1

SPRING 2012 VOL: 14 NO. 1

6th Biennial Conference9th to 11th May 2012,Clayton Hotel, Galway

2

Dear Colleague,The CWU delegates elected from every Branchof the Union throughout the country will gathertogether in early May to attend the 6th BiennialConference of the Communications Workers’Union. They will do so at a very depressingstage in Irish history. Three years into aneconomic recession they will attendConference in the knowledge that not one ofthe people responsible has yet seen the insideof a court or a prison. They will attend in theknowledge that victims of the crimes of thoseindividuals still suffer, with people losinghomes and families being broken apartthrough emigration.

Yet, understandably the main concerns ofthose delegates will be the impact theeconomic recession has had on your jobs, payand conditions. They will hear how the Unionhas lost many members, mainly throughvoluntary exits, but also how many of ourmembers have been made compulsorilyredundant through job closures. They will, onyour behalf, debate the critical issues of theday, as well as voting to elect a new NationalExecutive Council, President and Vice-President. They will also debate and vote onthe Motions contained further on in thismagazine and attempt to firmly set the agendafor the Union and its NEC for the coming 2years. The Conference also gives anopportunity for those delegates to examine,comment and debate on the work carried outon their behalf over the past 2 years. In short,the Conference is the parliament of the Unionand carries the highest authority within theUnion, with the exception of a membershipvote.

Furthermore, the Conference will alsodebate issues of national importance and there

Editorial

Editor: Steve FitzpatrickSub-Editor: Imelda WallIssued by: Communications Workers’ Union,575 North Circular Road, Dublin 1.Telephone: 8663000 and Fax: 8663099E-mail: info@cwu.ieIncorporatingthe PTWU Journal, THE RELAY andTHE COMMUNICATIONS WORKERThe opinions expressed by contributors are notnecessarily those of the CWU.Photographs: John ChaneyPrinted by Mahons Printing Works, Dublin.

ContentsEditorial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2-3I use braille to do my schoolwork –

My education week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4-5Equality Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6-8Congress Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9Youth Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-15CWU Band marches at the recent

Dublin Trades Council Austerity Protest . . . . . . 15ETUC Day of Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16Halligan Insurance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17eircom Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18-21LabourStart – Where trade unionists start

their day on the net . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21CWU Intellectual Disability Fund . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22-23Education Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24-27CWU is now a FETAC Provider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25Postal Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28-30Vodafone Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Medisan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Are you in the dark in your workplace? . . . . . . . . 33Organising Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34-39Welcome to “good life” on Welfare . . . . . . . . . . . . 40Regulation Update . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41Uni Global Union . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41FM Downes Mortgage Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42-43CWU People . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44-68FM Downs Insurances . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51Why join ESCCU Credit Union? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69Book Reviews . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70CWU Membership Application Form . . . . . . . . . . . 71-72

3

is little doubt that the upcoming referendum on the Fiscal Compactand the proposed household charge will be high on delegates’agendas. As is the norm, we will have input from other Irish tradeunions, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions and internationalcolleagues from the UK and Europe. These broader debates willallow us put the Irish problems into a European-wide context. Thecontributions from our guests will also demonstrate to us how ourindustries have developed in different countries and what newtechnologies and problems we are likely to face in the future. Thisyear we will also have presentations from the recently reconstitutedCWU Youth Committee. It is very gratifying to see young peoplebecoming involved in their Branches and their Union once again.The report concerning the activities in the Irish Congress of TradeUnions will also be delivered as the Irish trade union movement,through the Commission on Trade Unionism, set-up last year,attempts to make better use of the scarce resources of individualtrade unions through cooperation and economies of scale. There is,for the first time, a real possibility that the Irish trade union movement, through the Commission, willimprove the level of cooperation between trade unions and attempt to reduce the number of tradeunions through alliances and mergers.

The CWU Conference, in my view, is a critical part of the Union’s infrastructure. Outside of thebusiness outlined above, it creates the opportunity for people to make new friends and contacts. Itallows people from companies within the same industries to compare pay and conditions, and tolearn from each other how to deal with developments that eventually affect them all. It is my sincerehope that it will also re-energise those union activists for the difficult struggles that we face aheadand I trust they will carry your views to this extremely important forum.

Steve Fitzpatrick,General Secretary, CWU

Get into print!Anyone wishing to submit articles or photos to

appear inthe Connect journal, please,

either email to:

imelda@cwu.ie

or post to: Imelda WallCommunications Workers’ Union

575 North Circular Road,Dublin 1.

Wearyour

UnionBadge

4

Mike O’Connor is a member of the National ExecutiveCouncil and his son, Michael, is a second-year student inHoly Family Community School, Rathcoole. He was bornwith a condition called Peter’s Anomaly, a degenerative eyedisorder.

The following is an interview by 96FM WAOR radio.

SaturdayHad my piano lesson today. I don’t use Braille for music yet– I just learn the pieces on each hand by ear and then Ipractise, practise, practise. I’m on grade five now and it’sone of my favourite things to do. I often just play stuff thatI’m listening to on my iPod at the time – Calvin Harris,Rihanna, Tinie Tempah, that sort of thing.

After that, I went to the 96FM studios to pre-record aninterview for my radio slot. I usually do my show live everyWednesday, but it’s good to have that in the bag. I’ve hadthe show since October – I did a DJ course in Ballyfermotover the summer and I was offered the slot on the basis ofthat.

SundayWatched the rugby today. When I say I watch the matches,what we do is we turn on the telly, but we turn the sound offand listen to the radio commentary. It’s more descriptive,obviously enough.

I’ve always had problems with my eyes. You name it, it’shappened – cataracts, detached retinas, glaucoma, cornealtransplants – that doesn’t cover much of it, but you get theidea. Right now, I can see light and most colour. I can see alittle bit of detail, but the tissues on the retina are being worndown, so that will go eventually. I was nine or 10 when Istarted learning Braille and using it in conjunction with print.It was a just-in-case measure. We never thought my sightwould deteriorate as quickly as it did.

MondayI missed the first two classes because of a hospitalappointment. I used to have them every week, but I onlyneed to go every three or four weeks nowadays. You get usedto it, I suppose. They told me that another operation islooking likely over the next year or two. It was okay but,you know, not the best news.

Luckily, there wasn’t any homework from the classes Imissed – business studies and CSPE. I had English next. Wewere doing poetry and I took notes on my BrailleNotemPower – it’s like a Braille laptop. I can take notes and readthem back on an embossed screen or I can listen to them –the voice sounds a bit like Stephen Hawking, but it does thejob. I can get the notes printed as Braille or text. It’s prettyhandy.

I need different machines depending on what class I’m in.I use the mPower as a calculator in maths, but I use an oldfashioned Braille typewriter called a Perkins Brailler for mymaths work. That just embosses the Braille onto paper as Itype. I use that for rough work in business too.

Then I have the Braille books. They are absolutelymassive – Braille isn’t compact like printed text. In school,most people have a locker. I have a base room for mymachines and four full-size filing cabinets dotted throughoutthe school to hold all my books. Let’s just say I don’t travellight.

I’m really into drama and I had that after school. I’mdoing a piece from The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole – it’sgood fun.

TuesdayI’m actually pretty wrecked this evening. Because of all themachines and processes, schoolwork takes me ages.

Today, we had a French test – not my best subject. I did itover two classes. The whole process is quite complicated.Basically, my teacher gives the test to my SNA who scans it

I use brailleto do

my schoolworkMy Education Week

by MICHAEL O’CONNOR (15)

WatchingThe news and FairCity . I’m not amassive telly fan, butI like those.

Listening toLinkin Park, Jay-Z, FloRida and Jason Deruloon my iPod

ReadingThe Magician’sApprentice by TrudiCanavan. It’s a prequelto the Black Magiciantrilogy, which Ive justfinished on audiobook.

BrowsingYouTube – I like

catching up on music

and stuff like that.

5

and gets it printed into Braille. Then I do the test. I used thePerkins (that’s the typewriter) because I can lay out a letteron it, but it’s time consuming. My visiting teacher will comelater in the week and she’ll translate what I’ve written to textand then my French teacher will beable to correct it.

My other classes were grand. I’mpretty good at finding my way around– a good thing since there are fivedifferent buildings and my classes areall over the place. I have a full-timeSNA, but I like to make my wayabout myself. I trail my hand alongwalls and use my cane if I need it toget from place to place. It doesn’tsave me from occasionally walkinginto a door or something, butindependence is good.

WednesdayWe have a half day on a Wednesdayand double music. Music is one of theclasses where I don’t need an SNA –I like managing by myself. Whenschool finished, my mother collectedme and we went over to the DSPCA to record a slot for myshow. My mum Lorraine is great. She’s like my personalassistant. I worked on my interview questions and listened toa text file about the DSPCA on our way there. We visited thecattery and the kennels and I recorded an interview. It wasactually pretty funny – they have Lyric FM on the radio inthe cattery because apparently the cats prefer classical music.

To top it off, I’ve no homework to do tonight. Fantastic.

ThursdayAt lunchtime, I made my way to the hall as usual. That can

be tricky because the layout changes, but I managed not totrip over anything. I normally find a bench, any bench to siton and then my friends come and find me. I think anyonewith a disability can identify with how lucky I feel to have

a couple of really loyal friends whostick with me.Today, the student council waspractising for a sort of radio stationthat they’re running in the schooltomorrow and they were playing aload of pop songs during break time.A Justin Bieber song came on at onepoint. We wouldn’t be Bieber’sbiggest fans – a couple of us legged itoutside and held the door so nobodyelse could get out. It was pretty funny.

FridayPE today. At the moment, the mocksare on so we’re watching a film calledThe Blind Side instead. Generally, Ican do about 75 per cent of what wedo in PE. I run on the treadmill or usethe exercise bike if I can’t take part.

It was a big blow to lose so muchsight when I did. I suppose there was a bit of trauma there aswell because I had a lot of eye pain at the time. I still havesome, but it’s either getting better or I’m getting used to it. Itake pain medication a couple of times a day, but only afraction of what I used to need.

I ended up missing a lot of school back then and betweenthat and getting to grips with Braille, I had to repeat fourthclass. I wasn’t happy about that at all, but you just get onwith it.

Looking forward to the weekend now. I might go to thecinema. They have audio description kits now – it’s quite anew development but it’s great to have. I used to be a bigmovie fan, so it’ll be good to get into that again.

Michael O’Connor: “I’ve had the show on96FM since October – I did a DJ course in

Ballyfermot over the summer and I was offeredthe slot on the basis of that.

Phot

o: E

ric

Luke

This Week I Was ....

6

Equality Update

The Equality Mainstreaming Unit within the Equality Authority is one of the initiatives set up under theHuman Capital Investment Operational Programme 2007-2013. The main objective of the EqualityMainstreaming Unit is to contribute to addressing labour market gaps in Ireland for specific groups that areexperiencing barriers in accessing and participating in that market, including those created by genderinequality and wider inequalities. (Source: www.equality.ie)

In 2011, the Equality Mainstreaming Unit sought tenders to develop a sectoral project to promote workplaceequality and equality mainstreaming. The CWU, Mandate and IBOA submitted a successful joint applicationfor funding for a sectoral project. This project will be delivered prior to end of April 2012 and will focuson the development of a toolkit and training for our Officials and Equality Representatives.

AimsThe project aims to develop a strategic approach to mainstreaming equality within our Union structures. Wewill do this through the development and implementation of an integrated equality policy and procedureswith practical guidelines and tools to assist in the rolling out of our project. Training will be provided forEquality Representatives and Officials as part of that process. To foster a partnership approach, An Post hasagreed to be an Employer Partner to the project and will be kept appraised of our activities.

Toolkit:The toolkit will consist of a training manual that is in modular format, which will allow flexibility in boththe training delivery and in relation to the particular equality subject matter. The toolkit will also consist ofan Equality Policy that can be adapted by other Unions and an Equality Representative Handbook. Thehandbook will be based on raising equality awareness for Trade Unions and will take the format of aRepresentative guide on equality issues. The toolkit will be made available to the relevant Representativeswithin each Union and can also be downloaded on each Union’s website.

Equality MainstreamingMainstreaming focuses primarily on how we can integrate our work on equality into our Union structures.The project team has identified a number of ways in which this can be done primarily through training, byusing our websites and other forms of publicity. At the time of writing, a three-day training programme forUnion Equality Representatives and Officials had already commenced and focuses on attitudes to equality,the relevant legislation, case studies and a strategy for mainstreaming. At the conclusion of the project, wewill also have an information section on our Union websites on equality issues and will have delivered anumber of briefing sessions in each partner Union. The partners will also produce a detailed end of projectreport.

Equality Mainstreaming Training CourseThe three-day training course commenced on January 31st and continued on February 17th with the finalday scheduled for March 23rd. The course was held in the Mandate Training Centre and there were a numberof participants from the three Unions in attendance. A course manual was produced for each participant andto date presentations have been made by Anne Casey, Carol Scheffer and Bernadette Treanor who was aformer Equality Officer with the Tribunal and who is the managing consultant with BEO Solutions.

Equality Mainstreaming

7

Equality Update

Day one concentrated on understanding equality, i.e. equality as a Trade Union issue, identifying workplaceissues and an introduction into equality legislation. On day two, Bernadette Treanor built on the introductionto legislation with a comprehensive presentation and study work. The presentation also outlined theworkings of the Institutions of the State for progressing equality claims. The focus of the afternoon wasbased on further case studies and using the legislation. The final day will examine our methods for equalitymainstreaming and other equality policy and procedural issues for Trade Unions.

In attendance at the training on behalf of the CWU were Susan Casey, Dublin C&A, Catherine Slattery,eircom Dublin No 3, Timmy Donovan, Cork Mails Centre, Ellen Moore, Portlaoise Mails Centre, RoryDuggan, eircom Dublin No 1 and Paul Torsney, eircom Dublin No 2.

ConclusionIt is hoped that on completion of the project, the Unions will have a good set of training materials andguides that will assist all those addressing equality related matters. The networking opportunities and therole that the Equality Authority has had in assisting our work will no doubt be of great benefit to the TradeUnion partners.

Pictured above: the attendees fromthe three Unions on day two of the course.

Pictured below from l to r: Anne Casey, Project Manager

Marian Geoghegan, IBOA,Carol Scheffer, CWU

& Aileen Morrissey, Mandate

8

The Biennial Conference of the Congress Women'sCommittee brings together over 200 delegates from morethan 40 Trade Unions across Ireland. It commenced at 11amon Thursday March 1 and concluded on Friday March 2nd.The theme of the Conference was “Bearing the brunt,leading the response: Women and the economic crisis” andwas held in the Waterfront Hall, Belfast.

The CWU lodged a motion on Women in Trade UnionLeadership Roles as follows:

Conference notes the ETUC resource guide "FromMembership to Leadership: Advancing Women in TradeUnions" which addresses gender balance in Trade Uniondecision making roles. Ten measures that Trade Unions canadapt to achieve gender balanced representation areidentified in the resource guide. One in particular refers topreparing women for decision making and leadership roles.In that regard, training and mentoring for women can playa very important part in dealing with this need. Severalinitiatives have been put in place to provide training suchas The Women at Work Skillnet, LIFT, and the Petalprogramme. Mentoring has also been identified in theseinitiatives, and could be developed more within the TradeUnion movement. Accordingly, mentoring may be of greatassistance in addressing the continued deficit of women in

Union leadership roles if given a more strategic focus.Therefore conference seeks that congress renews its effortsto address this deficit through developing mentoring andother targeted measures as required.

The motion was seconded by the IBOA and was passed atthe conference.

ICTU was also delighted to welcome President Michael DHiggins as a guest speaker at the Conference. This wasPresident Higgins' first visit to Belfast since his election andhe made the closing address to the conference.

Equality Update

CWU delegates at the ICTU Women’s ConferencePictured l to r: Teresa Heeran, eircom Sligo District, Carol Scheffer, National Officer, Bernadette Kavanagh, eircom

Drogheda C&A, Margaret Jenkins, Dublin No 1 & Susan Murtagh, Dublin Postal Amalgamated Branch.

ICTU Women’s Conference

Delegates on behalf of the CWU were as follows:

POSTAL COURIER

1. Deirdre Medlar, Ballina Postal

2. Susan Murtagh, Dublin Postal Amalgamated Branch

3. Joan McLoughlin, Dublin Postal Delivery Branch

TELECOMS

1. Margaret Jenkins, Dublin No 1

2. Bernadette Kavanagh, Drogheda C&A

3. Teresa Heeran, Sligo District, Sligo Section

9

Justice for Colombia was established in the UK in 2002by a group of trade unionists in response to the appallinghuman rights situation in Colombia. In 2008 the Irishbranch of Justice for Colombia was established with MickDowling as Chair, Mairtín MacMaoláin as Vice-Chair andJack O’Connor most recentlyappointed as President. The JFCIreland Committee meet every twomonths in Dublin, with manymembers of the Committee havingtaken part in the ICTU GlobalSolidarity training.

The main work of JFC Irelandis to raise awareness of the humanrights situation in Colombia withour own government, within thewider trade union movement andalso among the general public.JFC Ireland has hosted severalpublic events since 2008, invitingover high-level delegations fromColombia which included TarcisioMoro, who is the GeneralSecretary of the largest of fourColombian congresses of trade unions (Central Unitariade Trabajadores). These delegations are hosted jointly byJFC UK and JFC Ireland, with the delegations oftenvisiting the UK, Ireland and Brussels. Another veryimportant area of the Committee’s work is campaigningfor the release of political prisoners.

