Lift engineers have overwhelmingly voted to continue their nine-week nationwide strike which has caused considerable hardship at the Ballymun residential complex. The Army has gone in to help out by repairing lifts and assisting residents in bringing groceries, buggies and children up the long flights of stairs.
Mr Sean O Cionnaith, chairman of the Ballymun Better Lifts Service Campaign, last night appealed to both sides to sit down and try to resolve the dispute. He appealed to the strikers to exempt the people of Ballymun from the strike and restore emergency services to the area.
He said the situation was still at "crisis point" in Ballymun. They had appealed to the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, and the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, to intervene. Mr Dan Miller, assistant general secretary, Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU), said the vote against the Labour Court recommendation had been almost unanimous. He said the situation had been confused further by the employer companies "interfering" with the ballot by writing to members about the recommendation. He said the two sides should be able to sit down and hopefully work out an agreement.
The senior IBEC negotiator for the lift companies, Mr John Doherty, said the Labour Court had twice recommended on the matter and the employers had twice agreed to pay, but twice the union said this was not enough.