union post december 2010

NEWS YOU CAN USENION POST

DECEMBER 2010

PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE IRISH CONGRESS OF TRADE UNIONSTHE

U

SHAMEFULNOV 27 NATIONAL DEMO PICTURES & REPORT PAGES 6-11

Axe man: Lenihan

Picture:MAN

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CONGRESS general secretary DavidBegg has called the December 10 Dailvote to cut the minimum wage “a day ofshame”.

It follows a week of shame as the FiannaFail-led government effectively cededfinancial sovereignty to the IMF and the

European Central Bank, agreeing to ahumiliating €85bn bailout.

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

And what’s worse, IMF delegation chiefAjaj Chopra confirmed the cut was NOTtied in with the loan agreement.

Rather,Mr Begg claimed it was an“earlyChristmas present” for the “worstgombeen elements” in Irish business andbrought only “misery” to the low paid.

FULL BUDGET REACTION: Pages 2&3

2 THE UNION POST � December 2010

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

PICTURES & REPORT:Nov 27 march to GPO

The People’s Budgetlaunched by Unite

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12

VIEWPOINT: Stoprace to the bottom

Shock rise in attackson NI’s retail staff

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VIEWPOINT: Theday the music died 23

Northern Ireland CommitteeIrish Congress of Trades Unions4-6 Donegall Street PlaceBelfast BT1 2FNNorthern IrelandTel: 02890 247940Fax: 02890 246898Email: [email protected]: www.ictuni.org

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UNION POST

CONGRESS has labelled Budget 2011 as "ut-terly lacking in any sense of the common good"as it prioritised banks over the working poor.

General secretary David Begg claimed itshowed no evidence of any sustainable plan forgrowth and jobs, but had focused instead onhammering low and middle income earners.

He said: "There is no sense of the commongood, no sense of the vision that should under-pin any society. Instead, we have an assault onthe weakest.

"There is no vision on jobs, no vision on jobcreation, no sense or evidence of a sustainableplan for growth.”

Predicting the cuts wouldpush Ireland deeper into reces-sion, Mr Begg said the govern-ment was pushing through the“biggest budgetary adjustmentseen in the developed world, inthe last 70 years.”

He added: "It is an incrediblydangerous and hazardous policy,extracting some €6bn from theeconomy. And to what end, forwhat purpose? To bail out abusted banking system.

"They will pump €50 billioninto the banks and take €15 bil-lion out of the pockets of theworking poor.That is unaccept-able and completely unsustain-able."

Congress president JackO’Connor accused the govern-ment of insulating the rich whiletargeting low and middle in-come earners.

He poured scorn on FinanceMinister Brian Lenihan’s asser-tion in his budget speech thatgrowth would average 2.75%between now and 2014.

“Nothing in his presentationsupports these figures.There isno provision, of any substance,for investment or job creation.”

Mr O’Connor, who is alsogeneral president of SIPTU,added: “Where is the growth tocome from?”

He also claimed that “those atthe top of the pyramid” wouldbe relieved by the contents ofthe budget speech with no pro-vision for wealth tax or a tax onasset wealth.

Mr O’Connor contrasted thiswith heavy burden placed onlow and middle income earners,compounded by across-the-board cuts to child and mater-nity benefits.MANDATE accused the government of

“scapegoating” workers on lower and middle in-comes and described its tax strategy as totallyregressive.

General secretary John Douglas warned thatcutting wages of the lowest paid would “only de-grade working conditions”, damages productivityand hits consumer spending.

He claimed that Ireland’s minimum wage hadbeen “consistently misrepresented as dispropor-tionately high” and insisted that the real issuewas wage disparity and social inequality.

Calling for a general election “at the earliestpossible date”, Mr Douglas added it was clearthe present government’s days were numberedand that it was time a new administration ad-

dressed Ireland’s problems “through creatingjobs and growing the economy”.NUJ Irish secretary Seamus Dooley has

strongly condemned the cut in the minimumwage and warned the move would impact heavilyon many sections of the Irish media.

He said this was because the minimum wagewas used as a base for salaries by a number ofcompanies in the sector.

Mr Dooley added:“A budget is not just a bookkeeping statement but a statement of priorities.The targeting of the poor and vulnerable is aneloquent expression of the place of the low paid

and the unemployed in Irish so-ciety today.”

The Teachers Union ofIreland has warned the mostdisadvantaged in society will beprimarily impacted by educationcuts.

Referring to reports that thegovernment is looking at reduc-ing teacher numbers “by a com-bination of measures”, generalsecretary Peter MacMenaminpointed out that many schoolswere already struggling to re-main operational.

He said:“Any examination ofexpenditure must look at fund-ing that is directed at privilegerather than seeking to furtherdisadvantage the already disad-vantaged.

“The maintenance of privilegein any sphere, particularly in ed-ucation, cannot be allowed tocontinue.”UNITE slammed the budget

“as undemocratic a piece of leg-islation [ever] brought forwardin the history of the state”.

Irish regional secretary JimmyKelly said:“We have been toldfor two years, over four budgets,that cutting back would save us– €14bn later and we are staringdown the barrel of a decade ofdesolation.”

He claimed the governmenthad sought to right the wrongsof the banks’ “criminal misadven-ture” by taking €40 a week offworkers on the minimum wage.

Mr Kelly warned:“The govern-ment today has damned the Irishpeople to a generation ofpenury and emigration.”

He added:“Now is the timefor this government to let go ofthe reins of power and allow thepeople to elect a new adminis-

tration. If they refuse to step down, they mustbe shown the door with a series of nationalstrikes and a wave of civil disobedience.”

Pat King, general secretary of ASTI, warnedthat Budget 2011 was “storing up problems forthe future”.

He claimed the future of teaching would beseriously damaged by the 10% pay cut and theloss of two salary increments for new entrantsto the profession.

Mr King pointed out that second-level schoolswere now “at breaking point” because of previ-ous education cuts and that “serious concerns”were being reported because of larger classesand less pastoral care support and fewer staff.

The cost of bailing out the banks has beenspread “from the cradle to the grave”, INTO

ASSAULT ONUnions slam bloodbath

Jack O’Connor:‘Where’s the growth?’

Blair Horan:‘Grossly unfair’

Sheila Nunan:‘Recipe for disaster’

3December 2010 � THE UNION POST

THE WEAKESTREACTIONbudget as axe falls on poor

general secretary Sheila Nunan claimed.She said the budget was “neither fair nor equi-

table” and left ordinary tax payers bearing thebrunt of “another significant loss of income”while property investors continue to benefit until2014.

Describing the budget as “a recipe for eco-nomic disaster”, Ms Nunan added:“Taking evenmore money from the pay of ordinary workerswill kill any prospect of growth, the key ingredientof national recovery.”CPSU chief Blair Horan claimed the budget

had failed “the test of fairness” because it had“impacted disproportionately on the lower paidand those dependant on state transfers”.

He said the government had made a choice byopting for a new universal social charge and re-ductions in tax credits rather than increasing taxrates or introducing a new rate for higher earn-ers.

Mr Horan described the attempt to engineeran “internal devaluation” by pushing down wages

and cutting benefits as “grossly unfair”.“It has not been accompanied by any offsetting

measures to ensure those who made – and stillpossess – significant riches during the 10-yearboom pay their fair share towards the adjustmentnow under way.”IMPACT described the Budget 2011 as a

recipe for continued economic failure.General secretary Shay Cody said growth had

to be at the centre of any initiative to drag thecountry out of recession.

Pledging to campaign to resist cuts to the mini-mum wage and social welfare, he added: “By tak-ing yet more money from those on low andmiddle incomes – be they workers, welfare recipi-ents or OAPs – the government is guaranteeingthat we won’t grow out of the financial crisis.

“Instead, the government’s vicious circle of eco-nomic decline will continue as consumer demandfalls further, creating more unemployment andfurther declines in tax revenue.”

CONGRESS general secretary David Begghas accused government TDs of "moralbankruptcy and political cowardice" afterthe Dail voted in favour of cutting the mini-mum wage.

Describing the measure as “contemptible”and Ireland’s “day of shame”, he warned thiswould result in a “de facto legalisation of aform of slavery in 21st century Ireland”.

“They are taking €40 per week fromworking poor in the full knowledge thatthere is no economic, political, social ormoral justification for it.”

Referring to a radio interview with AjajChopra who had led the IMF delegation toDublin, he added: "Even the IMF has publiclyconfirmed that they did not seek or pro-pose a cut in the minimum wage."

Mr Begg, above, said the move showed thegovernment was pandering to the “worstgombeen elements in the Irish businessclass”.

“Be very certain, that extra €40 per weekthat will be taken from the pockets of theworking poor will just disappear back intothe pockets of those employers.

“It's Christmas come early for them andmisery for the low paid."

He claimed the undue haste with whichthe legislation was rushed throughamounted to a “clear corruption of demo-cratic norms” and asked why ministers andTDs were so afraid of having an open de-bate on the issue.

