Taoiseach rejects Siptu demand on workers' rights

Vinegar Hill

Brian Cowen has given up the workers. Even after all his canvassing saying it is about jobs. Hypocrite!

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/0607/breaking17.htm

is_that_so

Vinegar Hill wrote: »

Brian Cowen has given up the workers. Even after all his canvassing saying it is about jobs. Hypocrite!

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/0607/breaking17.htm

OK enough of the misquoting. He said he could not guarantee the rights but would do his very best under social partnership. A specious attempt to generate a No vote if ever I saw one.

flogen

This is an odd one.

My assumption is this:

It will extend to Irish workers - it has to if it's part of the treaty we're (possibly going to be) signing up to. The only reason Cowen won't admit this is he's hoping to use it as a bargaining chip in the social partnership talks (he'll say we'll give Irish workers the right to something they already have the right to). The only reason Siptu are pressing him on it now is so he can't do this; they know they have it one way or another.

dlofnep

is_that_so wrote: »

OK enough of the misquoting. He said he could not guarantee the rights but would do his very best under social partnership. A specious attempt to generate a No vote if ever I saw one.

He was directly quoting the title of the news article.

oscarBravo

SIPTU are doing precisely the same thing the IFA did. They are making demands of the government in order to recommend a "yes" vote on the treaty.

Problem is, in both cases the fact that they're using such a recommendation as a bargaining chip sends a clear signal to both their memberships that such a recommendation is meaningless. They're not recommending to their members that they should vote "yes" on its merits; they're cynically telling their members "we told the government we'd recommend a 'yes' vote, so that's what we're doing."

ixtlan

And of course the irony is that SIPTU likes the charter of rights and the collective bargaining clause in the Lisbon treaty... but is threatening not to recommend this treaty unless the government agrees to implement what is in the treaty. Surely this would cause any European politician to throw their hands up in despair.

I'm not fully informed on what other countries legal situation is on the treaty clause. It seems the treaty allows counties to ignore the clause if their national laws don't specify such collective bargaining? I assume some countries would resist making this an absolute requirement? So I can't really see any likelihood that this clause would be strengthened in any way. In fact it might get removed in re-negotiations.

Ix.

foxhoundone

i,ve been a member of SIPTU for 13 yr,s and i,ve never seen a rep or any lititure or even if i can improve my work/union qualifaction,s in the health and safty aspect, i,dont even get any balloting new,s i,m loyal to this union becase it,s the only one that has a railway department {in the north that is}