Dunnes strike Boycott Netanyahu Fight for 15 Polish Culture

March 2015
Vol.14 No. 2
ISSN 0791-458X
Dunnes
strike
ICTU leader
Patricia King
Boycott
Netanyahu
Page 5
Page 16-17
Page 25
Organise
to fight
low pay
Polish
Culture
Night
Page 7
Fight
for 15
Page 19
by Frank Connolly
The time is ripe for a major drive to increase wages across the
economy and to address the chronic problem of low pay, according to SIPTU president Jack O’Connor.
“Pay rises are needed in order to stimulate domestic demand
which can only happen when workers have money in their pockets
to spend,” O’Connor said.
He said that some 400,000 workers in Ireland earn less than the
accepted European threshold for low pay of €12.20 per hour.
According to a Bank of Ireland report of last August unit labour
costs have fallen by 20% in Ireland since 2007 compared to the rest
of the Eurozone while many employers have reaped the benefit of
falling oil prices and historically low interest rates for borrowing.
The dramatic fall in the value of the euro has also boosted Irish
exports to the major trading partners in the US and the UK as well
as the hospitality industry at home.
“Employers in the internationally traded sector, including hotels
and restaurants, now enjoy a major trade advantage due to the fall
in the value of the euro against sterling and the dollar. Meanwhile,
many of their employees struggle to survive on the minimum wage,
on part-time work and zero hour contracts,” Jack O’Connor said.
“Pay rises in both the private and public sectors of the economy
are not just good for workers and their families but they are
essential if the economy is to achieve the growth required to create
employment and pay for decent public services.”
SIPTU members have negotiated pay rises across hundreds of
Continued on page 2
Conference
on
Palestine
Dunnes workers outside LRC offices on Friday 6th March. Mandate and SIPTU
members will take strike action on Thursday 2nd April in a campaign for decent
pay and jobs at the retailer. Photo: Dave Gibney
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5
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Economic
inequality
Page 13
Crossword
Page 31
SAT
28th
MARCH
in Liberty
Hall
7
10
9
13
Page 25
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11
14
16
15
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19
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In this month’s Liberty
2
Liberty
News
MARCH 2015
Yes Equality
Page 6
NIR Sector Committee
Page 9
A SIPTU delegation attended the 4th European Water Conference, in Brussels on Monday 23rd - 24th
March. The delegation consisted of SIPTU Organiser, Brendan O’Brien, SIPTU activist, Paddy Beirne,
retired SIPTU Organiser, Mick Wall and SIPTU NEC member, Matt Henry.
Community
workers protest
Page 10
Liberty View
Page 15
Retained fire-fighters back industrial action
Liberty
View
President highlights
precarious work
Page 18
Decoding your P60
Page 23
RETAINED fire-fighters have
voted overwhelmingly for industrial action, including
strike action, in a dispute related to attempts to decrease
fire appliance crewing levels.
The ballot was counted in Liberty Hall on Friday, 20th March.
SIPTU National Retained Firefighter Organiser, Con Casey, told
Liberty: “Our members have voted
resoundingly to oppose any attempt to unilaterally implement
cuts to crewing levels or other
changes to national agreements,
which they believe will endanger
fire-fighters and the public. The
vote in favour of industrial action
was 97%, while the vote for strike
action was over 95%, with a
turnout of more than 80%.
“It is clear that our members
will not accept this attempt by the
Department of Environment to
push through reductions in firefighter crewing levels.”
SIPTU members in the full-time
fire service have also commenced
a ballot for industrial action over
the same issues. SIPTU represents
more than 1,700 of the 2,000 retained fire-fighters employed by
local authorities across the country.
Independent forum to discuss DFB ambulance service future
P60
Name of
Employee:
PAYE – PRSI
SOCIAL WE
CERTIFICATE OF PAY, TAX AND
PAY- RELATED SOCIAL INSURANCE
YEAR ENDED 31st DEC.
Two copies to be given to ea
31st December whether or n
Tax Credit €
Address:
Personal Public
Service No.
(PPS No.)
‘1’ indicates that temporary
‘2’ indicates that emergency
Enter ‘X’ if there were 53 p
E
TTIP threat to
services
Page 26
Editor: Frank Connolly, SIPTU Head of Communications
Journalist: Scott Millar
Design: Sonia Slevin (SIPTU), Joe Mitchell (Brazier Media) & William Hederman
Publications Assistant: Deirdre Price
Administrative Assistant: Karen Hackett
Produced, designed, edited and printed by trade union labour.
Printed by The Irish Times, City West, Dublin.
Liberty is dedicated to providing a platform for progressive news and views.
If you have any ideas for articles or comments please contact:
[email protected]
Liberty is published by the Services, Industrial, Professional & Technical Union,
Liberty Hall, Dublin 1
SIPTU General President, Jack O’Connor • Vice President, Patricia King •
General Secretary, Joe O’Flynn
Production: SIPTU Communications Department, Liberty Hall, Dublin 1,
Tel: 01 8588217 • Email: [email protected]
‘D’ if
l
AN independently-chaired
joint forum to discuss the future of the Dublin Fire
Brigade (DFB) ambulance
service will begin its deliberations in late March.
The forum has been set up
under the auspices of the
Haddington Road Agreement National Oversight Committee and
will be chaired by former Dublin
Chief Fire Officer, Stephen Brady,
Its remit includes consideration
of “all matters arising” from the
Control Centre Reconfiguration
Project, as recommended in a recent HIQA Report. Sector Organiser, Brendan O’Brien, told
Liberty: “The establishment of
such a forum is what our members campaigned for following the
statement by the management of
Dublin City Council (DCC) that it
intended to scrap the DFB ambulance service call and dispatch
function.
“This forum provides an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss
the future provision of this service, placing the best interests of
the residents of Dublin and firefighters to the fore.”
Concern grows over cuts to Bus Éireann services
CONCERN is growing over
the impact on rural communities after proposals to cut
almost 100 Bus Éireann services, including some in the
south-east, the west and
north-west, were revealed in
February.
SIPTU Sector Organiser, Willie
Noone, said: “The result of these
cuts will be that some villages and
towns will be left with no public
transport links to Dublin. Jobs
will also be lost in Bus Éireann
and if services are restored, a private company will provide them,
ensuring inferior employment
conditions for workers.” He
added: “Our members in Bus Éireann have already contributed to
the survival of the company by
agreeing major changes to their
terms and conditions of employment.
Continued from page 1 – Organise to fight low pay
workplaces in the manufacturing Nevin Economic Research Instiand services sector over the past tute (NERI) recently found that
18 months and the campaign will 50% of workers earn less than
continue through this year and €16.62 an hour compared to the
beyond, the SIPTU president said. average hourly wage of €20.63
Meanwhile, union members in while 25% are on less than the
the public service will enter dis- ‘Living Wage’ of €11.45 per hour.
cussions with the government in
It found that 60% of the low
coming months when pay in- paid are women, with one in
creases will also top the agenda.
three female workers at risk of
Following an investigation into being at the bottom of the pay
low pay in the Irish economy, the scales. Of all those who are low
“Unless a proper public debate
about the provision and funding
of public transport occurs now,
the future for bus transport could
well be industrial conflict and reductions in services for the public.”
Talks are continuing between
unions and Bus Éireann management over a number of outstanding issues at the Labour Relations
Commission.
paid almost one-quarter are in the
wholesale and retail sector with
almost one in six (17.1%) in the
accommodation and food sector.
One in every two employees
working less than 20 hours a week
or on temporary contracts are low
paid, according to the NERI
survey.
Liberty
News
MARCH 2015
3
Talks follow
Waterford
IT catering
strike threat
CAMPUS Catering is to reenter negotiations on pay
and conditions following a
ballot for strike action by
SIPTU members in Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT), in early March.
If a settlement is not reached
in talks between management
and SIPTU representatives, Campus Catering, a wholly-owned
subsidiary of WIT, has further
agreed to attend a Labour Court
hearing over the dispute.
SIPTU Organiser, Denis Hynes,
told Liberty: “The catering workers endured a 4% pay cut in
2010. Since then they have not
received a pay rise.”
More than 60 SIPTU members
are employed by Campus Catering at the Institute.
Stobart drivers celebrate
compensation success
Stobart drivers paid compensation
SIPTU members, who are
drivers with haulage company Stobart Ltd, have secured over €137,000 in
compensation. It follows a
three-year struggle in which
the firm pursued every avenue to withhold the payment.
The Rights Commissioner initially awarded the workers the
compensation in 2012 following a
series of breaches of working time
legislation by the company.
SIPTU Sector Organiser, Karen
O’Loughlin, told Liberty: “This is a
very important victory for the drivers in which their rights have been
fully vindicated. The workers
showed great perseverance and resilience and in the end got their
just reward.”
New SIPTU sector to boost
role of Health Care Assistants
By Paddy Cole
SIPTU is to launch a new
Health Care Sector as part
of a greater focus on the
role of the Health Care
Assistant.
Speaking to Liberty, SIPTU
Health Sector Organiser,
Marie Butler, said the establishment of the SIPTU Health
Care Sector was a direct response to members' demands
and that shaping the future
development of the Health
Care Assistant role in the Irish
health service was the number one priority for the Sector.
“In response to the changing demographics there has
been a sharp focus on the role
of the Health Care Assistant
across Europe.
“While this conversation
has been happening, SIPTU
members have worked together with the support of the
transitional Health Care Committee to develop an agreed
national job description and
skills training programme.
Our Divisional Organiser Paul
Bell, with the help of our
European Trade Union partners, has been taking their
fight directly to the European
Commission.”
Ms Butler said SIPTU had
been leading the way for
Health Care Assistants across
the country and had placed
registration, pay, job evaluation and the regularisation of
interns firmly on the agenda.
“This special conference for
Health Care Assistants is the
first of its kind for this group
of vital workers.
“They make a massive contribution in 'hands-on' patient
care and it is hoped that the
launch of the sector will
reinforce
our
members'
demandsthat will shape the
future advancement of the role
of the Health Care Assistant to
the Minister for Health.”
The new sector will be
launched at a conference for
Health Care Assistants on
Thursday 26th March at the
Royal College of Physicians in
Dublin.
SIPTU members protesting outside
the NMBI Offices in Blackrock, Dublin
Victory for nurses and midwives in NMBI dispute
WORKERS have been successful in stopping an attempt by the Nurses and
Midwives Board of Ireland
(NMBI) to increase its annual retention fee for nurses
and midwives by 50% for
2015.
Sector Organiser, Kevin Figgis,
told Liberty: “This decision by
NMBI comes after many months
of campaigning by SIPTU, INMO
and PNA members calling on the
board to reverse its decision to increase its retention fee from
€100 to €150. It is a victory for
nurses and midwives across the
country.
“Our members from across the
health service have been united
on this issue from the start. This
victory is a testament to their solidarity and determination to see
the campaign through until the
end.
“The campaign against this attempted fee hike has ensured
that their regulatory body will
treat them fairly and not subject
them to increased charges in addition to the pay cuts they have
endured in recent years.”
SIPTU Nurses and Midwives
Sector Chairperson, Rebecca
Donoghue, said she wanted to
thank all SIPTU members for the
support they had shown to our
nurses and midwives across the
country.
“We could not have won this
campaign without the support
and efforts of our colleagues. The
€100 fee is a just fee as it retains
the link with the fee paid by
other health professionals to
their regulatory body.”
4
Liberty
News
MARCH 2015
Give Labour Court
power to set rules
for low-paid workers
THE Oireachtas Joint Committee on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation has been asked to
recommend that legislation be
introduced to empower the
Labour Court to set fair employment rules for low-paid
workers in sectors where employers have refused to engage
in the Joint Labour Committee
(JLC) process.
Addressing the Committee on
Tuesday, 3rd March, SIPTU Services
Division Organiser, John King, said:
“In the hospitality sector employer
groups are flouting Government
policy and refusing to engage in the
JLC process which aims to set fair
terms and conditions of employment for workers.
He added: “Due to the unacceptable nature of the employers’ behaviour, SIPTU is calling on the
Government to re-enact the provisions of Section 11 of the 1969 Industrial Relations Act. This would
enable the Labour Court to set fair
employment rules after consultations with organisations that are
representative of employers and
workers for the class, type or group
of workers concerned.”
Over 60,000 people protested against unfair water charges and austerity Dublin on Saturday 21st March.
Picture: Photocall
John King: hospitality
sector refusing to engage
in the JLC process
In his presentation to the committee, John King also said that the
refusal of employers groups in the
hospitality sector to engage with
the JLC process was bringing the
Irish State into breach of International Labour Organisation (ILO)
conventions.
John King added that SIPTU
maintained its position that due to
the refusal by the Irish Hotels Federation and the Restaurants Associations of Ireland to engage in the
JLC system, the reduced VAT rate
enjoyed by this sector should be
brought to an end.
Deal on credit unions merger
WORKERS have voted to support an agreement with management
relating
to
redundancies and changes to
work practices arising from
the merger of Drogheda, East
Meath and Trim credit unions.
SIPTU Services Division Organiser John King said: “Following
talks at the LRC and other meetings
with management, a satisfactory
resolution to all issues of concern
to staff relating to the merger has
been agreed. The agreement ensures that only voluntary redundancies will be sought and that
workers will retain their job security.”
He added: “SIPTU members are
generally supportive of mergers
such as the one proposed as the
combined assets of the new body
will allow for better service provision for communities and greater
job security for workers.”
HSE must rethink €800,000 cut
to elderly services in Co Meath
THE HSE must rethink a proposed further cut of €800,000
from the budget for elderly
services in county Meath,
SIPTU members have said.
SIPTU Organiser John McCamley
said the proposed cut came on the
back of an overcrowding crisis
within the emergency departments
of local hospitals, including Our
Lady of Lourdes hospital in
Drogheda and Our Lady's Hospital
Navan.
He said: “We are calling on the regional management of the HSE to
refrain from implementing these
cuts particularly where there is a
need for additional beds within the
community sector to deal with the
overcrowding crisis in the emergency departments of the main hospitals in the region.”
Build more social housing to solve crisis – academic
PROPOSALS to alleviate the
housing crisis were the focus
of lively debate at a meeting
of the SIPTU Meath District
Council in Navan on 18th February.
Among the options presented for
consideration to an audience of
local SIPTU members, county councillors and members of the public
was the introduction of rent controls, repair of local authority housing stock and direct State funding
of house building.
Housing expert and lecturer in
political geography at Maynooth
University, Rory Hearne, said: “At
the current rate of housing construction the local authority housing lists will not be dealt with until
2038.
“An obvious solution is to build
more social housing which would
create employment, boost growth,
reduce welfare spending and bring
in tax as well as provide people
with homes.”
He added: “If there is the popular
will and political will we can solve
the housing crisis.”
SIPTU Meath District Council
Secretary, John Regan, said: “The
meeting was very successful in
bringing to the fore serious debate
on both short-term and long-term
solutions to the housing crisis."
SIPTU is currently conducting a
survey of housing needs among its
membership in order to better inform its debate on the union’s ‘Discussion paper on Ireland’s Housing
Crisis’.
Retirement grace period extended
THE Government decision to
extend by one year the period
within which public servants
can retire under the terms
they held prior to pay reductions implemented under the
Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest
(FEMPI) Act 2013, has been
supported by SIPTU.
