Dublin, July 6 - A union representing thousands of striking electricians in Ireland said on Monday it would call for an all-out picket of over 200 construction sites, escalating a dispute that also hit the output of Ireland's favourite beer.
"Our members have sent a very clear signal to the employers by their actions this morning that they will not be rolling over and meekly accepting cutbacks to bail out developers and speculators," said Eamon Devoy, general secretary-designate of the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU).
"We will now be seeking to consolidate the support we are already receiving from other workers through an application for an all-out picket," he said in a statement.
About 10,500 contractors are taking part in the indefinite strike, the first major industrial action since Ireland went into recession last year. Pickets have been set up at building sites at Dublin Airport and at companies such as Intel, Pfizer and Microsoft.
A court granted an injunction against TEEU to stop picketing the St. James's Gate brewery owned by Diageo, one of the world's biggest alcoholic drinks groups, where a strike by third-party contractors severely affected Guinness production.
Because of the delicate yeast-based brewing process, even a relatively short stoppage could potentially affect output of Ireland's favourite stout for weeks, the company said.
SIPTU, one of Ireland's biggest unions with 200,000 members, has said it would support an all-out strike and if umbrella group ICTU, which represents most unions in Ireland, agrees to the electricians' request that could close most of the affected construction projects.
ICTU will need to ballot its members before making a final decision, which could take at least until next week.
Employers' group IBEC said the strike could force manufacturers to lay off workers, with some already put on protective notice in anticipation of further disruption.
The dispute centres around wage increases of about 11 percent the electricians say they are owed for a number of years. A contractor currently earns 21.49 euros ($30) per hour.
Employers have said they cannot afford to give them more money and instead are looking for a wage cut of 10 percent.
"No one could survive on what they are offering us," said Pat Mooney as he picketed outside Dublin's Lansdowne Road Stadium, which is being redeveloped.
"Our members are determined to see this through, otherwise we might as well throw our tool boxes in the (river) Liffey."
There were pickets at power stations but electricity generation was not affected by the strike.
NOT A GOOD TIME
From factory floors to corporate suites, wages and salaries have been falling in Ireland as businesses adjust to plummeting demand and try to claw back competitiveness lost during the boom years of the "Celtic Tiger" economy.
"I'd love to know who's advising the guys that it's a good time to look for an 11 percent pay increase," said Joe Byrne, a Dublin shopkeeper. "I'm not denying or debating that they're entitled to it but it's not a good time.
Employers have been able to push through wages cuts of 10 percent or more in Ireland as unemployment balloons.
The government has put the country on a five-year austerity diet after a debt-fuelled property boom turned Ireland from economic star to one of the industrialised world's worst performers.
Prime Minister Brian Cowen has vowed to get the budget deficit under an EU limit of three percent of gross domestic product by 2013 from a targeted 10.75 percent this year.
He is under pressure from the International Monetary Fund and others to cut public sector pay in the budget in December.
Cowen, a former finance minister, has said he was committed to taking tough action.
But his junior coalition partner, the Green Party, and members of his own party may baulk at further pain after cutbacks, tax hikes and the imposition of a pension levy prompted 100,000 people to take to the streets in February.