SIPTU set to vote for new leader

THE race for the leadership of the country’s biggest union gets underway next week when more than 240,000 SIPTU members start voting for their new general secretary.

The three main contenders are: South West Regional Branch Secretary Joe O’Flynn; National Industrial Secretary Noel Dowling and Dublin Electronics and Engineering Branch Secretary Des Derwin.

The successful candidate will take over from John McDonnell who reaches the compulsory retirement age of 60 in October.

All three candidates had to be nominated by branches and based on the number of branch nominations, Noel Dowling is slightly ahead of Joe O’Flynn.

While Mr Dowling was nominated by 53 branches and Mr O’Flynn was nominated by 47, on closer examination the Cork man seems to have the edge because there are more members in the branches that nominated him.

And Des Derwin who was nominated by only two branches would seem to be the real outsider.

Whoever wins this race will have the daunting task of steering SIPTU through very testing times.

The escalating job losses have already prompted the country’s biggest union to back a half day protest action by its members next month in bid to get employers to honour redundancy payment orders.

Many workers are also against SIPTU signing up for a new national agreement because they believe the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness just has not delivered for them.

Workers who accepted moderate pay increases during the boom times now see their jobs threatened and public service workers are becoming increasingly sceptical about the Government’s commitment to deliver the pay increases recommended by the Benchmarking Body.

While SIPTU will most likely vote to enter talks on a new national agreement to follow the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness (PPF) there is a growing cynicism about social partnership and how much it has really delivered for workers.

One of the first tasks facing the new SIPTU general secretary will be to lead his team of negotiators in the new national pay talks.

Along with the other Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) negotiators, the SIPTU team will have a tough task securing concessions for workers given the Government’s stringent approach to public finances.

Voting for the new general secretary commences on September 19 and will continue through to October 9.

All SIPTU members have the right to vote through their branches.