A-Infos (en) Anarkismo.net: Ireland, Beyond the Slogan of a General Strike - Mc Glone wasn't all wrong (fr)

Thoughts on the unions fight against austerity in Ireland ---- The numbers at Saturday’s 
anti-austerity march were impressive given the relatively low key build up, but what was 
more impressive was the militant mood of the protesters. This was exemplified by the 
booing and heckling of ICTU president Eugene Mc Glone with chants calling for a General 
Strike. Mc Glone, in the style of a seasoned professional union official managed to pick 
himself up and give a speech which though cynical in delivery, bore more than a grain of 
truth that the radical left should not dismiss out of hand. ---- The gist of the ICTU 
president’s speech was that you can’t just pull a general strike out of a hat; you must 
build for it and win support in your union and in society in general.

It should not be just “called” by those at the top of the unions but fought for by the 
rank and file. In this context, Mc Glone correctly showed that the slogan of “general 
strike now” is little more than ultra-left rhetoric.


SWP demand is just rhetoric

The numbers at Saturday’s anti-austerity march were impressive given the relatively low 
key build up, but what was more impressive was the militant mood of the protesters. This 
was exemplified by the booing and heckling of ICTU president Eugene Mc Glone with chants 
calling for a General Strike. Mc Glone, in the style of a seasoned professional union 
official managed to pick himself up and give a speech which though cynical in delivery, 
bore more than a grain of truth that the radical left should not dismiss out of hand.

The gist of the ICTU president’s speech was that you can’t just pull a general strike out 
of a hat; you must build for it and win support in your union and in society in general. 
It should not be just “called” by those at the top of the unions but fought for by the 
rank and file. In this context, Mc Glone correctly showed that the slogan of “general 
strike now” is little more than ultra-left rhetoric.

The cynical side of Mc Glone’s argument though is that the bureaucratic nature of 
Ireland’s trade union movement makes this process incredibly cumbersome. The time it takes 
from when you get a motion passed by your union branch to the time it gets passed by your 
annual conference can be over six months. At every step of the way you will have 
professional officials and long-time junket chasers blocking your path, using scare 
tactics to ensure that your motion never gets off the ground. Even if in one union we 
manage to overcome those obstacles, we need to face the exact same in several of the big 
unions for a motion calling for a general strike having any chance of getting passed by 
the general council of ICTU.

It would be easy to blame this state of affairs solely on “bad leaders” like Jack O’Conner 
and David Begg or a conservative union rank and file but beyond the black and white 
pictures painted by both the radical left and the right wing bureaucrats is a reality that 
encompasses many colours and shades.

The union leadership did not fall from the moon. It reflects the objective situation we 
find ourselves in after years of economic boom and social partnership. Large sections of 
the workforce found themselves in a position of comfort that made the idea of rocking the 
boat seem ludicrous. The net effect was that a once vibrant and comabitative trade union 
movement fell victim to demobilisation and complacency. A gulf opened up between the 
membership and the leadership and all that was left in between was the junket chaser and 
the radical left, neither of which spoke directly to the experience of the rank and file.

A prime example of this is the workforce of Tara mines on the outskirts of Navan, a town 
that once was famous for industry and trade union militancy. During the 1970’s and 1980’s 
a series of strikes at the mines led to pay and conditions that meant that getting a job 
there was like winning the lottery compared to the “options” of unemployment and 
emigration. By 2001, social partnership had taken such a toll that when the mines closed 
for six months citing economic instability cause by 9/11 as the reason (even though 
Outokumpu, the multinational that then owned it was able to boast huge profits on its 
website), the only response that SIPTU could muster was to hold a march through the town. 
Since then, a series of changes in work practices and wage cuts have eaten away at the 
gains brought about by the militant workers of yesteryear.

That the union bureaucrats happily encourage this situation should come as no surprise. 
Social partnership gave them a privileged place in society, very well paid jobs and a seat 
at the table with government and employers. The majority of the left on the other hand, 
though it bemoans the role played by these leaders, simply perpetuate the clientelist 
union model by trying to replace them with others who are a bit more to the left, as if a 
few more radical people at the tops of the unions can substitute for class consciousness 
and militancy. The net result is that rather than building steadily towards a trade union 
movement that has the confidence and ability to fight against austerity, we set course on 
a series of short-cuts that lead into one cul-de-sac after another.

Even if we did manage to win over enough union executives to set the wheels of a strike 
wave in motion, the rank and file would be woefully unprepared for this. Strikes would be 
seen by many as simply another day’s pay lost. Indeed without rank and file militancy a 
general strike would only be a glorified day of protest. The government and IBEC would 
have little to fear from a 24 hour stoppage or two if it was just a matter of business as 
usual the next day. Indeed, the government might cynically see it as a chance to save a 
few quid in public sector pay.

The good news is that the militancy on show on Saturday, despite Jack O’Connor’s loaded 
comments that it was ULA and Sinn Féin supporters heckling McGlone, came from a broad 
spectrum of people. There is a basis for building class consciousness and rank and file 
militancy, but there are no short cuts. Empty sloganeering and mirroring the approach of 
the bureaucracy will get us nowhere. If we are to build this movement, if we are to build 
towards a general strike, we need to lay foundations in every workplace and every 
community and we need to ensure that no one is under any illusions that this will be an 
easy fight.

by Mark Hoskins - Workers Solidarity Movement
Related Link: http://www.wsm.ie
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