A landmark hotel in Derry could be facing industrial action.
SIPTU announced this afternoon it intends to ballot its members employed in the City Hotel due to what they say is the failure of the company to constructively engage the Union to discuss threatened redundancies that will leave the business significantly understaffed.
SIPTU Organiser Niall McNally told Highland Radio News they’ve been advised by the Labour Relations Agency that management has declined to engage in collective conciliation…………………
You can listen to a longer discussion here –
SIPTU statement in full –
City Hotel Derry workers ballot on industrial action in response to redundancy threat
SIPTU members employed in the landmark City Hotel Derry intend to commence a ballot for industrial action due to the failure of the company to constructively engage with their Union representatives to discuss threatened redundancies that will leave the business significantly understaffed.
SIPTU Organiser, Niall McNally, said: “We have been advised by the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) that City Hotel Derry management has declined to engage in collective conciliation concerning its threatened redundancies. This situation has forced our members to ballot for industrial action.
“We had hoped to resolve this issue without it escalating to a ballot of members, which is why we proposed the involvement of the LRA to facilitate a constructive dialogue between both parties in the interest of reaching an agreement.
“As it stands, the City Hotel Derry has indicated that the redundancy process was triggered due to a cessation of building work due to instructions from Derry City Council and the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service, and its subsequent impact on revenue. It is our position that the redundancies are, in fact, a result of an internal business reorganisation process.
“Many workers on exploitive zero hour contracts have already be let go by the Hotel which has significantly increased the workload on existing staff, further redundancies, we believe, could have health and safety implications for the remaining workers.
“There must be an immediate pause on all redundancy processes until transparent discussions can take place regarding the actual basis for this decision. Most of the workers that will be impacted are from the local community.”
He added: “The hotel is also locally owned. Previous to a new management agency taking over its operation there were decades of constructive relations between our Union, the workers, hotel management and owners. This hotel is an important part of Derry, a city which has a long a tradition of supporting local enterprises and collaborative trade union relations.
“SIPTU members wish to resume this positive relationship but have been confronted by intransigeance and disrespect. We hope that management will reconsider its position in order not to necessitate an escalation of this dispute.”
