OVER THE LAST few months we've witnessed the level of =
industrial action jumping from virtually none to disputes =
erupting in An Post, Eircell, Trinity College and the Civil =
Service. The government has asked the Irish Congress of =
Trade Unions get their members into line, i.e. to ensure no =
more disputes arise. The bad news for our government is =
that it appears that this current round of industrial action is =
not about to quickly fade away.
That the Government can talk to the ICTU leaders as =
friends is indicative of the cosy relationship which has =
come about over the last ten years. There has now been a =
decade of "social partnership" agreements between =
themselves and the trade union leadership. 'Our rulers' in =
the D=E1il expect trade unions to police their own members, =
i.e. to discourage disputes and encourage the membership =
to leave it up to the full-time negotiators to hammer out a =
"good deal" for them every three years. This policy, =
however, does not extend to saving jobs as the former =
workers from TEAM Aer Lingus, Digital (Galway), =
Waterford Glass, or Packard can tell you.
These national agreements see the unions enter into =
negotiations with the government and employers, usually =
complete with staged 'breakdowns' and threatened =
withdrawals. Then a programme arises ensuring that pay =
rises are kept to a minimum in return for some - mostly =
ignored - promises about job creation, social welfare, =
taxation, etc. The reality of the PNR, PESP & PCW is that =
they put severe limits on what workers can look for but =
place absolutely no limits on what employers can demand =
from workers.
The highly restrictive Industrial Relations Act, which was =
brought in following a commitment in the PNR, has led to =
a virtual decommissioning of the most powerful weapon =
open to any organised workforce, the strike. To give =
examples of how restrictive the act is ...under the Act seven =
day's strike notice has to be served on the =
employer/company before any action is taken, which =
allows time to recruit strikebreakers or to move production =
elsewhere. =
Furthermore it is illegal to have a dispute over one =
person's rights without first going through months of =
procedures. So if a shop steward is sacked you can't walk =
off the job without the risk of the union or even the =
individual strikers being sued On top of all this, the social =
aspect of each agreement has been ignored. The =
unemployed, the great lost tribe of our time, has largely =
remained forgotten about. =
Ireland has one of the largest levels of long-term =
unemployment in Europe. This is despite profits well in =
excess of European averages being made by both Irish and =
multi-national companies here. All of this is adding to a =
rising discontentment within the Irish workforce as we =
head into towards the winter when the government hope =
to hammer out yet another national agreement. =
Despite all this, the membership of unions continues to =
grow. The Irish Nurses Organisation grew by 3,000 over =
April and May as looked like they were heading towards a =
dispute with the government. The shop workers union, =
MANDATE, also experienced a rise in membership as a =
result of the strike in Dunnes Stores. Far from frightening =
off workers, as some union officials claim, a fight to =
improve wages and conditions puts heart into people and =
encourages them to join a union. =
52% of the entire Irish workforce is in a trade union. This =
is the one of the highest percentages in Europe. Small =
battles are being won all the time, despite the national =
agreements and all that goes with them. Workers have not =
forgotten how to fight or what their rights should be. The =
battles will continue. =
But another fight will be within the unions as members =
struggle to gain control over their own struggles. It will =
have to be wrested from a bureaucracy that has tightened its =
grip on the reins of power over the last ten years. The trade =
union movement has to be brought back to fighting for the =
rights of workers rather than watching the ICTU throwing =
them away over a negotiation table.
Dermot Sreenan
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Noam Chomsky on Anarchism
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2724/noamrbr2.html
Anarchist Publications at
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/2724/anpubdx.html
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