SPRING 2010 VOL: 12 NO. 1

SUPPORTING A BETTER, FAIRER WAY

CWU Conference:White’s Hotel, Wexford5th to 7th May 2010.

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Dear Colleague,This is my final editorial before our Biennial

Conference which will take place in White’s Hotel inWexford this year. There is no doubt that the mood andatmosphere at the upcoming conference will be markedlydifferent to our Kilkenny Conference when we seemed tobe still in the middle of the so-called Celtic Tiger. It is stillincredible to me that the fortunes of our country havechanged so much in such a short period of time and Ihave made it clear from the start that I am disgusted andappalled at the manner in which our Government has ledthis country into such an awful mess.

There is no doubt that many of the issues which will bediscussed at the conference will be as a direct result ofthe impact of the economy on the businesses withinwhich our members work. In the case of eircom, the direfinancial circumstances of the company have beenbrought into even sharper focus by the economicdownturn. As I write this editorial we are also attemptingto deal with the thorny issue of the eircom pension deficitwith a view to ensuring that our eircom members andexisting pensioners can look with some confidence to thefuture with regard to those pensions. We also wait withbated breath the plans for the future which STT, the newowners, will unveil. We are acutely aware that any plansand particularly plans for investment will only make senseif some accord can be reached with Government and theRegulator. I think it is fair to say that for the first time in anumber of years there is some hope that the company willbe on a better footing but at this stage that is all there is,some hope!

It is interesting to contrast the fortunes of Vodafonewith eircom, as Vodafone according to the mediarepatriated some €400 million in profits out of Ireland lastyear. Indeed over the last number of years some €2billion in profits have been moved out of the country byVodafone and yet our members there find themselves ina ludicrous position where Vodafone refuses to pay anyphase of the national agreement. It seems that thismultinational sees the Island of Ireland as a cash cow andhas no intention of sharing the fruits of our memberslabour with them. Therefore we see the real agenda ofmany employers where, when they make money theywant to keep it for themselves and when they lose moneythey want you to pay for it.

Our members in An Post, UPS and DPD have all beenhit by the downturn in the economy with volumes fallingdue to the decrease in economic activity, leading to asurplus in the delivery market which is being used tofurther decrease prices. Obviously such a reduction inprices puts further pressure on pay and conditions. In thecase of An Post mail volumes have dropped in the regionof 10% and further drops are expected with theintroduction of full Postal Liberalisation due on 1stJanuary 2011. We also have the additional problem of

Editorial

Editor: Steve FitzpatrickSub-Editor: Imelda WallIssued by: Communications Workers’ Union,575 North Circular Road, Dublin 1.Telephone: 8663000 and Fax: 8663099E-mail: info@cwu.ieIncorporatingthe PTWU Journal, THE RELAY andTHE COMMUNICATIONS WORKERThe opinions expressed by contributors are notnecessarily those of the CWU.Photographs: John ChaneyPrinted by Mahons Printing Works, Dublin.

ContentsEditorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3Organising Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-8Regulatory Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Green Isle Dispute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11Postal Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12-14Education Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15National College of Ireland Reunion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Travel Insurance for CWU Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17Telecoms Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-21A strange definition of “systemic importance”

Fintan O’Toole comments on Postbank . . . . . . . . . . . 22Health Insurance for CWU Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23CWU Development Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-25A-Z Children’s Charity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26Haiti Earthquake Donation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Intellectual Disability Housing Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Equality Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-30Congress Centres Network help with

redundancy situations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Sign up to CWY Website/ Get into print . . . . . . . . . . . . 32An Post Employees’ Credit Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33An alternative to Anti-Union media bias . . . . . . . . . . . . 34UNI P&L Bulletin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35-39UNI ICTS Bulletin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40-43Reform of the Unfair Dismissals Act . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44ESCCU Credit Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45CWU Insurance Schemes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46CWU People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47-53Book Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54CWU Membership Application Forms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55-56

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the proposal by Minister Eamon Ryan to introduce postcodes. As hasalready been highlighted by this Union the proposal is based on a litany offalse claims which have not been challenged by the media or indeed to anygreat extent by other commentators. It is disappointing but perhapsunderstandable that An Post has been extremely quiet during this debateand it would not come as a shock to find that there political pressure beingbrought to bear, as otherwise it would be difficult to understand why theobviously false claims made by the Minister have not been challenged.

All of our other members who work in smaller companies throughout thecommunications industry face similar if not more difficult problems with, inmany cases, compulsory redundancies being the order of the day. Thepositive note for those members is that in almost every case we have beenable to negotiate exit packages which generally exceed the packages givenby employers in non-Union employment. So once again even in workers’darkest hours they are far better off being members of a Trade Union.Unfortunately we will once again debate the refusal of majortelecommunications company such as British Telecom and O2 to recognisethe rights of our members to be professionally represented. Thesecompanies who do recognise those rights for their staff in Northern Irelandjustify their position on the basis that they are not breaking the law in theRepublic of Ireland. So our members are deprived of those fundamentalrights because our government refuses to legislate for those rights.

While the atmosphere and the debates at Conference will be difficultbecause of all the problems outlined above, it is important that we neverforget that our Union gives us the opportunity to have those debates and to try and make a positive difference to theoutcome. Everyday we open the newspapers and listen to the news about further redundancies, further cuts in pay andconditions, and the complete lack of respect given to ordinary working people. It is not surprising to see many employersbehave in this manner as they are simply following the lead of what can only be described as a jack-boot Government. Theysee a Government that has torn up every agreement it ever reached with the Trade Union movement as it continues toprotect it flunkies in the banking and property development markets. Those employers also know that they have a goodfriend in the present government who is likely to do very little to curb their excesses. There is no clearer example ofincreased management hostility than the current dispute in Green Isle foods where at the time of writing there are two TradeUnion activists on hunger strike following the ongoing refusal of that company to abide by two decisions of the Labour Court.It is galling that a company which has received millions in aid from the Irish Government can so callously ignore the industrialrelations machinery of the State. I hope all our members and their families remember Green Isle’s contempt for human lifewhen they go to the shops and see their products such as Goodfellas and San Marco pizzas, Donegal Catch, Foxes biscuitsand other labelled frozen goods.

Despite those challenges we must be upbeat as part of the Trade Union movement in the knowledge that together wehave the opportunity to challenge the powers that be and to defend those hard won conditions that have come directlythrough Trade Union membership over many years. It is a time for workers to come to terms with the simple fact that theTrade Union movement needs to become more politically active. The woes of the members in the privatised industries ineircom and Vodafone and the impacts on us all of the economic recession can all be traced directly back to political decisionsmade by successive Governments which in almost every case have had Fianna Fail as the main partner. From an industrialprospective we can always be confident of our strength and determination but without a political perspective Unions arefighting with one hand firmly tied behind their back. I hope at this conference there will be recognition of the need for us tobecome more politically active because without such an approach we will severely diminish our ability to defend what isrightfully ours.

Steve Fitzpatrick,General Secretary, CWU

Letter to the EditorDear Steve,

Thank you very much for your letter and your praise for our efforts during the big freeze. It was great to know we post personswere acknowledged by someone. Contrast your letter with the attitude with of our superiors, the local leader insisted we go out ondelivery each day despite the fact the roads were treacherous and dangerous. The area manager was not heard or seen for four weeks.The divisional manager sent out emails stating that anyone refusing to go out, were to be informed by the local managers that graveconsequences would follow any refusal of duty performance and also to monitor overtime incurred because of adverse weatherconditions. The overtime issue was also a subject area manager concern. As for the Gods, HR and H&S at the GPO, well we didn’texist.

Again thank you Steve, we are in good hands with people like you.

P.S.. On Christmas Eve my office was checked by the area manager, it was not a social call as used to happen years ago by beggingpostmasters.

Sorry I’m afraid to sign my name.

Public sectorpay cuts unfairand counter-productive onthe tax frontBy Fergus FinlayTuesday, November 17, 2009

I THINK if I were a public servanttoday, I’d be mad as hell.

With a few well-documentedpolitical exceptions, I’ve never knownanyone who went into the publicservice to make money. In fact if youwanted to make money, the last placeyou’d go for a career is into the publicservice. Some people choose a publicservice career for security and manychoose it because it offers the chanceto do something or to be somethingthey’ve always wanted to be: A nurse,a doctor, a teacher, a fireman. To workat healing the sick, catching thebaddies, teaching the kids — I’veknown people who grew up fromchildhood wanting to do just that, andwho have found tremendousfulfillment from following a chosencareer as a public servant. And I’veknown public servants who maybeended up in places they never expectedto find themselves, and neverthelessdid the state more than a little service.It is public servants who run ourlibraries (and if you haven’t visited alibrary lately, go and take a look — itwill knock your socks off). It is publicservants who help Irish manufacturersto market their goods and to exportthem. It is public servants who, behindthe scenes, probably did as much andmore to bring peace to this island thanany of the higher profile politicianswho routinely claim their place inhistory. I could go on. But you’regoing to have to take my word for this,if you haven’t had direct experience of

the public service. As I said, I’ve nevermet a public servant who was in it forthe money. And I’ve never met a publicservant who wanted to let his or hercountry down. Sure, they’re not allequally able. They’re not even allequally pleasant. We’ve all, I’mguessing, had both good and badexperiences at the hands of publicservants. But I’m guessing we’ve allhad mixed experiences at the hands ofbusiness people, bankers, priests,shopkeepers, mechanics, car salesmen,dentists, doctors, and the thousands andthousands of other people who maketheir living in the private sector inIreland. So why, I wonder, are publicservants being told, day after day, thatthey have to bear the brunt of thepublic expenditure cuts? In addition tothat, why are public servants beingconstantly attacked and derided as ifthey had suddenly become the fat catsin our society? Why is there suchdivision, and it seems such jealousy,between the public and the privatesector? When public servants, quiterightly, point out that their pay has beenhit by the pension levy, thecommentators immediately snap thatit’s only a modest contribution to thereal cost of their pensions. But foryears and years, public service pay inIreland was calculated on the basis thatthe value of the pension had to be takeninto account when makingcomparisons. In other words, publicservice salaries tended to be lower thanthose in the private sector becausethere was more security in the publicservice and the pensions were relatedto income rather than to thecontribution made. I’ve alwaysargued (and I see the OECD is doing ittoo) that some government has to bitethe bullet on the pension issue byclosing down the "defined benefit"scheme (which relates pension tosalary) for new entrants to the publicservice, and by placing all new entrantson a defined contribution scheme(which relates pension to the amountyou pay into the scheme). Such a

change would bring the cost of fundingpublic service pensions downdramatically over time. It would alsomean that everyone in the economy,who was working towards a pension,whether in the private or the publicsector, would be on the same footing.

But you know what? The pensionsentitlements of public servants haven’tactually changed at all. What haschanged is that many pension schemesin the private sector have lost hugevalue partly because ofmismanagement and also because theequities and stocks and shares theyhave been invested in have beendamaged by greed and incompetence.More than a few pension funds, forinstance, invested heavily in Irish bankshares. Need I say more? And we’rebeing told every day that public servicepay is at the heart of the whole publicexpenditure problem because itaccounts for a massive proportion ofpublic spending. When they’retalking about public spending,commentators seem to use whateverfigure comes into their heads. I’veheard it solemnly reported on the radiothat public service pay accounts forproportions of spending ranging from50% to 75%. There’s a mantra about it— "it’s simply impossible to cut publicspending (and thereby save theeconomy is the inference) withoutcutting pay because pay simplyaccounts for too much". The actualfigure is about one-third. Public servicepay is about one-third of publicspending. So every €3 you take off apublic servant should give you about€1 in public spending cuts. There’s acouple of problems with this. First,every time you take €3 off a publicservant, you lose anything up to €1 intax revenue because (unlike a lot ofpeople in the private sector) publicservants are all PAYE workers — cuttheir pay and you immediately lose theincome tax they give you. So actually,if you want to get a cut of €1 in overallpublic spending from public servicepay, you have to take around €4. The

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Government has said it wants totake €1.3 billion from publicservants as their contribution toresolving our financial crisis. If itmeans that as a net figure (takingaccount of the loss in taxrevenue), it’s going to have to cutpay by around €1.7bn in fact.That’s 10% of the public pay billfrom January 1 next. BUT IF itwants to apply that kind of a cutso that lower paid public servantshave to take a hit of, say, 5%, it’sgoing to have to cut middleincome public servants by around15%. It was not the publicservice, nor anyone in the publicservice, who precipitated thiscrisis in the first place. And whenwe’re not busy sneering at publicservants, we totally depend onthem. Take away our publicservice in Ireland and you drive ahuge hole into our quality of life.

Against that background, thekind of cuts that are now havingto be considered, to yield a net€1.3bn in public spendingreductions, are savage. They willhave a huge impact on thousandsof families (some commentatorsdon’t like us noticing that publicservants have families, too) andthey will seriously damage moralein vital services. Despite whatthe commentators might like us tothink, cuts of that magnitude arefundamentally unfair. I mightn’tagree — in fact I don’t agree —with the proposition that oureconomy and our school systemcan be shut down for a day, ormaybe more, by public sectorprotest. But because the wholeapproach is so unfair, I can fullyunderstand the anger behind thatprotest.

This story appeared in theprinted version of the IrishExaminer Tuesday, November17, 2009

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Telefonica O2 and IBMMembers Face Prospect ofRedundancy

Major Change Agenda in Telefonica O2 Telefonica O2 Ireland has announced its plans to cut 50 jobs in Dublin and

Limerick as part of a cost-cutting programme. The company has agreed thatit will honour the same terms as were offered to staff in a previous redundancywhich amounts to six weeks’ pay for every year of service and two weeks’statutory pay.

