ESB Wages

Still on the bright side the working hours have also been reduced by 10%

So either overtime is needed or additional staff to work the day lost. All of this is paid for by the end customer and helps to explain why we have the highest pre-tax electricity prices in Europe

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electricity_pricing#Price_comparison

647 million is a hell of a sweetener ( 647 million ! - I always have to pinch myself when I see that figure ) for the ESOP members

You do realise that this is not "free" money..and will not be going to the taxpayer (who has to borrow so much)?

a promise exists to reverse the pay cut & the reduction in staff numbers have been achieved on a voluntary basis in very difficult times - all in all not a bad achievement by the Unions & Management involved.
So some people got large payoffs for voluntary redundancy and they will ultimately be replaced by other workers entitled to pensions as well. Doesn't seem like a good deal for the taxpayers and electricity customers of this country to me
 
So am I right in thinking that if shares are transferred that the effected employees terms & conditions including pensions will remain unchanged as the ESB will remain as the employer ?

All sing along now...."Money for nothin and the chicks are free"
 
All very interesting Firefly , but you seem somewhat confused - my quotes that you refer to in your first post pertain to Eircom not the ESB !
 
So am I right in thinking that if shares are transferred that the effected employees terms & conditions including pensions will remain unchanged as the ESB will remain as the employer ?

Much depends on what entity is set up prior to the trade sale.

If a new entity is set up say called ESBNua then the employees transferring to the new entity from ESB are protected under the terms of TUPE. If however shares in the existing ESB or one of its limited company subsidiaries are sold then TUPE does not apply.
 
The simple way to address the power of the utilities is for joe customer to stop paying the bills.

eircom could very easily be forced into receivership if its customers stop paying and it runs out of cash.

Withholding payment from the esb is the only way to get the camel-coated cosseted commies in Unite to realise that its the screwed customer who is paying their inflated wages
 
So you are happy for them to turn off your power? Energy is a regulated industry because of it's importance to the country. It's not up to consumers to force the companies to reduce their prices. It is up to the regulator to insist on cost cutting to help offset the rise in energy prices. I don't know enough about the industry or the way it is regulated to really comment but I am curious as to why the regulator is not being questioned as to why they are granting the ESB large price increases when everyone seems to be of the opinion that they are not as efficient as they should be.