Employees at St Vincent de Paul charity shops in Cork have balloted for industrial action.

In the summer of 1985, pilgrims from all over Ireland bore down on the small County Cork village of Ballinspittle to witness the phenomena of a ‘moving statue’ of Our Lady.

The St Vincent de Paul has moved to ease fears over possible industrial action at some of its Cork stores in a row over management restructuring.

Welfare staff will picket the Donkey Sanctuary headquarters in Mallow in Co. Cork today over restructuring plans at the charity.

It started with a suit fit for a queen. It ended with a donation which has helped to almost double the number of palliative care beds at a leading hospice.

An investigation has been launched after two tethered and neglected dogs were rescued from appalling conditions on the outskirts of Cork City yesterday.

The last time he was fitted for a new suit was for his Confirmation, he joked. And while his waist may have expanded ever so slightly over the years, his neck hasn’t changed a bit — it’s still as thick as ever.

The country’s best-known fishmonger is going undercover with a unique splash of Irishness for his tea date with the Queen later this month.

An employment appeals application by seven staff at Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind may not go ahead after an Employment Appeals Tribunal heard yesterday that the application may not have been served on management in time.

WORKERS providing Cork County Council’s refuse collection for 37,000 customers have voted to accept the outsourcing of the service to a private contractor.

THE country’s largest local authority is expected to axe its refuse collection service, which will affect 37,000 commercial and domestic customers.

THE winter of discontent warmed up yesterday as 2,000 people involved in under-threat community schemes marched through Limerick city.

The crew a State-subsidised ferryboat have just ended their one-day stoppage in protest of pay cuts.

PICKETS will be placed today on a state-subsidised ferry that serves the country’s most southerly inhabited island.

ONE of the south-west coast’s busiest ferries will ground to a halt for one day next week as crew members strike over salary cuts.

STAFF at one of Cork’s busiest Dunnes Stores outlets have voted overwhelmingly to strike in a row over alleged workplace bullying.

STAFF at one of Cork’s biggest supermarkets have been balloted for strike action in a row over alleged bullying and harassment by management.

RED-FACED Labour Party press officers are being sent back to school by Pat Rabbitte to cut down on their spelling gaffes.

IT had been coming since December, but when it arrived it was still a shock.

BUSINESSES have reacted angrily to proposals to block cars coming into the city centre for three consecutive days later this month, claiming it could cost them €2 million in lost sales.

WORKERS and unions yesterday spoke of the “unbelievable shock” after ADM announced it was to close its plant in Cork with the loss of 146 jobs.

THE loss of 170 jobs at a large pharmaceutical plant is being blamed on rationalisation and a major fall in sales of an anti-cancer drug.

THE man who has battled for workers’ rights in a long-running dispute with management at a Co Cork pharmaceutical company is preparing for another campaign, this time on the political stage.

Sean O’Riordan