Construction body angry over crane operators’ strike
Crane operators who are members of the Unite trade union placed pickets at the Sisk site in Capital Dock and the Cairn Homes site at Hanover Quay.
Unite said the action was strongly supported, with around 20 members on the picket lines while up to 200 other construction workers refused to pass them.
Solidarity TDs, Mick Barry and Ruth Coppinger said they fully supported the strike action. The trade union is to meet today to decide on dates and times of further strike days next week.
CIF, the construction industry’s representative body, said industry and the wider economy are being held to ransom by the action of one construction union representing one category of worker.
A CIF spokesperson said the Unite pay claim equates to an 80% increase in the rate for crane drivers, not 10% as claimed by the trade union.
The CIF was in talks with Unite and argued that the trade union served strike notice during the discussions. “This is not in accordance with normal dispute resolution procedures,” said the spokesperson.
Unite regional officer for construction, Tom Fitzgerald, said there was a failure by employers to engage meaningfully with the union and a ballot resulted in an overwhelming mandate for industrial action.
