The Trade Union Left Forum has been campaigning for the last four years to have the restrictions on workers’ rights contained in the Industrial Relations Act (1990) abolished. At the biennial delegate conference of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions in October this campaign took a step closer to achieving […]
Tag: ICTU
From the Plough to the stars
■ From the Plough to the Stars: An Anthology of Working People’s Prose from Contemporary Ireland “The cooks, the cleaners, the porters: Unsung heroes on the frontline,” the Irish Times declared in early May 2020, suddenly recognising that a society cannot function without the working class, for just a brief […]
The Industrial Relations Act must go
The 1990 Industrial Relations Act act puts the balance of power firmly on the side of employers and leaves workers powerless during industrial disputes and dependent on the judiciary finding in their favour. Jimmy Doran reports
The state and the unions
Covid-19 did not cause the lack of workers’ rights in Ireland, but it most certainly exposed them. The dispute at Debenham’s reveals the lack of workers’ rights, and the lack of actual experience among workers of disputes, struggle, organising and tactics as a result of the decline in union membership […]
Who shapes legislation on workers’ voice?
Over the last two decades legislation has been introduced that provides workers with some collective voice or mechanisms for pursuing collective goals. None of these have been collective bargaining or legislation providing for union recognition. Ireland stands out among most countries in still not having union recognition and collective bargaining […]
Mandate conference: Building for the future
At the end of April, Mandate held its biennial conference, with more than three hundred delegates from the retail and bar sectors in attendance, under the theme “Organise! Organise!! Organise!!!” The conference was opened by the general secretary, John Douglas. His remarks were not “grandstanding” or throwing shapes but instead […]