Offaly All-Ireland winner John Guinan goes on hunger strike

[Bord na Mona man]

Former All-Ireland winning footballer goes on hunger strike

Wednesday February 24 2010

A former All-Ireland footballer today went on hunger strike alongside a frozen food plant co-worker over management's refusal to reinstate or compensate three sacked staff.

John Guinan, a Green Isle Foods engineer, joined the picket with shop steward Jim Wyse who began his protest last Wednesday.

Unions claim the firm has failed to accept Labour Court recommendations to settle the bitter row over the dismissed employees.

Guinan, a member of the Offaly team which won the All-Ireland in 1982 and prevented Kerry winning five All-Irelands in a row, has worked as a maintenance engineer at the plant for 13 years.

The pair and colleagues have been picketing the company's Naas plant for the past six months over claims a number of staff were dismissed when a confidential file with restructuring proposals was mistakenly sent to an employee who shared the information with co-workers.

The Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) said that like 58-year-old Wyse - who is now entering his second week on hunger strike - Guinan was not one of the men dismissed last July.

However it maintained the men were taking action in a bid to get the Kildare-based company to come up with an acceptable deal.

Green Isle Foods, which is a division of the British multinational Northern Foods, has agreed to enter talks with the union although no agreement has been made between the parties.

"The union welcomes the company's agreement to engage in talks but Jim Wyse and his colleagues will continue with the hunger strike protest until an acceptable settlement can be reached," said a union spokesman.

Meanwhile a rally organised by the Kildare Council of Trade Unions in support of the strikers will go ahead as planned this Saturday.

http://www.independent.ie/national-news ... ml?start=1

[Daingean Exile]

Heard about this from another website. Wish John all the best. Seems like an extreme response to an industrial dispute, but the management at Green Isle haven't covered themselves in glory in this matter. Hope that the dispute can be resolved soon.

On a lighter note John Guinan should know that management nearly always wins, doesn't he remember what happened to Mick Wright when he fell out with the management.

[black and red exile]

This is huge news here in Kildare, the local radio station KFM are covering it morning noon and night. It's very sad and also very serious, there are no winners here, Jim Wyse is now on his ninth day of his hunger strike and at the moment the dispute is showing no sign of resolve. Very sad.

[Archangel]

I worked and played inter-firms football with John.....sound man. Best of Luck to him.