Elevator workers picket shopping centres in dispute
Around 65 engineers began a strike yesterday in a row over the sacking of 17 lift engineers last month.
Some 500 contractors refused to pass the picket by OTIS engineers at Dublin Airport’s Terminal Two on Monday.
Buildings affected by the picket yesterday included the Criminal Courts complex, The Square in Tallaght, Dundrum Town Centre and Arnotts on Henry Street in Dublin.
TEEU assistant general secretary Arthur Hall said the company was refusing to implement a Labour Court recommendation with regard to voluntary redundancies.
“The Labour Court has established a sort of industrial norm for the lift industry to cater for redundancy, and that is, that voluntary redundancy should be accepted in the first instance and if compulsory redundancies are necessary, then they apply the principle of last in, first out.
“We have a situation here where the largest lift country in the country is refusing to accept the Labour Court recommendation,” he said.
Mr Hall pointed out that members would continue to provide emergency cover to hospitals and for people who are trapped in elevators.
In a statement issued yesterday, OTIS said it was acting in compliance with the Labour Court recommendation.
“Due to the present economic climate and its impact on our business, we have had to evaluate our construction operations in Ireland and as a result have been forced to make some organisational changes. These changes unfortunately have resulted in reorganising our field workforce, making some of our employees redundant.
“OTIS accepts the Labour Court recommendation in respect of the reorganisation and is acting in compliance with this. OTIS operations in Ireland remain strong and we remain committed to providing the best possible service to our customers,” the company said.
