AUTUMN 2012 VOL: 14 NO. 3

Communication Workers’ Unionmoves back to

refurbished offices on the NCR

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Dear Colleague,You will see on the front cover, a picture of the outside of

Union Head Office, following the recently concludedrefurbishment/re-build of the premises. With the chronicstate of the old building, the Union faced the prospect ofhaving the building closed down due to structural problems,particularly with on-going maintenance problems in relationto the sewage systems. At that time, we sought expertadvice on the options available to the Union. Those optionswere the purchase of a new premises, rent/lease of adifferent premises or a re-build/refurbishment of the existingbuilding. The advice from the experts was to take the thirdoption. Following a full debate on this issue at BiennialConference 2010, it was decided to proceed with that option.We have now moved back into our Head Office and we havea Union Headquarters that will facilitate our Officials indelivering the key services required. We will also be in aposition to develop newer forms of communications throughthe use of video and telephone conferencing. Head Office, isof course, also available for the use of all of our Branches andSocial Clubs and those of you interested in taking advantageof those facilities, should contact Union Head Office directly.It is my sincere hope that William Norton House will providea home for this Union in whatever way it develops long intothe future.

With the summer break now behind us, there is little signof any improvement in the country’s economy. Despiteoverwhelming historical evidence, it seems that ourgovernment refuses to learn the lessons of history andcontinues to follow policies that do little else but take moneyout of the pockets of ordinary working people and thusdirectly out of circulation. With the horrendousunemployment situation continuing to deteriorate, eventhose figures are masked by the export of our children insearch of work to foreign shores. Further concern is causedby the continuous refusal of the Government to take up anysuggestions that might result in investment in infrastructuralinvestment, which would lead to direct employment andencourage foreign direct investment. Most peopleunderstand that the Government inherited an economicmess from its predecessors, and indeed one can evenunderstand the situation we have been left in following thelunacy of the previous government in entering the bankguarantee. However, it is increasingly difficult to understandagainst that background how the Government continues toinitiate policies and attack the weakest in our society, whileprotecting the very rich from any increases in the realtaxation.

Of course those government policies have a broaderimpact on businesses and industries within the country. The

Editorial

Editor: Steve FitzpatrickSub-Editor: Imelda WallIssued by: Communications Workers’ Union,575 North Circular Road, Dublin 1.Telephone: 8663000 and Fax: 8663099E-mail: info@cwu.ieIncorporatingthe PTWU Journal, THE RELAY andTHE COMMUNICATIONS WORKERThe opinions expressed by contributors are notnecessarily those of the CWU.Photographs: John ChaneyPrinted by Mahons Printing Works, Dublin.

ContentsEditorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3Halligan Insurances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4Youth Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Telecoms Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-12ICTU Global Solidarity Summer School . . . . 13Award to Migrant Worker quashed

over illegal job status . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14CWU Humanitarian Aid . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14ESCCU Credit Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15Postal Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16-22Reasons to join the CWU - Join Today! . . . 23CWU Headquarters - photos from the

new HQ refurbishment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-25Equality Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26-27Bank Closures a Boon for Post Offices . . . . 28The Rowland Hill Memorial Fund

of Ireland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29UNI Global Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30-31Organising Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32-34FM Downes Insurance Scheme . . . . . . . . . . 35Education Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36-37An Post Employees’ Credit Union . . . . . . . . 38Support for shameless Quinn is misplaced . 39CWU People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40-44The Migraine Association of Ireland . . . . . . 45Pat Kelly Healing Hands . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45Book Rewiew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46CWU Membership Application Forms . . . . . 47-48

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constant contractions within the economy lead one into a never-ending downwardspiral, a spiral which we have all been experiencing in the communications industry.Mail volumes continue to tumble, and volumes of calls and exchange of data in thecommunications business continue to fall. Given that most of these areas are nowcompetitive businesses, we can also see the result of an overcapacity within thosebusinesses as competitors attempt to undercut each other in the race fordiminishing business.

Given the above, it is entirely understandable that our members growincreasingly nervous as our businesses attempt to cut costs and downsize. Ineircom, we once again greet a new Chief Executive Officer. The new CEO, Mr HerbHribar, worked with eircom in the past during the Valentia years and it goes withoutsaying that we wish him the very best in his new role, as the success of eircom iscritical to the protection of our members’ jobs in that Company. However, thecontinuous chopping and changing of senior personnel in eircom, allied to the on-going changes of ownership, has played no small part in the situation the Companynow finds itself in. In my eight years as General Secretary, Mr Hribar, will be thefourth CEO I have had to deal with. Against that background, it is extremely difficultto have any real long-term strategic plans for the business and in relation to futureinvestment. In those circumstances, Mr Hribar will have to weather a storm ofcynicism from the general workforce in eircom as they once again listen to the plansof a new CEO in the certain knowledge that he will be there for a relatively short period of time, if the average term of hispredecessors is anything to go by.

Over the coming weeks in An Post, we will face into a Worker Director Election. I wish take this opportunity to sincerely wishthe CWU candidates the very best of luck. I would also like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank the three outgoingmembers who will not be standing for election on this occasion, Jerry Condon, Paddy Davoren and Paddy Costello for theirservice to the Union as Worker Directors on the An Post Board. Their successors have big boots to fill! The Directors in An Postare an extremely important part of the CWU team. Over the years, they have fulfilled their role without any real controversy, whileensuring the other Board members were fully aware of the views of the staff and its representatives. I would urge every one ofyou eligible to vote, to vote as requested by the Union in order to ensure we maintain a strong team at Board level.Developments in An Post are far too serious to allow this opportunity to pass us by.

The continuing decline in the workforce in eircom and An Post means a corresponding decline in CWU membership in thosetwo big companies. In order to for us to deal with those losses, we have invested heavily over the past number of years in ourOrganising Department. As a result, we now have members in over twenty companies including UPS and Vodafone, but basicallythe bigger numbers of new recruits are in the agencies which provide call centre services to the major telecommunicationscompanies. We have also recruited in the various subsidiaries of the main companies e.g. One Direct and Meteor. Our activityin this area will ultimately decide whether or not CWU can remain a stand-alone Union into the future.

Notwithstanding our own internal problems, the trade union movement in Ireland is carefully considering its own future, withall the Unions coming to terms with the declining membership and constant attacks on member’s jobs, pay and conditions. Inthe coming months we will attempt to conclude discussions on smarter uses of the overall trade union resources, while at thesame time look at our structures to see how we can best prepare for the future. I look forward to outlining the outcome of thosedeliberations to you in the coming months.

Steve Fitzpatrick,General Secretary, CWU

Get into print!Anyone wishing to submit articles or photos

to appear in the Connect journal,please,

either email to:

imelda@cwu.ie

or post to: Imelda Wall

Communications Workers’ Union

575 North Circular Road,

Dublin 1.

Wear yourUnion Badge

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Youth Update

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions sent four youngrepresentatives to a garden party on 3rd July in Árasan Uachtaráin as part of the Being Young & IrishProject established by President Michael D. Higgins.

Taking part in the delegation were Natalie Fox,Fiona Elward and David O’Driscoll of ICTU and CiaraMelinn of CWU. The delegation met President Higginsand his wife Sabina before retiring to the garden forsome light refreshments and music, in the form ofDavid Mangan (bass soloist), David Burke (pianist),and indie rock bands Storyfold and Key West.

The President made a speech about the project,wherein he discussed the reasons why he initiated itand what the aims are. Essentially the Being Young &Irish project is a platform where young people inIreland can submit to the President their thoughts,

ideas and hopes on what they wish to see as the futurefor Ireland. Submissions can be made in any way anindividual or group wish, such as a written report,story, poem, song, video etc.

This is an important opportunity for young CWUmembers to have their say in what the future of Irelandshould be. With one of the highest rates of youthunemployment and increasing attacks on low-paid andvulnerable workers, this project is an ideal platform toraise issues around creating a fairer employmentenvironment for young people and a more equitablesociety overall. Therefore, we would encourage ouryoung members to make a submission on this, or anyother areas of importance, and to add your voices tothe debate on what the future of Ireland should be.

Photo (l-r): Natalie Fox, Ciara Melinn, Sabina Higgins,President Michael D. Higgins, David O’Driscoll

(missing from photo Fiona Elward)

ICTU Delegates visitÁras an Uachtaráin

For more information on the project or to make a submission,please visit:

http://www.president.ie/makeasubmission/

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Agreement reached oncompensation for loss of“on-call” allowanceThe eircom Rescue Plan (ERP) committed theCommunications Workers’ Union to engagewith the company with a view to concluding a“Loss of Earnings Framework” to compensatemembers for loss of “On-Call Allowance” andloss of “Long-term Acting”.

In the case of “On Call Allowance” an agreement hasbeen concluded and endorsed at the September SECmeeting. Loss of “On Call Allowance” had been thesubject of an LRC adjudication in 2009, which haspreviously been circulated, and provided for a one-off 1.5times compensation payment and made no provision forthe pensionable value of the allowance. The full text ofthe new Compensation Framework for loss of “On CallAllowance” is copied below and provides for a two yearcontinuation of the allowance for members and thismechanism also provides protection for the pensionablevalue of the allowance during that period.

Agreement on compensation for loss of long-termacting is expected to be concluded in the coming weeksand will be circulated in due course.

“Loss of earnings” compensation frameworks - Loss of“on call” allowance.

IntroductionUnder the eircom Recovery Plan there was acommitment to introduce a “Loss of earnings”framework for the loss of “on call “allowance. Thepurpose of this paper is to set out the new arrangementsunder this framework:

Compensation for loss of ‘on call’allowance (pensionable)

The new arrangements are as follows:Where “on call’ allowance, which is pensionable inrespect of the Defined Benefit (DB) pension fund, ceasedue to restructuring programme, employees who havebeen in receipt of “on call’ allowance for more than twoyears will continue to receive the allowance on a personalbasis for two years by way of compensation.

The application these arrangements will mean therewould be no requirement for a notice period once anagreement on implementation has been reached.

In the event that an employee, who is in receipt of theallowance on a personal basis for two years by way of

compensation, was to take up a role which attracts a rotaallowance the “on call” allowance would cease forthwithprovided the rota allowance was greater or equal to the“on call” allowance.

Where the rota allowance was less than the “on call”allowance the “on call” allowance would be reduced bythe rota allowance amount.

Scope These arrangements relates to grades comprehended bythe Joint Conciliation (JCC) only.

ReviewThe following is accepted by the parties:

• These arrangement will apply for 18 months; and • There will be periodic reviews of the

implementation of these arrangements.

CWU SignsRecognition Agreement

with ESCCUHaving organised all of the staff in the e-Servicesand Communications Credit Union (ESCCU) theCWU set about engaging with the board ofmanagement to negotiate a collective agreement. Atthe outset the board rejected the idea of a collectiveagreement and advised the Union that they wouldengage with staff directly. At a subsequent meetingwith the members it was clear that this approach wasnot acceptable to the staff who undertook to hold apetition which everyone supported.

The petition clearly stated the members’preference for collective representation and calledon the board to engage with the CWU with a view toconcluding a collective agreement. After some initialresistance the board of the credit union did enterdiscussions and eventually an agreement wasreached. This paves the way for what will hopefullybe a lasting and productive relationship betweenboth organisations which will ensure that the staffs’collective voice is listened to and respected.

