their current conditions. These include a reduction in the working week from 39 hours to 36.25 and improved annual leave allowances in addition to a more favourable sick pay scheme. Among other issues the JCC negotiated a buy out of shift and on call allowances for staff moving off the O2 account equivalent to 9 months shift/on call. In addition to this the group also concluded a deal on the Transfer Payment that will provide for €1,200 per year of service plus a flat payment of €1,000 for all staff transferring to IBM. In relation to collective bargaining IBM has, unsurprisingly, refused to recognise the CWU however the company has agreed to deal with the Union on individual matters that staff may wish to raise. The key areas of concern that remain a priority for the staff are to do with the redeployment process, career progression/development and location. Whilst the CWU did secure some commitments from O2/IBM on these issues the union remains committed to the members in ensuring that any problems that might arise are dealt with in a fair and equitable manner. The ballot will be concluded in the first week of June with a view to the staff being transferred on July 1st. In the meantime discussions continue in relation to the transfer of staff to British Telecom and the JCC is continuing its hard work in this regard, dealing with the issues and concerns raised by members in relation to some matters that need to be clarified and agreed before the Transfer Terms can be put to a ballot. However a key concern that has emerged is the fact that the

CWU refers Global Telesales to LRC Towards the end of 2007, the Communications Workers Union contacted the Advisory Service of the LRC and referred a number of issues raised by members in GTS under the “enhanced code of practice on voluntary dispute resolution (SI76 2004)”. On Friday 8th February 2008, CWU attended the LRC in conjunction with GTS Management where talks began on the issues, which include Collective Bargaining, Pay and Reward Systems and Union Representation in Grievance and Disciplinary Procedures. As can be the way with this process, at the initial meeting no agreement was reached on the issues raised, however both parties agreed that further discussions would be beneficial. Somewhat disappointingly however, the next meeting that was held at the LRC did not yield any movement from the employer other that their acceptance that the CWU could represent staff on an individual basis in grievance and disciplinary procedures. The union had presented, at the request of the company, a number of proposals including a cost neutral solution for shift swaps and a list of comparators that could justify the introduction 17

of a maternity leave scheme. On the day however the company rejected these. The Union is waiting on final word from the LRC before deciding what the next steps might be.

Union asked that Management give further consideration to improving the Annual Leave allocation for long serving staff on the basis that their loyalty to the organisation should be acknowledged and rewarded.

Annual Leave approved for One Direct Staff

Postbank opts for CWU as their Union of choice

On foot of a successful organising campaign by the CWU in One Direct, the Union has continued to develop a positive working relationship with Management in Athlone and has, over the course of recent meetings, placed a number of issues that are causing concern among members. One of the issues raised, was the Annual Leave allocation for One Direct staff which only provided for this minimum statutory entitlement of 20 days. On foot of representations made by CWU, Management agreed to review this situation and recently announced that the Annual Leave Allocation of all One Direct staff will be improved from 20 days to 22 days and that staff working on 27th December will receive appropriate compensation for attending work on that day. The Union welcomed this as a positive development and acknowledged that it was a worthwhile improvement on the previous minimum statutory entitlement. However, at a meeting on 6th March, the

Following an invitation from Postbank management to make a presentation to its senior management on why the CWU should be chosen as the representative body for the company, the Union can now confirm that a decision has been made and that the CWU is now the sole representative union for collective bargaining purposes in Postbank. Both parties are working together on an agreement that will set out the specifics of how the relationship will work but the CWU is very pleased that it can build on the existing positive working relationship. The Union looks forward to working closely with Postbank to help ensure the continued and long term success of a financial operation that the Union has long campaigned for as a vital business platform that has a role to play in the continued success of An Post and its network.

CWU launches Equal Treatment Campaign for its members in British Telecom Telecom. The company has refused to recognise the CWU as the collective voice for its staff in the Republic of Ireland and has maintained this stance despite the company deciding to run its business on an all-island basis and dealing with the CWU in Northern Ireland. To mark the launch of this campaign the CWU and its shop stewards in British Telecom decided to hold a public protest outside the corporate head office at the Grand Canal Plaza (GCP). Demonstrating considerable bravery a large number of BT staff including a group from GCP itself attended the protest which was also well supported by a number of CWU branches in Dublin who sent delegations in solidarity with their colleaguesâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; plight. The event attracted a lot

Disconnect Discrimination Campaign is Launched On April 22nd the CWU launched a high profile billboard advertising campaign to highlight the discriminatory treatment of Irish staff working in British 18

of media attention from both print and radio and the story was featured by way of editorial and pictures in the Irish Times, Metro and FM104 to name a few. An essential element of the ‘Disconnect Discrimination’ campaign was the billboard advertisements which were taken out by the Union in various locations around the city. In conjunction with these there two large ad mobiles hired to carry the billboards around the city and to key British Telecom locations – as well as being used to very good effect on the day of the public protest (see picture below).

Mr Kelleher acknowledged that all citizens have a constitutional guarantee of freedom of association but that does not entail or deliver their right to have their Union recognised for the purpose of collective bargaining. As one might expect the answer goes on to detail the various pieces of legislation that Irish workers can avail of, including those that protect them against victimisation as regards their Trade Union Membership, but ultimately he did not address the question of double standards being applied by British Telecom to its workers on the island of Ireland. Along with this the CWU has also initiated a letter writing campaign that so far has seen over 2,200 letters and email going to British Telecom CEO Mr Chris Clark asking him why he continues to deny his staff a basic human right and why he discriminates against them because they are Irish. This campaign can be found at http://www.labourstart.org/btireland and it is still very much live and I would encourage anyone who hasn’t yet done so to go and send off the letter which is there on the site. This campaign has been support by Labourstart and of course our affiliate UNI who both have helped to ensure that this campaign has had strong support from around the world. It is vital that the pressure be maintained in this campaign and members should be under no illusions about the very real effect it is having in terms of getting a clear message through to senior management in British Telecom. Never was this more clearly demonstrated when, live on national radio on RTE’s Morning Ireland show when announcing the company’s financial results the CEO was challenged to explain why, as an all-island company, does it deny its Republic of Ireland staff the right to union representation enjoyed by its staff in Northern Ireland. Half a million listeners go to hear Mr Clark stumble his way through an answer that was at best half baked – the public have heard the line he is selling and they are not buying it. Its time he realised that too.

Overall the event was a great success and our members in British Telecom were given a great boost in confidence on seeing the level of support that the CWU and its members are prepared to give to their cause and the key challenge for us all is to keep the momentum in this campaign going – and in that regard there are two other elements to the three pronged strategy that has been adopted.

Political Pressure and Public Campaign In conjunction with the innovative approach taken by the CWU in its advertising campaign the union is also seeking a political strategy as well as a direct contact campaign. There has been considerable activity on the political front. Firstly, the Dublin City Council adopted a motion condemning BT for its treatment of its staff and demanding that the company explain it stance. This motion, which was sponsored by Sinn Féin Councillor Críona Ní Dhálaigh, was passed with cross party support. In addition to this on 19th February 2008, Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment, Mr Kelleher, responded to a question from Mr Arthur Morgan, TD, who had asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment to give his views on whether the double standard being employed by British Telecom in its treatment of workers north and south of the border is a form of discrimination against Irish workers. The response from 19

Training session for private sector representatives On Thursday 24th April the Union arranged for an important training session which was attended by a group of some of our private sector representatives from One Direct, British Telecom, American Airlines, Meteor and Global Telesales. The session which was organised by Pat Kenny and delivered by him with assistance from Martina O’Connell, Ray Lawlor and Cormac O’Dailigh covered some basic but important elements for new union representatives. These included the functioning and workings of the Union, the process and procedures for Conference and a module on the establishment and proper working of a branch. This kind of training is vital for the successful growth of the union in areas outside of our traditional bases and it was clear as the day progressed that more time and resources will have to be dedicated to this important part of the CWU’s long term development. On the day, the participants thoroughly enjoyed the presentations that were given as well as the interactive exercises which the Education Committee has developed to such good effect over the years.

