Electricians’ strike - High stakes posturing

Workers of the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) are going on strike today in support of a demand for an 11% increase in wages.

They were promised this in better times some years ago in line with the Registered Employment Agreement of 2006.

The electricians are currently earning €21.49 an hour. With people all over the country being thrown out of jobs through no fault of their own, especially in the construction industry, the demand for the 11% increase seems not only unrealistic but virtually immoral.

Some 10,500 electricians will be pulling the plug on 200 constructions sites and factories today. It could affect the jobs of thousands of other workers.

There appears more to this dispute than the demand for the increase. The TEEU would have people believe the contractors are trying to break the Registered Employment Agreement so they could then demand the electricians take a 10% cut in their hourly rate.

If the issue was over the contractors demanding a 10% cut in wages, the public might understand the dispute, but instead it seems that the electricians are picking untenable grounds on which to stage this fight.

The whole thing looks suspiciously like high stakes proletarian posturing.