Education Sector Organiser
Louise O’Reilly said the decision to
extend the grace period until June
2016 would be “widely welcomed
by our members”.
“It will result in experienced
public servants feeling less pressured into retirement due to the
threat of loss of pension income if
they remained at work.
“SIPTU members had expressed
concern that without this extension the public service would suffer a ‘brain drain’.”
Louise O’Reilly:
‘It will result in
experienced
public servants
feeling less
pressured into
retirement due to
the threat of loss
of pension income
if they remained
at work’
Support for Pfizer decision not to close Cork plant
TRADE unionists have voiced
their support for the decision
of Pfizer to continue production at its Little Island plant
in Co Cork, and provide continued job security for up to
160 workers.
Staff at the facility were in-
formed on Tuesday, 10th March,
that the pharmaceutical manufacturer had reversed its decision to
close the plant as scheduled in the
autumn of 2015.
SIPTU Organiser Paul Depuis
said: “Credit is due to the SIPTU
members and shop stewards at
the plant for the commitment
they have shown over the past
two years. They have built a reputation for the facility through consistent performance levels and
this was a key factor in reversing
the Pfizer decision to close the
plant.”
Liberty
News
MARCH 2015
5
Dunnes workers to strike a blow for decent work
By John
Douglas
One of the largest private sector strikes in two decades will
take place across the
Republic of Ireland on Thursday, 2nd April, as Dunnes
Stores workers strike for
decent work and a living
wage.
Dunnes Stores operates 113 outlets with approximately 10,000
workers, including trade union
members from both Mandate and
SIPTU.
The decision to vote in favour of
industrial action is courageous,
considering Dunnes workers are in
low-paid, precarious employment – they have been threatened
with layoffs and redundancies by
their employer should the industrial action go ahead.
Dunnes workers don’t want to
go on strike but they’ve been left
with no other option after their
employer refused to engage with
their union and also refused invitations from the Labour Relations
Commission and the Labour Court.
At the heart of the dispute is decency and fairness. The Decency
for Dunnes Workers campaign was
founded on four key objectives: secure hours and earnings; job security; fair and consistent pay for all
Dunnes workers; the right to be
represented by their trade union.
Not too dissimilar to the dock
workers of 1913, many Dunnes
workers have no idea what their
pay will be from week to week.
Dunnes workers
outside LRC offices
They operate on minimum 15hour contracts and the allocation
of hours is at the sole discretion of
a store manager. The local manager
could, for example reduce their
hours from 40 to 15 and spread
them over five days co-incidentally
preventing the worker from obtaining supplementary social welfare or Family Income Supplement
(FIS).
Dunnes Stores issues a number
of contracts to employees including six-month and nine-month
temporary contracts. In many
cases, these contracts are not renewed, with no explanation given
to their workers who have given, in
some cases, several years of loyal
service. The company could then
hire a new batch of temporary contracts and the cycle will continue.
At the heart
of the dispute
is decency
and fairness.
Over the past two years, Mandate has lodged two 3% pay claims
with Dunnes – both successful.
However, following the implementation of those increases, many
workers had their hours cut, reducing their income dramatically.
Workers are demanding that any
future pay increases are linked to
banded hour contracts with secure
Strike action at St. Leo’s
College in Carlow
SIPTU members took
strike action at St. Leo’s
College in Carlow, county
Carlow, on Friday, 13th
March, as part of a dispute
relating to their employer’s failure to establish
an
appropriate
workplace
pension
scheme.
SIPTU Organiser, Bill
Mulcahy, said: “Our members, who work as caretakers, catering staff and
cleaners, have pursued their
claim to have access to a
properly funded pension
scheme, with the appropri-
ate employer contributions,
in direct negotiations with
management and at talks at
the Labour Relation Commission.
“However, management
has refused to reach an
agreement and has also refused to attend a Labour
Court hearing on the matter.”
He added: “Our members
wish to see a speedy resolution to this dispute. They
greatly appreciate the support they have received from
teaching staff at the college
and the local community.”
earnings.
Dunnes Stores is effectively refusing the right of its staff to be
collectively represented by a union
by refusing all invitations to enter
negotiations despite the existence
of a collective agreement freely entered into by the company in 1996
which provides a framework
within which industrial disputes
can be resolved by negotiation.
It is important all trade unionists get behind the Dunnes workers. Since the beginning of the
economic crisis in 2008, the number of workers classified as “underemployed” has increased by
almost 60%.
Underemployed is a nice way of
saying that workers want or need
more hours but they cannot access
them. Ireland now has the second
highest prevalence of underemployed workers in the EU15, behind only Spain, whereas in 2008,
we had the lowest.
This is due firstly to the lack of
a statutory provisions, including
the full implementation of the
Part-Time Worker Directive, and
secondly to the lack of collective
bargaining rights, where workers
can negotiate better and fairer conditions of employment.
With the enormous increase in
precarious employment and with
Ireland having the second highest
prevalence of low pay in the
OECD, it is time workers fought
back for decent work and a living
wage. On Thursday, 2nd April,
show your support for the Dunnes
Stores workers as they strike a
blow for decent work and a living
wage.
Go to www.dunnesworkers.com
and sign the petition in support
of the workers and ‘Like’ the
Decency for Dunnes Workers
Facebook and Twitter pages to
stay up to date with the campaign.
John Douglas is General Secretary of
Mandate and President of the Irish
Congress of Trade Unions.
Members sceptical over
Aer Lingus assurances
Assurances from Aer Lingus
management that workers
in the national airline
would retain their existing
terms and conditions if the
proposed International Airlines Group (IAG) take-over
goes ahead have been met
with scepticism from SIPTU
members.
SIPTU Division Organiser,
Owen Reidy, said the union’s
1,500 members in Dublin, Cork
and Shannon need to be
brought under the blanket of a
legally binding Registered Employment Agreement to protect
their direct employment in the
future, and to be assured that
there will be no compulsory redundancies.
Reidy added: "If management
was serious about this kind of
undertaking, they should have
no difficulty entering into such
legally binding agreements.”
The proposed take over of Aer
Lingus by IAG is being reviewed
by a Government steering
group. IAG, the owner of British
Airways and Iberia, is offering
just over €1.3 billion for the airline, in which the State owns a
25.1% stake and rival Ryanair
holds almost 30%.
6
Liberty
News
MARCH 2015
Ireland moving closer to
US levels of inequality
A MAJOR new report from the
progressive think tank, Tasc,
has found income inequality
in Ireland is moving further
away from that found in
other European countries and
towards the levels of gross inequality experienced in the
United States.
Kilkenny District Council
takes the Yes Equality
referendum vote pledge
Yes Equality campaign brings its
message to the union grassroots
A PRESENTATION on the
case for a ‘Yes’ vote and the
key issues involved in the
Civil Marriage Equality referendum has been delivered to
SIPTU District Councils
across the country.
In recent weeks, District Council
members in Cork, Kilkenny, Waterford, Wexford, Cavan, Kildare
and Dublin have all been addressed by activists on the SIPTU
policy of supporting marriage
equality.
SIPTU Yes Equality campaign
manager, Dan O’Neill, said:
“Equality is a core value of the
trade union movement. Winning
this referendum will ensure that
workers in same-sex relationships
will stand a better chance of being
valued as equal citizens.”
He added: “This fight is part of
the wider struggle that must be
fought for all workers if we are to
achieve fairness and justice in our
society.”
Among the campaigners who
have addressed District Council is
Rachel Mathews McKay, a founding member of the SIPTU LBGT
Network. “We will be putting up
posters
across
workplaces
throughout the country”, she told
Liberty.
“SIPTU members are being encouraged to have conversations
about the referendum and to raise
the topic for discussion at local
meetings. Above all we will be asking our fellow workers, friends
and families to go out and vote
‘Yes’ on polling day.”
For further information on the
Yes Equality campaign, email
[email protected]
See page 10.
‘Cherishing all Equally’ is the
first detailed analysis of economic
inequality in Ireland. It looks beyond income and wealth at a
range of other issues including
public services, taxation, family
composition, people’s capacities
and the cost of goods and services.
According to Revenue data, the
top 1% of income earners in Ireland averaged €373,300 per
annum compared to €27,400 for
the bottom 90%. The top 10% hold
somewhere between 42% to 58%
of Ireland’s wealth compared to
12% for the bottom 50%.
See page 13.
‘Au pairs are workers not
cultural exchange participants'
Public sector strike in Northern Ireland
AU PAIRS, carers and domestic workers have launched a
new campaign to fight for
the rights of workers in private homes across Ireland.
Belfast public sector rally
Photo: Brian Lynch
Several thousand workers
took part in a rally at Belfast
City Hall on Friday, 13th
March, as part of a one-day
strike over spending cuts and
planned redundancies in the
public sector in Northern Ireland.
Rallies were also held in other
towns around the North. Over
60,000 workers joined the one-day
stoppage, organised by the Northern Ireland Committee of the
ICTU, to show their opposition to
the Stormont House Agreement,
which envisages approximately
20,000 job losses, and major cuts
to services.
Further
industrial
action
is expected. Among those participating in the major rally outside
Belfast City Hall were SIPTU Organiser, Niall McNally, and SIPTU
activist, Tim Smyth.
The ‘Labour of Love’ campaign,
launched in early March, aims to
combat the widespread underpayment, exploitation and abuse
of workers providing essential
care and housekeeping services.
‘Labour of Love’ calls for recognition of the employment rights of
au pairs, including the right to a
minimum wage and the introduction of a work permit for the
domestic work sector.
It also calls on the Government
to recognise increased labour
market demand for migrant
workers in the provision of care
and domestic labour.
Jane Xavier, domestic worker
spokesperson and former au pair,
said: “Contrary to popular belief,
au pairs in Ireland are workers,
not cultural exchange participants. In law, au pairs have the
same rights as any other workers.
“In practice, however, we are
being used for full-time flexible
childcare and domestic labour for
a fraction of minimum wage.
This is unacceptable in 2015. We
need to ensure that au pairs
know their rights as workers, and
families know their obligations
as employers.”
Pictured above is the launch of
the campaign on 6th March outside the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in
Dublin,
Liberty
Polish Culture Night
MARCH 2015
7
Big night of Polish culture at Liberty Hall
S
OME OF SIPTU's
7,000-plus Polish born
members are expected
at a Polish Culture
Night hosted by the union in
the Liberty Hall Auditorium on
Thursday 26th March to mark
the inaugural PolskaÉire Festival.
Speaking at the festival's launch
in Dublin on 24th February, Minister of State for New Communities,
Culture and Equality, Aodhán Ó
Ríordáin said: “I am delighted with
the PolskaÉire 2015 festival programme, and am looking forward
to SIPTU’s Polish Cultural Night. I
hope that it encourages a broader
discussion on the issues relating to
the rights of our new communities
working in Ireland.”
SIPTU National Campaigns and
Equality Organiser Ethel Buckley
said SIPTU was proud to play a
leading role in the festival. “There
are over 7,000 Polish SIPTU members, and our particular role in the
festival will focus on the workplace realities Polish workers living
and working in Ireland face every
day.”
“We are delighted that the incoming
Polish
Ambassador,
Ryszard Sarkowicz, has chosen Liberty Hall for one of his first public
speaking engagements. It is fitting
recognition of the migration experience of tens of thousands of Polish workers who have come to
Ireland in search of work and a better life for their families.”
John Delaney, Football Association of Ireland CEO said: “Polish
people make a huge contribution
to our society, and this festival –
which encompasses musical, cultural and sporting connections –
will provide a platform to showcase the close relationship that has
developed between our countries,
particularly over the last 10 years.”
Barnaba Dorda, a member of the
SIPTU Polish Network, said the
union’s participation and recogni-
AR — ERS
SEMIN
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MARCH
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RELAN
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SPEAKERS
Jack O’Connor,
SIPTU Gener
al President
President
General
M
LIBE
00 P.M
.M. - 8.0
6.00 P
dáin TD,
Aodhán Ó'Rior
Ó'Riordáin
Minister of St
ate for
for New
New
Minister
State
Communities, Cultur
Culture,
e, Equality
Ryszard
Ryszard Sarkowicz,
Sarkowicz,
Ambassador
Ambassador of the Republic
of Poland
Ireland
Poland to
to Ireland
Dr Niamh Nestor,
Nestor,
School
and Literature,
Literature, UCD
School of
of Languages
Languages and
M.C. Anna Wianowska,
Wianowska,
SIPTU Shop Steward
Steward
Pictured at the launch of the PolskaEire Festival at the Aviva
Stadium on 24 February were from left to right: Charge
d’ Affair, Polish Embassy, Piotr Rakowski, Derek Nolan T.D.,
Ethel Buckley, SIPTU, Minister of State for New Communities,
Culture and Equality, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, John Delaney, FAI,
with young footballers.
cultural events. A children’s choir
from the Polish School in
Drogheda will perform, as will the
Koniczyna folk dance group. The
‘Thank You Ireland’ multimedia
photo exhibition will be on show,
as well as an exhibition by the Polish Scouting Association of Ireland.
Polish food will be on sale.
One of the highlights of the
evening will be a fully-seated concert in the main theatre at 8pm,
featuring acclaimed Polish-Irish
band Supertonic Orchestra.
SIPTU Polish Cultural Night is
supported by Forum Polonia and
will be broadcast live on Polish
Community Radio PLK FM.
The PolskaÉire Festival runs
until 30th March.
Supnecert at 8.00
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well-received across the Polish
community in Ireland.
Union General President Jack
O’Connor will open the Cultural
Night at a seminar in the Connolly
Hall on the working lives of Polish
migrants in Ireland. Dr Niamh
Nestor, linguist and expert on the
Polish-Irish community, will speak
about the lives of Polish migrants
in Ireland with a particular emphasis on language. The Minister and
Ambassador will also address the
seminar, while MC for the evening
will be Anna Wianowska, who is
originally from Poland and is now
a SIPTU Shop Steward at the Ferrero manufacturing plant in Cork.
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Jack O’Connor,
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for New
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Bose workers vote for redundancy terms
WORKERS at the Bose plant
in Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, voted overwhelmingly
in late February in favour of
redundancy terms proposed
by the company.
SIPTU Organiser Jim McVeigh
said the redundancy proposals
emerged after several weeks of negotiation.
"We negotiated what we considered to be a fair and reasonable re-
dundancy package. We recommended the proposals to the
members and they voted overwhelmingly in favour of the
terms,” he said.
“We will be continuing discussions with the company, the Government and the IDA, to try and
ensure that alternative employment opportunities are provided
for the skilled workforce and that
new investment can be found for
the Bose site in Carrickmacross."
He added: “We are also discussing a possible application to
the European Globalisation Adjustment Fund for monies to assist workers with business
start-ups, back-to-education costs
and other training options.”
The company, which has operated in Carrickmacross since 1978
and employs 140 workers, will
cease production in May.
Ryszar
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Liberty
News
MARCH 2015
Party conferences hear calls for left unity
A
ca ll for u nity between
p rogr ess iv e
p ol it ic al fo r ce s an d
f or a d ef en ce o f t h e
li vi n g s ta n da rd s o f
w o rki n g pe opl e was made b y
S IPTU re pre se n tati ve s at t he
r e c e n t L a b o u r Pa r t y C o n f e r enc e. A simil ar ca ll was
r a i s e d a t t h e S i n n Fe i n A r d
F hei s.