Pictured on the left: Billy Tyrell attending the private sector training session.

Pictured on the right: Martina O’Connell delivering a private sector training session.

Private Sector Delegates Training Session at Conference

the group attended, it was decided that there was a real need to focus in on grievance and disciplinary procedures. The seminar therefore was constructed so that the participants would get a firm understanding of the principals around natural justice and how they would operate as part of the G&D procedures. It was acknowledged by all that there was various levels of experience in the room with regard to representing members on G&D therefore a few case studies were built into the seminar so that participates could gain practical experience in this area. Finally a discussion took place with regard to the training requirements of the group, which the education committee will be keen to proceed with in the not too distant future. Overall the session was well received and the Union was particularly pleased to see the attendance at conference of members from the new private sector companies.

On Thursday 24th April the Union arranged for 13 attendees from 8 difference private sector companies to attend a private sector seminar on the second day of conference. The seminar was hosted by Ian McArdle, Organising and Regulatory Affairs Officer, Carol Scheffer, National Officer and Pat Kenny, Union Head Office. The seminar was particularly enriched by an informed speech given by Neil Andersen, Head of Postal Global Section, Uni. Neil focused on the relevance of so called Global Agreement which are essentially international agreements between UNI and multinational employers which set out basic minimums that affiliates of UNI can expect to rely on in their dealings with that particular employer. These have proved useful to trade unions around the world and the CWU has most recently had reason to use the Global Agreement between UNI and telecoms company Telefonica who own O2 to ensure that the CWU could represent members affected in their current outsourcing plans. General Secretary, Steve Fitzpatrick also visited the seminar and offered every support to the group as they go back to their workplaces and continue their union duties. Based on some of the previous training sessions that

Attendees: Phelim Molloy – Vodafone John Ryan – Vodafone Barry Myles – Vodafone Tony Flood – BT Billie Tyrell – BT Martin Quinn – Meteor Mark Fox – O2 Brian Harney – O2 Gabriel Nagle – American Airlines Christine O’Brien – Billpost Anne Marie O’Shea – Billpost Julian Izquierdo – Global Telesales Carmel Hickey – One Direct

Important Notice – Increase in CWU Subscriptions Paid by Direct Debit After careful consideration and noting that the subscription rate for members paying by direct debit has not been changed for over two years, the National Executive has approved a proposal from the Organising Committee to increase these rates by 4%. This increase is less than the improvements achieved in the National Wage Agreements and the latest increase in the National Minimum wage and is significantly less than the rate of inflation for the last two years. As such it is seen by the Union as a fair, equitable and necessary increase and will alter the weekly subscription rates as follows:

Temporary/Part-time/Agency Contract Call Centre/Customer Care Contractors/Non-Managerial Managerial

Old Rate 2.50 3.00 4.00 5.00

New Rate 2.60 3.12 4.16 5.20

Postal Regulation Update by Ian McArdle

Minister Announces Public Consultation on Postal Liberalisation

Enhanced Power for ComReg in the Postal Sector

On April 28th 2008 Minister Eamon Ryan TD announced a public consultation process in relation to the recent European Directive which sets out the final steps of liberalising the postal sector EU-wide from 1st January 2011. A gradual and controlled liberalisation of the postal market commenced in 2000, with the transposition of two previous European Directives. This third Directive sets out requirements for Member States on the provision of a high quality postal service, liberalisation within their postal networks and on the maintenance of a Universal Service Obligation. Announcing the consultation, Minister Ryan said, “the role of postal services is continually evolving and adapting to changes in consumer behaviour and technological developments. It is essential that Ireland continues to have a dynamic, innovative, competitive and customer-focused postal market that Irish consumers need and deserve. This consultation process is a valuable opportunity for members of the public and all stakeholders to make their views known on this issue and will help in the transposition of the Directive into Irish law.” At the time of going to press the CWU was finalising its submission for the consultation.

On the 9th May, 2008, Communications Minister, Eamon Ryan TD, announced new regulations to significantly enhance the regulatory-capacity of the Communications Regulator (ComReg), in the postal sector. As a result of these provisions, ComReg can now seek financial sanction by way of an application to the High Court, should the postal service operator (An Post) fail to comply with one of its directions. This will be most applicable in cases where delivery targets are not met and in instances of non-compliance with a direction relating to those targets. Minister Ryan said, “These new regulations will afford ComReg broad-ranging powers necessary for the effective regulation of the sector which will enhance the quality of the Irish postal service to that of an international standard. I appreciate the recent improvement in the quality of service provided by An Post, and the hard work and commitment of all at the company in achieving this. However, the current 77% level of service for next day delivery of mail still falls significantly short of the 94% target set by the Regulator.”

BREDA CASEY FUND Staff in the 11811 Churchfield Cork held a raffle to raise funds for their colleague Breda Casey. The prize-winners were: 1st Jim O’Connell, 2nd Florence McCarthy and 3rd Geraldine Hall Pictured l to r: Eileen Curtin, Social Club, Mary G. O’ Donovan, Call Centre Manager, Eircom, Breda Casey, Pat Lovett, St. Gabriel’s Credit Union and Joe Murphy, Branch Secretary, Cork Telephones.

Charlie Kelly, President, CWU.

Carol Scheffer, National Officer, CWU.

Terry Delany, Deputy General Secretary, CWU.

Imelda Wall, Office Manager, CWU.

Communications Workers’ Union David Begg, General Secretary, ICTU.

Steve Fitzpatrick, General Secretary, CWU.

Fintan King Outoing Presid , ent, CWU.

4th Biennial Conference an, Yvonne Heffern Dublin No. 2.

Ian McArdle, National Officer, CWU.

Kilkenny 2008 Lyrath Estate Hotel

Martina O’Connell & Mick McCarthy, Cork.

Gerry Maher, A. Portlaoise C&

Susan Casey & Mick Smith, NEC.

Seán McDonagh, National Officer, CWU.

Barbara Murphy, DMC.

Sarah Penny, Head Office, CWU.

John McCarthy, Clonmel.

Charlie O’Keeffe, Dublin No. 3.

Seamus Sweeney, Carrick-on-Shannon.

Neil Andersen, UNI.

Jim O’Flynn, NEC.

Steve Fitzpatrick, General Secretary, CWU and Peter McManus, Standing Orders.

Carmel Hickey, One Direct.

Mick Brennan, CWHT.

Monical Hempenstall, Finance Officer, CWU.

Adrienne Power, Trisha Penny, Sarah Penny, Lorraine Newman and Imelda Wall, Head Office Staff, CWU.

Julian Izquerido, Global Telesales.

Bob Monaghan, Portlaoise.

Neil Andersen, UNI.

Tommy Quinlan, Kilkenny and William McGirr, Donegal.

