Courts / Wicklow / Report
Film worker claimed he was 'blackballed' for being too close to union rep
Summary
Stephen Preston, a stage hand with 16 years of experience at Metropolitan Films, claimed he was blackballed after his union shop steward, John Arkins, spoke to an Oireachtas committee about alleged industry practices. Preston alleged that he was told he was "too close" to Arkins and would never be rehired. He and fellow stage hand Nigel Murphy filed complaints under the Protection of Employees (Fixed-Term Work) Act 2003, but the Workplace Relations Commission ruled the claims were brought outside the statutory time limits. The Commission found neither man was an employee of Metropolitan, and both had last worked for the company more than twelve months before filing. Consequently, the Commission had no jurisdiction to investigate, and the complaints were dismissed as statute‑barred. The decision was part of a larger series of 39 complaints from IFWA members lodged between December 2019 and March 2020.
Who, what, where, when and why
What: Report matter: Film worker claimed he was 'blackballed' for being too close to union rep. Procedural stage: hearing_or_decision
When:
- February 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
- 13 February 2018 Hearing Or Sentence
- March 2019 Other
- November 2019 Hearing Or Sentence
- 19 July 2017 Other
- 31 August 2017 Other
- 30 July 2018 Other
- 5 October 2018 Other
- December 2019 Other
- September 2018 Other
- October 2018 Other
- December 2018 Other
- January 2019 Other
- March 2020 Other
- 2022-04-22 Publication
Why: Ms Murray, of the Irish Film Workers' Association, said it was "because of that Joint Oireachtas Committee hearing" that Mr Arkins and others – including Mr Preston and Mr Murphy, lost their jobs. CNI source report
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