"The reason they want to stifle debate isthat they know full well that the measurecannot be justified."

Mr Begg also revealed the legislation en-visaged a much deeper cut than one europer hour, as the new rate allows for the in-clusion of "an allowance in respect boardand lodgings".

He warned this could mean an even lowerrate than €7.65 per hour.

Minimumwage cutbeneathcontempt

Words of wisdom at the November 27 protest Picture:Tom Clancy

THE UNION POST � December 20104

Cutting schoolfunding &

staffing riskseveryone’s

futureMake your voiceheard – opposeeducation cuts

CONGRESS has given a ‘howNOT to do it’ analysis of the Irishgovernment’s shambolic economicpolicy at two major conferences inBritain.

Congress assisant general secre-tary Peter Bunting, speaking todelegates at the Wales TUC con-ference in Cardiff, said:“For thepast two years, Fianna Fail, theircronies in business and financeand most of the press colluded ina massive exercise in shifting theblame from the banks onto thepublic sector.”

Warning that the same processwas now under way in the UK, headded:“The Republic of Ireland is,at present, a warning from recenthistory about how not to do it –how not to attack the weakest,while cosseting the richest, all inthe name of ‘fairness’.”

Mr Bunting later delivered asimilar message to thousands ofdemonstrators at a rally organisedby Merseyside Public Sector Al-liance in Liverpool.

He said:“There have been mas-sive rallies of working people, un-employed people, carers, nurses,students and teachers in London,

Manchester, Edinburgh, Glasgow,Cardiff, Derry, Belfast and allaround the UK – all with the samemessage of resistance.”

Referring to recent demos inDublin, he added:“Those of uswho have hosted rallies againstthe actions of the Irish govern-ment – and 100,000 citizensbraved the freezing weather inDublin two weeks ago – can tellyou that more and more votersand citizens across these islandsare willing to support radical chal-lenges to the orthodoxy of themarket.

“After months of talk about ourbroken economy and our brokensociety and our broken politics,change may be at hand at last.

“We could be close to the birthof a Second Republic.We can bespectators or we can be midwives.

“The real lesson for us in theUK from the Irish crisis is this –We do not need to have the IMF’scommissars walking into Govern-ment Buildings to import theirideas.

“We need, more than ever,stronger and better ideas to keepthem out.”

‘How NOT todo it’ adviceto UK unions

ECONOMY

‘We could be close tothe birth of a SecondRepublic.We can bespectators or we can

be midwives’– Peter Bunting

�UNIONS across Northern Ireland are holding a series of events tosupport the ETUC’s call for a day of action against the cuts on

December 17.Public sector unions UNISON, NIPSA and PCS are planning to stage

a number of lunchtime protests outside workplaces.Teaching unions UTU and INTO, the Fire Brigades Union as well as

Belfast and Derry trade councils have encouraged members to showtheir support in joining the Friday demos.

UNITE has urged unions and pro-gressive organisations in the Repub-lic to come together to press for aradical change in economic policyunder any new government.

The proposal, which was tabled ata meeting of Congress’ ExecutiveCommittee on December 15, willnow form the basis to discuss theforging of a new political strategy inthe run-up to the next GeneralElection.

This approach will involve increas-ing taxes on higher income groups,putting a stop to public spendingcuts as well as a multi-year, multi-bil-lion euro programme of investmentfrom our own resources.

It will also reject the view thatbank debt should be shouldered bythe people of Ireland.

Regional secretary Jimmy Kellysaid:“We need to make sure that

membership is mobilised to ensurethat the new government adopts aradically different approach.

“We need to be at the centre of asocial and community base of com-mon interest that rejects the ideathat bankers and the political eliteknow best.

“Unite is convinced that we needto exercise our power through ourmembers voicing a collective alter-native opinion and through the pos-sible use of industrial action toprove the strength of our commit-ment to a better future for Irelandthan is possible under the currentapproach.

He added:“This will now be con-sidered by our colleagues in theunion movement, and the detail of ashort, medium and longer termstrategy will emerge early in theNewYear.”

UNITE PROPOSEAN ALTERNATIVEPOLL STRATEGY

UNITE PEOPLE’S BUDGET - PAGE 12

THE Irish National Teachers’ Or-ganisation has welcomed the out-come of the equality tribunal onenrolment policies in schools.

General secretary Sheila Nunanclaimed the decision would nowhave implications well beyond theTraveller community.

She said: "Enrolment polices atprimary level often use older sib-lings in the school as a criteria forenrolment.

“But the thinking behind it wasnot to exclude children but to en-sure parents with more than onechild didn’t end up with children

in several different schools withdifferent drop-off places.”

But now that practice has beendeemed to be indirect discrimina-tion.

In the light of the judgment, en-rolment policies in general wouldhave to be examined, Ms Nunanadded.

The union said there was aclear role for the Department toadvise schools on the outcome ofthis judgement rather than havingall 4,000 schools having to reviewpolices individually.

INTO welcomes equality ruling

December 2010 � THE UNION POST 5

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100,000NOV 27 NATIONAL DEMO

ON THE STREETS... A MANDATEFOR CHANGEMORE THAN100,000 people marched to theGPO in Dublin on November 27 to demon-strate their opposition to the Irish govern-ment’s ruinous economic policies.

Despite freezing temperatures, huge num-bers gathered in O'Connell Street to heartrade union leaders and others warn of thedire consequences of acceding to the termsof the €85bn EU-IMF bailout package.

Addressing the crowd, Congress generalsecretary David Begg drew parallels betweenthe deal and the Treaty ofVersailles afterWorld War One.

He said:“Does anybody in this country orin the Dáil think we can as a peo-ple afford to pay 5.8% on moneythat we did not ask for in the firstplace and that is being forcedupon us to bail out the bankingsystem in Europe which is in hockto this country for €509 billion?We can’t pay that money and wewon’t pay that money.”

Noting that the 1916 Proclama-tion – first read from the samespot in front of the GPO – hadreferred to help from “gallant al-lies in Europe”, he added: “Well,our gallant allies in Europe havearrived 95 years too late and un-invited and instead of guns to helpthe revolution, they have broughteconomic weapons of mass de-struction.”

Slamming the government’s “ar-rogance”, Congress president JackO’Connor told the crowd:“We are here toobject to their insistence of going ahead with-out a mandate to draw up a plan and sign adeal in our name which will decide the futureof one or two generations of our people inflagrant contempt of the will of the people.”

Leading commentator Fintan O’Toole, whoacted as rally MC, described the government’sfour-year cuts programme as “a plan to save

the Irish elite” rather than a means to savethe country. He predicted a “savage assault”on the minimum wage as well as further wel-fare cuts while at the same time “the elite”moved to protect its own interest.

“Under the government’s plan a single per-son earning €40,000 per year will pay exactlythe same amount of extra tax as someoneearning €300,000 per year.”

Addressing the crowd, Laura Ashley workerMary Fleming, on strike for five weeks,claimed her employers were following a pat-tern set by many other firms during theslump. She said:“Companies are making vast

amounts of money and are usingthe opportunity presented by thecurrent crisis to drive down peo-ple’s income.”

Marie Doyle, who spoke on be-half of retired workers, said olderpeople had worked their wholelives, paying their taxes and doingwhat was asked of them. Nowthey had reached a stage where“they had nothing left to give”.

Keith O’Driscoll, an unem-ployed apprentice plumber andTEEU member, spoke passionatelyof the difficulties facing youngworkers and youth in general inparticular raising the spectre ofemigration as well as the lack oftraining and work opportunities.

Siobhan O’Donoghue let ripwhen she showed what shethought of the National Recovery

Plan by tearing a copy of the document topieces to cheers from the crowd.

She asked:“Do you think the four-year re-covery plan will make a better place?”

The crowd roared back “No!” Then MsO’Donoghue asked the crowd if they wereready for change and were prepared to dosomething about it. “Yes!” came the resound-ing reply.

TTHHEE GGAARRDDAA hhaavvee ppuuttoouutt aann AAllll PPooiinnttss BBuull--lleettiinn iinn aa bbiidd ttoo llooccaattee5500,,000000 mmaarrcchheerrss wwhhoowweenntt mmiissssiinngg ffrroomm tthheecceennttrree ooff DDuubblliinn oonn NNoo--vveemmbbeerr 2277.. CCoonnggrreessss ooffffiicciiaallss

hhaadd bbeeeenn ttoolldd bbyy GGaarrddaassoouurrcceess eeaarrlliieerr iinn tthheeddaayy tthhaatt mmoorree tthhaann110000,,000000 ppeeooppllee hhaaddmmaarrcchheedd ttoo tthhee GGPPOO..HHoowweevveerr,, tthhee GGaarrddaa

llaatteerr rreevveeaalleedd tthhaatt hhaallffooff tthheessee wweerree nnooww uunn--aaccccoouunntteedd ffoorr aanndd aass aarreessuulltt ddoowwnnssiizzeedd ddeemmoonnuummbbeerrss ttoo 5500,,000000......