In the meantime the members themselves havenominated Emma Lusk as their shop steward and ata recent members meeting the group have puttogether a comprehensive agenda for negotiationswith the local manager. The members are to becongratulated for their perseverance, determinationand their support for each other which the Union’sjob in helping them achieve this success mucheasier.

Telecoms Update

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Telecoms Update

NationalBroadband PlanLaunchedOn August 30th the Minister for Communications,Pat Rabbitte TD, launched “Delivering aConnected Society – A National Broadband Planfor Ireland” which it is claimed will facilitate theprovision of high speed broadband to every homeand business in the State over the lifetime of theGovernment. This plan follows the recentcompletion and launch of a report from the NextGeneration Broadband Taskforce (NGBT) whichprompted the Department of Communications tolaunch a public consultation.

The CWU contribution to this consultation observedthat the (NGBT) report was suggesting that around 30%of the country would see no improvement in theirbroadband provision as these parts of the country werenot commercially viable. This is an alarming increase inthe digital divide. The National Broadband Scheme thatwas developed to ensure that all citizens had access tobroadband only had to focus on 10% of the country thatcould not get broadband. That this figure has now risen to30% represents a very serious challenge for thegovernment.

Their response to the problem comes in the form ofthis latest plan which contains the following targets:

• 70Mbps – 100Mbps to more than half of thepopulation by 2015;

• At least 40Mbps, and in many cases much fasterspeeds, to at least a further 20% of the populationand potentially as much as 35% around smallertowns and villages; and

• A minimum of 30Mbps for every remaining homeand business in the country – no matter how ruralor remote

It is envisaged that this will be completed before 2020to ensure that Ireland meets its targets as set out in theDigital Agenda for Europe which the EuropeanCommission has put in place to ensure Europe catchesup with its economic partners across the world whocontinue to invest in broadband. These targets impose anobligation on the government to ensure that all citizenshave broadband by 2013 and that by 2020 all citizens

have access to minimum speeds of 30Mbs.The National Broadband Plan will achieve its targets

by investing a total of €175 million: ‘The total fundinginvolved for any State intervention is indicativelyestimated at ⇔350 million, ⇔175 million of which willcome from public funding sources with the other ⇔175million from the successful commercial bidder(s)emerging from a public procurement process.’

This is a very significant development for the Irishtelecoms marketplace though the full value of thisintervention will on be realised when it is clear where andhow the money will be spent. As outlined in the Plan,‘Government will intervene where – but only where – itis evident that the market will not deliver. Ireland’spopulation is more broadly dispersed than that of manyother countries so reaching the target will require Stateinvestment to encourage the private sector to offerservices which would not otherwise make commercialsense.’

The CWU is not convinced that the 30% of thepopulation who it has been suggested will require Stateintervention will have their needs met for the modest sumof €350 million but further details are required before aclearer picture emerges. That being said the Union hascalled for the government to ear-mark the windfall fromthe 4G Spectrum auction, which is expected to be €400million, for broadband development. It would be a missedopportunity if this money was not invested in this waygiven that the importance of high-speed broadband isclearly noted in the National Broadband Plan: ‘Highspeed broadband is core to competitiveness. As aknowledge services oriented economy tradingworldwide our workforce needs to be better connectedthan most in the world. However, ensuring fastconnectivity is not only about jobs. It is alsoincreasingly a key conduit of modern society –entertainment, learning, health and citizenship.’

The CWU fully endorses this view and our position onthis matter has been clear for many years now and that isthat high-speed broadband should be treated like a utility.All citizens should enjoy equal access to equal speeds onan equal basis. The National Broadband Plan, while it’san important step in the right direction, falls short ofmaking high-speed broadband universally availableacross the country. It could be argued in fact that it furtherconsolidates a digital divide where rural areas have accessto 30Mbps but urban centres enjoys speeds three timeshigher at 100Mbps.

The next steps, according to the Plan, will be amapping exercise which will analyse the existing andplanned broadband services which will inform wherestate intervention might be required. It is unclear howlong this process will take. In addition to this there willbe a National Digital Plan launched before the end of theyear which look at demand stimulation among otherthings.

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Telecoms Update

GSE 06-12 Health Net Project

8th June 2012

Re: Health Net Project

Dear Colleague,

Below are the details of a Health Net Project being undertaken in eircom in conjunction with the UlsterUniversity, both the Health & Safety Authority and Health Service Executive support the project. TheCommunications Workers’ Union has always encouraged participation by our members in initiatives thatpromote health and wellbeing and this initiative is no different. As you can see from the information provided,the survey is confidential and Branch Secretaries are asked to encourage participation by all members. Belowis the information provided by the Company on the project.

“The Health Net Project is an eircom led project supported by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), theHealth Services Executive (HSE) and Ulster University (UUJ). A questionnaire has been designed inconjunction with the Ulster University (UUJ) who will analyse the data gathered. It was launched so we couldensure that we were:

• Developing proactive health management strategies including educational programmes and healthscreening initiatives

• Initiating a number of programmes aimed at improving employee health and wellbeing (e.g. Healthscreening, educational awareness etc.)

• Heightening awareness of preventable health problems and encourage early detection and treatment • Producing recommendations and guidance on how to address health risks identified by employees.

The Health Net project team are carrying out a survey on employee health and wellbeing across the eircomGroup. They want to gather information about the factors that support and/or hinder the health of employeesat a particular workplace and identify potential opportunities to improve or address.

The survey is completely anonymous and should take no more than 20 minutes to complete. It’s importantto answer all questions carefully and honestly, as it is only with your help that the Health Net Project can worktowards creating a happier and healthier workplace for all staff.

All individual responses will be treated in the strictest confidence. The eircom Group will not see anyindividual results - they will be presented back to Ulster University where the results will be collated andincorporated into a final confidential report for the Health Net project team.

On completion of the survey you will see a confidential personal report, which is committed to positivelysupporting your health and well-being in the workplace. Please note this will not be available online once youexit the questionnaire. If you would like to receive an email copy of your results, just enter your email addressin the box provided at the end of the survey.

Whilst completion of the employee wellbeing survey is not compulsory, we do encourage all of you toparticipate. Please complete the questionnaire by C.O.B. Friday 6th July.

If you have any further queries or should you require any assistance with this survey on its launch Mon 11thJune, please contact HealthNetInfo@eircom.ie or visit the Health Net site on Comet.”All queries regarding this survey should be addressed to the Health Net project group at the email addressprovided above.

Yours fraternally,Steve FitzpatrickGeneral Secretary

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Telecoms Update

GSE 07-12 New CEO

3 August 2012

New eircom CEO

Dear Colleagues

The Union was informed earlier today that Mr Herb Hribar has been appointed as the

new CEO of eircom.

The Union has previously dealt with Mr Hribar when he served as Managing Director

of Wholesale/Network at eircom from 2002-2004.

CWU was also informed of the appointment of Mr Richard Moat to the position of

Group Financial Officer. Mr Moat was previously employed as Managing Director of

T-Mobile UK.

It is expected that Mr Hribar and Mr Moat will take up their new roles within the

coming weeks and we look forward to meeting them to discuss the challenges facing

eircom.

Yours sincerely

Steve Fitzpatrick

General Secretary

GSE 08-12 9-Day Fortnight and 10% Pay Cut

5th September 2012

Re: 9-Day Fortnight and 10% Pay Cut

Dear Colleague,

I am pleased to inform you that agreement has beenreached for the cessation of the 9-Day Fortnight and theassociated 10% Pay Cut. The date of implementation willbe the end of October.

This was agreed today at my first meeting with the newCEO of eircom, Mr Herb Hribar, and with the assistanceof the HR Director, Ms Marie Lee. Further details on thecessation will be circulated shortly.

Yours fraternally,Steve FitzpatrickGeneral Secretary

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ApprenticesSince the introduction of the Apprenticeship Schemeinto eircom and the terms and conditions that appliedto their two-year Apprenticeship, the issue ofsubsistence/vouched expenses was a bone ofcontention for the Union. A number of meetingswere held in order to sort this problem out and to dateno agreement can be reached. This issue has beenreferred to the Labour Relations Commission for ahearing and no date has been set at present. It hasbeen agreed to start discussions on the terms andconditions of Apprentice’s post their two yearApprenticeship and these discussions are due tocommence mid-September. A report will be made onthe conclusion of these discussions.

Contractors:

KN NetworksMembers in KN Networks got their 5% pay reductionreversed. The Union and KN Networks starteddiscussions on the proposed 5% pay reduction due(as the Company states) to the financial position ofthe company. While these discussions were takingplace the management implemented the 5% pay cuton our members without any agreement. Alldiscussions at that stage ceased until the payreduction was restored and this has now taken placeand we are re-engaging with the management on theoriginal proposal. Talks are continuing at this pointin time.

Telecoms Update

Telecoms – Best Practice Seminar –26th/27th September

A Telecoms Seminar is to be held in CWU headquartersDublin with a number of representatives from CWU andthe CWU Northern Ireland. The Seminar will cover arange of issues of interest to both unions, includingprivate contractor companies and their impact across bothjurisdications. In addition it will also cover other areas ofinterest affecting members in BT, O2 and a number of

call centres located on the island of Ireland. We hope tohave a presentation on the legal framework relating toboth jurisdications at the Seminar.

The aim of the Seminar is to develop further jointinitiatives, such as the CWU Humanitarian Aid Convoyand to involve as many union activists both north andsouth, with a view to progressing inter-union relationships.

EAPRestructuring

The current model of employee assistance for eircomemployees has been in place since 1985. The servicewas arranged on a geographical location based on theold district arrangements and has remained largelyunchanged since that time. In contrast, the eircomemployee profile, range of work situations, locationsand types of issues presenting in the workplace aresignificantly more complex.

The Trade Union Alliance in eircom has beenengaged in discussions with management on therestructuring of the Employee Assistance Programme.The focus of the TUA in these discussions was toensure that current services were retained, particularlyservices to pensioners and families of employees andalso to add on new services which are available fromservice providers in this field. A new restructuredservice has now been agreed, details of which, will beexplained to all staff at meetings within the comingweeks and a Joint Management/Union group has beenset up to oversee the implementation of the new service.

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Vodafone has signed a contract to enter a strategicpartnership with 3 Ireland. This partnership is for a deeppassive network sharing arrangement. There will be asingle access network operated by an independent servicecompany and this company will be jointly funded inaccordance with an agreed business plan. The rationaleput forward by Vodafone for entering into thisarrangement is external market pressures, technologydemands and developments in Ireland.

Following the announcement, the Union agreed withVodafone Management to set up a Joint PartnershipGroup to deal with the wide range of issues that willarise, which will affect the members concerned. Someof the key issues under discussion are:-

• TUPE/Secondment to the new company;• Pension Arrangements;• PRSI Arrangements;• Financial structure of the new company;• Goodwill payment to staff transferring to the new

company;• Industrial Relations structures;• Security of Tenure;• Structure of the retained organisation.

Dealing with the foregoing presents a major challenge tothe Union. The members affected by the proposal havemade it clear they do not trust Vodafone to deal with theirconcerns both before and after the setting up of the newcompany. Their attitude is influenced by the way inwhich members were treated following Vodafone’sannouncement to export jobs to Northern Ireland and theway in which members were treated following theoutsourcing of work to Obelisk, where Vodafone hasshown a total disregard for the wellbeing of the membersconcerned.

