The Army Engineering Corps brought to assist Ballymun residents stranded by broken lifts.
A strike by maintenance engineers at Pickerings Lifts now in its fifth week has left residents of the Ballymun flats complex without a lift service. The Army Engineering Corps has been sent in to try to get the lifts working again. Residents have complained that the lifts are unreliable at the best of times but without constant maintenance have come to a standstill.
The soldiers were asked to step in by government after an appeal from residents.
Residents complain that they face the challenge of carrying babies and shopping up several flights of stairs. The strike is affecting more areas than just Ballymun and there is no sign of a resolution. The workers had earlier marched on the Pickerings headquarters in Dunboyne. The dispute has been aggravated by the dismissal of a senior union member.
Arthur Hall of the Technical, Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) says that Pickerings have broken the national agreement leading to the dismissal of a shop steward who has been with the company for 28 years.
This is about trying to protect a national agreement.
The striking workers say they have sympathy for the people of the Ballymun flats if the lifts continue to break down and can not be repaired.
An RTÉ News report broadcast on 14 December 2002. The reporter is Ray Kennedy.
