Union Post September 2011

NEWS YOU CAN USE

NION POSTSEPTEMBER 2011

PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE IRISH CONGRESS OF TRADE UNIONSTHE

UUNISON members workingin Northern Ireland’s healthand education sectors arestaging a one-day strike onOctober 5.Calling the move “a deci-

sion of last resort”, UNISONinsisted it had been left withno option but to highlightthe massive impact the cutswill have on both sectors.The action will affect

health workers – apart fromdoctors – as well as non-teaching staff in schools.

Regional secretary PatriciaMcKeown said: “We have tostand up. We have to putpressure on the employersand our government here,because things are going toget worse.“There is a question of

people under serious stresstrying to deliver servicesunder ridiculous conditionsand standing up and saying‘enough is enough’. Theywant to tell their story tothe public.”

According to the union,the health service is facing a£2.3 billion shortfall over thenext four years. Educationfaces a £300 million short-fall.It is six years since UNI-

SON members in educationlast took part in strike action over budget cuts.In the 1990s, members in

the health sector took tothe picket lines over theissue of the privatisation ofservices.

Standing up to fight cuts on Oct 5

Picture: TUC

Congress general secretaryDavid Begg has warned that anyattempt to ‘front-load’ austeritymeasures by increasing budgetcuts would have “terrible conse-quences for jobs and choke offany prospect of growth”.

He said increased austerity wasprecisely the opposite of what Ire-

land needed and de-scribed ‘front-loading’ as “a non-sensical non-starter”, adding, “Itis exactly what we

should not doat this pointin time.”

Mr Begg made the comments at apublic lecture at the national Col-lege of Ireland, Dublin, on septem-ber 26. Mr Begg said that to allowroom for growth less austeritywas needed. “The process of fis-cal consolidation has to be signifi-cantly recalibrated and the periodof adjustment extended until2017.

“In addition, we need to be in-novative about investment and di-vert monies from the nationalPension reserve Fund for ‘highmultiplier’ infrastructure projectsthat deliver jobs and aid nationalcompetitiveness.”

He said such projects could in-clude the retrofitting of homes or

a national broadband scheme. Pri-vate pension funds were also asource of potential investment.

“If we manage to create jobs,that will lift domestic demand andhelp to spur growth. And this, inturn, will contribute to theprocess of fiscal consolidation.”

Mr Begg claimed the currentausterity programme hurt wageearners and those on welfare to afar greater degree than those whoderived income from profits orrents. He flagged up a recent IMFstudy that showed that during atime of fiscal consolidation, wagesfell faster than rents of profits.

“The IMF study found that forevery one per cent of gDP of fis-

cal consolidation, wage income re-duced by 0.9 per cent, while prof-its and rents fell by just 0.3 percent. The essential unfairness ofthis process makes it untenable inthe longer-term.”

Mr Begg said europe needed tojettison the “dogma of the mar-ket” if it was to have any hope ofbuilding a fairer future for all.

In addition, Ireland had to devisean entirely new “developmentmodel” as the current one had re-sulted in at least three seriouscrises in 60 years.

Instead, he suggested, Irelandshould look towards the small,open economies of the nordiccountries for inspiration.

AUSTERITYWARNING

Begg: Front-loading cuts will kill jobs, choke off growth

2 THE UNION POST y September 2011

THE UNION POST is produced by Brazier Media for the Irish Congress of Trade Unions

northern Ireland Committee Irish Congress of Trades Unions4-6 Donegall street Place, Belfast BT1 2Fn, northern IrelandTel: 02890 247940 Fax: 02890 246898email: [email protected] Web: www.ictuni.org

Irish Congress of Trade Unions31/32 Parnell square, Dublin 1, republic of IrelandTel: +353 1 8897777 Fax: +353 1 8872012email: [email protected] www.ictu.ieUNION POST

THE

Absence ofsolidarityevident inthe debateover debt

DON’T LET TROIKADIKTAT SNUFF OUTFLICKER OF HOPE

CONGRESS general secretaryDavid Begg has warned efforts totackle the European debt crisishave been marked by “a chillingabsence of solidarity” that couldlead to the destruction of theEuropean social model.Speaking at a Social Justice Ire-

land policy conference earlierthis month, Mr Begg claimed re-cent remarks by ECB official Jur-gen Stark reflected a failure totake account of how austerity af-fects people’s lives.He said: “Mr Stark talked of

the moral and ethical dimensionsof the crisis and stressed theneed for solidarity.“But while he demands further

cuts for people on welfare andlow wages, he also insists thatprivate speculators and bond-holders must be protected at allcosts. “That is not solidarity – and it

certainly is not moral.”Mr Begg warned: “It is this fail-

ure to grasp a wider social re-sponsibility that could see theEuropean social model hollowedout and destroyed in the comingyears.”The Congress chief explained

that the social model was char-acterised by a “cross-class con-sensus” that the state wouldshield citizens from the excessesof the market and that peoplecould not be treated as “dispos-able units of production”.Mr Begg also slammed the

“shocking” actions of Talk Talkmanagement in laying off morethan 570 staff with little notice.He added: “It is hardly surpris-

ing that Irish society is grippedby palpable fear and a wide-spread sense of economic insecu-rity.”Mr Begg pointed out that any

resolution of the current crisismust involve addressing people’sfear and their sense of insecu-rity. That could happen if there was

“genuine solidarity” and a beliefthat the burden of adjustmentwas being fairly shared.He cited the example of

wealthy French citizens who re-cently stated their willingness topay more tax, leading to theFrench government applying an‘exceptional contribution’ tohigher earners.Mr Begg added: “Unfortu-

nately, I do not expect to seesimilar developments here athome.”

Stimulate don’t stifle growth

sIPTU general president Jack o’Connor, above,has called on the Irish government to launch aninvestment programme to seize the initiative forjobs and growth.

responding to the latest Cso figures, he said:“They are positive, as far as they go, but it is nowcritical that the Troika’s insistence on a furtherdeficit-cutting budget is not allowed to extinguishthis small flicker of light which may be appearingat the end of the tunnel.

“The government must find an innovative wayto launch a major investment programme to pro-mote jobs and growth. It must at least offset theeffect of deficit reductions in Budgets 2012 and2013.” Though admitting resources were “limited”,

he flagged up a new sIPTU policy document, In-vesting for Jobs and Growth, setting out how thiscould be done.

He added: “This [document] envisages the useof a combination of the residue of the pension re-serve fund and an equivalent amount to be gener-ated from private pension funds throughexemptions from the 0.6% levy.”

The document also envisages private pensionfunds acquiring a minority stake in a new stateholding company and project bonds issued bypublic utilities as well as providing venture capitalfor innovation.

This would be incentivised through exemptionsfrom the pension levy.

THe IrIsH government shoulduse the next budget to “signifi-cantly moderate” the ongoingausterity programme and moveimmediately to stimulate domes-tic demand, Congress chief econ-omist Paul sweeney has told amajor conference on Ireland’sdebt crisis.

Mr sweeney said the govern-ment should not proceed withthe planned €3.6 billion of cutsand tax rises in the forthcomingbudget.

He was speaking ata conference on Ire-land’s debt crisis, or-ganised by the Feastaeconomics founda-tion, in Dublin onseptember 22 and23.

Mr sweeney tolddelegates: “Weneed a better wayto tackle this cri-sis. We should

stretch out the ‘period of adjust-ment’ to 2017 and significantlymoderate the budgetary adjust-ment planned for this year.

“We also need to raise morein tax from high income earners– as is happening in the Us,France and spain.

“In order to stimulate domes-tic demand we should invest €2billion per annum over the nextthree years from the nationalPension reserve Fund and putthat money to work creating

jobs.“It can be invested

in ‘high multiplier’projects that willdeliver quick re-turns in terms ofjobs and growth.These include: theretrofitting ofhomes, a pro-gramme of schoolbuilding and up-grades, invest-

ment in public transport, nationalskills upgrade, a national watersystem and broadband.”

Mr sweeney claimed that if thegovernment proceeded with theplanned adjustment there wouldbe no economic growth at allnext year.

