ESB vote to strike over gold plated pensions as winter arrives

Mycroft H · 21-11-2013 12:04AM

MadsL wrote: »

baddebt, may I ask if other gold-plated benefits have also been done away with?

1. Pretty nice swimming pool and sport centre in Dublin.
2. Heavily subsidised canteen.
3. Health insurance (which I personally know of a case where health benefits extended to the grandchildren of a retired ESB worker)

I'm a grandchild of an ESB Area Engineer. And No, we aren't involved with his health insurance scheme; himself and his wife are, no one else.

Lots of waffle spouted on this thread as usual.

Thoie · 21-11-2013 12:09AM

Frankie5Angels wrote: »

I caught the tail end of the Last Word yesterday when Matt Cooper said Ogle stated anything of the sort wouldn't be done over Christmas or the cold (open to correction on that though, as I didn't hear the full interview).

Ogle is a nasty, dangerous liar. Ever notice that the ESB only ever threaten strike action in late autumn/spring? I think about 10 years ago they served notice in the summer - that was also about the pension deficit. They deliberately do it coming into winter, precisely so that someone will "think of the old people".

It's not just old people who'll be affected. The majority of apartment blocks only have electric heating, and most have a pumped water system. No power = no heat and no water either. I'll manage - I'll have to carry water up 6 flights of stairs, but I'll get there. My mobility impaired neighbour won't be able to manage that though, so I'll need to bring water for them as well, and their groceries too, as they'll be housebound without a working lift. The people with babies will have to somehow manage to carry babies and water up.

Capt'n Midnight · 21-11-2013 12:49AM

I see the power companies have already put the Christmas lights up.

By another ten per cent.

end of the road · 21-11-2013 12:54AM

homerjay2005 wrote: »

there should be a law brought in to make trade unions illegal in return for an independent employee tribunal board.

making unions illegal can't be done as it would be to dangerous and impinge on the workers human rights to have representation, it would also lead to exploitation and a return to the conditions of the industrial revolution sweat shops, an independant employee tribunal board would always side with the employer.

homerjay2005 wrote: »

Unions are outdated and nothing but troublesome, treacherous organisations.

no, their very up to date and enforcers of employment law and guardians of the working man and woman who joins them, the only people who want unions made illegal are employers who want to exploit workers in whatever way they can.

end of the road · 21-11-2013 01:10AM

homerjay2005 wrote: »

yep, and so should the other people who gambled on a pension but they dont have a Union to throw a hissy fit on their behalf.

why should ESB workers be allowed to hold the country to ransom, when for example a non unionised private company workforce just have to accept that s*it happens.

because they have no other option, private sector workers could grow balls and fight if they wanted to, but their to afraid to loose their job to do so, i'd rather no job then be in a situation where i just have to except whatever the employer throws at me

end of the road · 21-11-2013 01:15AM

grainnewhale wrote: »

The ESB unions have been holding the people of Ireland to ransom for years. At the end of the day its not the government or the company paying, its the poorest people of Ireland paying way above the average for their electric.

rubbish, were paying way less then the UK for example

end of the road · 21-11-2013 01:35AM

tayto lover wrote: »

A teachers strike will also effect workers who would have to stay home and mind kids while bitching about the fact they have to mind the children rather then the free child care/baby citting service (sorry school and teachers)

fixed

end of the road · 21-11-2013 01:38AM

P_1 wrote: »

I actually wonder if it might be worthwhile breaking up the monopoly that ESB currently has over the distribution of electricity in this country in light of the threat that a strike has

no, would only lead to a couple of smaller ones instead of 1 big one, which will charge way more, and the money go out of the country to private shareholders or foreign state companies

flynnlives · 21-11-2013 01:40AM

an ESB employee gets a 55% reduction on their electricity bill

but in this case i agree with the unions, the former ceo told them there pensions where safe. Now the company wants to welch on that deal.

ElWalrus · 21-11-2013 01:46AM

end of the road wrote: »

rubbish, were paying way less then the UK for example

According to this site, http://www.energy.eu/, UK is a nice bit cheaper than us.