In 2011 Justice for Colombia in the UK and Ireland,along with students in Pobalscoil Inbhear Sceine inKenmare, successfully campaigned for the release ofRosalba Gaviria Toro, who was imprisoned for 27 monthson false charges of “rebellion”. Rosalba visited Kenmareand Dublin in December of last year to talk about herexperience as a human rights activist in Colombia and the

struggle her fellow human rights defenders still face. JFCIreland is now focusing its campaign activities on LilianyObando, who is an academic and human rights defenderand who has been imprisoned for over 3 years, again onfalse charges of “rebellion” and “administration of

resources related to terroristorganisations”.What does this mean for the futureof Colombia? The worrying fact ofthe human rights situation is thatthe country appears normal fromthe outside and very littleinformation on the actualhumanitarian crisis is reportedeither inside or outside thecountry. President Santos, whowas elected in 2010, appears tosay all the right things aboutcommitting to a peace process,tackling the violence againsthuman rights defenders andbringing those responsible tojustice. What remains to be seen iswhether these statements will be

transformed into action. The international community hasa role to play here. The Colombian government is verysensitive to negative publicity and highlighting theseinjustices outside of the country can apply pressure forreforms. Justice for Colombia in the UK and Ireland arecontinuing their campaign to have the EU/Colombia FreeTrade Agreement postponed until the Colombiangovernment makes firm commitments and improvementsin relation to the human rights crisis. This work is ongoingand the support of the trade union movement, as defendersof human rights, is critical to improving the situation forour brothers and sisters in Colombia who continue to puttheir lives at risk to create a fair society for everyone.

JUSTICE FORCOLOMBIA– The struggle continues

A fringe event took place at the recent ICTU Women’s Conferencein the Waterfront Hall, Belfast to promote the work of

Justice for Colombia (Ireland).

Ciara Ní Mhaoilfhinn (CWU Headquarters)with John O’Neill (Thompson Solicitors)

10

Barry Gorman, Portlaoise Postal Branch

All too often our reactions are negative. For example, decades ago an Irishperson with mental health problems was locked away in an asylum. Well,we’ve come a long way towards understanding mental health, but have wecome far enough? For instance, did you know that 1 in 4 Irish people willexperience mental health problems in their lifetime? Or that only 20% of Irishpeople would be comfortable working alongside someone suffering withdepression?

In 2010, the See Change campaign, an alliance of over fifty voluntaryorganisations, state agencies, universities and youth groups, commissioned asurvey on the attitudes towards mental health in Ireland, and the results werestaggering: 70% of Irish people agree that almost anyone can develop a mentalhealth problem and over 1 in 2 surveyed thought that mental health issues werevery common in Ireland. Yet, at the same time, 1 in 3 would hide mental healthproblems from friends, 1 in 10 from family, and 1 in 3 said their family wouldhide the diagnosis. This is because there is a terrible stigma surrounding mentalhealth in Ireland.

In our current economic climate, as wages, workers’ and social rights andwelfare diminish, and as unemployment, homelessness and emigration ratessoar, mental illness has risen dramatically. But it has also found itself appearingmore prominently in the public domain in recent years, which helps to lessenthe stigma as more and more people talk about and hear about mental healthproblems. While it may never be possible to totally eliminate the stigmasurrounding mental health problems, it is possible to help reduce the stigmaassociated with it.

People are fearful,dismissive and even

contemptuoustowards mental illness.

Stigma is described in thedictionary as

“a mark of disgraceor infamy;

a stain or reproach,as on one’s reputation”,

as if it is somethingto be ashamed

or afraid of.

Youth Update

If you suffer from mental health issues, talk to a friend, family member, your doctor or one ofthe many voluntary mental health organisations in Ireland. And if you know someone withmental health problems, treat them the way you would like to be treated; not with fear, derision,shame or exclusion, but with understanding, acceptance, respect and support. That way, wemay be able to remove the stigma which has shadowed mental health.

What’s the first thing we think of when we hear thewords ‘mental health’?

11

Youth Update

12

UNI EuropaYouth –Seminar Update

Eric PartridgeChairperson, CWU Youth Committee

On the 1st to the 3rd of February 2012 UNI Europa Youthheld a seminar in Manchester. The theme of the seminar was“Temporary Agency Work and Youth Unemployment”. Thefundamental aim of this seminar was to highlight the impactof agency work and unemployment on young people acrossEurope.

The UNI Europa Steering Group had previously held ameeting in October 2011 in Toulouse after the 3rd UNIEuropa Conference; the purpose of this meeting was to buildan agenda and it was at that time the Steering Group decidedto focus on temporary agency workers and youthunemployment.

I arrived in Manchester on the 31st January, just ahead ofthe seminar, to meet with the Steering Group and finalise theagenda. As we sat around the table adding the finishingtouches and assigning ourselves roles it was becoming clearthat, after all our hard work in Toulouse and several follow-up conference calls, our Steering Group’s first seminar wasgoing to be a success. The energy and enthusiasm from the14 young trade unionists from across Europe was justimmense, if not inspiring! Here we had 14 young workerswith different nationalities and from different walks of life

coming together collectively to reach a common goal. Thiswas, in my view, true trade unionism at its best.

As our 83 delegates started to arrive in the hotel on theWednesday afternoon there was a great atmosphere withlaughter and joy as old friends reunited, each lookingforward to the seminar ahead. As soon as everyone hadregistered and settled into their rooms we arranged to meetin the conference room for a welcome drink and to unwind,after which we broke into our area meetings.

Our own area group, consisting of Ireland and the UK,included myself, representing CWU Ireland as Sub-RegionalOfficer and Ed Thompson representing Unite Ireland asRegional Officer. Lee Fishwick, (Vice-President)representing CWU UK, chaired our area meeting, where weanswered all questions the delegates had about UNI and theseminar.

Over the course of the next two days we informed thedelegates on all the activities the Steering Group had beeninvolved in over the past year, which included:

• Conference in Manchester• Post Lobby Action Day in Brussels• Winter School in Stockholm• Payatas Children Mission in Manila• Steering Group meeting in Berlin• Summer School in Turkey• 3rd UNI Conference in Toulouse

Temporary Agency WorkThe delegates were shown the temporary agency work videointerviews from around Europe. On that note, I’d like to takethis opportunity to thank James Moore from the DPAB, who

James Moore (centre)attending as an observer.

Youth Update

13

also attended the seminar as a delegate and is a currentmember of our own Youth Committee, for doing our Union’svideo interview.

We hosted a number of working groups on both temporaryagency workers and youth unemployment. One great successof the day was the temporary agency work “speed dating”event, where delegates got to sit face-to-face for 3 minutesbefore swapping seats.

There were a number of guest speakers during the seminar,including:

Sally Bridge (CWU UK)who spoke on the effect temporary agency work is havingon young workers within the UK and how they aredealing with this ever growing crisis.

Giedie Lelyte (UNI) who gave a European view on temporary agency workand cross-sectoral issues.

As more and more companies shift from permanent toagency staff, temporary and agency work must become across-sectoral issue and all UNI sectoral global unionsshould be actively involved in supporting and organisingcampaigns for agency workers worldwide. Some of thechallenges facing temporary agency workers are:

• lack of national legislation• rights to equal treatment• low coverage by collective agreements• few opportunities for training• redundancy pay or claims for unfair dismissal• no rights to maternity, paternity and parental leave• wage level• working schedules – no rights to flexible working hours• benefits: pensions, access to loans/mortgages

If not well regulated and monitored temporary agenciescould position themselves as a low-cost alternative forcompanies and employment of agency workers can beabused to replace directly employed workers or can beabused to replace workers on strike.

Union principles on agency workers should beas follows:• The primary form of employment shall be permanent,

open-ended and direct employment • Workers provided by temporary work agencies must be

accorded equal treatment and opportunities, includingequal pay for equal work, with regular and permanentemployees with respect to terms and conditions ofemployment

• Adequate and continuous social protection for agencyworkers, including social security coverage, must beensured

• Workers supplied by temporary work agencies must neverbe used to replace striking workers or undermineindustrial action

• Temporary work agencies must not charge any fees toworkers for dispatching them

• Where temporary work agencies are permitted to operate,they must be properly regulated and monitored in orderto prevent abuses of workers, such as human trafficking orfee charging in cross border placements (e.g. Irish ferries).

Youth UnemploymentThere was also a guest speaker on youth unemployment. TheChairperson of the European Youth Forum, Thiebaut, statedthat 9.7% of Europe’s workforce is unemployed. 21.4% ofthis workforce, those aged between 18-24, are unemployed.Ireland has the fifth highest unemployment rate in Europe,with the highest rate of youth unemployment just behindLithuania 15.5%, Latvia 16.1%, Greece 16.6% and Spain22.6%. While the EU averages show one part of the story,each individual country has different challenges toovercome.

Youth unemployment is a problem everywhere, butGreece and Italy face grave challenges relative to overallunemployment. Ireland has a particular problem with maleunemployment, a hangover from the construction bubble,while in Greece female unemployment is more of a concern.In order to address these problems, a range of policyinitiatives should be taken at European and national levels toinvest in the future of our nation’s youth.

The seminar was a great success and the contributionmade by all delegates was informative and educational. Weleft Manchester deeply satisfied and look forward tocontinuing the work of UNI Europa Youth.

Eric Partridge (right)UNI Europa Youth Sub-Regional Officer, CWU

Youth Chairperson.

Youth Update

14

YouthUnemploymentThe significant fanfare surrounding the government’s‘Action Plan for Jobs’ along with the recent reduction in thelive register figures suggest all is rosy in the land of jobcreation – surely good news for the thousands ofunemployed young people across Ireland. A closerexamination, however, reveals the true picture – and it ain’tpretty.

The scale of the task currently facing the country isdifficult to overstate. Figures have become scary things; ithas become hard to take the amount paid to bondholders, thesize of the budget deficit or the GDP growthprojections and still remain positive about thefuture of the country. Perhaps the scariestfigures of all, however, are the current figureson youth unemployment and emigration.

Currently, unemployment for those underthe age of 25 stands at approximately 30%,and approximately 75,000 people – manyof them under the age of 30 – are leavingthe country every year. The live registerfigures for January seemed to augur well for2012, with the number of under 25s on thelive register dropping 6,892. However, thesefigures, well advertised by the government’spress office, simply conceal the true scale of theyouth unemployment crisis in Ireland. As JohnStewart, the coordinator of the Irish National Organisation ofthe Unemployed correctly stated “the figures are nowbeginning to reflect the reality that very significant numbersof people have given up hope of finding a job in Ireland andhave decided to emigrate”.

Thus there can be no doubt that leadership fromgovernment is needed. “The ultimate goal and top priority ofgovernment has always been to get Ireland back to work,”said Taoiseach Enda Kenny at the launch of thegovernment’s Action Plan for Jobs. “That is whygovernment has put together this Action Plan for Jobs...wewill improve the way government interacts with businessesby cutting costs and cutting red tape.”

Admirable sentiments; and it is difficult to argue with anyproposal which aims to create jobs in the Irish economy. Thequestion that must be asked, however, is whether or not thisjobs plan does enough?

The answer, unfortunately, is no. The first problem is thatthe government is operating off an ever-changing set offigures that are, at best, highly optimistic. Governmentprojections for GDP growth in 2012 stood at 2.5% in May2011, before being dramatically reassessed to 1.3% inDecember. However, even this latest figure exceeds allindependent estimates, with the ESRI predicting a growth

of 0.9% and the European Commission far more pessimistic,expecting a meagre growth of 0.5%. Add to this themorphing predictions of employment creation – last Aprilwe were promised 102,000 jobs by 2015, this was revisedto 62,000 in December, and it is now 100,000 rising to200,000 by 2015 – and one gets the impression that thegovernment is struggling to stay on top of the figures.

Beyond this, however, the Action Plan for Jobs primaryfailure lies simply in its approach. Austerity budgetscontinue to drive down domestic demand and thegovernment’s ideological opposition to investment meansthe economy will continue to contract. Investment in publicinfrastructure projects – projects such as repairing Ireland’swater infrastructure, for example – using funds from privatepension funds and the National Pension Reserve Fund couldcreate thousands of jobs in the beleaguered construction

sector, and could, in the long run, save money. Morethan that, job creation of this type would have

significant knock-on effects on all sectors of theIrish economy. This is just one example ofhow public investment could create jobs.Instead, the government parrots the mantra,again seen in the Action Plan for Jobs, that“governments don’t create jobs, successfulbusinesses and entrepreneurs do”.Until the approach of government changes,Ireland will continue to lose thousands of its

brightest young people to emigration everyyear. The situation is not helped by the current

demonisation of the unemployed, exemplifiedby the wildly ramped-up figures of welfare fraud

emanating from the Minister of Social Protection JoanBurton. Enda Kenny is correct about one thing: “There is noquick path to full employment – we have to rebuild oureconomy piece by piece... if we are to create new jobs.” Thisis true, but the correct choices regarding which pieces to playmust first be made. A fundamental change in approach isrequired if Ireland is to develop jobs at the kind of rate thatis needed. Until the ideological devotion to austerity isreversed and significant investment is made, the situation forour young unemployed will continue to deteriorate.

It is essential that the trade union movement continues toadvocate an alternative to the continued austerity programmebeing pushed by the government and the troika – aprogramme that could be ratified into law should theupcoming Fiscal Compact treaty be passed by referendum.There are undoubtedly challenges for trade unions inproposing that alternative, with hostility towards tradeunionism still evident in the pages of many of our nationalnewspapers. Nevertheless, the CWU, and trade unions as awhole, must continue to grow and organise and offer theyoung people of Ireland an alternative to the failed policiesof this current government.

Joe GalvinResearch & Markets Branch

Until theideological devotion

to austerity is reversedand significant

investment is made, thesituation for ouryoung unemployedwill continue to

deteriorate.

Youth Update

15

In January of 2012 the Youth Committee held its first AnnualGeneral Meeting. There was a good attendance anddiscussion was at a very high level. The AGM was addressedby the General Secretary, Steve Fitzpatrick, and theCommittee members were pleased to be able to raise theirissues directly. The newly elected Chair (Eric Partridge) andVice-Chair (Caroline Corcoran) of the Committee have sincetaken the initiative and have made great strides in the shorttime since the AGM. The Committee will continue to receiveongoing support from Head Office and the outlook is goodfor the future of young members in the CWU.

The Youth Committee understands that it is essential tothe future of the CWU to engage with younger members ofthe Union on issues that affect them and to re-vitalise themembership to build a new generation of activists.

General Secretary Steve Fitzpatrickaddressing the first Youth Committee AGM

Marita Davis and CarolScott enjoy the Youth AGM

Newly elected Chair EricPartridge and Vice-ChairCaroline Corcoran

CWU Youth Committee AGM

CWU Band marches at therecent Dublin TradesCouncil Austerity Protest

Youth Update

16

29th February 2012Members of the CWU, along with members from several otherIrish trade unions, took part in a demonstration outside theEuropean Commission Head Office in Dublin as part of the ETUCDay of Action on Wednesday, 29th February. The theme of the Dayof Action was “Austerity is not working” and trade unions in over30 countries took part in protests and demonstrations, all carryingthis message. The main focus of the Irish action was to highlightthe social and economic effects of the current crisis and to call forjobs and growth, instead of the programme of continual spendingcuts being followed by this government. Instead of growth, wehave recession; instead of job creation, we have recordunemployment; instead of investment, we see spending andservices cut. This must end now!

Ireland needs a Social Compact that puts people, jobs andgrowth to the fore. ICTU, along with other Irish trade unions, haveput forward plans to create jobs and boost growth, at little or nocost to the Exchequer:

• More than €5 billion remains in the National PensionReserve Fund. It should be invested to create jobs and boostdomestic demand

• Private Irish pension funds hold over €70 billion in assets.They should be encouraged to invest in productive projectshere

• Investment can also be secured from the EuropeanInvestment Bank to help fund major projects that will createjobs

The campaign against austerity is continuing and your Union willsupport ICTU and our European and global affiliates in this fight.

ETUC Day of Action

17

18

eircom Update

Wave 2Mobilisation forNGAAfter many months of negations between a sub groupof the telecoms executive, and company management,agreement was reached on wave 2 reorganisation inthe fixed access operations FAO and the mobilisationfor next generation access NGA. I would very muchlike to thank every representative be they executivemember, district coordinator, branch secretary orordinary member for all their hard work.

This document is a collective agreement between eircomand the Communications’ Workers Union (The Parties)which sets out how Fixed Access Field Operations will berestructured to mobilise for Next Generation Access whilemeeting the demands on the business.

A key element of eircom’s recovery plan and immediatemarket strategy is the launch of retail and wholesale NGNproducts into the mass markets. Underpinning this strategyis the accelerated build of the fibre based Next GenerationAccess Network. To support planned market launches it isnow crucial that we urgently move to bring this capability tothe first 100,000 homes, served from the 10 priorityexchanges by July of this year. Simultaneously we willadvance the planning and deployment of the same capabilityin the next 45 exchanges.

In the context of this business imperative the parties haveagreed the implementation of a new Fixed AccessOperations Field organisation structure detailed in Appendix1 including

• Implementation of the new integrated service teamoperating model, right sized and distributed across anew 44 workstack and primary area structure. Thenational response team and service cabling teams willbe joined by the pressurisation team as part of the FixedAccess Service Team;

• Implementation of the new integrated Fixed AccessBuild unit, right sized and encompassing contractmanagement and preventative maintenance includinga new integrated, right sized NGA unit;

• Implementation of operational and productivityenablers and a number of process improvementsincluding the completion of WOSAT implementationin the existing WCC centre structure;

• Implementation of a new contractor engagementagreement.

A key enabler of the implementation of this new Fieldorganisation model is the commitment that this restructuringwill not result in the displacement of existing Fixed AccessField Operations employees in the period January 2012to January 2013 save for the curtailment of the NGAprogramme.

In the event of the curtailment of the NGA programme theparties will meet to discuss the employee impact.

In this context Field technician roles will be filled byassignment based on business needs in terms of location,current discipline and skill set. In addition internal resourceoptions will be explored to maximise the utilisation ofexisting internal resources to support this programme e.g.‘stood down’ technicians, displaced employees etc in theappropriate locations.

Thereafter the new contractor engagement agreement willbe used to ensure ongoing business and customerrequirements are met in the FAO area.

As a pre step to the selection process for Fixed AccessField Operations Wave 2, existing FAO staff will be asked toexpress an interest in the NGA organisation. The Companywill endeavour to meet these expressions of interest subjectto the needs of the business. Where skills, grades andlocation are equal seniority in the grade will used todifferentiate.