The announcement of redundancies signals the culmination of acomprehensive change agenda that is being pursued across the business andwhich follows on from the outsourcing of almost 300 jobs from Technology inthe last 2 years. The Retail arm of the business is also subject to significantchange with 20 retail outlets due to be converted to franchises.

The company had acknowledged in May 2009 that it had been affected by theeconomic downturn but stated then that it had no plans to reduce headcount atthe company.

The company has begun ‘consultations’ with its employee forum but stillrefuses to grant its staff the right to independent Union representation. TheGeneral Secretary, Steve Fitzpatrick and Head of Organising, Ian McArdle metwith senior management from Telefonica in Madrid towards the end of lastyear with a view to re-establishing a positive working relationship and it wasagreed that a meeting would take place in Dublin to move things forward. Asyet that meeting has not taken place.

IBM RedundanciesFormer Telefonica O2 staff who were transferred to IBM are also facing the

prospect of redundancy as the company is seeking to reduce its head count by40 in a section that is largely populated by former O2 staff.

Staff are examining their options at this time and will have to consider thefact that the CWU and the local O2 committee, at the time of the transfer,successfully secured an extension of the O2 redundancy terms for a period oftwo years for all staff moving to IBM. Whilst these staff may benefit from apackage of 6 weeks ex-gratia with 2 weeks statutory per year, their IBMcolleagues are being offered an ex-gratia payment of 3 weeks plus 2 weeksstatutory per year. A salutary reminder of the benefits of being in a Union.

Barclaycard Committee TrainingThe ongoing campaign for staff in the Barclaycard call centre in Sandyfordcontinues to gather pace. After a very positive meeting for members and non-members in Sandyford, a number of workers were encouraged to become moreinvolved with the Union and subsequently put themselves forward to form acommittee.

Training for this newly formed committee took place in Union head office onSaturday 16th January. The training covered diverse subjects includingGrievance and Disciplinary procedures and the main principles of employmentlaw and time was set aside for questions and discussion. Further training will beorganised for these new activists to ensure that they have the full support of theUnion as the membership grows in Barclaycard. The Union would like tocongratulate these new committee members and wish them well as we worktogether to improve the working lives of our growing membership in

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Barclaycard.In other news, Barclaycard Ireland continue to deny CWU

members their entitlement to Trade Union representation atGrievance and Disciplinary hearings, in contravention of theLabour Relations Commission Code of Practice. Despite repeatedattempts to engage with the company on behalf of our members,the company has not responded positively. This led to the Unionreferring the matter to the Labour Relations Commission.Unfortunately, the company also declined to engage with thatbody. For that reason, the Union has been obliged to refer thematter to the Labour Court and a date has been set for that hearingtoward the end of March.

It is hoped that a success on this outstanding issue will lead toa stronger membership who are increasingly aware of, and activelyseeking, their rights.

Dell workers refused representationA number of employees in Dell have been advised by the

company that their hours of work and pay are to be changed. Theseemployees do not believe that the company has engaged them inany meaningful discussion on this issue and they have not agreedto any changes to their terms and conditions. These workers arecurrently working the new imposed hours under protest.

Having contacted the CWU for advice, affected workers havejoined the Union to get the best possible advice and support. Theyhave raised grievances with the company to try to resolve the issue,but they have since been refused their entitlement to Trade Unionrepresentation. The Union have written to the company, hoping toresolve this issue without recourse to a third party. However, thecompany have flatly refused to engage with the Union on thisissue.

Due to the company’s continued rejection of any attempts at asolution through negotiation, the Union has been forced to referthe matter to the Labour Relations Commission. Anydevelopments will be communicated in future issues of Connect.

MLB (Sporting Bet Ireland)Following representations by the Union, MLB was forced toamend its disciplinary and grievance procedures to provide for

Union representation at meetings. MLB initially refused to enter into correspondence with the CWU. We subsequently referred theissue to the Labour Relation Commission (LRC). The companyrefused to attend the LRC and the Union referred the matter to theLabour Court for adjudication. Shortly before the hearing was dueto take place MLB reconsidered its position and agreed to changeits procedures. This incident shows that even organisations that arenegative towards Trade Unions cannot circumvent the workers’entitlements and it was thanks to the organising activities of theCWU that staff will, in future, enjoy their right to Unionrepresentation – a right that is even more important in a non-Unionworkplace.

CWU Targets Vodafone retail outletsThe Organisers have commenced a campaign to recruit newmembers in Vodafone retail stores in conjunction with the localrepresentatives. Since December the Union has visited all of thestores in Dublin city centre and are currently in the process ofvisiting the stores in the Dublin suburbs. The response from theworkers at the stores has been very positive and we have recruitedover twenty new members. It is the intention of the Organisers torecruit new members at every Vodafone store throughout thecountry. This can only be achieved with the assistance of ourexisting members. The Organisers wish to express their thanks toMick Farrell, Vodafone Branch secretary, for his cooperation andassistance in their Vodafone retail recruitment drive.

Global TelesalesIn the previous issue of Connect we outlined that the Union andGlobal Telesales would be attending the Labour RelationsCommission to discuss a number of long standing issues. As aresult of representations made by the CWU the following has beenachieved:• The company has agreed to amend its disciplinary and

grievance procedures to allow for Trade Union representation atmeetings, bringing it in line with legislation.

• The company agreed that it would provide seminars for workersto explain the company pension scheme in detail.

• The company outlined to the Union its method of calculating itsSunday premium allowance.

• The one outstanding issue remaining relates to the reduction ofsalary scales at Global Telesales. The Commissioner hasreferred this matter to the Labour Court. We are now awaitinga date for a Labour Court hearing.

On foot of this activity by the CWU a number of staff have optedto join the Union as they see the positive outcomes from the LRCas a clear and meaningful benefit of Union membership.

Youth Action GroupIn order to encourage as many young members as possible tobecome active in the Union, it has been agreed to hold a trainingevent for young members. This event is planned for SaturdayMarch 27th. It is planned to take a full day as there a number ofimportant topics to be covered including:

Pictured at the Barclaycard Committee Training from l to r:are Marta Meloni, Fionnuala Ní Bhrógáin,

Antonella Pallozzi and Sarah Soumbo.

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• Youth Action Plan• Union Structure• Grievance and Disciplinary Handling• Organising in the Union

The Youth Action Group is an important forum for our youngermembers to express their opinions and views on issues as theyrelate young workers. The CWU has long recognised the uniquechallenges facing our younger members and hopes that thesemembers will be motivated by the training and, with new skillsand increased confidence, become more active in the day to dayactivities of the Union.

Invitations to the event will be sent to all branches and thetraining promises to be a very interesting and interactive sessionwith the emphasis on participation and involvement.

Website DevelopmentIt is widely acknowledged that one of the most powerful tools

for organising and recruitment is a vibrant and informative websiteand online presence.

The importance of the internet cannot be underestimated as ameans of reaching workers in their various industries. It isparticularly significant for employees in call centres and otheroffice based work.

More and more often, when a worker finds themselves indifficulty at work, their first action is to look for a solution online.We need to ensure that when this happens, that these workers areprovided with the most up to date and relevant information on ourown websites; www.cwu.ie and www.callcentreunion.ie. TheUnion’s websites should also be a versatile resource for existingmembers and activists.

With this in mind the NEC has tasked the OrganisingCommittee to conduct a redesign of the Union’s websites. Thiswork has followed considerable research and preparation. HeadOffice are currently examining the options available for the bestpossible result and it is hoped that a brand new, exciting andinvaluable tool will be completed in the coming months.

CWU Trains the first group of ‘UnionAdviser’ Volunteers

The CWU held its inaugural Union Adviser training day inHead Office on 17th February which was well attended by aselection of volunteers from the NEC and Dublin based branchesand further training days are planned to accommodate the othervolunteers around the country who want to get involved in thisexciting project.

A central part of the CWU’s organising strategy is to recruit andorganise staff working in non-Union/anti-Union workplaces.Following the success of these organising campaigns newmembers that join will require assistance and seek representationfrom the Union on individual matters. As the right to Unionrepresentation in disciplinary and grievance procedures is one ofthe few things that we can provide to new members in non-Unionworkplaces it is critical to the success of the Union’s organisingstrategy that we can provide this service where and when it is

needed. If we plan to grow our ranks with new members we needto be in a position to service these members and ensure that theydo not feel isolated or neglected.

To do this across a number of companies the General Secretaryhas asked for volunteers from established branches who couldoccasionally make themselves available to act as a Union Adviserand assist these members as the need arises. This is a verystraightforward role and does not require knowledge of specificcompany processes or employment legislation – it is simply a caseof acting as an independent witness for members who request it.

A comprehensive training course has been developed to ensurethat anyone volunteering for this role is fully informed asvolunteers will be expected to complete this training module. Andthe first group of Union Advisers recently completed this course atUnion headquarters; the training consisted of a one day seminarthat was provided by the Education Committee. The aim of thecourse is to provide our Union Advisers with the tools to representour members at disciplinary and grievance meetings in companieswhere we have not yet secured a collective agreement. Therelevant legislation was outlined to attendees, and varioussituations in which the adviser’s assistance may be required wasdescribed and discussed. The training was well attended and thefeedback was positive. It is hoped that we can arrange for a secondgroup to be trained shortly.

If you feel that you or someone you know would like to becomea Union Adviser and play a vital role in the future of the CWUplease contact head office or email: ian@cwu.ie and we willprovide further details on when the next training is taking placeand answer any questions you might have.

This is an opportunity for activists to gain valuable experienceand training whilst helping the Union’s most vulnerable members.

Pictured l to r: Martin Duffy, Willie Mooney and John Tansey

Pictured l to r: Susan Casey, Mick Smith and Martin Quinn

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CWU members in Postbank were left reeling on Fridayafternoon, February 26th, as the news that Postbank wouldwind down its operations over the course of 2010 wasannounced to all staff. The CWU was very disappointed tohear this news on Friday and it is the view of the Union thatthis closure represents a missed opportunity for the financialservices sector in Ireland, as Postbank represented a clean,community-based bank with an extensive retail footprint thatoffered customers a banking outlet where many of the mainbanks refuse to operate.

The CWU is keenly aware of the devastating effect thisnews has had on our members throughout the business andwishes to assure everyone that we are fully committed toengaging with management to ensure two things: firstly, theCWU is determined to ensure that viable and profitable partsof the business are retained by An Post, to ensure those jobsare safe, secure and productive into the future; and secondly,the Union will engage with management on the redundancyterms for the remaining staff to seek to maximise thepayments being made to staff being let go.

The news is particularly bitter for all concerned given thatthe CWU and Postbank management had just recentlyconcluded a period of intense negotiations with thesuccessful production of a comprehensive recognitionagreement. This agreement granted the CWU solenegotiating rights for all Postbank staff, whilst the Unioncommitted to supporting the business in its tentative earlyyears. Long-standing members will be aware that the Unionhas, for many years, pushed for a Postbank-type operation tobecome part of the An Post business. Demonstratingconsiderable foresight the Union realised many years agothat a community-type banking operation, which could takeadvantage of An Post’s extensive retail network, would havebenefits. Not just to the citizens and customers who wouldhave an easily accessible financial outlet in their areas,particularly those isolated rural areas where An Post has apresence, but it would also be mutually beneficial for AnPost as it would increase business throughout the retailnetwork, with the obvious benefits for our members.

The Postbank recognition agreement replaces thedocument that covered the One Direct employees and

contains several improvements including new grievance anddisciplinary procedures, agreed time off for Trade Unionsduties as well as training and conference and comprehensivedispute resolution procedures.

Though it may be a moot point now given recent events,all CWU members should note that it was of vitalimportance to the Union that any organisation working inconjunction with An Post would recognise the CWU as therepresentative body for their staff. And on completion of theagreement Postbank and the CWU issued a joint statementto staff highlighting this fact.

To Whom It May Concern:

I am a reporter for the Irish Independent newspaperand we are carrying out a survey of various unionsinvolved in the day of action this corning Friday.

We would like to ask yon one question, which is asfollows:

Would your union support further strikes in additionto the one day action planned for November 24, andwould it specifically support an all-out strike?

Please provide a simple yes or no answer, as I havebeen informed by my editors that anything else will beinterpreted as a 'no comment'.

I greatly appreciate your co-operation and I wouldneed a reply by 4.30 this evening. If a response is notprovided, it will be taken to be a 'no comment'.

Many thanks,

Irish Independent Dublin 1

Shock as Postbank Announces Closure

Below is an email sent to our media advisorsin relation to a survey by IndependentNewspapers carried out prior to the NationalDemonstrations regarding the Campaign for aBetter, Fairer, Way. This is a prime examplehow newspapers especially IndependentNewspapers report on Trade Union issues. Itis obvious to me that they will print lies whenyou wont play ball with them.

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Postal RegulationReport

Unions to Take Liberalisation Fightto Brussels

The UNI europa Post & Logistics Steering Group hasdecided to continue the UNI campaign to call for amoratorium on the implementation of the 3rd PostalDirective and to postpone the deadline for the fullliberalisation of the postal market in Europe. In support ofthis UNI will develop a revised lobby pack which willcontain sample letters, a background paper on the legalposition of the moratorium and a list of interested groupswho might support our position.

The objective behind this work is to have a delegation inBrussels from the 12th to the 15th April to spend the weekintensively lobbying MEPs and other EU bodies. In supportof this the CWU Postal Executive members are writing totheir local MEPs seeking a meeting with them in Brusselsthat week in order that they can represent our membersconcerns directly to them as postal workers and asconstituency members.

