Update November 20th: Strike cancelled
Over 120 Roscommon County Council Staff are to go on strike from Monday after talks aimed at resolving a dispute broke down.
The dispute relates to a small number of Roscommon County Council Outdoor Staff being investigated and placed on administrative leave over alleged bad timekeeping and bad practices.
Roscommon County Council are advising the public that all Council Offices will be open as usual.
They have also requested that the Defence Forces and Civil Defence be on call to provide emergency cover.
Speaking this morning Roscommon County Council CEO Eugene Cummins has described the behaviour of the staff’s Union, SIPTU, as “totally outrageous”. Mr. Cummins said that he wasn’t prepared to accept that hours not worked are paid for and that he was duty-bound to investigate the allegations. He went on to say that he wants to protect taxpayers’ money and ensure that it’s spent efficiently.
In related news, SIPTU are set to ballot over 50 local retained part-time fire fighters over changes proposed as part of the blueprint for the future of fire service, called Keeping Communities Safe.