Mary Coughlan (Donegal South West, Fianna Fail)

The Technical, Engineering & Electrical Union took strike action on Monday, 6 July 2009. This action follows the breakdown of talks at the Labour Relations Commission. The National Implementation Body issued a statement on the dispute on Friday, 3 July urging the parties to re-engage with the LRC to explore the full range of issues at the centre of the dispute, with a view to averting threatened action. Discussions over the weekend at the LRC failed to make progress. The services of the LRC have remained available to assist in resolving the issue in dispute.

In view of the seriousness of the position and the impact on the economy, I have requested the Labour Relations Commission to recall the parties as soon as possible with a view to an early resolution of the dispute. In these circumstances, I do not propose to refer the matter under section 38 of the Industrial Relations Act 1990.

I encourage the parties to renew their efforts in assisting the Labour Relations Commission to get a mutually agreed settlement to this dispute. It is important that the parties to the dispute re-engage, not just on the basis of their already stated positions but to explore all available options to end this impasse.

See this speech in context