Four SIPTU members ended an 18-day sit-in at the the Brookfield Youth and Community Centre in Tallaght, county Dublin, last night (Wednesday, 18th October) after an intervention by South Dublin County Council (SDCC) to confirm that it will seek to ensure the facility will reopen shortly and resume providing essential services to the local community. SIPTU Sector Organiser, Brendan O’Brien said: “On Friday, 29th September, the staff of Brookfield Youth and Community Centre were informed that the company which operates the facility, BYCC Ltd, was ceasing trading, and that all employees were to be made redundant with immediate effect. No prior notice was given to staff, who were told to immediately vacate the building and that the locks would be changed at 5.00 p.m. “They did not accept these instructions and rather occupied the building until a solution was found that maintains its operation. Thankfully, SDCC, which owns the building, has committed that it will do everything it can to assist in the establishment of a new company to run the facility and that our members will be first in line to be employed when it reopens. Accordingly, SIPTU is calling on SDCC to immediately seek the set-up of such a company." He added: “The Centre provides vital community services and facilities to young people in the local area. Its staff are committed to doing the best they can for their local community. It is thanks to their perseverance and the support they received from the local community that a successful outcome to this dispute was secured.”
Brookfield Youth and Community Centre sit-in ends in agreement with South Dublin County Council