He added: “That would be dis-astrous for jobs and for workingfamilies. We need to significantlymoderate that plan.

“We have already taken some€20.6 billion from the economyand the result is a shocking 24%collapse in domestic demand,over three years.

“We now have a major unem-ployment crisis and it is clear toanyone who studies the data thatthese policies are unsustainable.”

Mr sweeney also warned thatwhile exports were performingwell, that alone would not be suf-ficient to generate a recovery.

http://www.siptu.ie/media/pressreleases2011/fullstory,14928,en.htmlCheck out report on:

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: ICTU

LATEST CSO FIGURES

3September 2011 y THE UNION POST

Long-term dole figures show ‘chill’ of austerity

Ed Milliband: Heckled over strikes

UNISON chief Dave Pentis has servednotice on 9,000 employers Pictures: TUC

Congress has dubbed the republic’s soaringlong-term unemployment figures a “chilling com-mentary on austerity” and demanded the govern-ment takes urgent and immediate action.

Commenting on the dramatic rise shown in fig-ures released on september 15, Congress chiefeconomist Paul sweeney, inset right, said: “A full54% of those out of work are now long-term un-employed, without jobs or a decent income forover a year.

“That is a chilling statistic and a chilling com-mentary on the failure of the austerity pro-gramme that was supposedly designed to save us.

“In fact, it is directly responsible for thousandsof job losses. These figures require an immediate,urgent and strong response from government.”

Mr sweeney claimed those calling for morespending cuts and increased taxes on regularworkers “seem not to realise that austerity is

killing the patient andsmothering any prospectof a recovery”.

He added: “To cut an-other €4bn out of theeconomy next year ismadness, but even to cutthe planned €3.6bn willmean no growth whatso-ever in 2012.

“The adjustment mustbe scaled back and ac-companied by investmentin jobs. That is vital.

“The Irish economy is failing on so many frontsthat it is time for a significant change in policy. Thekey to recovery is real investment in jobs.”

Meanwhile, the UK’s public sector shed111,000 jobs in the three months to the end of

July – the biggest quarterly fall since recordsbegan in 1999.

The figures, revealed in a bulletin from the UK’soffice for national statistics, showed the numberof unemployed rose by 80,000 over the period.

The number of jobless now stands at 2.51 mil-lion – or 7.9% of the UK’s working-age popula-tion.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber de-scribed the ons figures as "terrible".

He said: "They are further evidence that the re-covery has been choked off by a self-defeatingrush to austerity.

"The public sector is shedding jobs more thantwice as fast as the private sector can create newones, and with the increasingly gloomy outlookfor the economy as a whole, the outlook for jobsis as bad as at any time since the height of the re-cession."

THere will be widespread disruption topublic services in the north and acrossthe UK as unions take part in a massiveco-ordinated day of action on november30 over pensions.

It comes as talks between unions andgovernment on the proposed hike in pub-lic sector pension contributions sched-uled for next April seem to have run intothe sand.

There was a unanimous vote in favourof the action at the end of the TUC con-ference in London on september 14.

general secretary Brendan Barbervowed to make november 30 “the biggesttrade union mobilisation for a genera-tion”.

The angry mood in the conference hallwas reflected by the cat-calls and hecklesdirected at Labour leader ed Millibandwhen he claimed during his speech thatstrikes “were always the consequence offailure – failure we can’t afford as a na-tion.”

Meanwhile, UnIson chief Dave Prentistold delegates he was serving notice onmore than 9,000 employers that theunion was balloting its 1.1 million mem-bers.

He said: “It's the fight of our lives. Iknow it's an over-used cliché, but makeno mistake, this is it.” In June, public sec-tor trade unions in the north agreed ajoint declaration on industrial action.

Congress assistant general secretaryPeter Bunting said then that the declara-

‘Fight of our lives ... make no mistake. This is it’

UK PENSIONS STRIKE

THe rePUBLIC’s record on humanrights – including trade union rights –will be put under the Un spotlight ingeneva next month.

on october 6, Ireland is being as-sessed under a Universal Periodicreview for the first time.

each of the Un’s 192 memberstates must now go through this UnHuman right Council’s monitoringprocess every four years.

The UPr assesses how countriesrespect the commitments they madeand agreements signed under inter-

national law, focussing on any gaps inhuman rights protection.

Irish trade unionists have longclaimed there is currently no effec-tive legal protection here for work-ers who experience discriminationor ‘blacklisting’ because of theirunion activities or membership.

They claim this violates the princi-ples of freedom of association andthe right to unionise enshrined in Ar-ticle 23 of the Universal Declarationof Human rights.

Unions also point out that Ireland

does not recognise a right to strikeand that there is no legal entitlementto strike.

Instead, Ireland has a system of“immunities” that apply in certain cir-cumstances when the collective ac-tion is part of a “trade dispute”.

However, employers in Ireland areincreasingly going to the courts toseek injunctions to halt the strike ac-tion.

This gives power to employers todisrupt, curtail, delay and halt strikes.

There are also no restrictions on

the use of agency labour during astrike. Unions claim this runscounter to the right to strike articu-lated in Article 28 of the eU Charterand the basic principles of the ILo.

After the UPr, recommendationsare made on how compliance withhuman rights obligation can be im-proved. The country under reviewhas a duty to implement these rec-ommendations in the four years be-fore it comes up for review again. For more information go to:http://www.rightsnow.ie/

Republic goes under UN rights audit

THe nUJ is holding a one-dayconference examining the ex-periences of journalists whohave worked through the Trou-bles in the north and otherconflict zones.

The one-day event, titled‘nUJ Journalist safety – thenorthern Ireland experience’,will be held from 9.30am to5pm at the nICVA offices in Belfast on Friday, sep-tember 30.

It is dedicated to the mem-ory of murdered Sunday Worldreporter Martin o’Hagan.

The 10th anniversary of hiskilling takes place on septem-ber 28 – two days before theconference.

organiser Kevin Cooper said:“We are hoping that journalists– who may have experiencedcensorship, threats, legal chal-lenge, physical assault, or whomay have witnessed trauma orexperienced interference withtheir professional work – willbe able to share their stories.”

A number of workshopsunder Chatham House ruleswill be run.

Participants will be asked toreflect on past experiences ofconflict journalism as well astalk about current events andmethods of news gathering andto make recommendations toimprove journalistic ethics,training and industry practice.

For more info and a registra-tion form email Kevin at:[email protected]

tion was a signal both the stormont ad-ministration and the UK government thatunions would – with the support of localcommunities – resist public sector cuts andattacks on jobs, pay and pensions.

He predicted a “a prolonged period ofindustrial strife”.

Journalists’safety event

THE UNION POST y September 20114

AsK AnY teenager about tradeunions and they’ll most likely stareat you blankly. Ask any trade union-ist “what’s our biggest problem?”and, chances are, they’ll tell you weneed to attract more young peopleinto our ranks.

With minimum income protectionunder attack and youth unemploy-ment soaring, connecting with ayoung workforce has never beenmore vital for trade unions. Andvice versa.

now Congress’ YouthConnectproject is set to taketrade unions and theworld of work intoclassrooms across thecountry.

This student-fo-cused re-source pack,with accompa-nying supports,aims to raiseyoung people’sawareness ofthe role and ac-tivities of Irishtrade unions. Italso promotescollective action and the value ofparticipating in schools, communi-ties, unions and other organisations.

Congress’ project coordinatorFiona Dunne claims eight out of 10kids have never heard of a union.

“They don’t know who we are.They don’t know what unions do. Ifthere’s no family connection fewerand fewer young people are becom-ing union members.

“YouthConnect is about gettinginto schools and making young peo-ple aware of what we do,” she says.

Initially funded by IMPACT’s for-mer Tax officials branch, the pro-gramme is being launched for thenew school year.

It centres on a five-module teach-ers’ resource pack.

Fiona and her team are offeringteachers an introductory session onhow best to use it, along with twocopies of the impressive pack – onefor teaching and one for the library.

To this end, Congress has set up agroup of ‘schools champions’ – grad-uate teachers who are trained topresent the resource pack to teach-ers and students.

so far 100 schools have signed upfor visits, a positive start towards

Congress’ ambition of reaching all750 secondary schools over thenext two years.