Half to laugh

PLUS


Picture: Tom Clancy


NOV 27 NATIONAL DEMO

‘It’s important for all the people tobe here to protest and show thegovernment we’re not happy withthis and we want a general election’– Dev Boyjonauth, Kerry

‘We felt the voice of workers in Ireland needed to be heard. We neededto come out and tell the government it’s unjust... it’s just not right.’ – Dearbhla Cussan, Lillian Fogarty, Ian Curran from Carlow

Picture: MANDATETony Neville, Clondalkin

Esther Holden, LeitrimEamon McLoughlin, Dublin

September 2010 � THE UNION POST 9

TRADE UNION TV COVERAGE OF MARCH AND RALLY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtTw_gM2TvE

PICTURES: TOM CLANCY & PAULA GERAGHTY

‘We’re here to support the people because everyone needs to do something.’– Ashley Kavanagh with her mum Gerry from DarndaleTEEU general secretary Eamon Devoy


NOV 27 NATIONAL DEMO

‘We’re going to lose our sovereignty and be enslaved to the bankers.’ – Phil Johnson, Kilshealin, Co Tipperary

‘They got us into this mess andwe want them out.’ – CorkOAP Tina Busteed

‘I’m here to get this government out and to ef-fect some kind of change.’– Joe Healy, Bandon, Co Cork


TRADE UNION TV COVERAGE OF MARCH AND RALLY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mtTw_gM2TvE

‘I’m here to protest because we allneed to protest to save the country.’– Linda Cully, Blanchardstown

‘I’m protesting against the bankersand the developers and the otherfat cats sitting on their butts, Theysold us out and they haven’t gotthe guts to share the pain.’– Brendan Larkin, Dublin

Geraldine Dennis, Drimnagh

Michael Doyle, Raheny

‘I’m disgusted & angry.They’retaking everything we’ve got.’– Monica Duff, Swords

PICTURES: TOM CLANCY & PAULA GERAGHTY

‘We just can’t afford any more cuts.’– UCD student Nina Anderson from Denmark Vincent Walter, Celbridge, Co Kildare


Lunches served Mon - Sat 12pm - 3pmTalking bowls served Fri & Sat 3.30pm - 6pmLive music 6 nights per weekMonthly art exhibitionsThe best choice of local & worldwide beers in the cityNo TVs or gaming machines

REAL BEER • REAL FOOD • REAL MUSIC • REAL PEOPLE

A TRADE UNION PUB FOR TRADE UNIONISTS

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THE TUC is planning to hold a massive nationaldemo against the cuts in central London nextspring.

The protest – which organisers hope will be“the biggest, boldest and best event in our his-tory” – is to take place in Hyde Park on Saturday,March 26.

A TUC spokesperson said: “Unions are now atthe heart of a powerful, progressive coalitionagainst the cuts, bringing together service users,charities and community groups.

“The union movement and the country face thesternest test in a generation.

“Not only is the economy on its knees, notonly is the law tilted against us, but we have agovernment in power that is making spendingcuts of a speed, scale and savagery never beforeseen.”

RESEARCH commissioned by the Law Centre(NI) has revealed tax and benefit changes will hitNorthern Ireland more than any other region inthe UK, apart from London.

The findings, published by the Institute for Fis-cal Studies on December 10, examined the im-pact both the coalition government’s June budgetand October’s Comprehensive Spending Reviewwill have on local incomes through to 2014/2015.

According to researchers, the figures for Lon-don reflect the larger numbers of extremelywealthy people who live there and the effect ofHousing Benefit changes on high rents in the cap-ital.

Northern Ireland, on the other hand, has farsmaller number of very wealthy people with alarger proportion of households containing Dis-ability Living Allowance claimants.

Law Centre (NI) director Les Allamby claimedthe findings illustrate the devastating impact taxand benefit changes will have on people living onlower incomes in Northern Ireland.

He said: “On top of the distributional effect,there is the likelihood of a slower economic re-covery, higher rates of mental and physical healthproblems and poorer childcare provision whichwill make things even tougher for people tryingto get into work in Northern Ireland.

“We need to develop changes to social securitythat take account of our conditions and whichwill actually work in Northern Ireland.”

TUC plans massivedemo in the spring

Budget & CSR cutshit NI poor the most

UNITE PUBLISHES PEOPLE’S BUDGETUNITE has published an alternative People’sBudget based on investment, job creation anda growth-led approach to reducing the deficit.

The document also outlines a range of alter-native strategies, including:

� The rebuilding of communications, waterand waste infrastructure,

� Preventative health initiatives and im-provements to the built environment, and

� A loan guarantee scheme for business aswell as action to prevent long-term unemploy-ment.

According to the report’s authors, an invest-ment of €1bn would create up to 12,000 jobsin areas of lasting benefit to the country.

The document also calls for an investmentof €15bn from current cash assets over fouryears from an estimated €35bn still held bythe nation – even after bank recapitalisations.

A combination of clamping down on regres-sive tax incentives, initial tax hikes on high-earning groups and the reinvestment of publicservice efficiencies into the economy wouldallow for improved communications infra-structure, support for new hi-tech firms, the

upgrading of water and waste networks andjob creation.Regional secretary Jimmy Kellysaid: “The reality for many hundreds of thou-sands of families is that their living standardsare in freefall, their children are faced with nochoice but to emigrate and those who arecursed by unemployment have little prospectof securing work.

“It was not meant to be like this. The gov-ernment asked for the trust of the Irish peo-ple as they cut €14bn out of the economy inthe past two years. They said it was necessaryto share the pain in order that the public fi-nances could be brought back under control.They misled the nation.

“Now they say a further €15bn cuts areneeded in order to make the same brokenpromise. They are selling our future.”

Describing the People’s Budget as a “viablealternative” to the slash and burn strategyadopted by the government, he added: “Thisapproach will reduce the deficit through en-couraging growth. It will get people back towork. It will use the assets which we havebuilt as a nation to help us in this dark hour.”

http://www.unitetheunion.org/pdf/045-Peoples'%20Budget%20-%20Final%20Draft.pdf

FINANCE POLICY

New vision: Unite’s Jimmy Kelly & Walter Cullen hold copies of People’s Budget outside Dail

Picture: Unite


THE Irish Federation of Univer-sity Teachers has responded toan Irish Times report listing thetop 100 earners in third-leveleducation.

The union pointed that of themore than 20,000 people work-ing in the sector, fewer than onethird of one per cent (0.3%)earn more than €150,000.

General secretary Mike Jen-nings said: "Looking at the list,one cannot help but be struckby the almost total absence offrontline educators. The list is almost exclusively made up ofadministrators, bureaucrats andmanagers.

"Imagine the frustration thatwill be felt by assistant lecturers(starting salary €33,623) or college lecturers (€48,306) atthe allegation that they are ‘high-fliers'. Such staff have already taken earnings cuts of approximately 20% while thenumbers of students they teachhas reached the highest levels inIrish history.”

He added: "Anyone who as-pires to be rich should not belooking for a job in education.”

Only 0.3%earn morethan €150k

Dismantled‘bit by bit’

SubSearchlaunched

UK education secretary MichaelGove is “dismantling bit by bit”the landmark 1944 EducationAct – and its vision of a fair andbalanced education for all – withhis schools white paper, the As-sociation of Teachers and Lectur-ers has claimed.

General secretary Dr MaryBousted said: "His plans riskleaving every school an island di-vorced from the help and sup-port of their local authorities.

"We are also deeply worriedby the total confusion, incoher-ence and blatant contradictionswhich run throughout the gov-ernment's education policy..”

THE INTO has set up a newservice aimed at helping unem-ployed teaching graduates findsubstitute work in the Republic’sprimary schools.

SubSearch allows a qualifiedprimary teacher, available forsubstitute work, to register onthe site and confirm their avail-ability in up to three locationsthroughout the country.

The union has urged principalsto register and avail of the serv-ice.Principals who register willbe able to search and receive alist of available substitutes.

They will also be able to de-fine the distance from the loca-tion they wish to search.http://subsearch.into.ie

EDUCATION

Something fishy going on at the Dail...

Picture: Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland

THOSE big fish in the Dail sometimes seem to have the recall capacity of goldfish... at least when it comes toclimate change, which is why these brave souls from Oxfam stood out in the December chill outside LeinsterHouse to give our fine representatives a small reminder of the importance of tackling the problem. An Oxfamsource said: “We wanted to let TDs know there is no bailout for the climate, which is why reaching an agree-ment at the conference in Cancun is so vitally important.”

LEADING women trade unionistsfrom across the UK and Ireland havejoined together to slam national gov-ernments and regional administra-tions for pushing through a wave ofausterity measures that will impactdisproportionately on women.

