Crunch time for trade unions
The best and worst of the Irish trade union movement was on view
last week in the 26 Counties. On the positive side workers in
Dublin, Waterford, Cork, Kilkenny and Limerick took to the
streets in support of the basic right of a worker to picket their
employer.
It is now clearly true that building workers throughout the 26
Counties are deeply concerned about the black economy on building
sites as well as health and safety issues. An often peddled lie
is that only building workers in Dublin are unionised and that
industrial relations issues do not matter outside the capital.
Workers imprisoned
On the negative side two building workers were imprisoned, one of
whom was needlessly arrested at five in the morning. Irish
workers were promised that the Industrial Relations Act became
law that the act would not be used to against them by employers.
The sad truth is that since 1990 the Industrial Relations Act has
been used consistently by employers to prevent pickets, threaten
workers and deny their right to take industrial action.
other downside was the lack of leadership from the Irish
Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU). The ICTU remained silent about
the dispute which is strange considering that workers don't get
imprisoned every day.
ICTU's failure
This week ICTU General Secretary Peter Cassells found the time to
condemn the ``invasion'' of farmers into city protesting about
falling income. Does Cassells believe you can pick and choose who
has the right to protest in their capital city?
other downside to the building workers dispute was the action
taken by some workers who entered offices of the Plasters Union,
who rent offices in the Building and Allied Trades Union
Building.
They threw files into the road and then burned them. Bill O'Brien
Chairperson of the BATU's Dublin Regional Council speaking in a
personal capacity told an Phoblacht that he ``unreservedly
condemned the attack on the plasters''.
Judicial Review
Part of the differences between the Plasters and BATU stem from
an agreement on the role of subcontractors on building sites
between the ICTU's Construction Industry Committee and the
Construction and Industry Federation.
BATU are seeking a judicial review of agreement. Regional
organiser Denis Farrell told An Phoblacht that ``No members of any
union have voted on this agreement''. Bill O'Brien said the
agreement was deficient in that there was no requirement on
subcontractors to be bonded in case of bankruptcy. Main
contractors are not responsible for the sub contractors they hire
and the process to investigate and solve problems is too slow.
Unofficial pickets returned to the two building sites at the
centre of this dispute yesterday. Now is there a need for the
trade union movement to regroup as a whole and plan a way forward
that benefits all workers. The ICTU must lead the campaign in
favour of these workers rights. Anything less means they are
siding with the employers against their own members.
Quote The ICTU remained silent about the dispute which is strange
considering that workers don't get imprisoned every day
Dear Charlie McCreevy
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Social welfare rates have risen by only 16% over the last four
years while average income has increased by 28%.
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Charlie a chara
Now that it is less than six weeks to budget day you are probably
making up the most glittering package of tax breaks mixed with
clever spending plans that you can muster up. The pressure is on
to deliver a voter friendly budget especially as the Fianna Fail
leadership consider whether it is possible to go for an early
election next year.
You have been subjected to some fairly intense lobbying from all
quarters. However in the last week two fairly important groups
have put in their penny's worth.
First in was the International Monetary Fund (IMF) who peddled
there usual cocktail of restraining spending growth, fending off
public sector wage claims and watering down the already piecemeal
minimum wage proposals.
One interesting point the IMF did make was that if there were to
be tax cuts in the budget they should be ones that ``should be
directed to strengthening work incentives for the low paid.
The Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) make a similar
but much more eloquent case for tax cuts that help the low paid
in a new study published this week. Their study found that the
last four budgets have aided the well off. In fact the poorest
have lost out compared to other economic groups.
Social welfare rates have risen by only 16% over the last four
years while average income has increased by 28%.
Charlie last year you ignored the advice of many organisation who
said that available funds for tax cuts should go to increasing
the personal tax allowances and take the low paid out of the tax
net. This year the case for such a policy is ever more urgent.
This is the time to be a Robin Hood Charlie not another sheriff
of Nottingham.
Is mise,
Neil Forde
AIB's economic imperialism
One of the unmentioned downsides of Ireland's status as a first
world economy is the role played by both the state and it's
companies as exploitative economic imperialists. It might sound
like a dated term but what other way could you describe the media
reports of AIB's bid to buy Poland's biggest commercial bank
Grupa Pekao.
The Polish government is to sell a 55% stake in the bank. Why?
Because like so many public utilities in the 26 Counties there
are demands from the EU, the IMF and other unelected global
economic institutions that these public owned resources be
privatised.
It is sad to see AIB, a bank borne out of an economy which has
suffered so much under the yoke of foreign economic exploitation
enter the vanguard of similar exploitation in Poland.
AIB are only interested in the potential profit this bank can
yield for them. They have no interest in the welfare of the
Polish economy and what effect a deregulated banking system could
have for a fragile economy.
AIB already have a stake in a Polish bank and are now seeking to
expand further into this economy. In the long run it will use its
banking foothold in Poland to expand further taking the profits
earned in one economy and putting them into another not to aid
development but to make still more money. If that isn't economic
imperialism, tell me what is?
Third Force Bank
The announcement of merger talks between Irish Life and Irish
Permanent made their shareholders fairly happy this week as share
prices rose on the prosepct of the market power and profits the
new banking entity could wield.
If the two banks merge they will be the third largest financial
institution in the state after AIB and Bank of Ireland. The fact
that Irish Life used to be state owned shows that the losers in
this new scenario are the Irish people. If such a company had
been state owned the considerable profits could have been
invested in the Irish economy, in the Irish people.
It is now five years since we were promised a third force state
bank. Now the private sector has delivered such a bank and the
benefits will flow only to them and not to the people such a bank
was supposed to be for.
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/aprn.gif)