ESB technicians strike unnecessary, says Ahern

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said today the proposed strike action by 1,200 ESB network technicians was entirely unnecessary.

The strike is due to begin at 8am tomorrow over the use of private contractors by the ESB to upgrade its network.

Mr Ahern said both sides in the dispute should take a step back.

“There’s no need for industrial action at all in this case. They should try and take a step back and ease the situation,” he said.

“It is entirely unnecessary, unhelpful to the workers themselves, to the organisation they work for and to the general public.”

The Amalgamated Transport and General Workers Union (ATGWU) has said the use of private contractors is preventing apprentice technicians from securing staff positions.

It represents 1,000 of the ESB’s 2,200 staff technicians but only seven of the 107 apprentice technicians at the heart of the dispute. The other unions involved, SIPTU and the Technical, Electrical and Engineering Union (TEEU), have agreed to meet with the ESB to resolve the outstanding issues.

The two unions also have agreed to a request for a meeting from the ATGWU.

A TEEU spokesman said its members, along with those represented by SIPTU, would report for work tomorrow but would not do the work normally carried out by ATGWU members.

The ATGWU had postponed the strike, which was due to start today, to hold a meeting with the ESB but the company refused to attend due to the threat of strike action.

Power supplies are unlikely to be affected by the dispute but the unavailability of nearly half of all the ESB’s technicians could lead to delays in breakdown repairs.

The ESB has said the ATGWU had agreed to the use of private contractors in a restructuring deal three years ago.

The company agreed to employ 56 of the 107 apprentice technicians qualifying this year.

An ESB spokesman said it would wait until it received official notification of the ATGWU strike before commenting.