The Union will engage the services of our legal team,Pensions Adviser and Financial Adviser to ensure we getthe best advice available to us and protect our members’interests.

Telecoms Update

Vodafone and 3 Ireland agreeon Strategic Partnership

Following a dispute in Obelisk earlier this year arisingfrom the Company’s refusal to pay a 2% wage increaseprovided for in the transfer agreement, the matter wasreferred to the Labour Relations Commission. TheCommission’s Recommendation provided for thepayment of the 2% increase and the Commission put

in place a mechanism to enable the Union and Obeliskto deal with day-to-day issues. Our expectation was wecould develop a working relationship with managementin Obelisk. However, this was not to be and Obeliskmanagement are back up to their old tricks. Recently,they refused to adhere to the terms of the agreement,which provides for payment to staff while absent onlong-term sick leave, as a result of which, staff wereleft without pay. The Union referred the matter to theLabour Relations Commission and while paymentswere eventually restored prior to a Hearing at theCommission, other associated issues remainunresolved. Management in Obelisk have also failedto operate a bonus scheme for members, thereby,depriving them of earnings and this matter has nowbeen referred to the Labour Relations Commission

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Telecoms Update

Vodafone Retail:Organisers visit Dublin storesOrganisers, accompanied by Vodafone branch secretaryMick Farrell, have visited a number of Dublin stores. Thevisits resulted in an increase in membership andadditionally, a number of workers have made themselvesavailable to attend Workplace Leader training which isplanned to take place shortly. We were made aware of anumber of workplace issues which have been referred tothe Vodafone retail forum, or the company as appropriate.We are planning to visit the remaining Vodafone retailstores over the coming months. As ever we are alwaysseeking employees who would like to take a more activerole in the workplace. Are you employed in a Vodafoneretail store? Would you like to become more involved inyour Union? Would you like to avail of free WorkplaceLeader training?

If so, contact:Gerard@cwu.ie or Michael.farrell@vodafone.com

eircom Retail:Cessation of pay cuts goodnews for retail members!The recent news from the CWU and the new eircomCEO that the reduced hours and associated reductionof pay is to come to a close at the end of October isparticularly welcomed by Meteor/ e mobile retailworkers, who suffered disproportionately when thepay cuts were initiated. For example, most retailmembers could not avail of a 9-day fortnight andworked a reduced day instead. Thus workers sufferedthe pay cut without the compensation of anyadditional day off each fortnight. The reinstating ofthe normal salary is particular welcome in the currentcircumstances.

Union numbers continue tosoar at Meteor!Membership numbers are rocketing at Meteor and emobile stores. Organisers recently met 32 newstarters during their training, of which 97% joined theunion. This brings our membership total to nearly160 in eircom retail stores, representing an increasein membership in excess of 100% over the last twoyears. Our next task is to develop retail forums ineircom retail while continuing to grow our density.The only way that this can happen is with theinvolvement of our members. With this in mind, weare continuing to seek eircom retail members to trainas Workplace Leaders. Currently we have WorkplaceLeaders trained in Cork, Galway and Dublin. We aimto offer additional training for others throughout thecountry. Are you employed at an eircom retail store?Would you like to know more about the trainingcourses that your Union offers? Would you like toavail of free Workplace Leader training? If so contactGerard@cwu.ie or rlawlor@eircom.ie

Union Representatives meetwith eircom retailManagementA number of meetings have taken place betweenUnion representatives and Tony McDonnell, eircomNational Retail Manager. As a result of thesemeetings it was agreed that representatives of theCWU would address store managers at their regionalarea meetings. The purpose of these meetings is tooutline the role and benefits of the Union to storemanagers and to make them aware of the positiverelationship enjoyed by the Union and Company. Sofar we have met two groups of managers - the first inHSQ, Dublin and the second group in Mullingar. Weaim to visit the remaining groups of store managersin the near future.

Welcome to our latestworkplace leader at Meteor!Congratulations and a warm welcome to our mostrecent eircom retail Workplace Leader Darras Joneswho works at the Eyre Square store in Galway.Darras recently attended Workplace Leader trainingin Athlone.

Probationary difficulties/workplace problemsIt has been brought to our attention that somemembers at eircom retail stores are encounteringdifficulties in relation to successfully completingtheir probationary period. If you are aware of anymember who is experiencing problems during theirprobationary period or indeed at anytime, pleasecontact gerard@cwu.ie. Remember, we can offerassistance when we are made aware that a problemexists.

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The Irish Congress of Trade Unions held its 4th annualGlobal Solidarity Summer School in White’s Hotel,Wexford on the 24th-25th August with a themeInternationalism, Globalisation and Trade Unions. TheSummer School was attended by: Ciara Melinn (CWUHead Office), Paddy Mathews (eircom, DroghedaDistrict), Adrian Scanlon, James Moore, Eric Partridge,Paul Healy, Paula Allen and Susan Murtagh (An Post,DPAB).

The event was opened by Minister for Trade andDevelopment, Joe Costello, who praised the work of theGlobal Solidarity Champions to date and discussed hishopes for the continuation of the work done by ICTU andits affiliates in this area. The Minister discussed his rolewithin the Department of Foreign Affairs and theportfolio which he has responsibility for, including thework of Irish Aid on both overseas development andinternational trade. Finally, he discussed some of thepartnerships between the trade union movement inIreland under the global solidarity project and Irish Aid,noting that a pledge for funding had been made for adisability project in Uganda run by the National Unionof Journalists and Impact, in partnership with localunions & NGOs.

President of ICTU, Eugene McGlone, then addressedthe delegates, expressing his gratitude for the work on thevarious international campaigns to date. Eugene alsodiscussed his first-hand experience of global solidaritycampaigning in action, following his visit to Colombiain the last year as part of a delegation of trade unionists.He noted that there is no end to the number of placeswhere human and labour rights are violated, but thatevery action taken by activists and unions makes adifference to someone, which always makes the struggleworthwhile.

Professor Ronaldo Munck from Dublin CityUniversity then gave a presentation on what actually ismeant by the term “global solidarity”, which was

followed by a panel discussion made up of: David Joyce(ICTU), Judith Kirton-Darling (ETUC), ProfessorEdward Lahiff (UCC), Owen Tudor (TUC), Jeff Vogt(ITCU), and it was chaired by Michelle Stainstreet(NUJ). The discussion focused mostly on what tradeunions could do in terms of global solidarity campaigningand the general consensus was that engaging at local levelwithin our own trade unions and with the wider civilsociety movement on international issues and campaignswas key to a fairer society. The day concluded with apresentation and short film about the 1911 Wexford LockOut.

The following day there was a presentation by Bravo(Bahrain Rehabilitation and Anti-Violence Organisation)on the human rights crisis within the Kingdom, whichreceives little media attention as a result of the strategicimportance of Bahrain for its oil. The delegates then tookpart in one of four workshops of their choice: Justice forColombia, Palestine Solidarity, Burma Solidarity andClean Clothes Campaign/Ethical Flowers. The actionagreed was that union members should actively campaignagainst the Free Trade Agreement by contacting theirelected representatives at local, national and Europeanlevel by post, email, fax or phone call. Information can beprovided by JFC UK and the ETUC on the Free TradeAgreement, but simply asking questions about theagreement and action plan, and keeping Colombia on theagenda is the most appropriate action at this time. To thatend, Justice for Colombia (Ireland) will draft a templatethat can be used to send to political representatives andthis will be made available through the ICTU GlobalSolidarity website and the JFC Ireland facebook page.

More information on the Global Solidarity project isavailable on the ICTU website (www.ictu.ie), includinginformation on the campaigns referred to above. Reportsfrom the various workshops will also be available shortlyand can be requested through CWU Head Office(ciara@cwu.ie).

ICTU GlobalSolidaritySummer School,Wexford 2012

Mr Younis arrived in Ireland in 2002. He did not speakEnglish and he commenced employment at thePoppadom Indian restaurant in Dublin. In 2009, MrYounis complained that he was being exploited. This wasbrought to the attention of the Migrant Rights Centre anda case was subsequently submitted to the Labour Courtunder the terms of the Employment (Information) Act,Organisation of Working Time Act and NationalMinimum Wage Act.

Mr Younis claimed he was grievously exploited by hisemployer and required to work 7 days a week with noholidays except for one month, which was unpaid. MrYounis claimed his employer paid him “pocket money”in cash, failed to regularise his tax position and retainedhis Pakistani passport.

In September 2011, the Labour Court upheld a RightsCommissioner finding that the employer failed to provideMr Younis with documents concerning his employmentover an extended period, and breached annual leaveworking time and holiday entitlements. The LabourCourt awarded Mr Younis €92,000, which included€86,132 in back pay based on underpayments fromSeptember 2002. Mr Younis’ employer appealed thefinding to the High Court and the Court found the awardby the Labour Court to Mr Younis must be quashed.

In his findings, Mr Justice Hogan agreed that a non-Irish national could not be employed without anappropriate permit and said the prohibition onemployment applied to both employers and employees.

However, while an employer could defend criminalproceedings on grounds they took all reasonable steps toensure compliance under the Employment Permits Act2003, that defence was not available to an employee. The2003 Act provides that “a non-Irish national employeewho worked without a permit automatically committedan offence and their contract of employment was void” hesaid. The Labour Court could thus not make an award inrelation to an employment contract, which wassubstantively illegal. Mr Justice Hogan referred hisfindings to Richard Bruton, Minister for Jobs, Enterpriseand Innovation, with a view to having the Oireachtasexamine the Employment Permits Act.

By any standards, this is an appalling ruling and takesno account of the exploitation suffered by Mr Younis andthe Labour Court’s findings. The treatment of Mr Younisis in stark contrast to the manner in which the Courts treatthe great and the good of Irish society whose actionscontributed to the collapse of the Irish economy. TheCourts have no difficulty in setting aside large sums ofmoney to enable these people to continue with theirlifestyles while the mess they have created is underinvestigation.

The finding is also a further demonstration of howworkers cannot expect to be treated fairly by the Courts.Mr Younis summed up the situation very well whenspeaking through an interpreter following the Court findinghe said; “He had done nothing wrong and was insteadbeing further punished by the decision of the Court”.

14

Award to Migrant Workerquashed over illegal job status

The name Mohammad Younis would not be recognisable to Irish workers. However, his treatment byhis employer, and a subsequent decision by the High Court, should be source of concern to all workers.

15

Budgeting for household expenses is not a simple task, and every family incurs different expenses, which makes the process even more difficult to regulate.

esccu will work with you to ensure that there is sufficient cash in your budget account each month to cover all your living expenses!

How do I open a budget account?To open a budget account you firstly need to fill in a budget account application form which is broken down into various categories & covers a variety of bills. Your budget account start date will be the first of the month the account is opened in & it will run over one year.

Basically you need to estimate how much you would spend annually under your chosen categories & a weekly, fortnightly or monthly repayment will be worked out based on this.

How does a budget account work?When your budget account has been opened you will receive your account details in the post, to set up a direct debit for your bills you need to contact the providers with your budget account number & the credit union sort code. Usually members would have some of their bills on direct debit & some paid in full by cheque.

Are there any charges on a budget account?There is an annual charge of 15 on all budget accounts & interest is charged on overdrawn balances calculated at a rate of 8.9% daily & charged to the account monthly.

