Eugene McDonagh, sacked Dublin Bus shop steward and member of the NBRU executive, has won his case on the first day of the Employment Appeals Tribunal yesterday. The case was expected to run for up to a week.
He won the maximum amount of compensation the court would have awarded. Dublin Bus settled outside without reinstatement. Eugene also gets a reference and legal costs.
Bar reinststement it was the best he could do. It was an understandable outcome, though still shocking that a senior union representative in Dublin Bus could be victimised and sacked for unofficial action. But, as has been pointed out by his supporters, it couldn’t have happened without the OK of the NBRU leadership.
Well done to Eugene and his work, union and political colleagues for their stamina and solidarity. It is bloody awful that we now have an industrial relations system whereby, on top of a prohibition on strike action for an individual case, it takes two years for a case to get to the Employment Appeals Tribunal.
Best wishes for your future, Eugene. Please write up this whole saga in detail and publish it for the benefit of the whole movement.
Thanks to Paula at Trade Union TV for this video of the solidarity gathering for Eugene outside the ETA just prior to the scheduled start of the case yesterday morning (6th February):
SIPTU Activist 