Addressing a fringe meeting held
on Saturday 28th February, at the
Labour Party Conference in Killarney, Co. Kerry, SIPTU President
Jack O’Connor, said that the party
must re-assert its own identity and
work towards securing a government of the Left.
O’Connor stated that the Labour
Party has “allowed a narrative
which portrays us as having collaborated with austerity instead of
mitigating it”, despite having
achieved all the core objectives
which the new left-wing Syriza led
government in Greece has set itself.
For the next election he called
on the Labour Party to stand on
“an independent, democratic, socialist” election platform and prioritise the abolition of the
Universal Social Charge and the development of a new Progressive
Social Solidarity Contribution.
He added that the party should
keep its options open “to work
Jack O’Connor:
Labour must work
towards securing
a government of
the Left
with progressive people and parties who are left of centre in order
to achieve the ultimate ambition
envisaged by the founders of the
Labour Party for a government of,
and for, the mass of working people and dispossessed of our country.”
SIPTU general secretary, Joe
O’Flynn, while acknowledging the
work of junior minister, Ged Nash,
in advancing legislation on the
protection of worker’s rights and
collective bargaining, told the conference that the best way for all
workers to protect themselves
from unscrupulous employers was
by joining trade unions.
Also at the Labour party conference, SIPTU Organiser, Brendan
Carr, presented a successful motion calling for a debate on withdrawing from Government if
collective bargaining legislation
has not been enacted by this autumn.
Dan O’Neill, of the SIPTU Campaigns Department, presented a
motion calling for cuts in young
people’s core social welfare payments to be reversed. He said
young people were not “work shy”
but rather sought opportunities to
work when they were available.
Delegates voted to support the motion.
The conference also saw SIPTU
Organisers, Aideen Carberry and
Adrian Kane elected to the party’s
National Executive Council which
is chaired by SIPTU researcher, Loraine Mulligan.
At the Sinn Féin Ard Fheis held
in Derry on 6th-7th March, delegates voted to endorse the setting
of a living wage for workers.
Speaking in support of a motion
calling for security of contract for
workers, SIPTU Organiser, Louise
O’Reilly, said: “I wholly endorse
the call for engagement between
[Sinn Féin] jobs and workers’
rights spokespersons and trade
unions.”
She added: “This engagement
needs to happen soon so we can
end the misery of precarious employment”.
The case for publicly-funded education
ALLOWING big business to
dictate the agenda and direction of our universities
poses great dangers to the academic freedom that is so essential
to
third-level
education, a Union of Students of Ireland (USI) seminar on 12th March was told.
The breakfast seminar on
March 12th, 'A Case for PubliclyFunded Higher Education', was
attended by members of the Expert Group on Future Funding
for Higher Education, including
its chairman, Peter Cassells.
Tom Healy from NERI outlined
options for the funding of thirdlevel education, including the
Scandinavian model which would
see a high level of investment in
a sector that is suffering the impact of underfunding.
Dr Adam Wright (Lead Advisor
on Higher Education Policy to the
National Union of Students) outlined the current situation in the
UK, which ranges from free education for all EU students (excluding English) in Scotland, and the
system of loans in place in England. He made a convincing case
against the system of loans which
see graduates enter the workforce in debt and facing years of
repayments.
Following a lively Q&A session,
a panel discussion saw SIPTU's
Louise O’Reilly argue that our
third-level institutions could lead
by example by being places
where decent work and quality
learning go hand-in-hand.
She spoke of the dangers which
exist when business is allowed to
dictate the agenda and direction
of our universities and the manner in which this interferes with
the academic freedom so essential to ensure our learners graduate with an education which
encourages critical thinking and
questioning.
Photographed above are panel
members Craig McHugh (President
of the Irish Second Level Students
Association), Louise O’Reilly
(SIPTU), Dr Aidan Seery (TCD),
Laura Harmon (President USI),
Glenn Fitzpatrick (Vice-President
USI) and Dr Adam Wright (NUS).
To view
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Ireland log
tels.ie
www.fairho
Liberty
Workplace Committee
MARCH 2015
9
NIR Section Committee – determined to mobilise
members to confront the threat of Tory-inspired cuts
Keeping the union on track
By Scott Millar
A
S BEFITS an organisation, which in previous decades many
people knew as simply the “transport union”,
SIPTU has a long tradition of
organising rail workers on
both sides of the border.
During March, Liberty talked to
some of those who are maintaining and developing that tradition
through their work on the SIPTU
Northern Ireland Railway (NIR)
section committee.
The chairman of the 13-member
section committee, Terry Donaghy,
has been a SIPTU member for 25
years and hails from a family with
a long history of activism in progressive politics.
“My father was a trade unionist
all his life. He was involved in
struggles for recognition back in
the 1950s and 60s and was a councillor for West Belfast for the
Northern Ireland Labour Party.
Let’s just say I came from a family
were socialism was practised, not
preached,” he said.
In NIR, SIPTU organises “concession worker” grades, which includes guards, porters, station
staff, signalers, conductors and
crossing keepers. A number of
other unions, mainly the GMB and
Unite, as well as professional bodies organise other grades of workers. Terry said: “For a long while it
NIR Class 4000 train departs
Great Victoria Street Station
was hard to get people to come forward to act as shop stewards. However, that is changing now and we
have got reps coming forward from
groups where it was previously
very hard to organise.”
He added: “When we get enough
members in an area, we then get
them to appoint a shop steward
and we provide them with training. The shop steward then attends
the section meetings.
“We have broad representation,
from the various grades and depots
where we organise on the committee. We currently have 13 on the
committee and that is likely to increase over the next year to about
15.”
The recent upsurge in union activity is something also noted by
We’re public
sector workers
and every time
the Tories get in,
you start shaking
in your boots
because they will
cut to the bone
committee member, Tyrone Winters, who is based in the NIR Lurgan depot and works as a cross
keeper. Tyrone says the upsurge in
union membership is due not only
to the work of SIPTU activists, but
also to changes in the wider politcal context. “We’re public sector
workers, and every time the Tories
get in, you just have to start shaking in your boots because they will
cut to the bone.
“Labour aren’t much better but
they do try to hold on to whatever
public sector we have. But every
time the Tories come in they will
cut and everybody knows that, So
it is when the Tories come that you
do see an upsurge in trade union
membership and activity.”
Mobilising members to confront
the threat of Tory-inspired cuts is now
becoming the main activity for shop
stewards, according to Portadownbased
conductor,
Christopher
McCann.
“The biggest issue now is the
cuts, even more than the day-today stuff of dealing with rosters
and personal issues.”
Christopher has worked at NIR
for eight years, serving as a shop
steward for the last five. On his
own decision to become active,
Christopher said: “I got active in
the union because I just wanted to
see if I could make a difference.
I’ve been in railways all together,
here and in England, for 16 years
so I felt that I knew my stuff and
should get involved.”
The reality of the impending imposition of austerity on Northern
Ireland is outlined by Terry.
“Any employer will take advantage of weakness and we are look-
ing at this year a near £13.5 million
cut in our funds across Translink
which is the NIR, Ulsterbus and
Metro. This is all starting to build
up now, and so I am expecting that
our roles will change.
“As well as the day-to-day stuff
concerning rosters and disciplinaries, what we will be doing is going
in and fighting for people’s jobs.”
Tyrone also serves on the SIPTU
National Transport Committee
which meets in Dublin. He says
this has prepared him for the scale
of the struggle NIR workers will
soon face.
“Being down south has given me
a real heads-up. We don’t see how
bad it has been in the south of Ireland. I had no idea how bad it had
been for the trade union movement down there.
“We had secured pay rises and
you’re sitting at national committee meetings and everyone is saying cuts and more cuts.
“It opened my eyes to how bad
things are and how bad the Government is in the south of Ireland
and how they just roll over for the
Germans.”
He added that the UK chancellor,
George Osborne, and prime minister, David Cameron, “are just doing
the exact same thing, but it is not
because of the Germans – it is just
down to Tory ideology.”
10
Liberty
Community
MARCH 2015
Community workers in battle
with ‘Department of Silence”
SIPTU leads
charge for
equality
S
On the 22nd May, Irish
citizens will be asked to vote
in a referendum to change the
Constitution of Ireland.
opment, childcare and rural development.
Nearly 2,000 workers are employed in these companies which
also manage a range of employment programmes such as
LEADER, TUS, Rural Social
Schemes and the Community Employment Programme. These
schemes have already seen cuts of
IPTU members working in the community
sector are to ballot for
industrial action after
management at the Department of Environment, Community and Local Government
refused to engage over a
range of issues including redundancy and the transfer of
undertakings.
It follows the outcome of a new
tender process to contract out
services under the Social Inclusion and Activation Programme
(SICAP).
SIPTU Sector Organiser, Eddie
Mullins, told Liberty: “Local Development Companies (LDCs)
were informed in early March
whether they had won a contract
to provide services under the
SICAP.
“At least five LDCs did not succeed in this tendering process,
which will give rise to a range of
industrial relations issues including redundancies and the transfer
of undertakings. The potential
damage to both services and jobs
is huge.”
He said: “Thanks to a campaign
run by SIPTU activists and organisers, the Department has proposed an enhanced redundancy
package. However, it is not in line
with a Labour Court recommendation and is less than workers employed in the rural transport
programme were offered less than
six months ago.
“This double standard cannot
be allowed to stand. It is unfair to
community workers.”
SIPTU activists demonstrated
outside the Department of Environment, Community and Local
Department
officials created
this situation... the
department needs
to step up and
start talking to those
who deliver its programmes
SIPTU members working in the community
sector took to the streets of Dublin on February
18th, now they are balloting for industrial action
Government offices on Wednesday, 18th February, to highlight
the department’s drive to effectively privatise the SICAP services.
More than 500 community
workers from the across the State
were at the protest. A large “Department of Silence” banner was
erected on the walls of the Cus-
tom House in Dublin to highlight
the department’s refusal to talk to
workers about their concerns, despite a Labour Court recommendation supporting negotiations.
LDCs provide a range of services
including access to employment,
adult education, training, enterprise support, community devel-
50% to core funding over the last
six years.
Speaking at the rally, SIPTU Organiser, Darragh O’Connor, said:
“The SICAP tendering process put
community organisations in direct competition with each other
for no obvious benefit. Indeed, it
goes against the inclusive and cooperative ethos of the community
sector.”
SIPTU Community Sector activist, Donnie O’Leary, said:
“Community workers are now facing redundancy and the department officials who created this
situation won’t engage meaningfully with their union. The department needs to step up and start
talking to those who deliver its
programmes.”
By Ethel Buckley
This change would make Ireland
more equal. This change allows our
colleagues, brothers and sisters the
right to get married and to celebrate their love equally. As it currently stands, lesbian, gay, bisexual
and transgender (LGBT) couples
cannot get married and do not have
equal status under our Constitution.
This change guarantees constitutional equality for all citizens and
workers.
SIPTU members understand that
equality is a core value of our
union. The principle that we are
stronger when we stand together
underpins our movement. We have
a long and proud record of fighting
inequality. We do it every day in
factories, on shop floors, in offices
and in our communities. We stand
and fight together to win dignity
and respect for workers and justice
in our shared and equal society. It’s
who we are.
Campaigning for civil marriage
equality and taking the conversation to members around the country mirrors our work defending low
paid workers, in defending the
most vulnerable, in campaigning
for better pay and a living wage,
fighting for secure pensions and for
better terms and conditions of employment.
All workers should be able to
work and can be fully open about
their sexuality with the fear of discrimination. We have over 15,000
lesbian, gay, bi-sexual and transgender members represented in every
Sector and Division of our union.
LGBT trade unionists played a
pioneering role in the campaign for
gay rights in Ireland, leading the
fight for the decriminalisation of
homosexuality, fighting discrimination in the workplace and helping
secure the 2010 Civil Partnership
Act, which grants same sex couples
legal recognition but does not confer the rights or status of civil marriage. There is no justification for
allowing this two-tier system to
continue.
This May, SIPTU members will
have the chance to play their part
in ending this inequality. That is
why SIPTU is campaigning for a
strong 'Yes' vote and is encouraging
all trade unionists to do all that
they can to talk to friends, colleagues and family members in
order to secure a resounding win
for our LGBT colleagues and friends
and family members.
Liberty
News
MARCH 2015
11
Too many on low pay despite growth
THE Government will comfortably meet its deficit target this year on the back of
strong GDP growth of 3.4%, a
new report by the Nevin Economic Research Institute
(NERI) has claimed.
The report, contained in the latest edition of the NERI Quarterly
Economic Observer, details how
this positive economic outlook has
been driven by continued employment growth and improved consumer demand.
However, with 25% of workers
earning less than the accepted
Living Wage of €11.45 an hour, it
also raises a concern over the number of workers in low paid, precarious forms of employment.
The NERI Quarterly Economic
Observer, published on Thursday,
19th March, provides a comprehensive overview of the issue of
low pay in Ireland.
The report shows a link between
low pay, low hours, and insecure
forms of employment with a focus
on gender – 60% of those classified
as low paid are female.
And it identifies low-paid forms
of employment as particularly
prevalent for workers in retail,
food and accommodation, and
agriculture.
NERI senior research officer,
Micheál Collins, told Liberty:
“While the economy continues to
recover, a large proportion of workers remain in a position where
their basic hourly wage fails to afford them an adequate standard of
living.
“This issue is exacerbated by the
link between low pay and short
working hours.
“The risk of a two-tiered recovery remains. Employment growth
in the western and northern counties remains sluggish and contrasts
with the situation in the greater
Dublin area where employment
growth is much stronger.”
NERI director, Tom Healy, said:
“Our analysis shows a link between inadequate levels of pay,
low hours and insecure forms of
employment.
“How this issue is addressed will
influence the continued strength
Micheál Collins:’risk of a
two-tiered recovery remains’
of the economic recovery currently
under way."
See Liberty View on page 15.
Compensation for Tit Bonhomme tragedy families
By Padraig Yeates
THE families of three Egyptian fishermen who drowned
on the Tit Bonhomme off
Glandore, County Cork, on
15th January, 2012, have received more than €563,000 in
compensation.
The cases were taken on their
behalf by the International Trans-
for the rights of fishers and other
seafarers in conjunction with
SIPTU and our other affiliates.
“We will be holding a conference
in Ringaskiddy and Cobh on 6th
May to commemorate the centenary of the sinking of the Lusitania, paying tribute to all the
seafarers who kept open vital supply lines to Ireland and Britain in
two world wars as well as high-
port Workers Federation (ITF).
The family of a Dublin man,
Kevin Kershaw, aged 21, who
drowned on the vessel that day received compensation of €40,000.
His family was not represented by
the ITF or any trade union.
Welcoming the settlements, Ken
Fleming, who is ITF Co-Ordinator
for Ireland and Britain, said: “The
Federation will continue to fight
lighting the hazards seafarers continue to face today.”
The widow and children of Wael
Mohamed, aged 35, settled their
High Court action for €262,700.
Saled Mohamed Ibrahim Aly Eldin,
aged 22, and Attia Shaaban, aged
26, settled their claims for
€162,700 and €137,700 respectively.
