Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
Subscribe FREE at [email protected]
NEWS YOU CAN USENION POSTU
APRIL 2010
PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE IRISH CONGRESS OF TRADE UNIONSTHE
DIVERSITYEQUALITY &SOLIDARITY
CELEBRATION!MAY DAY IT’S A
���
2010...Visteon workers inthe vanguard at lastyear’s rally in Belfast
Pict
ures
: Pau
la G
erag
hty
EVENT DETAILS PAGE 3
2 THE UNION POST � April 2010
UNION POST was produced by Brazier Media for the Irish Congress of Trade Unions
Joint union initiativebrings hope to Lesotho
Restaurant workersprotest at cuts plan
4
9
Unions debate publicsector deal proposals
Global G20 petitionon Robin Hood tax
10
14
Pointed discussion atPalestine conference16
Northern Ireland Committee
Irish Congress of Trades Unions
4-6 Donegall Street Place
Belfast BT1 2FN
Northern Ireland
Tel: 02890 247940
Fax: 02890 246898
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.ictuni.org
Irish Congress of
Trade Unions
31/32 Parnell Square
Dublin 1
Ireland
Tel: +353 1 8897777
Fax: +353 1 8872012
Email: [email protected]
www.ictu.ie
DESIGNED & EDITED BY BRAZIER MEDIAEmail: [email protected]
UNION POST
Pict
ures
: Fre
e G
aza
Cam
paig
n
GAZA BOUNDTHE FREE Gaza Campaign is hoping to put anew addition to its fleet into action bringinghumanitarian aid to the blockaded Gaza Stripas soon as possible.
Volunteers are currently re-fitting the MVLinda, an 1,800 tonne cargo vessel recentlybought at auction in Dundalk.
The MV Linda – soon to be renamed MVRachel Corrie – was purchased for €70,000 bythe human rights organisation on March 30.
Proceeds from the sale were used to pay arrears to its mostly Ukrainian crew after theship was seized and auctioned off by the HighCourt following an application by the Interna-tional Transport Federation.
The MV Rachel Corrie will set sail for theMediterranean in May where it will join an international flotilla of vessels packed withsupplies in a bid to challenge the illegal block-ade and its devastating consequences for thepopulation of Gaza.
Ships from Turkey, Greece, Malaysia, Belgium,Sweden, Indonesia as well as Ireland are takingpart in the effort.
Israel’s blockade of Gaza is inits third year, and virtually no reconstruction materials havebeen allowed into the territorywhich is still in ruins after theIDF’s massive onslaught in December 2008/January 2009which killed more than 1,400Palestinians, almost 400 of themchildren.
At least 11,000 houses, 105factories, 20 hospitals and clinics,159 schools, universities,playschools and technical institu-tions were either damaged ordestroyed and are still in ruins.
More than 20,000 peoplewere driven from their homes –
and many are still living in tents.The Free Gaza Campaign is asking for the
public’s help to buy cement and school supplies for the people of Gaza.
The initiative is in response to a call by UNRelief and Works Agency chief John Ging whotold reporters in March: “I have no cement or steel or iron. We can't get in one bag of cement, one pane of glass… to actually beginthat reconstruction.”
Israel has also banned books, paper, pensand school supplies, and the Free Gaza Cam-paign plan to deliver them along with mes-sages of solidarity to the children of Gaza.
A spokesperson told The Union Post: “Nor-mally we don't ask for donations for specificitems, since all donations to our tax-exemptaccounts in Cyprus or the US are used to buythe boats or for operating costs.
“However, we are sending out this specialappeal to hundreds of people who have askedus whether they can contribute somethingspecific. Therefore, we have set up our PayPal
account at www.freegaza.org/en/donate to accept donationsfor cement and book bags.
“In the message section onPayPal, tell us if you want themoney to purchase cement orbook bags.
“Or you can wire money intoa specially set up Irish account[details below].
“We will use your donationfor cement for reconstructionor book bags for the children ifyou designate it's for them. Just€5 will buy a bag of cement and€10 will buy a school or sportsbag, so do please help.”
