Ballymun Lift Dispute

Pickerings at the Labour Court.
The maintenance company Pickerings, who are responsible for the lifts in
Ballymun flat blocks have withdrawn their services due to a countrywide
industrial dispute. The dispute involving Pickerings Lifts, the TEEU union
and Dublin City Council began in early February leaving Ballymun without
lift maintenance coverage. The number of lifts out of order averages on a
daily basis at approximately 18 out of the 32 in use, with many outages
associated with vandalism. The situation has deteriorated to the point
where 24 of 32 lifts are out of order. Dublin City Council staff has
identified vulnerable tenants who may need assistance during this dispute
and have offered alternative accommodation and any help they might need.
Huge inconvenience and misery has been the experience of the 261 families
and tenants affected in Balbutcher Lane, Silloge Road, Coultry Park and
Shangan Road. Climbing a staircase for six floors is not an easy task with
children or with any physical disability. Pickerings have been told that
their maintenance contract will not be renewed. Four staff members have
been let go and the dispute ended up in the Labour Court which ruled that
four weeks per year extra redundancy and last in first out should be the
method of reducing the staff compliment. Pickerings lifts stated that they
have no contract for service provision since March 4th.

This issue is being pressed by local public representatives and may require
a legal route or emergency intervention by the army engineers in some
cases. Whatever it takes has to be done to alleviate the situation in
Ballymun. The time for delay has passed.