Successful Budgeting for those who don’t like to Budget!

55 Dawson Street, Dublin 2. Phone: 01-6792344 Fax: 01-6790802 Email: info@esccu.ie Web: www.esccu.ie

e-services & communications credit union ltd. is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland.

Talk to an esccu representative todayand see how easy it is to set up your very own budget account!

Call us at 01-6792344

Why would my budget account be overdrawn?One of the benefits of the budget account is that it can go into an overdrawn balance to cover any bills that are budgeted for when there may not be enough funds in the account at the time your bill is due to be paid. Some budget accounts will go in & out of a minus balance during the budget year but the idea is that the account is either in credit or breaks even by its renewal date.

What are the benefits of having a budget account?One of the main benefits is having all of your bills paid through one account which makes it easier to manage your expenses.

The facility to pay any of your bills on direct debit makes paying your bills through a budget account as convenient as paying your bills through your bank account.

The budget account can go into an overdrawn balance to pay any bills that are budgeted for when there may not be enough funds in the account at the time your bill is due to be paid.

BENEFITS: Takes away the stress of managing your regular household bills Spreads the cost evenly over 12 months or 52 weeks All household bills can be catered for Payments into a Budget account can be taken directly from salary

A simple and effective way to reduce costs…

••••

16

Postal Update

Accommodation Update –An Post MUST Do More!

In previous issues of the Connect magazine the Union has beenvery complimentary to An Post’s Management for the majorimprovement in accommodation for staff working at DeliveryService Units. However, the same cannot be attributed toManagement in Retail. Not alone have they failed to address theserious accommodation issues for staff working at BranchOffices, they have not bothered to attend Joint Accommodationmeetings. As a consequence the Union’s Executive hasconcluded that there is no desire on the Company’s part tojointly address these issues and has decided to deal with mattersin the traditional manner in the industrial relations arena.

In this regard the Union’s National Executive has authorisedindustrial action should the Company fail to address in ameaningful way the Union’s concerns. This decision eminates

from frustration of staff working at the Office as well as indeedmembers of the public who have had to use An Post’s servicesat Post Office counters. In more recent times local politicianshave taken up the mantra as an issue in their constituency.

The Union contends that the Company has failed to deliveron its obligation to its staff and customers. It is particularlyunacceptable given Retails successful business bas. The recentMorning Ireland coverage of New Ross and the public imageof a dirty clapped out Branch Network is damaging the An Postbrand and business. An Post Management need to take a leafout of their own advertising campaign and DO MORE. Beloware a few examples of the unsatisfactory conditions at someBranch Offices.

Manning the barricade at New RossMountjoy-like facilities at Athy.

17

Postal Update

CWU –Ambitious VoteManagement

Strategy

Making yourVOTE count

A careful strategy of vote management has beendevised to achieve the CWU’s ambition to ensurethat its five candidates are all elected to the fivepositions on the Board of An Post.

Each candidate has been allocated a number ofBranches so as to ensure they get the maximumnumber of first preference votes. The strategy isvitally important if we are to maximise the numberof seats for our Union. The allocation of Branches isoutlined separately and has been acceptedunanimously by the Union’s Worker Directorcandidates.

All members are earnestly requested to cooperatewholeheartedly with this approach by voting No.1for their allocated candidate and to vote 2, 3, 4 and5 for the remaining CWU candidates, in order oftheir choice.

Election Process –What you need to

know• The election is by postal vote only

• Ballot papers will be issued to Managers atthe end of September and all staff memberseligible to vote will receive their ballotpaper by the 1st October 2012

✔ Staff on sick leave etc and in Sub-Offices will receive ballot papers byswiftpost

• Polling period is Tuesday 2nd October2012 to Wednesday 10th October 2012

✔ Ballot papers must be returned duringthis period

✔ Last date for receipt of ballot papers is5.30pm on Wed 10th October 2012

• Count Day is 12th October 2012

Vote 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 for the CWUcandidatesVote No.1 for your designated CWU candidate2, 3, 4 and 5 in order of your choice for theremaining CWU candidates.

An Post Worker Director Election 2012

In early October an election of Worker Directors for Appointment to the Board of An Post will take place. The purposeis to elect five employee representatives for appointment by the Minister for Communications, Energy and NationalResources.

The CWU has nominated five candidates to contest the elections for the five Worker Director positions on theBoard of An Post. The Union’s members in An Post will be well served by:

Noel Adamson, DublinPat Compton, RoscommonTommy Devlin, DublinWillie Mooney, DublinMartina O Connell, Cork

The CWU Candidates have developed a wealth of experience together with enormous trust and respect over many yearsduring their trojan and tireless work on behalf of the CWU. Separately in this publication, each of the CWU candidatesis profiled. While individually they have a long track record in putting our members’ interests first at all times,collectively they will represent our common interest in a highly professional and influential manner at the highestdecision forum of the Company.

An Post Worker Director

18

Postal Update

Noel Adamson

Noel joined An Post in January 1981 as a Postpersonin the Central Sorting Office, Sheriff Street. Heworked in the parcel office up to 1994 before movingto Fairview delivery office where he holds a cycledelivery. Noel has been a trade union activist for 28years in a number of roles. He originally started as aCommittee Member in the parcel office andcontinued this role in Fairview, where he alsobecame the Fairview Branch Representative on theDublin Postal Delivery Branch Committee.

Noel is the Assistant Secretary of the DublinPostal Delivery Branch, a Branch of nearly 1,400members in 28 offices. Being involved in such alarge Branch brings Noel in contact with a hugenumber of diverse issues and problems on a dailybasis, giving him the experience and skills to carryforward and help his colleagues. He is also theHealth & Safety Officer of the Branch. He has beeninstrumental in helping the Company to formulatean Adverse Weather Policy. In order to fullyunderstand the issues in relation to health & safety,Noel completed a Fetac (Level 5) course tocomplement him in this role. Noel is the chairmanof the CWU Standing Orders Committee. ThisCommittee governs any union conference orseminar. It also assists union members and Brancheswith the wording of motions for conference.

Noel was born into a family of 19 in Finglas,Dublin. Being born into such a large family, Noelhad to start his working life at the age of 15, throughnecessity, not choice. He resumed his educationthrough night courses, attaining diplomas andcertificates in health & safety, computing, tradeunion organising & structures, and industrialrelations. Noel is married to Betty, his wife of 30years. They have two children.

Pat Compton

Pat joined the postal service as aJunior Postman in 1973. He hasworked in Boyle, Galway andRoscommon. He was active inthe union from 1977 to 2003and has served as CommitteeMember, Branch Secretary,National Executive Memberand President of the Union. Heserved for 22 years on theNational Executive Council ofthe CWU and was electedPresident in 1985. He is aformer member of RoscommonCounty Development Boardand served for 7 years on theProjects Committee of the aidagency Trócaire.

Pat was elected to the Boardof An Post in 1992 and hasbeen a member since. Pat has awealth of experience gainedfrom representing staff at alllevels throughout his workinglife. This experience has beenput to good use at Board-levelwhere decisions taken affectthe future of An Post and theworking lives and welfare of itsstaff.

Tommy Devlin

A native of Dublin, Tommyentered the Post Office as aJunior Postperson in 1976. Onhis promotion to Postperson, heapplied to go on the driving. Hebecame one of the youngestever Postperson Drivers at theage of eighteen. He spent thenext twenty five years as aPostperson Driver. He was aWorking Leader in KilbarrackParcel Depot before beingpromoted in 2008 to DSM inMalahide. He has served on theCommittee of the Dublin PostalDriver’s Branch and wasBranch Chairperson for 8years. He has attendedconference as a delegate/National Executive Membercontinuously since 1996. He iscurrently Chairperson of theDublin Mails ManagersBranch.

Tommy was elected to theNational Executive Council in2002 and has served on theFinance Committee andOrganising Committee. He hasplayed a major role inrecruitment.

He is married to Pauline andthey have four daughters andtwo sons.

Election - The CWU Team

19

Postal Update

Willie Mooney

Willie joined the Post Office in 1982as a Junior Postperson. He has been aBranch Committee Member, BranchChairman and is currently BranchSecretary of the Dublin Postal ClerksBranch, and a member of the NationalExecutive Council. Willie was anactive member of the Dublin PostalAmalgamated Branch during thesetting up of the Dublin Mails Centrein 1992.

Willie has campaigned tirelessly forpostal workers and his friendly, down-to-earth and approachable nature hasbrought many new members to theUnion and helped support and resolveissues for workers over the years. Hehas represented the Union in lobbyingTDs and MEPs during the Protect YourPost campaign.

He is currently a member of theCWU’s Education & Training andOrganising Committees. Willie has adiploma in Management andEmployee Relations from the NationalCollege of Ireland. He has a logicalmind and is frank in his approach.

Martina O’Connell

Martina O’Connell joined An Post in 1993 as an AuxiliaryPostperson and is now working as a Postal Operative inthe South City Delivery Office. She became a CommitteeMember of the Cork Outdoor Branch in 1994 and thenserved as Assistant Secretary, and has been BranchSecretary for the past 8 years. She has been a member ofthe National Executive Council of the CommunicationsWorkers’ Union since 2002. During that time she has beena member of the Equality Committee and activelycampaigned for the introduction of Term Time in An Post.

Martina has been a member of the Education & TrainingCommittee for the past 6 years and has helped delivernumerous training courses around the country on behalf ofthe CWU to Union Activists. She is also a member of theFinance Committee of the Union. Martina is a member ofthe Union’s Postal Liberalisation Sub-Group and played akey role in organising the Protect Your Post campaign. Aspart of her work on this Committee she has lobbied TDsand Councillors throughout the country, as well as MEPsin Europe, on the impact of Postal Liberalisation on Irishpostal workers. She is also a member of the Collection &Delivery Group, Ancillary Services Group and theSouthern Region Partnership Forum.

Martina will work tirelessly on your behalf to right anyinjustice. She is an honest and diligent worker and she isdedicated to the post office and its workforce. Martina ismarried to Dan and has three daughters: Kate, Orlaigh andAoife.

Vote 1,2,3,4 and 5 for the CWU candidates Vote No 1 for your designated CWU candidate

2,3,4 and 5 in order of your choice for the remaining CWU candidates

CWU

TEAM

20

Great news! Just a few weeks ago, postman Anthony Vealand his union launched a Change.org petition askingAustralia Post to give them proper wet weather gear –and they’ve won!

Australia Post had been stalling for threeyears, refusing to pay enough to buydecent gear. So Anthony and hiscolleagues decided to start a petition,asking the community to stand behind itsbeloved posties.

And it worked. Their campaign was allover the news – The Age, The Sydney MorningHerald and ABC Radio to name a few – and over 5,000people like you joined them.

After three years of dismissing their concerns, the

public outcry meant Australia Post couldn’t ignore it anylonger. They quickly announced a trial for new wet

weather gear – ensuring that Anthony and otherswon’t have to endure a fourth year of returning

home cold and wet. The new gear is still being trialled,

and Anthony says he’ll be talking toAustralia Post to ensure it delivers on itspromise. But after the surge of

community support for their campaign,Anthony is confident that they’ll keep their

word rather than risk their image by backing out.Today, Anthony has helped posties around Australia

ensure they were treated fairly by their employer –tomorrow, it could be you.

Success of Australian Change.orgPostal Petition!