Irish join relief effort by sea
The Bank of Ireland, 32 South Mall, Cork, Ireland, Acct #41818255, Sort Code 902768,
IBAN #, IE58BOFI90276841818255. BIC# BOFIIE2D
CEMENT AND SCHOOL BAGS FOR GAZA – WIRE DONATION TO:
Left: view from the bridge
Blockade buster: MV Linda – soon to be the MV Rachel Corrie – ready for historic voyage
3April 2010 � THE UNION POST
CONGRESS has called on employersto be sympathetic to the plight ofworkers left stranded by the forcedclosure of air space over Europe.
ICTU legislation officer EstherLynch said: "Docking wages is aharsh reaction and it will put evenmore pressure on workers who mayhave incurred significant and unex-pected costs to get home.
"Congress is also urging employersnot to penalise people by puttingpressure on them to use up what isleft of their annual leave. We sawthis happening earlier in the year,
when workers absent due to the extreme weather were put underpressure to use up their leave.”
Ms Lynch also claimed employeesaway on business were entitled to bepaid as normal.
She added: "Employers can requestthat the employee continue to workduring the period they are stranded,as it is likely they will have access tofacilities to do this – but the em-ployer must meet the cost."
Ms Lynch advised stranded em-ployees to contact their employer assoon as feasible and if they had anyconcerns to also contact their union.
WORK Foundation chief Will Huttonis to deliver a lecture and take part ina debate on May 12 in Dublin focus-ing on the theme of an alternativeeconomic vision for Ireland.
The award-winning columnist andauthor of The Stakeholding Societyand On The Edge will be joined at theLiberty Hall Theatre by Labour Partydeputy leader Joan Burton, TASC director Paula Clancy and Congressgeneral secretary David Begg. ICTUpresident Jack OʼConnor will chairthe debate. The event will kick off at7pm. Entry by ticket only – contactyour union or [email protected]
Hutton debate in DublinICTU: Don’t dock wages
THE IRISH Government’s core strat-egy of cutting people’s incomes anddriving down wages across all sectorsof the economy has been explosed ina new Congress report.
Shifting The Burden outlines the realplan behind a policy worked out inthe second half of 2009 – elements ofwhich were laid bare on Budget Daylast December.
The authors claim in the introduc-tion to the report that the secretagenda Government ministers darenot reveal to the public is “a determi-nation to load the full cost of thecollapse on to working people andthe poor”.
It continues: “Be they wage earn-
ers, pensioners or social welfare recipients, their pockets will be pickedto finance the 'recovery'.”
The broad outline of the strategy isclear – make an example of the publicsector by enforcing cuts to public ser-vants’ pay, hit welfare hard, hit pen-sions hard and target low paidworkers by slashing the minimumwage.
And do this while justifying the painwith bogus appeals to patriotism andcalls for the need to maintain com-petitiveness.
At the same time, bail out thebanks to save the developers and fin-anciers whose recklessness causedthe crisis in the first place while stick-
ing rigidly to a defationary policy thatmost other governments agree is thewrong policy at the wrong time.
Shifting The Burden warns that thisfatuous plan will not work because itis fundamentally flawed and its appli-cation could turn Ireland “into a socialand economic wasteland for a decadeor more”.
It concludes: “The Government planis failing because it is based on falseassumptions, a complete misreading of the global crisis and it ignores all the warnings from history.
“Like disciples of a dead faith, they cling grimly to the wreckage instead of starting over with a new vision.”
ROBIN HOOD IN REVERSE
NIC-ICTU CONFERENCE REPORTS AND PICTURES IN NEXT ISSUE OF THE UNION POST
Alternatives: Will Hutton
BELFAST
DUBLIN
L’DERRY
MAYDAY2010
MARCH: Assemble Writers’ Square, Donegall Street, Belfast, at 11.30amfor speeches. GUEST SPEAKER: RMT general secretary Bob Crowe.March through Belfast city centre accompanied by brass, pipe & sambabands. FAMILY DIVERSITY FESTIVAL in Writers’ Square follows marchfrom 1pm – 5pm. Live music, children’s art workshops, face painting,gourmet food, craft stalls and full bar. Admission and entertainment free.
