Sparks will fly…
In the course of my working life I regularly work closely with electricians. I have many friends who are electricians; many of whom are currently unemployed due to the collapse in the construction industry here. I am also strongly in favour of unions and their protection of worker’s rights.
Yet I still can not fathom the industrial action currently being taken by electricians. It’s nothing short of crazy and I can’t support it. I’ve read and heard many of their representatives’ arguments and, for me, they don’t stand up at all.
Recently I’ve willingly taken a pay cut. My salary is significantly down on last year. And my job is still not guaranteed beyond the end of the year. Lots of people are in a worse situation than me and I’m fully aware of that. We should be doing everything we can to safeguard jobs. Shame electricians don’t seem to be.
Their action is dangerous and a serious threat to employment at a time where we need to augment competitiveness and protect jobs, not be demanding 11% pay rises.
Plus electricians are paid well enough as is. €22 per hour minimum. That’s before expenses, call out charges, overtime etc are included. That sounds like a fine wage for a trade to me. In the current climate they have no real argument to put theirs and other jobs at risk by closing down sites and premises with pickets.
They really need to cop themselves on and get back to work.
We’re the heirs to the glimmering world…
I’ve just cycled home from work but in a completely different direction to that which I usually do. Tonight Dublin felt different. Quiet and mine. For just a moment.
A fox ran across my path and looked as shocked as I did. A heron stood proud. Calm as calm can be. Not a bother on him.
I smiled thinking of the re-emergence of Joe Higgins. Great slogan, “the best fighter money can’t buy”. Good luck to him.
I chortled thinking of the demise of Declan Ganley. Good riddance to him and his croneys.
I thought of people I know in Setanta who are facing troubling times, people like Radge. I wish them all the luck in the world.
I thought of my own situation. There’s every chance I won’t have a job by year end.
I thought of what else I might do. I’m convincing myself the world will still turn and things will turn around eventually. They will. We’ll get away with it. We always do.
I thought of my brother who tells me it could well be the best thing that ever happens to me. I admire his optimism. I live in hope.
I cycled home. And it felt good.
A world gone mad…
This is a photo I took on the way home from work yesterday of a huge queue at St Stephens Green. Four or five people deep, it extended as far as the eye see could see. So must’ve been a couple of thousand people all told. They all had envelopes or sheets of paper in their hands.
I genuinely thought it was an auditions queue for a Dublin-set Bollywood movie of some sort. Or at the very least another crappy talent show type thing. But no.
Turns out in those envelopes and on those sheets of paper were Curriculum Vitaes.
There were some jobs going in a couple of newsagents so hence the CVs. But a line that long for open interviews? Who would’ve predicted that 6 months ago? Not Brian fucking Cowen that’s for sure.
I spoke to a couple of people who were queueing. “It’s all that’s going nowadays” was the concensus. But still, a queue of applicants that long? Naïve perhaps, but I was genuinely shocked.
How quickly things can change eh?