The families of the Egyptian
fishermen had sued Caitlin Hayes,
the owner of the Tit Bonhomme.
Counsel for the families claimed
there was a failure to take adequate precautions for the welfare
of the crew, but this was denied by
the owner. Her husband Michael
Hayes also drowned in the tragedy.
At the inquest a local jury returned verdicts of accidental
deaths.
Amazing April
26th- 30th April 2015
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12
Liberty
Economy
MARCH 2015
By
Vic Duggan
A
T NEARLY 5% per
year, Ireland had the
fastest growing economy in the EU or
OECD in 2014. 1,000 jobs
were created every week. Between modest increases in
the average wage and falls in
the price of consumer goods,
people have more money in
their back pockets.
With house prices rising rapidly,
homeowners feel richer. Despite
carrying a debt bigger than the size
of the economy, the Government
can borrow money more cheaply
than ever before.
The emerging narrative seems to
be: the Government took the tough
decisions, citizens made the necessary sacrifices, and after seven
years of brutal tax hikes and
spending cuts, we are on the verge
of seven years of plenty. And, this
time it’s different.
Across the water in the UK, Tory
Chancellor George Osborne similarly took great delight in confounding his own critics, from the
Labour Party to the IMF, who had
said he was slashing the deficit too
much and too soon. The UK has
bounced back strongly compared
with its continental counterparts.
Case closed?
We have been here before. Post1987, Ireland was held up as a dubious poster child for what some
economists called ‘expansionary
fiscal contraction’; the idea that
austerity causes growth.
This was to be used as justification for bouts of belt-tightening
across the world in the quarter century that followed, including in
Ireland itself after the 2008 crash.
So, austerity works?
If one thing happens after another, does that mean that that the
second event was caused by the
first? Post hoc ergo propter hoc, as
they might say in Eton?
No, of course not. Expansionary
fiscal contraction is both an oxymoron and a fallacy.
All else being equal, cutting the
Did austerity work?
Beware of false
prophets preaching
fiscal masochism
or soundbite-friendly
policy solutions as
miracle cures
budget deficit – or increasing the
surplus – shrinks the economy. In
the case of both Ireland and the
UK, aggressive austerity caused the
economy to contract by more than
would have been thecase had a
more patient path been chosen.
It is no surprise, therefore, given
how steep the economic decline
was, and how many jobs were
shredded, that we are now seeing
a catch-up recovery as the economy makes up for lost ground.
None of this is to say that Ireland could have escaped entirely
from the clutches of austerity.
Even if we had not been forced by
the Troika to accelerate fiscal consolidation, it is fantasy to think
that we could have continued running massive deficits indefinitely,
racking up debt while expecting
the private sector or international
institutions to keep lending to us
on affordable terms.
One may quibble about how and
how quickly the budget deficit was
brought under control, but there is
no doubt that it had to be reined
in.
If budget cuts were not made
when the economy was on its
knees, they would have had to be
made when recovery was under
way. But that is the very essence of
common-sense Keynesian economics.
Some fantasists would have you
believe that there were easy solutions, like leaving the euro or running budget deficits that would
somehow pay for themselves.
The economy had become so out
of kilter by 2007, and the subsequent scale of the collapse was so
dramatic, that there were no easy
options. The pertinent question is
whether policy-makers made the
best of a brutal situation?
While it was heresy to say so in
some circles back in 2008, it is now
conventional wisdom that the
blanket bank guarantee was an un-
mitigated disaster for the country.
Reining in the budget deficit was
necessary but, with a free hand, it
would have been more prudent to
backload the pain until recovery
had taken hold.
As for how exactly austerity was
executed... much of the same economic literature that heralded Ireland’s
‘expansionary
fiscal
contraction’ holds as an article of
faith that spending cuts trump tax
hikes.
The evidence is similarly weak,
and highly context-specific. What
is clear is that the earlier stages of
Ireland’s most recent bout of austerity, which relied more heavily
on tax increases, made the distribution of income more equal
whereas the latter stages, which relied more so on spending cuts have
had the opposite effect.
Much of this may be academic at
this point – ancient history to
those who prefer to live in the
present and look to the future –
but it is important that we learn
the right lessons from the second
economic crisis to hit the country
in a generation.
Of course, it should never be allowed to happen again. But if it
does, whether in Ireland or elsewhere, beware of false prophets
preaching fiscal masochism or
soundbite friendly policy solutions
as miracle cures.
EDUCATION & DEVELOPMENT
SUPPORT SCHEME
MEMBERS IN FUR
FURTHER
THER EDUC
EDUCATION
ATION
The scheme will offer up to ten awards each year.
SECOND-LEVEL
AWARDS
S
ECOND-LEVEL A
WARDS FOR
FOR MEMBERS
MEMBERS AND
AND FOR
FOR MEMBERS’
MEMBERS’ CHILDREN
CHILDREN
Up to thirty awards will be made each year to second-level students to
cover the senior cycle (the two years up to the Leaving Certificate).
GAELTACHT
AWARDS
WARDS FOR MEMBERS’ CHILDREN
GAEL
LTACHT A
Up to twenty-five awards will be made each year for the children
of members to cover the cost of their participation (accommodation
and tuition fees) in a Gaeltacht course under the scheme operated
jointly by SIPTU and Gael Linn.
I PT
EIP
FOR REC IO
E
T
A
D
G
N
ICATIONS
CLOSIIN ETED APPLIC
L
P
O F CO M T E M B E R, 2 0 1 5
30TH SEP DS 2015/2016)
R
(FOR AWA
A member, applying on his/her own
behalf or on behalf of his/her
child/children, must have at least
one year’s membership of the Union
and be in benefit when both the
application and the payments are
made.
Liberty
Economy
MARCH 2015
13
Economic
Inequality
A growing problem for Ireland
E
CONOMICS has always been about the
study of who gets
what, when and how.
While economic growth was
once seen as the key to solving all our problems, how the
fruits of growth are distributed has become a more central concern.
While there has long been a
recognition that more equal societies do better on a range of social
indictors such as health, crime and
trust, there is now increasing evidence to show that more equal societies also have stronger and more
stable economies.
When looking at how unequal an
economy is, we often focus on the
distribution of income; specifically
on incomes after taxes and social
welfare payments. On this measure Ireland is about average for the
EU. This leads many to conclude
that economic inequality is not a
problem in Ireland.
TASC’s first annual report on
economic inequality in Ireland,
Cherishing All Equally, shows why
this conclusion is wrong.
As the report demonstrates, focusing on the money in people’s
pockets is not enough. While understanding how incomes are redistributed is important, what
really matters when it comes to
understanding economic inequality is how people meet their needs.
Public services such as healthcare, transport, investment and
education play a vital role in determining how people meet their
needs, and the level of economic
inequality in our society.
Focusing on incomes, even after
taxes and welfare payments, doesn’t account for public services. Nor
does it take into account the cost
of living. The report finds that in
Ireland the high cost of living (20%
above the EU average) and high
charges for public services such as
childcare, public transport and GP
visits worsen economic inequality,
because they have a relatively
higher cost for people on low incomes.
More importantly, our report
shows that focusing only on incomes after taxes and welfare ignores the underlying threat of
rising levels of market inequality.
On this measure, income inequality in Ireland has been rising
steadily since the 1970s, to the
point that we are now the most unequal country in the OECD when
it comes to how the market distributes income.
The top 1% in Ireland have doubled their share of the national income since the 1970s. At the same
time the vast majority – the ‘bottom 90%’ – have lost out: from 72%
Income inequality
in Ireland has
been rising
steadily since
the 1970s, to
the point that we
are now the most
unequal country
in the OECD
when it comes
to how the
market distributes
income
of national income in the late 70s
to 62% at the height of the boom
(see chart).
This is not a ‘hypothetical’ situation as some have argued. That
we have average levels of inequality after taxes and welfare simply
shows how hard the tax and welfare system has to work. Similarly,
arguments that we have the ’most
progressive’ income tax system
merely highlight how deeply un-
PICTURE: Frits Ahlefeldt-Laurvig (CC BY-ND 2.0) hikingartist.com
By Cormac Staunton
equal we are to begin with.
As this level of inequality grows
every year, it becomes harder to restrain the underlying inequality
from affecting the wellbeing of our
society, the functioning of the
economy and even the health of
our democracy. One of the impor-
tant contributions of TASC’s report
is to demonstrate that economic
inequality can only be reduced if
policies join the dots between
taxes, public services, family and
the cost of living; it is not sufficient to just focus on cash incomes.
It is important to acknowledge
that real economic development
has occurred over the last three
decades. New technologies have
helped bring a higher standard of
living across society, and some living costs are lower now than in the
past, such as telecommunications
or household goods.
Nonetheless, even during recent
periods of economic growth, many
people’s circumstances have worsened. Essential costs such as housing and energy are much more
expensive than in the past. And of
course, the collapse of recent years
has devastated the economic position of many people in Ireland. It
is a myth that the rise of inequality
we are now witnessing is inevitable. While all advanced
economies are experiencing the
same pressures that lead to growing inequality, the levels of inequality are not the same
everywhere.
Economic and social policy
choices – including taxation and
the provision of public services –
have produced very different outcomes in different countries.
Reversing inequality does not
hinder economic growth. In fact,
there are strong arguments that
more equal societies have more
productive, innovative and sustainable economies. The notion of
‘trickle down’ is a discredited theory, dismissed by the OECD and
others.
Up to now we have mistakenly
relied on economic growth as the
cure-all for economic inequality.
But there was no ‘rising tide’. Instead, we need to prioritise reducing inequality, which will lead to a
more balanced economy with sustainable levels of growth.
As we begin to see economic recovery in Ireland, decisions made
now will determine the kind of society that will develop over the
coming decades. It is vital that a
commitment to reducing economic
inequality underpins today’s economic policy decisions so that we
deal with the root causes of inequality and bring about a truly
flourishing society.
Cormac Staunton is a Policy Analyst
with TASC.
14
Liberty
Comment
MARCH 2015
By
Niall Crowley
I
NTERNATIONAL
Women’s Day has been
around for some hundred
years now. Pay was an
issue in the early years and
pay continues to be an issue.
The gender pay gap continues to
capture all the various inequalities
that disadvantage women in Irish
society and beyond. Change is
slow.
The European Commission has
estimated that, at the current rate
of progress, it would be another 70
years before equal pay is achieved.
They also point out that it would
be another 40 years before housework is equally shared, 30 years before the employment rate for
women hits the Europe 2020 target
of 75%, and 20 years before there
is gender balance in national parliaments.
Austerity doesn’t help either.
The gender pay gap in Ireland was
14.4% in 2012. It has risen from
12.6% in 2009. The higher the income, the higher the gap becomes.
For the lowest 10% of earners the
gender pay gap is 4% but it rises to
24.6% for the top 10% of earners.
The gender pay gap captures the
segregation of women in low paid
jobs. It is rooted in the unequal
distribution of unpaid work with
women disadvantaged in the
labour market due to the unequal
sharing of caring responsibilities
and housework.
It reflects an undervaluing of the
work women are involved in. It is
linked to the lack of flexible working arrangements and the inadequacy of childcare services. It
involves significant discrimination
against women in employment.
Ultimately it can be seen as a
product of the absence of women
in political decision-making posi-
PICTURE: Mike Atherton (CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)
Women ARE wonderful...
so why are they paid less?
tions. Employment equality legislation establishes the right of equal
pay for work of equal value on all
grounds covered by the Act including gender.
However, there have been fewer
and fewer cases in relation to
equal pay in recent years. There
are issues of high levels of underreporting of discrimination generally and this is part of the issue.
It is particularly difficult to bring
The European
Commission has
estimated that, at
the current rate of
progress, it would
be another 70
years before equal
pay is achieved
LRC talks ongoing for Bord na Móna workers
Talks are ongoing at the Labour
Relatons Commission (LRC) between SIPTU representatives
and management concerning restructuring proposals at Bord na
Móna.
In order to allow the talks to progress
SIPTU members in the Bord na Móna Finance Shares Services and Feedstock sections have agreed to defer placing notice
of strike action on the company.
Bord na Móna Group of Unions Secretary and SIPTU Organiser, John
Regan, said: “While this process is ongoing management has agreed that no
alteration to the current pay and conditions of employment of union
members will occur.”
He added: “This dispute arose from
an attempt by management to fill positions in a manner designed to
destabilise the employment status of
other employees and to convert stable employment into precarious employment through displacement. The
approach was unprecedented and
was unacceptable to workers.”
Workers in the Bord na Móna Finance Shares Services and Feedstock
sections had voted overwhelmingly
for industrial action, up to and including strike action, in a ballot held
in early February.
forward equal pay cases and there
is a challenge to strengthen the position of complainants in these
cases. This has been recognised by
the European Commission in a
2014 Recommendation to Member
States in relation to equal pay.
This stated that discrimination
in relation to equal pay is “less
likely to be the subject of a court
case not only because potential victims are probably not aware of it,
but also because it is more difficult
for victims of pay discrimination
to effectively enforce the principle
of equal pay”.
The former Equality Authority
recommended reform of the provisions of the Employment Equality
Act to further enable people to
bring forward equal pay cases, in
particular, by ensuring their access
to necessary information from
their employer. However, no action was taken.
The European Commission Recommendation should stimulate
some political action if not appetite. It seeks action from the
Member States to make pay more
transparent. It proposes a set of actions that member states can
choose from, to:
Put in place measures to ensure that employees can request
information on pay levels, broken
down by gender, for categories of
employees doing the same work or
work of equal value.
Put in place measures to ensure that employers in companies
with at least 50 employees inform
employees, workers’ representatives and social partners of the average remuneration by category of
employee or position, broken
down by gender.
Take measures to ensure that
pay audits are conducted in companies with at least 250 employees.
Ensure that the issue of equal
pay, including pay audits, is discussed at the appropriate level of
collective bargaining.
Member states, including Ireland, have to report to the European Commission by the end of
this year on the actions they have
taken on foot of this recommendation.
Will the Irish government step
up to the challenge? Is there any
political appetite to reduce the
wait for equal pay for women from
the currently predicted 70 years?
We will know by the end of this
year.
Threat to Cadburys jobs is
‘dark day for manufacturing’
THE threat of more than 200 job
losses at three Mondelez Ireland (formerly Cadburys) plants is a “dark day
for manufacturing in Ireland”, SIPTU
has claimed.
Union representatives are in talks with
management over plans to implement 160
redundancies at plants in Coolock, in
Dublin, and Rathmore, Co Kerry, as well as
the threatened closure of the company’s
gum base production plant in Tallaght,
Dublin, in early 2016. SIPTU Organiser,
Colm Casserly, said: “The announcement
that the company is seeking such large-scale
redundancies came as a complete shock to
the workforces. Employees at the plants
have given sterling service to the company
over the years.”
SIPTU Organiser Michelle Quinn said: “In
the discussions with management, SIPTU is
attempting to minimise the number of redundancies to the greatest degree possible
and, if possible, save or at least extend the
operation of the Tallaght plant beyond
March 2016.”
Liberty
Liberty View
MARCH 2015
LibertyView
Time for pay increases
By JACK O’CONNOR
SIPTU General President
Against the background of a gradual
recovery in the economy following the
biggest economic collapse in the history
of the state, the time has come to intensify the campaign for pay increases for all
workers.