In addition the UNI delegation will be seeking a meetingwith the European Commission (DG Market and DGEmployment) specifically with Kamil Kiljianski, thedirector for postal services in DG Market and Jean-PaulTricart, responsible for the Social Dialogue in DGEmployment. The group also plans to hold a hearing in theParliament and to invite as many MEPs as possible to deliverour message to that hearing. In conjunction with this anevening event will be held in the European Parliamenttogether with Trade Unions, MEPs and NGOs. This wouldtake the form of a panel discussion about the consequencesof liberalisation and invites will be extended torepresentatives of the Commission, journalists and nationalpoliticians.

The main public event will be a public demonstration inBrussels near the European Parliament – to get publicattention and to give a strong signal against liberalisationand to support our call for a moratorium on the liberalisationof the postal market.

UNI has described this week as ‘our last chance to getattention for our demands and to influence the liberalisationprocess. We should stand in solidarity, regardless of the stateof liberalisation in each of our countries, and use thisopportunity to send a strong signal to the EuropeanCommission, the European Parliament and the nationalgovernments. We have to raise awareness that liberalisationin the current form means social dumping, worse working

conditions, cherry picking in the market and a race to thebottom. There is clear evidence of this with recent courtcases in the Netherlands (making “piece” rates legal andrejecting a negotiated collective contract for postal workers)and Germany (where the Court has overturned aGovernment mandated minimum wage for postal workers).We need strong social regulation, protection for the workersand consumers and more time to prepare the legislation sothat the companies are not competing in a liberalised marketthat is just a race to the bottom with poverty wages andworking conditions.’

Dutch Court Ruling Strikes at Heartof Postal Service

A Dutch Court ruling indicated that postal deliverycompanies, Sandd and Selekt Mail (DHL) can continue toavoid collective contracts and can keep paying “piece” rates.The companies won their case where they argued that theyshould not be forced to employ permanent staff.

Judges in the Hague ruled that the Economics Ministrycannot force them to employ delivery workers instead ofpaying them for every item of post they deliver. The deal tomake Sandd and Selekt compete on more equal terms withTNT (the main Netherlands postal company) was one of themain conditions that the Dutch Government attached to thecomplete liberalisation of the postal market. Under the deal,Sandd and Selekt Mail are supposed to employ under acollective contract, at least 10% of their delivery workers byApril 2010 and 80% by 2012.

The Dutch Unions along with TNT have argued that bypaying workers piece rates, and not paying pensions, sickpay or holiday pay, that Sandd and Selekt are able toundercut TNT’s charges and that they are social dumping.But Dutch ministers set to appeal a ruling on DHL contractworkers are to challenge a decision taken in the Dutch courtsallowing two postal firms to pay workers a “piece work”rate. Social affairs minister Piet Hein Donner and junioreconomic affairs minister Frank Heemskerk are to appeal adecision by judges in December, allowing Sandd and SelektMail (DHL) to continue to pay postal workers for every itemof post they deliver.

The judges ruled that the postal companies could not beforced to employ delivery workers instead. It has beenreported that Donner and Heemskerk will force the issuethrough by way of a royal decree if they lose their appeal.Neil Anderson, head of UNI Post and Logistics said: “Theministers are correct, the courts cannot be allowed to stopthe desire of the workers, their Unions and the governmentto ensure there are proper collective contracts for postalworkers.”

Regulatory Update

24 February 2010

Re: Green Isle Dispute – Demonstration in Naas –Saturday 27th February 2010

Dear Colleague

As you will no doubt be aware from media coverage, an extremely serious dispute has been ongoing atGreen Isle Foods, Naas since last August. The dispute came about as a result of the wrongful dismissal ofthree employees by the Company.

The Labour Court has found that “the dismissals were unjustified and called for the reinstatement of thedismissed workers.” Unfortunately the Company has refused to accept the Labour CourtRecommendation. It has also refused to engage with their Trade Union - TEEU, the LRC or the NationalImplementation Body. This, despite the Company having accepted Irish State Aid to the tune of €43million of tax payers’ money.

Through insufferable frustration, the striking workers decided to embark on a Hunger Strike outside theNaas plant. Jim Wyse, a 58 year old grandfather is the workers Union Representative and began hishunger strike on Wednesday, 17th February. He is joined in his Hunger Strike today by another of hiscolleagues John Guinan, a former All Ireland Footballer. Like Jim Wyse, who is now entering his secondweek on hunger strike, John is not one of the men dismissed by the Company.

To raise awareness of the management’s injustice and to show support for the workers involved, a ProtestMarch has been organised in Naas for Saturday 27th February 2010. The march will commence at12 noon at the Storm Cinema Car Park in Naas, travelling to the Green Isle Factory.

I am calling on all available CWU members, their friends and families to take part in the protest as a showof solidarity and support for the Hunger Strikers campaign on behalf of their sacked colleagues.

Furthermore, I would ask all members to remember the unacceptable behaviour of Green Isle Foods whenshopping for family groceries. The Green Isle Range covers Goodfellas, Sanmarino, Donegal Catch aswell as a whole range of fresh and frozen foods. Companies who behave like this do not deserve to profit.

Please bring this circular to the attention of all members.

Yours fraternally

Steve FitzpatrickGeneral Secretary

10

On going to press we have justheard that the dispute has beenresolved but isn’t it a shame thatin this day and age people had toresort to hunger strike.

History of Green Isle Foods DisputeWorkers in Green Isle Foods have embarked on a course ofaction not seen in Ireland for many years. Members of theTechnical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) have beenleft on the picket line for six months by their employer and theparent company, Northern Foods in Britain.

The basic factsIn December 2008, a TEEU member opened a new icon on his

computer entitled Boardroom. He assumed it was an information bulletin.In fact it had been sent to him by mistake instead of a senior member ofmanagement with a similar name. He did not pay much attention to thecontents until a file appeared on the site in March 2009 containingrestructuring proposals that involved making six TEEU membersredundant.

The engineer showed his manager the file and shared the informationwith a number of fellow employees. When the company realised its errorit insisted that all employees who may have accessed the Boardroomfolder sign a document confirming that they had done so and accepting itwas a serious disciplinary offence for which they faced dismissal.

The members asked their Union for advice. When the TEEU sought torepresent them the company refused to entertain the Union. The men weresuspended on full pay, while Green Isle Foods applied to the High Courtfor an order seeking full disclosure from the employees along withexemplary damages for breach of contract, confidentiality, interfering withthe company's business and all legal costs - including interest.

The TEEU represented the men in court and after hearing the evidenceJudge Mary Laffoy recommended that the parties agree a mutuallyacceptable process for resolving the problem. An agreement was reachedby which all suspensions were lifted, the men returned to work and theyagreed to co-operate with the company investigation.

The investigation dragged on from early April until mid June 2009.Eamon Devoy, General Secretary Designate of the TEEU, eventuallywrote to the company on June 17th, asking that the inquiry intoBoardroom be wound up because of the stress it was causing employees.

Instead, the company said it had begun what it claimed was a secondinvestigation, wholly unrelated to the first, on the previous day, June 16th,into the storage of inappropriate emails on PCs. On June 18th it also issuedthe findings of its first investigation. This found the company IT systemswere not secure or properly monitored. There was no evidence to suggestinformation from the Boardroom folder had been given to anyone outsidethe company.

Meanwhile the other TEEU members, whose positions had beenidentified as redundant in the Boardroom file, received satisfactory

redundancy settlements. The crucial difference was that they wereemployees of ESS, a subcontractor on the Green Isle Foods site whichrecognises Unions.

Green Isle Foods has sought to portray the dispute as one involvingthe downloading of pornographic from the internet, but in fact the GreenIsle Foods system does not allow employees access to the internet, letalone the ability to download material. In the case of two TEEU memberswho were dismissed, they opened unsolicited emails which had nothingto suggest the material was inappropriate. In one case the man wasdismissed for failing to delete the email subsequently from his in-boxalthough he did not show it to anyone else. The source of the unsolicitedemails has never been identified by the company.

The third employee was dismissed because he brought a memory stickto work with film and video game material on it which was notpornographic images, but which the company claimed could breachcopyright law if used on its equipment.

After being on the picket line for over four months the TEEU referredthe dispute to the Labour Court. The Court heard the case on December4th, 2009. The company refused to attend, saying it did not recogniseUnions and therefore the Labour Court was an appropriate forum toresolve the dispute. Nevertheless it was represented at the hearing byIBEC.

The Court issued a recommendation on December 8th, 2009, stating itwas satisfied the dismissals were unjustified, that there should be animmediate return to work, full reinstatement of the men and compensationfor loss of earnings. In the event that this was not acceptable to the twosides the Court recommended that they should agree, through a third partyif necessary, on a compensation package for the men.

When the company rejected this proposal the Court recommended, onJanuary 5th, 2010, that the sacked men receive €40,000, €60,000 and€80,000 respectively, reflecting their lengths of service (seven, 10 and16 years), if they were not reinstated as previously recommended.

When the company continued to ignore the Labour Courtrecommendations, the shop stewards, Jim Wyse and Declan Shannon,requested meetings with the company locally to resolve the disputethrough direct talks. They even offered to negotiate on the Labour Courtterms. Management met them briefly for a few minutes on three occasionsover four weeks but did not even bother to make a note of the men'sproposals before rejecting them.

It was after this final rebuff that the workers decided to adopt a hungerstrike strategy. They had spent six months on the picket line during theworst winter weather for 40 years and their families were experiencingextreme economic hardship. They felt it was the last means available tobring pressure to bear on a company that was impervious to all the normalrules of industrial relations or common decency.Meanwhile, the company pursued its second

investigation without any involvement from theTEEU, whose members refused to engage in thenew process without Union representation. The

same individuals were investigated as in theBoardroom inquiry and, while it remains unclear if

this investigation was ever concluded, the men were dismissed at theend of what had proven a very secretive process on July 10th, 2009.

Their appeals were rejected on July 31st. The company rejected anoffer by the Labour Relations Commission to intervene.

Having failed to find some means of resolving the dispute throughnegotiation, mediation and dialogue, the TEEU served strike notice onGreen Isle Foods. The response of the company was to bring in strikebreakers, who were in place even before pickets were mounted at theend of August 2009.

Jim Wyse became the first hunger striker on February 17th. Hevolunteered to go first because it was his suggestion. John Guinan joinedhim on February 24th.

John Recto, joined the Green Isle Foods hunger strike today(Wednesday March 3rd).

Some hours before he joined Jim Wyse and John Guinan on hungerstrike John Recto was asked call into NaasGarda Station, where he was informed that hiswork visa has been revoked. He was told hehas until March 8th to leave the country. He isfrom the Philippines and has been working atGreen Isle Foods for the past three years.

His wife and three children, aged six,seven and one year old, are living with him inNaas. His youngest child was born in Ireland.

11

12

Postal Update

DIGGER STALLED AT CASTLEREA DSU

The Annual General meeting of the Castlerea & District Postal Branch outlined their total dissatisfaction at An Postscontinued failure to provide suitable accommodation for staff working out of Castlerea Head Office. Their utter frustrationwas heightened by recent correspondence from the GPO the content of which was almost identical to the position presentedby the Company in advance of their previous AGM. In response the Branch expressed its utter frustration at the ongoingdelays on the Company’s part to bring finality to this matter.

Reminiscing that representations were made to the GPO over fifteen years the fact remains that little has changed andthat the Dickensian conditions had not improved with age. Castlerea’s centenary occurs next year and staff are not atall enamoured with facing the prospect of having to don the new uniforms to enhance the brand of An Post, face fullliberalisation and be expected to gloss over that they are working in a kip. As one An Post lifer put it “convicted criminalsenjoy better conditions up the road while we have been sentenced by An Post to 40 years hard labour in a dog house,with little prospect of early release”.

Ultimately, such a prospect they are not prepared to contemplate or tolerate any further. They regard the Company’smost recent commitments to be wishy washy as it is only short of the Head of Property confirming that he is activelypursuing this matter, a mantra previously propagated by the Company which was code for nothing was being done. TheUnion has again set out very forcibly that it requires the Company to confirm without delay that it has appointed acontractor and that construction will begin and be completed this year to allow occupation well in advance of theChristmas pressure period. The Union does not regard this to be an unreasonable prospect in so far as this Country isawash with surplus Contractors, Engineers, Architects and Builders with the Company being able to name its price.Itstime for An Post management to deliver.

WAITING FOR THE GREEN LIGHT!

13

Postal Update

Appointment of Retail StaffFollowing ongoing representations the Company has confirmed to the Union the following process of appointing long-term temporary staff working in Retail:

• Temporary employees recruited prior to 1 January 2008 will, subject to the normal criteria, be appointed.• When this process has been completed temporary staff recruited since 1 January 2008 will have their status

reviewed following which further discussions will take place with the Union.

The above exercise will mean permanent appointments for a considerable number of members, which I have nodoubt will be a very welcome development for the individuals concerned.The Union will continue its efforts towards securing further permanent appointments across all sections of An Post.I would appreciate that you would bring this circular to the attention of all members.

Construction Time LineFEBRUARY 1997 Head Postmaster Castlerea Eamon Carroll, writes to John Martin Regional Office West, This is a very urgentmatter, I have corresponded at length to the building section and to date no action has been taken. Toilets! Open and not in use, noheat working, décor terrible, sewers blocked and the Annual Rat arrived at the same time over the Christmas Break. As for the actiontaken by the CWU I can only say that I have reported since 1996 that I was having serious difficulty trying to placate staff, the rightsof the matter is that this area is not suitable to work in.

SEPTEMBER 1997 An Post state they recognise the short comings of the accommodation at Castlerea.

JUNE 1999 Jim Treacy, General Manager Letterpost. I would need to assure you that we are conscious of the need to progressthese works as soon as possible.

AUGUST 2000 Tom Kane Head of Group Property, the contract for sale is ready for execution by An Post and an initial designscheme is expected within a week to 10 days.

SEPTEMBER 2000 Our legal office is working very hard to conclude the acquisition. An Architect has been appointed and theinitial design plan has been produced.

