Cllr Denis Landy: “Asking anyone to take a 50 per cent cut in their wages simply can’t be justified.”
The management of Mr Binman have been called upon to do their bit to end a six-month strike at its Carrick-on-Suir depot.
On Monday, Carrick-on-Suir Town Council unanimously approved a motion by Labour Councillor Denis Landy which appealed to Mr Binman management to enter into negotiations with SIPTU regarding the half-year impasse.
Workers at the facility downed tools and began picketing in Carrick having learned that their wages were to be reduced by up to 50 per cent. The motion read: “This dispute is ongoing for approximately 20 weeks and it is important that every effort be made to resolve it as soon as possible.”
Speaking to The Munster Express, Cllr Landy said that SIPTU had taken the first step to resolve the dispute by offering to negotiate, with the auspices of the Labour Relations Commission at the disposal of both sides.
“The next step in ending this dispute is for management to enter into negotiations,” he said.
“I put down this motion to highlight the plight facing workers because I think any right-minded individual would agree that asking anyone to take such a massive drop in their wages simply isn’t just.”
He added: “That all Councillors shared in my view was very welcome as it is important that we bring whatever weight we can to bear in resolving this ongoing dispute. But the ball is very much in Mr Binman’s court to take the next and necessary step.”
At the same meeting, Cllr Landy raised the development of allotment areas in Carrick-on-Suir in response to a growing local demand to join in the ‘grow it yourself’ revolution spearheaded by Dunmore East resident Michael Kelly.
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