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Branch News

SR Technics tells unions it is not yet prepared for negotiations over closure

20.02.2009
Unions at SR Technics were told today that the company was not yet ready to discuss its planned closure of the North Dublin plant, or handover to a new operator, as it had still to finalise its refinancing arrangements for the whole group. Meanwhile the Dublin Airport Authority will be ending the leasing arrangement for the hangars where the company employs over 1,200 highly skilled workers.
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SR Technic unions come out of meeting with Tanaiste ‘with a little more hope’ than they went in

19.02.2009
SIPTU Branch Organiser Pat Ward said the SR Technics delegation had come out of its meeting with the Tánaiste Mary Coughlan this evening “with a little more hope than we went in”. He also acknowledged the strong support they had received from the Labour leader Eamon Gilmore and Sinn Fein TDs at meetings with delegations from both parties during the day.
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SR Technics unions to meet Government and opposition parties over future of North Dublin plant

19.02.2009
SR Technics unions are to meet the Tánaiste, Mary Coughlan, and opposition parties today ahead of their next meeting with management tomorrow. SIPTU Branch Organiser Pat Ward said today that, “We intend to impress on the Tánaiste and the opposition parties that Ireland is in danger of losing a unique skills set that has been developed over the past fifty years at Dublin airport and will be gone forever if we allow the SR Technics plant to close.
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SR Technics – SIPTU workers to meet Tanaiste on Thursday in campaign to save Dublin plant

16.02.2009
After meeting with workers in SR Technics today SIPTU Branch Organiser Pat Ward said that learning the details of the company’s closure plans was “a shock experience for members that quickly turned to anger.
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SIPTU vows to fight for jobs at SR TEchnics

12.02.2009
SIPTU Branch Organiser Pat Ward has told senior management at SR Technics that the Union is willing to do its utmost to save jobs at the company’s North Dublin plant but will resist closure. "We intend using the thirty day consultation process to the utmost to try and save these job", he said after the meeting with CEO Bernd Kessler and other top executives today.
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Travel disruption likely as Czech Airlines sack Dublin workforce

16.01.2009
Czech Airline services face disruption from 3.00pm today at Dublin airport after the company refused to offer more than statutory redundancy to its Irish work force. It has refused repeated requests from SIPTU for talks and would only engage in an exchange of correspondence over the past six weeks.
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SIPTU monitoring situation at SR Technics

09.01.2009
SIPTU Civil Aviation Organiser Jim Finnegan said today that members were “shocked to hear about the loss of the Gulf Air contract by SR Technics. We understand that the Zurich headquarters of the company informed its outlets, including Dublin, that Gulf Air is terminating its contract over the next six months.
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SIPTU members accept Aviance rescue package and save 150 jobs

11.12.2008
Aviance workers have voted by two to one to accept a rescue package that will cut operating costs significantly and save 150 jobs at Dublin airport. This is based on proposals put forward by Civil Aviation Sectoral Organiser Dermot O’Loughlin.
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SIPTU members at Aviance to ballot on rescue package for company

10.12.2008
SIPTU members at Aviance are to ballot on rescue proposals to save 150 jobs at the company’s Irish operation in Dublin airport. This follows a three hour meeting at the airport this evening where major cost cutting measures were presented to the workforce.
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Aviance to meet SIPTU tomorrow over rescue plan for Irish jobs

09.12.2008
Late last week, Aviance advised SIPTU and the Aviance workforce that it intended to close its ground handling operation at Dublin Airport. However, following discussions with the Aviance senior management team, it was agreed that SIPTU would provide a business plan in an effort to secure the continuance of Aviance at Dublin Airport.This afternoon SIPTU’s Civil Aviation Sectoral Organiser Dermot O’Loughlin confirmed that, “Aviance has advised us that it is giving active consideration to our survival proposals and a decision will be made in the next 24 hours. We are hopeful that this episode will have a successful outcome for all the workers at the company”.
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SIPTU launches JUSTICE campaign to end widespread abuse of workers at Dublin Airport

28.09.2008
SIPTU has launched a new campaign to expose the levels of gross exploitation of workers at Dublin airport. The campaign, entitled ‘Join a Union, Stick Together and Improve Contracts of Employment’ (JUSTICE), it is being organised jointly by SIPTU’s Aviation and Aer Lingus Branches.
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SR Technics agree to SIPTU proposal to resolve aircraft handlers dispute

02.06.2008
SR Technics has agreed to a proposal from SIPTU to refer its dispute with its 21 aircraft handlers to the Labour Court, or some other third party, for binding arbitration. This should allow the company to notify Aer Lingus that it can meet the terms of the ten year maintenance and secure the jobs of 1,200 workers at the plant, many of them SIPTU members.
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SIPTU officials to meet aircraft handlers and SR Technics management tomorrow