MARCH: Assemble Parnell Square,Dublin at 2pm. March is followed by apublic meeting at Liberty Hall. Prominentspeakers on the day.
MARCH: Assemble 1.30pm at Custom House Streetfor march via Foyle Street, Carlisle Square and theDiamond to rally and entertainment at Cafe delMonde Square.
Saturday, May 1
Saturday, May 1
Saturday, May 1
http://www.ictu.ie/publications/fulllist/shifting-the-burden/READ THE FULL DOCUMENT
ON Wednesday April 28, Congress will mark WorkersʼMemorial Day with an event inDublinʼs Chester Beatty Libraryto remember those who havelost their lives, have been in-jured or have acquired an ill-ness through work.
Workersʼ Memorial Day ismarked on that date each yearacross the world.
Among those attending thisyearʼs event in Dublin will beCongress general secretaryDavid Begg, legal affairs officer
Esther Lynch and TEEUʼsEamon Devoy, who chairs Congress Health & Safety Committee.
Health & Safety Authoritychief Martin OʼHalloran andBrian Magennis, of the IrishHospice Foundation, will alsoattend.
The ceremony will include re-flections from religious andcommunity leaders, includingNoleen Blackwell, FLAC, BrianWhiteside of the HumanistsʼAssociation, Terry Gillespie,
from the Religious Society ofFriends as well as CatholicArchbishop of Dublin, DiarmaidMartin.
Also present will be SiobhanOʼDonoghue, Migrant RightsCentre of Ireland, representa-tives from the Jewish and Is-lamic faiths, Dean ofChristchurch Cathedral VeryRev Dermot Dunne, SusanMcKay of the National WomenʼsCouncil, Jnanadhara, of theBuddhist faith, and Chris Hud-son of the Unitarians.
Library ceremony to markWorkers’ Memorial Day
THE UNION POST � April 20104
Lunches served Mon - Sat 12pm - 3pm
Talking bowls served Fri & Sat 3.30pm - 6pm
Live music 6 nights per week
Monthly art exhibitions
The best choice of local &
worldwide beers in the city
No TVs or gaming machines
REAL BEER • REAL FOOD • REAL MUSIC • REAL PEOPLE
A TRADE UNION PUB FOR TRADE UNIONISTS
THE JOHN HEWITT 51 Donegall Street, Belfast BT1 2FH. 028 90233768
Adelina Maile and Elliot Ramochela
TRADE UNION activists in Lesotho havepraised the effectiveness of a joint initiative, involving the Lesotho Congress of DemocraticUnions, Congress and Irish Aid, to build up tradeunion representation.
According to LECODU, after little over a year,the organisation is now represented in all 10districts of the country.
Previously LECODU only had committees intwo districts.
Meanwhile, a key part of the project that dealswith disseminating information about HIV/AIDSis also going from strength to strength.
In Lesotho about 25% population have beeninfected and it is estimated that 300,000 children have been orphaned by the disease.
A source said: “The existence of the 10 district committees has contributed to a moredecentralised and effective spreading of informa-tion about HIV/AIDS.”
One important LECODU-affiliated union involved in this important work is the Lesotho Association of Teachers.
LAT treasurer Adelina Maile underlined howvital the Irish assistance is to the work of theunion in educating teachers about HIV.
She said: “Many adults in Lesotho have con-tracted HIV/AIDS and, in common with othercountries across southern Africa, the educationsector in Lesotho is losing so many teachers tothis deadly disease that schools are being forcedto shut down.
“This project enables the LAT to continuetheir life-saving work with teachers and enableschools to remain open.”
The Lesotho intiative is the first time ICTUhas formally engaged in a capacity building programme with a trade union congress in the developing world.
It has been co-funded by grant assistance fromIrish Aid (€20,000) and by contributions fromCongress affiliates IMPACT (€10,000) and PSEU(€15,000).
A Congress source said: “This project nowneeds funding for the second year. Congress isconfident that the partnership project will beensured by new contributions from several affili-ated unions in 2010.
“So far we have already received importantcontributions from INTO (€20,000), IMPACT
Pict
ure:
Eile
en O
’Lea
ry
Lesotho project blooming
(€10,000), PSEU (€5,000), ASTI (€1,000) andIFUT (€200).”