As the NGA programme is implemented the Companymay seek further expressions of interest from staff notdeployed on NGA activity.

Level 3 management roles (Service Operations Managers)will be located at operational bases in line with thegeographic footprint established in ‘wave1’ of the GroupTechnology reorganisation and will be filled by assignmentbased on business needs with reference to expressions ofinterest preferences.

Existing Front Line Managers and Customer TeamManagers in Fixed Access Operations (FAO) Field roles willbe asked to express an interest (4 preferences) in the FrontLine Managers roles in the new Field organisation.

Existing Front Line Managers will then be assigned toFront Line Managers roles in the new Field organisationbased on business needs with reference to expressions ofinterest preferences.

The remaining vacant Front Line Managers roles will bethen filled through a closed resourcing process, whichconsist of a competitive, competency based interview basedon the preferences expressed by the existing Customer TeamManagers in the FAO Field organisation.

It is agreed that all field Front Line Managers will adoptthe mobile office concept of working and will be allocateda CMV.

On completion of the selection and assignment processall level 4 management roles will be standardised at FrontLine Manager (FLM) level.

The new organisation will be fully operational and theparties fully commit to ensuring a smooth implementationwhile meeting the needs of the Business.

19

eircom Update

1. Baseline Manpower NumbersThe implementation of the field organisation module of the Fixed Access Operations “Wave 2” transformation programmewill enable the mobilisation of resources to undertake the NGA programme. Set out in table 1 is the distribution of the current resource and the manpower requirements.

APPENDIX 1

Fixed Access Operations Build Organisation

Table 1

Fixed Access Field Operations Wave 2Fixed Access Operations Service organisation

20

It should be noted that the Service teams includes servicecover. The following paragraphs give a more granularbreakdown at a functional level.

1.1 Service Assurance/Service Delivery Field ForceThe existing Service Assurance & Service Delivery fieldteams will be merged to form service teams, organised in a44 work stack structure, supported by 3 National ResponseTeams and 4 Cabling Teams.

1.2 Fixed Access BuildThe Fixed Access build field organisation will be deployedin a 30 team structure organised around Internal Buildincluding contract management , Utility Vehicle Poling fleet,Preventative Maintenance and Pole Test teams. As existingbuild teams are composed over wide geographic areas, themanpower impact is tabulated by region and discipline. Thepressurisation teams, which currently resides in the FixedAccess Build units will move in the new organisation toField Service Unit . The current PQO model will changefrom dedicated teams of PQO’s to PQO’s within the Buildteams. PQO numbers will reflect contractor activity.

1.3 Next Generation Access The Next Generation Access Programme has no currentstrength as it is a newly established entity.. This is an initialorganisation structure which will be reviewed throughout theprogramme roll out. As work activity on NGA will beconcentrated in a smaller number of specific exchangelocations, technicians assigned to NGA will be expected tobe on duty at the normal starting times, within existingagreements / arrangements.

2. Support Centre OrganisationImplementation, on foot of the collective agreement, of thefield force element of the Fixed Access Operations ‘Wave2’ reorganisation is delivering mobilisation of the requiredfield resources to initiate this programme. It is nownecessary to resource the NGA works control requirementsfrom within the existing support centre structure.It is further required to re-assign geographic responsibilitybetween the two Works Management Centres to serve thenew merged service team structure in the field.

2.1 Resourcing NGA requirementsThe estimated resource requirement to deliver the WorksControl Centre functionality for the NGA programme is 15people.

The Provision Control Centre at 1 HSQ has currentheadcount strength of 29 people. The assessed PCC workload amounts to an FTE requirement of 12. There issufficient under utilised resource available in PCC to takeup the NGA Work Control Centre activity without impacton existing throughput and service level.

2.2 Works Management CentresThe current division of responsibility sees Sligo Works

Management Centre (WMC) deliver the needs of the ServiceAssurance field force and the Cork WMC meet those of theService Delivery field force.

Alignment with the new field operating structure will seeSligo meeting the needs of delivery and repair for thewestern field force. Cork will manage the work flow to thedelivery and repair field force in the east. This realignmentwill not require any resource movement.

2.3 Works Control CentreFull roll out of WOSAT will impact on the WCC in Killarney, Waterford and Galway in that all operatives will beworking to the new system, process and work methods.WOSAT is already deployed and activated in each of theseWCC. It will now extend to all teams served from thesecentres. A small number of centre operatives remain to betrained on WOSAT procedures.

2.4 Work Control Centre, DroghedaThe Work control centre at Drogheda will not be directlyimpacted by the reorganisation of the field teams. WCCadmin will be impacted indirectly by the implementation ofthe full roll out of Works Order Scheduling and AllocationTool (WOSAT). On implementation, certain administrativeprocessing will be carried out by the WOSAT control centreand will no longer fall to the admin support centre tocomplete. There will be a reduction in the demand on theWCC administration centre.

3. NGA Field Technician AssignmentAs a pre step to the selection process for Fixed Access FieldOperations Wave 2, existing FAO staff will be asked toexpress an interest in the NGA organisation. The Companywill endeavour to meet these expressions of interest subjectto the needs of the business. Where skills, grades andlocation are equal seniority in the grade will used todifferentiate.

3.1 Assignment processes for Fixed Access FieldOperations Wave 2:

The following sets out the technician assignment processsfor Fixed Access Field Operations Wave 2:

• Assignment will be based on Location and Skill-Set(i.e. ETIPS / KnowHow);

• Where these are equal seniority in the grade will usedto differentiate;

• Selection Rounds for technician roles • Round 1 selection - limited to people operating

presently within the particular discipline. e.g.Assurance Technician – Assurance roles , BuildTechnician – Build roles,

• Round 2 selection - expanded to encompasscomparable disciplines e.g. Delivery Technician &Assurance Technicians – Build roles

• Round 3 selection (if required) – available resources

eircom Update

21

from same or other business sub areas in a differentregion/geographic area that match the stated criteria forany available roles

• Round 4 selection (if required) - the Group Technologypopulation

4. Implementation TimelinesThis agreement will be implemented immediately in a seriesof concurrent steps.

5. NGA Milestone/TimeframesThe NGA unit will be established in March with trainingongoing

This is a summary of the wave 2 NGA agreement all districtbranch secretaries can forward a full copy of the agreementon request.

Some of our members may be familiar with the linksto online campaigns run by LabourStart which areregularly posted on the Union’s Facebook page.LabourStart is an online news service that is run by adedicated network of individuals, whose aim is toprovide relevant information to the global trade unionmovement. This network was founded by Eric Lee inconjunction with the publication of his book TheLabour Movement and the Internet: The NewInternationalism. LabourStart maintain a website(www.labourstart.org) which is updated regularly withstories on workers’ rights from countries around the

world. Much of the content on the site is provided byindividual trade unions within these countries who canreport in a timely and accurate manner on the trueevents relating to workers’ right, human rights and allother information on the labour movement within theirown cities and/or countries.

Another extremely important feature of theLabourStart website is the online email campaigns.Workers’ rights, trade unions’ rights and human rightsare exploited daily in countries the world over. Throughthe sharing of information on these violations by tradeunionists with LabourStart, online campaigns are builtto send messages to political leaders, company owners,or any individual involved in these violations. All ittakes is a minute or two to fill in your name, union andemail address, and a click of a button to send. Theseemails can make a significant difference in the lives ofworkers who are being targeted by political regimes,anti-union companies, or other groups with an interestin repressing the labour movement.

All that said, the CWU would recommend that all ourmembers with access to the internet check the websiteregularly and take part in the email campaigns. There isoften news relating to our own Irish labour movementand all trade union members are free to contactLabourStart with reports that may be of interest. Intoday’s globalised economy companies operate withoutborders and therefore we, as trade unionists, must alsooperate on this basis and show solidarity with ourcomrades in every country. Their fight is our fight.

LabourStart –where trade unionists start their day on the net

eircom Update

22

County Donegal Parents & Friends of People withIntellectual Disability Limited were delighted to accept acheque for €10,000.00 as a contribution towards therenovation of St. Agnes, Donegal Town.

The funding will go towards extension of a bathroom andthe widening of doors to facilitate wheelchair access.Vincent O’Donnell, on behalf of Parents & Friends, wasdelighted to accept the cheque and paid tribute to allmembers of the Communications Workers’ Union, whocontribute on a weekly basis to the fund.

St. Agnes was built in the 1980s but requires significantupdating to meet the needs of wheelchair users. CountyDonegal Parents & Friends was established in 1963 and hasworked closely with the HSE and previously the NorthWestern Health Board in providing housing and services forpeople with an intellectual disability.

The CWU has provided funding for some of thosehousing projects. In Donegal the construction and extensionof Cill Aoibhinn, Killymard, Donegal Town and therenovation of St. Agnes will always be a reminder of thecommitment of CWU members to improving housingconditions for people with intellectual disability.

The Parents & Friends are grateful, not only to theindividual members of the CWU, but also to therepresentatives who attended St. Agnes in February at thetime of the handing over of the cheque. Among thoserepresentatives were Monica Hempenstall, Financial Officerof CWU, Charlie Kelly, a native of Letterkenny and formerPresident of CWU, and local representatives of the Union.Present on the day were Martin Gillespie, Paul Crawford,Hugh Quinn from An Post and Seamus McAnew, BreegeMulroe from eircom.

~ CWU INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY HOUSING FUND ~

A Presentation of €10,000.00 was made to the Donegal

Parents and Friends of People with Intellectual Disability

23

~ CWU INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY HOUSING FUND ~

A Chara,Our son, Shane, was born with a severe disability of cerebralpalsy. He started in St. Agnes’ Day Care Centre in 1990 at theage of 2 years. St. Agnes’ Day Care Centre has been a secondhome to Shane, it is the best peace of mind any parent canhave.

It is a breath of fresh air to have our son, Shane, attend St.Agnes’, knowing with full confidence that he is in a caringenvironment. We appreciate St. Agnes’ and the staff very, verymuch.

Not alone do they take great care of Shane but they alsotake care of the parents and family members involved.A big thank you to the Communications Workers’ Unionand all individuals and partners involved that made a valuabledonation of €10,000. This donation will enhance the lives ofstaff members and clients of St. Agnes’ Day Care Centre.Kindest regards

The Gillespie Family,Donegal Town.

24

Education Update

2012 Training Calendar is announced

As per our February circular, the Union is pleased to announce our training calendar for 2012.

Chairperson’s Course

Wednesday March 28th – Friday March 30th (3 days)

Venue: Dublin

All newly-elected Chairpersons are required to attend this course, as well as any Chairperson who may not have had theopportunity to attend in the past.

Branch Secretary Stage 1 Course – Trade Union Representative Skills

April 17, 18, 19, 25 & 26 (5 days)

Venue: Dublin

All newly-elected Branch Secretaries are required to attend the Stage 1 course, as well as any Branch Secretary who maynot have had the opportunity to attend in the past. Those who wish to gain the accreditation will have assessments tocomplete. While all newly elected Branch Secretaries are required to attend the course, it will be at their own discretionas to whether they would like to avail of the certification. For further information on this course please contact theEducation Officer, Carol Scheffer directly.

Subject to numbers and the availability of training dates, we may be in a position to offer this course in the autumnto established Branch Secretaries.

Branch Officers Course

Tuesday May 29th & Wednesday May 30th (2 days)

Venue: Dublin

All newly-elected Branch Officers other than the Chairperson and Branch Secretary should attend or anyone who has nothad the opportunity to attend before. The course is open to Assistant Secretaries and Vice Chairpersons.

Treasurers Training Course

Tuesday May 29th & Wednesday May 30th (2 days)

Venue: Dublin

All newly-elected Treasurers should attend this course.

Branch Secretary Stage 2

September 18, 19, 20 (3 days)

Venue: Dublin

This course should be attended by Branch Secretaries who have completed Stage 1 and are in their second or consecutiveterm as Branch Secretary. This course is subject to numbers requiring the training.

25

Education Update

In 2011, the CWU decided that there would be greatbenefit to our activists if we were to register withFETAC. Accordingly, the CWU would be in a position tooffer FETAC awards to our Representatives.

Registration with FETAC was undertaken through aprocess of agreement of the provider’s quality assurancepolicies and procedures. On registration this means thatthe CWU as a provider could offer one or more trainingcourses that lead to a FETAC Award(s). Awards are basedon the Common Awards System at levels 1-6 on theNational Framework of Qualifications (NFQ).

The Union submitted an application to comply withthe FETAC requirements for becoming a provider. Wewere very pleased to be informed by FETAC in early

February that our application was agreed. The Union istherefore now registered with FETAC to offerprogrammes subject to validation leading to FETACawards on the NFQ.

It is the intention of the Union to offer initially theTrade Union Representative Skills Level Award to ourBranch Secretaries and thereafter to determine how wecan expand on the FETAC awards we could offer ouractivists.

We are in no doubt that access to FETAC awards willprove advantageous to our membership. On a final note,we very much look forward to working with FETAC inthe future and we wish every success to all those whoavail of FETAC Awards.

Training calendar for 2012 contd:

Equality Representatives

Tuesday September 25th & Wednesday September 26th (2 days)

Venue: Dublin

The Equality Representative is a support role to the Branch Secretary who can assist with equality related matters suchas work life balance, statutory and non-statutory leave, disability in the workplace etc. This course is open to all Branches.

COMMITTEE COURSES

This course is normally 2 half days in duration, the dates of which will be set with Branches as required.

Venue: To be agreed with the local committees

The Education committee will make courses available at regional venues so as to facilitate Branches who have theirown individual requirements for committee training. Availability will be subject to numbers requiring the training and anynecessary release. The Branch Secretary will be responsible for attendance.

All newly elected Committee members are required to attend training as well as any Committee members who maynot have had the opportunity to attend in the past. Please contact Carol Scheffer directly to discuss your Branch trainingrequirements.

Please note that it is mandatory for all those who are newly elected into their Branch roles to be trained by theEducation Committee.

Participants must fill in the relevant nomination form for the courses they wish to attend so that we may contactthem regarding course arrangements. Please also note that all of the forms can be downloaded from our websitewww.cwu.ie (under Union Education). It is essential that members who applied for training in previous years anddid not have the opportunity to attend send in a new nomination form, as participants for all the above courseswill be selected only on receipt of the current nomination forms.

Forms must also be signed by the Branch Secretary as relevant and be sent to Union Head Office at the earliest.

CWU is now a FETAC Provider

26

The CWU Education Grant Scheme enhances furthereducation on behalf of our members and their dependentsin approved courses through recognised Third Levelinstitutions, Second Level education and throughGaeltacht grants.

The CWU Education Grant Scheme ismade up of the following three categories:

1. Members/Members’ Dependents inThird Level Education

The scheme will offer four awards every year. Eachaward will be worth €2,000 for each year of study up toa maximum of four years. These awards will be made toUnion members or members’ dependents involved instudy or research on a subject relating to Trade Unionissues and Industrial Relations at Diploma, Degree, Post-Graduate Diploma or Post-Graduate Degree level suchas through the UCD Quinn School of Business (Centrefor Distance Learning). Equally, in the event thatmembers wish to attend similar courses in other thirdlevel institutions throughout the provinces, theirapplications will also be considered by the NationalExecutive Council. Members who have alreadycommenced approved courses will likewise beconsidered.

Awards will not be given for a repeat year and will bemade on an annual basis for each year of study.

2. Second-Level Awards for Membersand for Members’ Dependents

Up to 30 awards will be made each year to second-levelstudents. Each award will be worth €400 to help withthe purchase of schoolbooks and class materials.Members can only avail of the grant scheme for eachdependent once while they are in second level education.

Members studying for the Junior and/or LeavingCertificate as mature students will also be considered forthis award.

3. Gaeltacht Awards for Members’Dependents

Up to 20 awards will be made each year for thedependents of members to help cover the cost of theirparticipation in a Gaeltacht course. The grant will helpcover course materials, tuition fees and accommodationfor up to 22 days to a maximum value of €350. Thispayment will be made retrospectively.

Application Criteria for the three GrantSchemes

1. An applicant must have at least one year’smembership of the Union and be in benefit whenboth the application and the payments are made andfor the duration of the course.

2. For transparency purposes, applications must bemade on the official form and no other version ofthe form will be processed.

3. Only one application per member, per dependent,per category will be accepted. However, membersmay enter each of the three categories if they havefamily members attending the Gaeltacht, secondlevel or third level institutions.

4. Grants will be awarded by means of a draw whichwill take place at a date and time to be decided bythe National Executive Council.

5. The decision of the National Executive Council onall matters relating to this scheme shall be final.

6. Grants will be non-transferable

Review of Scheme

The Union is committed to monitoring this scheme andit will be reviewed on an annual basis by the Education

Education Grant Scheme is continued for 2012The Union is pleased to announce that we are continuing the

education grant scheme for 2012,which is open to members and their dependents.

Education Update

27

Committee in light of the applications received,budgeting and requirements of members.

In this year’s review, it was noted by the EducationCommittee that there was a high demand for SecondLevel Awards in 2011. Accordingly, and in order toensure that as many members as possible could avail ofthe awards; we realigned the 2012 budget to meet thedemands of the membership. In that regard, for 2012, weare now offering 4 grants for Third Level Awards andhave increased the number of Second Level Awards from20 to 30.

Applications

A circular will issue in mid-April seeking applicationsfor the grant scheme. The application forms will beincluded in that circular and will be made availablethrough your Branch, from Union Head Office and fromthe Union website www.cwu.ie. The circular will alsoinclude the details of the third level approved courses.

In the interim members are asked to contact Union HeadOffice with any queries or feedback on the educationgrant scheme.

Trade Union Skillnet is a new network and is comprised ofa merger of two existing Skillnets i.e. Union LearningSkillnet and Women at Work Skillnet. The two existingSkillnets have operated separately and successfully overthe past number of years. However, it has been agreed tocombine resources and unite them as one network. Thenew Skillnet has secured Skillnet funding for 2012. TheTrade Union Skillnet is funded by member companies andthe Training Networks Programme, an initiative ofSkillnets Ltd. funded from the National Training Fundthrough the Department of Education and Skills.