The internationally traded sectors are now
benefitting from the falling value of the euro.
Over the past year it has fallen by 25%
against the dollar and 16% against sterling
and it has also diminished in value against
other major currencies. In parallel with this,
the price of oil has fallen by about 40% and
while it is expected to recover somewhat all
the projections suggest it will still be 30%
lower for a while to come. On top of all this
interest rates for borrowing for investment
stand at an all-time low. The recently
announced Quantitative Easing initiative by
the European Central Bank is expected to
pump €12 billion into the Irish banks
between now and September 2016.
About 60% of our exports go to destinations
outside of the Eurozone and accordingly
exporting companies stand to benefit by the
decline in the value of the euro. The other big
The other big winner is
the hospitality sector as
the relative jump in the
value of the dollar, sterling
and other currencies
increases the spending
power of visitors
winner is the hospitality sector as the
relative jump in the value of the dollar,
sterling and other currencies increases the
spending power of visitors. This benefit will
be compounded by continuing improvement in the US and UK economies as well as
the robustness of Germany all of which will
result in increasing employment and
business confidence in these countries and
All these factors combined
enhance the case for pay
increases and point to a
capacity on the part of
employers to absorb them
to a degree that has not
been in evidence since 2007
will also stimulate further interest by their
citizens in foreign holidays.
Meanwhile, according to a Bank of Ireland
report published in August last year, unit
labour costs have ‘improved’ here by about
20% vis a vis the average for the Eurozone
between 2009 and 2014. This is accounted for
by a 10% fall in average hourly earnings in
this state and a corresponding 10% increase
across the area. All these factors combined
enhance the case for pay increases and point
to a capacity on the part of employers to
absorb them to a degree that has not been in
evidence since 2007.
Apart from a legitimate case for a fair share
in the product of people’s labour there is
also a major argument for pay increases in
the context of reinforcing the momentum of
economic recovery. Last year investment,
which is still running at an historically low
level, increased by more than 11%. Exports
increased by more than 12%. However, consumption increased by only 1% and this
element accounts for 55% of economic
output. Therefore, the key to growing the
economy is growing consumption and that
means increasing the spending power of the
population - thus the requirement for pay
increases across the board.
It is also key to addressing the chronic
problem of low pay. This was graphically
highlighted in the latest report by the trade
union backed Nevin Economic Research
Institute. More than 30% of workers in the
country are paid less than the Eurostat low
pay threshold level of €12.20 an hour and
more than 25% earn less than the accepted
Living Wage figure of €11.45 an hour. The
report also concluded that 65% of those
living in poverty are from low paid households.
It’s payback time at last
but it will only happen
if people organise themselves in unions and press
their reasonable demands
for wage increases
Workers have suffered a great deal over the
last seven years. It’s payback time at last but
it will only happen if people organise themselves in unions and press their reasonable
demands for wage increases. By doing so
they will improve their own living standards
and that of their families and help economic
recovery as well.
15
16
Liberty
Patricia King
MARCH 2015
‘We must make the movement
By Frank Connolly
T
HE LOOMING industrial dispute involving
Mandate and SIPTU at
Dunnes Stores represents something of a baptism
of fire for the new General
Secretary of Congress and former SIPTU vice-president, Patricia King. One of her early
tasks on taking up the position in March was to convene
a meeting of trade unions
across the private and public
sector to discuss the strategy
and tactics which Mandate –
the main union involved with
over 5,000 members at the retailer – will adopt for what is
widely expected to be a difficult dispute. There are 300
members of SIPTU employed
by Dunnes.
“The essence of the Dunnes dispute is fair employment rules for
workers and how unfair it is that
workers don’t know how many
hours they’re going to work in a
week and how much they are going
to earn,” says King. “It is where the
employers start to own the lives of
workers and that is a really bad development. Currently, there is no
legislation that will deal with the
essence of this behaviour.
“We are looking for legislation
whereby an employee would have
the statutory entitlement to seek
full-time work in their place of employment. There should be a
‘banded hours’ solution whereby if
you have over a period of time consistently worked or have been required by the employer to work
particular hours then that entitles
you to a definite set of hours. You
fall within a particular band.”
King says there is a strong sense
of solidarity across the trade union
movement in relation to the dispute at Dunnes Stores.
“The unions are highly engaged,
want to support it; they want to
take part and give assistance with
the dispute. I think there is a very
strong sense of solidarity. The reason is that it is about a very basic
fundamental right of workers.
Workers are entitled to have a fair
rate of pay for the work that they
do. They are entitled to know the
hours that they work and to have
security in terms of the pay that
they would earn in any one week.
“It is a question of very fundamental and basic rights. I certainly
expect it to be a difficult dispute
and I expect that the employer is
going to try and utilise every tool
‘Pay rises are not only important
for workers who have suffered
through the last number of years
of austerity but also for the
recovery of the economy. Putting
money into people’s pay packets
gives them more to spend,
increases domestic demand and
helps generate employment’
Patricia King with former
Congress General
Secretary, David Begg
Picture: Photocall
in the toolbox to stop the trade
union movement from winning
this very significant battle.”
The long-term refusal by Dunnes
to negotiate with the trade unions
representing their employees further complicates the issue and
brings into focus another key concern of the new Congress General
Secretary, which is getting the Government to introduce promised
legislation on collective bargaining
rights.
Collective bargaining
“We want to ensure that we get the
legislation on collective bargaining,
and that we get the legislation for
Registered Employment Agreements. SIPTU, the TEEU and other
unions have also set out their stall
in relation to pay rises across the
economy while discussions are expected to commence within weeks
on wage increases and other matters in the public service with the
Haddington Road Agreement due
to expire at the end of the year.
“Pay rises are not only important
for workers who have suffered
through the last number of years of
austerity but also for the recovery
of the economy. Putting money
into people’s pay packets gives
them more to spend, increases domestic demand and helps generate
employment.
“In relation to the public service
there is a general consensus among
the unions that what will be sought
will be around the area of a flat-rate
increase. I think the employer side
is going to tell us about the little
amount of money they have, but
much more importantly they’re
going to start talking about European fiscal rules that they have
signed up to, post-Troika.
“This is not going to be an easy
set of negotiations. It is going to be
a challenge for the Public Services
Committee of Congress and for all
the affiliate unions. Part of this will
be about unwinding the Financial
Emergency Measures in the Public
Interest (FEMPI) legislation.”
Another concern of Congress in
the talks will be the moratorium on
recruitment that has contributed to
the current crisis in the health and
other public services although
there are signs, according to King,
that there has been some easing of
the embargo in recent months. She
believes the discussions should be
“tight and focused” and could be
over by the end of June with a ballot of public service members completed well in advance of
preparations for budget 2016.
“The expectation is that you
would have this done and dusted
so that any agreement is factored
into the budget planning,” she argued.
Northern Ireland
In the North, the recent successful
day of action against the austerity
measures outlined in the Stormont
House Agreement illustrates the
concerns of trade unionists over
the potential loss of 20,000 public
sector jobs.
“The administration has made a
provision of £700 million for the
payment of redundancy in this regard so it is quite serious about it.
Taking 20,000 workers out of a region of that size is going to have a
massive effect on the fabric of that
community. Northern Ireland is the
poorest of the regions of the UK
and has 10% of the workforce on
the minimum wage or less. It has
the highest deprivation figures.
There are also concerns at the possible privatisation of some public
services.”
King also expects Congress to
have an input into Budget 2016
and, with the assistance of the
Nevin Economic Research Unit
(NERI), to present considered and
solid policies in relation to taxation
and spending.
“With the help of NERI we want
to develop the principles underlying clear policies on taxation,
spending and other matters. We
will then proceed to alert the political establishment that this is what
we expect to see in the Budget.”
She was not impressed by the recent suggestions of Finance Minister Michael Noonan and others for
tax cuts, arguing that such measures undermine public services as
well as taking the pressure of employers to give pay rises.
“When you cut tax you do two
things. You reduce the ability of the
State to provide quality public services because taxation is the source
of its main revenue. Employers
love tax cuts because while workers
are getting tax cuts they don’t have
to dip their hands into the pockets
of their profits and give real pay increases.”
She supports the call for pay rises
across the economy. While the
Minister for Public Expenditure
and Reform Brendan Howlin has
not directly discussed his suggestion of a forum for social dialogue
on pay and other matters with Congress, she is open to the idea.
“There is no centralised mechanism for dealing with pay and we
don’t know if there will be one or
not. If you have social dialogue
which is open and transparent,
where the trade unions can go in
and attempt to influence policy,
that’s a good thing. However, I can’t
see how you would negotiate pay
issues in such a forum.”
Dignity in the workplace
In relation to her personal objectives during her term as general
secretary, Patricia King has set out
three basic principles. “Everybody
is entitled to a reasonable rate of
pay for the job that they do, and I
think Congress should be vigorous
in campaigning for that. I think
workers are entitled to the right to
collective bargaining with their employer, without fear, and through
their trade union to determine
The essence of the Dunnes dispute
is fair employment rules for workers
and how unfair it is that workers
don’t know how many hours they’re
going to work and how much they
are going to earn. It is where the
employers start to own the lives of
workers and that is a really bad
development
Liberty
g Interview
MARCH 2015
17
stronger by working together’
needs to be strong, in very key
strategic areas so I think that we
need to remind ourselves of that as
much as anything else. I think we
are low in density terms of the lowpaid areas and there are reasons for
that, fear of the employer being
one of the main ones. Generally
speaking, the trade union movement does need to become more
cohesive and give itself every opportunity to fill the gaps where the
density is low.
“At the moment there are too
many trade unions, we know that,
and we have to work in Congress to
encourage cohesion, making the
movement stronger by working together.”
Following her appointment to
one of the most senior roles in the
trade union movement, King does
not object to being seen as a role
model for women in the trade
union movement.
around agreed principles and policies.
“Jack O’Connor is right in my
judgment. For decades now the
State has been governed by majority parties of the right who have
given us dollops of neoliberal policies, all of which actually are based
on the notion of a society rooted in
inequality. The only opportunity to
challenge that order is to gather
like-minded left-thinking politicians, trade unionists and other
progressive people together on a
common platform. I think the coming election provides a real live opportunity to realise that aspiration.
“The Syriza experience in Greece
is a good example of how you can
achieve a political alliance that is
capable of challenging the existing
order. It would be a massive shift
for Ireland but actually it could be
within the sight line. Progressive
parties, independents and other
‘You wouldn’t have seen a lot of
women at the top in the trade
union movement. It has been
quite male-dominated over the
decades and if my appointment
serves the purpose of role model
then I’m happy with that’
The new General Secretary of
Congress Patricia King:
“I think a person is also
entitled to have their dignity
respected in the workplace”
Picture: Photocall
their terms and conditions of employment. I think a person is also
entitled to have their dignity respected in the workplace.”
She is hoping that legislation on
collective bargaining will be pub-
lished in July and enacted by the
end of the year. Another of her key
objectives is to build on the
strengths of the trade union movement which is emerging from some
of its most difficult years in
decades following the collapse of
the economy.
“The trade union movement in
Ireland – north and south – is
strong. The trade union movement
is very strong in areas where it
“You wouldn’t have seen a lot of
women at the top in the trade
union movement. It has been quite
male-dominated over the decades
and if my appointment serves the
purpose of role model then I’m
happy with that.”
She is also looking forward to a
role for Congress in the centenary
of the 1916 Rising.
“We had an excellent and strategic celebration of the 1913 Lockout.
There are very good reasons for the
trade union movement to be involved, none less than the leadership role and the subsequent
execution of James Connolly in
1916. I would expect we will have
an active role to play.”
Alliance of the left
Another key moment next year will
be the general election, and King
sees merit in recent calls from
SIPTU President Jack O’Connor and
others for an alliance of the left
groups and organisations have to
make up their minds. The first hurdle will be that those on the Left
should decide that they want to do
it themselves, which is a big hurdle.”
“The Syriza experience has
frightened the living daylights out
of the centre-right parties that
dominate across the EU. The
Merkels and the Camerons know
that if it started a trend or a movement across Europe then their days
are numbered. The European Trade
Union Confederation (ETUC)
wants to retrieve social Europe.
The European establishment in my
judgment is showing no signs of
doing that. Their attitude to Greece
and Syriza is a case in point, dismissing them as fantasists and just
a flash in the pan. We have to make
sure that that is not the case. And
that is the challenge for Irish political parties and it’s the challenge
for the Left.”
18
Liberty
Feature
MARCH 2015
President's ‘wake-up call’
on precarious workers
By Scott Millar
A
NEW progressive ideology must develop to
help organise those in
casual and precarious
employment into a force that
can change society for the better, President Michael D Higgins has said.
Picture: Photocall Ireland/˙Áras an Uachtaráin
In a speech on 26th February in
the Royal College of Surgeons in
Dublin, honouring the role of Waterford-born Edward Joseph Phelan
in establishing the International
Labour Organisation (ILO), the President rubbished the neo-liberal ideology which has “underpinned the
systematic deregulation of national
systems of labour and the promotion of competition between them.”
He said such an approach had not
only led to economic disaster but
also created a new class of worker,
the “precariat”, which “is defined by
partial involvement in labour combined with extensive ‘work-forlabour’, that is, a growing array of
unremunerated activities – often internships of various sorts – that are
required to get access to remunerated jobs.”
He said the “ongoing casualisation of labour” was not only affecting “the quality of work”, but also
increasing many people’s sense of
“anomie and alienation”.
“We cannot be content with this
state of affairs. The fact that this is
the first systemic crisis without a
compelling progressive vision on
offer as a response should act as a
wake-up call for all of us.”
“The shift towards precarious employment is far from being confined
to low-skilled jobs. A case in point
is the logic at play in universities
throughout Europe.
“In Ireland today, a considerable
volume of teaching and research
work is carried out by ‘temporary
lecturers’, ‘adjunct lecturers’, and
so-called ‘teaching assistants’ who
have no job security at all and must
repeatedly resume their elusive and
exhausting hunt for the next shortterm contract.”
Calling for a new approach that
adequately represented and mobilised the precariat, the President
said: “If we are to learn from history,
it is useful to remember that every
progressive movement has been
‘We cannot be content
with this state of
affairs. The fact that
this is the first
systemic crisis
without a compelling
progressive
vision on offer
as a response
should act as a
wake-up call
for all of us’
‘If we are to learn from history, it is
useful to remember that every
progressive movement has been
built on the needs and aspirations
of the emerging “class” of the day’
built on the needs and aspirations
of the emerging ‘class’ of the day.
“Responding to the needs, the
fears and the aspirations of those
citizens among us who do not enjoy
security of employment is a defining challenge for our times. It is a
task not just for those who claim to
represent the most vulnerable in society, but for all democrats, for trade
unionists in all sectors, for workers’
representatives on permanent contracts, and for tenured staff in our
universities.
“Only through a comprehensive
strategy enabling the mass of the
precarious workers to be part of the
economic discourse, gain control
over their professional lives, acquire
social and economic security and get
a fairer share of the vital assets of
our 21st-century society will populism and fundamentalism of all
sorts be defeated,” he said.
He also called for an end to the
adherence to neo-liberal ideology
within international bodies which
regulate economic development.
