Strike action set to begin at Moneypoint

STRIKE action which will remove more than an eighth of the country’s electrical supply will begin at the Moneypoint power station at 7am tomorrow.

At that point, a group of 200 Polish workers employed to carry out refurbishment works at the Clare plant will start picketing the facility in protest that, firstly, they were let go without warning, and secondly, they are owed more than six week’s back-pay.

The workers will be joined by the 50 permanent workers at the plant who are represented by the Technical Engineering and Electrical union (TEEU).

Other unions are likely to come out in solidarity, meaning the plant will have to shut down. If that happens, the country’s pool of electricity will be seriously depleted and if demand is in any way high — for example if it is a cold day — there will be a shortage.

The Polish workers balloted for action at the weekend after they learnt the main contractor on the project, Lentjes, had decided to dispense with the services of the workers’ employer, Polish subcontractor ZRE Katowicz, and they were told to clear out their lockers.

Yesterday, the company, trade union and ZRE Katowicz, met at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC). Lentjes was unavailable. All the sides, including Lentjes, will reassemble tomorrow for further discussions at the LRC.

After yesterday’s round, Eamon Devoy of the TEEU said the talks “could best be described as a game of pass the parcel, with the ESB blaming Lentjes and ZRE Katowicz for the problem and ZRE Katowicz blaming Lentjes”.

“At least we will have all of them together in the one place tomorrow so there will be nowhere to hide,” he said.

“The 200 Polish workers who have been left stranded without six weeks pay or jobs deserve better than this. If there is no progress tomorrow pickets will be placed on Moneypoint from 7am on Thursday.”

He said the ESB had structured the contracts for the refurbishment work in a way that minimised its own exposure when any sort of exploitation was uncovered.

“This is the third time the TEEU has encountered serious breaches of employment standards by ESB contractors and the company cannot simply ignore its moral and humanitarian obligations to these men.

“Under the terms of the men’s contracts they are paid monthly and also have to work two weeks in lieu. This means that at any given time they are due between four and six weeks pay. It only became clear during the course of last week that there would be no payment for September.

“Many of them will not be able to pay rent ... While none have so far faced eviction some workers have had their heating cut off.”