This article is from page 7 of the 2008-06-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 7 JPG
THE General Secretary Designate of the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union, Eamon Devoy has welcomed the rejection of the Lisbon Treaty by the Irish people. “The na- tional executive of our union recom- mended a ‘No’ vote in the referen- dum and it now seems clear that this has happened,” he said.
“The TEEU favours a social Eu- rope, but unfortunately recent key judgements by the European Court
of Justice show that the pendulum has swung against workers’ rights and in favour of big business. In the circumstances, it would be foolish to provide the institutions of the Euro- pean Union with any more power,’ | aTemncy-N (6
Devoy added that the union’s con- cerns were heightened by the refusal of the Government to give any com- mitment to SIPTU to vindicate the right to collective bargaining of Irish workers if they voted for the treaty.
“We have seen a sustained attack on
working conditions since the adop- tion of the Nice Treaty. Why would workers vote for more of the same?”’
He added that until such time as the Irish Government is “prepared to recognise the right of workers to collective bargaining and the con- comitant right to organise and take industrial action in defence of their living standards, the TEEU will not support institutional reforms that only strengthen big business.”
The TEEU is the country’s largest craft union with 45,000 members
and the largest such union in manu- facturing, construction, energy, engi- neering and electrical contracting.
Meanwhile, SIPTU is expected to talk to the members before making any official statement on the matter. Union sources said yesterday that the fact that the Taoiseach Brian Cowan “was able to give assurances to the IFA but couldn’t reassure trade union members speaks volumes”.
The source said that SIPTU’s posi- tion is still that the treaty as is stands is flawed in relation to issues such as
collective bargaining.
‘People’s suspicions were re-in- forced that this was going to be a treaty in which business interests would be fast-tracked and workers’ rights put on the back burner,’ the source said.
SIPTU made its initial recommen- dation on the treaty after consultation with members “and taking on board their concerns in relation to workers’ rights”, the source added.
It is expected SIPTU will make no immediate public statement.