DRD Minister to Meet Company on Traffic Attendants’ Sacking
DRD Minister to Meet Company on Traffic Attendants’ Sacking
02/07/2009
At a meeting to-day between NIPSA representatives and the Regional Development Minister Conor Murphy over the sacking of 26 Belfast Traffic Attendants last April, the Minister told the union delegation that he would seek to meet with the NSL Group Services Company as soon as possible.
NIPSA had pressed the Minister to intervene with the Company on behalf of the sacked workers seeking their reinstatement to their jobs.
Commenting after the meeting NIPSA General Secretary John Corey insisted that the Minister and the Department had a public duty and responsibility to intervene. Mr Corey said ……
“We provided the Minister with all the information required to justify his intervention on behalf of the sacked workers. The Department has received a report from an independent health and safety consultant as well as evidence that the Traffic Attendants had raised many health and safety issues with the Company before the walk out protest and the subsequent dismissals.
The contract between the Department and NSL Services Group is run on a partnership basis and the Department has clear and specific health and safety responsibilities in relation to the NSL operation.
It is a step forward for the Minister to meet the company as he has undertaken. We will expect the Minister to make it clear to the company that the dismissal of the Traffic Attendants was not proportionate or fair and that the staff should be reinstated in their jobs.
We also made it clear to the Minister that NIPSA remains ready to engage directly with the company to agree the immediate reinstatement of the Traffic Attendants.”
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