“The recent economic crisis has
shown that markets do require an
institutional framework within
which transactions between economic agents can be conducted,
under the auspices of a third party
that guarantees their fairness over
the long term of human existence,”
he said.
“Without such overarching regulatory authority, contractual relationships would run the risk of
reverting to arbitrary logics and the
expression of the will of the
strongest.”
Edward Joseph Phelan, in whose
honour President Higgins delivered
his speech, was born in 1888 in
Tramore, Co Waterford. He was a
key figure in the small group of people who mapped out the basis for
the ILO during the Paris Peace Conference in 1919.
As a staff member of the ILO for
almost 30 years, and director from
1941 to 1948, Phelan played a distinctive role in attempting to give an
ethical shape to world affairs.
Liberty
Feature
MARCH 2015
19
Struggle against low pay goes global
‘F
IGHT for 15’ has become the rallying cry
of fast food workers
across the United
States. The movement began
with 200 workers walking off
their jobs in New York City in
November 2012 in protest at
employers who rake in billions of dollars in profits
while paying poverty wages.
Over the last two years the
protests have spread. The last major
day of action on 4th December,
2014, saw thousands of fast food
workers in some 190 US cities walk
off the jobs, seeking the same demand – $15 an hour in pay.
On that day, solidarity actions
were also held from Japan to Brazil,
while in Ireland more than 50 protestors marked the global protest
with a picket outside McDonald’s in
O’Connell Street, Dublin.
Social media has been central to
organising the campaign and on 4th
December the #fastfoodglobal
hashtag trended in nearly 20 US
cities while around the world it
trended in 50 cities.
The worker-led campaign, which
is supported by the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), had
agreed on a call for a $15 an hour
pay level at a meeting of workers in
Brooklyn in 2012.
Workers agreed that the figure
was essential to free them from dependence on public assistance
schemes. The figure is more than
double the US federal minimum
wage. The wage of $15 per hour is
now developing into the battle cry
for low-paid workers across the US.
The demand is also transforming
trade union organising from a
process centred on painstaking negotiations into a social justice movement that transcends industry and
geographic boundaries. As well as
refocusing the debate on low wages,
the campaign is also having tangible
results with Seattle passing a $15
minimum wage in June 2014.
San Francisco’s minimum wage is
set to meet that mark in 2018 while
Los Angeles is also considering
matching that figure.
The success of ‘Fight for 15’ is
being compared to that of the SEIU’s
Justice For Janitors campaign in the
1990s, which led to the unionisation of this sector through a campaign which focused on gaining
public support by highlighting social
justice themes.
Even greater historical compar-
PROTEST
isons are being made with the 1934
textile strikes in the southern
United States.
During that dispute tens of thousands of workers, angered by 55-60
hour weeks that typically earned
them as little as $10 in pay, went on
strike in demand of a 30-hour week
paying $20.
This period of militancy was a key
factor in the passing of the National
Labor Relations Act 1935, which for
the first time provided US workers
with some legal protection for their
right to collective bargaining.
Bringing ‘Fight for 15’ drive to Dublin
‘FIGHT for 15’ activists made
a three-day visit to Dublin in
early March to discuss the
struggle against low pay and
zero hour contracts.
During the visit the worker delegation from Kanas City, Missouri,
which included Subway employee,
Dana Wittman, Burger King employee, Terrance Wise, McDonalds
employee, Richard Eiker and City
Director at Workers Organising
Committee Stand Up KC (Kansas
City), Michael M. Enriquez, met
with union activists to discuss the
successes of their campaign.
The delegation also met with
Minister of State at the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Ged Nash, to discuss the
issues facing low-paid workers.
On Thursday, 11th March, the
workers spoke at a public meeting
in Wynn's Hotel, Dublin, organised
by the Young Workers Network
(YWN). This was followed by a
protest at the Jim Larkin Statue on
Dublin’s O’Connell Street.
THE Young Workers Network will be holding a protest outside a number of non-unionised workplaces on O'Connell
Street, Dublin, against low pay and zero hour contracts on 15th April as part of an international day of action against
low pay. The YWN are encouraging supporters to meet them outside Wynn's Hotel at 6.00 p.m. on the day.
If McDonald’s pays their CEO $9k an hour, they can afford to pay us $15
BORN and raised in Columbia, South Carolina, Terrance
Wise has worked in low-paid
jobs for the last 18 years.
Currently living with his partner
and young family in Kansas City,
Missouri, he has been an active organiser in the ‘Fight for 15’ for the
last two years.
He told Liberty: “I’ve been working in fast food and retail for 18
years. My fiancée is a home health
care worker. Despite the fact that
both of us work in industries
worth over $200 billion, we have
experienced homelessness twice.
“We currently have two kids that
are in hospital and have been unable to secure proper medial atten-
tion for them; this is all linked to
the low wages we earn. There have
been nights when we skip meals
and the quality of life is really bad.
“In the US there are four million
fast food workers and a lot of them
earn under $10 an hour. We know
that studies show that a living
wage should be $17, but the fact is
that the minimum wage is $7.50,
it’s a big gap and that is creating a
lot of poverty.
“Our campaign has never been a
minimum wage drive, it has always
been a drive for $15 an hour and
the right to form a union, because
we need a union to get healthcare,
benefits and a pension.”
Terence said ‘Fight for 15’ has
honed its organising techniques to
directly reach low-paid workers.
“One of the key elements is that
our movement organises workerto-worker. This is not a union-led
organising campaign, it is workers
telling their stories and getting out
and talking to other workers because we all experience the same
things whether you’re in McDonald’s or Burger King in Kansas City,
New York or Ireland.
“We are all working for this $200
billion industry and we all deserve
a living wage. I know that if the
CEO of McDonald’s earns $9,000
an hour, they can afford to pay us
$15 an hour and give us a union.
“Social media is another element
that we have been able to use. The
internet has been very key. The
media is also a weapon. Workers
being on the front page of newspapers across the US really puts it in
the hearts and minds of the American public.
“We have the support of the
unions, faith communities and
civil rights organisations all backing workers.
“We have the support of the auto
workers that fought for their union
and the teachers that are in
unions.”
He added: “We know that the
companies we work for are global
companies so this is an international fight. We know that workers
all over the globe must rise together. I see this campaign as a
new hope for all workers.”
Terrance Wise: ‘worker
to worker organisation’
20 Liberty
MARCH 2015
News
Women’s Day in Galway
INTERNATIONAL Women’s Day
was celebrated in Galway at a special event organised by Galway District Council.
Micheline Sheehy Skeffington,
who was the guest of honour on
the night, spoke about her family
connections and their contribution
to the equality agenda, as well as
her own landmark equality case.
Joining in the discussion,
presided over by Tish Gibbons of
SIPTU, were guests Mary Clancy
and John Cunningham of NUI Gal-
way. District Council Chair, Seamus Dillon, described the event as
“both interesting and informative”. On the night, scrolls and
badges were presented to Micheline, Mary and John to mark their
25-year membership of SIPTU.
A presentation was also made to
Micheline of her retirement benefit. This now makes her an honorary member of the union.
The evening closed with rousing
renditions of a number of trade
union songs.
Micheline Sheehy Skeffington
was guest of honour on the night
The event rounded off with a
rousing singalong of union songs
22 Liberty
MARCH 2015
EWCs
Making full use of European Works Councils
T
By Frank Jones
RADE UNION delegates from across Europe met in Brussels
recently to discuss
the varying practices adopted
across a range of European
Works Councils (EWCs).
The purpose of the conference,
held at the International Trade
Union House on February 26th and
27th, was to try to better understand differences in the way EWCs
operated and to identify where improvements could be made.
EWCs have existed formally in
Ireland since the mid-1990s. They
were originally legislated for under
the European Works Council Directive of 1994 which has now been
amended by a 'recast' of that Directive which came into being in
2009.
Works Councils were set up to
provide a forum where employee
representatives could be consulted
with, and informed of, developments in their enterprises by management at a 'transnational' level.
The threshold needed for an enterprise to be covered by the Directive are, for a community-scale
undertaking, “at least 1,000 employees within the member states
and at least 150 employees in at
least two member states”.
It is estimated that there are
about 2,500 such enterprises
across the EU. However, despite
the Directive being in place for
more than 20 years, there are currently only 1,214 EWCs across the
EU.
The conference looked at those
Despite the
Directive being
in place for more
than 20 years,
there are only
1,214 EWCs
across the EU
Work Councils already in operation and in particular at how practices could be improved so that
workers are better represented.
There was a specific focus on what
happens locally and how information is shared and reported.
Across Europe there is a good
history of Works Councils working
at local and, indeed, national level.
Many of these are organised and
supported by their trade unions
but some have no union represen-
tatives on the Councils.
The conference placed particular
focus on these non-union EWCs.
Where these are in place, they
mimic the structures of the unions
but lacking trade union support at
the ground level, they have limited
effect.
Successful Works Councils are
not merely in place for the purposes of “information and consultation” but make decisions and
engage in collective bargaining at
local and national level. In many
cases, they are made up of representatives from several unions representing all grades of workers.
Regrettably, there is no history,
on any significant scale, of workers’ involvement in decision-making by management in Irish
workplaces.
In recent years, we in SIPTU,
supported by the IDEAS Institute,
have pushed the notion of co-deci-
Regrettably there
is no significant
history of workers’
involvement in
decision-making
in Irish workplaces
sion-making and problem solving
under the heading of Workplace
Innovation.
This has proven to be effective
where it has been fully supported
by both sides. It has not changed –
nor was it ever envisaged that it
would change – the boss/worker
relationship for the vast majority
of those we represent in Ireland.
Many of us in SIPTU share the
view that we could far better
utilise European Works Councils
but we are hindered from doing so
because in many cases, our EWC
representatives are not provided
with the resources and support to
fully discharge the role as it was
originally envisaged.
At a recent Manufacturing Division training course, it was decided
we would redouble our efforts to
ensure that our database of EWC
reps is complete.
The training courses being developed by the IDEAS Institute will familiarise workers and their
representatives with international
issues, equip them with a knowledge of how to build trade union
alliances at European level and exercise an influence on decisions to
be taken in their own companies.
The courses will include training
in organising multinational companies, legal issues, financial matters, transnational company
agreements and a range of other issues which will leave our members
better represented at European
level.
The training courses are being
developed under a European project supported by the European
Commission and EFFAT, and the
project will also involve worker
representatives from Spain, Italy
and Bulgaria.
Any member interested in learning more about European Works
Councils, or who feels that there
should be a EWC in their workplace, should contact their union
official who will advise them.
More information relating to the
training for members will be
shared at a later date.
Women trade unionists meet in Belfast
ICTU General Secretary Patricia King, Director of People’s College,
Fionnuala Richardson and SIPTU General Secretary Joe O’Flynn at
the Teacher’s Club for the unveiling a portrait of the late Ruairi Roberts,
former General Secretary of ICTU.
Over 150 delegates from across Ireland attended the 2015 ICTU Women's Seminar in
Belfast on 5th and 6th March.
Delegates at the conference discussed several issues including equality, ethical workplaces, mental health and securing equal
representation of women in politics.
SIPTU National Campaigns and Equality Organiser, Ethel Buckley, introduced discussion
on the Ethical Workplace Initiative, part of
President Michael D Higgins broader Ethics Initiative.
She said: "Despite a raft of equality legislation, labour market activation initiatives and
access interventions, economic inequality between women and men in Ireland remains entrenched.
"The struggle for greater equality must continue."
Liberty
Know Your Rights
By Christine
Kelly
ALL EMPLOYEES should have
received their 2014 P60 by
Sunday 15th February. Every
employee is entitled to
receive a P60 from their
employer if they were
employed on the last day of
the year, i.e. 31st December.
If an individual leaves employment during a tax year they will receive a P45 when leaving and will
not receive a P60 from that employer.
It is important for all employees
to understand that the P60 is not a
Revenue assessment of your position and is not an indication of
your final tax liability for the year.
The P60 merely provides a summary of the tax, PRSI and USC deducted by your employer in the tax
year. Every employer is obliged to
deduct tax based on the tax credit
certificate issued to them by Revenue regardless of any other information they may have.
The tax credit certificate issued
by Revenue is based on the information they hold in relation to
you, i.e. they may not be aware
MARCH 2015
Decoding
your P60
that you are entitled to certain additional credits if they have not
been informed of this.
Each P60 may be divided into
various sections as follows:
1. Top portion – This part of the
P60 contains your personal details,
i.e. your name, address, PPS number, tax credit and rate band information. Again, it is important to
remember that the tax credit and
band here is merely a summary of
what has been applied via the payroll.
2. Section A – This part of the
P60 confirms your gross taxable
pay for the year. The figure here
will be after the deduction of any
pension contributions you will
have made via the payroll. This
may explain any difference when
you compare this figure to the
gross pay per your contract.
If you changed employment during the year, your pay details in
this section will be subdivided into
the salary paid to you by your previous employer(s) and that paid to
What does an ethical
workplace mean to you?
PRESIDENT Michael D Higgins
wants to know what you think.
More precisely, he wants to hear
the views and opinions of trade
union member across Ireland on
an issue that will be critical to
how we emerge from this crisis.
What does an ethical workplace
mean to you?
As part of the national Ethics Initiative established by President Higgins,
Congress is asking union members and
activists to respond to this simple
question in any way that suits.
Simply
visit
www.ethicalworkplace.ie and make
your voice heard.
There is only a limited time left in
which to do so – the project went live
on March 1st and closes on March 31st.
Already hundreds of union members
have responded in writing, or by commenting online, or using social media
platforms, for example by tweeting
their opinion using #ethicswork.
In addition, a Congress-organised
film crew has visited a number of
scheduled union events – such as the
recent Women’s Seminar in Belfast – to
gather further contributions. The crew
will also visit a number of workplaces
during March.
You can view some feedback here:
you by your current employer. Also
included will be any taxable Illness
Benefits payments received.
3. Section B – This part of the
P60 confirms the total tax deducted in the year.
4. Section C – This section confirms the amount of Local Proprty
Tax (LPT) deducted in the current
employment via payroll during the
tax year. This section does not
record any LPT payments made
through any other mechanism
other than payroll – so you shouldn’t expect to see any direct debit
payments recorded here.
5. Section D – This section confirms the amount of pay subject to
Universal Social Charge in this and
previous employments in the year.
This figure may not be the same as
the amount of pay subject to tax,
as it will be prior to the deduction
of pension contributions,
6. Section E – This section confirms the amount of Universal Social Charge (USC) deducted from
you in this employment and previous employments.
7. Section F – This part of the
P60 provides details of the PRSI
paid in your current employment.
This section is different to the last
two sections in that PRSI paid in
previous employments is not
recorded here. The first item in
this section is the employee PRSI
for the year, i.e. the PRSI that was
actually deducted from your salary.
The second item in this section is
total PRSI, i.e. employer and employee PRSI. Section C also contains details regarding your PRSI
class etc.
The P60 is not
a Revenue
assessment of
your position
and is not an
indication of your
tax liability for
the year
8. The bottom of the P60 – This
will show details of your employer’s name, registration number and address.
You should keep this document
safely as evidence of your pay and
tax details for 2014. Should you believe you may be entitled to a tax
refund, you may be required to submit the document for review.
