hunger strike

might seem like a bit of a drastic title but that's exactly what a friend of mine is planning on doing.
he was suspended from work about a month ago with a recommendation to be sacked,there was an appeal hearing a couple of weeks ago and he was informed today that he's been sacked from his job.pretty sh1t thing to do,especially being so close to xmas.
anyway,he's planning on going on hunger strike outside the offices of his employer starting tomorrow morning.
obviously as his friend i don't want to see him go down that road but he obviously feels very hard done by.
i was just wondering if anyone on here had any suggestions as to how he could go about highlighting his case to as many people as possible?

 

Green Isle foods just around the corner from me had something similar not so long ago a fella went on hunger strike. Was in all local papers Kildare Post, Leinster Leader etc. and on KFM regularly so I guess thats the type of news outlets he should contact. If you Google the Green Isle one I'd imagine you'll find a bit of info.

 

yeah,i was reading a thread on boards.ie about that allright.

 

Remeber seeing those Boys out in Baltic conditions down on the Monread road, the Poor ****ers, and that went on for a while too..

My suggestion would be get on to Joe Duffy..Then get onto the Evening Hearld, The Metro and a couple of other Media Outlets.Keep informing them every day or so of how things are going just so the case doesnt go stale...

Also Facebook and Twitter have a huge Captive Audience too, and those pages are quiet easy to set up.

Best of Luck to your mate, as id imagine at this time of year its going to be even more diffcult to do.

 

What was he sacked for if you don't mind me asking?

 

I presume he has tried the labour relations commission or sought advice from some employment solicitor?

Call joe.. for publicity

Fair play to him for sticking with what he believes in I'm not sure I could have gone that far

 

Everything hinges on that question.Unfortunately he wont get anyones ear if he was sacked legitimately.
But hope it turns out ok for him..whatever action he intends to take.

 

ya and i presume if they have done a hearing they have covered themselves from legal action and things like this

 

A lad chained himself to Bord Gais HQ and rang Joe from there the day of the leaving cert results. Would probably have as much affect as starving himself without the obvious risks that the latter involves.

Unfortunatley Joe Duffy is only way to get anything done in this country but as Juan has said, its a hopeless case unless he was wronged. Hope it all works out.

 

I don't know the whole story but from what I can gather a work colleague made an allegation against him and they took that person's word against his.there was little or no proof.
His area manager didn't like him by all accounts and basically built a case against him over time and turned a lot of his colleagues against him.the person that made the allegation against him didn't get on with him at all either.he got verbal and written warnings for minor things as far as I know (absenteeism,punctuality) and this allegation was the cherry on the cake.
He's adamant the allegation is false

 

If they can't prove the allegation then he definitely has a case but with him already having the verbal and written warnings against him then it wouldnt have taken much for them to get rid of him so if they've sacked him on an unproven allegation they've been really silly.

As regards the hunger strike, although i admire him for sticking up for his principles, he should make sure he exhausts all avenues open to him before he goes down that road. For me that would definitely be a last resort. Good luck to him all the same.

 

If hes gone to the LRC etc and hasnt got a case then sorry but this won't do anything except make him look silly.

If he hasnt exhausted other avenues then he is just silly.

 

Yeah that'd be my thinking on the matter too but he has made up his mind that this is what he wants to do.
He hasn't gone to the LRC by the way.can't say I blame him to be honest,I've a case with the LRC at the mo and it's ongoing 18 months now..

 

what is he hoping to achieve here?

No way he'll get his job back obviously and if he were to make the papers and media etc he might actually hurt his chances of getting another job. If he wants compensation then he has to go down the legal route but only if he has a very strong case but the chances are if his company have been by the book so far by issuing written warnings etc they must be fairly competant in HR matters which would give me the impression that they're very confident in the legality of their decision.

 

Thanks gerry i'll pass that info on to him.
I reckon if he was to go down the legal/LRC route he would eventually win his case..

 

i know this sounds a silly question but is he unionised?if hes in a union and this is really his last resort theyll stand with him on it.

 

The first thing he needs to do is sit tight and calm down because if they have a legally covered themselves over his sacking it will harm his chances of getting another job if he starts such drastic action . Then he should go about building his case against his former employers . He should try and dig out all his written warnings and if he has any friends left in the job he should ask them to back him up on the fact he was being bullied . Then he should to his union if he is in one . Then go to the LRC and then hopefully they will get him compensation or his job back .

 

i think he feels he pretty much has no chance of ever getting another job anyway after being sacked from his current job.
he has gone ahead with it anyway,got a txt earlier saying he's outside the offices of his employer...