In a joint statement issued follow-ing a conference in Derry last month,the women’s committees of ICTU,TUC, STUC and WTUC claimedthese cuts would have dire conse-quences both for the economy andfor society.

Sarah Veale, of the TUC, pointedout that cuts will primarily hit womenand families, especially those on lowincomes, and in particular lone parentfamilies who will lose 18.5% of theirnet income.

Ms Veale added: “Not only willwomen be worse off as a result ofbenefit cuts, but women are likely toalso be the biggest losers when itcomes to public sector pay freezesand jobs cuts.

‘The main reason for this is the factthat women make up 65% of the pub-lic sector workforce.

“Just under 40% of women’s jobsnationally are in the public sector,

compared to around 15 per cent ofmen’s jobs.”

Julie Cook, of the Welsh TUC,flagged up a recent poll showing thata majority of Welsh people felt thecuts were being implemented unfairlywith nearly half believing they wouldbe bad for the economy.

She said: “A total of 42,000 publicsector jobs are now at risk in Walesand two-thirds of public sector work-ers are women.”

The Scottish TUC’s Elaine Dougalinsisted that women trade unionistsin Scotland and across the UK andIreland were not prepared “to sit

back and let the cuts happen” andcalled for a united trade union voiceto challenge governments’ short-sighted austerity measures and topromote an agenda that focused oneconomic growth, jobs, services andequality for all.

Taryn Trainor, joint chair of ICTU’swomen’s committee, underlined howof the £8bn to be raised throughbudget changes in Northern Ireland, atotal of £5.8bn would be paid bywomen.

She said women would suffer morethrough attacks on benefits and taxcredits, adding, “This is intolerant andintolerable – it must be resisted.”

Joint committee chair CarolO’Brien added: “Congress advocatesthat any budgetary decisions must betaken in a manner which is sensitiveto its differential impact on womenand men and must be examined froma gender perspective.

“It is critical that budgetary deci-sions seek to alleviate the worst con-sequences of the recession onwomen by protecting the most vul-nerable women and ensuring thatprogress that has been made towardsequality for women is not reversed.”

WOMEN HIT MOREBY BUDGET CUTS

Sarah Veale Taryn Trainor


MEMBERS of the Domestic WorkersAction Group demonstrated outsidethe Philippines Embassy in Dublinlast month in protest at a ‘no-show’at an employment complaints hear-ing. The DWAG took the action onNovember 28 after the group

claimed embassy chiefs failed to attend a hearing brought by a for-mer employee – a Philippines na-tional – at the Labour RelationsCommission.Hilda Regaspi, of the DWAG, said:

“It takes a lot of courage for a do-

mestic worker to stand up for theirrights. Domestic workers, like allother workers, deserve the right to afair hearing and due process regard-ing grievances, including those employed by foreign diplomats."

Picture: Lar Boland/MRCI

Embassydemo at‘no show’

CITY high-fliers who commute by jet toLondon so they can avoid paying tax couldhave their wings clipped if current UK tax residence rules are tightened.

A new TUC report claims that tougher resi-dency rules would raise billions every year forthe UK exchequer.

The briefing cites the ‘Monaco boys’ as an ex-ample of how some high-earners are using theordinary residence rule – usually created whena person has been in the UK for 91 days – toavoid paying their fair share of tax.

The ‘boys’ fly into the UK on Monday morn-ing and return to the Mediterranean principalityon Thursday afternoon, thereby claiming theynever establish residency in the UK.

HM Revenue and Customs have recentlychallenged the practice but the report authorsclaim it continues.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said:“This is a glaring loophole in tax law that allowsthousands of very rich people to avoid paying

their fair share of tax. A big proportion work inthe banking and finance sectors that drove thecrash, but can now escape paying a proper con-tribution to putting right the damage theycaused, while the rest of us face cuts in vitalservices and a VAT hike.”

The rules on tax residency are further com-plicated by the domicile rule, which offers

further opportunities for avoiding tax on UK-based income. Non-domicile status,which can be inherited or acquired

if you are born outside the UK, canbe used to avoid paying tax on UK

income even if someone has long-terminterests in the UK.

The TUC briefing proposes a new passport-based tax residency law –

already enforced successfully in the US –to simplify the legislation and end the exploita-tion of residency rules by a super-rich minority.

Under the TUC proposals, anyone with a UKpassport would be assumed by default to be taxresident in the UK.

However, to allow for the high levels of migration, the TUC proposes an exception topassport-based residency whereby UK subjectsliving in countries that enjoy full double taxarrangements with the UK can transfer theirtax status abroad. www.tuc.org.uk/extras/taxresidence.pdf

TUC: CLIP WINGS OF THESEHIGH-FLYING CITY BOYS

RESIDENCY TAX LOOPHOLE

MANDATE has joined Migrant RightsCentre Ireland in attacking the €1 cutto the minimum wage and the inclu-sion of low paid workers in the taxnet.

They described the changes as “adouble whammy” that will do nothingto solve Ireland’s economic woes.

MANDATE general secretary JohnDouglas, left, said: “Every person in Ire-land knows they will be punished forthe greed of a few, and the mismanage-ment of our economic affairs.

“It is clear that this government’sdays are numbered and that they onlyenjoy minimal electoral support.

“Despite having no mandate left they

seem determined to press ahead withmaking swingeing cuts to the minimumwage and to welfare which will devas-tate the lives of the people on themargins of our society.”

MRCI director Siobhan O’Donoghuesaid: “Cutting the wages of the lowest-paid workers will only degrade work-ing conditions and lead to a decreasein productivity, damage consumerspending, and will place those with thelowest incomes, including migrantworkers, in an impossible situation.

She added: “This is all the morepointless when we know that it is thelower-wage earners who spend pro-portionately more.”

Budget double whammy blasted

Picture: MANDATE

�UNITE has blasted the Irish governmentfor “betraying” the nation by putting in

place a policy of “forced emigration”.Regional secretary Jimmy Kelly claimed the

government was using emigration as a corner-stone of its economic policy.He pointed out the Department of Finance

had made a reference to net emigration beingneeded to restrain the pace of growth inlabour supply in its pre-budget statement lastmonth. Mr Kelly said: “In the 1980s, BrianLenihan snr was infamously quoted as sayingemigration was a good thing. “For others though, forced to see the depar-

ture of their children and to connect with fami-lies through telephones, letters and then theinternet rather than in person, emigration wasa curse.”


� MORE than 500 delegates at-tended the Fourth European

Equality Summit in Brussels lastmonth.Representatives from govern-

ments, employers, unions, NGOsand equality bodies, including Con-gress’ David Joyce and Anne Speedof SIPTU, took part in discussionscentred on promoting equality andcombating discrimination in em-ployment.The important role played by pub-

lic procurement policies and diver-sity charters was identified as wasthe need for a new anti-discrimina-tion directive outside the labourmarket.European Trade Union Confedera-

tion and European Public ServiceUnion representatives emphasisedthe need to progress the equalityequality particularly in the contextof the economic crisis.

PUBLIC sector job losses and welfarecuts will disproportionately hitwomen's income and set progress onclosing the gender pay gap back years inthe UK, the TUC has warned in a newreport.

The research, titled The Gender Im-pact of the Cuts, highlighted the impor-tance of public sector employment inraising women’s wages – on averagewomen working in the public sectorearn almost 40% more per hour thantheir private sector counterparts.

As women make up 65% of the publicsector workforce, they will bear thebrunt of an estimated 400,000 joblosses over the next four years.

Women comprise 68% of employeesworking in local authorities – the sector

expected to take the biggest employ-ment hit.

The report cites research carried outby economists Howard Reed and TimHorton.

According to their findings, lone par-ents, 90% of whom are female, will behit hardest by the spending cuts, losing18.5% of their net household income,or £3,121.

Single female pensioners are nexthardest hit, losing 11.7% of their net in-come, or £1,326.

TUC general secretary Brendan Bar-ber warned: “Progress in closing the paygap has been painfully slow and couldnow be set back decades by the gov-ernment's austerity programme.”www.tuc.org.uk/genderimpactofcuts

TOP inequalities researcher RichardWilkinson, above, gave the keynoteaddress at a Congress-organisedequality conference last month.

The best selling co-author of TheSpirit Level outlined how inequalitydamages societies as a whole – notjust the poor – to an audience oftrade unionists gathered at the Clar-ion Hotel, Dublin Airport, on No-vember 24.

“It’s no longer absolute incomelevels that matter, it is the differ-ences between us.”

Mr Wilkinson presented an im-pressive body of information toback up this view.

A raft of indicators – from num-bers of homicides to teenage preg-nancy rates – showed how theseproblems were were two to 10times more common in less equalrich societies (UK, Portugal, US)than in more equal rich societies(Japan, Finland, Sweden and Nor-way).

Mr Wilkinson said: “It’s not badhousing itself that gives you heart

disease or cancer. It’s not the physi-cal surroundings, it’s what you feelabout your circumstances.