APRIL 2003 Tom Kane, General Manager Group Property, purchase of the site was completed and the property is held by AnPost under a very long leasehold interest.

APRIL 2007 John Keegan, HR Manager, the Company recognise and accepts that the existing DSU in Castlerea is inadequatefrom both an operational point of view and from a staff perspective. The Company has included a Capital Investment Provision andthis years budget for the development of a new DSU at the site it aquired for this purpose.

DECEMBER 2007 Elaine Bermingham, HR Manager, A proposal to provide a new Delivery Service Unit in Castlerea is currentlybeing considered by the company and a decision in this regard is expected shortly.

FEBRUARY 2008 Elaine Bermingham, HR Manager, Design Team has been appointed to develop a proposal to build a new DSUat Castlerea on the Company site. The expected timeframe for completion is 18 months.

JANUARY 2009 ELAINE BIRMINGHAM, HR MANAGER, I can confirm that the Board has approved the proposal to builda new DSU in Castlerea at its December meeting and that Architects are currently preparing the planning application.

FEBRUARY 2010 ELAINE BIRMINGHAM, HR MANAGER Finance has been made available in the 2010 / 2011 Capitalbudget for the Castlerea Project……..Tenders have been received in respect of the build and it is the intention of the Company toappoint a contractor in the coming months and it is expected that construction will begin during 2010.

DECEMBER 2010 CWU Christmas is coming!

14

The new DSM 3 pay scale is as follows: €35,921 -€37,343 - €38,758 - €40,179 - €40,919 - €42,216 -€43,579. As in the case of the DSM 1 and DSM 2, the DSM3 will also have provision for a performance relatedincentive payment of up to 15%, and is also a non-overtimegrade.

The revised pay scale for Working Leader is as follows:

Two further aspects were dealt with by the MonitoringGroup. The first one relates to the actual role of DSM 3 andthe second relates to the date of implementation of theWorking Leader review.

(i) Role of DSM3

The decision of the Monitoring Group is that it would notbe inappropriate for the Company to expect that a DSM 3would have elements of indoor Postal Operative workincluded in the role and that in normal circumstances, theDSM3 would not be expected to perform outdoor PostalOperative work. However, that does not preclude the DSM3 from having to exceptionally perform outdoor PostalOperative work from time to time.

(ii) Implementation date of the Working Leader review

Extensive discussions on the Working Leader review havebeen ongoing since early 2009, which as well as examiningsalary levels also considered related issues such the paymentof the Eating on Route allowance, Acting allowances andthe Company Medical and Drugs Refund Schemes.

The Union’s view is that the Company should implementthe proposals with effect from early 2009 and the Company’sview is that they should be implemented from a current date.

It is the decision of the Monitoring Group that the payreview should be implemented from 1st June 2009.

Postal Update

NEW WORKING LEADER SCALE€ p.a3280033800348003580036800

REVIEW OF THE ROLESOF DELIVERY SERVICES MANAGERS AND

WORKING LEADERS

For some time the Union has expressed its misgivings atthe manner in which employees who achieve retirementare dealt with by An Post Management. The Union hasoutlined numerous cases whereby members, many ofwhom had given long and loyal service to the Company,were allowed depart from service without as much as athank you. This showed little respect for those individualsthat have served customers and Company, to the best oftheir ability.

The Union proposed the Company should set out aRetirement Policy which, at a minimum, recognises thecontribution of the employee to the Company, providesfor a presentation as a matter of course and that noemployee should leave the Company without having theoption of availing of a pre retirement course.

Agreement was concluded at the Joint ConciliationCouncil on such a policy and the main points are asfollows:

1. Qualifying Retirees will be presented with a framedValedictory Letter and the Cu Cuchalain statuette.

2. The Valedictory Letter will be available forpresentation to the Retiree no later than the date ofhis/her last day of service, or earlier if a presentationis planned for a date prior to the Retiree’s last day ofservice.

3. There will be an appropriate level of managementinvolvement in the presentation.

4. Details of retirements will be publicised within theCompany through Postnews and the Intranet.

5. The Company will offer Retirement Planning Coursesto all employees who are approaching retirement.The local HR Manager should contact the TrainingUnit at least six months in advance of the employee’slast day of service to request a place on a forthcomingprogramme.

6. The Local Manager should advise the local UnionRepresentative of any upcoming retirements.

The Company issued a Company Circular 03 / 2010 aswell as a Recognition of Retirement Procedure for allManagers.

The above policy is designed to ensure the Company,as a minimum does its bit and does not change or impacton the efforts the Union will continue to make. BranchSecretary’s should also recognise that they have aresponsibility when members retire to notify Union HeadOffice and ensure that they receive the Union scroll andbadge. In addition Union Headquarters should be advisedwhen long serving activists retire as Union Head Officemay wish a National Officer or NEC member attend anypresentation.

~ RETIREMENT POLICY ~

15

Education Update

Now that the AGMs have come to an end, it is imperative that all those newly elected into Branch positions sendin the nomination forms for the upcoming education courses. As always the Union will be running a full set oftraining courses for our activists throughout 2010. The following are the details of the upcoming courses.

Branch Secretary Stage 1 CourseMonday April 19 – Friday April 23rd 2010 (5 days)All newly elected Branch Secretaries are invited to attend as well as Branch Secretaries who may have missed theopportunity to attend in the past.

Chairperson’s CourseTuesday March 23rd – Thursday March 25th 2010 (3 days)Again all newly elected Chairpersons should attend as well as Chairpersons who may have missed the opportunity toattend in the past.

Branch Officers Course Training CourseTuesday April 27th & Wednesday April 28th 2010 (2 days)The course is open to Assistant Secretaries and Vice Chairpersons.

Treasurers Training CourseTuesday April 27th & Wednesday April 28th 2010 (2 days)Newly elected treasurers should attend this course and it will run in conjunction with the Branch Officer trainingprogramme.

Branch Secretary Stage 2Monday September 13th – Friday September 17th 2010 (5 days)This course should be attended by Branch Secretaries who have completed Stage 1 and who are in their second orconsecutive term as Branch Secretary.

Equality RepresentativesWednesday September 22nd & Thursday September 23rd 2010 (2 days)This is a new module that was successfully piloted in 2009. The Equality Representative is a support role to the BranchSecretary who can assist with equality related matters such as work life balance, statutory and non-statutory leave,disability in the workplace etc. This course is open to all Branches.

Committee CoursesTraining is normally two half days or one full day.These are held in Union Head Office and subject to numbers are also held on a regional basis. As always we like toaccommodate Branches with new committees in place and who require training specifically for their Branch.

Please note that training is obligatory for all those who are newly elected and applications can only be accepted oncompletion of the relevant nomination forms. The nomination forms also allow participants to outline theirrequirements for training which will assist the education committee to deliver the training accordingly. Nominationforms can be downloaded from the Union website. Those who apply for courses will be sent joining details closer tothe date of training. If members have any issues or queries in relation to accessing the training, then please contactUnion Head Office directly.

Other coursesThe Union continues to promote life long learning for our members. This is evident through our work with Congress,Skillnets, the VECs and through our Union Learning Representative (ULR) structure. We currently have over 30 ULRsin various Branches across the country and we encourage members to make contact with their ULR to find out whatcourses are available in local colleges and other institutions. The Union’s Education committee is also available tomembers to discuss further education and Branch Secretaries can also assist in this area.

For further details please see the Union education webpage or send an e-mail to info@cwu.ie.

16

New WebsiteContacting former students is a big task as Nora Owen

explains: “We have very good contact details for graduatesfrom recent years and we plan to contact most of themdirectly. Naturally the records from years past aren’t sogood so we’re using every opportunity to invite thosepeople to visit the website and sign-up. We’re particularlyanxious to get in touch with any of the people who studiedin the early days of the Catholic Workers College. Theirinsights into the history of the college would beinvaluable”.

Beatrice Cantalajo, the NCI Alumni Manager explainsthe aims of the NCI Alumni Association: “We want it topromote lifelong affiliation between our alumni and theCollege; to promote an effective network of graduatesthroughout the world; to represent and promote thestrengths of the National College of Ireland both nationallyand internationally and to deliver tangible benefits toalumni, other members of the National College of Irelandcommunity, and the College”.

So, if you studied with the NCI in any of its guises andin any location you’re welcome to sign up for the alumniassociation.

All graduates of National College of Ireland are entitledto free membership of the Association. This includespostgraduates, honorary graduates, as well as recipients ofDiplomas and other Certificates issued by the NationalCollege of Ireland.

It’s also probably important to point out that anyoneinterested in upskilling, retraining or undertaking academicstudy that it’s worth checking out the NCI website fornews of courses and educational opportunities.

More information can be had athttp://alumni.ncirl.ie/

It is quite likely that many members of the CWU both past andpresent are very familiar with the National College of Ireland. If youstudied there you’ll be interested in this article.

Did you study with the National College of Ireland? Perhaps youknew it as the College of Industrial Relations or the National Collegeof Industrial Relations or even the Catholic Workers College? If so,you’re in demand.

The College is trying to reconnect with its thousands of formerstudents and has developed an impressive new website to help itsalumni to reconnect with their college and with their old friends andcolleagues.

The National College of Ireland, or NCI, is now located in abeautiful, purpose-built, campus in the IFSC in the heart of Dublin’sDocklands. Today it has almost one thousand full-time day students. Italso caters for about four times that number studying part-time in thecollege or in one of its 28 centres around the country. Key subjectswhich it provides include Human Resources, Accounting, Finance,Computing, First Line Management and Community Studies.

It was established as long ago as 1951 by the Jesuit Community asthe Catholic Workers College and was based in Ranelagh where itremained until 2000. Over the years it underwent several namechanges becoming, in turn, the College of Industrial Relations and theNational College of Industrial Relations before its final name changein 1998.

For nearly six decades it has provided education at diploma anddegree level to generations of mostly part-time students. Its early focuson industrial relations meant that countless leading trade Union andHR professionals owe much of their academic learning to the college.

ReconnectingThe NCI estimates that some 50,000 people studied with themover the years and this year, two years ahead of its 60thanniversary, it is putting a major effort into reconnecting withthat army of alumni.

“From its establishment in 1951 our college has provided aninvaluable opportunity for people with no chance to gain a thirdlevel qualification and to access education”, says Paul Mooney,the College President who received his early professionaleducation in the NCI. “Today, the National College of Irelandhas a renewed and strengthened commitment to wideningparticipation in higher education and to supporting activitiesthat contribute to a knowledge-based economy and an activesocial citizenship”.The effort to reach former students is spearheaded by anAlumni Advisory Council under the chairmanship of formerJustice Minister Nora Owen.“Those of us who have studied in the NCI know what aspecial place it is”, says Mrs Owen. “We are hoping toreconnect with as many of our former students as possible. Thenew Alumni Association aims to provide graduates with waysto reconnect and to network while using their time andknowledge to support their alma mater in the advancement ofits mission. Membership of the Alumni Association is free, allyou have to do is sign-up on the website at www.nci”.

National College of Irelandis calling all formerstudents

17

Telecoms Update

Telecoms RegulationCompulsory High-speed Internet

under EU Plans

In a continued effort to bring broadband to every citizenin the EU, the Spanish EU Presidency wants to extenduniversal service requirements to include broadband. Thiswill, in effect, make it compulsory for member states tomake the service available in every corner of their territory.The move is aimed at improving Web access in rural areasbut has raised a number of concerns for the telecomsindustry.

The European Commission estimates that only 70% of thepopulation of the EU’s countryside areas can rely on existinginfrastructure to access the Internet via a high-speedconnection. Here in Ireland the National Broadband Schemeis aiming to provide internet access for those parts of thecountry where no other provider will go for commercialreasons but the speeds available will often lag well behindthose available in urban areas. More so recently with theadvent of high speed offerings such the 24 Mps service fromeircom and others.

To address this ‘digital divide’, Spain, which has the EU’srotating presidency in the first half of 2010, is consideringobliging member states to provide nationwide broadbandcoverage. Its plans are shared by Belgium and Hungary,which take on the EU presidency after Spain. All threecountries are pursuing a common ‘trio’ programme.According to a draft programme that was agreed by the EUCouncil, "the presidencies will launch work on the newscope of the universal service in electronic communicationsand on the incorporation of broadband in the scope ofuniversal service.”

There is some skepticism on how achievable this is andETNO, the association representing incumbent telecomsoperators in the EU, estimates that the cost of currentuniversal service obligations could hit €800 million in someEastern European countries if applied completely.

ComReg Set Prices for LLU andLLU Line Share

Two significant decisions have been made by ComReg inrecent months that will potentially have a profound effect onthe development of the Irish Telecoms market and the levelof competition within it.

The first decision was taken in August 2009 wherebyComReg issued a direction to eircom to cut the price of itsmonthly Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) Line Share chargefrom €8.41 to €0.77. LLU Line Share occurs when aneircom competitor provides the broadband service over thesame line that eircom continues to provide the phone serviceon. Eircom initially challenged this direction in the HighCourt but in January of this year it agreed to comply.

ComReg and the alternative telecoms operators see thisas a critical step to opening the market further as it waspreviously claimed that this product was not commerciallyviable at the price that was being charged before thedirection was made. It paves the way for BT and Vodafone’splans to proceed with the unbundling of 60 exchanges.

The second significant decision was taken in relation tothe Local Loop Unbundling (whereby another operator takesfull control of the line) in February and sets a LLU rentalcharge of €12.41 and a maximum Sub-Loop Unbundling(SLU) rental charge of €10.53 for access to the eircom localloop network. Previously the charge was €16.43. Thismove by ComReg is designed to open up the market furtherin this area and it was welcomed by the Minister forCommunications Eamon Ryan as ‘crucial to the move tonext generation networks’.

