SIPTU to meet FAI chief over job cuts, as trade union says workers are 'appalled'
SIPTU officials say they will meet FAI chief executive David Courell next week over planned redundancies at the association. According to the trade union, its members in the FAI are “appalled” at how the situation has been handled by Irish football’s governing body. SIPTU representatives met the FAI last week but described the meeting as "deeply frustrating", with Courell not in attendance. The FAI announced on August 27 that it was embarking on a "significant transformation programme" that involves voluntary and compulsory redundancies. But staff within the football association have yet to be told how many jobs will be slashed. Today, SIPTU Services Divisional Organiser, Adrian Kane, said: “Our members in the FAI were deeply frustrated last week when we attended a meeting which the CEO had indicated he would attend but did not. “This was compounded by his subsequent claim that we had been given considerable due notice of his unavailability. That claim is incorrect. “Our members have also been concerned by recent media interviews in which inaccurate figures on staff numbers have been presented and a failure to acknowledge that a significant growth in management roles in recent years has impacted the organisation financially.” Kane added: “FAI workers, including our members, have devoted their working lives to assisting with the development of football at all levels. Most work daily with grassroots clubs and communities. They are dismayed at their treatment in recent days. "They again demand sight of the FAI’s so-called 'transformation plan' so that it can be assessed on what it proposes and ensure it is based on accurate information.” SIPTU Sector Organiser, Robbie Purfield, said: “Our members are rightly appalled at the way this situation has been handled. “They remain upset at disparaging remarks contained in an FAI press release which followed its announcement that it was seeking voluntary and, later, compulsory redundancies. “It is hoped that at the upcoming meeting relations between our Union and FAI management can be reset. This requires the FAI to treat staff with the respect they deserve and to act in line with industrial relations norms on negotiation and the provision of information.” Purfield added: “That these issues are arising in an organisation in receipt of significant state funding and whose role includes ensuring fair play in Irish football is particularly regrettable.”