“It’s to do with the scales of socialhierarchy – whether a society is asteep pyramid or a shallow pyra-mid.” While admitting that economicgrowth had transformed lives in thewest over the last 200 years, he

noted these benefits were now tail-ing off.

“We’re the first generation tohave got to the end of the benefitsof economic growth.”

Mr Wilkinson flagged up what hesaw as a “real paradox”: how incomeand living standards were important– in terms of health and well beingoutcomes – within societies but didnot seem to matter at all when rich,developed countries were com-pared with each other.

Rather the evidence points tohow equal each society is that mat-ters.

He added: “The data shows thereis no relationship to national in-come. Health and social problemsare not related to average income inrich countries.”

Mr Wilkinson insisted there was avital need to push an equality withsustainability agenda, adding “our so-cieties have to change”. Speaking be-fore the publication of the Irish

government’s National RecoveryPlan, Congress president JackO’Connor made the case for adopt-ing the approach of Nordic countiesthat had placed equality at the cen-tre of their development strategies.

He claimed the key lesson to bedrawn from their success was thatequality was not just a moral or ide-alistic choice but had been provento be better for society as well asbeing economically superior.

Independent equality consultantNiall Crowley underlined the needfor unions and civic society groupsto unite around the Claiming OurFuture policy agenda which placedequality at the top of its five agreedvalues.

Other speakers included EqualityAuthority chief Renee Dempsey, UKFeminista director Kat Banyard, aca-demics Terry McDonough, KathyMonks and Sile Larkin of the Equal-ity Tribunal.

Jack O’Connor: Look north

Barber: ‘Painfully slow’

Gender gap progress hit

WHY EQUALITYIS GOOD FOR

ALL OF US...

Picture: TUC

Picture: John

Cha

ney/Co

ngress

http://www.ictu.ie/equality/equalityconfere.html


HOW DO IADVERTISE IN

UNION POST?SSIIMMPPLLEE..

EEmmaaiill bbrraazziieerrmmeeddiiaa@@bbttiinntteerrnneett..ccoomm

TEEU chief Eamon Devoy has warned of“significant civil unrest” as a result ofgovernment’s ruinous economic strat-egy.

He told delegates at the union’s bien-nial conference in Galway last monththat draconian cuts would make life “un-bearable” in Ireland.

“What we are witnessing is a dismantling of social welfare provisionand pensions for older people and theunemployed, health services for the sickand open access to higher education forour young, while creating immunity frompain for the builders, property specula-tors and hierarchy of the banking sys-tem who are entirely responsible forthe mess we find ourselves in.”

Mr Devoy, left, also accused the gov-ernment of “floundering blindly throughthis crisis and dragging us all towardsthe precipice with it.”

DELEGATES at the TEEU con-ference voted overwhelminglyfor a call to set up a campaignof civil disobedience to forcea general election.

The emergency motioncondemned the governmentfor “criminal negligence” inthe running of the economyand for “colluding” with the

banks in “misleading” the Irishpublic. The drafters of the mo-tion further claimed the ad-ministration had, by putting inplace the September 2008guarantee to the banks, “for-feited” the confidence of theIrish people. It continued: “Ifthe government persists inclinging to power we call on

the ICTU and other civil soci-ety organisations to launch acampaign of civil disobedienceto force an election on aregime that has no principlesand no objective beyond stay-ing in office for as long as pos-sible, even at the price ofdestroying what is left of oureconomy and our society.”

BELFAST-based NUJ chapel officer Tony Bailie hasjust released a new novel ecopunks which hehopes will hit the best-seller lists

Billed as part-thriller, part-adventure story witha healthy dollop of new age philosophy thrown infor good measure, ecopunks has been describedas "an environmental parable for the 21st cen-tury".

Tony is membership secretary at The IrishNews and is proud of having 80% of editorial staffsigned up with the union.

He already has a novel, The Lost Chord – pub-lished in 2006 – and two collections of poetryunder this belt.

Ecopunks is available from all good bookshopsand on Amazon. Visit www.tonybailie.com.

NUJ activist putsworld to writes!

CWU launchesorganise driveamong mobileretail workers

TEEU votes forcampaign ofdisobedience

THE Communications Workers' Union hasstarted an organising drive among workers in themobile retail outlet sector.

The campaign – which involves visiting all themajor retailers such as Vodafone, Meteor, O2, 3and Carphone Warehouse – started early lastmonth in Dublin but will spread throughout therest of the country.

Sources at the CWU said many employees inthe sector had contacted the union with querieson a whole range of issues such as changes toemployment contracts, increases in targets andthe introduction of performance managementsystems.

A spokesperson said: “In this time of economicuncertainty, workers are often the victims of cut-backs, including redundancy or reductions intheir working week or salary. Employees in themobile retail sector are no exception.”

CWU organisers want to focus on addressingthe lack of knowledge of trade unionism and itsrole in the workplace among young workers.

In many cases there is a general misunder-standing of an individual’s entitlement to join aunion and organisers plan to raise awarenessamong these workers and to inform them oftheir employment rights and of the benefits ofjoining a union.

The spokesperson added: “While workarrangements in the majority of retail stores aresimilar, working conditions can differ enormously.

“Some firms provide good conditions for theirstaff while others leave room for improvement.”

Difficulties employees have reported to theCWU include unrealistic targets, health andsafety issues, excessive performance manage-ment, stress, inadequate training, contract issuesand a general lack of control over the decisionsthat affect them in their work.

The union has so far negotiated collectiveagreements for members in Vodafone and Me-teor and is currently pursuing other mobile com-panies for collective bargaining rights.

For more information on this and other cam-paigns, visit www.cwu.ie

Devoy warning of ‘civil unrest’over govt policy

CONGRESS chief David Begg said historywould record just how terrible a mistake thegovernment made when it gave guarantees tobond holders.

He told delegates: “What Ireland needs morethan anything is a plan to restructure its banks’unsustainable debt, convincing creditors to takea discount and finally bear part of its own finan-cial losses.

“If we can get policy makers in Dublin, Brus-sels, Frankfurt and Washington to realise thatcitizens count as much as bond markets, thenperhaps we will again be able to start imaginingthe future in more positive terms.

He added: “But that’s a lot of ‘ifs’...”

Pictures: TEE

U

Jacqueline King ofAussie union ETUspoke at conference

David Begg said planneeded to restructure‘unsustainable’ debt

Begg: ‘Citizens count’

Irish govt’sapproachto povertyinadequateTHE Irish government’s approach to tacklingpoverty is “wholly inadequate”, the Commu-nity Workers’ Co-operative has claimed.

It follows the release of statistics revealingthat ‘consistent poverty rates’ had risen from4.2% to 5.5% between 2008 and 2009.

According to the EU Survey on Incomeand Living Conditions data, the ‘deprivationrate’ also rose significantly from 13.8% in2008 to 17.3% in 2009.

Children remained the most exposedgroup with a consistent poverty rate of 8.7%in 2009, compared to 6.3% in 2008, whilelone parent households accounted for thehighest percentage among household types –with 17% falling into this category.

The CWC has described the figures as“particularly appalling” as 2010 – the Euro-pean Year for Combating Poverty and SocialExclusion – draws to a close, and came as theorganisation slammed the government’s Planfor National Recovery for focusing cuts onthe most disadvantaged with “potentially dev-astating consequences”.

CWC national co-ordinator Ann Irwinclaimed the Celtic Tiger era described the cutto the minimum wage and the threat to with-draw benefits if claimants do not engage inwelfare-to-work schemes as “a recipe for dis-aster” and “an open invitation to exploita-tion”.

Policy set to drivemore to the edge


THE race to the bottom began long beforethe bust, and long before the government’s re-cent decision to cut the minimum wage of€8.65 by €1and review Employment Regula-tion Orders (EROs) and Registered Employ-ment Agreements (REAs).

Even when businesses were making recordprofits, they were trying to drive down wagerates, and in labour intensive sectors such ashotels and catering, legal challenges werebrought in the hope that the Joint LabourCommittees (JLC) could be dismantled.

In the electrical Industry, there has been asustained campaign over a number of years tobreak the REA.

Now that the economy is in crisis, the ‘cutscampaign’ has gone into overdrive and onlythe trade union movement stands betweenthe axe-wielders and working people.

The legislation promised by government in2008 and yet to be enacted, would reinforcethe stability of the JLC/REA system – which isvital for those working in low paid sectors.

While the pay rate determined within theJLC system is often just 50c to 60c per hourabove the minimum wage, the EmploymentRegulation Order also determines rates forovertime/weekend working etc and many alsoinclude disciplinary and grievance procedures.

These are very valuable tools for both em-ployees and employers in creating betterwork practices.

Work in low-paid sectors is typically labourintensive and involves long hours and low jobsatisfaction levels. It is surely shameful to hearpublic representatives such as Fine Gael’s Lucinda Creighton demand a cut in the mini-

mum wage, while other commentators call forthe JLC system to be dismantled.

