Finglas ESB workers to hold further strikes in coming weeks

Gary Ibbotson 06 May 2021

ESB workers in Finglas are planning on holding further pickets in the coming weeks in protest of the outsourcing and privatisation of the service.

Last week, network technicians and other workers at the ESB Networks service depot in Finglas gathered for a protest with the Independent Workers Union (IWU) – a union that is unrecognised by ESB.

The union represents over 500 ESB Networks works, out of a nationwide workforce of about 1,300.

In a statement released by the workers and IWU, the current strike was called “in response to outsourcing, privatisation of service provision and issues arising in the ESB’s National Training Centre, where private contractors are being trained – making it difficult for ESB Networks employees to gain access to training courses.

“Outsourcing and privatisation at the ESB is following a well-worn path towards more complete privatisation, like was seen with Telecom Éireann, where outsourcing increased steadily in the years prior to the sale of the company,” they said.

“At Telecom Éireann, well-paid, secure, public jobs were gradually replaced with lower paid, non-pensionable ones, and more precarious employment.

“Eircom/Eir service, particularly customer service, has come in for criticism recently, and serves as proof of the folly of privatisation as a means of delivering greater efficiency.”

The IWU says that it plans to hold further pickers in the coming weeks and to escalate their strike action, if required.

Local People Before Profit representative Conor Reddy said the strike is indicative of the growing popularity for unions among workers.

“The IWU workers in ESB are leading by example, just like the Debenhams workers, they are rebuilding a fighting trade unionism, like that pioneered by Larkin and Connolly over 100 years ago,” he said.

“To protect workers’ rights and public services in an increasingly difficult economic climate, we will need to rethink how we organise as workers.

“We need to join unions and make them our own, insisting on greater democracy, so that workers are leading from the bottom up.”

Reddy says that it is “now is the time to break from the model of “social partnership”, pushed by government parties and some trade union leaderships for the last few decades.

“The ESB workers are absolutely right to take a stand and others should stand with them until Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Greens listen.

“Government should direct ESB to recognise the IWU, and begin negotiations to halt outsourcing and privatisation,” he said.

In a letter sent to employees, ESB HR manager Glenn Pope said that industrial action may cause a disruption to their services and told any participating staff that it “may also have financial implications for you.”

“Given the impact industrial action could have on our customers and the general public at this time of national crisis, IWU’s failure to provide timely notification of changes to planned industrial action is hugely concerning, and creates difficulty ensuring that necessary contingency plans are in place for the provision of our essential service and emergency cover,” his letter said.

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