LECODU general secretary Elliot Ramochelaand board member Adelina Maile took part in aGlobal Solidarity summer school in Waterfordlast August. At the time, Mr Ramochela said hewas “greatful beyond expression” to both ICTUand the Irish Government for having “despiteeconomic hardships” through this project “res-cued embattled and marginalised workers ofLesotho and their families”.
April 2010 � THE UNION POST 5
EDUCATION
ASTI president Joe Moran has insisted that despite pressures to deliver a narrow points-focused education, Irish teachers are stillcommitted to pupils receiving a balanced and fulfilling school experience.
He told delegates at the union’sannual conference in Galway earlierthis month: “As teachers we mustensure that the education debate isnot driven by the needs of industryand business alone.
“Educationalists must speak upfor education in debates about thesmart economy, maths education,science education, curricular re-form, grade inflation, and othersuch debates.”
Mr Moran added: “Teaching andlearning is not an industrial processwhere for example mathematicalunderstanding is simply transmittedby the ultra qualified teacher to thelearner.
“Rather teaching should beviewed as a form of human activityinvolving a unique combination ofenthusiasm for what one teachesand a positive interaction with thelearner.
“Therefore the interpersonal in-teraction in education is absolutelyvital.”
THE Irish Government has beenattacked for picking up thedebts of banking executiveswhile withdrawing books forschoolchildren and cuttingteachersʼ and lecturersʼ pay “tothe bone and beyond”.
TUI general secretary PeterMacMenamin, speaking to dele-gates at the unionʼs annual conference in Ennis on April 6,claimed ministers had boughtinto a new form of “redistribu-tive politics”.
He said: “Instead of redistrib-uting wealth, noticeably not
done in the good times, theGovernment has allowed wealthto be concentrated among a few– developers, bankers and others in an inner circle.
“When they blew all they had– and much more – throughpersonal greed, the Govern-ment squandered the nation'sresources for generations intothe future by distributing thepersonal debts of those few, resulting in a liability equivalentto €12,000 for each individual,man, woman and child in thiscountry.”
Govt squanderedwealth of nation
Attack: Peter MacMenamin
Pict
ure:
TUI
ASTI general secretary John Whitehas called on members not to befooled by attempts by a right-wingcommentariat to undermine tradeunion solidarity.
He warned: “Attempts to divideunions from one another can onlyweaken the role of unions in representing an alternative visionfor our society in this horrendousrecession.
“Attacking solidarity is attackingthe very essence of trade unionism.
“Public sector trade unions arefaced with very difficult choices.Whatever the decisions taken bythe members of various unions, it isvital the trade union movement re-mains united.”
Mr White told delegates at ASTIannual conference in Galway theunion movement had enough todeal with from “external enemieswithout having internal rancour anddistrust”.
He added: “Those with an anti-union agenda will attempt to ‘makebig’ any hint of difference amongunion members and we must keepto this to the forefront of ourminds in all our deliberations overthe coming weeks.”
Don’t bedriven byneeds ofbusiness...
...nor befooled bydivide andrule tactic
CONGRESS has joined with the Construction Indus-try Federation in calling for Pension Fund investmentin major civil engineering projects as a means of“building our way out of recession”.
Both organisations claim the currently almostmoribund sector could be re-energised if trusteesput their money in new-style Construction Bonds.
Congress official Fergus Whelan pointed out thatbonds could be used to fund projects such as thenew university at Grange Gorman, new schools andhospitals – even the O’Deveny Gardens renewalproject abandoned last year.
He said: “Most major projects – Dublin’s confer-ence centre, the new terminal at Dublin Airport andthe AVIA stadium – are either completed or close tocompletion.
“This means the skilled designers and workers who
have produced these world-class projects will soonbe on the dole and many will be forced to emigrate.We could see a serious depletion of our skills base,which would then hamper our capacity to recover.”
Mr Whelan – who sits on the Pensions Board –claimed Irish pension funds hold around €70bn in assets – with much of it is invested overseas.
He said investment in the Construction Bondsmade “perfect sense” because trustees were lookingto transfer out of volatile equities into suitable bondswhich are more dependable in terms of certainty ofreturn.
