Unofficial industrial action by post office workers is hitting business in the Limerick area leaving the public wondering what the strike is about?
On 20 January 1975, over 100 post office maintenance workers from Limerick, Clare, Kerry and Tipperary went on an unofficial strike.
The men are in dispute with the Department of Posts and Telegraphs over the reorganisation of the works schedule and wage adjustments. The workers are picketing Shannon Airport leaving the region's telephone and telex services in chaos. Every day the strike continues has serious implications for the future of Shannon.
Industry and trade in the Shannon region are already under threat. Businesses have been unable to respond to orders as a result of the strike. The tourism industry is also being affected as customers struggle to make bookings with limited telephone and telex service.
These are the men who have brought Shannon's telecommunications almost to a standstill.
The strikers are demanding the implementation of a productivity agreement that they submitted over two years ago to the Department of Posts and Telegraphs, providing parity of pay with similar grades in the public service.
The strike means that local calls are about sixty per cent operational. For long distance callers, only around one in forty direct dial callers are getting through.
The Limerick District Coordinating Committee are at the hub of the strike engaging in spontaneous demonstrations including one at the local labour exchange.
As a result of absenteeism from their jobs, the men received notice of dismissal from the department last week. Labour Party Minister Conor Cruise O'Brien also alleged that some of the strikers had engaged in intimidation and sabotage. As a result of these actions, the strikers have stepped up their tactics and the union is demanding full reinstatement of all workers.
Peter Finlay, Managing Director of H&MS in Shannon, a wool exporter, describes how the company has been heavily impacted by the strike. As the company trades internationally, their business has almost ceased without the use of a telex since the strike began.
The telex is literally dead, the telephone is dead.
For Peter Finlay and most of the general public, the main question is,
'What's this strike all about?'
Jim Goggin and Liam O'Connor of the Strike Committee point out that the strike is about money for the workers. They believe that the cause of the strike is the department and not the workers.
They have the solution. Only they can give us what we're looking for.
Talks have now started between the Minister and the union executive is hope that a settlement can be arrived at. If an agreement is not met, the dispute will spread.
'Seven Days' broadcast on 6 February 1975. The reporter is Nicholas Coffey.
