Losing faith in a FG goverment.

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thedaras

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Fine Gael said today it will introduce legislation which recognises the rights of workers to engage in collective bargaining if elected to government.;

Oh dear!!
 
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Pique318 said:
Er, do they not have that already ? Unions ?
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NO; In that its not compulsory!! If FG get into government they say that ALL employers MUST recognise unions!!
This is the case in some other countries however those unions dont have head cases as leaders.
 
True, when I heard this on the radio I thought it was tick against them.
 
What would happen if neither the company nor the employers had any desire to unionise?
 
Purple said:
What would happen if neither the company nor the employers had any desire to unionise?
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WHAT!! A company /Workers that had no desire to deal with the unions!!

Are you completely mad!!

What would Eamon Devoy think!!.!!
 
thedaras said:
Fine Gael said today it will introduce legislation which recognises the rights of workers to engage in collective bargaining if elected to government.;

Oh dear!!
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Oh dear indeed. What unions are seeking is the right to force employers to recognise them i.e. allow them to 'represent' employees in relation to pay and conditions. Such a 'right' might make sense where there are proper checks and balances in place e.g. binding arbitration. But in Ireland unions have virtually total freedom to push employers to (and beyond) the brink e.g. Electrical contractors dispute, Waterford Crystal, ESB (average earnings >€70000), HSE etc. Even when disputes are referred to the Labour Court, unions often reject its recommendations - on the basis that they don't like the outcome.
It is no suprise that the vast majority of multinationals in Ireland are non-union, they recognise that unionisation would almost certainly drive them out of business. It is a virtual certainty that American companies will give Ireland a miss if union recognition becomes compulsory.

It is astounding that Fine Gael are leading the charge on this crazy proposal - it represents a stunningly crass atempt at populism. Enda Kenny might succeed in becoming Taoiseach, but at what price? He seems destined to mimic FF i.e. create countless 'hostages' to fortune. This approach will surely render FGs chances of effecting radical change at nought.
This country really has the most short-sighted, self-serving and myopic polticians in the developed world.
I hope that the world economy picks up fast -its our only hope - for an escape route - it seems that anyone who aspires to a decent life,and who has a grain of intelligence and ambition should emigrate - before its too late...
 
i read somewhere that union membership is on the increase..so people must feel they have a need for unions.
 
starlite68 said:
i read somewhere that union membership is on the increase..so people must feel they have a need for unions.
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Where have you read that? Please provide a link..

Heres a piece Ive read ,however it is from 2008.

Union membership declining - CSO
Union membership in Ireland continued to fall last year, according to figures from the Central Statistics Office.
The CSO reported today that 31.5 per cent of the workforce held union membership in the second quarter of 2007, down from 37.4 per cent in the same period of 2003.

A total of 551,700 employees over the age of 15 were members of a union in the period from March to May last year. Another 1,160,300 were not union members.
 
starlite68 said:
i read somewhere that union membership is on the increase...
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Doesn't give a clear picture though - in relative terms small increases may have been experienced recently, but overall union membership is on a steady decline and has been for years.

Edit: crossed with thedaras
 
Just about everyone in the public sector is in a union. As more people in the private sector lose their jobs the overall proportion of the workforce that is unionised increases.
 
thedaras said:
NO; In that its not compulsory!! If FG get into government they say that ALL employers MUST recognise unions!!
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Oh Jebus !

So much for Irelands future as a provider of services like IT & Finance.

The US multinationals will be stampeding for the door if that comes in.

Surely Richard Bruton isn't that insane ! I credited him with a semblance of intelligence.
 
I think that FG lack bottle. They seem to be all talk.

Pandering to trade unions - Great.

Trade unions have been over pandered to for years.
 

Apparently, less than 20% of the private sector is unionised - and these are usually Irish owned businesses, often the first ones that hit the wall in a down-turn, because they have been weakened through years of restrictive practices and excessive wage demands.
Ireland needs politicians with vision, competence and courage - the government is short on all three, and sadly, it now looks like FG are little better. I was willing to give Kenny the benefit of the doubt, but after this outburst of lunacy, I have serious doubts - time for a leadership coup perhaps....
 
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