The Irish Congress of Trade Unions yesterday threw its weight behind the proposed ban on smoking in the workplace, saying arguments for a compromise were "weak" and "pathetic".
It claimed 150 Irish pub workers died annually from the effects of "second-hand smoke", and accused employers in the hospitality sector of putting profit before the health of employees.
It also disputed claims that the ban would lead to large-scale job losses.
In its first policy statement on the issue, the ICTU expressed unequivocal support for the ban as planned by the Minister for Health, Mr Martin.
Some unions, including Mandate, which represents bar staff, have already expressed strong support for the ban.
At an ICTU press conference in Dublin yesterday, union leaders and members of the medical profession praised Mr Martin.
Mr David Begg, the ICTU general secretary, said the proposed ban was "one of the most serious public health initiatives undertaken for many years".
Mr Peter McLoone, ICTU vice-president, said that, as an organisation representing 700,000 workers, the ICTU wanted to make a strong statement of support for the ban.
It had three simple grounds: passive smoking was a killer, it was the biggest health hazard in the workplace, and there could be no "so-called compromise" on the health and safety of Irish workers.
He described as "pretty weak and pretty pathetic" the arguments of a "small but well-funded lobby" which was seeking a compromise on the ban. There was plenty of medical evidence to show that measures such as ventilation in pubs were not effective in protecting workers from harm.
Mr Fergus Whelan, a congress official responsible for safety issues, said unions had been trying for 20 years to reduce workers' exposure to environmental tobacco smoke.
Voluntary agreements had been negotiated with a number of companies, and in many cases these had turned into outright smoking bans.
"The hospitality sector is the one area where we made no progress," he said.
"If they have a problem now then they brought it on themselves by refusing to engage on the issue or go down the road others have gone."
Dr Joe Barry, president of the Irish Medical Organisation and a specialist in public health with the Eastern Regional Health Authority, said the ban would protect workers in general but bar workers in particular.
Bar workers needed more support "because it seems that their employers are not quite as keen on protecting them".
Other health professionals who attended the conference outlined in detail the effects of smoking on some of their patients, and called for the ban to be supported.
The ICTU said its estimate that 150 bar workers a year die from the effects of environmental tobacco smoke was "on the basis of quantitative risk assessment".
It added that research in other countries showed smoking bans did not result in job losses in the hospitality sector. "Scare-mongering about a big loss of jobs is motivated by disquiet about a small loss of profits."