“Initially we planned to targettransition year students. But a pilotproject, consultation with teachersand engagement at the teacherunions’ conferences made us realisethat teachers in a wide range of sub-jects – business, economics, religiouseducation, CsPe – could use this re-source.

“They can use a complete moduleor just part of it. either way, it willbring trade unions and the world ofwork into the education main-stream.

“It will get kids thinking about thewhole collective idea that you aren’talone at work and learning aboutwhat trade unions can do for them,”says Fiona.

The easy-to-use YouthConnect re-source pack includes informationfor teachers, lesson plans, students’information handouts and work-sheets – all bound together withclear teaching and project objec-tives.

Its five information-packed mod-ules cover the world of work,unions and solidarity, rights at workand school, globalisation and equal-

ity and inequality in society.A new YouthConnect website –

www.youth-connect.ie – is de-signed to work hand in hand withthe pack.

It contains news and informationon the five module themes, a sec-tion for teachers, an e-zine and aplatform for students to discuss andexplore the issues that interestthem most.

Congress’ YouthConnect projectis working closely with the Irish sec-ond-level students’ Union (IssU),which is Ireland’s representativebody for second-level students.

Both aim to encourage studentsto become more aware of theirrights, and to assert those rights inschool and the workplace.

one of the themes of YouthCon-nect is about encouraging studentsto be more active in their own lives;to understand and stand up for theirrights – including in school.

IssU have already set up 40school councils and hopes that ex-posure to YouthConnect will helpgenerate more.

The schools visits will also show-case the iConnect card, jointly de-veloped by IssU and YouthConnect,which entitles holders to a range ofdiscounts.

Laura Dooley, one of the schoolchampions, says: “I think it is impor-tant students have the informationthey need when they are going for-ward.

“I know myself from being inschool, if you did business you mightknow a little bit about your rights atwork, but there was no one reallythere, especially when you first gointo work, to tell you this is whatyou should know, these are yourrights, unions do this, they look afteryou.

“The YouthConnect project isabout getting into schools and giving

the kids the infor-mation theyneed.”

Fiona and herteam are buoyedby positive feed-back from a pilotscheme, eventhough it re-vealed that fewkids are cur-

rently aware of unions and whatthey do.

she believes schools will be clam-ouring for the resource once wordgets round. “The most importantthing for us is to get into schoolsand make contact with teachers,”she says.

“In the pilot I was struck by thenegative views that young peoplehave. They think unions are all aboutstrikes, giving out and negativity.

“They know nothing about thepositive day-to-day stuff.

“Helping people who have beenunfairly fired, or are underpaid orbullied at work.

“That doesn’t make the news sowe need to explain that it’s part ofwhat it means to be a union mem-ber,” adds Fiona.

A lot of work and preparation hasgone into the project, well before ithits the classrooms.

Congress is determined that theresource won’t end up gatheringdust on shelves.

“My ambition is that this will bepermanent. It will be something thatCongress continues to do so thatyoung people leave school thinkingit makes sense to join a union,” shesays.

For more information contactFiona Dunne [email protected].

MARTINA O’LEARY on ICTU’s new YouthConnect programme coming to a school near you...SCHOOLS INITIATIvE

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PACT

IT’S A

CLASS ISSUE!

Class action: Some recentlytrained YouthConnect championsdiscuss the best way to introducethe world of work and unions tostudents. From left: YvonneO’Callaghan, Laura Dooley (alsopictured left) Seamus Dowling,Grainne Murphy & Colm Flaherty

Pictures: IMPACT

September 2011 y THE UNION POST 5

Communications Workers’ Union

To improve your working life

To ensure your rights are respected

To have a voice in the workplace

Improving the working lives of people in the following industries:

Telecoms, Postal, Courier, I.T., Engineering, Call Centre,

Managerial, General Communications Industry

Join the Communications Workers’ Union

[email protected]

www.cwu.ie

www.callcentreunion.ie

Exchequer Buildings19-23 Exchequer Street

Dublin 2Tel: (01) 866 3000

Fax: (01) 866 3099

Your Union, Your Voice

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4

4

FBU trashes Reform claimDublin fire brigade

ruling welcomed THe Fire Brigades Union has slammed as “right-wing trash” a claim that huge cuts in the UK’s fireservice are manageable.

The claim made by leading think-tank reformwas dismissed by FBU general secretary MattWrack as “dangerous and ignorant”.

reform also claimed that the falling number ofdeaths in accidental fires in Britain was due tosmoke alarms.

While acknowledging the usefulness of alarms,Mr Wrack said such devices were not the “magicbullet” reform research had suggested.

He said: “reform ignores the fact that firecrews have been carrying out near-record num-bers of rescues from dwelling fires and other 999incidents.

“We have been saving more lives and rescuingmore people – there is no reduction in the needfor a fire service.”

Pointing out that the fire service had alreadybeen “cut to pieces”, Mr Wrack warned: “To fol-low the reform agenda will put the lives of thepublic and fire crews at much greater risk at allthe incidents we respond to.”

SIPTU and IMPACT have both wel-comed a Labour Court ruling prevent-ing further cuts at Dublin Fire Brigade.The two unions representing fire

fighters in the capital had agreed to€3.5m in budget cuts for 2011 in talkswith management under the workingsof the Croke Park agreement. These cuts were ratified in a secret

ballot of members – but just twomonths after that vote, managementsought additional cost savings of €1.7m.But this move was blocked by the

Labour Court’s September 5 rulingbacking the unions’ position that fur-ther cuts were unacceptable under theCroke Park agreement.IMPACT assistant general secretary

Phil McFadden said: “We welcome this

decision, not alone because it acknowl-edges those savings already agreed forthis year – savings which are being implemented while the service continues to be fully delivered.“The recommendation is also wel-

come because it proves how effectivethe Croke Park agreement is in solvingwhat might otherwise have been an acrimonious dispute.”Also welcoming the move, SIPTU

sector organiser Owen Reidy said: “Wefound it completely unacceptable thatthe employer would seek to set asidethe agreement and seek additional savings. “We utilised the dispute-solving

procedures and our position has beenvindicated by the Labour Court.”

A delegation of pensioner activists from Northern Ireland take a breather in thesun before joining 3,000 other OAPs in marching through the centre of Blackpool atthe start of the National Pensioners Convention’s Pensioners Parliament in June

THE UNION POST y August 20116

CONGRESS has launched an onlineworkplace stress survey in order toget a better picture of the causes andexperiences of and responses towork-related stress. If you have anqueries, contact Esther Lynch of ICTU at [email protected] you can access the survey at:

http://irishcongress.polldaddy.com/s/08A19FB29FAD6599

Workplace

surveySTRESS

UNIONAD11

9 yr old Galla Abdu Nunu looks after her severely malnourished sister Matamay (9 months), Dadaab camp, Kenya.

Photo credit: Andy Hall / Oxfam

EAST AFRICA EMERGENCYYOU CAN SAVE LIVES Parts of Somalia are now in famine. Over 12 million people in East Africa face starvation. Children are most in danger of dying as malnutrition rates soar. Oxfam is there but we urgently need your help.

Donate online at oxfamireland.org, your local Oxfam shop, call ROI 1850 30 40 55 or NI 0800 0 30 40 55. Thank you.

EMERGENCY SERvICES

Speculators playing Irishroulette with our economy

INTO makes history appealILO chief Juan Somavia after speech

7August 2011 y THE UNION POST

ILo director general Juan somavia haswarned european parliamentarians thatthe economic crisis should not be used toweaken basic labour rights.

His address to the european Parliamentin Brussels on september 14 was wel-comed by eTUC general secretaryBernadette ségol.

she gave her backing to what she calledMr somavia’s “unequivocal” assertion thatworkers’ rights should not be “sacrificedto austerity”.

In his speech, Mr somavia listed thechallenges facing eU countries as “work-ing poverty, precarious work, low pay, so-cial exclusion and long termunemployment”.

He insisted that short-term challenges facing europe required fiscalconsolidation that was socially responsible.

