Tradespeople and apprentices strike over cuts to ‘travel time’
Posted: Wednesday, September 11th, 2024
Tradies, including plumbers, fitters, welders and apprentices on construction projects throughout Ireland, are on strike over cuts to travel expenses, Irish Independent reported. Pickets were organised at sites in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Kildare. Trade union Unite has said the full-day work stoppage involved official pickets being placed on selected large construction sites where members of the Mechanical Engineering and Building Services Contractors' Association (MEBSCA) are carrying out works. The union represents plumbers, fitters, welders, and apprentices working on construction projects throughout Ireland. Last month, Unite mechanical members voted overwhelmingly for industrial action to restore the first hour of travel expenses, or ‘travel time’. Payment of the first hour of ‘travel time’ was initially cut as a so-called ‘temporary measure’ following the 2008 financial crash. This austerity-era cut was meant to be reviewed after a year, but over a decade later, workers are still waiting. Restoration of the first hour of ‘travel time’ would significantly increase the pay of mechanical construction workers, who are experiencing ongoing cost-of-living pressures. Without a meaningful offer from MEBSCA, further strike action will follow, with pickets being placed on additional sites, the union said.
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