The Steering Group of the Trade Union Skillnet willconsist of one representative from each of the followinggroups: Congress (ICTU), CWU, IBOA, INMO, Mandate,representatives, SIPTU & TEEU.

The Trade Union Skillnet has identified several trainingmodules that will be of benefit to the union. Some of theseinclude, Trade Union Studies, Employment Law,Communication Skills, Health and Safety, PublicSpeaking, Industrial Relations and InformationTechnology Skills.

Introducing theTrade Union Skillnet

Education Update

28

Postal Update

A Joint Training Programme MAIL TRAIN has beenestablished between An Post and CWU to identify andaddress training issues at Delivery Offices.

The MAIL TRAIN project, which was previously used as

a training method at the Company’s four mail sortingcentres, uses a computerised replica of the actual primarysorting bench in use at the Delivery Office and a generic IDF(International Delivery Frame) to help improve sortingaccuracy.

The project was established at the request of the Unionwhich has continually expressed concern over the apparenthit and miss approach adopted to training in different partsof the country. The Executive Council has selectedEmmanuel ‘Mono’ Cassidy as the Union’s representative onthe project, working alongside Liam Carpenter and ColinMoore. In addition to his role as part of the MAIL TRAINteam, Mono is also tasked with liaising with local BranchRepresentatives both in advance of and during the MAILTRAIN’s visit to any Office.

Delivery Offices visited so far include Athenry, Athlone,Bandon, Cavan, Claremorris, Crumlin, Cootehill, Drogheda,Galway, Letterkenny, Lifford, Loughrea, Macroom,Maynooth, Monaghan and Tuam.

Feedback from staff in relation to the MAIL TRAINexperience has been extremely positive and we look forwardto its continued success.

Full Steam Ahead for MAIL TRAIN

More DoubleStandards fromComregIn March 2012 An Post was obliged to challenge theauthority of Comreg to adjudicate on Customersentitlement to Postal Deliveries from specific DeliveryOffices. This arose from a quite ludicrous situationwhereby Comreg issued a decree that a residential housein Co Cork was entitled to have delivery of mail from twoseparate delivery offices. The directive issued by Comregset out that the resident had two valid addresses for thesame house and that An Post was obliged to service bothof them, albeit there was only one delivery point, with oneletter box. Such bizarre decision making by Comreg isparticularly difficult to understand given its insistence thatthe Company must conduct its business in the most costeffective manner.

Postal workers are baffled at this bizarre situation as itadds additional operational expense, as well as forcing theCompany to expend scarce financial resources on legaleagles. It is senseless at a time when staff are being

required by the very same Regulator to tighten their beltsand improve the quality of service. You would have toask what exactly is the point in the Company employingroute optimisers, utilising the most up to datemethodology to determine the most efficient route, incircumstances where former Managers of An Post nowemployed with Comreg, appear to want to turn back theclock by reintroducing second deliveries? While memberswould be happy to deal with such a proposition, the bigquestion is, how will it be paid for at a time ofunprecedented volume decline.

One could be forgiven for believing they had a ‘badhair day’ at the Comreg office in March but this followedon from an even a more inexplicable decision by theRegulator to initiate legal proceedings against An Post,with a view to fining it €12 million for allegedly notmeeting next day delivery targets. While the Companyhas confirmed it will vigorously defend itself and theUnion has issued strong condemnation of Comreg, it doespose the very serious question, if Comreg can form sucha warped view of correct addressing, what does this sayfor the quality of addressing used in Comreg’s Quality ofService measures upon which it is relying to justify the€12 million fine.

MAIL TRAIN at Letterkenny Martin McGinley and Tony Duffy from Letterkenny DSU

pictured with Liam Carpenter and Mono Cassidy

29

Postal Update

10th March 2012by Neil Michael“Daily Irish Mail” Chief Reporter

GARDAÍ and the postal watchdog ComReg have launchedenquiries into how confidential letters containing financialrecords went missing.

A batch of 13 letters had been due to be delivered byCityPOST – An Post’s rival – to members of two credit unions.

Instead, they were sent anonymously to the Irish Daily Mail.A number had already been opened.

Eight letters from Dublin’s Finglas Credit Union arrived atthe paper’s offices with an anonymous typed note. It wasclaimed the letters had been found at a Dublin premises. Thentwo days later, five more letters – one of which had beenopened – arrived at the paper. These had been due to bedelivered to Dublin 12 addresses of members of the city’s StAgnes Credit Union.

Instead, they arrived with a short handwritten note whichagain claimed they had been ‘found in Crumlin’.

The handwriting on both envelopes appeared identical, as ifthey were sent by the same person. Letters sent by credit unionstypically contain sensitive private information detailing the sizeof loans taken out by members and how much they had paidback.

The 13 letters sent to the Irish Daily Mail all bore the postalmark of CityPOST, the independent postal firm which alsodelivers mail for four other credit unions nationwide.

The Finglas Credit Union letters had been sent out six weeksago as part of a consignment of 13,000 letters containing eachmember’s annual statement. A similar number of letters hadbeen dispatched to members of the St Agnes Credit Union.

Gardaí – who are to interview staff at CityPOST – areinvestigating how someone could have obtained the letters,which should have been delivered to addresses on postal routesthat are about 20 kilometres apart.

It is an offence to open, attempt to open, delay or stop thedelivery of an item of post belonging to someone else under thePostal and Telecommunications Act 1983. Penalties are a fineof up to 60,000 or five years in jail.

CityPOST boss Ian Glass said: ‘On foot of 13 pieces ofconfidential post being sent to the Irish Daily Mail – which weconsider is the work of a disgruntled employee – the companyput ComReg on notice of the information.

‘Any breach such as this is taken extremely seriously. Thecompany is co-operating in every manner possible withComReg and… additional security, vetting and processimprovements are immediately being implemented.

‘We regret these two incidents and we intend making surethis does not happen again.’

The Irish Daily Mail delivered three of the Finglas CreditUnion letters.

One recipient, Cecilia Cummins, aged 69, said: ‘I amastonished that this has happened. Luckily, my statement wasn’t

opened, but I would be a lot more annoyed if it was.‘I don’t particularly want my details bandied about and I will

be taking this matter up with my credit union to make sure thisdoesn’t happen again.’

Adam Conlon, manager of Finglas Credit Union, said: ‘Wetake confidentiality and data protection very seriously.

‘We issue a statement and AGM booklet to our membersonce a year, and this year we contracted CityPOST to deliverthese items.

‘We know the vast majority of these letters were deliveredcorrectly.

‘We are very disappointed to find a small number of letterswere not delivered or returned to us but, instead, were disposedof in a manner that risked confidential details of our membersbeing read by parties who were not entitled to do so.’

Dublin-based CityPOST is finalising plans to roll out aprivate postal service. Since 2002, the company has beencontracted to deliver the national telephone directory.

This is believed to be the first time in the company’s 24-yearhistory that post has ended up being tampered with.

Watchdogs investigate mystery of lost letters

30

All stakeholders in the Irish postal market were caught bysurprise on February 8th when the regulator, ComReg,announced its intention to initiate legal proceedings againstAn Post with a view to fining the company for €11.9m forfailing to meet the next day delivery targets set by theregulator.

This action by ComReg would be hard to take at the bestof times but given the very serious challenges being faced byAn Post already arising from postal liberalisation, fallingmail volumes and e-substitution this action isincomprehensible. The reality is that if this fine has to bepaid, it will have a devastating effect on An Post financeswhich are already operating on a knife edge. It beggars beliefthat a semi-state body, which is delivering a loss makingvital public service, without any state support and whoseprofit margins are a fraction of 1% would be hit with a finethat is a multiple of last years profit. It is worth noting thatprevious fines issued to hugely profitable multinationals inthe telecoms area are tiny amounts in comparison.

The bottom line, in circumstances where An Post isoperating on such fine margins, is that if this fine is imposedit will lead to even further job losses and one must surelyask if this is in the best interest of the postal market and theworkers and customers who depend on it.

The CWU reaction to this news has been swift and theGeneral Secretary has written to the Minister forCommunications, Pat Rabbitte on behalf of our postalmembers to express his deep concern at this action as well asreminding the Minister that kind of approach to regulationwill cost jobs. In addition to this the General Secretary wroteto the members of the Joint Oireachtas Committee forCommunications who had just had ComReg in to addressthe Committee with their plans for 2012 the week before thenews broke. He noted that at no stage were the elected Dáilmembers alerted by ComReg of their intention to fine AnPost even though quality of service was discussed at thatmeeting.

In addition the CWU issued a press statement where the

General Secretary described ComReg’s threat as “anoutrageous and wasteful attack by an unaccountable quangoagainst An Post and the Irish postal service that will result inthe loss of thousands of jobs.”

It went on to say that the legal action being taken byComReg is totally unjustified in circumstances where thecompany, working with the CWU, has made hugeinvestments in improving the quality of service which hasled to year-on-year improvements in the service levels whichare now very close to meeting the target of 94% next daydeliveries.

For its part An Post has indicated that it will contest theaction ‘vigorously’ and has expressed its surprise anddisappointment at the decision given that the company hasmade significant improvements in quality of service. Thecompany has also said that it has repeatedly soughtclarification and increased transparency on how ComReg’smonitor system works but to no avail.

On the 21st February in a written answer to Sinn Féin’sMary Lou McDonald who asked whether expensive legalaction was the best way for ComReg to address this issuethe Minister said he ‘would hope to see the issue in questionresolved speedily and without resorting to court action.’While the Minister did not indicate how this might happena commitment at this level to avoid costly legal action is tobe welcomed because it is worth noting that An Post will beliable for all legal costs, including those of ComReg,regardless of the outcome of the case.

At present the CWU is considering all of its options andwill decide on whether a legal and/or a political challengemight be worthwhile in the coming weeks. In the meantimethe Liberalisation Sub-Committee will convene to discussthe matter and decide whether we should involve the broadermembership in some lobbying activity in relation to the TDson the Oireachtas committee for Communications. In anyevent the CWU will add its voice to any challenge to thisshort sighted and ideological attack on the postal service, thenational operator, its staff and the customers who rely on it.

ComReg’s Unprecedented Fine of

Will Cost An Post Jobs€11.9M

Postal Update

31

A rights commissioner has ruled that aVodafone employee who blew thewhistle on a multimillion-euro fraud atthe company and was later dismissed,should be reinstated.

The commissioner did not link the dismissal of JohnBagge, a former compliance analyst with thecompany, to the whistleblowing.

However, she found he was unfairly dismissedafter an absence from work due to work-relatedstress.

Four years prior to his dismissal, Mr Bagge hadblown the whistle on a senior staff member whowas committing a major fraud.

Vodafone later claimed Mr Bagge should havereported the fraud much sooner, saving the firmfrom the significant losses it incurred.

However, Impact, the trade union representingMr Bagge, said Vodafone management failed in itsduty of care to offer ongoing support afterwards.

A case was taken in 2009. The Labour Courtrecommended Mr Bagge be awarded €12,000compensation. The court said the absence ofappropriate supports and procedures in thecompany caused him to suffer significant anxietyand distress, resulting in him requiring a prolongedperiod of sick leave.

Mr Bagge reported sick with work-related stresson May 27, 2011. His doctor gave him a certificatefor three weeks’ sick leave, but the company doctorfound "no medical reason" for his continuedabsence.

Vodafone wrote to him and ordered him toreturn to work on June 27. He neither respondednor returned to work.

The company wrote to him again telling him hisabsence was considered unauthorised, that he wasbeing removed from the payroll, and that couldlead to disciplinary action against him.

A series of disciplinary hearings were scheduledduring July which Mr Bagge did not attend.

After a hearing on July 21, which Mr Bagge didattend, Vodafone started proceedings to dismisshim, saying there were allegations against himwhich amounted to acts of misconduct.

Impact appealed the company’s actions to theRights Commissioner. The union argued the sackingwas the culmination of years of victimisation, whichfollowed Mr Bagge’s decision to reveal fraud in hisworkplace.

The commission did not comment on that claim.However, it ruled the company’s sick leave policywas silent on how a difference in opinion betweenthe company’s and employee’s doctors should behandled.

"I find that in the absence of stated companypolicy/ procedure on how such a difference inmedical opinions will be dealt with, the claimantcould not be found to be in breach of companypolicy in this matter," said the commissioner.

"How such a difference in medical opinions isdealt with by the employer who has a duty of careto the employee is particularly pertinent in asituation where the medical symptoms are work-related stress..."

She found Mr Bagge was unfairly dismissed andshould be reinstated from the date of dismissal tothe position he previously held. Vodafone isreviewing the documentation.

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/vodafone-whistleblower-must-be-reinstated-188604.html)

Vodafone whistleblower ‘must be reinstated’

by Stephen RogersWednesday, March 28, 2012

Irish Examiner Online

32

All of us will need help at some stage in our lives. It may be that we are facing a serious illnessand the associated costs of health care. We may need to talk to someone in a confidential mannerto help cope with a difficult personal circumstance, particularly in today’s challenging economicenvironment. The Medisan provides much needed assistance for members in need of medicalcare for a wide range of illnesses including cardiac illness, cancer treatment, diseases of thecentral nervous system such as MS and other illnesses which can impact on an individual’s life.The fund is completely confidential and will also provide assistance toward VHI or otherhealthcare providers shortfall in meeting the expenses associated with such illnesses.

For more details on how to avail of assistance from the fundcontact your Welfare Officer – An Post (01) 7057000 or Eircom (01) 6714444

✁

33

34

Siemens/ATOS campaign gainsmomentumDuring the summer of 2011, a group of workers in SiemensIT Solutions’ Cork facility were faced with a dramatic fightto protect their rights. After contacting the CWU, staff joinedthe Union and secured proper treatment from their employer.

Because of quick action by the workers and the CWU, thesituation was resolved and all affected staff were relieved toreceive a fair redundancy package, including the ex-gratiapayment they had previously been denied. What wouldprove to be most important was that the Company concededthat should issues arise again, affected staff would be heardcollectively and would be allowed to be represented by theCWU.

The door had been opened for the remaining employees inSIS’ Cork facility to join and continue the good work of theirformer colleagues. Of course the result of successfullysecuring redundancy terms for workers is that they move onand are no longer members of the CWU. Havingsubsequently been bought out by IT services companyATOS, there were only and handful of remaining membersamongst staff in the facility. However, the reaction ofremaining staff to seeing their colleagues so successfullyrepresented was that there was a real feeling of positivitytoward the Union.

This group has now grown and has begun the process ofcreating and strengthening a Union presence in the centre.Members have already undertaken the first two modules ofthe Union’s new Workplace Leader training and areextremely enthusiastic and hopeful for the future.

Workplace Leader TrainingThroughout the last year the Organisers have been workingon delivering a state of the art training programme todevelop ‘Workplace Leaders’.

While CWU training is highly regarded and extremelysuccessful for members in established companies withrecognition agreements, new members in ‘non-union’companies require a different level of support to reflect theirlack of experience in union activity. Any training for thesemembers has to take into account their complete lack ofBranch structure and all the support that goes with it. Manynew members, particularly in call centres, are young andmay not have as deep an understanding of their employmentrights as more experienced members in areas benefittingfrom strong local Branch support. The retail area offers itsown obstacles, because while there are Branch structures inplace in the main centres, the nature of retail work meansthat these members are often isolated.

Many of the newly recruited members are working incompanies that are hostile to union activity and as such newmembers may be apprehensive about taking the next step inbecoming active. In order to create confident activists who

are, in turn, prepared to recruit in their own organisations, atraining course needed to be tailored to this particulargroup’s needs.

The purpose of the Workplace Leader training is toeducate inexperienced members from scratch, building anawareness of what trade unions are and encouraging andsupporting activists’ campaigns. Ultimately, this should leadto the establishment of self-sustaining Branches andCommittees. The training should also serve as a mentoringservice in the absence of a Branch Secretary or Committee– the traditional ‘mentor’ in bringing new activists forward.

The training is designed to take place over a series ofsessions providing information and support on topicsincluding the members’ role within the Union, theimportance of organising and campaign building.

Training has already begun for Meteor and Vodafone retailmembers and in non-union companies such as Siemens/ATOS. As these members gain in confidence the Union canonly benefit from a new generation of enthusiastic activists.

This initiative could not have been achieved without theinvaluable support of Education Officer Carol Scheffer andthe Education Committee; the Organisers would like tothank them for all their assistance and support.

Call Centre Action MonthIn November the CWU held its first Call Centre Forum inJury’s Croke Park Hotel in Dublin.

Organised to mark UNI Global Union’s annual CallCentre Action Month, the event was intended to bring callcentre workers from all parts of the country and industrytogether. The event was held on a Saturday specifically toaccommodate those members who work for ‘anti-union’employers and who would not have been released to attendmid-week. Considering everyone who came did so on theirown time, the turn out was very positive with workers fromcall centres as diverse as An Post, American Airlines, O2,Siemens and Vodafone.

The call centre industry continues to change both inIreland and abroad. Large numbers of Irish jobs are being‘off-shored’ and those jobs that remain are under increasingpressure for ever greater productivity. This pressure causesmany problems for workers including unreachable targets,poor work-life balance and the stress and health issues thatresult. We believe that call centre workers are no different toany other and deserve to be treated with dignity and respect

John KennyVodafone takingpart in the CallCentre Forum

35

in the workplace. The aim of the UNI Call Centre ActionMonth and the CWU Call Centre Forum is to developstrategies that encourage call centres to operate according tothe principles of quality employment

The day started with general introductions to break theice. Attendees were asked to share stories about an issue orincident at work and how it was resolved – if it was. It wasinstantly apparent how workplaces with union representationcompared with those who had no such support. During thisdiscussion, attendees were asked to candidly identify wherethe union could improve and what other supports arenecessary for members in these situations.