No other area of the labour market is sub-ject to such relentless scrutiny and demandsfor wage reduction.

Contrast this with the ‘light touch’ regula-tion of the financial sector over the pastdecade which has destroyed our economy.

Had those in the ‘know’ spent more timescrutinising behaviour in this sector, ratherthan pursuing vulnerable, low-paid and hard-working people, the dividend to the statewould have been very valuable.

Thousands more workers within these sec-tors are likely to lose their jobs over the com-ing months as the government proceeds withits plan to take a further €6bn from the econ-omy and the burden falls primarily on those atthe bottom.

The construction industry will contract fur-ther with a reduction in the capital budgetspend.

And if government continues to pursue itsdeflationary policy consumer activity will con-tinue to fall and employment levels in the re-tail and hotels/catering sector will sufferaccordingly.

Government, employer groups and otherswho have called for the reduction in the mini-mum wage are automatically advocating a cutin jobseeker’s allowance on the basis of earn-ings being greater than welfare.

This suits the ‘cuts’ agenda and further un-derpins their policy – work as long and ashard as you can, for as little as you can. Thecampaign against the cut to the minimumwage must start now.

MINIMUM WAGESPOTLIGHT CSO FIGURES

EUROPEAN Anti-Poverty Network Ireland hasclaimed cuts contained in the four-year planshows the Irish government is only paying “lipservice” to a commitment to protect the mostvulnerable in society.

Paul Ginnell, a policy and support workerwith the EAPN, described the level of povertyin the Republic as “completely unacceptable”.

He said: “It is clear that in this European YearAgainst Poverty and Social Exclusion, the gov-ernment has no commitment to its own targetof eliminating consistent poverty by 2016.” MrGinnell made his com-ments as new CSO fig-ures revealed how thecurrent crisis has drivenmore people into ex-treme poverty, with al-most one in fourhouseholds in arrearswith household bills atsome time during 2009,and one in 10 house-holds falling into debt inthe same period. In thelight of goverment plans to cut welfare pay-ments, the minimum wage and to draft in taxchanges for the low paid, the EAPN warnedthat without “social transfers” in the form ofwelfare benefits, the percentage of those atrisk of poverty would treble to around 43%.

Mr Ginnell added: “While the goal of mostpeople is to have a decent job, large numbersare dependent on social welfare payments andthese people must be able live with dignity.

“However, current social welfare paymentsare well below this level and further reduc-tions will drive more people deeper intopoverty.”

Picture: TU

C

Stop this raceto the bottom

Paul Ginnell

VIEWPOINT Patricia KingSIPTU Vice President

Picture: EA

PN


THE Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisa-tion has underlined its long-standing pol-icy that all direct care provided to peoplein their homes or in hospitals must beprovided by trained and regulated staff.

It follows the screening of the PrimeTime ‘Home Care Scandal’ investigationscreened on December 13.

The union’s Executive Council alsoclaimed the revelations were an inevitableconsequence of introducing profits intothe healthcare system.

General secretary Liam Doran said:“The Prime Time revelations simply con-firmed what will always happen when youde-skill the health service workforce tosave money and increase providers’ prof-its.

“All health professionals are regulated

and this is the best safeguard to ensuringsafe practice.

“We now call upon the Minister, thegovernment and the HSE to immediatelychange their current policy and introduceregulations which will ensure that all caremust be provided through the skill mixidentified above, involving the appropriatemix of registered nurses and trainedhealthcare assistants.”

He added: “No patient or individual, ei-ther in hospital or in their own home, de-serves less.”

INMO in tightencare rules call

INMO’s Liam Doran slams profit motive in healthcare

A POLISH worker, represented bythe ICTU Migrant Workers Unit,has been awarded more than£50,000 by an industrial tribunalafter it ruled she had suffered racialand sexual discrimination.

Marzena Urnbanska-Kopowskaworked at Mac's Quality Foods,Dunmurry, from September 2006until July 2008.

The tribunal found she had beenunfairly dismissed, as well as beingsexually harassed by a Polish co-

worker.It also found she had beenracially discriminated against by alocal employee of the firm, causingher "feelings of violation, degrada-tion, humiliation and contempt".

John McShane, an employmentlaw specialist with McCartan Turk-ington Breen solicitors representedMrs Urnbanska-Kopowska at thetribunal in Belfast, after she broughther case to Kevin Doherty andKasia Garbal at the ICTU unit.

The unit – funded by EU Peace III

through Belfast City Council – wasset up two years ago to providerepresentation to non-unionised mi-grant workers.

Mrs Urnbanska-Kopowska re-ceived a total of £52,382 in com-pensation – £31,049 for unfairdismissal, £20,000 for racial discrim-ination and sexual harassment and£1,332 in interest.

Describing it as a “particularlyhorrific” case, Kevin Doherty said:"She had very little English and suf-

fered an ongoing period of verbalabuse and some touching. We hadno choice but to take legal action."

Expressing disappointment at thefindings and the amount of compen-sation awarded, Mac’s Quality Foodssaid the company had never beforebeen accused of racial or sexual dis-crimination in over 30 years of op-eration.

The statement added: "We re-spect all our employees and treatthem equal."

Tribunal awards Polish worker £52k

NIPSA has hit out at the North-ern Ireland Executive’s draftbudget proposals.Warning that tens of thou-

sands of public and private sec-tor jobs would be lost, generalsecretary Brian Campfield saidNIPSA did not accept the Execu-tive had “done its best for thepublic and its public service em-ployees”.He insisted local ministers

needed to challenge the West-

minster government “more vig-orously” in opposing the cuts.NIPSA assistant general sec-

retary Bumper Graham added:“The people of Northern Irelanddon’t want the Executive deliver-ing the Cameron/Clegg/Osborne Christmas present ofcuts and attacks on jobs.“What is needed instead is a

robust campaign of joint opposi-tion to these cuts.”

NIPSA in jobs warning afterStormont budget proposals

Picture: INMO

UNISON has accused UK healthsecretary Andrew Lansley of drag-ging the NHS “to the brink” forforging ahead with the plan to handover two-thirds of the entire NHSbudget – £80bn – to GPs.

Karen Jennings, UNISON head ofhealth, said: “Andrew Lansley is stub-bornly refusing to listento the growing outcryfrom health profession-als about the damagingimpact his proposalshave on the future ofour NHS.

“Private health com-panies have been cir-cling round GPs to pickup commissioning con-tracts, waiting to makea killing.

“Lansley is draggingthe NHS to the brink.Waiting lists are goingup and the last thing pa-tients need now is formore disruption and chaos becauseof Lansley’s ill-devised White Paper.”

Meanwhile, Unite has claimed thepay freeze imposed on NHS staff bythe UK government “ridesroughshod” over the independenceof the health sector’s pay review

body (PRB). The union made theclaim in evidence put before theNHS PRB last month, insisting itamounted to an attack on the livingstandards of hard-working employ-ees already hit by increasing work-loads and worsening morale.

The freeze applies to all NHS em-ployees earning morethan £21,000 a year and ispart of government at-tempts to squeeze £20bnin so-called efficency sav-ings over the next fouryears.

Those who earn lessthan that figure can ex-pect pay rises of at least£250 a year.

Unite’s national healthofficer Karen Reay said:”With the government’sblanket public sector payfreeze, there is little roomfor the NHS PRB, an in-dependent organisation,

to manoeuvre.”However, the problems of poor

morale and high workloads for NHSstaff won’t go away and will have tobe addressed very soon, if the NHSis to retain the high calibre staff italready has.”

NHS ‘BROUGHT TO THE BRINK’

Andrew Lansley:Stubborn refusal

CONGRESS president JackO’Connor has called on the Irishgovernment to appoint an inde-pendent expert from overseas toprobe profiteering across theeconomy.

It follows the latest Eurostatsurvey which found pricescharged to consumers for almostall goods and services were signifi-cantly higher in the Republic thanin the rest of the EU.

Mr O’Connor, who is alsoSIPTU general president, said:“These consumer prices are re-maining persistently high against abackground of falling incomes anda deliberate policy of allowing un-employment to fester in order todrive down wages.

“It is impossible to understandwhy home-produced items such

as bread, meat, milk or eggs arecosting between 20% and 40%more here than in other EUmember states, including ournearest neighbour and biggesttrading partner Britain.

“It is quite clear that profit tak-ing is continuing on a massivescale. While working people arebeing crucified with falling in-comes and rising taxation, certainelements in business are continu-ing to cream it.

“The government must appointan independent expert fromabroad – who has no connectionswith business interests here – toundertake an objective study ofthe situation and make recom-mendations to combat profiteer-ing as soon as possible.”