Christine Kiely is a Senior Tax
Consultant with www.taxback.com
ARE YOU DUE A TAX
REFUND?
10%
Tax Refund
Service in Action
D IS C O U N
for SIPTU membeT
rs
You may be due a tax
refund if:
Sarah & Jake
www.ethicalworkplace.ie/ethicswork
The aim of this unique, consultative
project is to gather a wide and diverse
a range of opinions that will be reflective of the views of people at work in
Ireland today. These will then feed
back into the President’s overall Ethics
Initiative.
The findings will be presented to
President Higgins at an event in April,
and will consist of a multi-media collection of video, print, written comment and still images.
You still have time to make your
voice heard.
www.ethicalworkplace.ie
You had medical or dental
expenses
You were on maternity leave
You were made redundant or
had a break in employment
You overpaid tax
You paid tuition fees
You paid rent
We can go back as far as 2010 to check
what you’re owed.
23
Sarah earned €37,500 in 2013 and her husband, Jake,
had no income. Sarah and Jake are jointly assessed.
Sarah recently had a baby girl for whom she receives
Social Welfare Child Benefit. Sarah also has a son who
is currently repeating a year in University College
Dublin, paying tuition fees of €5,500.
After our review, we could reduce Sarah and Jake’s tax
liability due to the payment of the tuition fees and also
since they could avail of the home carer’s tax credit
available for the baby (worth €810 in 2013).
Tax Refund: €1,410
APPLY FOR YOUR TAX REFUND NOW »>
Free-phone 1800 98 94 54 or
Text PAYE to 53131 or
check out our website www.taxback.com/siptu
24 Liberty
MARCH 2015
Picture: Photocall
Comment
By Des McGuinness
Creeping privatisation stokes
fears for travel pass scheme
T
HE Free Travel Pass,
introduced in 1967,
entitles those who
are 66 and over to
travel without payment on all
State public transport and
some routes run by private
operators.
The pass is to be replaced by a
Public Services Card to cover additional social welfare entitlements.
This name change will be welcomed by some pensioners, who
feel that it was never appropriate
to name the ‘pass’ as ‘free’ given
their life-long contribution to Irish
society in terms of labour and
taxes.
Furthermore, retired members
continue to contribute to wider society and the value of their contribution in terms of caring for other
family members is impossible to
quantify.
On Thursday 22nd January, a
SIPTU Dublin District Council
meeting addressed the threat of
privatisation to Dublin’s public
transport system for commuters
and transport workers in the capital.
The meeting was informed
about a proposal to put out to
tender 10% of current Bus Eireann/Dublin Bus routes. Concerns
were expressed that this process of
‘competitive tendering’ would
force down working conditions
and wages.
Concern about the privatisation
of public transport are compounded by the recent suspension
of CIE intercity routes.
Public road and rail networks are
national resources that can only
function with the labour of thousands of women and men, many of
whom are SIPTU members.
CIE’s online promotional material states that “230 million journeys are made annually on our
network of national, regional and
local and urban services”.
Founded in 1945, CIE now consists of three operating companies – Iarnród Éireann, Bus
Éireann and Dublin Bus.
Shame on college board
Dear Editor,
WHITHER now freedom of speech
in Ireland’s supposed premier university of global consequence?
The TCD publication University
Times reports this week that the
Board of the College removed a
pro-marriage equality stance from
the College Equality Committee.
It reports:“The College Board has
removed all mention of advocating
a ‘Yes’ vote in the marriage equality
referendum from a statement prepared on the topic by the College
Equality Committee. The committee had proposed to actively support a ‘Yes’ vote.”
Seemingly the Board decided in
a statement through a college
spokesperson of the need to be
“respectful of the full range of
views of the College community by
not adopting a particular stance on
the issue”.
Shame on you!
In solidarity
Kieran Jack McGinley
President,
Dublin District Council
We travel because we
are social beings...
without public transport
many would be isolated,
so mobility is central to a
well-functioning society
and essential to the
realisation of citizenship
Transport and human communication systems are closely linked,
and irrespective of how communication has been altered by wireless
and digital technologies, public
transportation remains a vital network along which human interaction occurs.
We travel because we are social
beings and do so for reasons of
family, health, leisure, sports, social engagement, work etc. Without public transport, many would
be isolated, so therefore mobility
is central to a well-functioning society and essential to the realisation of citizenship.
The Retired Members Section
joins with fellow trade unionists
in opposing the privatisation of
public transport and defending
existing travel entitlements.
Public transport is not simply a
commercial business, it also has a
social role. The choice is broadly
between a European model of state
investment in public transport or
the American privatised model
which has led to the social exclusion of those who cannot afford to
run a car
Both the former Minister for
Transport, Leo Varadkar, and the
current Tánaiste and Minister of
Social Protection, Joan Burton,
have given public assurances that
the Travel Pass scheme will be retained. However, this and future
governments must ensure that the
privatised routes continue to be accessible to holders of the Travel
Pass and that in the event of any
public transport service being
transferred to a private operator,
the retention of the pass be part of
the Transfer of Engagement.
Des McGuinness is a member of the
SIPTU Retired Members Committee.
Liberty
International
MARCH 2015
Benjamin Netanyahu secured his
third consecutive poll victory by
standing on a hardline platform
Call for more sanctions after
Netanyahu’s ‘racist’ victory
By Kevin Squires
RIGHT-WING Zionist Benjamin Netanyahu has won the
Israeli general election,
owing his victory in large part
to a campaign based on antiArab racism and a pledge to
permanently occupy Palestine.
In response, Palestinians have
called for an escalation of the
global Boycott Divestment and
Sanctions (BDS) campaign.
During election campaigning,
Netanyahu declared that there
would be no Palestinian state if he
was elected. On election day he
publicly lamented that Palestinian
citizens of Israel were “moving in
droves to the polling stations.”
His coalition partner, Foreign
Minister Avigdor Lieberman
taunted him, saying, “if the Arabs
are voting in droves, only a strong
Lieberman can stop them.”
Indeed, the entire election saw
continuous racial incitement by
many of the candidates – perhaps
most notoriously when Lieberman
declared that “disloyal” Palestinian
citizens of Israel should be “beheaded”.
He received no rebuke from any
of the main Israeli parties nor the
international community for this
racist incitement.
Reacting to the result in Palestine, Mahmoud Nawajaa, from the
Boycott Divestment and Sanctions
National Committee (BNC), said
that the “true face of the Israeli establishment” had been “revealed
to the world”.
He pointed out that by dismissing Palestinians’ right to self-determination,
Netanyahu
had
“removed any excuse for governments not to impose sanctions on
Israel and end their support for
[the] regime”, adding, “This is a
victory of apartheid and colonialism that should be met with sanctions against Israel by world
governments and the UN.”
In the wake of the election the
BNC – which represents the vast
majority of Palestinian civil society,
trade union, faith and political or-
ganisations – has called upon the
public to intensify the international BDS campaign, to work to
further boycott and isolate Israel
until it grants Palestinians their
rights and obeys international law.
Martin O’Quigley, chairperson of
the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity
Campaign (IPSC), said Netanyahu
had topped the poll for the third
consecutive time, and underlined
the fact that the hard right in general did so well “exposed the reality of the racism that runs deep
within Israeli society”.
He continued: “It should clearly
illustrate to international governments and institutions that the Israeli establishment is simply not
interested in a genuine, just peace
in the region. Netanyahu is not an
aberration – he is the norm.
“The Palestinian people demand
a true peace – but there can be no
such peace until Palestinians fully
enjoy their rights and self-determination.”
Kevin Squires is National Co-ordinator
of the Ireland Palestine Solidaity
campaign.
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Open first Tues
Tel: 01 87943
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26 Liberty
MARCH 2015
TTIP
TTIP and public services
...not enough safeguards?
By
Ger Gibbons
E
U and US officials have
been negotiating a
proposed
Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP)
since mid-2013 and aim to
reach agreement before President Obama leaves office
next year.
It is important to realise that one of the core
aims of trade agreements such as TTIP is
the liberalisation of services, i.e. to make it
easier for EU and US service providers to
access each other’s markets
monopolies and concessions for
service providers.
Questions have long been asked,
however, as to whether these exemptions are robust and clear
enough to protect public services,
and flexible enough for the future.
One of the main ‘new’ problems
with TTIP is that whereas current
EU-negotiated agreements apply
only to expressly-listed services
(the “positive list approach”), the
recently concluded EU-Canada
agreement, which is a template for
TTIP, takes up the North American
approach of applying it to all services except those expressly-listed
(the “negative-list approach”).
This means that the onus is on
EU and national officials to list
each and every sector and measure
where the agreement doesn’t apply
(“list it or lose it”), thereby opening up the danger that some key
PICTURE: World Development movement(CC BY 2.0)
The potential impact of TTIP on
public services is one of the main
concerns being raised by trade
unions and civil society on both
sides of the Atlantic.
As the negotiations are taking
place behind closed doors and are
on-going, provisional assessments
can only be made on the basis of
past trade agreements, official
briefings and leaks, and a full assessment is only possible when all
final documents are released.
At the outset, it is important to
realise that one of the core aims of
trade agreements such as TTIP is
the liberalisation of services, i.e. to
make it easier for EU and US service providers to access each other’s
markets.
Public services are in theory
meant to be protected from the liberalisation commitments through
horizontal or sector-specific exemptions from the scope of the
agreement and by expressly limiting certain commitments. These
exemptions and limitations can
apply either across the EU as a
whole or in individual countries.
For example, all EU-negotiated
agreements exempt services provided “in the exercise of governmental authority”. This (narrow)
exemption covers services such as
public administration, the police,
the judicial system and social security, and is likely to be carried over
into TTIP.
By extension, all other public
services do fall within the scope of
these agreements. The EU has in
the past sought to address this implication by expressly exempting
‘public utilities’ from some of the
main commitments that could
threaten public services, for example concerning the abolition of
areas could be missed.
In addition, the EU-Canada
agreement also contains a so-called
“ratchet clause”. This provides that
if (certain) sectors or measures that
the EU or a member state exempt
from a liberalisation commitment
are later (deliberately) liberalised
by the EU or by the member state,
that later liberalisation can never
be reversed.
The European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) opposes the EUCanada agreement because it takes
up the negative list approach and
because of the ratchet clause (as
well as for other reasons). If these
provisions are contained in TTIP, it
is highly likely this agreement will
be opposed as well.
Liberty
Review
MARCH 2015
27
At the bend in the road
Above: a memorial in Dublin to
Frank Lawlor at the spot where he
was killed in 1922. Left: Free State
forces attack the Four Courts during
the Civil War. Below: an IRA brigade
in Tipperary.
Peace After the Final Battle:
The Story of the Irish
Revolution 1912-1924
By John Dorney
392pp, €19.99
By
Michael
Halpenny
T IS OFTEN SAID that all
politics is local. The same
could be said of history.
Sometimes, however, the
local attains a higher significance, becoming “history” in
the “conventional” sense. For
example, the English historian
E.H. Carr once noted, thousands may have crossed the
Rubicon River, but “history”
records only that Caesar did,
thereby confirming its place
in historical narrative. On the
other hand, sometimes the
local provides a key or a stimulus to a wider view.
I
This recent publication by historian John Dorney is just that, and its
inspiration was not “high politics”
but rather “ambush corner”, a tight
bend on Orwell Road, Dublin, often
pointed out by his father, retired TUI
General Secretary Jim Dorney, as an
attack point for the IRA in the War
of Independence. It is also the site of
a memorial to Frank Lawlor of the
anti-Treaty IRA’s Dublin Brigade
who, he says, was murdered by undercover Free State security forces in
1922.
His book is an attempt to understand the place of local activists and
players, such as Frank Lawlor, in the
events of the turbulent 12-year pe-
riod between 1912 and 1924, seeking neither to glorify nor to draw
facile lessons for today’s world. On
his stretching of the decade 19131923 by a year at either end, he explains that 1912 was when partition
was first mooted, with 1924 finally
closing the door on the Civil War of
1922-23, seeing the demobilisation
of much of the National Army and
the release of many anti-Treaty republican internees.
Dorney’s work is essentially a survey of this seminal period within
which he seeks to point up key features and events for the reader.
He contrasts, for example, the
competing politics and organisation
of the then all-conquering Irish Parliamentary Party (IPP) which merely
awaited the “coronation” of Home
Rule in 1914, with those of the re-organised Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), preparing for rebellion.
As is now well recognised, it was
that rebellion in 1916 and its aftermath which marked the spectacular
reversal of fortune for both organisations – disastrously so in the case
of the IPP, which disappeared from
the post-Rising landscape almost
overnight. The IRB marched on to
greater things (literally).
At the other end of the historical
spectrum, the book conveys the con-
The book conveys the confusion,
turmoil and contrasting fates of
the opposing forces in the Civil
War. For instance, there is the
initial reluctance of fighters on
both sides to engage at the siege
of the Four Courts (above) at the
opening of hostilities
fusion, turmoil and contrasting fates
of the opposing forces in the Civil
War. For instance, there is the initial
reluctance of fighters on both sides
to engage at the siege of the Four
Courts at the opening of hostilities.
Despite this, the conflict quickly descended into vicious reprisal and execution, including the extra-judicial
murder of the man who inspired
this work.
Among those who had joined the
IRB in its earlier re-organisation
phase were Cavan man Paul Galligan
and Gilbert Morrissey from Galway,
who later became activists in the
struggle for freedom. It is rank-andfile volunteers such as these and
their accounts recorded in the Bureau of Military History or in personal papers, which help to provide
local context to the tale of all those
years.
However, this is not a book based
solely on first-hand sources, but
rather one which also seeks to synthesise many studies of the period
by other historians. In doing so the
writer provides ease for the reader,
laced with nuggets of information as
to the situation on the ground, without sacrificing historical rigour in
the general framework of analysis. It
is this which provides the book’s
main strength and attraction and
makes it a valuable addition to the
growing body of study and explanation of this seminal period in our
history.
And the title? It comes from the
IRB’s newspaper “Irish Freedom” of
November 1910:
‘The Irish attitude to England is,
“War yesterday, war today, war
tomorrow. Peace after the final
battle.”
Little room for prevarication there.
28 Liberty
MARCH 2015
ORATION
Obituaries
Tim Fitzgerald, SIPTU National Executive Council member
Gifted with courage, tenacity and wisdom
By Joe O’Flynn
IT IS my privilege to be afforded the opportunity to reflect on Tim’s wonderful
contribution to the life of
workers and the trade union
and labour movement.
Tim began his working career in
Golden Vale in 1976 and soon after
became active in Mallow No. 1
Branch, ITGWU, going on to serve
as a trustee and branch vice-president. He also served on the Golden
Vale shop stewards committee.
Tim was a great representative
and advocate for workers and their
rights, not just in the workplace,
but also in the community and
wider society.
While he was of a quiet disposition, he had a huge commitment
ORATION
and determination to improving
the position of his fellow workers.
Tim did not do popularism but pur-
sued what was achievable, helping
to negotiate good pay and conditions, securing the best possible
terms, while still making it attractive for company investment in
new plant and development, helping to protect and enhance the security of employment in the area at
a time when jobs were all too vulnerable and scarce.
Leaders like Tim required
courage and tenacity, but also the
wisdom to see the bigger picture.