On the 17th August One Direct Managing Director,David Egan, announced to staff that an agreementhad been reached between the company and Aviva toacquire the Branch Network Personal Lines Businessof Aviva Insurance. In effect this means that OneDirect will take over the retail arm of the Aviva carand home insurance business with the transfer ofapproximately fifty staff into One Direct. Thisrepresents a very positive development for thecompany and should further consolidate theirposition in what is a very competitive marketplace.

While there has been no formal discussions (at thetime of writing) between the Union and either OneDirect or An Post on the specifics of what this meansfor the business, it is predicted that former Aviva staff

will migrate to the An Post branch network and thatsome staff will move into the One Direct office inAthlone. The business is aiming to have thecustomers migrated by early November.

Of course this is not the first time that One Directhas been through this process in recent years. Thepromising PostBank venture that was not saved bythe government involved very much the same kind ofchallenges, so the local One Direct BranchCommittee are well versed in what to expect andwhat to be alert for as the transition process getsunderway. With this experience under their belts ourOne Direct members will be very well represented inthe forthcoming discussions.

One Direct AcquiresAviva Branch Business

Postal Update

21

Postal Update

In late July ComReg released its response to aconsultation it launched in June on the implementationof the Regulation (Postal Services) Act 2011. During theconsultation the CWU made a comprehensive submissionoutlining its concerns both on the approach being adoptedby ComReg in terms of the lack of empirical evidence tosupport its view as well as the actual policy approach thatthe Regulator was proposing.

The CWU began by arguing that the Postal Service Act2011 clearly sets out the statutory obligation that isimposed on ComReg which is “to ensure the provisionof the Universal Postal Service that meets the reasonableneeds of postal service users”. In conjunction with this,the statutory objectives that ComReg must meet inexercising this function are now as follows:

“(i) to promote the development of the postal sectorand, in particular, the availability of a universalpostal service within, to and from the state at anaffordable price for the benefit of all postal serviceusers,

(ii) to promote the interest of postal service userswithin the Community, and

(iii) subject to sub-paragraph (i), to facilitate thedevelopment of competition and innovation in themarket for postal service provision”

Furthermore, in relation to ComReg’s objectives, Section10 of the 2011 Act goes on to state that:

“the Commission shall take all reasonablemeasures aimed at achieving those objectivesincluding -

(a) ensuring that postal service users may avail of auniversal postal service that meets theirreasonable needs

(b) insofar as the facilitation of competition and

innovation is concerned, ensuring that postalservice users derive maximum benefit in terms ofchoice, price and quality”

It is the view of the CWU that these aspects of the2011 Act must be the context for any further debate ordiscussion on matters raised in the FrameworkDocument. It would not be appropriate for ComReg togo beyond the bounds of the 2011 Act or to reinterpretaspects of the legislation in a manner that is inconsistentwith these functions and objectives, as outlined above. Itis worth noting that the statutory objectives obligeComReg “to facilitate the development of competitionand innovation in the market for postal serviceprovision” but specifically this can only be done subjectto “the availability of a universal postal service within,to and from the state at an affordable price for the benefitof all postal service users”.

CWU believes that this clearly sets out the paramountimportance of the provision of a universal postal serviceat an affordable price for all users and in regulating themarketplace ComReg must adhere to this objective at alltimes. CWU argued in its submission that for ComRegto do otherwise would be in breach of its statutoryfunction and objectives, and in contravention with the2011 Act. Therefore, any course of action that might havean adverse effect on An Post’s ability to provide, fundand maintain a universal postal service must beconsidered as contrary to these functions and objectives,and in contravention of the 2011 Act.

The ComReg report also included a Regulatory ImpactAssessment (RIA) which the Regulator argued supportsits agenda for changes to the postal market. CWUhowever took serious issue with and argued that the(RIA) was flawed and incomplete as it lacked thenecessary information and evidence to support the linebeing argued by ComReg. In the absence of thisimportant data the Regulator cannot make an informeddecision on what is best for the market and equally thestakeholders cannot make an informed contribution in theconsultation process.

ComReg Launches Report on thePostal Services Act 2011

22

In its consultation ComReg had suggested that asecond class postal service should be considered and thatbulk mail services should be removed from the range ofuniversal postal services (with the exception of one basicservice).

On the second class service CWU argued that thestatus quo should be retained. Without any detail on howthe second tier service might be constructed, it is hard togive an adequate response, but regardless, there are anumber of concerns around the introduction of a secondtier service. There is no evidence presented that a secondtier service would do anything to improve mail volumes.In fact, the likelihood is that this proposal would simplyserve to dilute the revenues of An Post and put furtherpressure on the financial wellbeing of the universalservice provider. This would run contrary to the statutoryobjectives as outlined in the 2011 Act.

In relation to Bulk Mail CWU argued that one of theresults of taking bulk mail services out of the universalpostal service area will be that VAT will be applied to it.This will effectively add 23% to the cost of the service for

a significant number of An Post customers who cannotreclaim VAT, many of whom are among the largest bulkmail customers. In a marketplace that is already undersevere pressure from e-substitution and in an economicenvironment that is highly cost-sensitive, this course ofaction by ComReg would have a devastating impact onthe revenue streams for An Post and consequently theUSO. This runs contrary to the statutory objectives andfunctions of ComReg and as such would be consideredby the CWU to be a profound dereliction of duty.

In the end it appears that ComReg has taken on boardthe views of stakeholders who had concerns like theCWU. The bulk mail service will not be reduced to aminimal service and there are no plans at this time tointroduce a second class service mail service. This takessome of the pressure off An Post but in the context of thevery serious challenges that the company faces the morepressing issues of a price rise is quickly focussingeveryone’s mind. There may be more to report on this inthe coming weeks but as things stand ComReg has notmade a decision either way.

Minister for Communications, Pat Rabbitte TD,issued a stern warning to ComReg about theirintention to pursue a legal action against An Postwhich could result in a €12m fine. On foot of aquestion from Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris whodescribed the action by ComReg as ‘mind-boggling’the Minister clearly stated his view that this actionwas not helpful at this time.

He noted the very valuable service that is providedby An Post and noted that the quality of service levelsfor next day delivery is not a burning issue amongIrish postal users and he noted that ‘most Membersof the House would share the view advanced by theDeputy that this issue is not a chief concern for postalusers’. He went on to say that ‘complaints about next-day delivery do not feature among the mattersbrought to Members’ attention concerning the postalservices’.

In acknowledging the very challenging situationthat the company finds itself in the Minister alsonoted, ‘that greater challenges than this face An Post.I suspect the extent of electronic substitution, thedecline in its core business, the challenges that

confront it from competition and so on rank higher inthe matters that confront its management.Consequently, I must concede I share the surprise thatthere are such legal proceedings. Preferably, onehopes two public organisations can resolve this issueconsistent with the remit of the independentregulator.’

The last point above is one that the CWU has beenarguing since the inexplicable decision by ComRegto pursue this fine emerged. The Union’s view hasbeen that the action by ComReg is in breach of theguidelines set down by government on how statebodies should deal with potentially litigioussituations. In these circumstances both parties shouldundertake mediation in order to avoid costly legalbattles. ComReg did not adhere to these guidelinesand instead is intent on pursuing this matter throughthe courts. It is expected that legal arguments will beheard on this case in November and that if it proceeds,the case will probably be heard early in the New Year.As things stand An Post has made it clear that it willcontest the case vigorously.

Minister Rabbitte Warns ComRegAgainst €12m An Post Fine

Postal Update

23

24

The Communications Workers’ Union moved back to the newly refurbished Headquarters on the 18th June 2012after just 15 months in temporary offices. The new Headquarters is now equipped to cater for Branch meetingrequirements, anywhere from 10 to 200 delegates. There is ample meeting space, with individual syndicate roomscapable of holding 12 to 50 delegates and the Conference Hall catering for 200. There is also the facility to hold sixindividual phone conferencing calls with unlimited numbers of attendees joining the individual calls. It is alsointended that video conferencing will be rolled out in the coming months. The building has been refurbished to thehighest spec in relation to energy/heat saving technology, access for disabled persons, induction loops in thereception and meeting rooms for hearing impaired persons, and facilities to cater for all types of branch meetings,AGMs and training events for our members.

CWUHeadquarters

Admin Office One of the Syndicate Rooms

The Extension, as seen by night

Underground Car Park

Podium in Conference Hall

Conference HallRain Sensors

The original staircase,complete with studs to

prevent kids sliding down thebanisters

25

Extension to building

Side Entrance to Car Park

Boardroom

Top end of Conference Hall

Canteen

New Staircase

26

Equality Update

Pictured l-r: Carol Scheffer, CWU,Marian Geoghegan, IBOA,Judge Yvonne Murphy,Carol Baxter, Equality Authority,Anne Casey, Project Development,Stefania Minervino, Equality AuthorityAileen Morrissey, Mandate.

The CWU, IBOA and Mandate launched a suite ofequality materials for trade unions at the Banker's Club inDublin at the end of August. These equality materialswere produced on foot of our project through the EqualityMainstreaming Unit of the Equality Authority. TheEquality Mainstreaming Unit within the EqualityAuthority is one of the initiatives set up under the HumanCapital Investment Operational Programme 2007-2013.

The materials produced through the project resulted inan Equality Toolkit consisting of a training manual onequality, model equality policy for Trade Unions, an

equality handbook for representatives and equalitypresentations for inclusion on representative trainingcourses. Judge Yvonne Murphy formally launched thematerials with Carol Baxter, Head of Development of theEquality Authority also making a speech on the day.

The Union was delighted to be part of the project andwe are confident that the handbook, policy document andall the other materials will prove useful to our Activistsgoing forward.

Copies of the handbook and the equality policy areavailable on the Union website, www.cwu.ie

Pictured left: attendees at theseminar

Also in attendance from theUnion were:Susan Casey NEC,Fionnuala Ni Bhrogain, UnionOrganiser,Ian McArdle, National Officer,Ken Good, Letterkenny Postal,Paul Torsney, Dublin No 2 andMick Smith, NEC.

Launch of Equality MaterialsIBOA, August 30th

27

Equality Update

On 30th August, the Trade Union Skillnet hosted aseminar in IBOA House entitled “Women’s Voices – Isthe Trade Union Movement Listening?” The seminar wasattended by a cross section of trade unions and focusedon the role of women in the trade union movement todayand in particular their influence on the leadership of themovement. There was also considerable discussionaround the role of women in trade union decision makingstructures.

The CWU was represented at the seminar by CarolScheffer, National Officer, Mary Conroy, Galway Postal,Margaret Jenkins, NEC, Susan Casey, NEC, andFionnuala Ni Bhrogain, Union Organiser. In a veryintensive programme, the attendees heard a number ofpresentations offering a range of perspectives on thecurrent state of the Irish labour movement and itspotential to change and grow in the future – with aparticular emphasis on the contribution that women couldmake.

Niamh Desmond, Programme Support Manager,Skillnets Ltd, congratulated Trade Union Skillnet on

continuing the work done by Women at Work Skillnet(now amalgamated). Linda McLoughlin, Founder of TopWomen Top Jobs and LeadershipWorks, facilitated theday and gave participants a number of tips on getting onin the workplace and increasing their authority andvisibility. There was also a firm focus on the role of socialmedia and how it can be used correctly in the movement.

