Talks between ESB and staff collapse

TALKS have broken down between the ESB and its workers over a €140m cost reduction programme which would involve 1,000 voluntary redundancies.

The ESB group of unions, made up of the ESB Officers Association, SIPTU, Unite and TEEU, has now informed the company that they are in a “dispute” situation and will be consulting with their members. However, it is unlikely the situation could flare into the first industrial action at ESB since the 1990s.

According to the company, both sides are agreed that there is a need for the €140m in savings to be achieved but the method by which that figure is reached is a bone of contention.