This made him not just a seasoned
and experienced representative but
a successful negotiator on behalf of
his many colleagues in the AgriFood industry who listened to him
and were prepared to place their
trust and confidence in his recommendations.
Tim maintained his commitment
and dedication at every level of the
union whether it was serving as a
shop steward, on the branch committee, as president of the regional
committee in Munster, chairman
of the Agri-Food sector, a member
of the Manufacturing Division or in
attaining the ultimate position for
an activist of the union serving on
the National Executive Council of
the country’s largest trade union,
SIPTU.
He will be greatly missed by all
his colleagues, not only in Cork and
his native county of Limerick, but
throughout the length and breadth
of the country where he was
widely known and respected for
his great work on behalf of workers
and the union.
Above all, Tim was a really nice
guy who was caring, compassionate
and considerate. He excelled at the
things in life that he had a passion
for.
We in the trade union movement, and especially my own
union SIPTU, were indeed very fortunate as looking after the interests
of workers was one of Tim’s passions.
I believe many, many workers are
far better off as a result of Tim’s
tremendous work and we acknowledge and salute that great work
here today.
On behalf of the union, I want to
express our deepest sympathy to
Tim’s mum, Joanna, his sisters,
brothers and all his family and
friends, on their very sad loss.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam
Frank Prendergast (1933-2015)
By Joe O’Flynn
A life spent pursuing the values of social solidarity
IT IS my honour to reflect on
the very significant contribution made by Frank Prendergast, a lifelong trade unionist
and labour activist.
Frank left school at Inter Cert
level to serve his apprenticeship as
a baker in keeping with family tradition. His parents were active trade
union members, and it was not long
before Frank became active in the
union. While still an apprentice he
was elected Branch Secretary of the
Irish Bakers, Confectioners and Allied Workers Union, and was General President from 1967 to 1970.
Frank was also very active in the
Limerick Trades Council and was
elected President of the Council in
1973. That same year he was to secure full-time employment with his
beloved ITGWU, and held the post
of Regional Secretary for Limerick
and Clare from 1977 to 1982.
He was TD for Limerick East from
1982 to 1987, and was enormously
proud of having served as Mayor of
Limerick twice, from 1977 to 1978
and 1984 to 1985.
Frank resumed his education later
in life, including an MA in Industrial
Relations at Keele University. He put
his intellectual capacity to great use
in many negotiations.
Frank loved his native language
and wrote weekly columns in Irish
for Anois and the Limerick Leader.
He wrote several books both in English and in Irish.
All of that was only half of what
Frank Prendergast was involved
with in his long, interesting and var-
ied life. I knew Frank from when I
started in the ITGWU as a young
man, and he had an enormous reputation even then as a great trade
unionist and labour activist.
He was one of a small number of
people who could have become a
General Officer of the union but, as
its headquarters were in Dublin,
this was not an appealing option,
given his great love of Limerick.
However, Frank wielded as much
power as any officer given his enormous presence, capacity and commitment to the union.
Frank was a wise and experienced
negotiator. Tens of thousands of
workers benefitted from his great
skill and success as a union representative. He helped secure very
good pay rates and conditions of
employment in multiple sectors.
In 1993 Frank retired from his
full-time post in the union – then
SIPTU – when he was District Secretary for Clare, Tipperary and Limerick. In retirement he continued his
keen interest in the union. He gave
so much of his life pursuing social
solidarity in the union, in politics,
in education, in society and in the
community, it is virtually impossible to reflect the enormous contribution he made.
Above all, Frank was a thorough
gentlemen, always kind and considerate, supportive and helpful, held
in great esteem by all who knew
him. His first love was his wife Mary
and his family, of whom he was so
proud.
On behalf the union and Frank’s
many friends in the labour movement, I want to express our condolences to Mary, his sons Conor and
Eoghan, daughters Orla and Aedin,
and the extended family.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.
OBITUARY John (Jack) Harte (1920-2015)
Union man for 60 years
JOHN (JACK) HARTE, who died
on March 8th 2015, aged 94,
was an active member of the
union for most of his life.
Together with Jack Carruthers and
Paddy Cardiff, he played a leading
role in organising the Guinness
workforce into the then Workers’
Union of Ireland (now part of SIPTU)
dring the immediate post-war years.
He was to remain a prominent figure in the wider union for more than
60 years. In 1973 he was elected to
the Seanad and retained his seat for
seven consecutive terms until he retired in 1992. He also served as National Organiser of the Labour Party,
being particularly identified with
party leader and trade unionist,
Frank Cluskey.
Born to a family of 11 in Dublin’s
north inner city in the turbulent year
of 1920, Harte went on to live a challenging life. He always said timing
was not his best attribute. At 16 he
stowed away on the mailboat to
Britain, lied about his age and joined
the Royal Irish Fusiliers. He was
posted to Malta and later Palestine.
When the Second World War broke
out his unit was deployed in the
eastern Mediterranean. He was selected for the Special Boat Service
running commando raids along the
Greek and Italian coasts supplying
partisans and agents. Later he was
awarded the George’s Cross in recog-
nition of his heroism in Malta.
In 1943 he was captured by the
Germans in the Dodecanese Islands.
He was forced to march a long winter
journey to Stalag 357, a prisoner-ofwar camp in Germany, where he endured starvation and serious
malnutrition until his release at the
end of the war.
The suffering endured during the
war resulted in an great yearning
across Europe for a new order of
things and a fairer, more egalitarian
world. Harte shared in this, resulting
in his life-long commitment to the
trade union and labour movement.
Liberty
Obituaries
MARCH 2015
29
OBITUARY Hilda Larkin Breslin (1936-2015)
Social campaigner and trade unionist
H
ILDA Larkin Breslin,
who passed away on
12th March, was
born into one of the
proudest of Irish trade union
families. Her grandfather was
Big Jim Larkin. When he died
in 1947 Hilda was 11 years old.
Her father, Jim Larkin Jnr, took
on the position of General Secretary of the Workers Union of
Ireland (WUI) until his death
in 1969.
On the day of Big Jim's funeral
Hilda's father called for unity within
the trade union movement and the
healing of divisions which had
grown between the WUI and the
ITGWU. Young Jim Larkin was
elected at successive Dáil elections
after his first Dáil win alongside his
father in 1943, but from 1957 concentrated on trade union affairs,
leading to the establishment of
ICTU in 1959.
By this time Hilda was already politically active in the Labour Party.
However, she did not contest the
constituency her father had represented, instead running in 1959 in
a by-election in Dublin South-West.
She polled well but was unsuccessful; as she was at the general election of 1961.
She supported her friend and
Hilda was a
strong presence
on the Executive
Committee that
negotiated the
historic merger
of the two
unions to form
SIPTU in 1990
union colleague Frank Cluskey’s
taking of the seat for Labour in
1965, and throughout this period
was on the staff of the WUI, taking
responsibility for union publications such as Bulletin. Her social
campaigning extended to a broad
range of social and gender issues.
Life for Hilda changed when she
met and married fellow union activist Seán Breslin. Seán was appointed branch secretary in the WUI
with the objective of establishing a
branch in the south-east. Seán and
Hilda set up a branch office in Athy
and lived there for the remainder of
both their lives. Their efforts led to
major growth in union representation in the region, strengthened
with the merger with the Federation
of Rural Workers in 1979. In addition to family and trade union activities, Hilda was active in the local
Labour Party.
In 1984 Seán died suddenly, leaving Hilda with sole responsibility
for rearing four young children. In
addition to this task she threw herself back into union, community
and labour activities. She became an
officer in the local branch and was
elected to the National Executive
Committee of the union. Her father's ambition to reunite the Workers Union and the ITGWU was not
realised by the time of his death in
1969. It was apt, therefore, that
Hilda was a strong presence on the
Executive Committee that negotiated the historic merger of the two
unions to form SIPTU in 1990.
She was elected to the first Executive Committee of SIPTU and subsequently to the position of
National Trustee. She was also active in establishing new structures
in the midlands region, working
with Jack O'Connor, then Regional
Secretary, and those from the former ITGWU led by Tom Crowe and
others. She was also elected to the
Executive Committee of ICTU.
Hilda was an officer of Kildare
Council of Trade Unions, and with
others on the Council she sought to
respond to the upsurge of unemployment within the county. In
1986 the Kildare Centres for the Unemployed were established. In Athy
she founded the Athy Resource Centre for the Unemployed, and was its
full-time coordinator until her retirement.
Her passing followed a period of
illness which she spent in the extraordinary care of the staff of St
Vincent’s Hospital, Athy, an establishment first unionised by her husband.
OBITUARY Anne Casey (1956-2015)
A life dedicated to working-class education
A RESOLUTE activist, educator
and internationalist, Anne
Casey passed away in Dublin
on 3rd March, surrounded by
her loved ones after a long illness.
Born into a politically active
working class family of seven children in Kimmage, Dublin, from an
early age Anne had an interest in
reading and amassing knowledge,
a trait she picked up from her father.
A trade union member from the
time she started work, her activism
came to national prominence in
1979 in her role as shop steward
leading workers in the bitter strike
for union recognition at McDonalds restaurants in Dublin.
After six months of strike action
the workers won the right to have
their union, the ITGWU, recognised by their employer. However,
when the workers returned to
work McDonalds informed Anne
her job no longer existed. The
ITGWU won a case at the Rights
Commissioner who ruled that
Anne had been victimised for her
trade union membership and the
company paid compensation.
In the years after the McDonalds
strike Anne, who had left school at
15, decided to return to education
and studied at the National College
of Industrial Relations (NCIR) in
Rathmines, for her BA, and eventually received a Masters Degree
from Keele University in England.
Committed to working class education Anne was also involved in
the Peoples College where she
worked alongside Sheila Conroy,
running adult education out-reach
courses.
Anne later moved to England
with her partner Colin Whitson,
whom she met while studying
with Keele where he was a tutor.
Living in the North West of England she continued with her passions for political activism and
adult education. She was a tutor
with the TUC and was head of the
TU Studies Unit in Shrewsbury
College. Her work with trade
unions to encourage members to
return to education won a national
award. She was also Secretary of
the union Branch at the College
and helped organise a successful
strike after getting 97% in a membership ballot.
Returning to her beloved Dublin
in recent years, she worked with
ICTU on its union learning courses.
She served as the first chairperson
of the Trade Union Left Forum established in 2012 to encourage debate and progressive politics
within the movement.
Anne was for many years a member of the Labour Party, serving for
a time on its National Executive
Committee. On her return to
Dublin she joined the Communist
Party. Her belief in the unity of the
working class struggle across the
globe fired her involvement in activities in support of the Palestinian people. Anne was prominent
in efforts to raise funds for the
Gaza emergency campaign through
the sale of a solidarity print by
artist, Robert Ballagh. To date the
campaign has raised over €60,000
to assist with medical provision in
Gaza. She was instrumental in the
establishment and funding of the
James Connolly Surgical Unit in
Gaza.
Anne was cremated following a
humanist ceremony on 5th March
in Newlands Cross, Dublin. At the
service family and friends spoke
of her great concern for others
and read poetry. Anne’s sister
Bernie, who serves on the SIPTU
National Executive Council, remembered her as a “great friend
and mentor” whose “hero was
James Connolly.”
Anne is survived by her daughter Aoife, Colin, whom she married five years ago, and five
brothers and sisters.
30 Liberty
MARCH 2015
Sport
Simon Zebo stops for a picture with Jennifer Malone at the
Ireland training session in Carton House on 12th March.
Rugby - at the heart of the matter
By Matt Treacy
Okay. Hands up, I have zero
emotional connection with
anything to do with Irish
rugby. Other than negative. I
went to a school in south
Dublin that won county
championships in gaelic football and soccer, and got to an
All Ireland soccer final. We
had fellas who won national
athletics and boxing competitions. We had an Olympian.
Two people who won All Irelands with the Dubs. If it had
been The Wire, we were Natural Police.
Rugby was not on our radar.
What added to that was that when
it was put on radar and the school
tried to enter the Leinster schools
rugby, they were told that there
were already two schools in the geographic area. So, “good luck and
fuck you” as the soldier said to his
dying horse. Nothing to do of
course with ours being a working
class Vocational school.
Or ought that be a Vocational
school in a working class area?
Anyway. That dislike for all
things rugby related for me was
compounded by the IRFU decision
to send a team to play in South
Africa in 1981. There was an interesting demonstration outside
Lansdowne Road during the international series, before it was the
Six Nations. Ireland were playing
England. I possibly overlooked in
my youthful zeal, and antipathy,
that some of the best Irish rugby
people were also against the tour.
Tony Ward refused to go. Not sure
if he ever played again.
So. I am coming at them from a
position of dislike, I suppose.
And yet, I have great admiration
for this team. They have no more
to do with the conflicted history of
their game, than those of us who
are GAA primarily or soccer have to
do with the nonsense of our pasts.
Eijits who slag off Lee Chin the
Wexford hurler because he is of
Chinese heritage. The assholes
who did the same to our Jason. The
League of Ireland supporters who
tormented a goalkeeper about his
dying wife.
And rugby has had its pieces of
work. A man with Ireland caps
who stopped little old women
going to Mass.
But, that is individuals.
In the week before one of the
biggest game of their lives the Irish
players took time out of training to
spend it with a little girl who lives
in a world where some people believe that girls like her should
never see the light of day.
It is nothing to do with rugby or
any sport at the end of the day that
the Irish rugby team spent that
time. Made a little life brighter for
a time. There are cynics who will
pass it off as slick public relations.
For me, it meant that when Paul
O’Connell went over for that try
that set them up for the day when
they beat Scotland and won the Six
Nations, that I let loose of a whoop
normally only reserved for players
wearing the sky blue. Or dogs making it two lengths ahead at the first
bend in Shelbourne Park. And of
course there was that extraordinary and memorable display of
rugby across three venues before
he lifted the cup.
I cannot remember the name of
the little girl who was photographed looking up at her unfeasibly large hero who used to have
red hair before going bald, towering smiling above her.
But I do hope she was watching.
I know I was glad that I was.
Liberty
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11
13
15
16
18
19
20
21
Breathing disorder (6)
From the Atlantic Ocean to
the Ural Mountains (6)
Hospital unit (2)
Medieval weapon (8)
City birds (7)
Ally (5)
Cowboy's companion (5)
Politicial colleague (7)
Birds and planes do it (8)
Alright (2)
Disputed peninsula (6)
White coating (6)
*Correctly fill in the crossword to reveal the
hidden word, contained by reading the letters
in the shaded squares from top to bottom.
name and address and you will to be entered into a
prize draw to win two nights for two people in one
of Ireland’s Fair Hotels.
Email the hidden word to [email protected] or post to
Communications Dept., Liberty Hall, Dublin 1 along with your
The winner of the crossword quiz will be
published in the next edition of Liberty.
Ruler opposed by the Bolsheviks (4)
Sometimes accompained by lightning (13)
Prevents disease (7)
Fleshy, edible fruit (5)
Captured in battle (8,2,3)
Way of eating for babies and toddlers (8)
Can be gates, weapons etc (8)
Some Bible believers can speak
in them (7)
17 Capital of northern Italy (5)
19 Welcoming (4)
The winner of the crossword
competition in the February
edition was Deirdre O’Brien,
Cork
Answer: Negotiate
*Terms and conditions apply.
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