As it stands around three per cent of Irish lines areunbundled as against 40% in other European countrieshowever critics of the move describe it as too little too lateand that Ireland Inc should be focused on taking measures tosecure a high-speed broadband infrastructure built on fibreand--- not addressing issues that should have been dealt withmany years ago.

18

Pictured l to r: Claire Kelly, Tom Murphy and LiamCaldwell at the Dublin No 1 Branch AGM.

Jim Mc Cann andNicky Ryan at the

Dublin No 2Branch AGM in

the GreshamHotel.

Telecoms Update

19

Meteor Customer Care has won not one….but two awards atthis year’s Irish Contact Centre Awards. These awards arethe highlight for any Contact Centre and Meteor wereshortlisted for 5 awards this year which was an amazingachievement in itself.

The awards were held Saturday 14th November in theBurlington hotel and were attended by Customer CareManagement Team, Team Leaders and Agents. The firstaward we won for was the Best Retention Programme.

Ronan O’Neill and Celine Maher collecting the awardwhich was presented by a representative from Woodford

In this category the judges applauded Meteor for presentingsuch a comprehensive submission to win this award. “Meteor provided real evidence of how they are focused onmaintaining market share in this highly competitive sector.With an average save rate of 91% in the last twelve monthsand a contribution of several million euro in revenue Meteoris a worthy winner of this award.”

Well Done to the retention team Ronan O Neill, CelineMaher, Maria Renwick, Caroline Kenny, ElizabethOnwuarolu, Julie Gallagher, Nicola Garvey, Samuel

Obiozor, Sarah Salinger, Gillian Gormley, Alina Gawlik,Lyndsey Farrell, Caithriona Greene, Richard Quigley

But we didn’t stop there!The most sought after prize for any contact centre is to becrowned Irelands Best Contact Centre. And when Meteorwas called out as the winner of this prestigious award, therewere screams of joy so loud it would have put the Irish fansin Croke Park to shame! A thrilled Customer Caremanagement Team went up to receive this award.

Michael Byrne, Leah Ivers, Mark Simmonds, CarlosHernandez, Ciara Coghlan, David Keogh, Ronan O Neill,

collecting the award from a Representative from Cisco.

In naming Meteor as the winner of the Contact Centre of theYear 2009 the judges wished to commend them on theimplementation of a programme focused on driving moreefficiency through the contact centre. “All this was achievedwhilst increasing customer retention rate and growing thecustomer base. The glowing testimonials show thatMeteor’s dedication to providing an excellent customerexperiences is reaping many awards.”

METEOR CUSTOMER CARE SCOOPS BEST RETENTIONPROGRAMME AND THE TOP PRIZE –

CONTACT CENTRE OF THE YEAR 2009AT THIS YEAR’S

IRISH CONTACT CENTRE AWARDS

We would like to thank every single person in the Dublin and Waterford Contact Centre’s in helping us achievethese exceptional results. Every manager, team leader, support team member and agent has made all of thispossible through the hard work and dedication over the last 12 months. Everyone should feel very proud of thisachievement and to be named………

Best Contact Centre in Ireland 2009!!Thanks to everyone ... Customer Care Managers

20

Telecoms Update

Dublin No 3Members

receiveFETACAwards

The Union was very pleased to be apart of an awards ceremony to recognise the achievements of our members in the

eircom Dublin No 3 Branch who received FETAC certificates for computer training. The awards ceremony was held after

the AGM on February 18th in the Academy Hotel and was coordinated by the Branch. FETAC is the Further Education and

Training Awards Council in Ireland. They are the national awarding body for further education and training. The computer

training courses that were held were delivered through the Positive 2 Work Skillnet and through the Women at Work Skillnet.

The Positive 2 Work courses were conducted through the KNOW IT programme of the National College of Ireland. Two

programmes were held, with 22 participants from the Dublin No 3 Branch receiving certificates. The CWU is represented

on the steering committee of Positive 2 Work and the aim of the project is to create a positive working environment for all

employees within the member companies of the Skillnet. Mark Brennan who is the Positive 2 Work Project Manager attended

the awards ceremony. Commenting afterwards, he stated that the awards ceremony was revitilsing as it was evident how

energised the group were having completed the training and being acknowledged for their success.

The Women at Work Skillnet courses were conducted by High Tech Associates. Again two training programmes were held

with 26 members receiving certificates.

Speaking on the night, Carol Scheffer, National Officer stated that those who completed the training and got their

certificates through the Skillnets projects were to be commended highly as it takes commitment and dedication to attend

courses after working hours. She also stated that the Union wanted to acknowledge the achievements of the participants and

Deputy General Secretary, Terry Delany also praised the participants on the courses.

These programmes were conducted as part of the 2008 & 2009 Skillnets projects. Our thanks goes to Ray Lawlor, NEC,

Catherine Slattery, Chairperson and Denis Douglas, Branch Secretary for the active part they played in signing members of

the Branch up for the courses.

Ray Lawlor, NEC, Catherine Slattery, Chairperson Dublin No 3& Denis Douglas, Branch Secretary Dublin No 3 after theawards ceremony.

21

Telecoms Update

Women at Work Skillnet GroupBack Row l-r: Mary Charleton, Ina McDonnell, Carol Scheffer, Imelda Devanney, Josephine Shanley, Marie Pembrook, Monica Stapleton, Barbara Shevlin, Catherine Slattery,Breige Greevy , Terry Delany, Bríd O’Reilly, Teresa Blake, Margaret Walshe& Mary Creagh ClarkeFront row l-r: Mary Lacey, Carmel Ahern, Ann Gaughan, Bridget O’Mahoney, Eileen O’Connor,Patricia Moran, & Connie Killilea.

Eileen Fitzgerald & Patricia Moran whoboth received certificates on the night.

Positive 2 Work Group receiving CertificatesPictured l-r Carol Scheffer, National Officer, Mark Brennan,Positive 2 Work Project Manger, Sean Byrne, Charlie O’Keeffe,Terry Delany, Deputy General Secretary, John Carroll &Mary Creagh Clarke.

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A strangedefinition of‘systemicimportance’Instead of being allowed tofail, Postbank should havebeen part of a sensiblestrategy of community-basedbanks, writes FINTANO'TOOLE

REMIND ME again: why,exactly, are we shovelling far moremoney into Anglo Irish Bank thanwill be saved by all the cutbacks puttogether?

Oh, I remember: we cannot letbanks go under.

Brian Lenihan explained to theDáil in January 2009 that “as acountry, we cannot afford to have themessage going out that we will let abank fail.”

In June 2009, when he wasextending the bank guarantee, herepeated the message: “thefundamental question that arises inconnection with the guaranteeconcerns the fact that theGovernment decided it could not let abank fail”.

This is apparently an article offaith. Fianna Fáil and the Greensdecided that no Irish bank, includingzombie institutions like Anglo andNationwide, would be allowed to goto the wall. Having made thatdecision, everything else becameinevitable.

We will do literally anything thatis necessary to maintain the fictionthat the zombies are productivemembers of the community.

But hang on a minute. Yesterday,Postbank, jointly owned by An Postand BNP Paribas, stopped taking newbusiness. It will close by the end ofthe year. Its name would suggest thatPostbank is actually a bank, but thismust be an illusion.

If it were a bank, Postbank wouldnot be allowed to fail. And BrianLenihan’s reaction to its closure wasmerely to say that he is “disappointed[his favourite word] but notsurprised”.

Why does the closure of Postbankget a c’est la vie shrug of theshoulders while the closure of Anglois so unthinkable that at least €30billion of public money is being usedto keep it, if not actually alive, thenapparently undead?

The answer Brian Lenihan wouldgive is that Anglo is of “systemicimportance” to the Irish economy,while Postbank is not.

Let’s consider this proposition.Postbank has deposits of €450million and 170,000 customers. It has70,000 savings and 35,000 currentaccounts, 90,000 insurance policyholders and 10,000 credit-cardcustomers. It does what banks used todo – provide financial services forordinary people in their owncommunities.

Because it operates through athousand post offices, it isparticularly important in towns,villages and working-class urbanareas that have long since beenabandoned by the main banks. Moreimportantly, in any sane approach tothe banking collapse, Postbank wouldhave been an important part of a newstrategy of creating sensible,community-based banks forindividuals and small businesses.

But none of this is of systemicimportance to the economy. Toachieve that enviable status andbecome immortal, Postbank wouldhave had to do certain things. Itwould have needed a chief executivewho was on first-name terms with thetaoiseach and who delivered regularlectures to the nation on the evils ofsocial welfare and regulation.

It would have had to plead withevery gambler and hustler to please,please take a few hundred millionmore in loans for another fantasyproject. It would have had tobamboozle its investors by cookingthe books and lending chosencustomers the money to buy its own

shares. If it had concentrated on thesegoals instead of getting stuck in thepathetically old-fashioned rut ofhelping ordinary people managemoney, it would have beensystemically important.

Meanwhile, the policy of pipingpublic money into the septic tank thatis Anglo becomes steadily moredemented. It is worth recalling whatthe Dáil and the Irish people weretold by Brian Lenihan in January2009 when he set this policy inmotion.

“The position,” he said, “is that thecurrent loan book of Anglo IrishBank remunerates the deposits. Inother words, there is sufficientincome derived from the loan book topay for the operation of the bank andto pay for the deposits at the bank.This is a fundamental and importantpoint. Much of the public debate hassuggested that the bank is not in asolvent position. The bank is solventand it is now coming into Stateownership.”

The claim that Anglo was solventin January 2009 was ludicrous. Anglois about to post losses of up to €12billion – the largest in Irish corporatehistory. Brian Lenihan also assuredthe Dáil that the total recapitalisationrequirement of Anglo was €4 billionand that the State would provide just€1.5 billion in the short term. That€1.5 billion became €3.9 billion andis now heading for €10 billion. Andthe €28 billion in loans that Anglowas to dump on Nama is now beingupped to around €35 billion. Thehole keeps getting bigger and theGovernment keeps trying to fill itwith gold bars.

We were told that the Governmentcouldn’t let a bank fail. We nowknow that this was untrue. We weretold that the taxpayers’ liability toAnglo was limited. This was untrue.And we were told that this wholepolicy would create credit for Irishbusinesses and save jobs. Theopposite has happened. Yet ratherthan admit failure, the Government,like an increasingly desperategambler, throws good money afterbad.

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24

Presentation of €15,000.00 was made toThe Street Children of Bucharest, RomaniaIt was a great experience and a wonderful opportunity for me to visit this project last November which was sponsored by

Brian Geary one of the Directors of the Project in Bucharest.The CWU members through their generosity will help to sponsor the Day Care Centre for a Nutrition and Education

programme for the under privileged children of Bucharest.The most important element of the centre will be the future generation of Romanian children who will benefit from the

excellent teaching skills of the staff who work there. The children using the centre would not normally be able to attend preschool education. They would be very much behind when starting school at seven years of age. Now they will be up to speedas any other child would be when starting out in education.

The day care programme starts at 7.00am and runs through the day until 6.00p.m. The early start allows for the children’sparents to work during the day if they can. Because of their poverty the children attending generally have to be washed andtheir cloths changed before having breakfast. Then they go on for their studies. They have their lunch at 12.00 p.m. afterwhich they take a 3 hour nap. This is followed by some play time and a little film before getting their meal and going hometo their parents.

The effect this program has on their physical and intellectual ability is amazing. All of the children continuously grow inconfidence and are beaming with health.

Residential children in St Josephs House have suffered the most piercing pain of all being rejected by their very ownmother and father, abandoned and deserted. The centre tries to undo these feelings, making them feel wanted and valued,for some it takes a long time but the hope that one of their parents will come back is never far from their thoughts.

This year more than ever they are dependant on your generosity even through the CWU Humanitarian Aid as their charityruns their own convoys with the help of the Irish volunteers twice a year in March and September.

Sincere gratitude was expressed overwhelmingly to the CWU members for their on going support towards these veryworthwhile projects. Go raibh maith agaibh go leir.

CWU DEVELOPMENT FUND

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The 5 biggest causes of death to under- fives indeveloping countries are HIV, malaria, diarrhoea,pneumonia and measles. Presently there are analarming 2 million AIDS orphans and 110,000 HIVinfected children living in Uganda. 80% of HIVinfected children will die before their 5th birthday dueto lack of medicine. This clinic, when built, will providelifesaving treatment to up to 20,000 of the mostvulnerable children living in Ugandan Society; childreninfected and affected by HIV/ AIDS.

The cost of building phase 1 of this clinic is€304,000. The running of the clinic will cost €60,000per year. It will therefore cost €3 to provide lifesavingtreatment to a vulnerable child in Uganda.

A-Z Children’s Charity would like to thank all themembers of The Communications Workers Union forits continuous support. In 2007 The CommunicationsWorkers Union contributed towards the purchase of anambulance to transport HIV infected children tohospital. In 2009 you contributed €30,000 towards theconstruction of the ‘best practise’ paediatric clinic to bebuilt in 2010.

On behalf of all the vulnerable children we support inUganda I would like to thank you for your continuoussupport.

Brian IredaleFounder A-Z Children’s Charity – www.azkids.ie

Construction of a ‘best practise’ PaediatricPrimary Health and specialist HIV clinic 2010

The National Executive Council have taken the unusual step of allocating €100,000.00 from the Union’s central fund inorder to assist Union Organisations who are providing aid at present to Haiti. The money to be allocated as follows:-

– €90,000.00 to the ICTU which will be channelled through the International Trade Union Movement. UNI Global Uniondonation will also be channelled through ICTU, Ireland

– €10,000.00 which will be channelled through the United States Nursing Union that will facilitate sending four nursesover to work in Haiti.

