Unite trade union members who work as apprentices, fitters, plumbers, welders, and other construction workers will go on strike next month over unpaid travel expenses, reports RTE.
The union said that on Friday, September 6th, there would be a full day of work stoppages and pickets erected at various locations around the nation.
According to Unite, negotiations to prevent industrial action with the Mechanical Engineering and Building Services Contractors’ Association (MEBSCA) fell down this morning.
Unite members overwhelmingly voted in favour of industrial action earlier this month in an effort to restore the first hour of “travel time,” reports RTE.
Following the breakdown of preliminary negotiations with MEBSCA at the beginning of July, the decision was made to run for industrial action.
Unite stated that the first hour’s “travel time” payment was first discontinued as a “temporary measure” in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, with the intention of reviewing it a year later.
“If MEBSCA wants to avoid significant disruption to construction sites around Ireland, they must return to the table and engage meaningfully with Unite regarding restoration of the first hour of ‘travel time’,” said James McCabe, a Unite regional officer, reports RTE.
“Otherwise, there will be a further escalation in this dispute,” stated McCabe.
According to MEBSCA, as part of a deal struck with Unite, the first hour of “travel time” has been included in hourly rates since 2011, reports RTE.
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