Another site I've read made the point that outside of the accession states, the ones with the highest energy costs are the ones that are most aggressively pursuing renewable energy. (Slightly off topic, I know)

end of the road · 21-11-2013 01:48AM

tayto lover wrote: »

You need a life.

old ronald was a hypicrit i'm afraid, he called a strike himself but turned on the air traffic controllers when they dared to stand up against him and he's little buddies in the government and impoverished them and the future generations of their families forever just to impress his little buddy mrs thatcher

end of the road · 21-11-2013 01:56AM

periodictable wrote: »

I have one...this just for you

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrlFyiudvs4

a load of nonsense from a bitter old woman who thought she was bigger then she actually was and who made up nonsense about the unions to divirt attention from her and her drive to turn britain into a centre where the rich could prosper and the poor could be left to fend for themselves and be exploited

thebaz · 21-11-2013 02:10AM

mike65 wrote: »

Uber Union boss Brendan Ogle (the man who brought CIE trains to its knees in 2000) is now threatening to plunge the huddled masses into the dark and cold over a shortfall in the ESB Unions pension fund

The average ESB salary is 65k a year.

Ogle is a great man for defending the rights of the wealthy hard working men , but if you have no money or power , his left wing idealogy goes silent - what a patriot - me arse

Carlos Orange · 21-11-2013 02:17AM

end of the road wrote: »

people should always have a backup plan just incase of the extreme possibility of any of the utilities going out.

Traditionally the backup plan for unions blackmailing countries is to deploy the army.

Gatling · 21-11-2013 02:18AM

Funny how people say unions are needed to protect workers employment rights and there human rights ,
But look at automakers state side and Canada most don't have unions outside of UAW american brand plants ,
Yet the workers are very happy productive people ,
So the whole unions protect workers is a load they protect there own interest and income

Unions are past there sell by dates ,

TireeTerror · 21-11-2013 02:23AM

Ah let them strike. Sack every single one of them and I could find you tens of thousands of replacements overnight. All overpaid anyway and its money from our pockets that is paying for them.

I have no time for a company who has made it difficult for thousands of householders with excessive charges and who has done everything they can to resist installing free prepayment meters for those struggling to meet bills.

end of the road · 21-11-2013 02:32AM

TireeTerror wrote: »

Ah let them strike. Sack every single one of them

would cost to much and could cause the country to need another bailout as the tax take from those who replace them would be to little, or if we decide not to generate our own power the costs to import it all could be to great.

TireeTerror wrote: »

I could find you tens of thousands of replacements overnight.

really? yeah right, no you couldn't, what would be their qualifications? i don't want any old person working in a company such as the ESB, specially the power stations

TireeTerror wrote: »

All overpaid anyway

begrudgery much

TireeTerror wrote: »

its money from our pockets that is paying for them.

its money from our pockets that pays for all staff in all such companies, the customers ultimately pay for staff in the companies they buy the product from

General General · 21-11-2013 02:44AM

It's a dog sh!t on dog world out there.

Black cat banger · 21-11-2013 10:13AM

Look ! What get's up most peoples noses is not so much that the ESB bully boys are threatening strike action but that they are doing it at Christmas!

Previous posters have mentioned the arduous nature of some of the work carried out by the guys who fix the lines after storms etc. and I have no dispute with that.

Behind them , though is an army of cosseted clerical and managerial grades who even their own Union man describes a privileged !

They paid their CEO shedloads of money and you can be sure that all the senior managers in that company are trousering salaries that would make the ordinary working person green with envy.

At a time when the country is just beginning to recover from recession ...this type of action from these people is just not on.

grainnewhale · 21-11-2013 10:46AM

I am getting sick of the usual public service ****, like these guys going out at night in storms. If and its a big if these guys go out outside there normal hours its on treble their already inflated wages. How many ****ing storms do we get in this country. The hardest part of working in the ESB is trying to look busy.

hallo dare · 21-11-2013 11:08AM

Black cat banger wrote: »

Look ! What get's up most peoples noses is not so much that the ESB bully boys are threatening strike action but that they are doing it at Christmas!

Calm the jets, they aren't doing any striking over the Christmas period.

TireeTerror · 21-11-2013 11:34AM

end of the road wrote: »

would cost to much and could cause the country to need another bailout as the tax take from those who replace them would be to little, or if we decide not to generate our own power the costs to import it all could be to great.

really? yeah right, no you couldn't, what would be their qualifications? i don't want any old person working in a company such as the ESB, specially the power stations

begrudgery much

its money from our pockets that pays for all staff in all such companies, the customers ultimately pay for staff in the companies they buy the product from

Energia produce enough power to provide power for 1.2 million homes, nevermind what Bord Gais and Airtricity generate. We dont exclusively rely upon ESB and their shower of crooks.

