Solidarity picket with Cleaners at Custom House

dublin | worker & community struggles and protests | news report Tuesday July 14, 2009 22:11 by Paula Geraghty mspgeraghty at yahoo dot ie

On Monday 13th July at 1pm the People Before Profit Alliance organised a protest in support of 13 contract cleaners who were unlawfully dismissed by the private contractor in the Custom House.

Siptu Official Strike

The 13 cleaners have been working in the Custom House for 6 years for Eco Facilities Management. When the contract was won by the new company Schorman, the workers were expecting the same wages, hours and conditions as previously under the 'transfer of undertakings' regulation. Schorman secured the contract to clean the Custom House on May 28th. The contract had been held previously by Eco-Facilities Management.

On May 29th letters were issued to the cleaners by Schorman informing them that their hours would be cut from 4 hours to “2.57” hours per day. Although the Custom House hadn't shrunk by a ratio of 4 to 2.57. Which obviously means that the new employer assumed that these women would do the same work in less hours for less pay. Then the 13 cleaners were sacked, and 6 new workers were brought in to do the same job but only getting paid for 2.5 hours while the former employees were paid for 4 hours.

The LRC will hear the case between the sacked workers and Schorman tomorrow Wednesday at 11am. The cleaning company Schorman failed to appear at the Labour Relations Commission last week.

images (c)

Picketers and supporters

Josefa Gruszka and Alexandra Siatka on strike at the Custom House

Councillor Joan Collins at the picket line giving her support