Other News In Brief

Appeal To Find Missing Co Laois Teen

A Garda appeal to find a teenage boy missing since last month has been renewed.

Jordan O'Driscoll, aged 17, went missing from the Portarlington area of County Laois in mid-July.

He was last seen in Tralee, County Kerry, and is described as 5'2" in height, of slim build, with fair hair and blue eyes.

Anyone with information is urged to contact Portlaoise Garda Station on 057 8674100 or the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111.

Irish Pride Bakery Workers In Co Wexford Set To Strike

SIPTU members working at the Irish Pride Fine Foods plant in Taghmon, County Wexford are expected to take industrial action soon over trade union recognition.

The members voted overwhelmingly in favour of the action following management refusal to implement a Labour Court recommendation to recognise their union as the chosen representative body for all industrial relations purposes for employees who are members of the union.

The members voted 97% to 3% in favour of striking.

SIPTU Organiser, Terry Bryan, said: "It also recommended that management and SIPTU representatives should enter into negotiations with a view to concluding a collective agreement. This has not happened and in response, our members have voted for strike action. Management will be informed in due course of when our members intend to conduct this strike action.

"This dispute is completely avoidable if management accepts the Labour Court recommendation and engages with SIPTU representatives in direct and meaningful negotiations."

Teachers To Be Balloted For Strike Action Over Pay

The Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) will ballot its 18,000 members next month for action up to and including strikes as part of its campaign to end pay discrimination.

The ballot will run from mid-September to early October.

Speaking today, TUI President Seamus Lahart said the mandate for industrial action is now being refreshed.

"Progress has been made in the campaign to end pay discrimination, but a gap remains. The process must now be completed and this injustice conclusively addressed," he commented.

The biggest differences in pay is between those employed before and after 1st January 2011 in the early years of employment, with new entrants to second level teaching earning 14% less on initial appointment and 10% less in the first 10 years than they would have before the introduction of cutbacks.

Mr Lahart continued: "This two-tier pay regime is a cynical, damaging, discrimination, resulting in situations where colleagues are paid at different rates for carrying out the same work. It must also be borne in mind that many new entrants to teaching do not secure a contract of full hours upon initial appointment, many earning just a fraction of the whole-time salary. In addition, they are commencing their career at an average age of 26.

"We are not looking for preferential treatment for these teachers – we are simply looking for all teachers to be treated equally. Needless to say, they are fully supported by longer-serving colleagues in this campaign for justice and equity, which remains TUI's key priority.

"Along with significant financial losses suffered by the individual, a crisis in teacher supply is directly attributable to this Government's policy of discriminating against new entrants. A survey of principals in a sixth of the country's second level schools carried out by TUI in April found that over the previous six months, 94% of schools experienced teacher recruitment difficulties, 68% of schools advertised positions to which no teacher applied, while 47% of schools had unfilled teaching vacancies. With the new academic year commencing around the country, there is already strong anecdotal evidence that these difficulties are worsening.

"Those affected by this injustice are rightly frustrated at the slow pace of progress. For the sake of teachers and students, equal pay for equal work be restored as a matter of urgency."



(JG)