Probe rip-off Ireland call


IMO warnscuts will hithealth ofthe nation

Cam’s happinessindex ‘a gimmick’

WELL BEING 1 FINANCE POLICY

UNITE regional secretary JimmyKelly described the bailoutagreement as “worse than wecould have imagined an Irishgovernment could ever havesigned up to”.He added: “If it is allowed to

form the basis of our future,there will be no prospect of re-covery, a level of debt that is un-manageable and the throwingaway of the very assets which

represent our only chance of re-covery.” Meanwhile, TUC generalsecretary Brendan Barberslammed the conditions at-tached to the EU-IMF bailout andwarned they risked “setting theIrish economy back decades andforcing hundreds of thousandsinto poverty”. He added: “Irelandshows what happens when youput all the emphasis on cuts andfail to reform finance.” Kelly: scathing

Bailout deal ‘worse thanwe could ever imagine’

Picture: MAN

DAT

E

TRADE unions have derided UK government plansfor a ‘happiness index’ as a “gimmick” and an at-tempt to hoodwink the public.

Unite general secretary elect Len McCluskey pre-dicted David Cameron’s well being index “will bejust another attempt by the coalition to pull thewool over people’s eyes”.

He said: “No doubt Cameron will use the indexto claim that despite rising unemployment, homereposessions, longer NHS waiting lists and unaf-fordable education, the people of this country arehappier under Tory rule. The reality is a gatheringgloom.”

Mr McCluskey pointed out all the essentials for ahappy life were “fair game for the chop” by the gov-ernment.

“People need a secure job, a healthy family, agood and affordable education and a roof over theirheads. The coalition government's cuts are targetingthese fundamental rights for millions of people. "

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber brandedthe initiative “little more than a gimmick”.

He said: “What we want is a government that isactually going to do something about improving ourhealth and well-being by reducing inequality, injus-tice and poverty.

“Instead, under the current government, workingpeople face growing job insecurity, rising prices, lessprotection in the workplace and far greater uncer-tainty.”

THE Irish Medical Organisation has warned ofthe impact further budget cuts will have on thehealthcare system as well as on the long-termhealth of the nation.

IMO president Prof Sean Tierney said: “As in-comes decline, people eat cheaper and lesshealthy meals, drop sports activities, delay visitingtheir GP and are less likely to afford preventativecare.”

Pointing out that lower income groups weremore likely to develop diseases linked to lifestylefactors, he added: “Research shows that 38% ofthose at risk of poverty and 47% of those living inconsistent poverty report having a chronic illnesscompared to 23% of the general population.”

He claimed the recession also had a profoundeffect on mental health, which cost the economymore than €3bn in lost output and healthcarecosts.

Noting that just 5.2% of the health budget hadbeen allocated to mental health services in 2010,down from 7% in 2008, Prof Tierney added: “Dueto the moratorium on recruitment over 700 staffhave left mental health services, of which just 65were replaced, compromising quality of care.

“Suicide rates in 2009 increased by 24% withincidents of self-harm increasing by 5% withhigher rates among young males, yet the budgetfor mental health services has fallen dispropor-tionately.”

He called on the government to double thecarer’s allowance and claimed the Republic’s esti-mated 161,000 carers saved the exchequer€2.5bn a year through their efforts.

“Because of their social and economic circum-stances carers are at an increased risk of mentalhealth problems.

“Adequate support and respite must be pro-vided to enable them to care for someone aslong as they wish and can, without jeopardisingtheir own health and well-being.”

SIPTU president Jack O’Connor has claimedthe government’s National Recovery Planshould have been announced in Lourdesrather than Dublin because “short of a mira-cle, it is doomed to failure”.

Mr O’Connor, who is also president ofCongress, made the comments following theunveiling of the goverment’s four-year planwhich he claimed protected senior bank bondholders while “crucifying” the lowest paid andthe most vulnerable in society.

He continued: “The agreement is a shamefulindictment of the right-wing policies whichhave informed the government’s approach forthe last 13 years and which now dominatethinking in the EU institutions as well.”

Congress chief David Begg predicted theNational Recovery Plan rather than leadingthe country out of the slump would insteadprove to be “a roadmap into deep recession”.

Claiming the proposed cuts would furtherdampen consumer demand, he added: “Theeconomy is already very fragile and some

€14bn has already been extracted. Taking outanother €15bn will likely push us over theedge.

“The projections for growth contained inthis plan are a fiction and bordering on thedelusional.”

INMO general secretary Liam Doranwarned the four-year plan carried a “very realrisk” of turning the recession into a pro-longed depression.

He called on the government to “thinkagain” and put in place an investment strategyto grow our way out of the recession ratherthan meet “the insatiable demands of externalforces and money markets”.

Meanwhile, IMPACT general secretary ShayCody hit out at the government’s “obsession”with “bailing out zombie banks” rather thanputting together a stimulus strategy to pullIreland out of recession.

He also slammed the decision to cut theminimum wage and predicted it would “im-poverish thousands”.

ROAD MAP TO A DEEP SLUMP

Economicsprof blastsbailout as‘a disaster’A TOP American economist hascalled the EU-IMF bailout to Ire-land “a disaster”.

Prof Barry Eichengreen, writ-ing in German business newspa-per Handelsblatt, claimed theso-called rescue package “solvednothing” but “simply kicks thecan down the road”.

The University of Berkeley ac-ademic – who describes himselfin the article as “the most pro-euro economist” in the US –warned Irish public debt willnow top 130% of GDP.

“The interest payments thatthe Irish sovereign will have tomake have not been reduced bya single cent, given the rate of5.8% on the international loan.

“After a couple of years, notjust interest but also principal issupposed to begin to be repaid.

“Ireland will be transferringnearly 10% of its national in-come as reparations to thebondholders, year after painfulyear.”

Echoing recent commentsmade by Congress general sec-retary David Begg likening thedeal to the1919 Versailles Treatythat punished Germany, ProfEichengreen claimed a “populistbacklash” was “inevitable”.

“This is not politically sustain-able, as anyone who remembersGermany’s own experience withWorld War One reparationsshould know.”

Prof Eichengreen pointed outthat because Ireland had to re-sort to “internal devaluation”because it has no national cur-rency of its own, it would leadto a spiralling “debt deflation”sparking yet further internal de-valuation and in so doing deep-ening the debt burden.

He was scathing of major EUgovernments’ response to thecrisis – “in Europe... leadership isin short supply” – and insistedthe solution lay not in “piling yetmore debt” on Ireland but incapitalising their own bankingsystems to withstand “the in-evitable Irish restructuring”.


Pictures: Usdaw

STRESS is UK workers’ topsafety worry, new research hasrevealed.

The latest survey of safetyreps carried out by the TUC hasfound it is by far the most com-mon workplace health andsafety problem and the problemis being exacerbated by the re-cession.

Also featuring high up the listof problems were bullying andharassment, back strains, slips,trips and falls as well as over-work.

Interestingly, researchersfound that stress is most oftenfound in the public sector with68% of public sector union repsclaiming it is a problem com-pared to 54% of their counter-parts in the private sector.

General secretary BrendanBarber said: “Stress can becaused by heavy workloads, cutsin staffing, long hours and bully-ing.

“The economic crisis and re-dundancies have created moreanxiety about job security, andas the spending cuts begin tobite and even more jobs start togo, stress at work is bound toincrease.”

Stress istop worryin the UKworkplace

MORE than 20 members of theUS House of Representativeshave signed a letter to DavidCameron calling on the UK gov-ernment to deliver a NorthernIreland Bill of Rights.

New York CongressmanJoseph Crowley, who co-chairsthe Ad-Hoc Committee on IrishAffairs at the House of Repre-sentatives, spearheaded the ini-tiative and was involved indrafting the letter.

The letter called on the PM tosupport an “inclusive” and“strong” Bill of Rights as pro-posed in both the Good Fridayand St Andrew’s agreements.

Such a bill would both “pro-tect against the abuses of thepast” and provide for “the hopesof the future” and thereby be-come a “healing, unifying and in-spirational document foreveryone in Northern Ireland”.

NI RightsBill backed

WELL BEING 2

SHOCK new research has revealedthat one in four retail employees inNorthern Ireland – 26% – has beenphysically assaulted in the past year.

The telephone surveyof 700 shopworkers car-ried out by Usdaw lastmonth also found 29%had been threatenedand 43% verbally abused.

More than a quarterof all incidents resultedfrom shopworkers ask-ing customers for proof-of-age ID or came aftera sale of alcohol or ciga-rettes was refused.

Describing the surveyfindings as “extremelydisturbing”, general sec-retary John Hannettsaid: “This shows there is an urgentneed to take decisive action tostamp out the shocking level of vio-lence and abuse being meted out toNorthern Ireland's shopworkers.

“Shopworkers should never haveto fear going to work or face vio-lence, threats or abuse for simplydoing their job when they arethere." Michala Lafferty, the union’s

organiser in Belfast, added: "Thesefigures are extremely worrying butunfortunately do not come as ashock to me. Incidents of violence

and abuse are all too com-mon in Northern Irelandand there is a real personalcost.