01.06.2008
The SIPTU committee representing aircraft handlers met this evening to discuss the current dispute. “After a very constructive discussion we identified a mechanism that we believe can resolve the current impasse”, SIPTU Branch Organiser Pat Ward said.
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SIPTU seeks meeting with SR Technics to resolve outstanding issues

30.05.2008
SIPTU has offered to meet SR Technics to resolve the one outstanding issue over workplace change at the company involving 21 aircraft handlers. The handlers have rejected a productivity proposal to refuel aircraft that was introduced at a very late stage in the current restructuring programme.
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Dispute at Aer Arann resolved

12.06.2007
The dispute over staff transfers at Aer Arann has been resolved, following negotiations between SIPTU’s Aer Arann section and management this afternoon.
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Security staff accept on-line check-in proposals

12.04.2006
Security staff at Dublin airport yesterday agreed to scan check-in passes printed online from home computers for Ryanair passengers.
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Leading aircraft engine manufacturer heading for turbulence

16.11.2005
Leading aircraft engine manufacturer heading for turbulence
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SIPTU protest over aviation pensions and Aer Lingus privatisation as Dáil resumes

28.09.2005
SIPTU protest over aviation pensions and Aer Lingus privatisation as Dáil resumes
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SR Technics to resume payment of pension contributions for workers facing redundancy and Works Forum adopts SIPTU rescue plan

05.03.2009
SR Technics has agreed to resume payment of the employer’s contributions to the workers pension fund today. It had stopped making the contributions on February 5.
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SIPTU calls on Government to ensure unions involved in efforts to save SR Technics plant from closure

11.03.2009
SIPTU Branch Organiser Pat Ward says there are serious questions arising from the strategy adopted by the IDA and Enterprise Ireland in seeking new investors to take over the SR Technics plant in North Dublin. “The IDA and Enterprise Ireland are referring all potential investors to SR Technics and to its Senior Vice President for Corporate Development, Stephanie Kennett. We find it hard to follow the logic of this approach”, he said.
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SR Technics unions demand to meet board in Dublin next Monday

10.03.2009
Unions at SR Technics, the troubled aircraft maintenance plant in Dublin facing closure with the loss of nearly 1,200 full-time jobs, have demanded to meet the board of the company. It is due to meet in Switzerland next Monday but the unions are calling for the meeting to be transferred to Dublin so that the directors can explain to them “why they are making such a derisory offer”, SIPTU Branch Organiser Pat Ward said after today’s meeting.
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Time of SR Technics meeting with unions tomorrow changed to facilitate Tanaiste

18.03.2009
The meeting between SR Technics and the company’s unions has been put back until 2pm tomorrow to facilitate a meeting the Tanaiste, Mary Coughlan, has requested with the company tomorrow morning. As a result the time of the meeting between SR Technics and the unions has been changed from 10.30am until 2pm, Thursday, March 19.
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SIPTU meets with IDA Ireland over SR Technics bids

19.03.2009
SIPTU met with senior executives of IDA Ireland this morning over the future of the SR Technics facility at Dublin airport, which is due to close on March 31 with the loss of 1,350 jobs. Afterwards Branch Organiser Pat Ward said, “We were told that there had been up to thirty expressions of interest in acquiring the facility, some of them from major players in the aviation sector.
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Unions seek intervention of Labour Relations Commission after talks break down with SR Technics

19.03.2009
Talks between union representatives and SR Technics management were “very charged and emotive”, SIPTU Branch Organiser Pay Ward said after a three-and-a-half hour meeting today. “There was no progress made and we have referred the dispute to the labour Relations Commission because of the entrenched position taken by management.”
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SR Technics dispute to be referred to the Labour Court

24.03.2009
The SR Technics unions have asked for the dispute to be referred as a matter of urgency to the Labour Court. This follows the failure to make any progress in today’s talks at the Labour Relations Commission.
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Statement by SIPTU General President Jack O’Connor on Dublin Airport Authority dispute

27.03.2009
SIPTU General President Jack O’Connor has issued the following statement on the dispute at the Dublin Airport Authority in order to clarify the position regarding reports that the Union intends to promote industrial action in the State airports on Thursday, April 2, 2009.
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SIPTU receives invitation to attend LRC over Dublin Airport Authority dispute

27.03.2009
SIPTU has received an invitation to attend the Labour Relations Commission over the dispute at the Dublin Airport Authority. The Union will be considering the invitation on Monday.
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SIPTU urges IDA to support new bid to save 900 jobs at SR Technics

31.03.2009
SR Technics has received a serious expression of interest within the past 24 hours to acquire its facility at Dublin airport and save 900 jobs. The company made the admission during a Labour Court hearing today in response to questions from SIPTU Branch Organiser Pat Ward. He also called on the IDA to help fund the proposed Transfer of Undertakings proposal, which comes in the form of a new Management Buy Out bid.
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Labour Court recommends SR Technics meets short fall in pension scheme and doubles ex gratia redundancy payments for workers