Derek Kavanagh, Dublin Drivers.

John Curtin, Standing Orders.

Joe Moore, Cork.

John Sharkey & Angela Rowntree, Castlerea.

Kieran O’Mahony, Ger Falvey, Pat O’Sullivan & John Sullivan, Limerick District.

Joe Moore, NEC.

Mike O’Connor, NEC.

Jerome Barret National Office t, r, CWU.

Mary Prendergast and members of the Women’s Equality Group.

Willie Mooney, NEC.

Tommy Greene, DPDB.

Karl Webb, CWU, HA.

Bill Colfer, Waterford.

Mayor of Kilkenny.

Danny Long, NEC.

Gerry Cuirc, Vice-President, CWU.

Martina O’Connell & Grace Sweeney, Cork Outdoor.

John Ryan, Vodafone.

Jarleth Heneghan, Galway.

Noel O’Farrell, Arrangements Committee.

Emmanuel Cassidy, NEC.

Wen Chen, Vodafone.

John Canning Morrison, TESL.

Ivor Reynolds, NEC.

Dublin No. 1 Branch.

Anna Lovely & Caroline Mansuell with Emma & Patricia, ESCCU.

Mick Gallagher, Lifford

Mick Scully & Mick Farrell

Jim Cooney, Birr.

Jim O’Flynn, NEC.

Angela Rowntree, Castlerea.

Jerry Browne, Steve Fitzpatrick & Martin O’Callaghan.

Mary Conroy, Equality Committee.

Emmanuel Cassidy, NEC

Private Sector Session

Ivor Reynolds, NEC.

Colin Moore, Dublin Managers.

Barry Carr, Mullingar.

Tony Harmon, Head Office, CWU.

Frank Donohue, DPDB.

Ollie Power, Noel O’Farrell, Wattie Cullen, John Morris, Sean Morrissey, Tom Walton, Bill Quinn, Paddy Barry & Tommy Quinlan, Killkenny Arrangements Committee

Paddy Davoren, Dublin Clerks.

Aisling Garvey, FD Ireland.

Mick Goldrick, Drogheda District.

Terry Delany, Deputy General Secretary, CWU.

Pat McDonnell, Dublin No. 1.

Emma Lusk, ESCCU.

Tony Grogan & John Dunleavy, CWU, HA.

Damian Touhy, NEC.

Mike O’Connor, Brian Lattimore & Martin Quinn, Vodafone & Meteor.

Alec Pearson, CWU, HA, and Carmel Hickey.

Willie Tyrell, Waterford.

Dave Tannam, Dublin No. 2.

Pat O’Sullivan, Limerick.

Seán Coultry, DPDB.

Steve Fitzpatric k, General Secret ary, CWU.

Phil Function, Trade Council, Kilkenny.

Jimmy O’Connor, National Officer, CWU.

Fintan King, Outgoing President.

Vincent Kilroy, NEC.

John Tansey, NEC.

Gerry Bourke, NEC.

Phelim Molloy, Vodafonr, Billy Tyrell & Tony Flood, BT Ireland.

The CWU Band had an outing with a difference when we visited the Union’s conference in Kilkenny at the start of May. All band members agreed that it was very important for all the Union leadership to see and hear the band in action – even though it meant playing at 9 a.m., as the busy conference schedule meant that an early morning concert was the only option feasible. This was the second engagement in the week, as we had already played for the May Day march organised by the Dublin Council of Trade Unions. So on a warm Tuesday evening, we loaded the bus with all the drums, music stands, banners and sheet music and set off for Kilkenny in time for dinner. It’s a tribute to the members that in an amateur and voluntary organisation, we could muster 30 members for an overnight gig. It’s a further tribute to their dedication that everyone was present and correct for breakfast at 7.30 a.m. and ready to play. (Was this a first?) The Lyrath Hotel was a great venue. The foyer was spacious enough to allow us room to play and still have plenty room to allow delegates to register and meet and greet. The programme was designed to show the variety of music the band can play from marches to classical favourites and lighter tunes. The response from conference delegates was very encouraging, and band members were especially pleased that the Mayor of Kilkenny made special mention of the band when she opened the conference. It just shows that no matter how large and professional a Trade Union may become, it still remains a democratic organisation with volunteers who unite to protect employment rights, pay and conditions. It is vital that Unions don’t lose the ability to organise members in peaceful protest

Members of the CWU band at rehearsal when the occasion demands it and a band is an important part of that organising ability. It’s our music, played by our people and for our people, and it helps to strengthen our image and identity. So thanks to everyone at the conference in Kilkenny, and special thanks to Monica Hempenstall and Imelda Wall whose help was vital to us in organising the trip. On the way home, we noticed that the swallows had just returned. It was a great start to the summer.

women

Negotiating to win full equality The UNI-Europa Women’s conference was held in Nyon, Switzerland, on May 14th & 15th. The meeting called for an Equal Pay Day every year and affirmative action to improve work-life balance. Union negotiating teams with at least 40% women members and training for all union negotiators on gender issues are part of a 10-point plan to tackle Europe’s persistent pay gap between men and women. Men still earn more than women - by an average of 25% across the European Union - in spite of years of equality laws. Discrimination cheats women out of 500,000 Swiss francs in their working lives in Switzerland, the conference heard. An action manual, checklists, guidelines, a regular exchange of best practices and campaign cooperation with bodies like the ETUC are among the ingredients in a strategy to win pay equity and equal opportunities - a move that will bring more women into trade unions. “Equal pay for work of equal value is an indicator of the level of democracy in a society,” said the conference, whose slogan was Unions=Women=Pay. “Equal pay for women means allowing them to take control of their own lives and be financially independent. It also means respecting the often different set of skills women possess and valuing those skills.” The conference elected Mette Kindberg of HK Denmark as the new UNI-Europa Women’s president with Grace Mitchell of CWU UK and Daniela Rondinelli of FISCAT-CISL Italy as vice presidents. Delegates

Pay Equity - the Force that will Bring Women into the Trade Unions 10-point plan for pay equity and equal opportunities Pay Equity - the Force that will Bring Women into the Trade Unions 10-point plan for pay equity and equal opportunities Equal pay for work of equal value is an indicator of level of democracy in a society. Structures in which women are paid less than men for the work they do is indicative of gender-based discrimination and are an obstacle to women’s opportunities in the labour market. Equal pay for women also means allowing them to take control of their own lives and be financially independent. It also means recognising the often different set of skills women possess and valuing those skills. Sadly, women in the EU today still earn approximately 25% less than men. UNI-Europa Women made this point very impressively at the UNI-Europa Regional Conference in Athens in 2007 and demanded that this situation change at long last. They also called for measures to be taken in the different sectors, for example through the collective and

UNI's new Equal Opporutunities Officer Veronica Fernandes Mendez with UNI-Europa Women’ new top team: Daniela Rondinelli, Vice President; Mette Kindberg, President; Grace Mitchell, Vice President

highlighted the need for fairer pay scale systems and UNI-Europa Women’s 10-point action plan calls for a checklist for union negotiators to “verify that the evaluation of women’s work is not the object of discrimination”. Unions from across Europe reported on their own initiatives to bring pay equity.

