Brid Smith

Cllr Brid Smith put an emergency motion to the South Central Area Committee meeting on Wednesday 21 July and received support from the majority of Councillors present.

The motion called on the City Council not to allow strike-breaking labour be used in any of the Council buildings where Otis Ireland Ltd service the elevators. It further called on Otis to apply the Labour Court Recommendation and to end the dispute.

Two Labour Party councillors, Eric Byrne and Michael Conaghan tried to have the motion ruled out of order on the basis that we cannot interfere with company decisions with whom we have contracts on who they employ to carry out the work.



But as People Before Profit Councillor Brid Smith pointed out, all City Council contracts have a “moral” clause that insists on respect for workers rights. Councillor Eric Byrne put an amendment to the motion which deleted the call against the use of strike-breaking labour (better known as “Scabs”) but retaining the call on Otis to implement the Labour Court Recommendation.

His amendment was voted down and the PBP motion was passed by 5 to 2 votes. Interestingly the Labour councillors voted in different ways with the more senior councillors Byrne and Conaghan voting against the PBP motion and the new councillors Rebecca Moynihan and Henry Upton voting for the PBP motion.

Good on them.

If Otis move to try use scab labour in the City Council it must be resisted, particularly by other Council workers who have just come through a long dispute over the pay cuts implemented by the Government. Solidarity with each other will strengthen all workers in their fight for justice, whoever their employer may be.