SIPTU call to maintain JI schemes
SIPTU general president, Jack O'Connor, has called on the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste to dispense with further cuts in the Job Initiative (JI) schemes that provide full time employment in local communities.
He said that according to FÁS, there were 2,525 workers on JI schemes at the beginning of this year, with 1,159 of those based in Dublin.
He accused the institutions of the State of treating workers on JI schemes and their trade unions with a contempt which is characteristic of the most anti-union employers in the country.
In letters to the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, Mr O'Connor said: "For many people who live in the communities affected, the services provided and the employment offered, are the only signs of the 'Celtic Tiger' they will ever see."
He also said that the schemes had helped support the regeneration and development of local communities, providing a service to the most vulnerable of those communities, helping reduce crime and anti-social behaviour in those areas.