Report from CWU, Ireland The CWU Ireland ran a “Welcome for Women” campaign to involve more women in the union, said Carol Scheffer. The message to women was join, get active and get involved at a senor level in the union. 4,000 members were surveyed, a researcher was hired and focus groups launched to follow up on the replies. Interested women joined focus groups along with representatives from local branches and the Executive. One key point was to take the campaign away from the capital - Dublin - and to women around the country. Extra seats have been reserved for women on the Executive and training is in hand to help women members overcome a lack of confidence in seeking advancement identified in survey returns.

pay bargaining process. In addition, equal opportunities for women on the labour market must be made a key pillar of trade union and social dialogue policy. The battle for pay equity for women, whenever it has been fought successfully, has become a catalyst for organising women into trade unions. That is why the 3rd UNI-Europa Women’s Conference 2008 demands: 1. The inclusion of pay and pension equity and equal opportunities for all women, including part-time, temporary and other “aptypical” workers, in all national, regional and sectoral policies and regular reporting on “best practices” and on the effects on the rate of unionisation of women at executive committee meetings and conferences. 2. The development of an action manual, with a commitment from the UNI-Europa Management Committee, setting out proposals reviewing wages and pensions, the evaluation of women’s occupations, and transparent criteria for the classification of jobs with specific examples. Respect or introduction of a legal and/or collectively bargained minimum wage. 3. The development of guidelines on measures and principles for the promotion of gender issues in the collective bargaining process as part of the training programme for trade union

negotiators. 4. The adoption of a checklist to be used to verify that the evaluation of women’s work is not the object of discrimination, and its presentation to the UNI-Europa Executive Committee. 5. Regular exchange of good practices via the UNI-Europa Women website. 6. Joint campaigns with other organisations, e.g. the ETUC, on questions of equal pay and pensions, and publication of the relevant information on the UNI and national websites, as well as organising the celebration of an annual Equal Pay Day. 7. Adoption of cornerstones for an affirmative action plan which, in addition to pay and pension equity, addresses work-life balance issues, skills and career progression and violence at work. 8. More women into collective bargaining and decision making bodies, including all UNI committees! (Our demand: at least 40%) 9. Special training programmes for UNI-Europa policy officers. 10. An annual seminar to exchange best practices and develop actions for the future to support the debate and work on pay equity and equal opportunities in the UNI-Europa Women’s Committee.

support organising efforts in other parts of the global operations of Vodafone. The international colleagues also met with a number of the shop stewards for the CWU South Africa. The CWU and its Vodacom members have been through a long struggle including a 5 week strike to gain union recognition. The UNI delegation was very happy to strengthen the relations between workers in the Group globally. It also met with the CEO of Vodacom, Allan KnottCraig and discussed the need for respect between workers and management if Vodacom was to become a truly good and socially responsible employer in the African continent. Mr Knott-Craig said he personally respected union and workers’ rights and he respected union organising in Vodacom where he hoped that workers issues cold be dealt with in a respectful and honest manner by the company’s management. He said that he would welcome a proposal from UNI Global Union to try and develop a global agreement and understanding on proper labour rights and standards for workers participation in the company.

New Head of Department for UNI Telecom Global Union UNI Global Union is pleased to announce that Marcus Courtney has been appointed the new Head of Department for UNI Telecom Global Union. He will take up his work here at UNI head office from 1st July. Marcus succeeds Neil Anderson, who was recently appointed Head of Department for UNI Post and Logistics Global Union. A graduate of the University of Montana, Marcus is currently the President of WashTech/CWA, which is the hi-tech and ATT CWA local in Seattle, USA. He was the driving force behind the creation of WashTech, whilst working at Microsoft as a contract test engineer. WashTech was the first tech workers’ organisation in the USA. It affiliated to the Communication Workers of America (CWA) in 1998. Marcus has been involved in a wide range of organising and collective bargaining work in telecoms and the IT sector. He led an organising drive at Amazon and also founded TechsUnite at the CWA to build a unified voice for technology workers. He also directed the successful organising effort for over 1,200 customer service workers at AT&T Mobility. Marcus has also been engaged in a wide range of regulatory and legislative issues in IT and telecoms. The skills that Marcus brings to UNI will match the challenges we face from the convergence of IT, telecoms and media, organising, global agreements and regulatory issues.

Convergence and telecom network regulation is an issue for workers The UNI East Asia Telecom Forum meeting in Tokyo 16-17 April, heard how convergence and the regulation around this change to the telecom industry is affecting workers and their jobs. The forum discussed how regulators have been facing these changes. They raised concerns about the way regulation affecting investment in the new networks that are needed in order to deal with the high levels of network capacity needed to provide for ever increasing types of content. The unions shared information about the different types of regulation being pursued in the East Asian countries, Japan, Taiwan, Korea and Hong Kong, and how this was changing the need to invest in these new networks and the employment related issues such as the need for more skilled workers, job security and the contracting out of network construction. The unions said that high levels of investment are needed to cover the convergence developing in East Asia but the regulators were restricting the way network companies could ask content providers to help shoulder the burden of those increasing costs and levels of investment. This was seriously affecting network companies cost structures and as these companies already provide high levels of employment to the industry they were increasingly looking to ways to cut employment costs. This was having a detrimental affect on job security, wages and conditions in the telecom industry. The unions have been discussing ways they can try and lobby governments and regulators to deal with these issues.

UNI Telecom Vice Presidents meet new Head of Department and plan priorities The UNI Telecom Vice Presidents met with UNI World president Shoji Morishima and the new Head of the Telecom Department, Marcus Courtney, to discuss the future priorities for the UNI Telecom department. The meeting which took place in Tokyo, Japan, also included Neil Anderson who is handing over the Head of Department’s role to Marcus. The Vice President’s from each region started by discussing what progress they had made in their region implementing UNI Telecom’s action plan, which had been developed in 2007 at UNI Telecom’s Athens world conference. They then went on to discussing their priorities for the future. More information can be found at: http://www.uniglobalunion.org/UNITelecom.nsf/0/180408_EN_35

Vodafone unions meet in South Africa and move forward with their global work

Historical agreement with Telefónica in Argentina

On April 7-8 UNI’s affiliates from the UK, Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania, Spain and the United States with members in the Vodafone group of companies met together in Johannesburg and discussed the progress they had made in organising and developing union structures. They celebrated the recognition of unions in both Vodacom in South Africa and Vodafone in the UK and committed to work together to build stronger unions and to

On March 17 Congress of Representatives of CePETel – UNI’s affiliate in Argentina – approved the agreement reached with Telefónica de Argentina. The negotiations started in January and it took nearly two months of intense bargaining till the agreement was signed. CePETel used the UNI - Telefónica Global Agreement 34

to ensure that the local management participated in decent collective bargaining processes. More about the agreement - in the press release (in Spanish) at: http://www.uniglobalunion.org/UNItelecom.nsf/0/190308_EN_80

pay rise for staff. The Lower Labour Court ruled in their favour on March 18 and Batelco said immediately afterwards that it would appeal but it announced last night that the men would be reinstated from next week, following the Premier’s intervention.

CWU secures historic pay settlement in O2

CWA and German Union Ver.di Form New ‘T Union’

CWU members in O2 have voted overwhelming to endorse the best negotiated pay settlement since the mobile company was split from BT. This is an historic pay settlement which for the first time ensures that all employees above the base performance level will receive an inflation related pay increase. This is a real achievement and an important gain in the union fight to ensure that members are treated fairly. The union has secured significant movement from O2 in both their attitude toward market rate pay and performance related pay. This deal invests in the workforce by delivering across the board pay increases of at least the rate of inflation. This is great news for O2 workers and provides a platform from which to achieve further improvements. The deal, which was accepted by 81 per cent of respondents in the ballot, guarantees a minimum of inflation-matching rises for all staff.