AT THE OFFICIAL OPENINGOF SISTERS OF LA SAGESSESERVICES, CREGG HOUSE,SLIGO

Pictured L to R: Charlie Kelly,President CWU, Brian Conlon,Working Leader, Sligo,Val O’Sullivan, Postperson, Sligo,Ms Mary McCarthy, Cregg House,Ms Patricia Lee, Cregg House,Monica Hempenstall, FinancialOfficer, John Quinn eircomLetterkenny, Damian Touhy, CWUFinance Committee.

Intellectual Disability Housing Fund Official Openingof House supported by the CWU Members

€100,000.00 DONATED TOTHE HAITI EARTHQUAKE APPEAL

Steve Fitzpatrick presenting Dave Begg with acheque for the Haiti Appeal.

Pictured l to r: Terry Delany, Jimmy O’Connor,Kevin McCafferty and Charlie Kelly

with the cheque for the CWU UK Haiti Appeal.

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28

Equality Update

Work Life BalanceAwareness in An Post

The JCC Diversity Sub-committee of An Post recently negotiated and agreed initiatives to promote WorkLife Balance in the organisation. Members may be familiar with the previous Work Life Balance Wall Chartthat was produced to highlight the statutory and non-statutory leave arrangements in An Post. This wall charthas now been updated to reflect changes in legislation and additional information for employees wishing toavail of a leave arrangement.

A booklet has also been produced to highlight work life balance in An Post. The booklet not only containsthe details provided in the chart but also details on additional initiatives in An Post such as occupationalhealth and support.

Finally, posters will be on display so as to increase the levels of awareness of work life balance in thecompany.

The Union believes that the office wall charts, the associated booklet and the poster display will be a vitalsource of information for employees and that they will go a long way in creating awareness among employeesof work life balance going forward.

On a separate note Ms Breda Trimble has been appointed as the Company Equality Officer. The Unionwould like to wish Breda well in her new role and we look forward to working with her into the future.

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Equality Update

The Women at Work Skillnet believes that, with women playing a much larger role in the workforcein Ireland, the key to economic recovery will be dependent on the up-skilling and education ofwomen.

On International Women’s day, the Women at Work Skillnet highlighted that all experts agree thatthe sectors of the economy which are most likely to contribute to bringing Ireland out of recessionare those which will be dominated by female workers in the future. As such, more focus andresources should be given to developing the skills of female workers in order to make the overalleconomy more competitive.

This unique Skillnet was formed in 2008 and is spearheaded by five Trade Unions, theCommunications Workers’ Union (CWU), IBOA – The Finance Union, IMPACT, MANDATE and theIrish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) whose combined membership of women workingin the private sector in Ireland is in the region of 60,000. The network is supported by a crosssection of employers and policy advisors who are active participants on the steering group.

The Skillnet identified an increasing demand for the training and development needs of womenat work, primarily in the retail, financial services, communications and healthcare sectors.

Aileen Morrissey, Mandate Trade Union’s National Coordinator of Training said that the purposeof the Skillnet is “To up-skill women to enable them to optimise their full potential in their workinglives. This aim is met by giving participants an ideal opportunity to enhance their skills throughprofessional training and development courses. During the past 24 months we have seen genuineprogress in the workplace for women. However, we need to build on the successful trainingframework of the past and continue to make relevant, quality and diverse training available for freeto our members, so they can achieve full potential in their working lives.”

“During the two year period of Women at Work Skillnet, demand for training has been at an all timehigh - despite the economic turmoil and recession - with many programmes having waiting lists,and members progressing to higher level programmes. The primary training programmesdelivered were in the area of Interpersonal Communication Skills, Executive Development IT Skills,Social and Language Skills.

“In the context of the current economic environment, these training programmes have increasedthe adaptability of women workers in the knowledge economy, especially in terms of supportingwomen members to adapt to technological change and to develop basic ICT literacy skills. InIreland, competitive advantage is increasingly dominated by knowledge, both in the form ofintellectual property and also in terms of what individuals and groups of employees know and howthey carry out their jobs,” said Ms Morrissey.

The Women at Work Skillnet undertook rigorous evaluation of each of its training programmes,and feedback on the quality of the training has been ranked very highly by the companies andtraining participants.

Education of women in theworkplace is key toeconomic recovery – Says Women at Work

Skillnets

30

Equality Update

We reported in Connect that we intended to conduct an Anti-Racism Survey within themembership. That survey is now complete and we had an excellent response rate. A total of 584responses were recorded by members both Irish Nationals and members from different ethnicbackgrounds and all of the main organisations where we have members were represented in theresponses. The survey was made available online and this seemed to be very popular with themembership. The survey has now been analysed by LIR training who have produced a final reportinto the survey findings. The aim of this report is to enquire into the CWU members’ experienceof racism in the workplace.

The final report completes the research process and we are going to use the upcoming BiennialConference as an opportunity to launch the report. Following on from conference, the report willbe made available to Branches.

Irish Cancer SocietyOn a final note those who completed the survey had the option to nominate a registered charity,

for entry into a draw for a prize of €300. The Union is pleased to announce that The Irish Cancersociety won the draw.

CWU ANTI-RACISM SURVEY UPDATE

“The feedback has been excellent and very rewarding”, says Alacoque McMenamin, manager ofthe network. “We have also had a demand for more and more training. We hope that in the futurewe can continue to help develop the vast array of knowledge, skills and competencies that willbe required of women workers as we move into a brighter and ever more demanding future.”

The network also points to the fact that economists indicate that women are strongly increasingtheir share in professional, associate professional and management occupations. By 2012,women are forecast to form the majority of business, financial and legal professionals, and theproportion of managers who are women will almost reach the proportion of women in theworkforce as a whole.

The ESRI says, “The highest employment growth is occurring in service industries, which have agreater proportion of skilled workers. Meanwhile, within the fastest growing sectors we’re seeingincreased professionalisation, with more jobs requiring high-level qualifications."

These trends, though predicted before the recession, are still taking place just not at the samegrowth rate as expected and the Women at Work Skillnet is uniquely placed within industry tomeet needs and assist continuation of these trends for Women workers.

The key to the Women at Work Skillnets’ success is that the network has been used as a sourceof intelligence – helping members to respond to constant change and development requirements;being aware of the business environment and assisting enterprise members to respond positivelyby enabling women workers to attain the knowledge, skills and competencies to survive in verychallenging times.

The Women at Work Skillnet is match funded by the five Trade Unions, who provide the trainingfor free to their members, and the Training Networks Programme, an initiative of Skillnets Ltd.funded from the National Training Fund through the Department of Enterprise, Trade andEmployment. Skillnets is an enterprise-led support body whose mission is to enhance the skillsof people in employment in Irish industry to support competitiveness and employability

Did you know that employees receiving redundancy can claim back part of the tax they pay on Did you know that their redundancy 60% of the statutory sum?

T redundancy payment Did you know that can be claimed back employers issuing redundancies

in tax by employers? in the workplace are obliged to give employees time off to search for employment and training opportunties?

The Congress Centres Network has recently developed a service for union officials, union members and employers faced with a redundancy situation and unemployment due to the recent economic downturn. These seminars are very successful with both the employer and the employee finding the information very helpful as redundancy is a complex issue. We offer seminars for the employees in their workplace, and provide an information pack covering the following areas:

Social Welfare rights Law and Redundancy Employers’ obligations Redundancy payments Maximising your options Curriculum Vitae sample Job seekers benefit/allowance Back to education allowance Questions and Answers

Our centres are situated throughout the country and can service both rural and urban areas. We are available to provide this service to any of your members if they wish to avail of it at a small charge to the employer to cover the cost of materials.

Seminars for Union Officials will run monthly in Congress Head Office. If you or your members require this service please contact me at 01-8897745/087 0557025 or sylvia.ryan@ictu.ie to make further arrangements. Kind regards, Sylvia Ryan Training and Development Coordinator

Congress Centres Networkhelp with redundancy situations

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Get into print!Anyone wishing to submit articles or photos to appear in the Connect journal,

please, either email to:

imelda@cwu.ie

or post to Imelda Wall

Communications Workers’ Union575 North Circular Road, Dublin 1.

SIGN UP TO CWU WEBSITEUnion Website — www.cwu.ie Have You Signed-up Yet?

The World Wide Web is now the main source for up-to-dateinformation in our society. With the ever increasing availabilityof broadband in Ireland, access to the web, and the ability tointeract electronically with friends, family and business is nowpart of our daily lives and the demand for online informationhas never been greater. The CWU, as “The CommunicationsUnion” in Ireland is committed to ensuring that its memberscan have safe and trouble free access to all of its services andinformation whenever and wherever they choose.

We have a number of websites dedicated to serving the needs ofour members in all sectors of the communications industry.

On our main web site www.cwu.ie members can access: • Latest News and Information • GS Circulars • Services • Forms and Brochures • Workers Rights Legislation • Agreements • Back issues of Connect Magazine

You will also find a wide range of Explanatory Booklets and Frequently Asked Questions which can be downloaded in PDF format.

Much of the information is now available in the public section of the site. However, due to the sensitivity of some of the informationas it relates to specific companies in which we are organised, it is necessary to restrict access exclusively to members.

Therefore all members are encouraged to register with the site to ensure they have full access to all of the informationavailable. To do this just go to www.cwu.ie and click on the “register” button at the bottom of the main menu on the lefthand side of the page. You will be asked to provide the following information: Your name, Union Branch, staff/personnelnumber and a valid email address. You will also be asked to provide a username and password of your choice, which youcan then use to access the members’ area.

From the CWU website you can also access our Equalityand Diversity website, which has a whole host ofinformation with regard to:

• Employment Equality • Maternity, Adoptive, Parental Leave • Bullying and Harassment • Discrimination

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As Trade Unionists, we might wonder why it is that our views and concerns are not often reflected in the media. We havebecome conditioned to accept the bad press that is regularly given to our movement. All too often Trade Unionists areportrayed as trouble making, self-serving, unrepresentative and out of touch with the demands of a modern economy. Onecould easily forget that Trade Unions represent 800,000 people on the island and that we are, in fact, part of the largest civicmovement in society.

As Trade Union members, our sense that the media is very much against us was confirmed by a recent study by the IrishCongress of Trade Unions which analysed media stories that referred to Trade Unions. The study found that out of 328reports that appeared across all the major papers, only 40 of them were positive and half of these appeared in The IrishTimes. It is hardly surprising that the most anti-Union papers were the Irish and Sunday Independent – something ourmembers might bear in mind when buying their paper.

As a result of this media bias there has been very little room for informed discussion and debate on a left leaning view ofthe economy or society. We have heard the phrase ‘Boston or Berlin’ but judging by the mainstream media we consume,Boston is being portrayed as the only legitimate way to build our society and run our economy – despite the mess we are inand the obvious failings of the free market.

If you want an alternative to the centre-right mainstream media that serves business interests more than it does the worker,or if you simply think that we can do things better but haven’t seen or heard anything in the media that gives you reason tobelieve, it is possible then the following media sources (Irish and international) offer a useful (not always left leaning)alternative:

Notes on the Front — economic analysis and commentary written in a very straight forward manner:http://www.notesonthefront.typepad.com/

Independent website that pools commentary and analysis of various progressive economists and others linked to TASCwhich is an Irish think tank for action on social change -

http://www.progressive-economy.ie/

The Village Magazine: a fresh perspective, good journalism. http://villagemagazine.wordpress.com/

Very popular discussion board that provides a platform for all political voices from every part of the spectrum:http://www.politics.ie/

Irish Left Review — an online magazine that brings together various left leaning views: www.irishleftreview.org

A political blog that provides, in its own words ‘ a left wing of the world’:http://cedarlounge.wordpress.com/

Irish Economy: mostly right wing but good place for facts/debate and they have made the running on banknationalisation:

www.irisheconomy.ie

Blog by the Nobel prize winning and often quoted economist:http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/tsd

The Progressive Economics Forum — a Canadian blog but many relevant issues that we are facing:http://www.progressive-economics.ca/

Dublin Opinion: political/cultural review but has good stuff, recently a response to Krugman’ s article on Ireland:www.dublinopinion.com

Guardian’ s Comment is Free - particularly, anything by Larry Elliot and Will Hutton:http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree

An Alternative to Anti-Union Media Bias

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IntroductionThis article looks at the background to the Unfair Dismissal Acts1977-1993 and what was the primary purpose of the Acts which isnow on the statute books for 33 years. Since 1977 the world of workor contract of employment has changed beyond recognition. Thearticle looks at the background of the Acts, some of the benefits toworker in the Acts and is it now time for a review of this importantpiece legislation which affects the working life’s of many workers inIreland.

Background to the Unfair Dismissals ActsThe primary purpose of the Unfair Dismissals Act in 1977 was tolimit arbitrary behaviour in industrial relations and to provideemployees with forms of redress in the event of unwarrantedtermination of their employment. Prior to 1977 the only remedyoffered to an employee faced with dismissal was that offered bycommon law for an action for wrongful dismissal which providedminimal safeguards to an employee in the event of an unjustdismissal. As long as an employee received his /her contractualnotice entitlement, an employer was free to dismiss employees atwill. This remedy available in common law provided for a claim forwrongful dismissal in the courts which was in essence no more thana claim for contractual or reasonable notice. Before the 1977 Act thebalance of power was very much in the hands of the employer andmany employers abused their position. This is evident in the amountof Industrial disputes recorded in Ireland in the period between 1972-1975 showed that over a quarter of a million days were lost inindustry as a result of disputes relating to dismissals and in 1975one-third of all days lost in industry were because of disputesrelating to dismissals. Obviously, if an alternative framework couldbe provided where these disputes could be resolved, it would lead toa reduction in industrial conflict.

