Strike at €100m Dublin sewerage facility ‘deferred’

Strike action at a waste water plant which serves 248,000 people across south Dublin and north Wicklow has been deferred.

The strike action which would have affected services to commercial and domestic customers of the Shanganagh sewerage facility was due to get under way this morning. Management and workers representatives will meet at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC) tomorrow thursday to discuss outstanding issues at the facility

The sewerage plant operates the €100million Shanganagh / Bray mains drainage scheme opened by Minister for Environment Phil Hogan earlier this year. According to Siptu the strike was called in response to the attempted dismissal of a member of staff for union activity.

The facility is run by SDD Shanganagh Water Treatment Ltd which said the th e dismissal referred to had nothing to do with trade union activity.

SDD is a joint venture between the Irish construction company, John Sisk & Son Ltd, and Spanish companies Dragados S.A. and Drace Medio-Ambiente.

Siptu members had voted unanimously for strike action following what they claimed was the failure of their employer, the employment agency ICDS Constructors Ltd, “to recognise the right of the workers to be collectively represented by their trade union” .

A spokeswoman for the employment agency ICDS said they wished to reiterate “that we have a good relationship with SIPTU whom we have always recognized and negotiated with over the years and we will continue to do so.

“We are very unhappy that anyone would suggested otherwise, indeed we are meeting SIPTU this Thursday at the LRC with a view to reaching a mutually acceptable agreement”