Two UNI affiliates, Communication Workers of America and ver.di, Germany’s largest union, officially established the first-ever union to unite and represent workers in the U.S. and Europe - T Union, a joint affiliate of both organisations. Top officers of both unions formally signed the new partnership during a video conference and talked through strategies and plans for the new organisation. The new union will support T-Mobile workers who want a union voice and collective bargaining rights in the United States and other countries, and German union members who work for T-Mobile in the U.S. T Union is a new cooperative program where unions worldwide are working together to stop corporations’ attacks against workers and build bargaining power, in the United States and around the globe. A new website is now live, where T-Mobile workers can safely share information and experiences and discuss workplace issues. That site is www.t-mobileunion.org

Four unions sign the collective contract with France Télécom On April 14, four French trade unions (FO, Sud, CFDT, CFTC) signed the collective agreement with the management of France Télécom. More information in French at: http://www.uniglobalunion.org/UNItelecom.nsf/0/160408_EN_1A

CWA President Larry Cohen said the new union is a “new step in global solidarity” and will be a major part of the struggle for workers’ organising and bargaining rights around the world. Lothar Schroder, who heads ver.di’s Telecommunications and IT Sector, said the agreement was a good basis for German-American labour relations that must be taken seriously by management. Ver.di, representing more than 2.4 million workers, represents workers at Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile’s parent company, and holds seats on DT’s supervisory board. Ver.di already represents T-Mobile workers in Germany, and T-Mobile workers in the United Kingdom and nine other European countries already have collective bargaining rights.

Victory of SYNACOM in Cameroun - dismissed CAMTEL employees are back to work! Victory of SYNACOM in Cameroun - dismissed CAMTEL employees are back to work! In January UNI received information about the struggle of its affiliate SYNACOM in Cameroun to protect workers from dismissals. Around 500 workers of CAMTEL were dismissed last year but UNI’s affiliate SYNACOM were opposed to this decision which contradicted the statutory provisions of CAMTEL as far as the retirement of the civil servant and government officials was concerned. After a few months of solidarity actions supported by UNI, 300 workers were reinstated. More information (in French) about the struggle of SYNACOM Cameroun at: http://www.uniglobalunion.org/unitelecom.nsf/0/230108_FR_41

OME-OTE on Strike against Privatisation of the Company In the middle of March Deutsche Telekom AG announced it had agreed to buy a stake of almost 20 percent in Greece’s biggest phone company in a $3.9 billion deal and hopes to increase the stake. The Greek government is currently OTE’s largest shareholder having 28.03% of shares in the company. It has indicated that it would like to sell down its stake in OTE further. UNI’s Greek affiliate OME-OTE has entered into the dispute with the biggest Greek communications company opposing to the announced plan to assign the management of OTE to Deutsche Telekom. The company declared the strike illegal and abusive. OME-OTE demanded the Government to recall the charges against the union. UNI and its affiliates have sent letters of protest to the Greek Government and the management of the company. More information at: http://www.uniglobalunion.org/UNItelecom.nsf/0/260308_EN_FB

Two Batelco trade unionists to be reinstated BATELCO, Bahrain’s monopoly operator for fixed, Internet and data services, is to reinstate two dismissed trade union officials. The order issued by the Prime Minister Shaikh Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa will come into effect from next week. Acting trade union chairman Majed Suhrab and union research and development committee head member Faisal Ghazwan were dismissed in July last year, after organising wildcat rallies to demand a 25 per cent 35

CEPU tells Bell Canada offer a better contract or there will be a strike

Proximus staff are fed up with the lack of clarity about the merger with Belgacom

Bell Canada technicians in Ontario and Quebec are in a legal strike position, after 88% of union members who voted cast ballots against the telephone company’s proposed new four-year contract. The 5,000 Bell Canada field technicians, frame testers and cable repair workers, who are represented by the UNI affiliate the Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union of Canada, have voted for a strike or lock-out which is now legally possible upon 72 hours’ notice by either side of the negotiations, although CEP said it is in talks with Bell to return to the bargaining table as soon as possible. Bell Canada is offering annual wage increases in the proposed new contract, but the union is concerned about a proposal to expand flexible scheduling of hours in busier times, beyond the current two-week period. The plan would require employees to work more during peak periods without overtime pay. The CEP pointed to Bell Canada parent company’s expected multibillion-dollar takeover by the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan as a reason why the telephone company should be able to offer more benefits to the workers. “Bell’s offer is riddled with concessions and we have no doubt that it would be rejected,” said CEP Ontario administrative vice-president John Edwards in a statement. “It’s just not acceptable that we should be expected to give up so much that we have fought for over many decades. Especially not when Bell is about to sell itself off to the Teachers as a $52-billion enterprise.”

On February 28 Belgian unions LBC-CNE-BBTk started discussions trying to clarify the status of the integration of Proximus staff and support departments in Belgacom. After hard and difficult negotiations the first framework agreement was signed. It underlined the approach and timing of the integration during the first coming months. The final integration of around 250 workers is planned for September this year. The negotiations will effectively start on May 19 and it is planned to reach an agreement that can be approved by the Proximus staff not later than June 30. For many months Proximus staff was concerned about their future functions and job contents. The workers feel that the so-called matrix structure in which Proximus employees report to Belgacom managers is undermining the responsibilities that they had in the past. It is known that after the integration the staff and support services will be reorganised. However, Proximus management has refused to discuss the situation with the staff. This lead to an unplanned social action - the workers left the building and gathered in the street in front of the main entrance. Other employees joined them spontaneously and within less than 10 minutes about 250 people were on the street. The action lasted for about an hour and after that, the delegation of union representatives met with Proximus management which assured the further possibility to discuss the situation within the formal social consultation structures.

Portugal: UNI and STPT meet Secretary of State

Mediation at Sitel after authority backs union’s access rights in New Zealand

UNI met with Portugal’s Secretary of State for Communications Thursday 27 March, in a meeting that had been arranged by the UNI affiliate STPT. Telecom Head of Department Neil Anderson told the Secretary of State that UNI and its affiliates were concerned with the proposals from the European Commission for the changes to the European Telecom Directives. UNI’s and STPT’s concerns were that the proposed changes would not encourage investment in the new broadband networks that are needed to ensure there is not a digital divide between rural, urban and economically depressed areas. UNI said that ways must be found to encourage all companies to invest in the new high speed networks, particularly fibre optic networks that will be needed to make Portugal’s economy competitive. STPT said they were concerned that the government wasn’t recognising that Portugal Telecom was the only company that was being obligated to provide a universal broadband service but that there was no proper ways to fund that service. UNI and STPT also told the Secretary of State that they were heartened that he had met them and recognised their concerns, but that other governments and the EC didn’t seem to accept that workers groups and trade unions were a very real stakeholder in the telecoms regulation debate and they needed to be included in any discussions between regulators and stakeholders. The Secretary of State committed to look at how this anomaly could be rectified.

