A 24-WEEK-LONG strike involving lift technicians at Ballymun in Dublin has ended following talks with an independent mediator.
The lengthy dispute left most of the residents of the flats in Ballymun without working lifts.
Pickets were placed on February 4th in a dispute between the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) and Pickerings, a lift maintenance company, over the redundancy of seven employees in Ballymun.
The union alleged the company had failed to implement the “last in first out” principle when selecting employees for redundancy and that it refused to pay extra-statutory redundancy to those being let go.
The union said at the weekend an agreement had been reached on redundancy packages. It said the terms of the agreement were confidential but were “in line with the industry norm for redundancy agreements in the industry”. Pickerings will resume its repair operations for the residents of Ballymun until a replacement contractor has been appointed by Dublin City Council, the union said.
Separately, the union warned that a similar dispute over redundancies at Otis Lifts, which is now entering its second week, may escalate as the union considers extending its industrial action to other subsidiaries of United Technologies in Ireland.
The dispute affects lift services in hospitals, shopping centres, industrial plants, office and apartment complexes.
As in the case of the Pickerings Lifts dispute TEEU members offered emergency cover, the union said. The dispute is over the sacking of 17 lift engineers on June 26th by Otis Lifts. It is the largest lift company operating in Ireland.
Facilities affected include the new T2 terminal at Dublin airport, the Criminal Courts complex at Parkgate Street in Dublin, and The Square shopping centre in Tallaght and Dundrum shopping centre.