The members were then given a crash course in what awell-organised workplace looks like. The purpose of thisexercise was to help the attendees to identify where theproblems were in their workplace and to work towardaddressing them. Issues such as poor (or non-existent)Branch structure and poor communication were some of themost obvious problems that were recognised as being majorissues in the ‘anti-union’ companies.

Finally, in the afternoon, participants were asked to builda ‘Call Centre Charter’. Every aspect of work in the contactcentre industry was covered. Breaks and leave, pay andbenefits, health and safety, and targets were all discussed.The purpose of this exercise was not simply to talk aboutexisting laws, it was about the ideal conditions that we would

all hope to work under in a call centre environment. All these standards are being compiled into a Charter for

call centre working. This document can be used to engagewith employers to adopt these best practices and to recognisewhere there is room for improvement in workplaces.

The event was a great success. Participants expressed theirenjoyment of the day and appreciated the opportunity tomeet other workers who faced the same obstacles in theirdaily work. The CWU will continue to engage with itsmembers to address the challenges faced by call centreworkers and will work toward changing the landscape forthe better.

The last few months have been a very busy and excitingtime for the organising retail campaign. In addition to thebudding Retail Forum at Vodafone (Dublin) there aremany other significant developments which we would liketo bring to your attention.

Cork Retail WorkplaceLeader TrainingIn March 2012, Organisers visited Cork and providedWorkplace Leader training to retail members. The trainingwas attended by a number of eircom and Vodafone retailworkers. The training is one component of our overallstrategic plan to organise in mobile retail stores. Trainingwas attended by Eva-Jane Twomey, Owen Thornhill andMichael O’ Brien of Vodafone and by Kate Finerty andDanielle Condon of eircom. The training is designed toencourage members to take a more active role in your Union,as worker involvement is a critical component of the drivetowards an organising union from a servicing union. Ournext task is to formally set up a “Cork Retail Forum” whichthe attendees of the training have agreed to become part of.In addition we aim to continue to rollout Workplace Leadertraining across the country. We are planning our nextWorkplace Leader training in the west, in either Galway orLimerick. If you work in a mobile retail outlet and wouldlike to take a more active role in your union let us know.Contact gerard@cwu.ie

New Workplace Leader VolunteersShow Value of Organising in Retail

Pictured l to r: Adam O’Maolagáin (CWU) Danielle Condon(eMobile) Michael O’Brien (Vodafone) Kate Finerty (Meteor)

Owen Thornhill (Vodafone) Eva-Jane Twomey (Vodafone)Gerard O’Rourke (CWU)

Call Centre Forum 2011

36

Dublin Retail WorkplaceLeader TrainingTraining was also provided for retail members in Dublin on1st March. The participants were Michael Stafford of MeteorIlac Centre, Ceilí Flood of Meteor Northside and DobrawaBujakowska of Vodafone Blanchardstown. Dobrawa is thefifth Vodafone retail member to complete the training. Thishas facilitated the appointment of Workplace Leaders toprovide points of contact across a number of Vodafone storesin the Dublin and eastern region. We hope to replicate theVodafone Retail Forum model to the eircom retail outlets.Ceilí and Michael have agreed to become the first twomembers of the eircom Retail Forum in the Dublin andEastern region. We look forward to more volunteers ineMobile and Meteor retail stores who wish to take a moreactive role in their Union. If you are interested or would liketo know more, contact gerard@cwu.ie

Vodafone Retail Forum Meetingsin Dublin!The Vodafone retail Workplace Leaders have hit the groundrunning and have met as a group on a number of occasions.These meetings are organised in a similar way to a BranchCommittee meeting and attendees discuss issues that havecome to attention in the workplace. The Vodafone BranchSecretary, Michael Farrell, and Union Organisers also attendthe meetings. The group then decides on any actions whichare then followed up by the appropriate person. The Forummembers are focused and aware of the role that the unionplays in the workplace. Recently, members of the Forumproposed a Motion to Conference on the issue of maternitypay. The Motion was accepted and will now go to conferencefor consideration. At the most recent meeting the groupagreed to provide the role as the local point of union contactto their colleagues in stores in the Dublin and eastern region,

Vodafone Retail Points of Contact

• Lindsey Beggs is the point of contact for NutgroveBlackrock, Tallaght and Dun Laoghaire

• Dobrawa Buajkowska is the point of contact forBlanchardstown, Newbridge, Carlow, and Navan

• Michael Fleming is the point of contact for the fourDublin city centre stores in Henry St and Grafton St

• Stephen Kiernan is the point of contact for LiffeyValley, Dundrum, Wexford and Waterford

• Emily Olohan is responsible for Swords, Drogheda,Dundalk, Donaghmeade and the Omni Centre.

Congratulations to Emily OlohanEmily Olohan works as a retail agent for Vodafone; she isemployed at the Pavilions store in Swords. Emily wasrecently elected to the Vodafone Branch Committee. Emilyis the first person from retail member to be elected to thisposition. We send Emily our congratulations.

Organisers visit GalwayAs part of the retail organising campaign Organisers recentlyvisited Galway. The visit involved meeting a number ofeircom members and staff at Meteor and eMobile stores inGalway. In the evening we met a number of members fromVodafone stores who work in Athlone and Galway. Anumber of issues were raised at the meeting that wereforwarded on to the Branch Secretary to be pursued.Organisers also informed members of our ongoing campaignin retail and of our plans to commence workplace leadertraining in the west. Do you work in a Vodafone or an

Pictured l to r: Ceilí Flood (Meteor Retail), Michael Stafford(Meteor Retail) Dobrawa Bujakowska (Vodafone retail)

Gerard O’Rourke (CWU)

David Carr, eMobile, Galway, picturedwith Union Organiser, Gerard O'Rourke.

37

eircom store? Would you like to get more involved in yourunion? If so contact gerard@cwu.ie

PrintPost Workers join UnionPrintPost is a wholly owned subsidiary of An Post andrecently Organisers were recently contacted by a number ofworkers from the company. They raised a number of

concerns that they have in their workplace. Organisers metwith a number of workers in Dublin and Portlaoise postalamalgamated branch secretary Helen Dunne-Phelan metwith workers in Portlaoise. Following these meetings anumber of workers joined the union.

The union is currently pursuing an agreement with AnPost management that will provide a framework agreementfor all An Post subsidiary companies.

Vodafone/Rigney DolphinMountainviewThe Vodafone/Rigney committee has been going fromstrength to strength since the organising team went toMountainview in November last year. Having targeted theinbound call centre for recruiting with help from the localactivists and committee the organising team were able to usethis opportunity to recruit many new members.

John Kenny, one of the new work place leaders, hasrecently been nominated and brought on to the branchcommittee to represent issues that affect Rigney Dolphinstaff, who make up the bulk of the call centre employees.

Currently the organising team are in the process ofmapping the outbound area of Vodafone and are hoping forthe same success with a similar campaign in this section. Theorganising department will also be training up a number ofnew work place leaders in the outbound section so they canbe points of contact and help with the recruiting in the sameway the activists in inbound did. The work place leaderactivists in the inbound section were instrumental in therecruitment of their colleagues to the union and have foundthe training invaluable.

Once trained it is hoped to launch another publicitycampaign out in Mountainview by putting up posters as wellas the branch secretary sending out circulars to the staffreminding them of the great things that the union has donein the work place over the last number of months. It is hopedthat with activists in both inbound and outbound as well asthe increased visibility in the call centre that the union willbe on peoples minds when we go out to recruit.

We would like to take this time to thank Mick Farrell and

the Vodafone branch committee and the other activists forall their support so far and we look forward to moresuccesses in the future.

Staff in Research andMarkets get organised andtake issues to Management

A new company that has joined up with the CWU isResearch and Markets. While still in the early stages thiscommittee and their lead activist Joe Galvin, have beentaking great steps towards gaining a strong voice for all theemployees in the company.

Due to changes to work practices and lack ofcommunication from senior management within thecompany these employee’s decided to contact the CWU andget organised. With the help of the organising departmentthey managed to focus their frustration in to a set of requeststhat they brought to management collectively. Like manyprivate non union companies the management were morethen willing to listen to issues on a one to one basis but theydid not want to liaise with the staff collectively. Thecommittee however stood fast and the company had theirfirst employee forum in February where the staff raised theirissues collectively.

We in the organising department would like tocongratulate the committee on the members on the greatwork they’ve done so far and how much they’ve achieved.We look forward to working to build the union and it’spresence within the work place over the coming year.

WORKPLACE ACTIVISTS BUILD UNIONSTRENGTH IN MOUNTAINVIEW

38

Organising Drive withFirst Source in Corkgets big results

CWU organisers Amanda O’Hara andAdam O’Maolagáin with the stand in Churchfield.

The organising department continued with their visits to theChurchfield site throughout November and Decembermeeting with many of the new groups that were startingthere. They were joined by two members of the NEC; RayLawlor and Martina O’Connell who provided essentialsupport as the Union got the opportunity to meet all thenewly recruited staff with a view to organising them into theUnion. This approach proved very successful as over ninetynew members were signed up from these meetings. As aresult of these staff coming together and joining the CWUthey helped to identify a number of issues that weresubsequently dealt with by the local committee who quicklyproved to these new recruits that you are better off in a union.

A stand was also placed in the canteen to increasevisibility of the Union on the site and so any staff that hadany questions or issues were able to speak to the organisersone to one. After running a very successful campaign overthe two months the organisers have passed the responsibilityof recruitment and union visibility to the Colette Healy andthe rest of the new branch in First Source. We wish them thebest of luck and look forward to seeing this branch go fromstrength to strength and note that already Colette has donesome sterling work organising the remaining staff into theunion to ensure that we have a strong branch in Churchfieldthat can represent members’ issues.

VODAFONE ADMIN DUNDALK

After over ten years the doors to the admin department finally closed in Vodafone Dundalk. As part of VodafoneIreland’s outsourcing measures the departments work was moved to India. The team was a mix of Vodafone andRigney Dolphin employees but both stood side by side with the backing of the Communications Workers Unionlocally during the Union’s campaign. Thanks to this campaigning the redundancies that were taken were voluntaryand for those not willing to accept the redundancy they were reassigned to other desks within the Dundalk callcentre. The local branch as well as Vodafone Ireland’s main branch would like to wish them all the best in the futureand thank them for their support during these hard times.

39

In the last edition of Connect, we reported ondifficulties the Union was experiencing with Obelisk(the company that Vodafone have transferred itsNetwork Operations to, along with long-serving staffemployed on the Network). Obelisk was attemptingto renege on the terms of a framework agreementdesigned to protect our members’ terms andconditions of employment. As a result of this, theUnion conducted a ballot for industrial action and100% of the members voted in favour of industrialaction in a secret ballot.

At a meeting on the 13th January, Obeliskinformed the Union they did not intend to pay the 2%wage increase due from the 1st January, despite thefact that the pay increase was provided for in theFramework Agreement. The Union launched acampaign of industrial action, which included a work-to-rule and despite the best efforts of Obelisk tocircumvent the dispute, our members stood firm. Fortheir part, Vodafone did nothing to resolve thedispute, despite the fact that they are signatories tothe Framework Agreement. Vodafone supportedObelisk and showed a callous disregard for long-serving staff who between them have given over athousand years service to Vodafone and itspredecessors.

Obelisk referred the dispute to the LabourRelations Commission and the Commission issuedthe following proposals, which were accepted byObelisk and the Union.

• A 2% pay increase to be implemented effective1st January, 2012;

• A Working Group will be convened, initiallyweekly, subsequently, as required (including atshort notice), with a view to resolvingoperational problems; positive outcomes to beupdated to the Procedures Manual. Shouldagreement to change work practices emerge,outcomes will be recorded and will, from time totime be reviewed at Partnership level;

• The Union raised example(s) of Health & Safetyconcerns regarding the training levels for thesafe carrying out of duties. This matter to beexamined by a Working Group, as referred toabove;

• The Company has raised the issue ofreporting/updating of work progress/outcomes.This matter, too, will be addressed by a WorkingGroup;

• Early Scheduled Work: Both sides haveundertaken to engage locally in meaningfuldiscussions on this matter. They may revert tothe LRC subsequent to those discussions, ifnecessary.

We salute our members in Obelisk for theirdetermination and courage in standing up toan employer whose intention was to changetheir terms and conditions of employment anddeprive them of a wage increase.

Union Secures 2% Wage Increase

40

The following is an article which was published in the Irish Independent recently which showsexactly how the Independent manipulate situations to tell the story they want but which haveno bearing on the actual facts!

From the Irish Independent:‘Magda’ (36), not her real name, described her life on the dolein Donegal as a ‘Hawaiian massage’.

From original Article:Magda can do a basic massage, a Hawaiian one and a hotstone one that she’s learnt at a free course organised by thesocial welfare office.

From the Irish Independent:

He in turn bragged about the county’s wonderful golf courses.

From original Article:

This last one confused me as I could not find any reference inthe original article to the guy playing golf. Notice this though,it does not actually say he plays golf. Just that he is “bragging”about the golf courses. This is an interesting line as it creates afalse illusion in your mind. He says in the original article thatDonegal has nice scenery and good beaches and golf courses –is this ‘bragging’ or stating a fact?

From the Irish Independent:

Sometimes I sleep till noon and the nearest beach is fiveminutes away

From original Article:

“I always start my days in the same way: I go down to thebeach to see the sunrise. It sets me up for the rest of the day. Iused to sleep until noon, but now I don’t want to waste my life.”

From the Irish Independent:

Magda doesn’t identify the town in Co Donegal where she livesbut she does call it a “s***hole”.

From original Article:Donegal, a county on the Northern tip of Ireland, for some it’sthe most beautiful place in the world, for others – biggestnowheresville. Wherever you look, green hills and beachesstretching towards the horizon, just like on a postcard.

From the Irish Independent:

Apart from her clear intent to take advantage of oursocial welfare system, to describe her home as a s***holejust adds insult to injury

From original Article:

“Do I have a problem with being on benefits?” Sheponders the question. “Yes. I don’t want to live off thestate, that’s why I treat the benefits as an aid, which willhelp me to start my own business.”

“In the afternoon we grab a 3 euro coffee. We couldhave a similar one at home, but it is important to help thelocal business, explains Magda.

41

ComReg Refuses toShed Light onQuality of ServiceThe issue of next day delivery targets and quality of servicein general is one that the CWU has been looking into inrecent months and has in fact has met with the Departmentof Communications to discuss the matter. In December oflast the General Secretary, Steve Fitzpatrick accompaniedby the Head of Regulation, Ian McArdle met with seniorofficials from the Department to discuss a range of issues todo with the postal market. Chief among them was the factthat there are two quality of service measurement systemsbeing operated, at significant cost, to measure the same thing- An Post’s delivery standards. ComReg operates onemeasurement system and An Post operates another which isdesigned to copy the ComReg one.

Why is this duplication necessary? It is required becauseComReg will only share the final result of its measurementsystem i.e. what the per cent figure for next day delivery is,but it will not give any insight into where the problems mightbe occurring in the An Post system. Or to put it another way,the regulator operates a comprehensive monitoring systemthat should be used to improve the quality of service in thepostal market but refuses to share its findings with anyone.They can confirm there is a problem but it’s up to An Post tofigure out what the problem is! As a result of this lack ofinformation sharing An Post must run its own monitoringsystem to try and figure out what ComReg won’t tell them.

At the meeting it was put to the officials in the Department

that this kind of duplication was both unnecessary and thatit made no financial sense. The CWU pointed out that acrossEurope postal regulators are not responsible for themonitoring system the way ComReg is and that at the veryleast the regulator and the postal operator agree on a singlesystem between them. The General Secretary made a verystrong case for this approach to be adopted in Ireland. AnPost and ComReg should come together and agree a set ofmeasurement standards within a system that is transparentand independently operated to ensure its integrity and whichwill provide all stakeholders with outputs that can actually beused to improve the postal market. The officials felt that thisidea was worth exploring and agreed to take the matter tothe other parties concerned.

First, however, the officials explained that they would tocheck whether this approach would be acceptable to theEuropean Commission. The Commission confirmed thatlegally this approach was acceptable within the postalDirectives and that the Department could proceed. An Postconfirmed that it would be willing to consider this optionwhich meant ComReg were the only remaining party whosesupport was needed.

The CWU understands that the proposal was put toComReg sometime in January but that the regulatordismissed it out of hand. There does not appear to have beenmuch of an explanation given but subsequent events to dowith recently the announced fine might explain theirdecision. In any event their dismissal of a proposal thatwould save millions of euro and which had the backing ofthe Department of Communications, An Post and theEuropean Commission throws into sharp relief the attitude ofComReg to other stakeholders in the market it is responsiblefor regulating.

Regulation Update

Inequality has reached its highestlevel in 30 years.Two new reports further underline the rich-poor divide. The USA triennial survey ofconsumer finances shows that the share of wealth of the top 20% is about 87.2%, while thebottom 80% share the remaining 12.8% of wealth. Further comparative research shows thatin 2007 the Forbes 400 wealthiest individuals accounted for $1.54 trillion or roughly thesame wealth as the entire bottom 50% of American families. The six descendents of Walmartfounder Sam Walton have combined wealth equivalent to the total wealth of the entirebottom 30%.

The OECD have weighed in with a new report “Divided we stand,” which has found thatthe gap between rich and poor in the OECD countries has reached its highest level for 30years. The OECD has found that the average income of the richest 10% is now about ninetimes that of the poorest 10% across the OECD. In an unusually stark message, the OECDSecretary General Angel Gurría observed, “The social contract is starting to unravel in manycountries.”

As austerity policies bite in the USA and EU, the rich-poor divide will grow.

42

MORTGAGESERVICES FORCWUMEMBERSGetting MortgageApprovalContrary to public perception banks are lending,however gaining that all-important mortgage approvalis like trying to apply for and securing an elusive job(in a country with almost 500,000 unemployed). Thesame key actions are required – preparation,preparation & preparation. Recent research highlightsthe fact that the cost of funding a mortgage for a firsttime buyer is almost as low as it ever has been.Combined with the estimated 50% plus fall in houseprices, a low interest rate environment and the

improvement and extension to mortgage interest relieffor first time buyers, there has probably never been abetter time to buy a new home.