Apart from the industrial conflict there were a number of reasonswhy the Unfair Dismissal Act was introduced in 1977. At aninternational level the International Labour Organisation issued arecommendation in 1963 which required that the termination ofemployment by an employer not take place unless there was a validreason for such termination. The United Kingdom introducedlegislation in accordance with this recommendation in 1971. It tookthe Irish Government a further 6 years before they introduced theUnfair Dismissals Act and the act was introduced after a EuropeanCommunity Survey of dismissal legislation exposed Ireland’s lack ofprovision in the area.

Application of the ActIn general the Act applies to any person working as an employee. Anemployee for the purposes of the Act is defined as an individual whohas entered into or works under a contact of employment. Eventhough the Act of 1977 applies generally, not all employees arecovered by it. The Act of 1977 excludes from its protection certaincategories of employees. These include:

• Members of the Defence Forces and the Gardai • FAS trainees and apprentices • Civil servants

• Officers of Local Authorities, Health Boards, and VECs

• An employee who is dismissed after the employee has reachedthe normal retiring age for employees of that employer

In addition to the excluded categories, certain employees will beexcluded because of their particular circumstances even thoughthey belong to a category of workers that is covered. To make aclaim a worker must satisfy the following criteria.

• The employee must be employed under a contract ofemployment

• The employee must have a least one year’s continuous servicewith the employer against whom the employee is making theclaim.

The Act provides, subject to certain limitations that all dismissalsare, for the purpose of the Act, deemed to be unfair unless theemployer can justify the dismissal on one or other of the groundsset out in Section 6 of the 1977 Act. Under the Act, an employeemay bring a claim for redress for unfair dismissal before a RightsCommissioners or the Employment Appeals Tribunal (EAT) within 6months of the date of dismissal, there is also provision for extensionof this time limit to 12 months in exceptional circumstances.

I believe the statutory regime has a number of distinctadvantages over common law remedies for wrongful dismissal. Theprocedure before the EAT is less formal, less costly and the entireaction can be disposed of within a matter of months. The UnfairDismissals legislation also requires an employer to have goodreasons for a dismissal and the fairness or otherwise of a dismissalis assessed with regard to the reasonableness of the decision todismiss.

While I agree that the Unfair Dismissals is a very important pieceof legislation which protects the rights of many Irish workers it ismy opinion that the Government should reform the Act for a numberof reasons.

Ireland has a high proportion of workers employed in the publicservice. The employment of many of these workers (e.g. civilservants) is protected under other legislation. However, in anincreasing litigious society, frequently the fact that these workers areexcluded from the act of 1977 means that disputes about theiremployment are litigated at a greater expense before the High Court.

Many workers may be forced in the future to work beyond thenormal retirement age to pay for their pensions if they are luckyenough to have a pension.

If the Government does not amend the Unfair Dismissals Acts Ibelieve that many employers will move more to engaging workers ona contract for services basis or short term contracts in order to avoidthe legislative provisions of the Unfair Dismissals Acts.

The reform of the 1977 Act would allow a greater amount offairness in the judicial determination of employment legislation. Byignoring to reform the Unfair Dismissal Acts, the Government willbe failing to protect employees in the future.

The full text of the Unfair Dismissal Act is available on the CWUwebsite.

Reform of the Unfair Dismissal ActTom Murphy BBS (Honours) Dublin No.1 Branch.

45

LenderLoan Type

Rate Type

A.P.R.Monthly

RepaymentsTotal Cost of

Credit

BOI*One Year

Fixed 12.00% 309.98 219.76

AIB*One Year

Variable 13.65% 312.36 248.32

**esccu One Year Fixed 5.9% 301.07 112.03

LenderLoan Type

Rate Type

A.P.R.Monthly

RepaymentsTotal Cost of

Credit

BOI*ThreeYears

Fixed 11.20% 423.78 2,256.08

AIB*Three Years

Variable 11.35% 424.39 2,278.04

**esccuThree Years

Fixed 6.5% 397.43 1,304.59

LenderLoan Type

Rate Type

A.P.R.Monthly

RepaymentsTotal Cost of

Credit

BOI*Five Years

Fixed 9.60% 459.13 5,547.80

AIB*Five Years

Variable 10.10% 463.82 5,829.20

**esccuFive

YearsVariable 6.9% 432.28 3,931.95

46

The Key to Better Cover

CWU Insurance Schemes

47

Amidst the Economic Struggle in which Irish Workers arenow engaged I believe it is worthwhile to reflect on theSocial History of this country in the last century. When thathistory is written, to quote David Begg General Secretary ofCongress “there is no doubt but that the Postal Strike of 1979will be judged a seminal event in the struggle for workers’rights in the 20th Century”. The CWU now has a significantnumber of members who joined later in both the semi-stateand private sectors who did not suffer the hardship of thattime. For those members who joined the Union later and forall members who now face the prospect of difficult timessimilarly brought on them by a Fianna Fáil Government it isimportant that we particularly consider the sacrifices madeby our colleagues of 30 years ago to advance the cause ofPostal and indeed all workers. There is no doubt that theadvances made by the POWU; PTWU; & CWU since thestrike are a tribute to the men and women who held out forNineteen weeks plus One in 1979 against the strongestGovernment in the history of the state and ultimately won asignificant victory following which the Government fellhaving lost European; Local; and then National Elections.

Times may indeed have changed as we consider theprofile of our colleagues in 1979 many of whom includingmy late father who left school as children in their early teensto start work; my peers and I who left school in our late teensto similarly seek lifelong work in the Post Office and nowthe emerging next Generation for whom third leveleducation is virtually essential and I would argue is now abasic right for all. The Post Office Workers Union and it’smembers did what was necessary in 1979 meeting thechallenges present with the action appropriate to achievejustice. The current Economic Crisis Negotiations involving

primarily ICTU; Government and IBEC; are no lesschallenging than the events of 1979 and as a tribute to allthose who walked the picket line in 1979 the PresidentialAddress delivered to Annual Conference in June 1979 byJohn Colfer who championed the cause of the ordinaryworker at National Executive and An Post Board level untilhis death in 1997 is quoted below. The solidarity so bravelydemonstrated 30 years ago is again necessary amongst allworkers both Public and Private to effect a challengingeconomic turnaround through measured change and perhapsuse of “the scalpel in preference to the blunderbuss” to againquote David Begg, but if Government fails to takecognisance of the imperative to protect the most vulnerablewhilst cosseting the super rich the battle lines will, as nightfollows day, once again be drawn:

POWU Presidential AddressJune 1979 - Ballina“The past year has been a momentous one for all of us. But1979 assumed historical significance for Telephonists whenin February an Equality Officer of the Labour Court foundin favour of the Union’s claim for Equal Pay (for FemaleTelephonists). The Post Office after a Lenten-like 40 daysmourning belatedly accepted the recommendation.Congratulations to the Telephonists. Congratulations also toour General Secretary Terry Quinlan for his successfulprosecution of the case and particularly for his tenacity andinsistence on full equal pay when so many outside our rankswere tempted by the prospect of a substantial increase whichwas still less than Equal Pay. As far as the GS was concerned

The NationalExecutive ~1979Seated Front l to r: JJ Gorman;M Lanigan; P Fitzgerald AGS;Terry Quinlan GS; E Walsh(Incoming President);T Harrington DGS;S Scanlon AGS; T Flannery;MD Gleeson;

Standing Back l to r: T Maycock; S Ryan; JR Jackman;J Colfer (Outgoing President);DF Grimes; SJ Holt; T Delany; E Waters; D Aherne; BC Shanny

Postal Strike of 1979 RememberedSubmitted by Bill Colfer, Waterford Postal Branch (In a personal capacity)

CWU People

48

and as far as this Union is concerned there is only one kindof equality and that is Full Equality………….”

Turning to resolution of the Postal strike he continued -“….. I want to say this to the Minister – there is no easy roadto peace in the Post Office. But if you are prepared to treadon a few administrative corns and grasp the Staff Relationsnettle firmly you will not find the staff unresponsive. Youmust however cut through the jungle of red tape andbureaucratic nonsense which is strangling the Post Officeand is preventing the staff from carrying out our function –that of enabling people to communicate with one another.Unless and until this is done, the problems will not go awayand neither will this Union. Many members of the Unionhave said to me that the single most frustrating aspect ofworking in the Post Office is the paralysing slowness withwhich any advance in wages or conditions is accomplished.A very old proverb has it that “he gives twice who givessoonest” not alone does the Post Office not give soon – itdoes not give at all………..

The Union should not have to be constantly pushing thePost Office to changes which most of the time result in abetter service anyway.

Post Office thinking in this field seems to be limited tointroducing changes in our working conditions withoutconsultation and at no cost to the Exchequer. Wellcolleagues, that day is gone forever along with many othersacred cows which have been slaughtered in the past fourmonths (of the strike).

When the Union was formed in 1923 it was on the basisthat each grade had a contribution to make in furthering thewelfare of the Post Office Workers. Amalgamation hasproved it’s worth down through the years but never more sothan at the present time when we are engaged in a commonstruggle to make the Post Office see reason and concede tothe members a reasonable settlement to our claims. We seekno more or no less than a fair return for our labour in theinterest of the community as a whole.

Those of us who have been in close touch with themembers and events of the past four months have first-handknowledge of the spirit of amalgamation in it’s finest form. Inparticular may I mention the recent mass rally in the NationalStadium. For me it was a most gratifying and movingexperience to preside at a meeting attended by all grades andto listen to the very deep expressions of solidarity from therepresentatives speaking on behalf of all grades but, with onedominant message – “One for All and All for One”. So longas that spirit prevails there is no force in the country strongenough to break our resolve to continue our struggle to securea reasonable and fair settlement. Amalgamation has indeeddemonstrated it’s value as a binding force in our fight forjustice and this conference provides an opportunity to pledgeour resolve to remain as a united force in overcoming anydifficulties we may encounter in future. Individually you andI are considered of little consequence but joined together inthe ranks of the Union we will not be ignored.

The National Strike began for us on the 19th February and

as we meet here in Ballina on the 6th June there is still noend in sight. On that fateful day, the men and women, theboys and girls of this Union when on the picket line together.Many of them because of the continuing implacable attitudeof our employer went on the bread line together. But the spiritwhich was in evidence when you directed us (the NationalExecutive) to take action in the Mansion House in January isstronger than ever, and you remain committed to a fair offerfor all grades which will bring us back to work together.

During the past 4 months some of you were punched andbeaten. All of you and all of your families suffereddeprivation and hardship in the most heroic manner. Thepundits said we had not the stomach for industrial action andforecast a return to work within days. You certainly shatteredthat assumption. Members of the NE attended numerousregional meetings throughout the country. We hope themeetings were helpful to you, because we were certainlysustained by the wonderful spirit in evidence at thosemeetings. It has been alleged during recent weeks that themembers of this Union are out of touch with reality. There isof course something very unreal about rising before 5am andmaking your way to work before public transport isavailable, and in other instances returning home from workwhen public transport has closed down. Our members do,no doubt tend to get out of touch with the reality of normalfamily and social life.

The Post Office, however makes available a very effectiveantidote to any risk of complete disorientation and it is calleda pay packet. When you extract the exorbitant cost of yourliving accommodation, be it mortgage or rent, and pay foodprices which have risen 18% in 12 months and then look athow much if anything is left, too well are you then put intouch with the stark uncompromising reality of not havingenough to exist on……

Our fellow Postal Workers in Northern Ireland riskedsuspension and probably put their career advancementprospects at risk by refusing to handle diverted traffic.Regretfully no such risks were even contemplated by toomany alleged Trade Unionists in the Republicgenerally……. Many excuses were advanced in extenuationof course, the words duty and conscience figuredprominently. The thirteen thousand members of this Unionhave however come to the inescapable conclusion that theprice of betrayal 1979 style is no longer calculated in piecesof silver but in pence per mile for the motorised strikebreakers.

I am overcome by your courage, your resilience, yourdetermination and above all by your amalgamated loyalty.You are bearing every burden, you are enduring everyhardship, and in so doing you are displaying the great virtuesof – Faith – in your Union; - Hope - for the future; and –Love – by the concern you show for one another. Delegatesas representatives of Thirteen Thousand brave men andwomen – I salute You.”

John Colfer President POWU June 1979.

CWU People

49

Paddy Davoren RetirementThe Dublin Postal Clerks held a function to mark Paddy Davoren’s retirement from An Post . Paddy joined the Post Office

in 1965 and immediately became active in the Union. He was a Branch Committee member of the Dublin Postal ClerksBranch for over 30 years and served as Treasurer of the Branch from 1977 to 2001. He was also Treasurer of CombinedDublin Branches Distress Fund during the 1979 strike. Many people will acknowledge and appreciate his sterling work ontheir behalf during that period.

He was a constant source of information and knowledge to an ever changing environment at varying levels serving as amember of the National Executive and Workers Director from 1992 until his retirement at the end of January 2010.

Speaking at his retirement function Willie Mooney of the Dublin Postal Clerks Branch said “I have known and workedwith Paddy for the last seven or eight years. He was a self-effacing, loyal, hard-working Union man who regularly gave uphis own time to serve the needs of the members. He was an immense source of information and a great man to go negotiatingwith.”

Paddy’s retirement function took place in the Maldron Hotel and there was a huge attendance including many activistswho served with Paddy either at Branch or National Level. To Paddy’s family Mary, Jason, John and Mary Clare we thankyou for allowing us to make use of him during his career in the Union and we wish Paddy and his family many years of health,happiness and a very active retirement.

Pictured with his family, from l to r:Jason, Mary Louise, Paddy, Mary and John.

Paddy picturedwith his mother, Anna.

