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Pickets will be mounted tomorrow outside the Intel project where members of MEBSCA are carrying out works. Alamy Stock Photo

Tradespeople to picket outside Intel site in Leixlip tomorrow in dispute over travel allowances

The Unite Union said members are seeking the ‘reversal of the austerity-era cut to travel time.

STRIKING PLUMBERS, FITTERS, welders and apprentices will mount a picket outside the Intel project in Leixlip, Co Kildare tomorrow in a dispute over travel allowances.

Unite members will strike tomorrow outside the Intel site as they continue action to “secure the reversal of the austerity-era cut to ‘travel time’”.

Pickets will be mounted from 0.01 am to 11.59 pm tomorrow outside the Intel project where members of the Mechanical Engineering & Building Services Contractors’ Association (MEBSCA) are carrying out works. 

It follows a picket outside the site of the National Children’s Hospital late last month.

Unite trade union members voted overwhelmingly in August for industrial action in pursuit of restoration of the first hour of ‘travel time’.

Payment of the first hour of ‘travel time’ was cut as a temporary measure following the 2008 financial crash.

This was due to be reviewed after a year but Unite said that workers are still waiting over a decade later.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said MEBSCA employers have “enjoyed a turnover bonanza while workers have seen their living standards fall over the past five years”.

Unite said a recent survey among members working for MEBSCA employers found that over 80% have seen their living standards fall over the past five years.

“MEBSCA bears direct responsibility for this dispute’s escalation,” said Graham.

“They can end it by coming to the table and negotiate a resolution to this dispute.”

Unite said it made an approach to MEBSCA last week and that “in the absence of meaningful engagement, Unite’s disputes committee has decided to escalate the action”.

A spokesperson for Unite said “pickets will be placed on selected large construction sites around the country on further dates in October”.

Unite Regional officer James McCabe said “employers should be in no doubt regarding our members’ determination to secure a reversal of the shameful cut to travel time”.

MEBSCA has previously said its members pay a travel allowance on top of pay and that they made an agreement with Unite in 2011, “which incorporated the first hour of travel into hourly rates”.

“This agreement had the effect of increasing the hourly rate which also resulted in a higher rate being paid for overtime and holidays,” MEBSCA added.

In a statement last month, MEBSCA called for an end to the picketing and said the strikes are “causing reputational damage to the sector, which will result in job losses”.

It added that “plumbers and fitters employed by MEBSCA members are the highest paid workers in the construction industry” and that “workers have seen their pay increase by over 26% since the agreement was reached to incorporate the first hour of travel into hourly rates”.

MEBSCA added that “no other union is seeking additional increases”.

A spokesperson added at the time: “Taking industrial action against MEBSCA member companies, whose employees enjoy higher rates of pay in addition to being paid travel allowances, will only result in contracts being awarded to non-MEBSCA members.”

The spokesperson also said that while there is a “long tradition of collective bargaining in the mechanical sector”, Unite has “stepped outside this process in pursuit of an unrealistic and unsustainable claim on travel time”.

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29 Comments
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    Mute Sickof thisshit
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    Oct 6th 2024, 2:07 PM

    They’ve all a neck. Getting tax free travel allowance for decades of hundreds a week as if they were going up to head offices and then out to site. Total tax scam that the revenue let slide.

    105
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    Mute Louis Jacob
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    Oct 6th 2024, 2:23 PM

    @Sickof thisshit: I’d estimate that on a daily basis trades people put a higher percentage of their earnings back into the economy than any other sector.

    118
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    Mute Tasty k
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    Oct 6th 2024, 3:41 PM

    @Louis Jacob: I’d estimate some self serving tripe every day if I couldn’t defend the actual point made above.

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    Mute Malcolm Swan
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    Oct 6th 2024, 4:46 PM

    @Sickof thisshit: travel pay isn’t tax free

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    Mute Alex
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    Oct 6th 2024, 5:08 PM

    @Louis Jacob: And you would estimate wrongly. The white collars on the other end do.

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    Mute Louis Jacob
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    Oct 6th 2024, 7:49 PM

    @Alex: At least I said it was a estimate. You just pulled that out of your hole.