Telecom contractor Sitel will shortly go back to mediation with the EPMU over redundancy rights for members whose redundancies were announced at the company’s Palmerston North call centre last November and after it spent weeks denying the union access to its members. The mediation follows successful legal action to uphold the union’s right of access to its members in the call centre after the issue came to a head when Sitel and Telecom management as well as several security guards physically prevented officials from visiting the site last December. This led to EPMU lead organiser Wayne Ruscoe being arrested and charged with assault. In March the Employment Relations Authority upheld the union’s right to enter the workplace and ordered Sitel to allow the union to meet its members while they were at work so the union could discuss the redundancies. Since then, Sitel has made a modest cash offer to redundant workers and has said it is prepared to go to mediation to resolve all outstanding issues. The union will now be taking action against the security firm, ADT Armourguard, and each of the security guards involved in the events for beaching the Employment Relations Act. “The right of access to members when they are in the workplace isn’t just a right for union officials, it’s a right of union members to have their union organiser visit them at work and is a fundamental part of union membership,” national secretary Andrew Little said. “When employers not only try to 36

prevent access themselves but then employ security guards to aggressively and violently stop union officials from getting access then everyone involved needs to be taken firmly to task and we owe it to all members to make sure this never happens again.”

sector. The breakdown came after the Telco advised it didn’t have the margins to meet reasonable pay claims and bodes badly for Telecom’s new network management company, Chorus. EPMU national secretary Andrew Little says the situation shows how contracting out arrangements in the telecoms sector are being used to drive down wages at the very time we have a skills shortage and need to lift wages to remain competitive. “This is not just about Downer. It’s also about Telecom and they need to understand that if they want skilled local technicians maintaining their network they need to front up with realistic contract pricing. This work is vital to New Zealand’s economic wellbeing but the workers who are needed to roll it out are being paid up to fifty percent less than they would be in Australia. That’s not going to help us develop a modern broadband network and will harm New Zealand business. If Telecom is serious about Chorus working to achieve the kind of broadband capacity we need to be internationally competitive they’ll increase their funding to ensure we keep the skilled and experienced workers we need to do it.” Workers at Downer will be meeting around the country over the next month to discuss the current situation and vote on their next move.

The Fiji Post and Telecommunications Employees Association recommends minimum hourly wage The Fiji Post and Telecommunications Employees Association have adopted a recommendation of $4.36 as the minimum hourly wage for members. Association general secretary Attar Singh said the recommendation was based on a report of a job evaluation conducted recently by a major accounting firm. The Association is optimistic of a positive response from employers. He said the recommendation for an increase in minimum hourly wage was part of their campaign to provide some relief and improve the quality of life of workers and their families. He also told they would now call on the Fiji Islands Council of Trade Unions to adopt the rate and push for this to be made the national minimum wage. The association is an affiliate of the Fiji Islands Council of Trade Unions.

Two gro---nour speed matters website for excellence

CWA gains tentative pact at Century Tel Missouri

CWA’s Speed Matters website, a critical part of the union’s campaign to push for affordable high-speed internet access nationwide, has been honoured by two organisations with awards for its content, design and usefulness. The site was built with funds from CWA’s Speed Matters Strategic Industry Fund. Its features include a speed test to determine your own internet connection speed and a state-by-state report on average speeds nationwide. “We are proud to be recognised for our campaign and for the exceptional work of our webmasters to bring it to life online,” CWA President Larry Cohen said. The American Association of Political Consultants, in its annual Pollie Awards, gave a Silver Medal to the Speed Matters site for “Best Use of Search Engine Marketing” and awarded it an honourable mention for “Best Landing Page. The AAPC is the world’s largest organisation of political and public policy professionals and the Pollie Awards are the organisation’s signature annual event recognising the best in political and public affairs communications in 175 different categories. The Institute for Policy, Democracy & the Internet named the Speed Matters site as a finalist in its Golden Dot Awards for “Best Website - Issue Advocacy Campaign.” The Speed Matters website is at www.speedmatters.org

CWA reached a tentative three-year agreement with Century Tel of Missouri which strengthens job security provisions and safeguards seniority and boosts wages, among other gains. The pact covers about 350 CWA members. Contract explanation meetings are being scheduled and the bargaining committee has unanimously recommended ratification of the tentative settlement. The tentative Century Tel Missouri settlement provides for a 6.5% wage increase over the contract term, plus improvements in in-charge pay, night differential and compensated availability pay. For workers in some job titles, the wage increases will be paid as annual lump sum payments. The agreement also protects workers’ seniority rights and improves recall rights and force adjustment procedures in the event of a layoff. Current health care coverage, including retiree health care, was maintained. The bargaining committee said the agreement “could not have been reached without the mobilisation efforts of Century Tel members and locals.” Meanwhile, the fight for a fair contract continues for CWA Local 6171 members whose contract at Century Tel Arkansas expired last August. The 169 workers are fighting back against the company’s attack on seniority and recall rights, among other issues. Century Tel Arkansas presented a “final offer” to members that was overwhelmingly rejected by the membership, and the members fully support the efforts of the bargaining committee.

Forthcoming UNI Telecom Events in 2008 Date to be decided 2008 – UNI Americas Telecom Conference, Panamá. 17.06.2008 - 18.06.2008 – OECD Ministerial Meeting: The Future of the Internet Economy, Seoul. 26.06.2008 - 27.06.2008 – ICTS Task Forces meetings, Brussels. 30.06.2008 - 01.07.2008 – UNI Telecom World Committee, Nyon. October 2008 – UNI Apro Telecom Committee

Wage talks breakdown bad for Telecom broadband network Collective negotiations with Telecom contractor Downer Engineering broke down, causing the EPMU (Engineering, Printing and Manufacturing TU), UNI’s affiliate in New Zealand, to put the heat on Telecom to take responsibility for the low wages in the 37

Union Members From British Telecom stage public protest at Company Head Office - Labour news from UNI global union - for trade unions in a global services economy. On Tuesday April 22nd a large group of BT Ireland staff, with support from other CWU members, held a public protest at the Corporate Head Office of British Telecom in Dublin. The protest was held to publicly highlight the fact the British Telecom is refusing to give collective bargaining rights to a large group of its staff simply because they are Irish. The Company, which runs its business on a 32-county – all Ireland basis, deals with the CWU in Northern Ireland and staff there enjoy the benefits of independent collective representation. In recent years staff in the Republic have sought equal treatment with their colleagues elsewhere in the business and, through the CWU and internal Company mechanisms, they have asked to be given the same right to collective bargaining as their colleagues. To date the Company has refused to honour this legitimate request and in doing so is not only denying staff a basic human right but is doing so on the basis that they are Irish. BT staff felt the Company’s position on this issue was completely unacceptable as it was effectively a form of discrimination. Members wanted to highlight their cause as part of a campaign to try and get management to engage in meaningful dialogue with their Union. As part of the campaign, CWU has erected billboard advertisements around the city centre as well as a number of ad mobiles that will be active over the coming weeks with the message – “Disconnect Discrimination”. The Communications Workers’ Union (CWU) would like you to support our online campaign that is highlighting the fact that British Telecom is denying a large group of its own staff the right to union representation simply because they are Irish.

Trade Unionists Under Attack in Columbia Earlier this year, Leonidas Gomez Rozo, the leader of the National Union of Bank Workers of Colombia (UNEB) was murdered. The murder was condemned by UNI, (global union) and Amnesty International. UNI stated that they were “deeply impressed by the courage of our unions in Colombia and their desire to continue the struggle”. CWU Deputy General Secretary Terry Delany recently attended a Colombian Trade Union presentation at Liberty Hall, The presentation was part of a nine country European tour, aimed at highlighting the plight of our fellow trade unionists in Colombia, a country in which 2,574 trade unionists have been murdered over the past two decades.