Also among the speakers were ICTU Assistant GeneralSecretary, Sally Anne Kinahan whose keynote addressfocused on women’s activism within trade unions; BrideRosney of the Mary Robinson Foundation; Sheila Nunan,General Secretary of the Irish National Teachers’Organisation; Linda Tanham, Worker Member of theLabour Court, Judge Yvonne Murphy, and Tom Healy,Director of the Nevin Economic Research Institute.

The event was a resounding success – both in terms ofthe quality of the contributions from the speakers and theparticipants. All CWU representatives commented onhow interesting the seminar was and the value of theinsights provided by the speakers.

It is hoped that we will be in a position to run a similar

“Women’s Voices –Is the Trade Union Movement Listening?”

Pictured l-r:Judge Yvonne Murphy, Carol Scheffer (CWU), Aileen Morrissey (Mandate),

Niamh Desmond (Skillnets), Sally Anne Kinahan (Congress),Marian Geoghegan (IBOA), Linda Tanham (Labour Court)

and Linda McLoughlin, Leadership Works

28

BANK CLOSURESA BOON FORPOST OFFICESSIMON CARSWELLWed, Aug 15, 2012

THE BOTTOM LINE: THE NEED for Irishbanks to slash costs and the resulting demise ofthe traditional bank branch has createdopportunities for An Post to take on morebusiness at 1,147 post offices.

The opportunities also show the potential for anIrish postbank – similar to the working models inGermany, Italy and Belgium – and the dreadful timingof An Post’s Postbank, the joint venture with Beneluxbank Fortis that was taken down by the global financialcrisis.

Both State-controlled Allied Irish Banks andDanish-owned National Irish Bank are usingarrangements with An Post to conduct lower-valuebanking transactions through post offices rather thanhigh-cost branches.

AIB is closing 67 – or one in four – branches, whileNIB is closing all 27 of its branches in the Republic.An Post’s arrangement with AIB dates back a decade,while the deal with NIB is only two years old.

Both banks are looking to greater use of technologyincluding phone apps, internet banking and onlinevideo to deal with customers that will generate costsavings.

This will only add further pressure on branches. Asmore and more products are sold over the internet, thecost of supporting a branch network will becomeharder to justify as sales volumes through branchesdecline.

Bank of Ireland is taking a different approach. Chiefexecutive Richie Boucher said last week the bank hasno plans to close branches as it was “very hard” to sellinvestments, mortgages and products to small andmedium-sized business over the internet.

But the bank still sees merit in a tie-up with anetwork of post offices. Bank of Ireland’s joint venturewith the Royal Mail in the UK has proven highlylucrative for the bank.

Deposits collected through 11,500 UK post officesrose 44 per cent to £16 billion (€20 billion) at the endof last year and the joint venture was extended by threeyears to 2023 in a deal announced earlier this month.

Boucher said that 25 million people visit a postoffice in the UK every week, a mouth-watering figure

for any struggling banker looking for footfall to raisemore deposits and sell more loans.

About 1.8 million customers use an Irish post officeevery week. For An Post, offering new products andservices makes sense as 1,090 of its outlets are run bycontractors who make more money based on thenumber of products they sell and services they offer.

The days of buying just stamps at a post officecounter are long gone. You can pay a bill, lodge acheque, sign up for a life and pensions product(through a post office where a former Aviva branchstaff member now works), buy a mobile phone orbirthday gift voucher, and even pay for a gun licence.

An Post is continuing to look at new banking-relatedproducts. It is planning to extend the sale of US dollarsand sterling by offering a new foreign exchange debitcard.

The loss of confidence in the Irish banks as thefinancial crisis deepened over the past five yearsprompted many concerned depositors to lodge cash intheir local post offices.

The post office where the resident postmaster orpostmistress is more often than not a familiar facelocally was seen as a safe sanctuary during the bankingrun of 2008.

This brought in a windfall. The sale of State savingsproducts through An Post has also helped increaseddeposits at post offices.

An Post savings are not counted in the Central Bankhousehold deposit figures but if they were, they wouldhave represented an estimated 6 per cent of the depositsin 2007, or about €4 billion. This increased to 13 percent or in excess of €12 billion last year.

It is impossible to quantify how much of this relatesto the public trust in a community post office but it hascertainly been a factor.

An Post ranked highly in the Reptrak survey of mosttrusted brands by the PR firm Corporate Reputationsand international consultancy Reputation Institute inMay, in stark contrast to the distrusted Irish banks.

The troika-blessed push to encourage unbankedcustomers to open accounts may create furtheropportunities for post offices. Almost 17 per cent ofIrish households didn’t have a current account in 2008;only Italy and Greece scored worse out of the EU15countries. The failed entry of Bank of Scotland(Ireland) into retail banking through Halifax showedthe high cost and risk of setting up a high-street bank,even in an economic boom.

For that reason, and particularly after Postbank, AnPost is unlikely to become a standalone player inbanking in the near term but offering profitableservices for the slimming banks will offset losses ondeclining postal services. In a crisis comes opportunity.

© 2012 The Irish Times

29

The Rowland Hill Memorial Fund of Ireland

I hereby authorise the deduction of _______ per week / fortnight / month from my wages / salary for payment to

the R.H.M.F.,

commencing ______________20___.

Name (Block Letters) _________________________________________________________

Staff / Pension No. ___________________________________________________________ ( An Post / eircom)

(Please delete as appropriate) (Please delete as appropriate)

Signature ___________________________________________________________________

Date_______________________

Rowland Hill, a great administrator and reformer of Postoffice affairs was born in 1792. He is best known as theinitiator of the Penny Post. In tribute to his work theRowland Hill Memorial Fund of Ireland was establishedin Britain in 1882. An independent organisation wasfounded in Ireland in 1928, under a Deed of Trustapproved by the High Court of Justice.

Today, the Rowland Hill Memorial Fund of Ireland

provides financial assistance for serving or retired staff,of An Post and eircom, and their dependants. It alsoprovides financial assistance for retired staff, of theformer Department of Posts and Telegraphs and TelecomÉireann, and their dependants. Assistance may be givento those who find themselves in need due to age, povertyor infirmity. The Rowland Hill Memorial Fund of Irelandis managed by a voluntary committee of Trustees.

TheRowland HillMemorial Fundof Ireland

The Fund is worthy of your support because: -

1. It is administered by an independent and voluntary body of Trustees.2. Thousands of staff and their dependants have been helped over the years when they were in urgent need of help.3. Subscriptions may be deducted from your pay. A few cents deducted regularly will mean a lot to someone in

need.4. The suggested subscription is 50 cent per week.

Please fill out the form below and send it to Honorary Secretary, Rowland Hill Memorial Fund of

30

Philip Jennings, GeneralSecretary UNI Global Union,says it’s time for the G20 tochange course, back growthand not austerity and cutsome slack to the Greeks whofound themselves with animpossible choice at theelections.

Jennings said, “The G20should not kid itself that theGreek people have in any wayendorsed the current austerityplans. They found themselves inan impossible situation with theirbacks to the wall. During myexchange with the Japaneseprime minister I said that theG20 cannot use Greece as anexcuse for more austerity. Agovernment will be formed inAthens but the Troika mustrethink the repayment terms tohelp the Greek people who aresuffering because of this process.”

Jennings continued, “We urge the G20 to changecourse - they need a Plan B because austerity has notdelivered on jobs, cut the deficit, or improved economicactivity. Nor has austerity unleashed private sectorinvestment. Firms are sitting on trillions in their balancesheets. What we are detecting in our talks here in LosCabos is that there is a realisation that more has to bedone to get demand moving in our economy. However

the G20 leaders are stillunderestimating the power oflabour market intervention tohelp improve the situation. If youput money in workers’ pocketsit’s a stimulus to the economywhich is real. What we areseeing around the world is a fallin people’s spending power withfor example a drop in salaries inthe UK of 4% - the biggest dropin 30 years and an income dropin the US of 7.7% in the last 3years. The G20 needs to putpurchasing power back inworkers’ pockets so that they cansee some demand moving again.We are beginning to see this inGermany with 6% wageincreases.”

“There is a failure by theleaders at the G20 to understandthe importance of collectivebargaining to boost economicactivity and demand. They don’t

get it. Cutting collective bargaining is a blind alley togrowth at a time when the share of wages in the wealthproduced is at a low for modern times.

The G20 should also worry about the consequences ofprecarious work on economic growth. Precarious workis a fragile pillar to build prosperity. The G20’s workshould be about ‘including you’, including you thepeople in plans to bring quality jobs, fair wages and hopefor the future,” he concluded.

G20 mustchange course

away fromausterity

➠ UNI Global UNI warns G20 not to pretend Greek vote is an endorsement of austerity.

➠ Austerity plan failed on three accounts – failed to deliver on jobs, cut the deficit or improve economicactivity. G20 leaders are underestimating the power of labour market intervention to help improve theeconomic situation.

➠ UNI Global Union General Secretary, Philip Jennings calls for a Plan B during meetings with world leadersat G20, including the Mexican presidency, Japanese President Yoshihiko Noda, ILO Director General JuanSomavia, WTO Director General Pascal Lamy and Head of IMF Christine Lagarde.

Philip Jennings, General Secretary UNIGlobal Union, addresses the G20 Summit in

Los Cabos, Mexico on 18th June, 2012.

31

Dear Colleagues,

Here is the message sent out to the international media reacting to thefindings of the World Economic Forum's Global Competiteveness Report2012-2013 released on Wednesday 5 September.

Philip Jennings, General Secretary of UNI Global Union made thesecomments:

“ Many of the Global Competitiveness Report top performers, including the Nordics, understand thetrue value of having a strong social dimension to their economy. They are competitive because they placea high value on the unionisation of the work force and collective bargaining, not despite of it.”

On United States drop:“ The United States has dropped down to 7th place and is hurting. There is a growing divide betweenthe 99% and the super rich, built on the stagnating wages of a generation and the irresponsible behaviourof the bankers who speculated rather than invested in real wealth and jobs. This jobs’ deficit is beingfuelled by anti-union behaviour and the collapse of collective bargaining. We need a more inclusivesociety. Short-termism led by unscrupulous Wall Street bankers and lack of job security are holding theUS economy back. If the US wants to top the competitiveness rankings and create an environment forsustainable growth it must address the twin peaks of banker greed and the threat to workers’ rights.”

On performance of European Countries:“ The report shows that in Europe the north-south divide is widening with the southern Europeancountries languishing far behind their northern neighbours and Greece close to dropping out of the top100. We now have a two tier Europe with the southern countries, especially Greece, being furtherundermined by the inflexibility of the Troika. Europe has to pull together. The northern Europeancountries cannot distance themselves from the pain of Greece, Spain, Italy and Portugal. This weekMoody’s put the whole of the EU bloc’s AAA credit rating on a negative alert. Europe has to recognisethat we are in it together and only a recovery plan for the whole of the region will pull us out of thecrisis.”

Richard Elliott, Director of CommunicationsMobile: +41 79 794 9709

UNI Global Union, 8-10 Av. Reverdil, 1260 NYON, SwitzerlandTel: +41 22 365 21 30 • Fax: +41 22 365 21 21

richard.elliott@uniglobalunion.org • www.uniglobalunion.org

UNI General Secretarycomments on theWorld Economic Forum’sGlobal Competitiveness Report

32

Great Stridesin AtosThe last few months have seen great advances in Atos(formerly Siemens) in Cork.

