Strike Notice to be served on UCD Students Bar, Belfield
Friday 21 September 2012The Mandate Trade Union has this evening announced that it will be serving strike notice on UCD Students Bar, Belfield, on Monday, 24 September next. Strike action will commence the following week over the failure to pay outstanding wages and redundancy monies to staff who were let go at the end of August.
Joe Donnelly, Mandate Divisional Organiser, explained that the union and its members at UCD Students Bar were advised in June that the bar was closing and that the operation could not continue in its present form due to significant losses.
“Following this extremely disappointing news, the union entered into negotiations with Seán O’Driscoll, Athrú Consultancy, who was appointed to negotiate on behalf of the Bar Committee. After two meetings the issues were referred to the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) and a series of meetings there culminated in an agreement being reached on 15th of August in relation to redundancy terms for the staff.”
Mr Donnelly said that the UCD Students Bar staff reluctantly accepted redundancy from 31 August as they were informed that the alternative was the liquidation of the entire operation.
“While our members have been without wages since the end of August they haven’t received the redundancy payments and outstanding wages that were agreed to and the consultant acting on behalf of the Bar Committee, Seán O’Driscoll, has informed us that he is unable to progress the matter. This is extremely unfair to the staff concerned who have given many years of good service to UCD Students Bar, some of whom are now experiencing difficulties with mortgage payments.”
Joe Donnelly said that Mandate has written this week to the President of UCD, Dr Hugh Brady.
“We have written to the President of UCD, Dr Hugh Brady, asking him to intervene in this issue as a matter of urgency. In the meantime, the redundant staff have voted unanimously for industrial action as they appear to have been left with no alternative form of action at this stage,” Mr Donnelly concluded.
