Health services in Ireland must not simply be provided by the cheapest EU contractor, it was claimed today.

Officials from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions are meeting with a group of Irish MEPs in Dublin today to explain their opposition to the proposed EU Services Directive.

Irish MEPs are gathering in Dublin today to explain their views on the controversial EU Services Directive before next week’s crucial vote.

The Labour Party will today publish proposals to prevent another Irish Ferries-style industrial relations controversy.

The warning issued by SIPTU president Jack O’Connor yesterday in relation to the proposed EU Services Directive is well-advised, if somewhat pre-emptive.

New European Union rules allowing firms in one state to operate in another without honouring labour laws will strip workers of their rights and aid exploitation, it was claimed today.

SIPTU has slammed the proposed EU Services Directive which it says is part of an unacceptable race to the bottom in the jobs market.

THOUSANDS of workers representing more than a dozen of the most powerful trade unions in the country will march on the Dáil this Thursday, leaving on a knife-edge almost two decades of industrial relations stability.

There are too many barriers to entry to the professions in Ireland and it is not appropriate that those who regulate professional standards should also regulate and control entry, Tánaiste Mary Harney told an EU Presidency Conference today.