Industrial unrest - Compromise needed in Brinks row
On one front, Ireland’s biggest co-op, Dairygold, announced plans to shed 270 jobs in Tipperary and Cork. On the other, the Brinks Allied ATM dispute edged closer to a nationwide strike.
Both developments illustrate the importance for both companies and unions to adopt an open-handed approach to crucial negotiations.
In the interests of industrial peace, it is vital for Dairygold to engage in a transparent bargaining process aimed at coming up with the best possible redundancy package for its workers.
The obverse was witnessed in yesterday’s all-out strike vote by Brinks workers. Frustrated by the security firm’s refusal to go to the Labour Court, they have been left in the dark as to its plans for resolving the impasse.
This stance is all the more perplexing because, in a worst-case scenario, the conflict contains all the explosive ingredients of a countrywide strike.
Ominously, the row could escalate to other cash-in-transit operations where staff have expressed support for their co-workers at Brinks.
As things stand, tens of thousands of people who use the convenient ATM cash withdrawal system will now join those already discommoded by the dispute.
With Brinks at loggerheads with the country’s biggest union, there is a clear risk of the conflict worsening. With 240 cash machines on the east coast already shut down, beleaguered bank customers are preparing for the worst.
Following yesterday’s overwhelming vote for strike action, SIPTU’s security branch will go through the motions, seeking formal sanction for strike.
Once that is given, as seems certain, all Brinks operations will shut down immediately and the present unavailability of ATMs will deteriorate rapidly.
Essentially, this dispute is markedly different from the normal run-of-the-mill industrial relations row. Amid an alarming spate of armed attacks on cash-in-transit vans servicing ATM machines, safety rather than pay is the central issue. With lives perceived to be at risk, feelings are running high.
Union opposition to new-style security vans has stiffened because the staff were not consulted. They also harbour fears over a dramatic policy shift whereby, in an armed attack, van drivers have been ordered to leave the scene, effectively abandoning their colleagues on the pavement.
In this context, fresh problems could now arise since one expert has described the proposal as a significant shift of ethical standards. By implication, cash is now deemed more important than the lives of workers.
Arguably, the ATM dispute could and should have been avoided by ironing out outstanding difficulties at the Labour Court. If any window of opportunity remains open, it should now be availed of by both sides. Every possible avenue, including the conciliation machinery of the State, must be explored.
It remains unclear what the company plans to do about resolving this row. Unless there is a new willingness to compromise on both sides, the ATM conflict could overspill into a nationwide industrial relations war with dire repercussions for individuals and for the economy.
