ESB technicians to return to work
The development came after the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) intervened in the dispute.
For three days ATGWU pickets were placed on various centres throughout the country over the ESB's use of outside contractors in the company's €3.6 billion network renewal programme.
The ICTU brokered a meeting last night between the ATGWU and the two other unions representing workers at the ESB, the TEEU and SIPTU, both of which refused to support the ATGWU's action.
Three hours into the talks, the ATGWU informed the media that the union's national executive had decided to lift the pickets and join the other unions for talks with management next month. The meeting heard the ESB has agreed to hold a series of meetings in October about its spending programme and the use of contractors.
This morning, ATGWU members will be requested to return to work and continue to operate the provisions of the ESB Pact agreement.
The Pact is a partnership agreement negotiated in 2001 which was due to run until July 2004. Under the deal unions had agreed to the use of external contractors in the ESB's network renewal programme, but the ATGWU argued the Pact was no longer in place.
About 1,700 external contractors are employed by ESB Networks, alongside some 2,200 staff technicians. More than half of these are represented by the ATGWU, most of the remainder by the TEEU, and a small number by SIPTU.