Mr somavia told MePs: “respect for fundamental principles and rightsat work is non-negotiable; not even in times of crisis when questions offairness abound. This is particularly important in countries having toadopt austerity measures. We cannot use the crisis as an excuse to dis-regard internationally agreed labour standards.”

Picture: European Union 2011 PE-EP/Pietro Naj-Oleari

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: ETU

C

Support: Bernadette Ségol

ILO chief: Don’t use crisisto attack workers’ rights

IreLAnD is acting as a roulette wheel for theworld’s top financial gamblers arising out of themassive increase in secondary trading on its sov-ereign debt.

That’s the conclusion of a new study, titled Auditof Irish Debt, published on september 16.

The research, carried out by a team from theUniversity of Limerick and supported by Unite,uncovers the complexity that lies behind the ac-tual ownership of Irish debt.

The report seeks to quantify and explain thedebts for which the Irish people have been maderesponsible.

It covers the issuing of government bonds, ex-plains the way in which ownership of those bondsis traded in financial markets without any controlby the people who ultimately have to repay it, andthe liabilities for which Ireland is responsiblethrough taking ownership of the largest banks inthe state.

Ireland’s national debt has soared because ofthe fateful decision to turn private debt publicthrough the bank guarantee scheme of septem-ber 2008.

This debt rose from less than €20 billion in thelate 1980s to a little under €40 billion in 2007.

It has since shot up to more than €91 billion. speaking after the release of the report, Unite

regional secretary Jimmy Kelly called the figures“a scandal in every sense”.

He said: “Back room deals have saddled thepeople of this country, and their children, withdebts that are completely unsustainable.”

Mr Kelly also accused those in governmentwho were “continuing the myth” that “cutting fur-ther and deeper will free us of the debt” of insult-ing the Irish public.

The government’s austerity programme – thathas led to a surge in unemployment, a return toemigration and widespread gloom through the

country – has failed tostop the runaway trainthat was created whenthe government of theday signed away a gener-ation’s future to protectwealthy overseas inter-ests.

referring to the “disas-trous consequences” ofthat move, Mr Kelly saida picture emerges fromthe report that “willshock those who careabout Ireland’s freedom as a nation to determineits own future”.

He warned: “It must prompt a total revision ofour economic priorities. Without change we willbe crushed under the weight of debt that hasbeen placed upon us.”

‘Scandal’: Jimmy Kelly

THE Irish NationalTeachers Organisation –which will be celebrat-ing a century and a halfof service to Ireland’steachers in 2018 – hascommissioned historianDr Niamh Puirséil, left,to write a history of theunion.The ‘INTO 150’ proj-

ect will be published in2018 and follows a deci-

sion taken by theunion’s Central Execu-tive Committee lastyear to seek expres-sions of interest in re-searching and writing abook on the subject.Dr Puirséil wrote the

widely-praised The IrishLabour Party 1922-1973and co-authored WeDeclare: Landmark Doc-uments in Ireland’s His-

tory. She told INTO’s InTouch magazine: “Thisis not only a chance torecord and celebratethe history of the or-ganisation and itsmembers but to pro-tect its past.“There will be current

and retired INTO mem-bers across the countrywhose attics andgarages contain boxes

of old branch minutebooks or registerswhich are taking uproom and gatheringdust.“If this sounds famil-

iar, we want to hearfrom you.”Anyone who has

INTO-themed infostored away can contact Dr Puirséil on [email protected]

http://www.youtube.com/user/TradeUnionTVIreland#p/u/0/ATDACnrvRqgTRADE UNION TV LATEST REPORTS FROM FRONT

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NIPSA backs MPs’ report slamming PFI

More than 40,000 Aus-tralian trade unioniststook to the streets ofsydney earlier this monthin protest at the stategovernment’s attack onpublic sector jobs.

The september 8 rallyis part of a developingcampaign highlighting notjust the assault on thepublic sector but legisla-tive moves unions claimhave targeted public em-ployees’ bargaining rightsin new south Wales.

Demonstrators gath-ered in the Domain parkarea of sydney beforemarching past the stateparliament in Macquariestreet.

since being elected ear-lier this year, state pre-mier Barry o’Farrell haspushed through billions

of dollars of spendingcuts teamed with a mas-sive wave of privatisationof state assets under thejustification of dealingwith a “budget blackhole”.

His coalition govern-ment also plans to axe5,000 public sector jobs.

United Union servicesgeneral secretarygraeme Kelly claimed Mro'Farrell had “broken hisword” by threatening thejobs of public servants.

He added: “The com-munity deserves and de-mands sufficient numbersof workers to undertakethe back-of-office func-tions to free up ourfront-line emergencyservices for their essen-tial duties.”

Pictures: ASU/USU

Aussie unions on the march

nIPsA general secretary BrianCampfield has welcomed the find-ings of a highly critical parliamen-tary report on Private FinanceInitiative contracts.

The House of Commons Treas-ury select Committee report, pub-lished last month, dubbed the PFIfinancing method “extremely ineffi-cient” and flagged up how the costof this type of finance had “in-creased significantly” in recent

years. It noted: “The price of fi-nance is significantly higher with aPFI. The financial cost of repayingthe capital investment of PFI in-vestors is therefore considerablygreater than the equivalent repay-ment of direct government invest-ment.

“We have not seen any evidenceto suggest that this inefficientmethod of financing has been offset by the perceived benefits of PFI

from increased risk transfer. onthe contrary there is evidence ofthe opposite.”

PFI contracts were also attackedfor being “inherently inflexible” andconcerns were raised that the VFM(value for money) appraisals wereskewed in their favour.

The UK has 700 PFI contractsdelivering a wide array of public as-sets and services. It is understoodanother 61 contracts are currently

being considered by the govern-ment. Mr Campfield said: “The re-port confirms in many respects theviews expressed by nIPsA andother trade unions that private fi-nancing of public sector infrastruc-ture and other investments –including the design, build and op-erate model of Public Private Part-nerships – does not provide thepublic with good value for moneyor more efficient delivery.”

Check out the full report on: www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmtreasy/1146/114602.htm


Recession

Crisis

Pay cuts

Job threats

Shares plummetRecession

Pensions collapse

Downturn

Market crash

Job losses on the increase

Credit crunch

Cutbacks

Job

thre

ats

Cuts toservices

Future uncertain for many

Cut

back

s

SlumpJob threats

Tax increases

Shortfall

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US nurses stage awave of tax demos

Pictures: NNU

Bridge protest, above, in San Diego. Soup kitchen in Frisco,below, and, below left, NNU town crier in old Boston town

THOUSANDS of nurses stageda day of action across the USearlier this month to highlighttheir call for Wall Street’smoneybags to pay for the crisisthey created.A total of 60 protests across

21 states were held on Septem-ber 1 as part of a NationalNurses United campaign tohave a half a per cent federallevy slapped on bond deals andother financial transactions.Supporters claim such a move

could raise as much as $350bnto improve health care servicesStateside.Individual actions included

blockades of the offices ofHouse of Representativesleader Eric Cantor and Min-nesota pro-austerity firebrandMichelle Bachmann.At other events, soup

kitchens were set up outsideCongressional offices to under-line the devastating effects thecollapse of the economy hashad on “Main Street USA” andthe knock-on impact of scaled-down welfare programmes.NNU co-president Jean Ross

said: “This is a sales tax on thebusiness Wall Street does. Itwould disincentivise the ex-treme gambling they do.”

‘MAIN STREET’ FIGHTS BACK...


PICTURES: Kevin [email protected]

TUC general secretary Bren-dan Barber has backed theconcept of workers’ represen-tatives sitting on executive re-muneration committees.He was responding to a

proposal contained in a UK Department of Business, Inno-vation and Skills discussionpaper published on September19. Welcoming the proposal,Mr Barber said: "The UK'sflawed executive pay culturehas allowed those at the top toaward themselves vast pay

increases without any link toperformance. This system con-tributed to the financial crashand needs urgent reform. "Workers' representatives on

remuneration committees willhelp regain public confidence inexecutive pay by adding asense of perspective and forcing directors to explainhow their rewards relate tothose offered to their work-force. But any attempt to seri-ously reform executive pay willbe fiercely resisted by vested

interests in the City – many ofwhom rely on the status quofor their own inflated salaries –and the government must beprepared to stand up to them."The practice, known as

co-determination, is well es-tablished in Germany whereemployee reps sit on companysupervisory boards. In the UK,retailer John Lewis and trans-port operator First Group already have employee repre-sentation on their boards.

