SIPTU delegates gather for conference

Hundreds of trade unionists from throughout Ireland are gathering for SIPTU's biennial national delegate conference, which gets underway today in Galway.

Issues due for discussion include the impact of economic globalisation on workers' rights and how to achieve a fair balance between work and life.

SIPTU president Des Geraghty said he believed the Irish trade union movement had to work harder to reverse recent declines in the quality of life for many workers.

"We have recognised increasingly that things like pensions, holidays, sick pay, the work/life balance, the whole question of accommodation and whether people have to spend hours travelling to work are affecting the quality of life for most people," he said.

"I believe it is extremely important that we apply our minds much more constructively to how we get a proper balance between life and work," he said.