Unity is strength
May Day came and went last weekend. Across Ireland most us took time
out to enjoy the good weather, many oblivious to the reason why we
have a bank holiday on the first Monday in May. The same way the vast
majority of Irish workers are ignorant of the fact they owe their
right to paid annual holidays to the women laundry workers who in the
late 1940s fought a bitter and long dispute to win a basic right.
The problem with May Day is that, for the vast majority of people,
marking the struggles of other workers in the present and the past,
both in Ireland and internationally, has become a meaningless
exercise.
Why? Are workers so much better off now that the concept of an
international workers' day doesn't have any relevance to them. It
clearly does. Workers' rights have been substantially eroded
throughout the 1990s. Their wages and working conditions have
deteriorated substantially.
Workers seem not to recognise these realities. They have let
themselves be conditioned by their employers, who peddle the cult of
the individual. They believe there is no reason to form bonds with
their fellow workers. This ideology is found throughout the Irish
workplace.
Workers are sold the myth that their rights are guaranteed, that
their employer treats them all equally, so there is no need for
unions. However workers are being exploited more than ever before by
the same employers.
The problem with May Day is not just that workers are being
exploited; it is also the fact that they have been let down by the
leadership of the trade union movement. It is they who have conceded
the ideological ground to employers and by default are losing the
battle for workers' rights also.
The trade union leadership, like many workers, hasforgotten the vital
element of trade unionism. Yes we are all individuals whose rights
are crucially important, but as all socialist republicans know, those
rights can be best guaranteed and promoted collectively. We must
remember that unity is strength.
![[An Phoblacht]](http://republican-news.org/graphics/title_gifs/harp.gif)