Just because its money from our pockets that pays for all such companies, does not invalidate my point.

You saw what happened in Grangemouth oil refinery in Scotland just recently? Trade unions trying to act the bully, directors called their bluff and announced the next day that the plant would close. Suddenly the reality of their greed smacked them in the face and the trade unions went back to the table backtracking and begging for the directors to offer them the deal they had previously refused.

hallo dare · 21-11-2013 11:37AM

TireeTerror wrote: »

Energia produce enough power to provide power for 1.2 million homes, nevermind what Bord Gais and Airtricity generate. We dont exclusively rely upon ESB and their shower of crooks.

We do, ESB still have full control over the transmission. If you are with Bord Gais or whoever and you have a problem, it's still ESB that do the repair works to the lines.

TireeTerror · 21-11-2013 11:38AM

grainnewhale wrote: »

I am getting sick of the usual public service ****, like these guys going out at night in storms. If and its a big if these guys go out outside there normal hours its on treble their already inflated wages. How many ****ing storms do we get in this country. The hardest part of working in the ESB is trying to look busy.

I see them out here in the countryside all the time, 3 vans and 8 of them hanging around while a couple of them erect a pole.

I don't blame those guys, if you have an easy job and get well paid, great for you. However don't expect any sympathy from the paying public when you start threatening strike action.

It's good news for all the Airtricity sales reps though, those guys are making a killing with all the hostility aimed at ESB though.....suddnely Electric Ireland reps are no longer lying at the door saying "Im here from ESB" its very much changed to "Hi, Im from Electric Ireland...no, no, no we are not striking, we are Electric Ireland, nothing to do with ESB.........!"

TireeTerror · 21-11-2013 11:43AM

hallo dare wrote: »

We do, ESB still have full control over the transmission. If you are with Bord Gais or whoever and you have a problem, it's still ESB that do the repair works to the lines.

Yeah Im aware they control the network. Im just saying we do not rely upon them for generation of power, they are responsible for the transportation of it.

The other providers, namely Energia, look after the network in Northern Ireland under the Power NI brand. They could send a few chaps down to assist if ESB actually had the balls to go ahead and strike. Im sure that goodwill would help Energia when they launch into the domestic market in January here in the south. The reality is that ESB almost certainly will not strike, its just putting on an act, puffing up its chest and throwing the toys out of the pram hoping they will get their way. Like any spoilt brat, just send them to the corner without any dinner and they will soon change their ways. Do you really think the employees at ESB want to be without power themselves? If I see ESB employees installing generators in their properties, then I might take all this peacocking seriously!

hallo dare · 21-11-2013 11:48AM

Personally i can't see them striking, nobody wants that. But on the other hand i see where they are coming from. Say a chap working 30 odd years and near retiring to be told that there will be no pension there for you. In fairness i'd be pretty pissed too if i was to be told the same.

westcoast66 · 21-11-2013 11:59AM

All the talk on this thread about taking a tough line with the unions.

None of that will happen with this Government as they are too afraid of damaging the status quo.

homerjay2005 · 21-11-2013 12:14PM

end of the road wrote: »

i'd rather no job then be in a situation where i just have to except whatever the employer throws at me

and with this attitude, its no wonder the country is f*cked. you have to earn the right to a job, not just turn up and do f8ck all as seems to be the attitude of many irish people.

we go on about workers conditions and discrimination in this country as if we were back in the 1800s and the entire country was working on spud farms for 2 pence a month.

if you are not happy in a job, f*ck off and somebody else who will be happy in it and probably do a great job it, will take it.

TireeTerror · 21-11-2013 12:21PM

homerjay for president!!!!

dumb_as_dirt · 21-11-2013 01:37PM

thebaz wrote: »

Ogle is a great man for defending the rights of the wealthy hard working men , but if you have no money or power , his left wing idealogy goes silent - what a patriot - me arse

ogle is a charlatan of epic proportions

a loudmouth demagogue who describes himself as a socialist while insisting on a wage which is double the average industrial for those ESB workers he represents

ESB vote to strike over gold plated pensions as winter arrives

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