Codd supports CE supervisors in strike action

Community Employment Supervisors are going on strike tomorrow after being refused legitimate rights to a pension scheme, according to Rosslare LEA election candidate Jim Codd. The Aontu rep has condemned the government’s handling of both scheme participants and CE supervisors.

“Despite obviously being state workers, CE Supervisors are denied their right to a pension because the government has managed to categorise them as community employees,” Mr Codd said. “This is blatant misrepresentation of the situation as clearly CE Supervisors have full time, 39 hour per week jobs while community scheme participants are engaging in what is suppose to be temporary employment with a view to gaining skills that will get them full time employment. It’s obvious that CE Supervisors are job activation officers and should have the same rights to a pension as an intreo employee.”

“I support the CE Supervisors fully in their legitimate strike action to force the government to implement a 2008 Labour Court ruling to grant them a pension scheme. The Minister should meet with the union representing these workers immediately and resolve this issue.”

“An issue arising out of this is that Community Employment schemes were established in the early 1990s at a time of mass unemployment as an emergency, temporary measure. Instead it has now become an industry and the provision of this subsidised cheap employment is vital to a wide range of organisations and community groups. It seems to me that the government is setting out to screw both the CE Supervisors and the Community Employees here.”