THE cost to taxpayers triggered by companies refusing or unable to pay money owed to redundant workers has tripled in two years to nearly €100 million.

THE Brothers of Charity in Limerick could be facing a bill of over €2 million to fund back-pay and increments owed to 150 staff.

WORKER representatives at Ulster Bank will today tell the company they believe almost 1,000 job losses are not necessary, the company’s target of getting rid of the staff cannot be achieved and they will not accept any compulsory redundancies.

FOURTEEN food service jobs come on stream in two separate restaurant openings in Cork’s Mahon Point shopping centre and in its nearby retail park this week.

“WE’RE not giving up without a fight.”

ELECTRICIANS and their employers could be on a collision course once more after one of the biggest employer bodies withdrew from discussions on a new pay deal for the industry.

NURSES have suspended walk-outs which they have staged over conditions at the & Emergency Department (ED) of the Mid-West Regional Hospital.

FINE GAEL TD Dara Murphy said there “was an element of let down” in seeing St Mary’s Orthopaedic Hospital transfer to the southside of Cork after told voters during the election campaign that it would not be moved.

UP TO 1,000 staff at Irish Life Assurance could strike within three weeks over the perceived failure of the company to engage over restructuring.

AS The Final Countdown blared around the call centre, staff at Talk Talk in Waterford yesterday gathered in huddles, chatting, reminiscing and looking towards an uncertain future.

NURSES at the Mid-Western Regional Hospital in Limerick yesterday staged a third walkout over what they claimed were dangerously overcrowded conditions in the emergency department (ED) as a union leader insisted they were not for turning on the issue.

NURSES in Limerick are set to take part in a third day of industrial action over concerns the facility’s emergency department is a danger to the public’s safety.

DIVISIONS between the unions representing workers at the ESB have deepened after the TEEU described talk of balloting members for strike action as a “knee-jerk reaction”.

SIGNS of a potential breakthrough in a dispute between unions and a Dublin-based aircraft maintenance company have emerged following the intervention of the Labour Relations Commission (LRC).

A HIGH Court decision upholding a challenge by fast food operators to an order setting minimum pay and conditions for catering workers outside Dublin has serious implications for the pay and conditions of about 200,000 low-paid workers.

THE Government will bring in temporary measures to protect up to 200,000 low-paid workers affected by a High Court decision on wage-setting mechanisms, Enterprise Minister Richard Bruton has said.

SIPTU members at the Cliffs of Moher are to strike from next Thursday following the collapse of pay talks with management at the world-renowned visitor attraction.

AER LINGUS has taken the precaution of offering passengers free refunds on flights if last ditch talks fail to prevent pilots taking industrial action next Tuesday.

THE Labour Relations Commission has intervened in the dispute between Aer Lingus and its pilots in a bid to avert industrial action planned for next Tuesday.

THE operators of Ireland’s most visited tourist attraction are preparing contingency plans after SIPTU notified them of plans for a work stoppage next month.

THE thousands of farmers who converged on Dublin yesterday did so for two reasons — frustration at Government inertia on curbing retailer dominance, and anger over the raid by the Competition Authority’s raid on IFA’s head office two weeks ago.

ENTERPRISE Minister Richard Bruton has denied that he refused to meet with officials of the Irish Farmers’ Association, as an estimated 8,000 farmers marched on his office in Dublin yesterday.

EMPLOYERS concerned about wage costs for overtime and Sunday work were told that special hourly rates should remain after a report stopped short of recommending immediate pay changes.

THE head of one of the country’s most powerful trade unions has written to all TDs in a bid to stem criticism of the extent of savings made under the Croke Park Agreement.

PRIMARY teachers voted against possible strike action over the loss of more than 600 jobs on support programmes for Traveller pupils and disadvantaged children in rural areas after warnings that the move would breach the Croke Park agreement.

WORKERS at Dawn Meats and Unite union officials are distributing leaflets at this weekend’s Waterford Food Festival in protest over health, safety and pay issues.

REPRESENTATIVES of more than 100 workers whose jobs are on the line in Castleisland, Co Kerry, have sought the intervention of the Labour Relations Commission (LRC).

THE largest civil service union will today slam commentators and politicians who, it will claim, are shamefully denigrating public sector workers.

SCHOOL managers have urged hundreds of secretaries threatening to take industrial action not to disrupt exam preparations or other school activities.

THE Irish Congress of Trade Unions has attacked the findings of a Department of Finance review which claims budget-making over the last 10 years was “overwhelmed” by programmes for government and social partnership.

AFTER 15 months of accusation and counter-accusation, the last three weeks of which have seen hundreds of flights cancelled and thousands of passengers grounded, Aer Lingus management and cabin crew finally appear to have ended their rostering dispute.

THE union representing cabin crew involved in an industrial dispute with Aer Lingus have claimed the airline is spending €400,000 per day on leasing aircraft and crew from other airlines.

THE stand-off between Aer Lingus and its cabin crew reached a new low yesterday with the removal of 32 staff from the payroll and the cancellation of a further three flights.

THE Unite trade union is lobbying within ICTU in support of a general strike as a “clear message to the government in waiting” that it must change the country’s economic direction.

The Irish Airline Pilots Association (IALPA) last night informed Aer Lingus it will begin a work-to-rule industrial action today because of “bizarre and inhumane” rostering arrangements.

REPORTERS at some of the country’s top provincial newspapers are to strike next Tuesday over management plans to use a new production system to get rid of a number of sub-editors.

THE HSE has refused to improve the remuneration terms on offer to the thousands of staff it wants to take voluntary redundancy or early retirement before the end of the year.

THE Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) is set to enter talks on the Croke Park public service pay agreement after members have voted to lift industrial action in schools and colleges.

THE country’s largest group of electrical employers has applied to withdraw from the legally-binding agreement which sets pay and conditions for 10,000 workers in the industry – sparking fears of crippling strikes.

THE Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) is to ballot its 15,500 members on whether they should end industrial action so they can enter talks on the Croke Park public service reform agreement.

AER LINGUS passengers are once more facing the threat of travel disruption after the company threatened to sack cabin crew members who refuse to work their full rosters next week.