No powers on pay for electricians row experts

THE Government has appointed two seasoned negotiators to urgently investigate the ongoing electricians dispute – but has given them no power to adjudicate on the main divisive issue of pay.

Tánaiste Mary Coughlan announced the appointment of former Irish Congress of Trade Unions general secretary Peter Cassells and former Labour Court chairman Finbarr Flood to examine the issues which will led to thousands of electricians going on a week-long strike.

At the time those electricians and their union the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) claimed they were owed 11% pay increases under the industry’s Registered Employment Agreements and also that employers were trying to worsen terms and conditions guaranteed by those agreements. Employers said such increases were out of the question in the current economic environment.