The result of the ballot for industrial action in Eircom, up to and including strike action, in support of your Union’s claim for full payment of the Towards 2016, National Agreement is as follows:

Total Ballot Poll     5,200
Total number of votes cast    4,501
Total number of valid votes in favour of proposal  4,351
Votes against the proposal       146
Spoiled votes           4

This results means that our members in Eircom in a ballot covering over 84% of that membership (very high during the holiday season) have voted 96.7% in favour of taking action in pursuit of what is a completely justifiable claim.

Your National Executive Council will meet to discuss the outcome of this ballot on Tuesday 11 July 2007 and I expect that there will be notice of industrial action issued to the Company following that meeting. I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of the CWU activists in Eircom for the sterling work invested in delivering such an overwhelming result. I also wish to thank all of our members who have sent such a clear message to the new company management team despite the attempts to mislead both you and the public.  It will be a matter for National Executive Council to decide on whatever form of action it believes will be necessary to bring this dispute to a successful conclusion. 

It is critically important that every member understands exactly why we have had to take this ballot for industrial action.  Despite repeated efforts by your Union the Company refused to pay the 2% due under” Towards 2016” on the 1st May.  It was approximately one month after that payment date that the now infamous memorandum of understanding appeared out of thin air.  It is impossible to understand why the issues contained in that memorandum could not have been discussed with us, months in advance of the payment date, and it is not acceptable to this Union that the 2% due to our members and pensioners can be held as ransom.

 It is fair to say that your Union is puzzled at the actions of the new Australian Company Management as it is well known that our Union has operated in partnership with Eircom since its initial privatisation and that during that stage it has overseen what is possibly the biggest change agenda in any industry in this country.  That the Company would now abandon those partnership principles in favour of such hostile actions is regrettable but I am absolutely confident that we will receive the payment in full with retrospection as is provided for under the terms of the National Agreement.

The CWU will be meeting with its sister  Unions (IMPACT, PSEU and CPSU) this week to discuss how we can co operate  in pursuit of our justifiable claim and it is heartening to note that already  IMPACT has concluded its ballot which was 98.6% in favour of action.

Enquiries from members relating to the above should be referred to Jerome Barrett or Jimmy O'Conner