Mr Whelan added: “Most countries in Europeanhave unveiled a stimulus package aimed at keepingtheir construction industries from this kind of economic meltdown. It is clear that the Irish govern-ment will not follow suit.”
Congress joins CIF in callingfor Pensions Fund build plan
KEEP GETTINGPOSTED [email protected]
FREE SUBSCRIPTION. JUST EMAIL
Meeting of minds: Roz Briggs (left) and Paul O’Flaherty (right) of Mercer’s with (centre) Congress’ Fergus Whelan and David Begg at Putting Pensions to Work conference in March Picture: Congress
THE UNION POST � April 20106
EC seekingreview ofwork timeregulations
Mandate hails ‘model’ agreement
THE EUROPEAN Commission has an-nounced it is seeking a review of EU-wideworking time regulations.
Employment commissioner Laszlo Andorsaid the failure to reach an agreement on re-vising current legislation last year “did notmean the problems around the existing ruleshave gone away” and insisted that a “balancedsolution” tha addressed workers, businessesand consumers was still needed.
He added: “We need a comprehensive re-view of the rules based on a thorough impactassessment with astrong social dimen-sion.”
Reacting to thenews, ETUC generalsecretary JohnMonks claimed therewas a clear link be-tween long and irreg-ular working hoursand increased work-related health prob-lems.
He said: “Althoughthe world of work has changed, this evidencehas not changed since the first legislation onworking time, nor since we last discussed therevision of the working time directive.
“Protection of the health and safety ofworkers must therefore remain the primarygoal of any review of the working time direc-tive.
“This is of crucial importance for all work-ers, but in particular where workers in theperformance of their jobs can affect the livesof third parties, for instance in healthcareprofessions or transport.”
Monks: Primary goal
CONGRESS president Jack OʼConnor hasslammed the Irish Governmentʼs “wingand a prayer” approach to the fallout overthe banking crisis after it was forced tocommit a further €11bn to keeping themain finance houses afloat.
He flagged up the irony that the sameeconomic policy being pursued by minis-ters reflected “the outlook which contributed to the problem in the firstplace” and added “the chickens have welland truly come home to roost”.
Mr OʼConnor, who is also SIPTU generalpresident, said: “The Governmentʼs policyof pandering to the rich and ʻlook the
other wayʼ regulation and its reluctance torein in the banks when times were boom-ing has now been replaced by a tardinessin making the banks face up to theirlosses – a position that is in stark contrastto the approach of the US and UK govern-ments.
“The wing on a prayer approach to crisismanaging the Irish banks has got to cometo an end. We were assured that the€11bn that was pumped into the threemain Irish banks would stabilise the banksand, in turn, kick-start lending again.
“That did not happen. Now a further €11billion plus has been commited.”
CONGRESS has dubbed thecall for corporation tax to belowered for “innovative activ-ities” as “yet another case ofbusiness advocating a race tothe bottom”.
ICTU economic advisorPaul Sweeney was reacting tonew report published by theInnovation Taskforce, a Gov-ernment think-tank set up bythe Taoiseach last year to findways of making Ireland into a‘Global Innovation Hub’.
He said: “Irish companiesalready enjoy one of the low-est Corporation Tax rates in
the developed world and thelowest social contributions.
“They enjoyed a vast arrayof ‘tax breaks’ during theboom.
“Arguably, the level of corporate welfare in Irelandis already so high that it stifles enterprise.
“While there is a case forusing the tax system to spurgrowth and innovation, itseems as though lowering already-low tax rates is always the first item on theagenda of any group associ-ated with business.”
He added: “You can only goso low. How long beforesomeone advances a case forzero rates of tax?”
Mr Sweeney was also critical of what he called the“very loose concept” of “innovative activities”.
He said: “What does thatmean and who defines it? Is ita moveable feast and will itdepend on political whim?
“After all, the last decadesaw a huge rise in ‘innovativeactivities’ within the bankingand finance sector… andlook where that got us.”
Corpo tax call ‘race to the bottom’
Picture: Congress
�TUC general secretary Brendan Barberhas written a letter of protest to the UKʼs
Colombian Ambassador following the mur-der of another teacher trade unionist.
