EYE cinema strike

Mediamogul2

Hello everyone. Firstly let me point out, I am a member of the national media and therefore have a completely neutral standpoint. I recently interviewed a member of the Eye Cinema staff for a completely different reason regarding a sporting matter. About halfway through the interview I stopped to get a cup of coffee and I started to discuss the union problems at the Eye with this person. I asked he/she if it really was as bad as everyone made out and he/she smiled and said "good god no!" He/she, and many others in the Eye, believe that the union was formed in order for some members of staff to address personal grievances and nothing more! I was then informed that the person who was recently dismissed was dismissed for theft! They had used a taxi voucher which they were not entitled to and had used it to the value of 50 euro. Surely this is basis for dismissal no matter what way you look at it. And as for the two people currently on suspension, I was told by a different source in the Eye cinema that they were suspended for consuming Eye Cinema products which, again, is tantamount to theft, not a baseless accusation. Being suspended WITH PAY!!! is surely a let off in this circumstance as in any other company they would have instantly been let go with no recourse at all. Cinema work can be difficult at times. I'm sure we can all appreciate that. However, it is unskilled labour and therefore, as long as you sign a contract, the management are entitled to pay whatever they wish. I was also informed that there are pay grades in place. Management followed by supervisors followed by projectionists followed by floor staff. To this end, I really am unsure what a strike will achieve. It will cause hardship to those who will only get paid a nominal sum by the union when they do go on strike and it will distract those in the Eye who are students from their studies. This is not getting national coverage as it verges on the ridiculous and it has even been relegated to page 8 of the local newspaper. I hope for all concerned that the "minority"of staff involved see sense and call off this strike before it is too late. I am not involving myself in this debate, I am merely reporting the facts so that those who are a little unclear on the subject matter can clarify their own points.

Mediamogul2

Seriously, after reading some of your posts I really believe that you belong on the battlefield Mr.Howard.

galvianlord

Finally the truth, exactly what I heard from my family member someone brave enough to set the record straight!

Now for the rebuttals....

Defend fraud and theft...

Now are SIPTU happy to support this farce?

So do they still deserve support? Who's happy to cross the picket line with me, now? Craziemom, where are you?

An apology to EYE Cinema's owners and management is deserved!

SimpleSam06

Mediamogul2 wrote:

Firstly let me point out, I am a member of the national media

Err, how is it you haven't mastered the intricacies of the carraige return / line break yet?

Mediamogul2

SimpleSam06 wrote:

Err, how is it you haven't mastered the intricacies of the carraige return / line break yet?

Carriage my friend and I'm taking the time to write this so that arguments can finally be put to bed. My apologies for a typo. But please be immature, thus reinforcing the notion that this is all quite ridiculous.

ToxicNomad

mediamogul2 regardless of what ever your source has said only the union members and eye management are aquainted with all the facts. Majority of general staff are not privy to reasons behind other staff dismissals and in a close working environment such as a cinema rumours are constantly generated and they spread like wildfire. So unless your source shows you the dismissal reason on paper with the company stamp and signed by the GM then i wouldnt assume truth from his/her statement.
Oh and i would also like to point out that your source could be in breach of contract if he/she went into any further details about the pay grade.

Interview.....sporting matter

mediamogul2 wrote:

Hello everyone. Firstly let me point out, I am a member of the national media and therefore have a completely neutral standpoint.

I dont belive that for a second!!

Oh and galvianlord there really is no need for the pointless childish intimmidation antics when having a general discussion such as this.Grow Up!

craziemom

"Carriage my friend and I'm taking the time to write this so that arguments can finally be put to bed. My apologies for a typo. But please be immature, thus reinforcing the notion that this is all quite ridiculous."

Ah has mediamogul2 just removed him/herself from their "completely neutral standpoint"?

SimpleSam06

Mediamogul2 wrote:

Carriage my friend and I'm taking the time to write this so that arguments can finally be put to bed. My apologies for a typo. But please be immature, thus reinforcing the notion that this is all quite ridiculous.

What, I'm just saying that it seems a bit fuckin suspicious that a self proclaimed member of the "national media" doesn't know how to format their work so that it's legible, which is the basic first rule of any media. And believe me, I would know.