31.03.2009
The Labour Court has recommended that SR Technics make good the shortfall in the company’s defined benefit scheme and also any shortfall in the Irish Airline Superannuation Scheme, to which some of the employees belong. It further recommends that the ex gratia payment of one week’s pay per year of service be effectively doubled to two weeks pay, on top of the statutory two weeks per year of service that each employee is entitled to.
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SIPTU is disappointed but not surprised at the mean fisted response of SR Technics to Labour Court proposals

31.03.2009
SIPTU Branch Organiser Pat Ward said this evening that the Union was “disappointed but not surprised at the mean fisted response of SR Technics to the Labour Court recommendation. In stating that the company should meet the deficit in the employees’ pension funds the Court was doing no more than asking SR Technics to meet its moral and financial obligations to the workers.
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Mass meeting of SR Technics workers to be held tomorrow morning

01.04.2009
Unions at SR Technics are to hold a mass meeting of members at 9.00am tomorrow at the plant. They will be balloting members on the Labour Court recommendation issued yesterday with a recommendation for acceptance. Based on the outcome of the ballot the unions will discuss their options.
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Over 1,000 SR Technics workers vote to accept Labour Court recommendation on redundancies

02.04.2009
Over 1,000 SR Technics workers have voted to accept the Labour Court recommendation on redundancies at the North Dublin aircraft maintenance dispute. Two workers voted against in a ballot held today.
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SR Technics unions call on Government to act immediately to save aviation industry

03.04.2009
SR Technics unions are calling on the Government to “act before it is too late to save the aviation industry and avoid a major industrial dispute”. SIPTU Branch Organiser Pat Ward said last night that time had run out to resolve the issues with SR Technics and its sovereign fund backer Mubadala. He also questioned SR Technics claim that it was costing €2 million a week to keep the North Dublin plant open. He estimated that the true figure was nearer to €600,000 or €700,000.
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SIPTU accepts invitation to talks at LRC on Dublin Airport dispute

30.03.2009
SIPTU has accepted the invitation to attend talks at the Labour Relations Commission tomorrow on the dispute over the payment of increments at the Dublin Airport Authority. It is not invoking industrial action and is calling on the DAA to comply with all existing agreements, including those relating to the payment of increments.
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SIPTU delegation to Brussels calls on European Commission to end Irish Government’s ‘light touch’ regulation of occupational pensions

29.04.2009
A SIPTU delegation to Brussels met with the EU Commissioner for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities, Vladimir Spidla, today to raise their concerns about the SR Technics pension fund and ask the Commission to investigate the inadequate protection provided for workers generally. They also met with senior Commission staff dealing with pensions and the Insolvency Directive. They were told that the Commission would be raising the issues with the Irish Government shortly.
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SIPTU accuses Government and State Agencies of paralysis and lack of any strategy for saving aviation sector jobs

14.05.2009
SIPTU Branch Organiser Pat Ward has accused the Government of “paralysis and lack of political will when it comes to saving jobs in the aviation sector. Their only priorities seem to be balancing the public finances and bailing out the banks. Meanwhile the jobs of highly skilled workers are being abandoned.”
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SIPTU says over 700 more jobs could have been saved at SR Technics if Government had been willing to act

04.06.2009
SIPTU Branch Organiser Pat Ward has welcomed the news that up to 250 jobs may be saved at SR Technics as the result of the takeover by Dublin Aerospace Limited, but pointed out that for a Government investment of an additional €4 million a further 700 jobs could have been salvaged. “The Government’s policy in handling the SR Technics crisis has secured the minimum possible number of jobs and Ministers should refrain from clapping themselves on the back over the outcome”, he said.
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SIPTU says big question marks hang over Government claim that 250 jobs can be saved at SR Technics

04.06.2009
SIPTU has been informed by the IDA that the status of the proposed sale of SR Technics Irish operation to Dublin Aerospace is by no means certain. “The bid has been described to us as a credible expression of interest, rather than a done deal by the IDA”, SIPTU Branch Organiser Pat Ward said this afternoon. “This is a far cry from the gloss that the Minister and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment have been putting on it.
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Talks avert potential job losses at LTAI

11.06.2009
Over ten hours of talks today averted a renewed threat of closure and the loss of up to 465 jobs at the Lufthansa Technik Airmotive Ireland plant in Rathcoole. After the meeting Technical Engineering and Electrical Union General Secretary Designate Eamon Devoy said, “A number of clarifications was put forward by the National Implementation Body to the original agreement on issues such as the ‘plus and minus hours’ clauses.
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SIPTU members at the Dublin Airport Authority outline priorities in Cost Recovery Programme negotiations

12.07.2009
SIPTU’s Civil Aviation Branch has called on the Dublin Airport Authority to give commitments that any Cost Recovery Programme will be implemented fairly across the organisation. It also called for the disbanding of the Cork and Shannon boards to avoid ‘triplication’ of administrative costs and proposed that, while Terminal 2 should be completed in Dublin , it should not open until passenger growth makes it viable.
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