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Support Amnesty Internationals campaign to promote and protect the human rights of trade unionists. www.amnesty.org.uk/tradeunions

Case Studies

Columbia is a dangerous place to be a Trade Unionist. Those defending workers rights face threats, intimidation and murder because of their activities. Nineteen Trade Unionists Omar Fernández, José Antonio Gutierrez were killed in the first half of and Gilberto Martinez 2007 alone. A delegation from the Trade Union movement in Columbia visited Dublin recently as part of a European wide campaign to highlight the situation in Columbia. The meeting was also attended by representatives of Amnesty International. Amnesty have documented killings of and threats against Trade Unionists that have taken place in the context of disputes over working conditions, or the privatisation of public services or public sector companies and trade union campaigns in support of poor communities resisting the development of larges scale mining or other industries which threaten to under mine the livelihoods of these communities. Trade Unionists are targeted because of their work in support of socio-economic rights. Another pattern which has emerged is frequent attacks or threats against relatives of trade union activists in an attempt to intimidate them and undermine their work. At least thirteen women trade unionists were killed in the first eleven months of 2006. There were also 102 recorded death threats against women trade unionists in 2005. Threats and killings against women trade unionists not only seek to undermine trade union activity but are a heavy blow for those women who take on leadership responsibilities and so challenge traditional gender roles in Columbian society. Trade Unionists are frequently labelled as subversive by security forces and army backed paramilitaries. Such criticisms are often followed by human rights violations which also frequently coincide with periods of labour unrest or negotiations over working conditions.

1. Luz Miriam Farias Rodriguez was a member of the teachers’ union ASEDAR and worked as a teacher in the Cafio Claro GuahiboMakaguan Indigenous reservation, municipality of Tame, Arauca Department. On 6 March 2006, she left the Indigenous community to search for the body of her husband, Juan Ramirez Villamizar, governor of the reservation. He had reportedly been killed by guerrillas on 5 March for not obeying an order from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia, FARC) for an “armed strike”, which prohibited travel on the roads in the region. Luz Miriam Farias found her husband’s body and was transporting it back when the car she was travelling in was reportedly stopped by members of the FARC who Luciano Enrique Romero Molina forced her to get out and ordered the driver to take Juan Ramirez Villamizar’s body to Tame. Luz Miriam Farias’ body was found on 7 March 2006. She had been shot. 2. In recent years members of SINALTRAINAL, the food workers’ union, have been involved in a number of labour disputes, often with large multinational companies. These disputes have often coincided with reports of human rights violations against union members. Luciano Enrique Romero Molina, a leader of the Cesar branch of SINALTRAINAL and of the human rights organization Political Prisoners Solidarity Committee, was killed in September 2005. His body bore more than 40 stab wounds. He had been employed by Nestle-CICOLAC company in Valledupar, Cesar Department. In June 39

Pictured from l to r: Omar Fernández, Gloria Ampara Suárez, Terry Delany (Deputy General Secretary, CWU), Nelly Celorio, Higinio Obispo and Gilberto Martínez.

federated unions, SINTRAMIENERGETICA, taking strike action against Drummond Company. Throughout 2006 members of SINTRAMIENERGETICA, the National Mining and Energy Workers’ Union, were the targets of intimidation and violent attacks. Concerns for their safety intensified in the wake of a month-long strike in May and June 2006 by SINTRAMIENERGETICA members working for Drummond Company. There were reports of individuals believed to be members of paramilitaries searching for union activists and carrying out attempted assassinations.

2007, Nestle informed Amnesty International that CICOLAC and Nestle de Colombia had called on the Colombian authorities to investigate the killing of Luciano Romero. At the time of writing no one had been brought to justice for his killing. The circumstances of his death suggest that he was killed because of his trade union activities. On 28 February 2002, SINALTRAINAL presented a series of demands for improved working conditions to the Nestle-CICOLAC company. No agreement was reached and on 12 July the workers went on strike. Death threats from paramilitary groups against SINALTRAINAL leaders increased during the strike. In October 2002, a number of workers were sacked, among them Luciano Romero. Luciano Romero subsequently fled the country in fear of his life following a series of death threats. In April 2005 Luciano Romero returned to Colombia. He was due to travel to Switzerland to attend a meeting in October 2005 as a witness to alleged death threats against trade unionists representing workers in Nestle plants in Colombia. On II September 2005, Luciano Romero’s body was found in the Las Palmeras farm in the La Nevada neighbourhood of Valledupar, Cesar Department.

4. On 19 September 2006, Alejandro Uribe Chacon was killed as he was returning home to Mina Gallo, municipality of Morales, Bolivar Department. The killing was reportedly carried out by members of the Colombian army’s Nueva Granada Anti-Aircraft Battalion. Witnesses reported seeing soldiers taking his body towards a military base in San Luquitas in Santa Rosa Municipality. On 20 September, the army reportedly presented Alejandro Uribe’s body to the judicial authorities as that of a guerrilla killed in combat. Alejandro Uribe was President of the Community Action Council of Mina Gallo and the leader of the Association of Miners of Bolivar Department which is linked to FEDEAGROMISBOL, the Agro-mining Federation of the south of Bolivar Department. Witnesses have said that during 2006 members of the Nueva Granada Anti-Aircraft Battalion repeatedly threatened to kill FEDEAGROMISBOL leaders.

3. On 10 October 2004, Francisco Ramirez Cuellar, President of the mining union SINTRAMINERCOL, survived an assassination attempt in Bogota. Two men on a high-powered motorbike, one with a gun on his lap, approached Francisco Ramirez who immediately took cover. The motorbike was holding up traffic, so other cars started honking their Francisco Ramirez Cuellar horns, forcing the motorbike to move on. Had it not been for the other vehicles, Francisco Ramirez believes he would have been shot. The attack followed the publication of a SINTRAMINERCOL report implicating the security forces in human rights violations in mining areas. Following the attempt on his life, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued precautionary measures on behalf of Francisco Ramirez. Francisco Ramirez Cuellar is also Secretary-General of FUNTRAENERGETICA, a federation of mining and energy workers’ unions, and so was involved in advising members of one of the

José Antonio Gutierrez with Terry Delany (Deputy General Secretary, CWU)

Terry Delany (Deputy General Secretary, CWU) with Omar Fernández.

CWU People EOIN KILLORAN CHAIRMAN OF ROSCREA SECTION RETIRES A presentation being was made to Eoin Killoran, Chairman of Roscrea Section who retired after 43 years loyal service to the CWU. Pictured L to r are Frank Joyce, Portlaoise District Branch Secretary, Eoin Killoran and Bob Monaghan, Chairman Portlaoise Branch.

EAMONN CRAVEN, SERVICE DELIVERY, ATHLONE, RETIRES

Standing l to r: Paddy Lacey, John Ryan, Michael Brennan, Eamonn Craven, John Meehan, Michael Lonergan, Eddie Doran, Steve Wadding. Eamonn Craven CTM, Service Delivery, Athlone who retired recently, at his presentation function in Athlone

MICHAEL LONERGAN, EIRCOM, CARRICK-ON-SUIR, RETIRES

Pictured from l to r: John Meehan, Paddy Lacey, Michael Brennan, John Ryan, Michael Lonergan, Billy Henshaw, Steven Wadding.

