MANDATE has served strike notice on the Law Society following the dismissal of a secretary who refused to work evenings. The strike is to begin on Wednesday.
MANDATE says it will place pickets on the Four Courts, the society's headquarters at Blackhall Place, Dublin, and any other premises from which the society conducts its business.
The secretary was employed on a temporary contract. She was sacked after refusing to work at meetings of a society committee which took place in the evenings.
According to union sources, she received her dismissal notice at her home at 10.30 p.m. on the night the committee met. Her colleagues subsequently voted unanimously for strike action.
A society spokesman said it did not wish to discuss the specifics of the case ahead of proposed talks at the Labour Relations Commission on Monday. However, it was understood the secretary refused to cover more than one meeting.
MANDATE official Mr Brendan Archbold said industrial action would go ahead as planned if the talks failed.
He said MANDATE has been seeking the implementation of new pay scales by the society for several years. It also wanted an end to the recruitment of temporary staff on lower pay, the introduction of a grievance procedure and better pay for canteen staff.
Yesterday, the society's director general, Mr Ken Murphy, said he was surprised at the action. "The society sought meetings with the union earlier this year without success. It is very surprising to us that strike notice has been served covering a range of issues, some of which have never been raised with the society previously."
Mr Archbold admitted the issues had not been raised recently with the society but said the union had repeatedly tried to have them addressed in previous years. "The society unilaterally introduced new and worse conditions and the dismissal was the straw that broke the camel's back."