Therefore when you decide you want to get amortgage you need to deal with it in an efficient andprofessional manner ensuring that you get yourapplication right first time. Going it alone is no longeran option. Banks are focused on their need not yoursand you will rarely deal with a dedicated andexperienced mortgage advisor in a bank branch which,

in any event, cannot provide you with independentadvice.

With this in mind FM Downes & Co Brokers haspartnered with Select Finance Group to provide anexclusive mortgage approval service to CWUmembers. They are specialized in the arrangement ofmortgage approvals and unrivalled in terms of ability,experience and track record within the mortgageindustry resulting in a far greater chance of mortgageapproval.

The process therefore should start well in advance.You need to prepare your mortgage CV, readjustingsmall but critical financial habits to ensure that your 6month track record is squeaky clean to get yourmortgage application approved. And it’s the simplethings that can trip you up! Whilst on the surface thismay simply appear an exercise in gathering paper, ablip in anyone one of these items and you’ll probably berejected by every lender.

All of the documentation needs to be perfectlypresented. For example:

✓ Current accounts should be clean, with no referralfees or unapproved charges. Certain transactionsare frowned upon and viewed negatively byLenders.

✓ You should have a demonstrable savings recordand if a balance of funds is being provided by

43

way of gift, this needs to be clearly evidenced andsupported by an appropriate gift letter. You don’tneed to save with the bank you borrow from andin the current environment it is probably best thatyou don’t.

✓ You have to be able to prove that you can affordthe loan. Lenders assess this based on your NetDisposable Income and repayment capacity.

As a CWU member you will receive high qualityprofessional mortgage advice and support throughoutthe mortgage process from the initial discovery meetingthrough to receiving the keys to your new home. If youwould like to buy your first home or are thinking ofmoving house, call us on 01 8556666 or log on towww.fmdownes.com

Help With MortgageRepaymentDifficultiesThere are presently over 70,000 mortgage holders inarrears of greater than 90 days or who have had theirmortgage repayments restructured. Even the mostexperienced property investor can be intimidated by the

prospect of dealing directly with their bank regardingrepayment difficulties; hence the need for independentand professional services on what can be an extremelyemotive subject.

Mortgage Negotiators is a fee-based advisoryservice, however FM Downes has negotiated a fullyconfidential initial phone-based consultation free ofcharge for CWU members. During this initialconsultation you will receive advice regarding yourrights and protection as a borrower, the manner inwhich your bank is likely to engage with you andadvice regarding your options and any action requiredby you. A discounted fee package has also beennegotiated for CWU members should you decide toengage their services.

If you are currently experiencing difficulties meetingyour mortgage repayments or anticipate difficulties inthe future, you can call Mortgage Negotiators (makesure to say you are a CWU member!) on

01 6024942or log onto

www.mortgagenegotiators.ie

If you have anyquestions abouteither of themortgage servicesmentioned above,please do not hesitateto contact:

Libby Downes

Tel: 01 855 6666

info@fmdownes.com

44

CWU People

FORMER Louth GAA star Paddy Mathews of DroghedaDistrict Branch, is setting up a Palestinian support group inthe county after a humbling visit to the Middle East that sawhim come under tear gas attack by Israeli soldiers.

“This Christmas season we should spare a thought for thecity of Bethleham’s native people, the Palestinians,” hedeclared.

He has just returned from a trip to the Holy Land andcame across the controversy at first hand.

Paddy, who had the likes of Peter Kearney fromClogherhead in his party, was aware of the ‘controversy’,which includes the 26ft high ‘security wall’, before arriving.This wall prevents a normal relationship existing betweenPalestinians and Israelis and it is an intimidating sight.

He attended a peaceful protest in the Palestinian town ofBilin but was left with sore eyes after soldiers opened firewith tear gas.

“For the international tourist, Bethlehem is a ‘must see’especially the church of the Nativity, and other historical and

religious sites nearby. For most travellers staying in nearbyJerusalem or in Israel they most likely will not notice thewall as they pass through with little security hindrance andenjoy the scenes. However for the Palestinian Muslim orChristian, if you live on the wrong side of the wall life canbe hell.

“I went there with a group of people on an alternative tourof the Holy Land, with people interested in human rights,some who work in NGOs and others, like me, interested inPalestinian issues and wanted to get a feel for daily life in thearea.

“We met Christians, Muslims, Jews and Bedouins andvarious groups, to hear their views and plight. We did toursof some cities and towns such as Hebron, Ramallah andNablus, villages, universities, schools, settlements, refugeeand Bedouin camps, (+ a brewery in Taybeh) mostly in theWest Bank. We stayed just over a week in Bethlehem with 7days of organised tours and meetings and the last day free todo what we wished.

Paddy and the Wall

Drogheda-Independent.ie

45

CWU People“On the second last day I skipped from the official tour

with two others, to go into Jerusalem to see the sites, as Icould not go home without telling the mammy of the oldcity. We decided to take the local route through the wall,which meant walking the short distance from our hotel tothe checkpoint. This wall is a thick concrete constructionfour times higher than the Berlin wall and 700 km long, builtby Israel as ‘security’ for its state. It weaves round Jerusalemand Bethlehem and divides the countryside and villages,excluding Palestinian people but not its land and is deemedillegal by UN and international bodies.

“All Palestinians living on the southern portion of theWest Bank must go through this checkpoint in Bethlehem toenter Israel. You can see Jerusalem from many places inBethlehem and the checkpoint is only 11km from the Jaffagate in the old city, but there are obstacles in getting thereand it is in effect a very long distance for most localPalestinians. There is no easy movement for Palestinians inthe West Bank, as it is sealed by the Israeli army, either by asecurity zone along the Jordan river or the wall, and withinthere are hundreds of checkpoints.

“The West Bank is broken into distinct regions which aresimilar to little Gaza’s, and Israel control all aspects of life,water, utilities, movement which can be switched off at awhim and many view as an apartheid system. No Palestiniancan leave the West Bank without a permit, and for a manunder 55, or woman under 45 it is particularly difficult andto obtain a permit from the local Israeli administration officeyou must have a residency card plus I.D. card and a verygood reason.

“I was speaking to a young man of 20 and this year wasonly the second time he was ever able to leave the WestBank, on both occasions to go on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem.On the I.D. card are all your personal details includingfingerprints and retina image. A visit permit is generally onlygiven for a day and after 10 p.m. you will be arrested ifcaught in Israel. Worker permits are generally renewed forlonger periods, but 3 months is the longest period. If any‘incident’ occurs, borders are generally closed, permitsrevoked and all must reapply.

“We arrived at the wall at 9.30 a.m. and it took us 45minutes to get through. In the early morning queuing startsvery early and can take over 4 hours. There are norefreshment or toilet facilities in the security complex. Onreaching the wall there is a caged passage, around 70m longwhere you must queue.

“This leads to a turnstile and on going through has a x-ray machine for luggage similar to airport type security, witharmed guards. On leaving this you go through an open yardto another building with a hall and rails leading to anotherturnstile. When we entered there were only around a hundredpeople bunching, as rails did not facilitate orderly queuing.There was a complete standstill and you could hear someshouting and roaring beyond barriers. This was the situationfor about twenty minutes and sporadic shouting also beganon our side as impatience grew. An armed guard appeared on

a walkway above the crowd with gun pointing and finger ontrigger. After about twenty minutes, the turnstile began toturn, and people began to move. Of course there was queuejumping and very uncomfortable squashing conditions. Oneman got very cranky, jumped up on and rails and rushed theturnstile pushing people out of the way. A small row ensuedwith punches being traded. Turnstiles stopped for shortperiod until calm was restored.

“On getting through these turnstiles you entered anotherconcrete room where there was another queue for a controlcabin where soldiers now checked your permit / passport.There was plenty of shouting here and some Palestinianswere turned away.

“On our last morning some went to Bilin village toparticipate in a peaceful protest against the Wall which hastaken land from local villagers and farmers, and divided theirnatural landscape. There was around 100 people with 17 ofour group taking part. There was a film crew from Braziland a few Israeli refusniks, who also joined the locals led bylocal community leader in solidarity for their weekly protest.We walked about a kilometre, which brought us up apathway to the wall. There was a ring of barbered wire,which kept people around 30m from the wall. As weapproached the IDF began firing tear gas, and this continuedwith varying degrees of concentration for the period of halfan hour or so until people dispersed. I was never in such asituation before and there is definitely a bit of a fear factor.Tear gas attacks eyes, and airways through nose and mouth.My eyes gave me bother immediately and I covered mouthand nose with a spare t-shirt.

“We had builders’ masks but of course we forgot to bringthem from the hotel. We had a tri-colour with us and we gotplenty of chants in as gaeilge. I wasn’t to the fore, but I stillmanaged to inhale quantities, and it made some get sick,made plenty cry and have difficulty breathing. It can blindyou also for period of time and we helped each other avoidmajor plumes. The main concern was to avoid the canistersflying through the air and take remedial action. One bouncedon a path a couple of metres away from me. The tear gascanisters set some of the local vegetation on fire and madefor your typical riot/war zone. Some local youths breachedthe barbed wire and rubber bullets were fired. As weretreated one man was laid low and we met an ambulance onthe way to assist.

“That may have seemed enough excitement for one day,BC) for lunch and then on to the Dead sea. The beach wewere at is more of a mud bath experience than the beautifulones we are accustomed to in Bettystown and Termonfeckin.The sea itself contains so much salt, that it is impossible toswim and you bob about like a cork. I got a splash of waterin my eyes and it is definitely worse than tear gas. You aresupposed to spread the mud over your face and body to getrid of impurities. My roommate said I looked ten yearsyounger.”

46

Recently retired postman Kieran Dalton, Ardfert S.O, Co.Kerry was given a special presentation for his service to theNorth Kerry Postal Branch, where he served as a formerBranch Secretary. A Presentation to mark his retirement wasmade following the North Kerry Postal Branch AGM, by, GerO’Brien NE. (Branch Secretary), Also there to mark theoccasion was Danny Roche (Assistant Secretary), SteveFitzpatrick (General Secretary CWU), Kieran Dalton.

Kieran Dalton Retires

Pictured from l to r: Danny Roche (Assistant Secretary),Steve Fitzpatrick (General Secretary) and Ger O’Brien (NE Branch

Secretary), who made the presentation to Kieran Dalton.

In memory of their colleague, Donal ‘Doc’Gleeson, the Dublin Postal Clerks Branchof the Communications Workers’ Unionhas established a fund to enable UniversityCollege Cork to provide a number ofinstrumental tuition awards.

Four awards are made each year tooutstanding students in the Department ofMusic to help defray the cost of theirinstrumental or vocal tuition.

We were delighted to present aperformance by this year’s recipients,which took place on Friday, 24th February.2012.

Pictured l to r: Dave Bell (Treasurer), Sile O’Brien, Claire O’Brien,Theresa O’Halloran, Darren Rea and Willie Mooney (Branch Secretary).

Pictured Back Row l to r: Noel Curley, Paddy Mathews, Tony Carolan, Pat Lynch, Paul Coleman,John O’Donoghue, Ciran Mc Donnell, Peadar Donlon,

Front Row l to r: Padraig Kilcoyne, Martin Woods, Mickey Rice, Jim Boyle with his Union Scrollpresentation, following his retirement from the eircom Drogheda Section,

Lorcan Traynor, Pat Hand, Alan Brennan.

Donal ‘Doc’ Gleeson Awards Concert

JimmyBoyle

Retires

CWU People

47

Pictured is Eileen Flaherty, who recentlygraduated with a B.B.S.(hons) degree, (HRstream), from N.U.I. at Dublin Castle. Eileen iscurrently based in the Resource Business centrein Athlone.

Congratulations toEileen Flaherty,

on her Graduation!

Nicky Ryan leaves eircomIn July 2011, Nicky Ryan, former Secretary, NationalExecutive member for the Dublin No. 2 Branch,decided to avail of the V/L scheme and left eircom.

Nicky was Secretary of the branch during theturbulent times within the Company, during the 1980sand 1990s. He was extremely forceful in his viewswhile he was Secretary of this branch and was highlyrespected by both Management and members of thebranch.

Nicky was extremely hard-working, honest andtrustworthy in all of his dealings with the Company andthe members. He went on to be a Worker Director inthe Company for a number of years. In his latter daysin eircom, he was a National Partnership Co-ordinatorand was very much involved in the PartnershipTraining for all branches, when we had the Partnershipmodel, within the Company.

Recently the branch made a presentation to Nickyand also presented him with the Union scroll and longservice badge, for the work that he has done over theyears at both local and National level, within the CWU.

The Branch Secretary thanked Nicky most sincerelyfor all of the time and effort he put in, representing themembers of this union over many years. Everyoneinvolved with the CWU wish Nicky best wishes for thefuture and a very long and happy retirement.

Steve Crilly

Steve Crilly presents Nicky Ryanwith his Union Scroll on his retirement.

CWU People

48

Galway Postal Branch recently held a thoroughlyenjoyable function to mark the retirement of theircolleague, Ronnie Ward. The popular Galway Postmanachieved 34 years’service with An Post andpacked his bag for thelast time on the 24thFebruary. He gave a fondfarewell to hislongstanding friends andcustomers, as he wouldsay himself, “back thewest”.

Ronnie’s colourfulcharacter broughtenormous joy, comfortand satisfaction to thebusinesses and residentsof the West End, all ofwhom were very sad tosee him leave butdelighted that he hadretired in good health.The larger-than-lifecharacter tucked into abig breakfast, a daily ritual on his route, at Erna Walsh’sresidence in Sea Road. Being a great man for the newsand the chat, Ronnie digested and developed many a storyat Erna’s tea house. Indeed, it was out of one such soiréeduring Galway’s famous Racing Festival that top jockey,Richard Dunwoody, reserved a mention for Ronnie in hisbook Obsessed, about his encounters over the tea toestablish the insiders’ track on the tips of the day.

While An Post and its customers acknowledge Ronnie’sdedicated service, Ronnie was also a staunch Unionactivist and supporter throughout his career. He wasrenowned for his colourful contributions at Branchmeetings, enjoying the banter of the arguments but alwayssupportive of the democratic decision. Although heenjoyed his time at An Post, he experienced some verydifficult times, such as the 1979 P&T Strike and also in1986, the testing three-and-a-half weeks’ dispute atGalway’s Sorting Office in Eglinton Street. One traumaticevent was an armed robbery that took place while heperformed night duty. Ronnie fondly recalls thecamaraderie displayed by the members of the Branchduring the 1986 dispute and in particular the moral andfinancial support of the Dublin Branches.

Indeed he recollects at that time a young SteveFitzpatrick, Branch Officer of the Districts Branch,attending a meeting during the dispute and offering the

Branch their support,handing over a financialcontribution as well asengaging in a fewsociable refreshments.

The Branch Officers,committee and membersof the Galway PostalBranch alsoacknowledge Ronnie’sunwavering support forthe Union, his fondfriendship and theyregard him to have beena great father-figuredown through the years.

In more recent years,Ronnie encountered avery serious illness and,were it not for hisoptimistic outlook andstrong will and

determination, he would not have recovered to the goodhealth with which he has been able to retire. Suchoptimism was not shared by the so-called WelfareDepartment of An Post and it is Ronnie’s regret that theydid not deal with him in a more caring, understanding andcompassionate manner at that time. However, he is, asare his colleagues, extremely pleased that he proved themwrong.

Ronnie wishes to record his sincere appreciation for theUnion’s support to him and his family down through theyears and most particularly during his illness. He alsowishes to extend great praise to Mike Hannon, DSM, forhis assistance. On his very first day of service with theCompany Ronnie managed to find himself sacked.However the Union stepped in and saved the day,resulting in Ronnies motto, You’re much better off in aUnion

Ronnie’s trojan efforts in working for An Post all hadone objective, to provide for his family: Barbara, his wife,sons, Ronald and Gary and daughters, Elizabeth andPaula. The CWU wishes Barbara, Ronnie and family thevery best of health, good wishes and long life inretirement.

Big Ronnie Retires

Pictured from l to r: Paul Kennedy, Chairperson,Galway Postal Branch,

making a presentation to Ronnie Ward

CWU People

49

There are currently over 650 people in Ireland awaiting life savingorgan transplants including heart, lung, liver, kidney and pancreas.The focus of Organ Donor Awareness Week is to raise awarenessabout the ongoing and ever increasing demand for organ donationand transplantation, and to seek support from the public to makean informed decision to carry an Organ Donor Card. Organ DonorAwareness Week runs from 31st March to 7th April 2012 and oneof our own members, Bronagh Daly, wishes to highlight thebenefit she gained from someone else carrying an Organ DonorCard.

Bronagh Daly lives in Greenore in County Louth and is a PostOffice Clerk in Dundalk Post Office. She has been a member ofthe Union for nearly twenty years. Bronagh who is married withtwo children (age 2 and 6) and is 40 years of age, had a massiveheart attack in the lead up to Christmas 2010 while leaving herhouse with her two young children.

Bronagh has always led a very active life playing badmintonand golf, and she is also a keen walker who walked every day.Imagine the shock for her and her family when she had a heartattack at such a young age considering she was so active andhealthy.

Bronagh’s heart was so badly damaged that she required anurgent heart transplant in order to survive. Bronagh washospitalised for two months until a suitable heart becameavailable, in February 2011. Bronagh is very grateful to her donorwho is always in the back of her mind. It is thanks to the selflessact of the family of her deceased donor and their decision to donatetheir loved ones organs at a very sad time, that Bronagh is nowenjoying ‘the gift of life’.

Organ Donor Awareness Week also serves as a fundraisingexercise for the Irish Kidney Association. Throughout the Week(31st March- 7th April, 2012) Irish Kidney Association volunteerswill be out on the streets and in shopping centres throughout thecountry selling 'forget me not flower' emblems (the symbol oftransplantation), brooches, magnetic car ribbons and pens.