After members took part in Workplace LeaderTraining, they returned to their workplace with a newenergy. Membership in the Cork centre has continued togrow and the CWU now has members in several areas ofthe business.

As a sign of real progress the members recently heldelections and have selected a Committee to representtheir interests. We would like to congratulate thosemembers who were elected and wish them every successin their endeavours.

While the members themselves have been working to

increase their strength, there are still many obstacles toovercome in Atos. In particular, the company’s Grievanceand Disciplinary procedures are posing some realproblems for staff. The Committee aim to address theseissues and are currently representing their fellowmembers on an individual basis at these hearings.

It is important to note that while many of our membersenjoy the support of a long-standing branch structure andthe working relationship with their employer that goesalong with it, our members in companies such as Atosare building their branches from the ground up. This takesreal dedication and a genuine interest in the rights of theircolleagues. Head Office will continue to offer all thesupport it can in this process and would like to extend ouradmiration for the hard work that is being done. We alllook forward to a bright future for the staff in Atos.

One Direct Staff attend Workplace Leader TrainingOn the 20th June 2012, the Branch Committee of One Direct took part in Workplace Leader Training in Athlone.

Pictured are Veronica McLoughlin (Branch Secretary), Gillian Flynn (Chair), Sandra Delaney, Laura Monaghan, Linda Hoban, Mary Collin and Sinéad Power.

The training began with an overview of ‘Why weneed Trade Unions’ covering the fundamentals oftrade unionism and why unions are necessary. Inthe second module, the participants discussed theconcept of an organised workplace and theimportance of being organised. The members wereencouraged to analyse their workplace and theirown role within it. The afternoon session coveredcommunication skills, identifying issues andpractical advice on talking to their colleaguesabout joining the Union.

The day was designed to allow the maximumamount of participation and debate to encouragemembers to think about their workplace and whatchanges might be made to improve the workinglives of their colleagues and themselves.

With a renewed energy from the training, whenthe session concluded the Committee remained toelect Veronica McLoughlin as Secretary andGillian Flynn as Chair of the One Direct Branch.

The Organisers would like to congratulate bothon their election and wish them every success.

33

PrintPost UpdateOrganisers have recently met with members fromboth the Dublin and Portlaoise depots of PrintPost toidentify the ongoing issues affecting staff in bothsites. It is clear that there are many areas that need tobe addressed to improve the lives of members in bothDublin and Portlaoise. While there were some minordifferences in the problems affecting staff betweenthe two sites, the vast majority of issues affected bothsets of workers in much the same way.

The CWU intends to bring these issues and thematter of the outstanding recognition agreement tothe urgent attention of An Post with a view toreaching a speedy resolution.

O2Stores

With the great success of the Retail campaigns inVodafone and Meteor/emobile in mind, the Organisershave set their sights on an organising campaign forstaff working in O2 stores.

While the CWU has a solid membership base in O2,

these have traditionally been in the Sir JohnRogerson’s Quay and Limerick centres rather than inthe stores. Recently however, Organisers have beenmeeting staff working in stores around Dublin as thefirst steps in a new campaign.

Together with the known difficulties of organisingretail workers, staff in O2 stores face the extrachallenge that their employer, Telefónica O2, refuses toengage with employees or their Union by signing acollective agreement. While this will create additionalchallenges in gaining access to employees, theOrganisers intend to work together with the staff tobuild the membership and a spirit of activism withinthe stores. We will keep you updated on our progressin future issues of Connect.

DPD Branch goes fromstrength to strengthThe Branch in DPD, along with their full timeofficial Joe Guinan, have been working tirelessly toget the company to bring about some real changesin the workplace for the staff. The company hasrecently agreed to address the issues the Branch hasraised in relation to the poor toilet facilities in thebuilding which will benefit all staff across thecompany.

They have also received training from theOrganising department within the CWU on how toorganise the work place and have started usingmany of the skills they learned at that session tostrengthen their voice in the workplace. Due to theBranch’s new training and the new organising planbeing put into place by the Organising department,but most of all the hard work and dedication fromthe Branch, their membership continues to growand in turn their voice within the work place getsstronger.

Members of the Organising department will bemaking a trip to Athlone in order to discuss in detailthe new Organising plan that is being rolled outwith the priority being on the growth of theirmembership and improvements in their members’working conditions.

Target ExpressMembers of the Communications Workers’ Union at theTarget Express depot in Cork got in contact with theoffice in relation to the news that the company wasceasing trading. The members were in the dark as to whatwas happening and what their options were goingforward. The group of employees in the Cork depotdecided to take the action of occupying the work placeuntil the receivers advised them of a date when theywould be receiving the wages owed by the company.

The Communications Workers' Union provided adviceand guidance at each step of the way with our membersin Cork. Cormac Ó Dálaigh, CWU President, andNational Executive member Martina O’Connell made thetrip out to the depot to meet with the members andprovide them with a token of financial support to helpthem out in what has been a very difficult time. The staffhave been in discussions with receivers, Grant Thornton,who have advised that the staff would indeed be receivingthe wages owed.

34

The organising department made a trip to Athlone inJune to roll out Workplace Leader training to more ofour activists. Darras Jones, a manager in Meteor, alongwith Tony Gavin and Mark Berry from the DPD AthloneBranch received the training from the organising team aswell as NEC member Willie Mooney.

Tony and Mark are the Chair and the Secretary of theDPD branch. They needed this training to equip them tobe able to recruit staff on the day shift where the Unioncurrently has no recognition agreement or visibility.

Darras was primarily interested in finding out how theUnion worked. He was also interested in learning how to

raise issues that were affecting his colleagues withmanagers within the company and how to educate non-members who had made incorrect assumptions aboutthe Union.

This was the first Work Place Leader session rolledout in the midlands since the training was designed in2011. The Organisers were also able to call upon theexperience of NEC member Willie Mooney who was onhand to share his wealth of knowledge with the activists.

Since the training all three are having success in theirCompanies around organising and the union presence inthese companies has gone from strength to strength.

Organisers deliverWorkplace Leader training in Athlone

Darras Jones (Meteor) Tony Gavin , Mark Berry (DPD)at the WPL training in Athlone.

Willie Mooney (An Post) and Darras Jones (Meteor)discussing a point.

35

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36

Education Update

Trade Union Skillnet (TUS) is a new network comprisedof affiliates of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU)operating in the private sector. The network isrepresentative of a majority of sectors in the Irisheconomy.

The overall aims of the network are to improve the levelof skills across a wide range of sectors and enhanceemployability for the employed and unemployed.

This includes up-skilling, cross-skilling and re-skillingfor workers in technical skills, up-skilling for trade unionrepresentatives to ensure that they are capable ofnegotiating and reaching agreement on change processes,and enhancing the capacity of women to undertakeleadership roles in the workplace.

We are dedicated to promoting education and trainingby supporting our members through lifelong learning andenhancing our national competitiveness.The Training Networks Programme is an initiative ofSkillnets Ltd. and is funded from the National TrainingFund through the Department of Education and Skills.

For further information onthe Trade Union Skillnetand the courses on offer,

please see:

www.tuskillnet.ie

Branch Officer Training Course,June 12th & 13th

In attendance from An Post were:Anthony Horan Waterford Postal, Gerry Sexton DPDBGary Kenny Cork Drivers Michael Byrnes Cork Mails Centre Eleanor Shaughnessy Cork Mails CentreGeraldine Isherwood Cork Mails CentreEric Partridge DPABJoe Feeney Longford PostalJohn Kinsella Cavan PostalCyril Tallon Birr/Rocrea

In attendance from eircom were:Mick Goldrick DroghedaDermot Hayes Bandon SectionDonal O’Driscoll Cork District BranchPatrick McMahon Central Regional Managers

37

Education Update

Branch Officer Training Course,June 19th & 20th

In attendance from An Post were:Gareth Daly Athlone PostalPaul O’Neill Dublin Postal Drivers Celestine Swords N Wexford/S Wicklow PostalJohn Doyle Bray Postal Tony Grogan Dublin Postal Drivers Sean McKenna Dundalk Postal Keith Doyle Bray Postal John Larkin Castlerea & districtTara Ravenhill Athlone PostalPeter Conlon Athlone Mails Centre

Anne Kenneally Clonmel Postal

In attendance from eircom were:John Dunleavy eircom Dublin No 2 Liam McKelvey eircom LetterkennyNoel Morrison Ballina SectionThomas O’Brien Portlaoise Section

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39

Support for shamelessQuinn is misplacedIn recent weeks, the public relations machineryoperating on behalf of the Quinn Group has goneinto overdrive. The purpose of which, is to portraySeán Quinn and his family as victims of a judicialsystem, which has found him and his family to be incontempt of Court, of a political system which hasfailed to support them, and of the former Anglo IrishBank, which is seeking repayment of monies owedto the bank. It cannot be denied in building up theQuinn Group, Sean Quinn and his family created asignificant amount of jobs. It should not be forgottenthat they also became very rich in the process. Thereal victims of the actions perpetrated by SeánQuinn and his family are the Irish taxpayers. Thearticle below, written by Fintan O'Toole andpublished in the Irish Times, sets out in a verycoherent way the impact that the actions of SeánQuinn and his family are having on Irish society.

TAKE ALL the money raised this year by the cuts in childbenefit. And from cutting the school clothing and footwearallowance. And all the cuts to jobseekers’ benefit, rentsupplement and fuel allowances for the elderly.Throw in the restriction of one-parent family allowance tochildren under seven. Pile on all the cuts in back-to-education allowances and community employmentschemes. Take all of that money from the pockets of thepoorest people in Ireland this year and you still haven’treached the amount Seán Quinn agrees he owes the Irishtaxpayer.

This is nothing to do with the €2.3 billion he borrowedfrom Anglo Irish Bank to buy its shares. This is the €455million he borrowed to buy property – using that property assecurity. In all the noise and distraction, this much isundisputed: Quinn borrowed the money and put up theproperty assets as collateral. The State, however idiotically,took over that loan. Since Quinn can’t pay it back, the Irishpeople now own those properties.

There is something else that is not in dispute: that Quinnis openly, flagrantly and quite proudly trying to hang on tothis money that belongs to us. As he said on Sunday, he took

a “very conscious decision” to do “everything in our powerto take as many assets as we could”. The basic intention isvery simple – to transfer assets from the Irish people to theQuinn family.

Thus, for example, the status of Karen Woods, a part-timereceptionist with Joe Duffy Motors in north Dublin, asrecipient of one of the largest public salaries in Ireland. Thelucky Karen, then the girlfriend (now the wife) of SeánQuinn jnr, was paid €320,297 after tax (the equivalent of atleast €400,000) last year by a Russian company whoseassets belong entirely to the Irish people.

This is more than twice what the Taoiseach is paid, withthe added refinement that there is no evidence of what workWoods does in return for this salary. Every cent she got, andevery euro of the €455 million, is money kept from a Statethat is, for example, struggling to provide services for youngpeople with intellectual disabilities.

At the same time, but completely separately, every Irishperson or business who takes out home, motor orcommercial insurance is having to pay the price, quiteliterally, for Seán Quinn’s mismanagement of his insurancebusiness.