TUC backs workers in boardroom

Barber: Backed concept

ForMer staff at The Irish Posthave launched a campaign to savethe London-based weekly.

The final edition of the newspa-per – whose motto was ‘If its Irishin Britain, we’ve got it covered’ –came out on August 19.

It followed an announcement byowners Thomas Crosbie Holdingslast month that it would place theIrish Post Media Ltd into liquida-tion on september 14.

The campaign to save the title isbacked by the Federation of Irishsocieties, representing hundreds ofIrish community groups in the UK.

The closure of the 41-year-old

paper comes as a devastating blowto the expat Irish community inBritain.

But according to former mem-bers of staff, there now exists anopportunity for potential investorsto re-launch what was the biggestselling national newspaper for theIrish in Britain.

At the time of its closure, TheIrish Post has seen a boost in cir-culation since the start of the year,with sales reaching in excess of20,000 in mid-March.

Former Irish Post chief executiveniamh Kelly said: “We the manage-ment and staff believe passionately

that The Irish Post can be saved. “The rise in circulation of the

newspaper in several months thisyear underlines its massive poten-tial.

“With the right backing, it is atitle which could be profit-makingwithin 12 months of a return tothe newsstand. The timing of itsclosure is difficult to fathom giventhe increasing numbers of youngIrish people moving here.

“I am happy to speak with anyprospective investors to outlinethe newspaper’s potential, some ofwhich has not yet been explored,and will do everything possible to

ensure the invaluable service pro-vided by The Irish Post is not lostto its loyal readers within the Irishcommunity.”

Former editor Malcolm rogerssaid: “The Irish Post was a vitalforum for the Irish community inBritain for over 40 years.

“With over 1,000 Irish peopleemigrating to Britain every week, itis evident that there is still a hugerole to be played by the newspa-per.

“We, the staff, are resolute inour determination to save thetitle.”

Former Irish Post staff and contributors at the campaign launch earlier this month at the Federation of Irish Societies office in London

For further information on the campaign, e-mail [email protected] or follow their Facebook page ‘Save the Irish Post’.

Staff in bid to save Irish Post


IMPACT has warned of the damaging long-termconsequences to the Irish economy of any sale ofthe Irish government’s stake in Aer Lingus.

national secretary Matt staunton said: “Theconsideration of the sale of the state’s share ofAer Lingus needs to be mindful of the lessons ofthe past, such as the sale of eircom.

“We have learned – very much to our cost –what it means to abandon core assets that servethe interests of the state, its citizens and its indus-tries in haste.”

He was responding to comments made byTransport Minister Leo Varadkar earlier thismonth that he was actively considering the sale ofthe government stake in the national carrier.

Mr staunton also blasted “as not a sound argu-ment” Mr Varadkar’s view that the governmentwould need more than a 30% share to block anychanges to slots.

He added: “As for arguing that anything lessthan 30% is not sufficient to protect our strategicinterests, the state would have no influence what-soever with zero per cent.”

IMPACT warns ofeconomic falloutif govt’s stake inAer Lingus is sold

UK teaching unions set formass lobby of ParliamentA COALITION of UK teaching unionsis organising a joint mass lobby of theHouses of Parliament next month tohighlight their campaign against pen-sion cuts.The October 26 action, including

the ASCL, ATL, NAHT, NASUWT,NUT, UCAC and UCU, is expected toinvolve up to 25,000 teachers andlecturers. It is being held during the half-term

holiday to avoid interrupting school-ing and causing disruption for par-

ents. But the seven unions involvedin the lobby have not ruled out fur-ther industrial action if the UK gov-ernment continues to erodepensions. A source said: “We hope to have at

least one representative from everyschool and college in England andWales to demonstrate to Parliamentthe unity and determination of theentire profession in opposing cuts toour pensions.”

Mary Robinson to speakat SIPTU Somalia benefitForMer Irish President and UnHuman rights Commissioner,Mary robinson, is to speak at abenefit concert in aid of faminevictims in somalia next month.

The sIPTU-organised Forgot-ten Famine concert will be heldat Liberty Hall Theatre, Dublin,on Thursday, october 13.

Musicians Donal Lunny andPaddy glackin, and PD and theUndertakers, fronted by Phelim

Drew, poet Paula Meehan, singereoin glackin and traditionalgroup, Le Chéile are on the play-bill.Proceeds will go to Concernin somalia.

Tickets at €25 are on sale fromwww.centralticketbureau.comor tel: 0818 205 205

For further information orconcessions contact: sIPTUCommunications: 01 8586372or email: [email protected] Robinson on recent

visit to Somalia Pictures: Concern

THe CWU has donated €50,000 to help fund anutrition programme in somalia through Irishcharity Concern.

A union source said: “The money will be usedto provide direct life-saving support for some ofthe world’s most vulnerable displaced people.

“These are people who have lost everythingdue to famine, drought and the continued conflictin the region.

“once again our big-hearted members haveshown how willing they are to dig deep to helppeople on the very edge of existence.”

The programme, which started last month, isset to run to January next year and will be moni-tored by Concern. It covers the hard-hit Mo-gadishu, Bay and Lower shabelle districts.

The current crisis affects half the somali popu-lation – a total of 3.7 million nationwide, with 3.2million of those in urgent need of lifesaving assis-tance.

It’s estimated that the €50,000 provided byCWU will pay for a month’s food for 1,051 fami-lies – approximately 6,300 people.

each household receives a special ID to getvouchers from the local Concern office.

They then use the vouchers to buy provisionsfrom local shops.

A household food voucher for a month costs€47.54.

Those somalis in the programme can exchangethe vouchers for basics such as rice, white flour,sugar and cooking oil.

According to Concern – which has worked inthe region for 25 years – the advantage of provid-ing food vouchers is that they are less bulky thanfood supplies, are safer to transport than cashand help existing local markets.

EMERGENCY AID

CWU donate €50kin Somalia appeal

It was all smiles at the Unite summer school in Belfast. From left: Unite Ireland education of-ficer Ritchie Browne; senior organiser Jim Quinn; guest speaker Derek Wall – who spoke on'Green/Left alternatives' – Northern Ireland Water shop steward Paul Kelly; Irish regionalsecretary Jimmy Kelly and Geraldine Kelly, Unite’s seconded officer to the education board


Mandate welcomes lease deal

Thinking globallyon ethics & rights

MANDATE has welcomed a new 15-yearlease agreed between the Arcadia Groupand Green Properties Ltd. Mandate divisional organiser Brendan

O’Hanlon described the development asgood news as it will protect almost 100 re-tail jobs at the Arcadia Group’s outlets inthe Blanchardstown Centre.These include Top Shop, Top Man, Wallis,

Miss Selfridge, Dorothy Perkins and Bur-tons.He said: “Last April, the Arcadia Group

informed its staff of its intention to closeits seven outlets in the BlanchardstownCentre. “Negotiations then took place between

Mandate and Arcadia and the issue regard-ing options for the 104 staff affected werereferred to the Labour Relations Commis-sion.“In July, Arcadia advised Mandate – dur-

ing an LRC hearing – that agreement hadbeen reached with Green Properties andthat only the Evans store would be closing,with 14 staff affected. “Following local talks in August, proposals

regarding options for the staff affectedwere unanimously accepted and they in-cluded redeployment on current terms andconditions or voluntary redundancy of fiveweeks pay, including statutory redun-dancy.”

ICTU’s David Joyce

Annabella Rosenberg

USDAW

SUMMER SCHOOL

INMO

THe InMo has claimed over-crowding in the republic’s emer-gency departments reachedrecord levels last month.

An analysis of its Trolley Watchfigures for August found thatthere was a 35% increase on theAugust 2010 figure and a stag-gering 106% on August 2007.

