Liberty
An article in the latest issue of SIPTU’s Liberty newspaper:
Ex H.W. Wilson workers redouble efforts to secure payouts
FORMER employees of US publisher H. W. Wilson have called on new owners Ebsco to honour a Labour Court recommendation on redundancy payments.
The 19 workers, who lost their jobs when the long-established firm closed its Dublin offices, are using a range of means – from public protests to social media – to highlight their fight for justice. US corporation Ebsco offered the workers the legal minimum of two weeks pay per year of service but the Labour Court recommended that employees should receive double that amount. Ebsco will recoup 60% of any payment from the Irish state and is continuing to publish and market products under the H. W. Wilson brand.
The former H.W. Wilson employees have sought help from other workers and trade unions and have underlined the general principle that Labour Court recommendations should be respected. Their campaign can be followed on Facebook [WilsonPickets], on Twitter [@WilsonWorker1] and on a campaign blog [wilsonpicketdotcom.wordpress.com]. The ex-Wilson staff also plan to protest at an “information day” Ebsco is holding at Clontarf Castle on Tuesday, 15th May.
Supporting the workers’ stand, NUJ Irish Secretary Séamus Dooley said: “What has happened here is a disgrace. Ebsco should honour the ruling of the Labour Court. H.W. Wilson took part in the hearing and failed to convince the Labour Court that workers should only receive the legal minimum redundancy. “It follows that the determination of the Labour Court should be respected. The new owners have a moral obligation to the workers, only a handful of whom were union members, since H.W. Wilson had refused workers the right to collective representation. “This case clearly illustrates the need for urgent legal reform in the area of employment rights and the absolute imperative for legal recognition of the right to collective representation.”
