There were signs of a possible breakthrough in the four-week-old scaffolders' dispute yesterday after some of the main contractors in Dublin offered increases of up to 65p an hour, plus attendance bonuses, to the strike leaders during informal talks.
Although the offer falls well short of the £3 to £12 an hour increases sought, it could form the basis for further negotiations.
The chairman of the Dublin Scaffolders' Society, Mr Andrew McGuinness, also warned that any offer would have to be part of a national settlement to the dispute that would cover Cork and Limerick, as well as Dublin.
Meanwhile, hundreds of scaffolders are expected to lodge complaints against building companies they claim are not paying important fringe benefits such as travelling time and meal allowances. Under the Registered Employment Agreement for the construction industry, employers are obliged to pay scaffolders £1.75 a day in meal allowances and anything from £6.70 to £15.40 a day in travelling time.
Even at the lower rate of £6.70, which covers all building sites within four miles of the GPO, these allowances would be worth between £40 and £50 a week.
The Dublin Scaffolders' Society claims many firms have been failing to comply with the REA and it is to ask SIPTU to lodge complaints on its behalf. Complaints have to be lodged with the Labour Court against the individual firms involved, not the Construction Industry Federation. Yesterday, Mr McGuinness said his own employer, Scafform, was one of the few firms complying with the REA.
"It was only when we began to check members' pay slips during the current dispute that we began to realise how many employers were not complying with the terms of the REA," he said. Mr McGuinness, who estimated 300 complaints would be lodged "in Dublin alone", produced a wad of pay slips in support of his claim.
A SIPTU official, Mr Dermot O'Loughlin, said he believed a lot of scaffolders were not "getting their legal entitlements. If the employers are in breach of the agreement, we will be pursuing it with the Labour Court as soon as possible."
Yesterday, a senior CIF director, Mr Eddie Keenan, said SIPTU had raised the issue of irregularities in pay slips as far back as March 22nd. It had been asked to supply names and addresses, but had so far failed to do so.
"I find it very strange that since March 22nd they haven't given us this information and have given it to a newspaper," he added. The CIF had no problem ensuring entitlements were paid.
Complaints of breaches in the REA can be lodged directly with the Labour Court. Failure to comply with the agreement can lead to a fine of up to £1,000 and further daily fines of up to £200.