The Galway Trades Council hosted a meeting last night on the human rights situation in Colombia, particularly in regard to workers and trade unions. Jack O'Connor, president of SIPTU and member of the Labour party, and Michael D. Higgins, president of the Labour Party gave reports back on their visits to Colombia last year. They gave harrowing accounts of the situation in Colombia with serious human rights abuses and murder, particularly of trade unionists, an every day occurence there.

Allegations of a ‘slush fund’ from public money operated by SIPTU officials are a disgrace to the trade union movement. SIPTU has recently published the results of an internal inquiry. The report shows that the HSE and other state agencies paid €4.5m into an account. The account was called the ‘SIPTU National Health and Local Authority Levy Fund’. Two senior SIPTU officials were the signatories on the account. SIPTU are now trying to claim this had nothing to do with them!

Up to 2,000 fire-fighters and ambulance staff are expected to defect from SIPTU and IMPACT and join the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA).

John Kidd, the leader of the Dublin fire-fighters section of SIPTU, has withdrawn his candidacy for the Vice President of the union because he claims his views were censored.

John Kidd is a vocal opponent of the draft Croke Park agreement and submitted a manifesto which made known this opposition.

However all references to the draft deal were removed from the literature requesting the support of union branches by the SIPTU head office.

In  a statement,

Meeting in Cork last night, the national committee of SIPTU firefighters voted overwhelmingly to reject the sell-out Public Sector "Pay Deal" that the union leaders are pushing.

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SIPTU has served strike notice on seven Dublin hospitals for 48 hours with effect from Wednesday 7th April

Over 400 SIPTU delegates met last week at their conference
in Tralee at a crucial moment for Irish workers

For the Yes side: Jack O' Connor President of SIPTU versus for the No side: Kieran Allen, President of SIPTU' s Education Branch.