Tech workers at Covalen, an outsourcing company operating for Meta in Co Dublin, will be out on strike in Sandyford from 1:30pm to 7:30pm Tuesday 6 January. This is a significant strike of workers because tech is key area of the Irish economy. The redundancy strategy Covalen is taking may be marking a significant negative change in terms of employment prospects in this key industry, which has been a target employment area for many young people in Ireland today.
"This is actually our second public action," said Ian McArdle of the Communication Workers Union, "Legal Ops staged a day of action on 10 December. Tomorrow our full Covalen membership will be out on the picket."
Over 100 tech workers have confirmed they will be picketing in Sandyford in front of Meta’s Nova Atria building.
Members of the public are welcome to show support.
Workers were informed that approximately 420 workers are to be made redundant. These redundancies are set to be at the statutory minimums, like the Iceland workers, or those at Body Shop closures two years ago with no enhancements as has been the norm in the industry.
Communications Workers Union said they were mandated to organise the picket officially with a ballot of their members who voted to overwhelmingly to strike in response to events at Covalen.
McArdle said, "What we are seeing is the ripple effect of Mark Zuckerberg’s implementation of AI. The treatment of these workers in this industry in this instance is shambolic. It’s happening without a right to collective bargaining. The statutory minimum payment (Covalen's current redundancy strategy) is simply the cheapest option.
"This is Covalen having robbed these workers of Christmas dinner and then leaving them penniless in the new year. Even TikTok had more substantial redundancy packages.”
McArdle said “The 'sunny uplands' of the tech bros now operate by the same old cold rules of capitalism as the rest of the economy. So things have shifted quite a bit. Tech industry workers see this. As a union we have changed too. We’ve set up DATA [the Digital And Techworker Alliance] for workers in the Irish tech sector. It’s worker-driven, completely online, completely confidential. You can join in privacy. Everyone in tech role should join.”
People Before Profit supports these workers and their action. All workers should get organised and be in a union. Socialists will be down to the strike to support. Pickets are on tomorrow from 1:30 to 7:30pm.
One worker who will be striking tomorrow they gave us the interview below.
PBP: What are people hoping to get out of this strike?
Worker A: The company has been taking away benefits (food, flexible shift options, work from home, excess break time we get to process graphic content we see and so on) and putting more pressure on workers. We demand an increase in wage, more flexibility and more help with planning our life around this job. We also want enhanced redundancy packages for the people made redundant, since Dublin is a harsh financial environment to live in.
PBP: Was the day of action for Legal Ops about a different issue or is it the same ie redundancies?
Worker A: Legal Ops found out that they were being underpaid and undervalued according to the companies own playbook. Since almost the entire team unionised they did a separate strike to demand role recognition and a higher pay. But it probably would make more sense to talk to a Legal Ops person to get clearer details. It was not about redundancies as far as I know.
PBP: How did you get together to talk about fighting back and is that why people unionising now?
Worker A: I signed up a few months ago, as soon as I found out there is a union. I have some savings and people who can help me out if things go wrong so I wasn’t as scared as some other workers might be. There are union members scattered around the company so I heard about it from a coworker who is in the same team as me. We use company communication software to make group chats without management to discuss these things. The reason so many people are joining are not just the redundancies but the increased pressure the company has put on us in the last months, whilst also getting less flexible and not compensating for lost benefits like food. That alone costs me 400 euro per month for example. I have to live very cheap to even put a tiny bit of money aside. I can’t even imagine how someone with kids manages their finances.
PBP: Can anyone working in tech join a union?
Worker A: Yes, it is our legal right to be able to do that. (Note: Article 40.6.1.iii of the Irish Constitution guarantees the right to association and union membership.)
PBP: Had you ever been in a union before?
Worker A: No, this is my first time, but I also never felt like I had to join one until now. But it’s necessary because the company will simply keep taking away more benefits whilst refusing to raise our wage a significant amount.
PBP: Are you hopeful, nervous, angry about the situation right now?
Worker A: I am mostly hopeful. A lot of people are scared, but I am glad I'm able to participate in the fight because it makes me feel like I am standing up for myself and others. Whether or not we will succeed is to be seen.
PBP: Aside from other tech workers who can obviously join your union to grow the reach and power of the union, and aside from sharing the action and story on social media, how else can people support you? (Visit the picket? Send messages of support? Petitions?)
Worker A: As far as I know anyone can show up to the building and support us, since the area around the building is public space and the union has no influence on who stands where. A petition isn’t a bad idea either, the work conditions in the tech industry are definitely not as good as they should be in Ireland and people should unite to make the companies know they can only get away with things to a certain point!
PBP: Good luck tomorrow. Solidarity from everyone in People Before Profit.