Please sign the back of the donor card and ask your next-of-kinto sign it also. It is important to have a discussion with your lovedones about your decision to become an organ donor in the event ofyour untimely death. It is your next-of-kin who will make thedecision for your organs to be donated and this selfless decision ata very sad time will be made easier if your family know they arehonouring your wishes.

Organ Donor Cards can also be obtained by phoning the IrishKidney Association on LoCall 1890 543639 or Freetext the wordDONOR to 50050, you can also visit website www.ika.ie

It is now possible to store an Organ Donor Card as an ‘eCard’on Smart mobile phones - simply search for ‘Donor eCard’ at theiPhone Store or Android Market Place.

Donor AwarenessCampaign

Bronagh Daly, POC, Dundalk.

CWU People

50

If anyone wishes to contribute to John’s

Childaid challenge, please log onto the

www.mycharity.ie – click on sponsora friend and then type in Paul Hurleyand click on Four Mountain Challenge

An Post Staff climbfor Paul Hurley’sFour MountainChallenge forChildaid,10th March, 2012

Pictured back row l to r: Declan Walsh (CMC), Ian Kelly (CMC), Paddy Barry (DAF), Paul Hurley (Little Island DSU),John Keane (Little Island DSU) and Tony Murnane (Little Island DSU).

Pictured front row l to r: Ger McCullagh (Little Island DSU) and Pat Kearney (Little Island DSU).

John Keane taking awell earned break at thesummit

CWU People

51

Available through payroll deduction in many cases.

CWU INSURANCE FOR QUOTES & ENQUIRESCall 01 855 6666

Email info@fmdownes.com

Or visit www.fmdownes.com

CALL

01 855 6666

FM Downes & Co Brokers are Regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland

FM Downes & CoKandoy House2 Fairview StrandFairviewDublin 3

MORTGAGE PROTECTIONCheapest on Market &

Special Offer of Cash Back

TRAVEL INSURANCE Worldwide Family Plan

Annual Multitrip only €64.80

HEALTH INSURANCE

Special Discounts for You and Your Family

ORFWC

TES &QUOWU INS

& ENQUIRESURAN

SNCE

Or vis

Email

all 0C

ORF

wn.fmdoit www

wneso@fmdoinf

1 855 6666

TES & QUO

omes.c

oms.c

& ENQUIRE

S

Special O

tCheapes

GMORT

er of Cash Baff

et &t on Mark

TGE PROAG

ack

TIONTEC

Annual M

orldwidW

VETRAAV

6€y Multitrip onl

y Planamilde F

L INSURAN

64.80

NCE

eailablvA

Special D

THEALLT

ough paye thr

oor YYoounts fDisc

H INSURAN

oll deductioyr

amour Fou and YYo

NCE

asn in many c

y mil

ses

eailablvA

ough paye thr

oll deductioyr

dnratw Sievira2 Fesuoy HdonaK

oes & CnwoFM D

asn in many c

ses.

oro Bes & CnwoFM D

l ratene Chy td betalegue Rrs aerko

D

dnalerf Ik onaB

lin 3buDwieviraF

52

Kells Branch Retirements

Kells CWU Postal Branch hosted a function in Crover House Hotel Mountnugent Co Cavan on Friday night 2nd December2011 to mark the retirement of six former Members.

Pictured front row l to r: Michael Cronin Ballyjamesduff DSO, Sean Croghan Oldcastle DSO,May Timmins Oldcastle DSO, Margaret Tierney Oldcastle DSO, Eugene Carolan Bailieborough DSO, Joe Gavin Kells DSUBack row l to r: Pat Compton CWU Worker Director, Cyril Pakenham Kells Branch Chairman, Marian Morris Kells Branch

Treasurer, John Tansey CWU NEC and James Quail Kells Branch Secretary.

Margaret Hegarty,Gerry Quirke,Martina & JoeMoore with VitaCortex (ex) staff.presenting a chequein support of theirsit-in.

Vita Cortex Cheque Presentation

CWU People

53

Padraig Mac Manus Section Secretarypresents Sean Reynolds with his Union scroll

Padraig Mac Manus Section Secretary presentsPaddy O’Rourke with his Union scroll

Carrick-on-Shannon Section Retirements

Padraig Mac Manus Section Secretarypresents Peter Quinn with his Union scroll.

Padraig Mac Manus Section Secretarypresents ??????? with his Union scroll.

Pictured from l to r: Sean Reynolds, Pat Logan, Padraig McManus (Section Secretary),Peter Quinn, Paddy O’Rourke and Christy Graham (Section Chairman)

Presentation to retired eircomCarrick-on-Shannon section members

CWU People

54

Dan Brennan RetiresDan Brennan, An Post Kilkenny Branch, retired on the23rd December 2011 after 25 years’ service. He wasmade a presentation by his colleagues, who all wish hima happy and healthy retirement.

Gerry Corbett Retires

Pictured from l to r:Thomas Deegan (Branch Secretary, Kilkenny),

Paddy Barry (Chairman),Dan Brennan and Sean Morrissey (Treasurer)

Galway Postal Branch Committee Members pictured l to r:Tom Geraghty, Mary Conroy and Anthony Kelly presenting

Gerry Corbett with his Union Scrollto mark the occasion of his retirement from An Post.

Tom Geraghty presenting Gerry Corbettwith his Union Scroll

Possibly thebest cartoonof thiscentury! I personally would

suggest government.They never go to jail.

CWU People

55

Pictured l to r: Joe Guinan, Dan Brennan, Paddy Barry (Chairperson),Breda Brennan, Tommy Deegan (Secretary) and Sean Morrissey (Treasurer)

Pictured l to r: Joe Guinan, Kathleen Hayden, Jim Hayden, Paddy Barry (Chairperson), TommyDeegan (Secretary) and Sean Morrissey (Treasurer)

Pictured l to r: Joe Guinan, Debra Tyrrell, Jim Tyrrell, Paddy Barry (Chairperson),Tommy Deegan (Secretary) and Sean Morrissey (Treasurer)

Kilkenny Branch Retirees receive theirUnion Scrolls at the AGM in Kilkenny

CWU People

56

eircom AEH Bandon Retirement Party

A function was held in the GAA Pavilion in Bandon to honour the retirements of five employees, who retired from the BandonBranch in 2011 and who had, between them, all completed over 30 to 39 years’ service.

They were: (pictured l to r) Donie McCarthy, Joe McCarthy, Carmel O’Dwyer, Christy Walsh and Tim Dwyer.

Tim Dwyer receiving a presentation onhis retirement from

Micheal Whelton, Secretary of theBandon Social Club

Dermot Hayes makes a presentation toJoe McCarthy on his retirement.

Carmel O’Dwyer receiving a retirementpresentation from Greg Mc Kenna,

Bandon Social Club.

Donal Mc Carthy, Branch Secretary andChairman of the Bandon Branch

receiving a retirement presentation fromTom O’Brien, Chairperson of

Bandon Social Club

T C Breachnach receives apresentation of the Union Scrolland Badge from SectionChairperson, Dermot Hayes, onhis retirement.

T C spent 10 years on the NationalExecutive and also served asSecretary and Chairperson of theBandon branch for over 30 years.

CWU People

57

A function took place to mark the retirement ofJohn Whelan, former Branch Secretary of theDublin Postal Drivers’ Branch.

John affectionately known as “JKA” enteredthe Department of Post & Telegraphs in June1965 and commenced work as a Postman at thePearse Street Sorting Office. In early 1970s Johntook up driving duties and became a member ofthe Dublin Postal Drivers’ Branch. He was amember of the Branch Committee for severalyears and eventually took over the position asBranch Secretary in 1986, a position in which heserved with great distinction until 2001. Duringthat time, John was also a member of the NationalExecutive Council of the Union. John took up aposition as a Partnership Co-ordinator in 2002and he brought a wealth of experience to thatposition.

During his time as Branch Secretary, John wasknown as a very tough and highly respectednegotiator and he had many achievements to hiscredit that brought about improvements formembers of the Dublin Postal Drivers’ Branch.One such achievement which was referred to inwell-deserved tributes was the application of thefull terms of the Partnership for ProgressAgreement to members of the Dublin PostalDrivers’ Branch, a result which would not havebeen achieved were it not for John Whelan’sefforts. It is a tribute to John that so many of hisretired colleagues and former Branch Officersattended the retirement function.

We wish John a long and happy retirement.

John Whelan’sRetirement

A few old friends celebrate with John, on his retirement.

Terry Delany, John Whelan and Tony Dunne – all formerBranch Secretaries of the Dublin Postal Drivers Branch.

Pictured from l to r: Steve Fitzpatrick, John Whelanand Terry Delany.

Pictured l to r: Tony Dunne Former Branch Secretary,Eugene Keenan Former Branch Treasurer, Terry Delany

DGS and Ken Stevens, Former Branch Chairperson.

CWU People

58

Ennis Branch made a presentation to John Sullivan and John Murphy(seated centre of photo), who are going out to Kenya and South Africa on

the 27th January 2012.

Ennis Branch Retirements

A Function was held in the Armada Hotel, Spanish Point, Co. Clare, to mark the retirement of five eircom Ennis Branch staff,Michael McGuane, Frank O’Loughlin, John Queally, Johnny Aherne and Pat Frawley. A large number of eircom workersfrom Ennis, Dublin and Nenagh were represented, along with their family members, where the Union Scroll was presentedto all.

John Sullivan, Ennis Branch, whogoing to South Africa with the St Ethel

Normoyle township, South Africa.

CWU People

59

The Dublin No 3 Branch, like many other eircom Branches, wasno exception when the V/l and and early retirements took its tollon its membership last February and July, 2011.

In total, 25 members left the branch and at a CWU Presentationheld in Briodys, Marlborough Street, on Fri Dec 9th, we bid ourfriends and colleagues farewell and wished them all the best for thefuture.

Included in the group was former Branch Secretary, DenisDouglas, who, over the years, had willingly shown his dedication,hard work and loyalty both at committee and at branch secretarylevel. Charles O’Keeffe, also an active member of the branch,retired in September. Special thanks were also extended to MickGillick and Peter Slattery, who served for many years at committeelevel.

The Dublin No 3 Branch wishes to thank everyone who retiredand to acknowledge their contribution both at branch level and tothe CWU in general.

Union Presentations were made in recognition of their serviceto the following members of The Dublin No 3 Branch:

Go n’eiri an bothar libh go leir !

Patrick Bergin Liam McDermotJohn Carroll Patricia MoranGerry Creighton Christopher MurphyPat Dowling Noreen NolanBrendan Dunne John O’CarrollAnn Gaughan Charles O’KeeffePeter Slattery Patrick O’MearaGerry Carpenter Noel QuinnDenis Douglas Thomas RyanMichael Gillick Barbara ShevlinValery Leahy John Shevlin Tony Little Monica StapeltonBridget Mahony

The Dublin No 3 Branch V/I and Retirements 2011 Submitted By Catherine Slattery, Branch Secretary

Pictured from l to r: Joe Guinan (CWU),Helen Dunne-Phelan (Branch Secretary,Portlaoise Postal) and Imelda Kelly (PostalSorter PMC).

Imelda Kelly PMCRetires

Pictured from l to r: Charlie O’Keeffe,Ray Lawlor and Dennis Douglas.

Catherine Slattery, Dennis Douglas and CharlieO’Keeffe.

CWU People

60

The Dublin No 2 Branch held a Retirement Function forSteve Crilly, Branch Secretary in the Gingerman Pub, FenianStreet, Dublin.

There was a very large attendance there on the night, theCWU friends from England, Northern Ireland and manyparts of the Republic of Ireland attended. Steve’s family andcousins from Belfast were also present.

A number of presentations were made on the night, JohnMoynihan, CWU London, Laurence Huston, Northern

Ireland Regional Secretary, Fintan King, Dublin No 2Branch Secretary and the CWU General Secretary, SteveFitzpatrick, made presentations and speeches of farewell.

Steve has been involved in the Union for over 39 years.He held every position within the Dublin No 2 Branch andwas Branch Secretary for the last seven years.

It is with great thanks for all his dedication over manymany years we each and every member wish him a long,healthy and happy retirement.

Steve Crilly’s Retirement

Young Steven and Siobhan Crilly,Steve’s children

Steve Crilly, Martina O Connell NEC &Christy Brannigan

Charlie O Neill, Union Head Office, Steve Crilly,Laurence Huston, Northern Ireland, Jimmy O Connor,National Officer CWU

YOUNG Lorraine &Imelda, Head Office with Steve

CWU People

61

Christy Brannigan, Steve, Alex Pearson CWU Manchester, Laurence Heuston, Northern Ireland, John McLoughlin,Northern Ireland, Steve Rowlands, CWU Manchester, Shay Devine, Dublin No 2 Branch

Ray Lawlor NEC & Steve Crilly

John Moynihan, CWU London,Steve in the background

CWU People

62

A presentation was made by Management of An Postand colleagues of Pat McCandless who retired on the17th February 2012 after 23 years of loyal service tothe CWU and An Post. Pat delivered the mail in theCarndonagh area of Donegal and was held in highesteem by his colleagues in the office which wasvery evident on the morning of his retirement. Patreceived his Valedictory letter and Cú ChulainnStatue from Mr Paul Harkin (Cluster Manager) andhis CWU Retirement Scroll from Michael Gallagher(Branch Secretary).

Pat McCandless Retires

Pictured Front Row from l to r:Paul Harkin (Cluster Manager), Paul McElhinney,

Joanne McLaughlin, Thomas Brophy, Pat McCandless (Retired),Michael Gallagher (Branch Secretary) and Owen McGuinness

(Postmaster Carndonagh PO).Back Row l to r:

Patrick Moyne, Ray McGoldrick, Patrick Brennan, Colm Doherty,Paddy Doherty, Michael McLaughlin and Gerald McErlean.

Pictured from l to r: Damien Tuohy, NEC and JarlathHeneghan, Galway Postal Branch, making a presentation to

Mike Hyland

Galway Postal Branch RetirementsThere were two retirements from the Galway Postal Branch recently - that of Ronnie Ward and Mike Hyland. All of theirformer colleagues wish Ronnie and Mike, and their respective families, all the best for a long and happy retirement.

CWU People

63

Drogheda Branch Committee..Seated l to r: Pat Rushe, Eugene Stenson, Sean McGeough, Paddy Mathews,

Standing l to r: Aiden Kelleher, Michael Goldrick, Paul Flynn, Mick Fox, Jim Mc Carron,Jude Sullivan, Jim McCartney, Barney Foley, Gerry Bourke, Gerry Clerkin.

Seán McGeough Retires

Branch Secretary, Jim O’Neill, retiredon Monday 16th January, 2012.

Jim worked tirelessly for all themembers here in the Bray Branch ofthe CWU and nothing was a problemfor him.

He was on the Branch as Secretaryfor over five years.

On behalf of all the members, wewould like to wish “Big Jim” a happyretirement, to him and his family.

Photo shows Jim being presented with his Scroll by Cormac O’Dalaigh,NEC, looked on by Gerry Whelan, Chairman.

“Big Jim”O’NeillRetires

CWU People

64

Austin McEvoy RetiresAustin McEvoy, Blanchardstown DO, recently retired after 39years’ loyal service to the Union.

Austin served for many years as Treasurer of the DPDB. There was a full house in the Clonsilla Inn to mark the occasion

and a great night was had by all.

Frank Donohoe, Branch Secretary, DPDBpresents Austin with his Union Scroll.

Mick O’Connell, Foxrock DO, beingpresented with his Union Scroll by

Frank Donohoe, Branch Secretary DPDB.

Reggie Doyle, Rutland Place DO, beingpresented with his Union Scroll byFrank Donohoe, Branch Sec. DPDB, on theoccasion of his retirement.

A great night was had by all in the The Step Inn, Stepaside, on theoccasion of Mick’s retirement.

Mick O’Connell Retires

A function was held in Molloy's pub, Talbot St. to mark theoccasion and there was a great turnout from many of his colleagues.

Reggie Doyle Retires

CWU People

65

The Central Regional Managers held abranch presentation night in ChaplinsLounge, Hawkins Street, for resent (andsome not so recent) eircom leavers.

Among the group was former BranchSecretary, and long time CWU activistPat Ryan, who previously served theunion in the Dublin No 1 branch and alsoin the old Dublin No 4.

The “new” Branch Secretary TerryMoorehouse, presented members with

their Union Scrolls, and was supportedon the night, by Branch Chairman, JohnClarke and Treasurer Paddy McMahon.

John, thanked all who attended fortheir support over the years. He alsowished all branch retiree's and theirfamilies, a long and happy retirement,and hoped that many would take theopportunity keep in touch with the CWUthrough the newly formed CWU RetiredMembers Branch.

Pictured front row, from l to r: John Clarke (C/Man) Shay Gaffney, Matt Ryan, Joe Martin, Dave Dillon,Back row, from l to r: Pat Ryan, Matt Keenan, Terry Moorehouse, (Secretary) Mel O'Hara, Kenny Deveraux,

Vincent Perry, Paddy McMahon (Treasurer)

Central Managers BranchPresentation Night

CWU People

66

Pictured from l to r: Ken Good(CWU) onbehalf of the National Executive Councilpresenting Jim Carey with a Scroll inappreciation of his long and loyal serviceto the Union. Jim Retired from AnPost(Letterkenny) in February after also 43years’ service.

The Presentation of the CWUUnion Scroll took place in theHillgrove Hotel, Monaghan afterour AGM on February 18th.Paddy retired on his 63rdbirthday, after 45 year’s of loyalservice, which commenced in thecapital as a JP.

He delivered in Emyvale,where he was hugely popular withthe people on his route, who had afantastic night for Paddy and hisfamily back in November. He wasvastly proud of his Unionmembership, and is rememberedlocally for a stirring interview hedid, randomly, on Radio 1 onDecember 8th, 2009 (?), when areporter caught up with him, inthe company of other postalworkers, before he boarded thebus for home. You can justimagine the cheer, and theslagging he got!

