Workers at Bord na Móna Recycling serve notice of strike action

SIPTU announced on Wednesday that its members at Bord na Móna Recycling have rejected a Workplace Relations Commission proposal aimed at resolving a protracted privatisation dispute, and that they have served notice of strike action which is set to begin this month.

The trade union said the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) proposal was rejected by a margin of 61% to 39%.

Responding to the SIPTU members' vote, Bord na Móna confirmed it had received notice of industrial action from the trade union, describing this as "extremely disappointing" and saying it would be seeking to keep any disruption to waste collection services to a minimum.

In the aftermath of the SIPTU members' vote, its divisional organiser, Adrian Kane, commented: "The strike committee met last night and unanimously agreed to reinstate the notice of strike and industrial action.

"Notice has been served on the company, and our members are determined to see this through.

"The planned action will begin with a one-day strike on Thursday, June 19, escalating to two days the following week, and three days the week after. Our members don't want to be in this position but feel they have no choice."

SIPTU said the primary reason for rejecting the WRC proposal was the company’s failure to agree to a Registered Employment Agreement (REA), which would guarantee worker protections for terms and conditions in the event of a sale.

Mr Kane said: "The fire sale of Bord na Móna Recycling is bad for workers, customers, and the environment. It makes no economic or environmental sense.

"The Department has initiated a consultation on transitioning to single-tender provision per local authority area, so why privatise the last remaining publicly owned domestic waste provider?"

A statement from Bord na Móna in response to the planned industrial action said: "This is extremely disappointing as our agreed Industrial Relations (IR) procedures with SIPTU provide that the next stage is a referral of the matter to The Labour Court.

"If the action proceeds, we will endeavour to keep any disruption to waste collection services to a minimum, with alternative collections to be scheduled for impacted customers and will keep customer service channels available as usual to support customers.

"We remain committed to reaching a resolution and urge SIPTU to fully engage with our agreed IR procedures, setting aside this action to allow the matter to be referred to The Labour Court," Bord na Móna concluded.