According to the union, a totalof 401 people on trolleys werelogged on August 31 alone.

InMo general secretary LiamDoran said: “These figures musttell the Minister and the Hsethat their current cost contain-ment programmes are having aserious negative impact upon pa-tient care.

“Increasingly we are facing at-tempts by local hospital manage-ments to deal with this problemby placing additional beds on allin-patient wards, notwithstand-ing the fact that there are closedbeds/wards in all of these hospi-tals. This is simply wrong.”

He added: “emergency depart-ment overcrowding, and peoplewaiting for a bed on a trolley, isthe greatest challenge facing theentire health system every day.

“It cannot, and will not, besolved by hiding the problem,with extra beds on wards, thuscompromising the care of all pa-tients.”

UsDAW president Jeff Broomehas claimed unions must domore to protect vulnerableworkers from exploitation.

He made the call while speak-ing in support of a motion bybroadcasting union BeCTU atthe TUC congress in Londonearlier this month.

Mr Broome told delegates:“As trade unions, protecting vul-nerable workers is at the heartof what we do.

“We seek to extend the pro-tection of union membership tothose who need it the most.

“We believe in fairness and webelieve in giving everyone avoice at work.”

He also welcomed the newagency workers regulations,which he claimed would deliver“key new rights” to many vulner-able workers.

However, he added that effec-tive enforcement was needed toensure the new legislation woulddeliver equal treatment.

Mr Broome warned: “With-out enforcement, representationand organisation, the new rightsto equal treatment will fail todeliver for agency workers.”

Protectingvulnerableworkers isat heart ofwhat we do

Emergencydepts crisis

A rAnge of topics – from cli-mate change to disability in theworkplace – was up for discussionat Congress’ third annual globalsolidarity summer school earlierthis month.

The event, which took place onseptember 2 and 3 at CarltonHotel in galway, was officiallyopened by Congress president eu-gene Mcglone.

In his address, he stressed theimportance of raising conscious-ness and educating delegatesabout a range of rights and ethicalissues on a global theme.

Irish Aid deputy director gen-eral Michael gaffney spoke aboutthe work of his organisationwhich he dubbed “the Irish peo-ple’s aid programme”.

He claimed that the work ofIrish Aid reflected the core valuesof the Irish people.

Mr gaffney also acknowledgedthe good relationship between hisorganisation and Congress notonly in terms of funding but inworking together on ILo pro-

grammes dealing with women'sentrepreneurship, disability, forcedlabour and child labour.

The impact of climate changewas a key part of the discussionsover the two days.

There was a panel talk on thetheme of Climate Change, greenJobs and Decent Work chaired bynational Union of Ireland galwayacademic Prof Jim Browne.

others on the panel includedProf Terrence McDonough, nUIg,sIPTU researcher Loraine Mulli-gan and gavin Harte of the stopClimate Change Chaos Coalition.

They were joined by Congress’Liam Berney and neil Walker ofIBeC.

Annabella rosenberg of ITUCgave a keynote address on howclimate change relates to the issueof decent work through videolink.

Pointing out that “we live invery interesting and challengingtimes”, she set out the commonground that existed betweenthose campaigning on social issues

and those pushing the greenagenda.

she said: “It is clear that thepoorest and the most vulnerableacross the world will be the firstto suffer as a result of climatechange.”

Delegates also heard about de-velopments in strife-torn Colom-bia.

Freelance journalist Mike Mc-Caughen gave a first hand accountof the constant danger faced bytrade unionists and others inColombia. He told delegates thatassassinations occurred oftenwithout press comment or cover-age.

Mariela Kohan of Justice forColombia UK and JFC Ireland’sJohn o’Brien also spoke.

Congress chief economist Paulsweeney gave a global perspectiveon the need for progressive taxa-tion to deal with the financial cri-sis. He also outlined four factorsthat had led to balance of powershifting away from workers andcitizens.

http://www.ictu.ie/globalsolidarity/newsevents/keyissues/2011/09/12/report-from-3rd-annual-global-solidarity-summer-sc/

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THe amount of tax lost to public fi-nances in Britain each year is morethan THree times the UK govern-ment's estimate, the Public andCommercial services union hasclaimed.

According to the union, figuresproduced by the HM revenue andCustoms on september 21 mas-sively underestimate the problem.

HMrC bean counters claim thatthere is a £35 billion tax gap –money lost through tax evasion andavoidance – and not being col-lected.

The PCs’s own research puts thetax gap at around £120 billion.

general secretary Mark ser-wotka said: "By any measure, £35billion is a lot of money and itought to be chased. But we esti-mate the real figure is more thanthree times that, and cuts in HMrCare leaving the department unableto cope.

"Instead of cutting jobs and of-fices, ministers should invest to rig-orously pursue the tens of billionsof pounds in tax lost through theuse of tax havens and evasion andavoidance tactics by big corpora-tions and the very wealthy."

PCS CLAIM:

UK lost taxrevenue istriple HMRCestimation

50,000 AT RALLYAGAINST EUAUSTERITYMore than 50,000 trade unionistsfrom across europe took part in amassive anti-austerity demo inPoland earlier this month.

The march in Wroclaw, organ-ised by the european Trade UnionConfederation with Polish confed-erations solidarnosc and oPZZ,was timed to coincide with an in-formal meeting of european fi-nance ministers in the city onseptember 17.

In a statement the day before,the eTUC steering committeecalled for sustainable growth to beteamed with social cohesion.

The eTUC also warned againstthose “siren voices” who argued

for a return to national solutionsand a break-up of the eurozone.

It predicted that a “renationalisa-tion” of european economic policywould have disastrous conse-quences on workers’ conditionsand give an impetus to right-wingpopulism.

The eTUC claimed the currentwave of austerity was fostering un-employment and boosting inequal-ity.

“Workers in a number of coun-tries are facing frontal attacks ontheir acquired legal rights en-shrined in european legislation andinternational instruments.

“some governments are using

the crisis to dismantle social provi-sions that are the bedrock of theeuropean social model.”

The statement also underlinedthat “wages are not the economybut their engine”.

“Unleashing a ‘race to the bot-tom’ on wages and welfare policieswill undermine demand dynamicsand threaten deflation across theentire monetary union.”

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sIPTU has warned the republic’s health ministerDr James reilly of the damaging impact the num-bers of health service staff planning to retire nextyear will have on nursing care.

The warning came in a september 5 letter tothe minister from the union’s nursing sector com-mittee.

The letter stated: “As nursing provides thelargest number of hours to the health service it islogical that nursing will be hardest hit.

“Frontline nurses and midwives are alreadystruggling to cope from the impact of the mora-torium which has had a disproportionate impacton nursing care and they simply cannot take an-other dramatic cut in numbers.”

Meanwhile, sIPTU mid-west organiser Jim Mc-grath claimed nursing staff in his region were al-ready at “breaking point” as a result of themoratorium.

He added: “We are deeply concerned aboutthe impact the retirements will have on nurseswho are already overstretched.”

Services are at‘breaking point’

INMO: Free jailedBahraini medics

You can’t hold a candle to NHS,that’s why we’ll keep this lit...

DESIGN

contact us [email protected]

do you need your unionpublication revamped?

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C

HEALTH

THe InMo has renewed its call on the Irish gov-ernment and the eU to redouble efforts to se-cure the freedom of 12 medical professionals stillheld without reason by authorities in Bahrain.

The medics and nurses were detained followingserious civil unrest in the gulf state earlier thisyear.

President sheila Dickson said: “The governmentand the eU must utilise all avenues to have pres-sure applied upon the government of Bahrain tofree these innocent people.

“All health professionals are obliged, by theircode of practice, to care for everyone, withoutfear or favour, and there is never justification fordetaining any individual who follows this code.”