“Two-thirds of our repsknow of someone who istaking sickness absence be-cause of an incident and athird know of someonewho has actually left theirjob because of violence,threats and abuse from cus-tomers."� Meanwhile, Usdaw hasmanaged to secure cross-party backing from Stor-mont MLAs for its Freedom

From Fear drive against violence,threats and abuse directed againstshopworkers.

The Assembly’s Employment andLearning Committee unanimouslyagreed to adopt the union's cam-paign following a presentation byunion officials last month and to pro-mote it within the Assembly andacross Northern Ireland.

One in four NIshopworkersassaulted in the past year

Hannett: disturbing

Eichengreen: ‘debt deflation’

THE TUC has linked up with the Charities Aid Foundation to encourage tradeunions to promote the Give As You Earn scheme to members. The schemeallows workers to make tax-free donations to charities direct from their pay.http://www.cafonline.org/default.aspx?page=7026

TUC in Give As You Earn drive

TRADE UNIONS - ARE YOU GETTING A FAIR HEARING IN THE MEDIA?WORKERS - ARE YOU FED UP WITH

TAKING A BATTERING IN THE PRESS?FIGHT BACK with TRADE UNION TVCreate media content that showcases members’ issues for your union website.

Let trade union members know what their union is doing for them Check out previous Trade Union TV shows

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NIPSA fells‘sell-off theforests’ callNIPSA has slammed calls to selloff some of Northern Ireland’spublicly-owned forests to the private sector.

Pointing out that forests pro-vided employment, as well as supporting the timber trade andtourism industries, union officialNoel Griffin said they also playeda key role in tackling climatechange.

He added: “Every public forestin Northern Ireland is used andappreciated by the public. It istheir forest and in some areas theonly place that people can walkfreely and enjoy the countryside.”

Currently, the Forest Servicemanages many special areas ofconservation, nature reserves and open habitats and is also responsible for restoring a num-ber of ancient woodland sites.

Northern Ireland has the low-est forest cover in Europe withonly six per cent of land forested.In contrast, Scotland has 12%cover.

Mr Griffin added: “NIPSA willcampaign strongly against any |sell-off of public property, all forshort-term gain. By protectingand retaining forests within the public sector, we will ensurefuture generations can benefitand enjoy a wonderful public resource.”

Noel Griffin: Public resource

HUNDREDS of Amnesty supporters have appealedto authorities in Guatemala to carry out an inde-pendent and thorough probe following the shoot-ing of trade unionist Mateo López, above right. Mateo – who is secretary general of the local

branch of the Health Trade Union and a member ofthe the FNL, the National Front for the Strugglecoalition – was targeted as he prepared to travelto a meeting in Guatemala City early on October28. He left his house at 2am to take a bus to the

capital to attend a general assembly of the HealthTrade Union. High up on the agenda was a talk on a corrup-

tion case against which he campaigned.While Mateo walked to his local bus stop, two

men on a motorbike approached. The passenger shot him five times – once in the

stomach, twice in the right shoulder with anothertwo shots grazing his knees. Mateo fell to the ground. The gunmen were

about to shoot him once more, but people in neigh-bouring houses started to turn on their lights andmake noise. The attackers were forced to make

their escape. Eight days before the attempted assassination, Mateo had taken part in a publicevent to commemorate the murder in Malacatánlast year of FNL activist Víctor Gálvez. Mr Gálvez was shot 10 times on October 24,

2009, as he left the offices of the consumer rightsorganisation Resistance Front for the Defence ofNatural Resources and People’s Rights.He had just spoken at a public meeting about

the alleged poor quality and high charges of the regional electricity company. Mateo López has been active over the past year

in denouncing corruption in Guatemala's healthservice. The Health Trade Union campaigns for access to

public health services, while the FNL focuses on issues such as better standards of public servicesat affordable costs, including campaigns againstthe high cost of electricity. Eight FNL trade unionists have been killed over

the past year.No one has yet been brought to justice for these

crimes.

For more information visit www.amnesty.org.uk/tradeunions

Guatemalan trade unionist shotREPORT MATEO LOPEZ


Picture: Am

nesty Internationa

l

MATEO LOPEZ


EU-IMF BAILOUTSPOTLIGHT

Picture: IN

MO

Picture: MAN

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GET UP STAND UPfor a better, fairer way NOV 6

NION POSTNATIONAL DAYOF ACTION

JOBS KEY TOSOLVINGCRISISIN ECONOMY

FOR CAMPAIGN LATEST GO TO www.getupstandup.ie

CONGRESS general secretaryDavid Begg has insisted dealing withthe jobs crisis is the single best wayof turning around the Irish economy. Slamming the Irish Governmentfor dishing out massive amounts ofpublic money to bail out the banks,he claimed this was in stark con-trast to its paltry response to the450,000 people now on the dole inthe Republic.Mr Begg’s advice to ministers was:“Tackle the jobs crisis with the samelevel of energy and ingenuity thathas been devoted to the banks andall else will start to fall into place.”It comes as Congress prepares anunprecedented mobilisation of850,000 trade union members andtheir families in a series of ralliesacross Ireland North and South onNovember 6.

FULL STORY: Pages 4/5Call: David Begg

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NEWS YOU CAN USENION POSTU JULY 2009

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CUTS CAN’TBEAT SLUMP

CONFERENCE

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CONGRESS BDC

STRAIGHT TALKING BEGG TELLS COWEN

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STANDINGTOGETHER

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WERE YOU THERE?

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NOV24 NOV 6 RALLIES

Public service workers

unite in 24hr stoppage

ETUC DAY OF ACTION

NION POSTSEPTEMBER 2010

PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE IRISH CONGRESS OF TRADE UNIONS

THE

►PROTESTS NORTH, SOUTH AND ACROSS EUROPEDUBLIN

BELFAST

L’DERRY

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

Assemble outside City Hall @ 12.30pm

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

►

WEDNESDAYSEPTEMBER

29

U►FIGHT CUTS►SAVE JOBS► PROTECT SERVICES

RALLY1pm - 2pm

RALLY1pm - 2pm

PEOPLEPOWER

IN spite of denials over the previous weekend,the announcement by Minister for FinanceBrian Lenihan at 1pm on Sunday, November21, that he would recommend acceptance ofthe IMF and ECB loan heralded the demise ofIrish sovereignty.

Everyone of Irish descent recognised theenormity of this except our government, whoattempted to portray it as an attempt by Ire-land to save the euro.

To put it in context, the only equivalent inthese islands was the supplication by a Scottishruling class of the Scottish economy to theEnglish Parliament through the 1707 Act ofUnion.

In that case, the reckless greed of their elite,through the Darien Scheme, had broken theeconomy and the politicians, bankers and busi-nessmen, in a bid to save themselves, cededcontrol of the Scottish economy to England,rebranded as the UK.

Robbie Burns in his ‘A Parcel of Rogues in aNation’ wrote “We were bought and sold forEnglish Gold”.

The richness of this comparison cannot havebeen lost on the British chancellor when heoffered to join the IMF and ECB in the Irishbailout.

Those who caused this great shame to allwho take pride in our nation must be banishedfrom politics and business in this country.

Their guilt extends beyond this latest incom-petence and is manifest in the closure of hospital beds, increasing overcrowding inemergency departments and the return oftwo-year waiting lists for basic medical investi-gations.

Deposits in Ireland were already guaranteedup to €100,000, which protected the majorityof ordinary depositors, when on September29, 2008, the decision – contrary to expensiveadvice – was made to underwrite all the activi-ties of Irish banks, including Anglo Irish. That

The day themusic diedVIEWPOINTINMO deputy general secretary

Nov 21 ...

Dave Hughes

decision locked the future of Ireland’s econ-omy to that of the banks. It’s hard to view it asanything other than a ‘smart Alec’ tactic de-signed to cause an inflow into Anglo and otherIrish banks at the expense of the rest of Euro-pean banks.

Indeed it had that effect for a day until othergovernments were forced to follow suit andthus the euro was put up for grabs and theseeds were sown for a succession of countrybailouts.

Any new government must vow to extractus from this powerless position and restoreour right to self-determination. Our OffencesAgainst the State Act must be expanded to in-clude financial treason with powers of seques-tration on those who put the economy or our

banks in peril. A Charter of Rights guarantee-ing equal access to health and education andan honest acceptance that we all must pay inproportion to our means for public servicesmust be at the heart of our new politics.

The music died on November 21. Ireland isnow marching to the beat of a different drum– that of international bankers.

Our freedom to protest and our right tovote are the only weapons required to restorepower to ordinary people.

Can we as a people be brave enough tostand up before we are deafened by the vulgarsound of money men, whose national interestis self-interest, and restore our democracywith politicians who act for us and not themarkets? And we’ll be singing… Bye, Bye…

union post december 2010

Documents

mr begg

congress president jackoconnor

mr oconnor

general secretary david

budget reaction

union post

onhammering low

irish business andbrought