A presentation function was held recently in Kilkenny for Michael Lonergan, Carrick-on-Suir, who has retired after 40 years service in Eircom. Michael joined the old Department Post & Telegraphs in Waterford in 1967, which then became Telecom Eireann, and has served as Customer Team Manager with Eircom in Kilkenny, Clonmel and Waterford. 41

CWU People LIAM CONROY RETIRES Liam Conroy retired from the Post Office recently after 46 years service. Liam joined the Department of Post & Telegraphs as a junior postman and at 18 years he became a postman in Dun Laoghaire where he worked until 1968 when he got a transfer back to his native Mountmellick. Liam worked on different routes until 1989 when he moved to Portlaoise as a postal sorter. Liam was a member of the Union for the time he started working with the Company and he served at all levels as Branch Officer, Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer in the Portlaoise Branch. Liam attended numerous conferences and was elected to the National Executive Council in 2002. He dealt with all members in his usual quiet and unassuming ways and he treated management in the same dignified manner. Liam has a large circle of friends in both the Union and Company and there is no doubt that the Unions loss will be an enormous gain to the local community and Ballyfin GAA Club.

Ellen Moore, Branch Secretary, Portlaoise NEC, presenting the CWU Scroll to Liam Conroy, Outgoing Branch Chairperson, Portlaoise NEC.

JOHN LENNON RETIRES John Lennon has recently retired from the Union after many years of service to the Trade Union movement. John Lennon began his career in the Post Office in 1966 when he joined as a Post Office Clerk. However his career in the Trade Union movement began in earnest when he was promoted to the Overseer Grade. John rose through the ranks before becoming Deputy General Secretary of the Communications Managers Union just prior to its amalgamation with the CWU. Following the amalgamation John was seconded to Union Headquarters where he worked as Executive Assistant for the last 10 years. During that time John played an integral part of the group that negotiated the Transformation through Partnership in An Post. John played a strategic role in pursuing the Union agenda and displayed a depth of knowledge Company / Union Agreements as well as Company circulars. John detested injustice and was passionate in defending individuals which he spent a lot of time doing. John will be missed by all his friends and comrades throughout the Union. The CWU takes this opportunity to sincerely thank him for his efforts on behalf or our members and wishes him a long and happy retirement.

MARTIN O’CALLAGHAN, MALLOW CWU, RETIRES A presentation was made by Kilmallock Branch to Martin O’Callaghan to mark his retirement from active duty and to thank him for all the help he gave to the Branch over the years.

Pictured from l to r: Peter O’Toole (Outgoing Treasurer), John Manning (Outgoing Chairman), Martin O’Callaghan (NEC) and Joseph O’Flaherty (Outgoing Secretary) 42

CWU People PRESENTATION EVENING IN KILKENNY

Steve Fitzpatrick, General Secretary, CWU, makes a presentation to Martin O’Callaghan, Mallow Postal and ex-NEC, on his retirement, in Kilkenny.

Steve Fitzpatrick, General Secretary, CWU, makes a presentation to Jerry Browne, ex-President, CWU, in Kilkenny.

BRENDAN McDONALD ~ AN APPRECIATION Submitted by Paddy Costello Branch Treasurer Dublin Postal Delivery Branch On behalf of the Dublin Postal Delivery Branch, I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge the dedication, to the Union, of our colleague Brendan McDonald, who retired in April 2004 after 37 years’ service. Brendan spent most of this time as a postperson in Harmonstown DO and was the Branch Rep for the office until the day he retired. He was ever-present at Conference throughout the years and we will be always be grateful to him for making sure that delegates were “fed and watered” on their train journey to Conference. Indeed, there were was many a time when some delegates were “over-fed” and “over-watered” by the time they arrived at Conference! Nobody ever went short, if Brendan had anything to do with it. I know he took great pride in this endeavour and I realise Brendan “the Wigger” McDonald pictured with now what hard work he did, as it’s now my responsibility since Steve Fitzpatrick, General Secretary, CWU. Brendan retired. He is a hard act to follow, as I am constantly reminded every time we go to Conference. Chants of “Bring back the Wigger” is now the norm on the train journey. The Branch would like to thank Brendan for all the support he gave to the Union and wish him a continued happy retirement. 43

CWU People

CWU RETIREMENTS PRESENTATION EVENING IN KILKENNY Luke Byrne (left) receives his Union Scroll from Vincent Kilroy, Branch Secretary, Wexford, to celebrate his retirement following 46 years’ of service in the Wexford Delivery Office. Damian Touhy presenting the Union Scroll to Peadar Coyne

Tommy Kelly, Committee, making a presentation to Jimmy Crowe.

Back Row from L to R: Ger Madden, MR Manager, Brian O’Connor, Tommy Kelly, Damian Touhy, Mike Hannon, DSM and Ronnie Ward. Front Row from L to R: Geraldine Thompson, Peadar Coyne, Jimmy Crowe and Ann Crowe. 44

Pakistan Project On behalf of the people of Pakistan, we would like to express to you their appreciation and gratitude for your financial support in helping the poor people of the area who lost their limbs during the earthquake in 2005. As stated at the opening ceremony of the new Hospital in Abbottabad, Pakistan PIRC (Pak-Irish Rehabilitation Centre) in March 2008, it was an example of a great goodwill gesture shown by the people of Ireland. As illustrated in the photographs, the Pakistan people have acknowledged your support by honouring us with a plaque named the “CWU Block”, placed on the first floor in the Hospital in memory of your continued financial support. Doctor Butt, of PIRC, stated that this work is a role model for other voluntary young people to follow. The work of PIRC is legendary and a moving experience to witness. Dr Butt extended his deepest appreciation and tribute for this marvellous achievement, because without your financial support the Hospital would not have been achieved. The establishment of the rehabilitation facility will effectively cater to the needs of the physically challenged, to help patients become independent throughout their daily life, as stated at last year’s Spring Conference by Abdul Wahid Mir. PIRC staff worked on casts taken and manufactured by the Orthotic and Prosthetic department inside the Hospital and over 50 children were fitted. These children have disabilities including knee, ankle, scoliosis, kyfosis, and polio, to name but a few. There is overwhelming joy at being able to help these young people rebuild their lives.

“Keep up the good work as this is your achievement too”. 45

ICE Campaign were always mobile phones with patients but they didn’t know which number to call. He therefore thought that it would be a good idea if there was a nationally recognised name for this purpose. In an emergency situation, Emergency Service personnel and hospital Staff would be able to quickly contact the right person by simply dialling the number you have stored as ‘ICE’. Please pass this idea on to other people and ask them to do the same. That way, everybody will know about this. It really could save your life, or put a loved one’s mind at rest. For more than one contact name simply enter ICE1, ICE2 and ICE3 etc.

We all carry our mobile phones with names & numbers stored in its memory. If we were to be involved in an accident or were taken ill, the people attending us would have our mobile phone but wouldn’t know who to call. Yes, there are hundreds of numbers stored but which one is the contact person in case of an emergency? Hence this ‘ICE’ (In Case of Emergency) Campaign. The concept of ‘ICE’ is catching on quickly. It is a method of contact during emergency situations. As mobile phones are carried by the majority of the population, all you need to do is store the number of a contact person or persons who should be contacted during emergency under the name ‘ICE’ (In Case Of Emergency). The idea was thought up by a paramedic who found that when he went to the scenes of accidents there 46

Changing Times ~ Montenotte is now one of the dearest places in Cork.