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Latest Developments on Decentralisation

SIPTU members call on Government to withdraw its decentralisation campaign for semi-state bodies

Date Released: 06 Sep 2007

SIPTU delegates representing almost 1,600 members in 16 semi-state organisations have called for an end to the Government’s plans to decentralise them. They met in Liberty Hall today to hear a report back on the Labour Court Recommendation in the FÁS dispute last week. The Court had ruled that any relocation must be voluntary.

Representatives attended from bodies such as Enterprise Ireland, Failte Ireland, the National Standards Authority Ireland, Bus Eireann, the National Roads Authority, Bus Eireann, Bord Bia, BIM, the Combat Poverty Agency and the Arts Council, as well as FÁS, to discuss the Recommendation.

Afterwards SIPTU Regional Secretary Patricia King said the union representatives had “welcomed the acceptance by FÁS management and the Minister for Finance, Brian Cowen, of the Labour Court recommendation. The delegates reaffirmed that their campaign will continue to remove all state agencies from the decentralisation programme.

 “We believe that the Labour Court Recommendation has highlighted the legitimate concerns of staff and has spelt out very clearly that voluntary means voluntary. The Court accepted people had legitimate expectations and proprietorial rights based on their careers with these agencies and cannot be compelled to relocate.”





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