regress wrote: » Musgrave workers begin strike action Date: 19/04/2012 - Author: Louise Cashell Workers at Musgrave began strike action yesterday after serving notice to the company last week. Grocery giant Musgrave, who are based on the Tramore Road, introduced voice technology headsets in the firm’s Cork Chill warehouse which is already being used at three other facilities in Cork and Dublin. Eight workers were suspended last Wednesday when they refused to take part in training for the new technology while a further six were suspended on Monday for the same reasons. The strike is based at two of the three gates leading in to the Musgrave complex. Musgrave offered its employees a five per cent pay-rise over three years in return for using the new technology or the workers could take a lesser pay-rise for less overnight shifts and Sunday work. One worker, who does not wish to be named, says that the workers are just looking to be treated fairly. “We are looking for better terms and conditions to the offer that Musgrave has given us. The workers at the Fonthill (Dublin) branch were offered a better deal than we were. At the moment we are contracted to work 26 Sundays in the year and we have been offered a reduction so that it would be 22 Sundays instead but the Fonthill employees are contracted to work 13 Sundays in the year. “The company has been dragging their heals about this. With the new technology, production will go up by 25 per cent so that means that we will all have an increase of 25 per cent to our workload. We feel that Musgrave could offer us a better deal and we just wanted to be treated fairly.” The worker continued: “We served strike notice seven days ago and we decided to go ahead with the strike this morning because there was no change in the offer we were made by Musgrave. They haven’t come near us so far today and we will continue striking for as long as we need to. "We don’t want to be in this position but we all feel that striking was our only option. We were backed in to a corner. We had no choice.” Head of Communications for Musgrave, Sue Lamon-Diver said: “The strike is very disappointing for Musgrave. This is the first time that any Musgrave employee has gone on strike. It is a very small number of overall employees that are on strike. "There is over 1000 employees in our warehouses in Cork and the majority of these workers came to work as normal today. We were served notice by SIPTU on behalf of its 135 members in our Cork Chill depot. We have been in negotiations with the Labour Court who then directed us to the Labour Relations Commission and we worked out a deal for our employees. “The workers at Fonthill are contracted to work 19 Sundays in a year but they get paid less than the workers in Cork. We have exhausted all the correct procedures and there is nowhere else to go. We are calling on all the employees involved to return to work with immediate effect and to accept the terms of the Labour Court recommendations. We will have to wait and see what the workers do next.”
userr1 wrote: » I work in the Fonthill site and we are rostered to work 25 Sundays. We DID NOT agree to work the voice picking system, it was imposed upon us by Musgrave following a Labour Court Reccommendation. It was the workers who referred the case to the Labour Court in relation to a Towards 2016 PAY issue only. In the spirit of the referral we would have accepted a yes or no answer and agreed to be bound by the outcome. The Labour Court then took it upon itself to force us to work additional Sundays, Voice Picking, rostering changes. All this for less than the rate of inflation in pay increases. Justice ???
All this for less than the rate of inflation in pay increases. Justice ???
regress wrote: » Is Musgraves plan to replace very highly paid workers with outsourced agency alternatives. Musgraves chill workers are on very big money for a job that although hard requires very little training, intelligence or skill.
daryl2012 wrote: » Heard in the local that they've hired around 50 agency people on short term contracts while the strike going on, tough times all round
54kroc wrote: » The days of not crossing a picket line a well gone imo.
daryl2012 wrote: » Without a doubt, the fact that theres 20+ people who've already done so tells me that something seems not quite right about this strike
54kroc wrote: » Why do you have to agree to work the voice picking system?
bladebrew wrote: » i think the days of pay rise`s in most places are gone!
Blitzkrieger wrote: » Some people would like you to think that. Plenty of Irish companies are still booming. Due to increases in taxes and other factors, inflation was 2.5% this year. A 5% pay rise over three years is in effect a pay cut. And the stike isn't just about pay and a new system - it's about shift schedules too. Personally, I'd hate to work 26 Sundays in a year. Half your Sundays gone? My family would forget my name....
regress wrote: » My understanding is that the voice system will mean the workers there will have to work harder as they will no longer have a break from walking back to office to pick up list. They will be told remotely what to pick next instead. Is this the issue? Are Musgraves pushing to make a hard and demanding job even harder? Or to put it another way seeking technological changes that will lead to more efficient and productive labour units.
Blitzkrieger wrote: » bladebrew wrote: » i think the days of pay rise`s in most places are gone! Some people would like you to think that. Plenty of Irish companies are still booming. Due to increases in taxes and other factors, inflation was 2.5% this year. A 5% pay rise over three years is in effect a pay cut. And the stike isn't just about pay and a new system - it's about shift schedules too. Personally, I'd hate to work 26 Sundays in a year. Half your Sundays gone? My family would forget my name....
bassboot wrote: » Ask those who are contracted to work 46 Sundays out there how they'd feel about doing a meagre 26.
