Claims Brendan Ogle being frozen out of trade union role

Brendan Ogle during a Right2Water press conference in Buswell's Hotel in Dublin, in 2015. He has been an active trade unionist for over 20 years. Picture: Gareth Chaney/Collins

One of the country’s leading trade unionists is being frozen out of his job following his return after a long illness, it has been claimed.

Brendan Ogle, who is the effective head of the Unite union in Ireland, claims he was urged to take a more junior role in the organisation that would necessitate a 100 mile daily commute. Following discussions with Unite, he continues to work in Dublin with the same title and pay he held prior to his illness.

The Irish Examiner has learned that he is being excluded from his organisational role in Right To Water, the group he set up through the union to campaign for a referendum on the public ownership of the water infrastructure.

Mr Ogle’s wife, Mandy La Combre, who also works in industrial relations, told the Irish Examiner that her husband is being denied access to union reps, which was a central focus of his educational role in the organisation. 

He was told in the Dublin office that a strategy is to be built for the union in the Republic of Ireland that didn’t include him.

“He was told that was coming from head office in London. The only thing that has changed while he was out sick was the leadership in London where a new general secretary was elected,” Ms La Combre said.

Mr Ogle had a serious illness over the course of two years, and while he was officially out of work he continued to operate on an informal basis. He is now fully recovered from his illness. 

In response to questions about whether various actions have been taken to sideline Mr Ogle, a spokesperson for Unite said: “We do not accept the veracity of the claims contained in your email. Beyond that, as a matter of policy Unite does not comment on staffing matters.” 

Mr Ogle has been a leading figure in the trade union movement for over 20 years since he was general secretary of the Irish Locomotive Drivers Association, where he organised a rail strike in 2000. He was also the head of the ESB group of unions prior to joining Unite.

On a Facebook post at the weekend, Ms La Combre said there was a deliberate strategy to sideline him. 

“This is clearly a deliberate exercise in isolating him from any of his normal union duties and an attempt to keep him away from others in Unite who respect him, and are wondering where he is now that he has returned,” she wrote.

This article was edited on Sept 23, 2022 to include a reference to Mr Ogle's current position in paragraph 2 above.