SIPTU (; ''Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union''; ) is

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

's largest trade union, with around 200,000 members. Most of these members are in the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

, although the union does have a

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District Committee. Its head office,

Liberty Hall Liberty Hall (), in Dublin, Ireland, is the headquarters of the Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union (SIPTU). Designed by Desmond Rea O'Kelly, it was completed in 1965. It was for a time the tallest building in the countr ...

, is in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, and the union has five industrial divisions, three in the private sector and two in the public sector. SIPTU is affiliated to the

Irish Congress of Trade Unions The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (often abbreviated to just Congress or ICTU), formed in 1959 by the merger of the Irish Trades Union Congress (founded in 1894) and the Congress of Irish Unions (founded in 1945), is a national trade union cent ...

History

The Union has its roots in two separate trade unions both founded by the trade union leader and socialist activist

James Larkin James Larkin (28 January 1874 – 30 January 1947), sometimes known as Jim Larkin or Big Jim, was an Irish republicanism, Irish republican, socialist and trade union leader. He was one of the founders of the Irish Labour Party (Ireland), Labou ...

; the

Irish Transport and General Workers' Union The Irish Transport and General Workers Union (ITGWU) was a trade union representing workers, initially mainly labourers, in Ireland. History The union was founded by James Larkin and James Fearon in January 1909 as a general union. Initially ...

and the Federated Workers' Union of Ireland. The two unions merged in 1990 to create SIPTU. The merge was first proposed in the 1950s, and almost happened in 1969. SIPTU is a

general union A general union is a trade union (called ''labor union'' in American English) which represents workers from all industries and companies, rather than just one organisation or a particular sector, as in a craft union or industrial union. A gen ...

which organises across the public and private sectors in Ireland and has large numbers of members working in construction, health, education, transport and manufacturing. It has a long-term commitment to delivering social solidarity and has developed a leadership role in the areas of rights for unemployed persons, people with disabilities and older persons. The union, as part of promoting fairness at work and justice in society, includes migrant workers in Ireland and campaigns on the twin issues of the exploitation of migrant workers, particularly those from

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and

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, and the consequent displacement of Irish workers from employment. The union established an Organising Unit in 2004 and its former president, Jack O'Connor, set as his objective the transformation of SIPTU - hitherto firmly committed to a servicing agenda - into an organising union.Arthur Marsh and John B. Smethurst, ''Historical Directory of Trade Unions'', vol.5, pp.440-441

Mergers

Since its formation, several smaller unions have merged into SIPTU: :1991: Irish National Painters' and Decorators' Trade Union :1993: Irish Writers' Union :1997: Automobile, General Engineering and Mechanical Operatives' Union :1998: Irish Print Union, Marine, Port and General Workers' Union,

Professional Footballers' Association of Ireland The Professional Footballers' Association of Ireland (PFAI) is the representative body for professional and semi-professional footballers in Republic of Ireland. Players from all nationalities in the League of Ireland are represented, not just Iri ...

:2002: Musicians' Union of Ireland

Leadership

General secretaries

:1990: Tom Garry and

Christy Kirwan Christopher Kirwan (died 24 November 2013) was an Irish Labour Party politician and trade unionist. He served as a member of Seanad Éireann from 1983 to 1987. He was nominated by the Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald to the 17th Seanad in 1983. He d ...

:1994:

Bill Attley William A. Attley (born 5 April 1938) is a former Irish trade unionist and football referee. Born in Rathcoole, County Dublin, Attley studied at the National College of Industrial Relations. He became active in the Workers' Union of Ireland ( ...

:1998:

John McDonnell John Martin McDonnell (born 8 September 1951) is a British politician who served as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer from 2015 to 2020. He has been the Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Hayes and Harlington ...

:2002:

Joe O'Flynn Joe O'Flynn is an Irish trade union leader and former politician. Born in the Fairhill area of Cork,

:2020: Joe Cunningham

General presidents

:1990: John Carroll and Bill Attley :1990:

and

Edmund Browne Edmund Browne (born 1937) is an Irish former trade unionist. Browne became active in the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU), and was elected as vice president in 1983, defeating Des Geraghty by a margin which surprised his sup ...

:1994: Edmund Browne :1997:

Jimmy Somers Jimmy Somers (2 November 1939 – 12 January 2024) was an Irish trade unionist, former President of SIPTU and Labour Party activist. Biography Born in Cabra, Dublin, Somers became active in the Irish Transport and General Workers' Union (ITGWU) ...

:1999:

Des Geraghty Desmond Geraghty (born 27 October 1943) is an Irish former politician and trade union leader. He was president of SIPTU from 1999 to 2004. He stood unsuccessfully at the 1984 European Parliament election for the Dublin constituency as a Worker ...

:2003: Jack O'Connor :2017: ''Position abolished''

Vice presidents

:1990: Tom Murphy and Edmund Browne :1990: Tom Murphy :1994:

:1997:

:2000: Jack O'Connor :2003: Brendan Hayes :2010:

Patricia King Patricia King is an Irish trade unionist. Born in County Wicklow, King worked as a trade union organiser for many years before being appointed as the Dublin organiser of SIPTU (Services, Industrial, Professional and Technical Union) in 2004. ...

:2015: Gene Mealy :2017: ''Position abolished''

References

External links

SIPTU official websiteLiberty - official newspaper
Trade unions in the Republic of Ireland All-Ireland organisations Trade unions established in 1990 1990 establishments in Ireland Healthcare trade unions in Ireland {{Europe-trade-union-stub