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    Mute Simon Carr
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    Oct 6th 2024, 8:43 PM

    @Sickof thisshit: there’s plenty of tradesmen doing black market work and nixers on the side. Most trades do very well financially.

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    Mute P. V. Aglue
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    Oct 6th 2024, 9:08 PM

    @Louis Jacob: fuel, tolls, drink, smokes/vapes and the jumbo breakfast roll.

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    Mute Kieran Stafford
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    Oct 6th 2024, 3:42 PM

    Makes a change from standing about inside

    59
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    Mute Spanner
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    Oct 6th 2024, 6:02 PM

    Temporary measure following the crash. Sounds very familiar. The best of luck to them and it might get more people to realise that those people who remained in Ireland and got the economy going again with out the benefit of a colossal bailout are being shafted time and time again in “temporary” measures.

    52
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    Mute Louis Jacob
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    Oct 6th 2024, 1:36 PM

    The share holders started getting the triple Michelin star gravy during austerity. No way they’re going back from that.

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    Mute Paul
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    Oct 6th 2024, 1:57 PM

    Intel are one of the biggest providers of Trades labour in Ireland at this time.

    These lazy ingrates should be thrown in jail.
    They are a disgrace to the workers movement.

    77
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    Mute Louis Jacob
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    Oct 6th 2024, 2:01 PM

    @Paul: There’s a much bigger picture here. Living standards for workers have never returned to even 75% of what they were prior to austerity, while profits, pay packets and bonuses at the top aren’t just increasing, they’re multiplying. The works movement as you call it needs to wake up.

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    Mute Louis Jacob
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    Oct 6th 2024, 2:02 PM

    @Louis Jacob: *workers movement

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    Mute Paul Whitehead
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    Oct 6th 2024, 2:47 PM

    @Paul: jail? Yes mr putin.

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    Mute Jonny Hellzapoppin
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    Oct 6th 2024, 3:52 PM

    @Paul: Jail? For striking? This is still a democracy, keep your fascist BS to yourself

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    Mute Éamonn O'Kane
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    Oct 6th 2024, 7:21 PM

    @Paul: wipe your brown nose

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    Mute damien leen
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    Oct 6th 2024, 3:02 PM

    Those whacky Israelis really do like bombing Hospital’s & schools! Oh well, that’s fine…genocide & blood thirsty revenge are all good when the US is making a nice little profit for themselves!

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    Mute Jonny Hellzapoppin
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    Oct 6th 2024, 3:54 PM

    @damien leen: War is great for business, who cares if thousands of children are slaughtered? Or Genocide is committed? Or war crimes? As long as the victims aren’t white then the world will ignore it

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    Mute Buster Lawless
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    Oct 6th 2024, 6:09 PM

    @damien leen: Iran are the aggressor, you do not seem to comprehend that? Palestine is simply used by Iran, Israel absolutely right to destroy all of those Iranian backed terrorists.

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    Mute Lulu
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    Oct 6th 2024, 10:18 PM

    @damien leen: Don’t forget the Brits in that little enterprise!

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    Mute J N
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    Oct 6th 2024, 1:39 PM

    Lazy swines

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    Mute Paul Whitehead
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    Oct 6th 2024, 2:48 PM

    @J N: says the clipboard.

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    Mute J N
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    Oct 6th 2024, 4:53 PM

    @Paul Whitehead: the “takes persons” that work on intel do little to nothing compared to trades in domestic or most other commercial settings. They are useless and are in most cases the people wouldn’t hold a job down in a real work setting. All these would sink if Intel stopped

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    Mute peter white
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    Oct 6th 2024, 6:31 PM

    @J N: you are a tool

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    Mute Kieran Menon
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    Oct 6th 2024, 9:52 PM

    I ain’t got travel allowance from where I work… /shrug

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    Mute Dominic Leleu
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    Oct 7th 2024, 4:58 AM

    this is just insulting for people going to work and paying for that.
    imagine HR response if you suggest the sane

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    Mute James Brennan
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    Oct 7th 2024, 12:45 PM

    They got a increase in the hourly rate when that was removed. Plus the just entered a new pay deal ao whay wasnt this discussed at the pay talks

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