Fine Gael and Renua need to explain failure to support ICTU Charter for Workers – Cllr Carol Nolan

Sinn Féin councillor and General Election candidate for the Offaly/ North Tipperary constituency has today called on local Fine Gael and Renua representatives to explain why their parties have failed to sign up to the Irish Congress of Trade Union’s Charter for Fair Conditions at Work.

Commenting from the campaign trail, Cllr Nolan said:

“The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has set out a number of key provisions in advance of the General Election that would support fair conditions for workers.

“These are the establishment of a living wage, fair hours of work, the right to union representation, the right to respect in the workplace and the right of workers on publicly tendered contracts

“I am proud to say that all Sinn Féin representatives have signed up to this pledge. We have been proud to support trade union campaigns such as SIPTU’s Campaign for Home Helps, or Mandate's campaign for Dunnes Stores workers.

“It is alarming to see that only 7% of Fine Gael representatives have signed up to this charter nationally while no Renua representative has signed up to the Charter.

“Similarly, many independents have failed to support the charter.

“I was particularly disappointed to learn that our local Fine Gael TD, the outgoing chair of the OIreachtas Jobs Committee, Marcella Corcoran Kennedy has not supported this charter.

“Ordinary workers and union members should be very concerned about the failure of some politicians to support this charter. In my view, workers in Offaly and North Tipperary cannot afford another five years of a Fine Gael led Government.

“The failure of these parties to support the key principles of fairness at work exposes their true agenda and shows just how out of touch they are with the realities faced by many workers.”ENDS