SIPTU’s acting health divi-sion organiser Paul Bell haswarned Richard Bruton, theMinister for Jobs, Enterpriseand Innovation, his unionwill reject any attempt tonegotiate a derogation fromthe EU directive on tempo-rary agency work.The directive – set to

come into effect on Decem-ber 5 – will ensure agencyworkers are entitled to thesame pay and conditions astheir directly-employed col-leagues.He said: “In the health

service there are more than2,000 employees on agencycontracts. “The implementation of

this directive would givethese workers the right tothe same pay and condi-tions as their permanentcolleagues, be it in the pri-vate or public sector, fromthe minute they are em-ployed.“The Health Service Exec-

utive moratorium on re-cruitment has resulted in asituation where key profes-sional grades such as radi-

ographers and health careassistants have been main-tained on agency con-tracts – in some cases formore than three years.”Mr Bell said that the em-

ployment of agency work-ers was never meant to bemanaged in such a way. Healso pointed out that it wasnot value for money “as theemployer has to pay VATand commission on top ofwages”.Rejecting Minister Bru-

ton’s claim the full adher-ence to the directive would

cost 8,000 jobs, he added:“That is simply wrong andconstant attempts tofrighten workers in order todiscourage them from as-serting their right to fairtreatment is no longerworking. “The government, as an

employer, can no longer dis-regard good employmentpractices and procedures byusing agency workers to ca-sualise the health service.Patients need a full-time,caring and professionalservice.”

Bruton warned over EU work directive

TRADE unionists – including TUCchief Brendan Barber and UNISONgeneral secretary Dave Prentis – joinmembers of the public outside theHouses of Parliament in London at acandlelight vigil for the NHS earlierthis month.The September 7 event drew atten-

tion to the “damaging consequences”of the Health and Social Care Bill,particularly the removal of the pri-vate patient income cap and thethreat of privatisation. Mr Prentiswarned the vigil marked “the end of

the NHS as we know it”.He said: “Despite the denials, this

government is throwing the doorwide open to private companies, whowill cherry pick profitable parts ofour NHS and make a fortune. “Survey after survey has shown that

the public care deeply about who pro-vides health services. They do notwant private companies making prof-its from healthcare – every pennymust go towards caring for patients,and boosting our NHS for the fu-ture.”


Blueprintfor thefuture ...unionsworkingtogether

UK telecoms union CWU has urgedLib Dem leader nick Clegg to “puthis money where his month is” afterhe promised to give “priority status”to infrastructure projects, includingbeefed-up broadband networks.

Mr Clegg made the comments in aspeech delivered at the Londonschool of economics earlier thismonth.

CWU general secretary Billy Hayes,left, called on the deputy PM to en-sure funds were made available foruniversal superfast broadband.

He claimed such a service “wouldallow all homes and businesses toplay a full part in the digital economy,boosting jobs and growth right acrossthe country”.

But Mr Hayes warned this wouldnot happen without strong govern-ment backing.

“The government needs to put itsmoney where its mouth is and investsufficient sums to ensure that super-fast broadband networks extend rightacross the country.”

BILLY Hayes, general secretary of the CWU,UK, was elected as UnI Post & Logistics worldpresident at the Washington conference.

In his acceptance speech, he said he hopedto work closer with P&L affiliates to put inplace a strategy to deal with the liberalisationand privatisation issues facing postal unionsacross the world. But Mr Hayes also flagged upnew opportunities for organising workers in“an expanding and rapidly altering communica-tions industry”.

He added that he wanted to continue thegood work carried out by outgoing presidentrolf Buttner in fighting to maintain decent jobsfor all postal workers.

CWU chief steve Fitzpatrick hasspoken of the pressing need forwhat he called “co-operative organ-ising” both to boost membershipand spread the influence tradeunions have in wider society.

He made his comments in a pres-entation at the UnI Post & Logis-tics World Conference inWashington DC earlier this month.

Mr Fitzpatrick, above, told thegathering of more than 200 repre-sentatives from postal unionsacross the world that it was neces-sary to find ways to act “collectivelyto grow the movement”.

Detailing how Irish unions werefacing the future, he referenced theCommission on Trade Unions re-port, A Call to Action, presented atICTU’s biennial conference in July.

That document underlined theneed for unions – in the words ofUnI deputy general secretary PhilipBowyer who delivered the report –“to get rid of old prejudices and totake a leap into the future”.

Mr Fitzpatrick described the doc-ument at the time as a “road mapon co-operation”.

one of the strategies outlined inA Call To Action was bringing unionstogether along sectoral lines.

He told delegates in Washingtonthat UnI global Union had agreed

Hayes is electedas UNI P&L pres

‘OK, Nick, put your moneywhere your mouth is...’

to sponsor three of its affiliates inIreland – CWU, IBoA and Man-date – in developing a “collaborativeapproach”.

This was especially needed, headded, when unions faced similar is-sues – declining membership, hostileemployers and repressive industrialrelations legislation.

Mr Fitzpatrick pointed out that allthese factors had been further com-pounded by the financial crisis.

giving delegates an insight into

the special difficulties experiencedby trade unions in the Irish republic,he said: “no employer is legallyobliged to recognise a trade union,irrespective of the numbers of unionmembers employed.”

Mr Fitzpatrick said this meant thatemployers could claim they had the“law on their side” even when globalagreements, such as those at o2Telefonica, were in place.

He added that this was now thesubject of legal challenge at the eu-

ropean Courts, ILo and the Un.Mr Fitzpatrick underlined how the

“old demarcation lines” had beenblurred by developing technologiesand that this fact added to the argu-ment that unions should combineresources and share experiences to-gether.

Contrasting the “old way of doingthings” with new forms of co-opera-tion, he flagged up the need to buildon “shared objectives” rather than“working in isolation”.

Delegates tothe UNI Post & Logistics conferencesigned this giant postcard, addressed to US House ofRepresentativesspeaker JohnBoehner, in support ofpostal workersin their fight tosave the USPostal Service,jobs and bar-gaining rights

DearJohn

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InTo general secretary sheilanunan has led tributes to FrankBunting, the union’s formernorthern secretary, who died,aged 61, on August 27.

Mr Bunting, a towering figurein the world of education andtrade unionism in the north,had been suffering from cancerfor some time.

The Belfast-born activist, whoretired from his post in May onhealth grounds, served as theunion’s northern secretary for20 years.

Mr Bunting was presentedwith the InTo President’s medalat the union’s northern confer-ence earlier this year as a recog-nition of his years of service.

He was also a former chair-person of the northern IrelandCommittee of Congress andworked with ICTU for 15 yearsbefore taking up his post atInTo.

Before that he had worked asa school teacher in west Belfast.

Ms nunan described MrBunting as a powerful advocatefor teachers over the years.

she said: “He led many signifi-cant campaigns for educationalinvestment and improvement.His commitment to teachers,education and the trade unionmovement is widely recognisedand admired.”

Ms nunan said Mr Buntinghad also steered InTo throughdifficult times.

“Under his leadership theunion developed successfully asone of the authoritative voicesin the world of education.

“He was a progressive leader,anxious to solve problems andseek improvements. He alsofearlessly challenged injusticesand wrongs whenever and wher-ever he saw them.”

Congress assistant generalsecretary Peter Bunting – acousin of Frank’s – describedhim as “hugely non-sectarian”and credited him withhaving led the way in forgingstronger links between InTo,which mainly representsCatholic maintained schools, andthe UTU which works withincontrolled schools.

nUJ Irish secretary séamus Dooleyhas paid tribute to veteran Belfast-based journalist Jimmy Kelly who diedlast month, shortly after celebratinghis 100th birthday.

Decribing him as the “uncrownedking of Irish journalism”, Mr Dooleysaid Jimmy had a long and illustriouscareer working on a number of titles,

including Irish news, Irish Press andIrish Independent.

He added: “Jimmy Kelly was a tow-ering figure on the Irish media land-scape and an authoritativecommentator on northern Ireland.

“He was unfailingly helpful to visit-ing journalists, some of whom couldbe taken aback by his intimate knowl-

edge. once a journalist asking Jimmyif he had ever covered stormont.Jimmy replied with a twinkle in hiseye, ‘Yes, I covered the opening!’

“He was also totally committed tothe nUJ and to the principles of theunion.

“He was proud of the nUJ and wewere very proud of him."

