Meetings held to campaign for €15 per hour in wages

WICKLOW trade union activists hosted Organise for €15 public events in Bray and Arklow as they attempt to lift wages and living conditions for workers living in the county.

Events were held on Monday and Tuesday evenings in the Martello and the Arklow Bay.

These public events were organised by local Bray and Arklow Mandate Trade Union activists.

Their purpose was to encourage workers in the retail and bar sectors, but not exclusive to those sectors, to get better organised in their workplaces and to campaign and organise to achieve what they say is a fair wage of €15 an hour.

Retail worker and secretary of Mandate’s Bray local council Muireann Dalton said: ‘It is vitally important that workers in both Bray and Arklow get together to discuss how we can be better organised in every workplace in our own local areas.’

The events in Bray and Arklow were held to encourage workers both in unionised and non-unionised employments to discuss how to campaign to lift working conditions.

‘Irish retail and bar workers are low paid by European standards and yet they face among the highest cost of living in the European Union. This can no longer be tolerated by workers,’ said local activist Cian Keogh who works in TK Maxx in Arklow.

‘Our TK Maxx store in Arklow has recently voted to take strike action as our members are unhappy with a range of issues that need resolved.

‘We don’t want to strike, but we’ve been left with no other option at this stage,’ he said.

Dr Stevie Nolan, Trademark, spoke at both meetings about why workers find themselves in need of pay rises and working under terms and conditions of employment that need improvements.