Duvian Dario Rojo Cadavid and his wifewere gunned down in Puerto Barrio in Marchafter he had spoken to the media about ter-ror gangs extorting money from teachers. Hewas the sixth teacher trade unionist killed sofar in Colombia this year.
MANDATE has hailed a new partnership agree-ment with Superquinn as a “model” for how allretail companies should operate in Ireland.
Under the innovative Working Through Partner-ship agreement, which includes SIPTU andBFAWU, all sides will work more closely togetherto enhance both the business and the lives of em-ployees.
Superquinn employs more than 3,000 staff at23 locations across the Republic.
The WTP agreement includes a series of initia-tives including:
� Hosting of monthly Store Partnership Fo-rums and biannual Company Partnership Forum,
� Enhanced disciplinary and grievance proce-dures, and
� Improved communications facilities, trainingand development opportunities for staff mem-bers.
Mandate’s assistant general secretary GerryLight claimed the new set-up would help resolve
issues as well as enhance workplace democracy.He said: “The partnership framework gives
workers an opportunity to influence companypolicy and operational structures through themonthly Store Partnership Forums and the biannual Company Partnership Forum.
“This progressive and innovative agreementshows how unions and businesses can work to-
gether in order to create a mutually beneficialwork environment.”
Mr Light added: “Both parties agree that this‘partnership of trust’ will enable Superquinn tohave a more engaged workforce giving them acompetitive advantage over their rivals in the retail trade.”
The agreement was welcomed by the LabourRelations Commission.
LRC’s director of conciliation Kevin Foley said:"The lynchpin of effective industrial relations is acommitment to constructive information sharingand dialogue.
“The agreement entered into by Superquinnand Mandate clearly sets out both parties' com-mitment to enhancing their relationship throughdialogue and communication and the Commis-sion congratulates the parties on this.
“The Commission is confident that this agree-ment will reap dividends for both sides into thefuture."
Mandate’s Gerry Light and John Douglaswith, centre, Superquinn chief Simon Burke
Union anger as bankspocket another €11bn
Picture: ETUC
April 2010 � THE UNION POST 7
Improving the working lives of people in the following industries:Telecoms, Postal, Courier, IT, Engineering, Call Centre,
Managerial, General Communications Industry
575 North Circular Road, Dublin 1 Tel: 01 8663000 Fax: 01 8663099
Your Union, Your Voicewww.cwu.ie www.callcentreunion.ie
Communications Workers’ Union
To improve your working lifeTo ensure your rights are respected
To have a voice in the workplaceJoin the Communications
Workers’ Union
THE UNION POST � April 20108
CPSU general secretary Blair Horanhas hit back at comments made byTransport Minister Noel Dempseyabout “militant union leaders”.
Referring to the rejection by someunions of the public services propos-als, Mr Dempsey had singled out theCPSU chief.
He told the Irish Independent: "Idon't know where Blair Horan or any-
body else thinks there might be a potof money they're going to get."
Rejecting the minister’s comments,Mr Horan, right, pointed out he was asocial democrat who had supportedthe Government on European Treatiesover the past decade and “had takenon the militant left to do so”.
He added: “Minister Dempsey has inthe past blamed bankers and develop-
ers for the mess that the country is in,and now criticises the unions, but con-veniently neglects to accept that it wasthe reckless domestic economic poli-cies of the past decade that haswrecked the Irish economy.
“It is the minister’s own Govern-ment that is in denial, attacking lowerpaid public servants while pretendingthat the low tax model is sustainable.”
Horan slams ‘union militant’ remark
UNISON has entered the General Election fray witha hard-hitting poster campaign targeting voters inUK marginal constituences who might be thinkingof opting for the Conservatives.
The ad drive, funded by the unionʼs General Political Fund, urges the public “Look Whatʼs inthe Toriesʼ First Budget”, below the image of anaxe with a blue blade.
General secretary Dave Prentis, right, claimedthe poster would give voters “a sharp reminder” ofTory plans to slash vital public services. He said:
“Public spending and the threat of job cuts arehigh on the election agenda.