NUJ so proud of centenarian Jimmy

Fearlessfighterfor unionrights

Powerful advocate: Frank Bunting

Every wipeof his eyestakes Tallacloser toblindness

©Jenny Matthews/Sightsavers

Talla is just five. He has trachoma, a painful eye disease whichcan lead to a lifetime of blindness. Repeated infections causethe eyelashes to turn inwards and slowly and painfully everyblink damages the eye and leads to blindness.Trachoma canbe treated effectively in its early stages with a courseof ointment costing just 50p –but for millions of peoplethis is still too much.

If, like Sightsavers, you believe that nobody should go blindneedlessly from trachoma, river blindness or cataract,please make a donation today to support our eye care workin some of the most deprived communities in the world.

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STANDINGTOGETHER

PAGE 3

WERE YOU THERE?

PICTURESPECIALSPAGES 4,5,8,9

Picture: © Paula Geraghty

NOV24 NOV 6 RALLIES

Public service workers

unite in 24hr stoppage

ETUC DAY OF ACTION

NION POSTSEPTEMBER 2010

PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE IRISH CONGRESS OF TRADE UNIONS

THE

►PROTESTS NORTH, SOUTH AND ACROSS EUROPEDUBLIN

BELFAST

L’DERRY

Meet 12.30pm outside Anglo Irish Bank, Stephen’s Green.March to rally outside Dail @ 1pm

Assemble outside City Hall @ 12.30pm

Assemble outside Guildhall @ 12.30pm GENERAL STRIKE IN SPAIN. DEMOS IN POLAND, PORTUGAL, ITALY, LATVIA, UK,LITHUANIA, BELGIUM, CZECH REPUBLIC, CYPRUS, SERBIA, ROMANIA & FRANCE

►

WEDNESDAYSEPTEMBER

29

U►FIGHT CUTS►SAVE JOBS► PROTECT SERVICES

RALLY1pm - 2pm

RALLY1pm - 2pm

PEOPLEPOWERNEWS YOU CAN USENION POST

OCTOBER 2010


THE

U►NORTH SHOCK CUTS IN SPENDING REVIEW

►SOUTH FOURTH ‘HAIR SHIRT’ BUDGET LOOMS

UNDERATTACKBUT WE’RE FIGHTING BACK ...

SEPT 29 DAY OF ACTION PICTURES & REPORTS PAGES 14-17

More cuts: Lenihan

Axe man: Osborne

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REPORT & PICTURES: P2/3

RISE LIKE LIONS! Eamonn McCann concludes October 23 rally against the cuts in Belfast with a rousing quote from radical poet Shelley

NEWS YOU CAN USE

NION POSTDECEMBER 2010


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SHAMEFULNOV 27 NATIONAL DEMO PICTURES & REPORT PAGES 6-11

Axe man: Lenihan

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CONGRESS general secretary DavidBegg has called the December 10 Dailvote to cut the minimum wage “a day ofshame”.It follows a week of shame as the FiannaFail-led government effectively ceded financial sovereignty to the IMF and the

European Central Bank, agreeing to a humiliating €85bn bailout.Describing it as a “contemptible” move,Mr Begg said the wage cut took €40 aweek from the working poor “in the fullknowledge that there is no economic, po-litical, social or moral justification for it”.

And what’s worse, IMF delegation chiefAjaj Chopra confirmed the cut was NOTtied in with the loan agreement. Rather, Mr Begg claimed it was an “earlyChristmas present” for the “worstgombeen elements” in Irish business andbrought only “misery” to the low paid.FULL BUDGET REACTION: Pages 2&3

NEWS YOU CAN USENION POSTJANUARY 2011

PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE IRISH CONGRES

S OF TRADE UNIONS

THE

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FULL STORY PAGE 3

HANDSOFFOUR PAY

European Commission warned over alleged

‘interference’ in Ireland’s labour market

people’scongressFEB 5Octagon Room, King

’s Hall, Belfast

FOR A BETTER, FAIRER WAY

CONFERENCE

DETAILS P2

TRADE UNION NEWS NORTH AND SOUTH

INMO VOWSACTION ONNURSING STUDENTSPAY CUTS P4

THE European Trade Union

Confederation will met

European Commission chief

Olli Rehn over reports the

EU is "intervening" in

national collective bargaining

rights.Under existing a

greements,

the Commission has no

powers to determine wage

levels in individual states.

In a letter to Mr Rehn,

ETUC general secretary John

Monks, pictured, slammed

the use of "diktat pressure"

to cut minimum wages and

pensions in countries strug-

gling to escape the economic

crisis, claiming this amounted

to "an attack on Social

Europe".Mr Monks told a

meeting in

Dublin on January 19 that

what Europe needed most

was a “a spirit of generosity”

to help hard-hit countries,

“not the kind of penalty

regimes and punishment

squads imposed at present”.

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NION POSTJUNE 2011


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GETTING SET FOR BDS 2011 PAGE 2 COMMISSION REPORT DETAILS PAGE 5

WHEN trade unionists from across Ireland gather for Congress’ BiennialDelegate Conference in Killarneynext month, they will find a tradeunion movement that is in goodshape, fighting fit, and ready for thebattles that lie ahead.The 800 delegates, observers andguests will hear figures detailinghow membership has remained robustly strong despite the depth ofthe recession and the loss of tens ofthousands of jobs. Trade unions are working people’sfirst – and last – line of defenceagainst a neoliberal onslaught thathas turned a banking crisis into anattack on jobs, pay, conditions andservices.But a guiding principle of ourmovement has always been strengthin numbers – and figures show thatthe number of members drawn fromCongress’ 54 affiliated unions nowstands at 797,399. This is down 19,449 on the 2010figure and represents a 2.4% dip inunion membership.It is a reflection of the savage assault on jobs and is not an indication of any disenchantmentwith trade unions or trade unionism.In fact, the figures back this view,showing that decline in union membership has occurred at aSLOWER rate than the general fallin employment.It should be remembered that inthe Republic alone, there is a tradeunion density rate of 38.3% of theworkforce – one of the highest ratesin Europe.

STRONGERTOGETHER

Picture: Congress

NEWS YOU CAN USENION POSTAPRIL 2011

PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE IRISH CONGRES

S OF TRADE UNIONS

THE

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CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL WORKERS’ DAY

• WEEK OF EVENTS NORTH AND SOUTH • DETAILS AND LINKS PAGE 5

DON’TBANKON IT!

Think the EU/ECB have your interests at heart?

THE primary objective of the EU and

ECB is to protect the European banking

system, Congress general secretary David

Begg has claimed.He told delegates at the PSEU confer-

ence in Galway on April 15 that those

voices from Brussels calling for greater

austerity were not “distinterested actors”

in determining who shouldered the

burden for the financial crisis.

Rather, he suggested, they were “not

without responsibility” themselves.

French and German banks had a €900bn

exposure to “peripheral” EU economies

but this amount was now being reduced.

This meant that bondholder exposure

to Irish banks had declined at the same

time as ECB emergency funding to the

Republic had risen.

They were, Mr Begg told delegates,

“getting out under covering fire provided

by the ECB”. FULL STORY PAGE 3

MARCH 26 DEMOS PICTURE SPECIAL P12-15

SPECIAL EDITION

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BRUTON JLC/ERO PLAN LASHED PAGE 3 BEEB JOURNOS ON STRIKE PAGE 4

REPORTSPICTURES

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PAGES 6 - 19

CONGRESSBDC 2011

TROIKAWARNING

CONGRESS general secretary David Begghas warned Taoiseach Enda Kenny that theEU/ECB/IMF Troika is using Ireland as a “social laboratory” to test out its economicpolicies.He made his comments in front of 800 delegates, observers and guests gathered forCongress’ three-day Biennial Delegate Con-ference last month.Mr Begg was responding directly to theTaoiseach who had just delivered his speechto delegates at the INEC conference centrein Killarney on July 4. He pinpointed the fact that “all the talk of reform” ignored the actions of the banksthat had sparked the crisis in the first place.“It occurs to a lot of people that reformis for the little people – it is not for the powerful.” SEE REPORT PAGES 6/7

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REFORM AGENDA TARGETING ‘LITTLE PEOPLE’ NOTTHE BANKS, BEGG TELLS KENNY

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Union Post September 2011