SIPTU members who work for local authorities in water services and in the Retained Fire Service have called on their employers to ensure that the public is prepared for any disruption caused by industrial and action due to commence next week. — Local authority workers providing water services across the country are to commence a 2-day strike on Wednesday 7th and Thursday 8th June. SIPTU members in the Retained Fire Service will commence their industrial action on Tuesday 6th June. These disputes will cause significant disruption to the provision of water and…

It was a rotten spectacle. Last year’s World Cup in Qatar was built on the bodies of thousands of migrant workers and flew in the face of half- hearted attempts by football’s global governing body, FIFA, to include LGBTQ+ fans. — This was, however, the logical endpoint of a process that has seen football depart from its social- democratic roots in favour of pure commodification. Clubs across Europe are increasingly controlled by hedge funds, instrumentalised as soft-power tools by state actors or treated by oligarchs as personal playthings.

WITH predictions that high levels of inflation could be with us for a while, the question being increasingly asked is: are profits driving inflation? And the evidence increasingly suggests that is the case. — It’s certainly not wages. The IMF studied the relationship between wages and prices over the last 50 years and found almost no evidence of a wage-price spiral. This is confirmed by Ireland’s recent experience. In 2022, inflation rose by 7.8%. Wages rose by 3.4%.

After many weeks in preparation, SIPTU’s Belfast City Council Organising Committee has launched its first major campaign, ‘Meet the Team’. — The group, headed by SIPTU Belfast City Council union convenor Anthony McDonald, has been working tirelessly to build and consolidate membership and to reinvigorate a section that has been an institution within SIPTU locally since the 1970s. The committee organised a day in Belfast’s City Hall for members and would-be…

SIPTU members employed as Retained Fire Services firefighters by local authorities across the country will begin a campaign of industrial action on 6th June, in a dispute resulting from the failure of management to adequately address a worsening recruitment and retention crisis in the service. — SIPTU Sector Organiser, Brendan O’Brien, said: “The campaign of industrial action will commence on 6th June with members restricting their work to only responding to emergency calls. This will involve non-cooperation with training, drills and radio calls through the emergency centres being replaced by the use of mobile calls to…

To mark World Autism Month, we took a look at how our Union can ensure that workplaces are more inclusive and supportive of neurodivergent workers. — The term ‘neurodiversity’ is a non-medical umbrella term used to describe conditions such as autism, dyslexia, dyspraxia, dyscalculia and ADHD. ‘Neurodiversity’ is used also as a term to describe an aspect of emerging trade union equality, diversity and inclusion campaigning that focuses on workers who are neurodivergent.

The cost-of-living crisis and the need for the reform of public services has provoked a growing number of industrial action by SIPTU members in response to intransigent management and employers. — For local authority water workers, ambulance paramedics and firefighters their patience has been pushed past breaking point by a failure of employers to show good faith in collaborating with them to protect working conditions while improving services.

SIPTU has launched a campaign to hold the Government to account on its promise of a State pension rate of 34% of average earnings. — Launched at the Retired Members Delegate Conference in Liberty Hall, the goal of the Pension Promise campaign is to ensure that retired workers have an adequate income to meet their living costs. Speaking at the launch of the campaign, SIPTU Deputy General Secretary for Organising and Membership Development, Ethel Buckley…

SIPTU has launched a campaign to hold the Government to account on its promise of a State pension rate of 34% of average earnings. — Launched at the Retired Members Delegate Conference in Liberty Hall, the goal of the Pension Promise campaign is to ensure that retired workers have an adequate income to meet their living costs. Speaking at the launch of the campaign, SIPTU Deputy General Secretary for Organising and Membership Development, Ethel Buckley…