Am I right or what?

On an unrelated note, can we get a moderator in here to cross check the IPs of some of the posters, I'm starting to get that "multiple account itch".

ToxicNomad

I agree with simplesam06, Im seeing similar traits across a few of the same users!

galvianlord

you are quite happy to cast aspersions on the management of the Cinema and its owners toxicnomad....

but when the truth comes out, you accuse me of intimidation, really can you not do better than that...

this whole thread was started as part of a concerted media campaign to raise awareness of industrial action with the general public. by and large many posts have agreed with SIPTU and supported its call for actions, but now when the protagonists are discredited you accuse me of intimidation...you and others have run riot over the reputations of its owners and managers and expect to get away with it, oh come on! grow up!

Theft and fraud were the reasons for the dismissal and suspension ask any member of staff in the EYE or indeed friends of staff, or trawl certain profiles on bebo....

this is ridiculous and you should be ashamed of your support for such people, lay your vendettas to rest you embarrass yourself by associating yourself with such criminal behaviour!

Bravo Mediamogul!

PS quite happy for someone to check the IP address cause it certainly isnt coming from me!

while your at it a few cross references on the part of the hardened pro-action people wouldnt go amiss!

Wow, this is certainly turning into a "handbags at dawn" scenario.

So many people voices their opinions on things they don't fully know about. galvianlord have you ever actually worked for the Eye cinema? If not, how exactly do you know what working conditions are actually like?

And Mediamogul; you should realize that what that certain staff member said cannot be taken as truth. You work in the media for christ's sake. I mean, what with rumours being so rife, and trust me, they are rife, and so many different stories going around, nobody (bar the GM and other management) knows exactly why certain people were let go.

Why are certain individuals getting so uppity about this whole thing? Just so you know, I neither support what the union are doing, or condone it. Just in case I'm to face some sort of backlash.

craziemom

"Go on, tell us why you were let go? "

"Theft and fraud were the reasons for the dismissal and suspension ask any member of staff in the EYE or indeed friends of staff, or trawl certain profiles on bebo...."

Funny galvianlord that your knowledge of the dismissal and suspension reasons can change so quickly!!!!
Going from knowing nothing at all and egging the past employees on to knowing all relevent info including their bebo accounts seems rather suspicious.....

galvianlord

no i have not worked in the EYE, but i do know people that do and have.

It's only got handbags at dawn i think because, the pro-action posters were quite happy to run riot and cast aspersions on managment and working conditions in the EYE. They cannot seem to handle the fact that i, who work for another company of the owners saw fit to challenge that viewpoint, because in my experience it has been a pleasure and a breath of fresh air to work for this person.

My whole point was that there is an underlying factor in this and that centres around why the two people were dismissed! you and i, if you do work there, know that mediamoguls comment is accurate! they were not fired for attempting to unionise the place, they were fired for another set of reasons entirely. They are now attempting to harness whatever dissatisfaction there is generally in the place to their cause and embarrass or seek revenge on the management? in my seasoned opinion that is what it looks like, smells like, and tastes like! I am sorry if I come across as uppity but really this is a farce if it is based on those motivations.

If working conditions are not great there i am sorry too but it is hardly the Mater Hospital now is it? i dont mean to be flippant but as was said earlier it is unskilled work is it not?

CRAZIEMOM, i started my posts as I was told by my family member why they were dismissed. I did not want to go into it because i felt there may be legal reasosn not too. but when mediamogul outed them, why not, it is now a matter of record of this forum, is it not? As for bebo, there are links provided by certain posters to their own profiles, it does not take a huge mental leap to follow a trail now does it?

eulrin

Galvianlord.

I have commented on your posts before and in your last post i can see clearly where you are coming from.