We wish Paddy the very bestfor a long and happy retirement!

Paddy Donnelly Retires

Jim Carey Retires

Pictured from l to r: John Tansey (NEC), Paddy Donnelly,Paddy’s wife Rose Donnelly and Committee Member Martina Clerkin,

presenting a bouquet to Rose.

CWU People

67

With so much speculation in the media in recent timesregarding the future of eircom, it was timely therefore, thatCWU General Secretary Steve Fitzpatrick and NationalOfficer, Jim Browne attended this year’s Dublin No1 branchAGM, held at Liberty Hall. (23rd Feb)

In his address the Steve Fitzpatrick, outlined the currentsituation with the eircom, and brought members up to dateon the possible scenarios in light of the financial state of thecompany. The exit of STT, following an unsuccessfulattempt at financial restructuring with the banks, had createda new and evolving situation. The priority for the CWU,(having previously entered into a restructuring agreementwith STT) remained steadfast, and was the “provision ofinvestment capital in telecommunications infrastructure” tomeet industry demands, and ultimately to “secure jobs intofuture for our members”.

In his report, Branch Secretary, John Egan, said he saw2011 as being “one of toughest years for this Branch”. Johnadded that he was in no doubt that with the conclusion ofWave 1 and the imminent rollout of Wave 2 “unprecedentedchanges would come to the way we do our business”. As aBranch “we must prepare ourselves to meet with all newchallenges”. If ever there was a point, “where we need tostand strong and united together it is now. We must trust andsupport our National Executive Council and NationalOfficers to deliver the best outcome for our members andfor the economic survival of eircom. In conclusion, he saidit is now time “for the banks, or whoever our new owners areto be, to show us that they are serious about eircom and tobegin the badly needed investment into the next generationcommunications network”.

As there no elections required on the night, it was verymuch as you were with the branch, officers, while PatBroderick (Citywest) has joined the branch committee.

Finally on the night, a presentation was made by BranchChairman, Willie Meegan, to CWU activist Clare Kelly, tomark her loyal, and dedicated service to the branch, both asmember of the branch committee, and for many years as theDublin No1 representative on CWU Standing OrdersCommittee. To Claire on behalf of the Dublin No 1 Branchwe wish her a long, and enjoyable retirement. (JC March2012).

Dublin No. 1 AGM“Investment” the key in challenging times!

Willie Meegan makes presentation toClaire Kelly, at Dublin No. 1 AGM

New members,Cormac FarrellandLeo Logan,at the DublinNo. 1 AGM.

Meteor Members attending the Dublin No. 1 AGM.

CWU People

68

It is with great sadness that we learned of the death of ourgreat friend and colleague Michael Porter on the 16th ofDecember following an illness borne with great dignity andcourage. His quiet sense of humour and wit issadly missed by his colleagues and friends.

Michael joined the P & T on the 18th ofAugust 1980 having worked briefly as a traineemechanic with CIE He moved through theranks of what is now access networks, CPE,PCB and Fax repairs and finally to IT support.If you needed a licence for some piece ofsoftware Michael was the man it had to gothrough.

His technical ability in many areas combined with histremendous patience, generosity and willingness to help wasadmired by those of us lucky enough to have known orworked with him.

He was a keen sportsman in his day and a handballer ofrenown. In an astonishing career Michael won twenty oneConnacht titles (1976-2006) and eleven All-Ireland handball

titles (1976-2003). With his doubles team mateFrancis McCann, they won 19 Connacht titles& 5 national titles. Michael played his part inthe success of the Irish 1-Wall Nationals whichSligo hosted from 1999-2008 and officiated atmany of the finals. He also participated in theeircom national handball championshipIn later times he had taken to the golf courseand it was in the process of getting the

handicap down.Michael is survived by his beloved wife Margaret, Son,

Jonathan and daughters Catherine and Sarah, both hisparents and sister Marian. He will be sadly missed by hisfamily, his colleagues in eircom and the Handball family.

R.I.P Michael Porter

Postal RetirementsA Retirement Function was held in Shearwaterhotel in Ballinasloe to celebrate the retirement ofJoe Sammon, DSM with 43 years’ service,Dermot Naughton, Postman, with 39 years’service and Aidan Duffy, Postman, with 30 years’service.

Pictured Front Row l to r:Ann Naughton, Dermot Naughton,

Joe Sammon, Patricia Sammon, Aidan Duffy Back Row l to r:

Mike Grenham, Demelza Dooley,Arthur Fitzgerald and Damien Touhy NEC.

Retirement function held in Loughrea Hotel for John Wade PostalSorter with 45 years’ service.

Pictured Front Row l to r:Sharon Wade, John Wade, Angela Wadeand John Wade jnrBack Row l to r:Jimmy Spaight DSM, Marion Kiely,Michael Mc Gowan and Damien Tuohy NEC.

CWU People

69

We have members not customers

We offer a variety

of services such as discounted insurances at favorable rates to

credit union members

We are a non for profit organisation

Each member has an option to nominate a person to

receive their funds on their death.

Each member has a say in the

running of the credit union

Members have Control over their own finances

Death Benefit Insurance: We also provide all qualifying members with a Death

Benefit Insurance, we automatically insure all members who have joined before the age of 70 and have a minimum share balance

of 250 at the time of their death with a Death Benefit Insurance. During the life of the insured it gives the family added

security and reduces worries about the future.

No hidden fees or

charges

Fixed Loan rates and

low interest rates

Why Join esccuCredit Union?

We offer financial

advice

We offer members a Budget facility, meaning

we work with our members to ensure that there is sufficient

cash in their budget account each month cover all their

living expenses.

70

Books reviewed by Adrienne Power

THE KINDLE – THE ULTIMATE BOOK!It is priced at €109.00 in PC World.

The Kindle is the electronic reading tablet sold by Amazon. The name of the device is taken from the meaningof the word, i.e. to light up, ignite, to arose or inspire feelings. It is light and easy to carry. You can downloadbooks in 60 seconds! Mind-boggling! Its storage capacity is up to 1,400 books (calculated that if you read24 books in a year it would take 58 years to read what you can store on the Kindle). There are 1.1 millionbooks or periodicals available to download. You only have to charge it approx once a month for 3 hours.I love books and love to read. However, the downside of books is they take up space, gather dust, dirt andgerms. They can be heavy to carry. It was always a hassle when you were getting near the end of the bookand had to carry another volume along so you would not run out of reading material. With a Kindle that is

no longer a problem.It is very simple to use if you buy the Wi-Fi version. You just put in your Wi-Fi code and you are good to go. You can just click on

when you want to turn the wireless connection on and off to download books. There are lots of free books available and others cost aslittle as a dollar or two. You don’t have to buy books in advance of your holidays anymore or fret about the weight of carrying booksabroad. You can now simply download from anywhere Wi-Fi is available.

Another highlight to Kindle is you can increase the font size and don’t then have to carry reading glasses around with you anymore.I personally love the application of being able to organise my downloaded books into my own individual collections. You can set up

your little library to suit yourself and carry your whole library around in your pocket! Now I don’t have to worry about my library beinga fire hazard anymore.

The find button is a wonderful function. If there is a piece you read and you want to go back to. No more searching through pages.You can use the keypad to type in the word and search it out.

I didn’t think I would like the idea of looking at a screen and not being able to physically turn pages but the screen of Kindle is notlike a computer screen and you still turn the pages by button. No more busting the spine of a paperback (which normally happens tome).

On the downside, not all books will be available on Kindle. Also, all photos will be black and white only (at present).Then there is the fact that if your Kindle falls it most likely will be kaput! However, your books are backed up on the Amazon

website. It still more than likely means a new Kindle though.Another very important reason to use a Kindle is you are saving trees and therefore doing your part to save the planet.

Mind-boggling!

THE KOURGE This book is written by Paul Boylan who works for eircom. It is his first book. Sold on website www.originalwriting.ie for €9.00

School is coming to an end. Exams are finishing up and there is a buzz of summer holidays on thehorizon. Both Luke Boylan and Evan Watson, who are best friends, are disappointed as they both knowthey will not get to go away anywhere this summer. Evan’s family bought a new car and Luke has a newbaby brother, meaning in each case their families cannot afford a holiday that year. As they are sitting inthe school yard eating lunch they notice a teacher come out and put something on the notice board. It isa notice looking for volunteers to clean and tidy the school building and yard. They decide they mightas well volunteer to work at their school during the holidays. At least that way they can hang out together.

The two lads are assigned the cleaning out of the basement. There are stories about it being hauntedbut the boys are not put off by this. They find a hatch door with a strange symbol of an animal, possibly a wolfor bear. Luke and Evan set out on the adventure of their short lives in the hunt for a monster. The concealed door leads them to a secretworld full of challenge, revenge, old world magic and a search for peace and redemption for a hidden land and their people.

If you like Harry Potter you will love The Kourge!

717171

Per

sona

l Det

ails

Su

rnam

e...

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

..

Fore

nam

e(s)

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.....

Male

❏Fe

male

❏M

r❏

Mrs

❏M

s❏

Mari

tal St

atu

s...

......

......

......

......

......

Date

of

Bir

th...

......

./...

......

/....

......

Staff

No.

(whe

re a

pplic

able

).....

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

..

Cont

act

Det

ails

Hom

e A

ddre

ss...

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

....

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

Hom

e Te

l. N

o..

......

......

......

......

......

Work

Tel

. N

o.

......

......

......

......

......

...

Mobile

. N

o..

......

......

......

......

......

....

Email

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.

Empl

oym

ent

Det

ails

Nam

e of

Com

pany

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.....

And A

gen

cy(if

app

licab

le)

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.

Emplo

yer

’s A

ddre

ss...

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.

Your

work

/off

ice

loca

tion

(if d

iffer

ent)

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

...

Bra

nch

Nam

e...

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

Date

of

Com

men

cem

ent

with c

urr

ent

emplo

yer

......

../...

......

../...

.....

Curr

ent

Gra

de/

Job T

itle

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

...

Man

ager

ial

❏N

on-M

anag

eria

l❏

Curr

ent

Statu

s:Pe

rman

ent f

ull t

ime

❏Te

mpo

rary

❏Pe

rman

ent p

art t

ime

❏A

genc

y W

orke

r❏

Con

tract

or❏

Oth

er❏

Pay F

requen

cy:

Wee

kly❏

Fortn

ight

ly❏

Mon

thly

❏Si

gnatu

re .

.....................................

Date

........................................

Ded

ucti

on a

t So

urce

Dir

ect

Deb

it In

stru

ctio

nP

LEAS

E CO

MP

LETE

BOT

H F

ORM

SIN

BLO

CK C

APIT

ALS

OFFI

CE U

SE O

NLY

CW

U N

O.

......

......

......

......

.....

Inst

ruct

ions

to

your

Ban

k/Bu

ildin

g So

ciet

y to

pay

Dir

ect

Deb

its

Ple

ase

com

ple

te p

art

s 1 t

o 4

to inst

ruct

your

Bank

/Build

ing

Soci

ety

to m

ake

paym

ents

dir

ectly

fro

m y

our

acc

ount

. Th

enre

turn

the

for

m to:

The

CW

U, 575 N

orth

Cir

cula

r Roa

d, D

ublin

1.

➀Ple

ase

wri

te t

he

nam

e and f

ull

addre

ss o

f your

Bank

/Build

ing

Soci

ety a

nd B

ranch

:

➁N

am

e of

acc

ount

hold

er

③So

rt C

ode

& Acc

ount

Num

ber

➃Yo

ur

inst

ruct

ions

to t

he

Bank

/Build

ing S

oci

ety,

and y

our

Signatu

re•

I ins

truct

you

to p

ay D

irect

Deb

its fr

om m

y ac

coun

t at t

he r

eque

st of

the

CW

U.

•I

conf

irm t

hat

the

amou

nts

to b

e de

bite

d ar

e va

riabl

e an

d m

ay b

e de

bite

d on

var

ious

date

s.•

I sha

ll du

ly n

otify

the

Bank

/Bui

ldin

g So

ciet

y in

writ

ing

if I w

ish

to c

ance

l thi

s in

struc

tion.

I sha

ll al

so s

o no

tify

the

CW

U o

f suc

h ca

ncel

latio

n.

Signatu

re...

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

..D

ate

......

......

......

......

......

......

...

OFFI

CEUS

EON

LY

Ori

gin

ato

r’s

Iden

tifi

cation N

o.

Bank

/Build

ing S

oci

ety

Bra

nch

THE

DIR

ECT

DEB

IT G

UA

RA

NTE

E•

This

is a

gua

rant

ee p

rovi

ded

by y

our B

ank/

Build

ing

Soci

ety

as a

mem

ber o

f the

Dire

ctD

ebit

Sche

me,

in w

hich

Ban

ks/B

uild

ing

Soci

etie

s an

d th

e C

WU

par

ticip

ate.

•If

you

auth

oris

e pa

ymen

t by

Dire

ct D

ebit,

then

–Th

e C

WU

will

not

ify y

ou in

adv

ance

of t

he a

mou

nts

to b

e de

bite

d to

you

r ac

coun

t–

Your

Ban

k/Bu

ildin

g So

ciet

y w

ill a

ccep

t an

d pa

y su

ch d

ebits

, pr

ovid

ed t

hat

your

acco

unt h

as s

uffic

ient

ava

ilabl

e fu

nds

•If

it is

esta

blis

hed

that

an

unau

thor

ised

Dire

ct D

ebit

was

cha

rged

to

your

acco

unt,

you

are

guar

ante

ed a

pro

mpt

ref

und

by y

our

Bank

/Bui

ldin

gSo

ciet

y of

the

amou

nt s

o ch

arge

d.•

You

can

canc

el th

e D

irect

Deb

it In

struc

tion

in g

ood

time

by w

ritin

g to

you

rBa

nk/B

uild

ing

Soci

ety .

Ori

gin

ato

r’s

Ref

eren

ce...

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.....

30

49

79

(PLE

ASE

FILL

OU

T FO

RM IN

BLO

CK

CA

PITA

LS)

(PLE

ASE

FILL

OU

T FO

RM IN

BLO

CK

CA

PITA

LS)

Bra

nch

Bra

nch

Secr

etary

......

......

......

......

......

......

......

.N

am

e...

......

......

......

......

......

......

...(w

here

app

licab

le)

72727272

Wha

t ca

n W

e D

o fo

r Yo

u?•

Neg

otia

te w

ith

your

em

ploy

er o

n yo

ur b

ehal

f on

all

mat

ters

.

•Pr

ovid

e yo

u w

ith

a pe

rson

al s

ervi

ce r

angi

ng f

rom

conf

iden

tial

, wor

k-re

late

d in

form

atio

n ad

vice

, to

lega

lad

vice

•As

sist

you

in y

our

trai

ning

and

dev

elop

men

t ne

eds

and

offe

r yo

u a

num

ber

of t

rain

ing

cour

ses

free

-of-

char

ge

•Ad

vise

you

on

all i

ssue

s re

late

d to

Hea

lth a

nd S

afet

y

•Gi

ve y

ou a

cces

s to

info

rmat

ion

on a

ll as

pect

s of

you

rem

ploy

men

t

•K

eep

you

up-t

o-da

te a

nd in

form

ed o

n de

velo

pmen

ts in

you

rse

ctor

via

uni

on m

agaz

ines

, bul

leti

ns, y

our

own

sect

ion

onth

e CW

U w

ebsi

te a

nd a

loca

l pre

senc

e in

you

r w

orkp

lace

•In

clud

e yo

u in

the

big

ger

pict

ure,

as

the

CWU

wor

ks o

n a

nati

onal

leve

l wit

h th

e Ir

ish

Cong

ress

of

Trad

e Un

ions

Guid

e fo

r co

mpl

etin

g Ap

plic

atio

n Fo

rm

•Pl

ease

com

plet

e bo

th f

orm

s in

BLO

CK C

APIT

ALS

•Pl

ease

ens

ure

you

com

plet

e bo

th t

he A

pplic

atio

n Fo

rm a

ndth

e D

irec

t D

ebit

Inst

ruct

ion

•Pl

ease

ens

ure

you

fill

out

all t

he in

form

atio

n re

quir

ed.

•Se

nd c

ompl

eted

App

licat

ion

Form

, tog

ethe

r w

ith

com

plet

edD

irec

t D

ebit

Inst

ruct

ion,

to:

The

Mem

bers

hip

Dep

artm

ent,

Com

mun

icat

ions

Wor

kers

’ U

nion

,57

5 N

orth

Cir

cula

r Ro

ad,

Dub

lin 1

. INST

RU

CTI

ON

S TO

PAY

RO

LL

•U

ntil

furth

er n

otic

e an

d co

mm

enci

ng o

n __

____

____

____

____

____

____

, ple

ase

dedu

ct

____

____

____

____

____

____

__ fr

om m

y ba

sic

pay

in r

espe

ct o

f my

cont

ribut

ion

unde

rth

e Sc

hem

e of

ded

uctio

ns o

f Sub

scrip

tions

to S

taff

Ass

ocia

tions

and

pay

that

am

ount

toth

e C

omm

unic

atio

ns W

orke

r’ U

nion

, 575

Nor

th C

ircul

ar R

oad,

Dub

lin, 1

.•

I rec

ogni

se th

at th

ese

dedu

ctio

ns, b

eing

mad

e so

lely

as

a m

easu

re o

f con

veni

ence

to m

e,m

ay b

e te

r min

ated

at a

ny ti

me.

•I a

lso r

ecog

nise

that

the

ultim

ate

resp

onsi

bilit

y fo

r en

surin

g th

at th

e de

duct

ions

hav

e, in

fact

, be

en m

ade

from

my

pay

rest

with

mys

elf,

and

that

bey

ond

mak

ing

rem

ittan

ces

onfo

ot o

f su

ms

dedu

cted

for

cre

dit t

o th

e ac

coun

t of

my

Uni

on,

the

Com

pany

acc

epts

nore

spon

sibi

lity

of a

ny k

ind

in th

is m

atte

r .