CWU People

Tommy Greene ~Another Great Servant to the Union Retires

A great night was had by all inthe Maldron Hotel, Cardiff Laneon the 22nd January, to mark theretirement of Tommy Greene,who gave 46 years loyal serviceto the Union. Tommy served asBranch Chairman of the DublinPostal Delivery Branch for 13years and was a familiar face atConference for many years.Tommy was still representing

members in Cardiff Lane DO,until the day he retired and hisexperience was vital during thenegotiations on the redesign ofthe office. On behalf of all themembers of the Dublin PostalDelivery Branch, the BranchOfficers would like to wishTommy and Dolores and familythe very best of luck for thefuture.

submitted by Frank Donohoe, Branch Secretary, Dublin Postal Delivery Branch

Joe Guinan, Dave Moran, Tommy Greene, Frank Donohoe,Cormac O’Dalaigh and Paddy Costello past and present

members of the Dublin Postal Delivery Branch Committeetogether again to celebrate Tommy’s retirement

Joe Guinan NationalOfficer presents Tommywith his Union scroll.

50

The Global Solidarity Training Course, which isin its second year, was developed by ICTU andfunded by Irish Aid. The aim of the course is totrain 15 Trade Union members to become GlobalSolidarity Champions and for those members tobecome involved with the ICTU Global SolidarityCommittee. The course covered a broad range oftopics including Human and Trade Union Rights;Climate Change; Gender Inequalities; ForcedLabour and Human Trafficking; and InternationalTrade Union Development Cooperation. Thelearning outcomes from the course were tounderstand the different situations of Trade Union

activists in various countries and how international Trade Union solidarity contributes tojustice and equality for workers throughout the world.

CWU People

Branch Manager EamonGannon with Westport HeadOffice Postmen,congratulating Frank on hislast working day.

Photograph No 2. Branch ManagerEamon Gannon. making a presentation to

Frank on behalf of the Post Office.

Photograph No 3. Branch Secretary GerDawson making a presentation to Frank

on behalf of the Union.

Photographs: Sean Hyland

Frank HastingsRetires

Global Solidarity Training Course

Adrienne Power andMamadou Diallo

Ciara Melinn andMamadou Diallo

51

CWU People

Andrew Cummins presenting the CWU Certificate to PJ Fogarty at hisRetirement Function in Thurles after 40 years’ service

Charlie Kelly presents the CWU Scrolls to Pat and John. Willian McGirr congratulates Pat and Johnon their retirement.

PJ Fogarty Retiresfrom Thurles Postal Branch

The Communication Workers Union held a retirement function for Pat Quinn and John McGlynn in the Central Hotel onFriday 29th January, 2010. This function was attended by Mr Charlie Kelly, C.W.U. President, Mr John Tansey, C.W.U.National Executive, Mr John Lafferty, Delivery Service Manager Donegal Town, Mr William McGirr, Branch SecretaryDonegal South West, Mr Martin Gillespie, Assistant Chairman C.W.U. Donegal Town, and Gerry Bennett, BranchChairman.

Pat Quinn and John McGlynn Retirement

52

CWU People

Many congratulations are due to Thomas Murphy, who wasconferred with an Honours Degree in Bachelor of Business Studies(Industrial Relations/Human Resources) at University CollegeDublin in December 2009.

Thomas pictured at his Graduation, which took place inthe O’Reilly Hall on Tuesday 1st December 2009

Thomas Murphygraduates

magna cum laude!

Pictured Front Row l to r:Tom Dormer with his wifeSusan, Agnes O’Sullivan, wifeof John O’Sullivan whoretired as Chairman ofLimerick Branch.

Back Row l to r:Ger Falvey, Branch Sec., Jim O’Flynn, N.E.C., Eddie Glenny, Sect. Sec., Pat Kennelly, Sect. Chairman,and Simon Talty, SectionTreas.

Retirement of John O’Sullivan andTom Dormer of the Ennis Section

Ennis Section held a retirement party in the Temple Gate Hotel in Ennis for John O’Sullivan who retired after 42 years’service and Chairman of the Branch and Tom Dormer who also retired after 36 years from the Ennis Section.

53

It was with great sadness that we learnedof James Coffey’s untimely death whodied suddenly at home on 1st October2009. James worked in the Internal Build,Network Engineering Section in eircomfor 31 years and James had returned to hisnative Nenagh to work locally afterworking in Dublin for over ten years.James was a quite and veryaccommodating person, a real teammember, always willing to help hiscolleagues when required. His Colleaguesin the Nenagh Section and Limerick

District Branch lost a true friend, who willforever stay in the heart of all those whoknew him.

James family wish to acknowledge thekindness shown to them on his untimelydeath and also appreciate the guard ofhonour afforded to him at his removal.Our thoughts and prayers are with Jamesfamily especially his mother, brothers andsisters his extended family and wide circleof friends. May he rest in peace ar dheisde go raibh a anam dilis. Submitted byPat Delaney, Nenagh Section Secretary.

It is with deep regret and sadness thatwe have to report the death of our friendand colleague, Alex Carolan. Alex wastragically killed in a road traffic accidentwhile working for An Post on the 14thSeptember 2009, a few miles from hisdelivery office in Lifford.

Alex was 36 years old and started withAn Post 14 months earlier. He was a verylikable young man. He was held in veryhigh esteem by everyone and even thoughhe was only with An Post for a short time,it felt as if he was there for years.

The local community in Lifford wasstunned by Alex’s sudden death and the town came to amournful standstill on the morning of his funeral. Alex wasa local man, he was born and bread in Lifford and was wellknown by everyone in the local community. He was apleasant, affable young man who always had a smile on hisface. He was modest with everyone and the local communitywas shocked at the suddenness with which he left us.

Alex was also a member of the Reserve Defence Force

(RDF), formerly known as the FCA, andwas well known for his shooting skills forwhich he won many awards. A keensportsman, Alex also played soccerregularly with his colleagues in An Post.

Alex’s death not only shocked hiscolleagues in the immediate local area, butalso shocked An Post workers throughoutthe country.

Alex’s Requiem Mass took place withmilitary honours on Thursday 17thSeptember 2009, in St. Patrick’s Church,Murlog, Lifford, followed by interment inthe adjoining cemetery. A guard of honour

from his colleagues in An Post accompanied Alex to his finalresting place.

Alex will be sorely missed by his father and mother,Thomas and Kathleen, his sisters Shirley and Maura, hispartner Donna and his son Alex; to these we offer our sincereand heartfelt sympathy.

May he rest in peace - Ar dheis de go raibh a anam dilis.

Submitted by Lifford Inishowen Branch.

CWU People

Alex Carolan R.I.P.

James Coffey R.I.P.

Philomena O’Brien was a prominent member of the Athlone Telephones Branch of the Communications Workers’ Union.Her contribution to the local Athlone Tels Branch was always both constructive and positive. Phil served at committeelevel and was an active member of the Union with over thirty years’ service in eircom. Phil worked in the TelephoneExchange in Castlerea before moving to Athlone until she retired in 2008. Phil was respected and loved by all that knewher and is sadly missed by her husband John and her wide circle of friends and colleagues. May she rest in peace.

Philomena O’Brien R.I.P.

54

Books reviewed by Adrienne Power

CARDS ON THE TABLE by Agatha ChristiePrice €4.82 The Book Depository.co.uk (Postage Free)

Set in the 1930s between the two Great Wars. Mr Shaitana, a flamboyant party host and rich Syrian,invites four detectives and four possible criminals to a bridge party. During the party Mr Shaitana isquietly murdered. Earlier in the night the ostentatious host remarked that he was fascinated by peoplewho committed murder and got away with it as the murder looked like an accident. The four detectivesset out to find who of the four other guests at the party the murderer is.

This novel features Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie’s famous Belgian Detective and Mrs AriadneOliver, the fictional Crime Writer (said to be based on Agatha herself).

Told with the usual Christie flair where twists and turns abound. It is also a fascinating look at the past.

GLOBAL WARMING – A VERY SHORT INTRODUCTION by Mark Maslin (Oxford University Press)Price €6.15 The Book Depository.co.uk (Postage Free)

This book firstly explains what Global Warming is? Then it goes on to explain the evidence for ClimateChange and gives us a model for the future with a variety of impacts and solutions. Most significantly welearn how politics affects it!

It states Global Warming is the most important science issue of the 21st century. It is an introductionto the reader of the science and politics of Climate Change. It covers the rise in atmospheric carbondioxide during the industrial period, plus other important aspects like the increase in storms and floods andhow deep ocean circulation is one of the major controls on our global climate.

A tiny volume with a lot of thought-provoking information.

THE CASTLE by David KavanaghSold on LuLu.com Price €13.99 plus postage (Published 16/11/2009)

The Castle is a work of fiction centring on the drug-criminal underworld of Dublin spanning 40years. It concentrates on a group of friends who rise to the top in the drug world until deceit and jealousytear them apart.

It is written with great descriptive power which grips you and carries you along through the story.The dialogue is pacey. The characters are very credible. It can be hard-hitting in parts but definitelykeeps you turning the pages.

From the opening scene to the closing scene it’s a thrill-ride of a story!

LORD OF THE FLIES by William GoldingPrice €5.46 The Book Depository.co.uk (Postage Free)

First published in 1954. It is simply told but a haunting tale. One of those stories once read will staywith you for the rest of your life!

It centres on a group of boys, only survivors after a plane crashes on a deserted island. During theday they are happy to explore the island, an adventure playground to them, but at night they fear thebeast in the darkness. The beast of course is just their own fears. The story moves from lightness todarkness building to a horrifying end!

The novel is an interesting study of human nature.

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de/

Job T

itle

......

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Man

ager

ial

❏N

on-M

anag

eria

l❏

Curr

ent

Statu

s:Pe

rman

ent f

ull t

ime

❏Te

mpo

rary

❏Pe

rman

ent p

art t

ime

❏A

genc

y W

orke

r❏

Con

tract

or❏

Oth

er❏

Pay F

requen

cy:

Wee

kly❏

Fortn

ight

ly❏

Mon

thly

❏Si

gnatu

re .

.....................................

Date

........................................

Ded

ucti

on a

t So

urce

Dir

ect

Deb

it In

stru

ctio

nP

LEAS

E CO

MP

LETE

BOT

H F

ORM

SIN

BLO

CK C

APIT

ALS

OFFI

CE U

SE O

NLY

CW

U N

O.

......

......

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Inst

ruct

ions

to

your

Ban

k/Bu

ildin

g So

ciet

y to

pay

Dir

ect

Deb

its

Ple

ase

com

ple

te p

art

s 1 t

o 4

to inst

ruct

your

Bank

/Build

ing

Soci

ety

to m

ake

paym

ents

dir

ectly

fro

m y

our

acc

ount

. Th

enre

turn

the

for

m to:

The

CW

U, 575 N

orth

Cir

cula

r Roa

d, D

ublin

1.

➀Ple

ase

wri

te t

he

nam

e and f

ull

addre

ss o

f your

Bank

/Build

ing

Soci

ety a

nd B

ranch

:

➁N

am

e of

acc

ount

hold

er

③So

rt C

ode

& Acc

ount

Num

ber

➃Yo

ur

inst

ruct

ions

to t

he

Bank

/Build

ing S

oci

ety,

and y

our

Signatu

re•

I ins

truct

you

to p

ay D

irect

Deb

its fr

om m

y ac

coun

t at t

he r

eque

st of

the

CW

U.

•I

conf

irm t

hat

the

amou

nts

to b

e de

bite

d ar

e va

riabl

e an

d m

ay b

e de

bite

d on

var

ious

date

s.•

I sha

ll du

ly n

otify

the

Bank

/Bui

ldin

g So

ciet

y in

writ

ing

if I w

ish

to c

ance

l thi

s in

struc

tion.

I sha

ll al

so s

o no

tify

the

CW

U o

f suc

h ca

ncel

latio

n.

Signatu

re...

......

......

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..D

ate

......

......

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...

OFFI

CEUS

EON

LY

Ori

gin

ato

r’s

Iden

tifi

cation N

o.

Bank

/Build

ing S

oci

ety

Bra

nch

THE

DIR

ECT

DEB

IT G

UA

RA

NTE

E•

This

is a

gua

rant

ee p

rovi

ded

by y

our B

ank/

Build

ing

Soci

ety

as a

mem

ber o

f the

Dire

ctD

ebit

Sche

me,

in w

hich

Ban

ks/B

uild

ing

Soci

etie

s an

d th

e C

WU

par

ticip

ate.

•If

you

auth

oris

e pa

ymen

t by

Dire

ct D

ebit,

then

–Th

e C

WU

will

not

ify y

ou in

adv

ance

of t

he a

mou

nts

to b

e de

bite

d to

you

r ac

coun

t–

Your

Ban

k/Bu

ildin

g So

ciet

y w

ill a

ccep

t an

d pa

y su

ch d

ebits

, pr

ovid

ed t

hat

your

acco

unt h

as s

uffic

ient

ava

ilabl

e fu

nds

•If

it is

esta

blis

hed

that

an

unau

thor

ised

Dire

ct D

ebit

was

cha

rged

to

your

acco

unt,

you

are

guar

ante

ed a

pro

mpt

ref

und

by y

our

Bank

/Bui

ldin

gSo

ciet

y of

the

amou

nt s

o ch

arge

d.•

You

can

canc

el th

e D

irect

Deb

it In

struc

tion

in g

ood

time

by w

ritin

g to

you

rBa

nk/B

uild

ing

Soci

ety.

Ori

gin

ato

r’s

Ref

eren

ce...

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.....

30

49

79

(PLE

ASE

FILL

OU

T FO

RM IN

BLO

CK

CA

PITA

LS)

(PLE

ASE

FILL

OU

T FO

RM IN

BLO

CK

CA

PITA

LS)

Bra

nch

Bra

nch

Secr

etary

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.N

am

e...

......

......

......

......

......

......

...(w

here

app

licab

le)

56