We cannot give out the facts because some of us, myself included still work there and we would be in breach of privacy laws surrounding company policy. What media mogul said i will not claim as truth nor will i deny it. what i will say is that what was said was posted without full knowledge of the facts. yes i am overlooking that we have come on here saying "hey we we're fired/suspended, for shame!" but we have also said that those situations are being investigated or are in review and cannot disclose information for same reasons as mentioned above

Eye has stated they would like the LRC to get involved and so be it. we will see what the verdict will be then when the case is put to rest and ALL the facts are summed up and weighed upon by an impartial body.

as i have said before, do you really think we are that naive? Having worked there from before EYE opened its doors to the public i can safely say that i, along with others, have tried everything possible under the circumstances to negociate changes in there and with management? SIPTU was our last resort after everything we said fell on deaf ears?

Again i will ask a question. Do you think we wouldn't be here, do you believe siptu would have let it go this far or even taken us on board if we didnt have any grounds or evidence to back up our claims?

craziemom

my apologies galvianlord but i am not aware of any such posters and thats the right of the persons involved to advertise their bebo profile.

if you had the common sense to not go into detail about your knowledge of the dismissals in question you were right but just because mediamogul2 did not have the same will power as you does not give you the right to out your relevant information and most importantly does not exempt you nor him/her from any legal action that may be taken against you for discussing in such detail what seems to be a legal matter.

"They cannot seem to handle the fact that i, who work for another company of the owners saw fit to challenge that viewpoint, because in my experience it has been a pleasure and a breath of fresh air to work for this person."

You work in a business operated by JB (as does most of Galway it seems..), not run by the management of the Eye Cinema. Stupid fact to point out, but it is a valid one regardless. Both may employ different ways of running a business, dealing with staff etc.

As far as I am aware, the unionisation was not solely because of certain staff members being let go. There are other underlying factors as well, which have been pointed out throughout this thread and in the media- unfair pay practices, completely illegal break times, and totally illegal breaks in between shifts (i.e. staff members working until 1:30/2 one night, and coming in at 10:30 the next morning. Is it not law that there should be at least an 11 hour difference?).

These are the main things which need to get sorted. This is what needs to get dealt with. And the reason for the strikes is to try and do so.

Like I said, I neither support the union or condone what they are doing. I am merely stating the facts.

Mediamogul2

So I went and did a bit of trawling. It has been many a year since I have done that and I must say its easier these days. I found a contact and simply cleared up one or two matters. Firstly, the individual in question was not a "source," they were simply commenting off the record on conditions in the Eye and on subject matter pertaining to the ongoing struggle in said business. They most certainly did not breach their contract and I will not have their reputation dragged through the mire for the sake of some of your conscience's. As for "the sporting matter," this person was recently in receipt of a great honour from an Irish university and had attracted my interest when he/she was caught on radio making some rather witty comments about said honour. I do not wish to discuss their involvement any further. All that I said in my above comment was correct. I have verified it through unimpeachable sources. Both individuals wish to remain anonymous but I have no desire to drag this to press. If Mr.Gavan wishes to disrupt his own course of action then by all means pick a fight. But my column is still popular and read by many even if it has been dismissed in recent times by those who believed that I was simply "having a go" at anyone who stepped into the limelight. I have been a member of these boards since 2003 but I found it necessary to renew my membership. For those of you who have guessed my identity, please keep all personal attacks to yourselves and out of the letters page of the indo. I've been massacred by the scousers already this year. Please god let the unionites pass over me!

galvianlord

look eulrin, that i cannot answer. the motivation of unions often goes beyond me...

i cant say i wish you luck in what you are doing, because it seems to me the motivation is all wrong. if there are grievances then they should go through proper channels, but such a media campaign and running rough shod over the reputation of people who do some good in this city is unacceptable. again it is unskilled work....so really, I dont think it is worthy of such drama!

i would need to be in HR to comment on some of your working conditions points, but as i am not then i cant. I know that as mediamogul said once you sign a contract in that area, you can be paid whatever the employers wish above and to the minium wage. the acts that are thrown about here with such candour are by their very nature open to interpretation and that can only be decided after due process. after that i cannot say, my issue is again with the motivation behind this campaign, and to portray those that were dismissed as martyrs to the great cause of labour and worker solidarity is ridiculous.

Despite what some might think Mediamogul and I are not one or the same person, i was actually shocked to read what was written! any legal culpability lies with that poster and not i.

craziemom, click on a persons profile and in some cases links to their bebo come up, in others the link is in their signature.

po0k

Thread closed.