For at least the next 12 years, every time any of us takesout insurance, we will have to pay an extra 2 per cent torecoup the approximately €1.1 billion Quinn lost in hisgamble on Quinn Insurance. Thus, even when we leaveaside entirely the €2.3 billion Anglo loan, Quinn’s actionsare siphoning €1.5 billion from Irish taxpayers, consumersand businesses.

All of this is easy enough to understand. It is underpinnedby one of the oldest of human desires, the lure of otherpeople’s money – in this case ours.

What’s more difficult to fathom is the collusion of manyrespectable people in what Quinn is doing. Hisshamelessness is made possible by those who tell him thathe has nothing to be ashamed of, that, on the contrary, he isthe victim in all of this.

Why would 4,000 people turn out in Ballyconnell, CoCavan, the other night to demand “justice” for the Quinns –though evidently not the kind of justice that would be metedout to someone who deprived the State of €4,550 instead of€455 million?

Fr Brian D’Arcy, who is supposed to be in the moralitybusiness, addressed the Ballyconnell rally and essentiallycredited Quinn with the creation of peace in our time: “Hebrought peace to the country by creating thousands of jobs.”

Senior GAA figures such as Mickey Harte, Jarlath Burns,Seán Boylan and Colm O’Rourke threw that organisation’sconsiderable authority behind Quinn’s outright defiance ofthe courts and determination to hang on to public money.Thus, a formidable if unofficial nexus of Sinn Féin, theGAA and the church is giving Quinn comfort.

This desire to kiss the rod inflicting the pain is surelyrooted in something older than the current fad for designermasochism – some twisted notion of ethnic and religioussolidarity in which Quinn has to be protected because he’sone of us – a Catholic, nationalist, GAA man.

It can’t be imagined that our oppressors might go toMass, wear open-necked shirts and support the GAA. Butwhat can’t be imagined either are the silent victims in all ofthis – the poor who pay for their master’s gambles.

Fintan O’Toole, July 31, 2012 © 2012 The Irish Times

Seán Quinn acknowledgingthe support from the rally.

40

CWU People

Sammy Rowan RetiresSammy Rowan (front row, centre) pictured with his work colleages in Arklow

On Tuesday, 12th June, CWU and DSM Arklow, marked theretirement of Postman Sammy Rowan, after 38 years’ service.His colleagues turned out in force to wish him well and a longand happy retirement.

Pictured on the left,David Fitzpatrick, CWU Arklow,with Sammy.

Pictured on the left,Kevin Molly (CWU) making a Presentationof the Union Scrollto Sammy.

Pictured on the right,Dermot Alford(DSM Arklow)

making a Presentationto Sammy, to mark his retirement

fromthe Arklow Branch.

41

CWU People

Tony Quinn, from Balliniska, Feohanagh, Co Limerickofficially retired from An Post on May 17th 2012, after a longand distinguished career with An Post, spanning 51 years.

Tony began working for the P & T at the young age offourteen, as a Telegraph boy in Limerick City in August 1961.From there he progressed to a Postman at the age of 18, wherehe delivered to many routes across the city. In 1975 he wastransferred to Rathkeale, where he spent 5 years until againbeing transferred to Newcastle West in 1980. Finally, he wasassigned to the Tournafulla route where he was to spend thenext 32 years.

Tony was also known as a reputable referee during histime, while officiating for the Desmond League and he wasmore than able to referee fairly, no matter how difficult thetask.

To celebrate his retirement, a very enjoyable night was heldin the Shamrock Bar, Newcastle West, with his family,colleagues past and present and many friends, where hisfavourite song “Shanagolden” rang from his lips.

Finally on behalf of his past and present colleagues wewish Tony a long and happy retirement.

Tony QuinnRetires

Seán McSharry retired from Ballyshannon Post Office after 30years’ service. He was presented with the Union Scroll and GoldBadge by Paul Crawford, Branch Chairperson Donegal South WestBranch.

Seán will be missed in the office by his colleagues, as he wasalways the liveliest person with something to say. Now it will be avery quiet place to work.

Best wishes on your retirement, Seán, from all your colleagues inDonegal South West Branch.

Seán McSharry Retires

Seán McSharry being presented with the UnionScross by Paul Crawford, Branch Chairperson,Donegal South West Branch.

�cknowlegement

Terry Delany, Deputy General Secretary and Cormac O'Dalaigh, President wishto thank everyone for the overwhelming support shown to them on the recent

bereavements they had on the deaths of their fathers. The amount of cards andletters they both received from members far and wide is greatly appreciated.

42

Ger O Brien National Executiveand Branch Secretaryof North Kerry Postalpresents a cheque of €1000donated by the CWU to theorganising committee ofthe Spa/ Fenit Branch of theKerry Hospiceat their annualSummer Barbecue in July.

CWU People

Kerry Hospice FoundationCheque Presentation

43

CWU People

A recent retirement Function was held for seven retiringmembers on the Clonmel Section of the CWU. A greatnight was had by all which included past and presentmembers and their wives and partners.

Clonmel Section Chairman Peter Ryan and SectionSecretary Paddy Power presenting Billy Lambe (centre)

with his CWU scroll on his retirement from eircom

Clonmel Section Chairman Peter Ryan and SectionSecretary Paddy Power presenting Gerry Cahill (centre)

with his CWU scroll on his retirement from eircom

Clonmel Section Chairman Peter Ryan and SectionSecretary Paddy Power presenting Tom Fahey (centre) with

his CWU scroll on his retirement from eircom

Clonmel Section Chairman Peter Ryan and SectionSecretary Paddy Power presenting Paddy Halpin (centre)

with his CWU scroll on his retirement from eircom

At a retirement Function held in Raheen House HotelClonmel for seven CWU retiring members.

Pictured l to r: Paddy Kenrick (social club secretary) JimmyPower, Billy Lambe, Gerry Cahill, Paddy Power (CWU Sec.

Paddy Halpin, Tom Fahey,Peter Ryan (CWU Sec. Chairman)

Absent on the night Ned Purcell and Tom Morrissey.

Clonmel Section Chairman Peter Ryan and SectionSecretary Paddy Power presenting Jimmy Power (centre)

with his CWU scroll on his retirement from eircom

Seven Members Retire!

44

CWU People

€4,142.00 presentedto St. Francis HospicefollowingCWU HQ Staff’ssponsored run inWomen’s MiniMarathon, 2012

45

There are approximately 500,000 people in Ireland who sufferfrom migraine and yet it remains for the most part an under-recognised and under-diagnosed illness. Migraine is a complexneurological condition which is classified by the World HealthOrganisation as the 19th leading cause of disability worldwide.It is ranked 12th for women.

The Migraine Association of Ireland (MAI) exists to provideinformation, support and reassurance to migraine suffererswhile seeking further research, better treatments and increasedpublic awareness. The MAI believes that understanding is key.Migraine cannot be cured but it can be successfully managed.

What is Migrane?Migraine is not ‘just a headache’. It is the world’s most

common neurological condition. The exact cause is unknownbut symptoms can include nausea and vomiting, a severe,throbbing, one-sided headache, sensitivity to light, noise, andsmells, visual disturbances such as ziz-zag patterns orflickering lights (known as aura), confusion, slurring of speech,loss of articulation, lack of muscular co-ordination, andweakness. Attacks can last from 4 to 72 hours untreated.

An attack can be ‘triggered’ by a combination of factorswhich are specific to the individual but most commonly include

stress, food and alcohol (dehydration), hormonal changes, anexcess or lack of sleep, weather factors, change of routine, poorposture, and flicker from televisions, computer screens andcertain types of lighting.

Migraine in the WorkplaceMigraine is considered a disability in that an attack temporarily‘disables’ the sufferer. Under Irish law employers must makereasonable accommodation to protect the migraineur’s rightse.g. adaptation of work stations, patterns of working time, andprovision of training. Migraineurs cannot be disadvantaged asregards access to employment or promotion because of theircondition.

What services does the MAI provide?• Confidential Helpline: 1850 200 378 or 0844 826 9323

for Northern Ireland.• Information leaflets on all aspects of migraine.• Countrywide training events, information evenings, and

migraine management seminars.• Specialist nurse advice line: 01-7979848.• Website: www.migraine.ie - a valuable source of

information.• Social Media sites and online news bulletins for further

information: Migraine Ireland on Facebook and Twitter.• Five migraine clinics throughout Ireland for severe cases

(3 Dublin, 1 Cork, 1 Galway).• Services provided at no cost – contact the MAI for more

information on all of the above.

The Migraine Association of Ireland –An Introduction

www.migraine.iephone: 1850 200 378

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Books reviewed by Adrienne Power

LETHALby Sandra BrownFirst published August 2011 (472 pages)A highly charged and compelling romantic suspense thriller set in Louisiana following hurricane Katrina.Honor Gillette and her four year old daughter are busy organising a party for Honor's father- in- law whenher daughter tells her there is a man lying in their garden. When Honor goes out to investigate she is heldat gun point by Lee Coburn accused of killing 7 people the night before in the warehouse where he works.He informs Honor that he will not hurt either herself or her daughter if she does exactly what he says. This a story of survival and distrust in a small town where a lot is going on in the background and suddenlystarts to seep upward to let us know nothing is what it seems.

Full of twists and turns and action-packed scenes!

THE HUNGER GAMES TRILOGYby Suzanne CollinsThe first book “The Hunger Games” first published September 2008 (374pages)The second book “Catching Fire” first published September 2009 (391pages)The third book “Mockingjay” first published August 2010 (390 pages)Tense dark story of survival against an evil world. Katniss Everdeen and hersister Primrose live in Sector 12 of Panem, a country which rose from the ruinsof post-apocalyptic North America.

It is the day of the Hunger Games where a boy and girl from each sector is chosen bylottery to take part in a reality show where the 24 candidates are pitted against each other to fight to the death. Only one

survives the Hunger Games. It is the first time Primrose's name has been put forward. All from Sector 12 listen as the names arechosen. The first name picked is Primrose Everdeen, Age 12. Her 16 year old sister immediately steps forward to volunteer inplace of her younger sister. The boy chosen from the district along with Katniss is the local baker's son Peeta.

So begins an extraordinary story in 3 books about trying to survive against all odds. Full of political intrigue and strongthemes of violence, death, assassination, biological weapons and media influence, especially television. It is a story you becomeimmersed in from the start. It is a very well imagined story with finely drawn characters. Even though it is futuristic you canfeel the reality behind it. Suzanne Collins, the author, used her father’s expertise as a lecturer of military history in West Pointas background material for her story.

The book is written for ages 11 and up but has universal appeal.

The Hunger Games is a story you will not easily forget!

THE ENCHANTED APRILby Elizabeth von ArnimFirst published 1922 (232 pages)

Elizabeth von Arnim led a very interesting life. Born in Australia. She married a German Count andbecame a Countess. Her cousin was the famous short story writer Katherine Mansfield. Elizabethherself became the mistress of the writer HG Wells (who wrote The Time Machine and War of theWorlds).

The Enchanted April is set after the First World War. Four women fed up with life and the gloomof days when it seems to rain forever, where they are caught up in a routine existence; see anadvertisement of wisteria and sunshine in a medieval castle in Italy. They feel they need an escape andthis is it!

This book is simply a journey of the survival of the soul. A gentle read of people seeking harmonyand escape from a routine life where they grow and become restored. Elizabeth von Arnim believedstrongly in the beneficial properties of plants and gardens.

You can feel faith and hope seeping through the novel for a changing life and world.

A light magical read!