SIPTU requests intervention of the WRC in St Vincent de Paul dispute
Employees at St Vincent de Paul charity shops in Cork have balloted for industrial action.
It is after the charity sent redundancy notices to a number of staff working at the charity's outlets in Cork city and county.
SIPTU has accused the society of trying to force union members out of their jobs.
The union has requested the intervention of the WRC in the dispute.
SIPTU Sector Organiser, Eddie Mullins, said that union representatives presented proposals concerning the future of the shops that were accepted to be far more cost effective than anything management had produced. However, management made no formal response to these proposals following discussions around restructuring of the company.
“Rather, in recent days, the SVP Regional President has written to each worker. His letters state that their current role is redundant and that their ‘employment will therefore cease by virtue of redundancy’,” said Mr Mullins.
“Up to this point the Regional President had played no direct role in the restructuring process. The reality is that there is no need for redundancies.
“Indeed, it is clear that SVP intends hiring more workers as part of its restructuring plan. It is the SIPTU position that the letters sent to workers amount to an attempt to bully them from their jobs,” he added.
