How many electricians does it take to change a lightbulb?

I suppose in their own little world, they feel they are looking after the interests of their members.

Janitors changing light bulbs today could be wiring plugs tomorrow, changing fuses next week, wiring in spur sockets next month. An erosion of the tradesmans' role.

Sadly, common sense seems to have been pushed to the side. Did these guys learn their craft at British Leyland in the 70's?
 
Protocol said:
These union staff sound very petty, like teenage girls squabbling.

Why do they fear change?

I am in SIPTU, and support trade unions, but not this sort of behaviour.
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What they are doing now is very damaging to trade unions. They have provided a stick for anyone who wishes to beat them with.
 
Are unions even particularly relevant these days? In previous decades practices/laws were more lax, it was an employer's market and employers undoubtedly took advantage.

But surely almost everything of real concern is covered by employment law these days - no?
 
I'm surprised at how easily otherwise intelligent AAM readers are swallowing the HSE spin on this story. There are two sides to every issue. The TEEU's dispute with the HSE is not about 'changing light-bulbs'. The dispute has its roots in the HSE's refusal to abide by Labour Relations Commission protocols and working documents. So bad is it that HSE has forbidden local managers from negotiating with the union. One crucial aspect is that the HSE is outsourcing work at below the registered employment rates (which is in breach of national agreements) to contractors, some of whom the union has claimed, are unqualified. Ultimately, this is about management refusal to negotiate, the harrassement of trade union members, and the imposition of new practices without agreement. It should be noted that union members are providing emergency cover - in some cases without pay.

If you want more details on what is really going on (including details of the damage being done by unqualified staff), see http://www.teeu.ie/news/show.asp?id=211
 
RainyDay said:
I am implying that many lazy journalists in many lazy media outlets are only too happy to regurgitate press releases without any analysis, investigate or balanced comment.
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Does that include the specific article/journalist in question here? If so you might want to give a defamation lawyer a quick call.
 
Are you suggesting that the TEEU is more balanced than the Irish Times, itself a left wing newspaper?
It is fascicle that in this day and age the HSE employ any electricians directly. They should have a service contract for their boilers and a maintenance contract for the hospitals, which is tendered for every few years.
 
Purple said:
They should have a service contract for their boilers and a maintenance contract for the hospitals, which is tendered for every few years.
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This is the only way forward to avoid these kind of disputes, Whats next plumbers will be the only ones permitted to turn taps on & off?!
 
Rainyday, I don't care where the dispute has arisen from, the fact is that the Union has refused to allow non-electricians to change non-essential light bulbs. Do you have any information that contradicts that? If not then I think most people here will maintain their current opinion of this ridiculous situation.
 
Purple said:
Are you suggesting that the TEEU is more balanced than the Irish Times, itself a left wing newspaper?
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Firstly, your claim about the Irish Times being left wing is about 3 years out of date. Madam Kennedy has been pushing it steadily to the right, with contributors like Marc Coleman, Waters and that other guy who makes Norman Tebbit look like Derek Hatton - was it Stien or Stein or similar. Granted it might appear to be left-wing by comparison the the Independent or the Mail, but it really cannot be considered to be left-wing any more.

But as is clear from my original post which read 'There are two sides to every story', No, I'm not suggesting that the TEEU is more balanced than the IT.

I am suggesting that the IT article was not balanced at all. It omitted key points of information


Purple said:
It is fascicle that in this day and age the HSE employ any electricians directly. They should have a service contract for their boilers and a maintenance contract for the hospitals, which is tendered for every few years.
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Maybe this service should be outsourced. Or maybe not. I'm not an expert on facilities management in hospitals, which have unique requirements about continuity of service. Unlike others on this thread, I won't purport to have all the answers on things that I know very little about.

If you want to base your current opinions on misleading and out-of-context claims, then be my guest. If you want to see the big picture, do a bit more reading & research.
 
Another example of trade unions preventing hospital reforms.

53 hspital porters are employed in 1 hospital.

3 on long-term sick leave.
11 on sick-leave
8 called in sick on the day concerned

plus ongoing problems with absenteeism

http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/1102/hospital1.html


Here's a solution: 5k bonus to every worker with no or very little absenteeism. That would sort it.
 
It is still left wing, just a little less than it was.

It looked to me that it just didn't try to defend the indefensible.



That's right; basic management and cost control principles don't apply to the health service because it's just too complicated


RainyDay said:
If you want to base your current opinions on misleading and out-of-context claims, then be my guest. If you want to see the big picture, do a bit more reading & research.
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...and you will come to the same conclusion
 
Protocol said:
Here's a solution: 5k bonus to every worker with no or very little absenteeism. That would sort it.
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Trouble is, you'd have to give it to everyone, because that's how things work there. And sick days would not be counted as absenteeism etc etc.

In fact, I thought I wasn't going to be able to type here at all as the person employed to type is out sick, and the person employed to turn on the monitor is on a fag break. Luckily I found some substitutes.
 
shnaek said:
And sick days would not be counted as absenteeism etc etc.
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This is my personal favourite. Almost every public sector employee I have met regards this sick day "allowance" as an extension of their holidays and think absolutely nothing of using it to calculate annual leave - they are completely open about it.
 
I worked for 43 years and had only one week sick leave in all that time. When I retired I got no special thanks but didn't mind - was just grateful I was blessed with excellent health. Most of the younger staff just commented '' you were some fool not to go sick.'' Its a matter of concience. Protocol, if you ever get a campaign going for 5K for those with little or no sick leave would you make sure it is backdated to the late fifties.
 

Sorry Oldtimer, but unless you were a TD/Minister backdating entitlements just won't happen...
 
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