A dispute involving a group of bricklayers working on a project at Euronext Dublin and their employer, Aintree Construction Limited, has been resolved, with the workers to receive payments owed to them.
The group of workers, who had been protesting since Monday, are to receive money owed in respect of holiday pay and pay in lieu of notice.
It is understood that a subcontractor on the €10 million expansion of Euronext Dublin (formerly the Irish Stock Exchange), Aintree Construction Limited, employed the workers and had let them go. It is believed that Aintree had previously sought changes to its contract with the main contractor on the project but had not secured these.
The main contractor, Duggan Brothers Construction, will likely be forced to find a new subcontractor to continue the bricklaying work as a result. There is no suggestion that either Duggan or Euronext Dublin had any involvement in the dispute or the issues faced by the subcontractor.
“It’s shocking that our members were left without payment,” said Brendan O’Sullivan, general secretary of the Building and Allied Trades Union (BATU), adding that the workers were owed at least one week’s pay and two weeks’ holiday pay.
Best solution
While the question of their employment at the site has yet to be resolved, Mr O’Sullivan said the best solution would be that the workers would work directly for Duggan, which he described as “an established reputable employer”.
If not, Mr O’Sullivan said that BATU would like to see its workers given “first refusal” pursuant to the EU’s transfer of undertakings directive.
This law protects the contracts of employment of people working in businesses that are transferred between owners.
Aintree is a relatively small operator in the industry which, according to its website, has "over 25 years experience within the construction industry". The company, which has an address in Fairview in Dublin 3, advertises services including brick repair, bricklaying and stone masonry for a "wide range of residential, commercial and industrial properties".
It had been working on the Euronext project as bricklayers and its contract with Duggan is understood to have been on a payment per work done basis.
Aintree Construction Limited did not respond to repeated requests for comment. Euronext Dublin did not comment.
The office development at Euronext Dublin will see a new four-storey building to provide an additional 1,400sq m of space, combining its two existing protected structures on Anglesea Street and on Foster Place.
