Mandate (trade union)
Encyclopedia
The Mandate trade union
was formed in 1994 with the amalgamation of IDATU and INUVGATA trade unions.
It describes itself as:
It is affiliated with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions
.
, Co. Cork, a founding member of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions
. The union was founded after a major fire took the lives of a number of female shop workers in Limerick
who were living in cramped and unsafe conditions overhead one of the city's major drapery shops.
The union later changed its name to the Irish Union of Distributive Workers and Clerks (IUDWC), but this was again changed in the early 1980 to the Irish Distributive & Administrative Trade Union (IDATU).
The union experienced rapid growth in the 1980s under the stewardship of General Secretary John Mitchell who was seen as a left-winger. In 1984 a number of female workers at Dunnes Stores
department store in Henry Street
, Dublin refused to sell South African oranges as part of the growing campaign against the Apartheid regime then in power. Mitchell gave full support to the workers and a long strike / lockout ensued . The action made international headlines and at one stage a delegation of Dunnes Workers led by Mitchell were expelled from South Africa where they had gone to meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Mitchell was ousted from his position in 1988, leading to a major controversy and claims of unfair dismissal from himself and leading supporters. He was also heavily criticised for expanding the union into Northern Ireland where a row took place with the rival GMB union. Mitchell took legal action to secure reinstatement but eventually the union made a settlement with him, but he was not reinstated.
Some years later the union merged with INUVGATA to become Mandate, a move criticised by some members because the word "union" was not contained in the title. Later the union was renamed Mandate Trade Union. A new logo was designed in 2009.
Trade union
A trade union, trades union or labor union is an organization of workers that have banded together to achieve common goals such as better working conditions. The trade union, through its leadership, bargains with the employer on behalf of union members and negotiates labour contracts with...
was formed in 1994 with the amalgamation of IDATU and INUVGATA trade unions.
It describes itself as:
- The Union of Retail, Bar and Administrative Workers
It is affiliated with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions
Irish Congress of Trade Unions
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions , formed in 1959 by the merger of the Irish Trade Union Congress and the Congress of Irish Unions , is a national trade union centre, the umbrella organisation to which trade unions in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland affiliate.-Influence:There...
.
History
The two unions which merged to form Mandate had long histories of their own. IDATU (the Irish Distributive & Administrative Union) was founded as the Drapery Assistants Association around 1903 by Michael O'Lehane of MacroomMacroom
Macroom is a market town in Ireland located in a valley on the River Sullane, a tributary of the River Lee, between Cork and Killarney. It is one of the key gateways to the tourist region of West Cork. The town recorded a population on 3,553 in the 2006 national census...
, Co. Cork, a founding member of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions
Irish Congress of Trade Unions
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions , formed in 1959 by the merger of the Irish Trade Union Congress and the Congress of Irish Unions , is a national trade union centre, the umbrella organisation to which trade unions in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland affiliate.-Influence:There...
. The union was founded after a major fire took the lives of a number of female shop workers in Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
who were living in cramped and unsafe conditions overhead one of the city's major drapery shops.
The union later changed its name to the Irish Union of Distributive Workers and Clerks (IUDWC), but this was again changed in the early 1980 to the Irish Distributive & Administrative Trade Union (IDATU).
The union experienced rapid growth in the 1980s under the stewardship of General Secretary John Mitchell who was seen as a left-winger. In 1984 a number of female workers at Dunnes Stores
Dunnes Stores
Dunnes Stores, also known as Dunnes, is a supermarket and clothing retail chain, that is based in Dublin, Ireland.The chain primarily sells food, clothes and household wares. In addition to its main customer base in Ireland, the chain has operations in Great Britain and Spain...
department store in Henry Street
Henry Street (Dublin)
Henry Street is located on Dublin's Northside and is one of the two principal shopping streets of Dublin , running from the Spire of Dublin and the General Post Office on O'Connell Street in the east to Liffey Street in the west...
, Dublin refused to sell South African oranges as part of the growing campaign against the Apartheid regime then in power. Mitchell gave full support to the workers and a long strike / lockout ensued . The action made international headlines and at one stage a delegation of Dunnes Workers led by Mitchell were expelled from South Africa where they had gone to meet Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Mitchell was ousted from his position in 1988, leading to a major controversy and claims of unfair dismissal from himself and leading supporters. He was also heavily criticised for expanding the union into Northern Ireland where a row took place with the rival GMB union. Mitchell took legal action to secure reinstatement but eventually the union made a settlement with him, but he was not reinstated.
Some years later the union merged with INUVGATA to become Mandate, a move criticised by some members because the word "union" was not contained in the title. Later the union was renamed Mandate Trade Union. A new logo was designed in 2009.