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mint condition
The people who make Ireland's money are going on strike
Nine maintenance workers at the Central Bank’s mint in south Dublin have given notice of full strike action.
NINE WORKERS AT the Central Bank of Ireland’s mint facility in Dublin have embarked on a work to rule – and they have served notice of a full strike action for next month.
The maintenance staff, who work at the mint in Sandyford, south Dublin, have given notice of their intention to strike following their rejection of Workplace Relation Commission recommendations last Friday.
The nine workers in question, who are electrical and mechanical workers, are responsible for the maintenance and operation of the machines that print and mint Ireland’s money.
The strike action, which is slated to take place on Monday and Tuesday 11 and 12 July, is not related to actual pay claims, but rather to a “refusal to engage” regarding pay negotiations.
The nine workers are on work to rule as of today. In essence, that will mean no overtime being worked, no pagers being carried, and no “flexibility” being employed as regards their roles.
Willie Quigley, representative with Unite, the workers’ union, outlined the issues that have brought about the strike to TheJournal.ie.
“There has been a lack of promotional opportunities, there’s a differential of 7% in wages between those just starting and those who have worked longer service. There’s also a harmonisation issue as regards technician’s rates,” Quigley said.
All of this goes back as far as July last year. We haven’t got down to making any claims as yet though.
Right now the bank itself is trying to get everything into the Labour Court.
The movement of the dispute from the WRC to the Labour Court is the same route taken by the Luas workers regarding their own pay dispute which came to an end at the start of June.
“The Central Bank of Ireland confirms that it has been advised of proposed industrial action by nine staff who work in the Bank’s Sandyford site, represented by the TEEU and Unite trade unions,” a Central Bank spokesperson said.
The Central Bank is disappointed that sensible and workable proposals developed by the Workplace Relations Commission were rejected by the TEEU and Unite. The Bank has reiterated its call for suspension of industrial action while the matter is referred to the Labour Court.
The Sandyford mint, otherwise known as the currency centre, was built in the late 1970s and first opened for business in 1978.
It’s believed that in the region of 80 employees work at the site.
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