“Tory councils have already wiped out thou-sands of jobs across the UK and local people arepaying the price.
“We are seeing vital services such as meals onwheels, nurseries, day centres, home care and li-braries disappear – and if the Tories get into powerthey have said that thousands more jobs will go.
“Our message is a simple one – use your voteand stop the threat to your public services.”
UNISON:We’ve a realaxe to grindwith Tories...
Picture: James Wardell/ITUC-CSI
A STUDY into how the international media coversCuba has calculated that newspapers and broadcastersare 77 times more likely to run a negative than a posi-tive story.
Researchers at a top US university took a snapshotof a six week-period around March this year andanalysed each news story mentioning Cuba.
It was during this time that Cuba announced thelargest per-capita donation of aid to Haiti apart fromthe US.
But American figures were distorted by the fact thatthe US sum included the cost of stationing 10,000troops in the devastated republic.
Excluding the US, Cuba’s assistance to Haiti exceedsthe total pledged from all G8 nations put together.
According to Cuba Support Group Ireland, only TheMiami Herald referred to the donation and then onlyin relation to a historic meeting between US andCuban officials about coordinating aid.
THE EXECUTIVE of the INMO has launched a majordrive to raises funds for nurses in Haiti following thedevastating earthquake in January.
According to the International Council of Nurses,more than 500 students were killed in schools of nurs-ing when the quake struck. The Haitian Nurses Associa-tion was also flattened.
General secretary Liam Doran said: “The INMO isdetermined, in some small way, to offer assistance atthis time – and any help that any member can givewould be greatly appreciated.”
The INMO has made arrangements with the ICN toforward all proceeds to help fund a redevelopment in-tiative to build key facilities lost in the disaster.
Proceeds from a special INMO table quiz held in theAnna Livia Ballroom in Dublin’s Gresham Hotel onApril 19 along with a donation from the RetiredNurses Section totalled an impressive €1,700.
Media ‘buried Cuba story’
INMO’s Haiti cash drive
www.ictu.ie/globalsolidarity/newsevents/news/2010/01/18/trade-unions-responding-to-haiti-emergency
INTO general secretary Sheila Nunan has in-sisted that “now more than ever” workers andtheir families “need protection”.
She was speaking in defence of the publicservice agreement on RTE’s The Frontline onApril 12.
Ms Nunan claimed the proposals offered“some certainty on pay, jobs and pensions andthe restoration of pay cuts over time”.
Describing it as a no more than a “strategic,protective strategy for workers”, she said ordinary working people were “fearful for thefuture”.
Ms Nunan added: “I do believe it to be theleast worst option at this unique time.”
Meanwhile, TUI general secretary Peter MacMenamin has vowed to mount a vigorouscampaign against the proposals.
Warning that teachers had been “bled dry”and “had nothing more to give”, he said: “Thefeedback on the Croke Park proposals fromour annual congress, executive committee,branches and individual members has beenunanimous.
“These measures are simply unpalatable. Theonly sure thing in these proposals for ourmembers is further uncertainty.”
He added: “It is also important to emphasiseonce again that TUI members alone will decideon the acceptability of the proposals. An aggre-gate vote of unions should not, cannot and willnot be accepted.”
SPLIT DECISION pages 10 & 11
School unionsdisagree overpay proposals
April 2010 � THE UNION POST 9
NEWSBRIEFS
THE IRISH Georgian So-ciety has – perhaps sur-prisingly – called onDublin City Council toconsider the architec-tural merits of the pres-ent Liberty Hall beforegiving the green light forits demolition.
The body, that is nor-mally most vocal in de-fence of 18th and 19thcentury edifices, claimedthe existing 17-storeybuilding was “one of thefew examples of interna-tional modernism inDublin".
Georgians enthuse aboutSIPTU’s ‘modernist’ icon
UNITE vow on bank jobsas EU force divest moveUNITE has vowed to work hard to maintain asmany jobs as possible following news that Bankof Ireland has been forced by the EuropeanUnion to divest a number of its subsidiaries.
The union, which represents more than threequarters of the 1,000 employees at Bank of Ire-land Life, New Ireland Assurance and the ICSBuilding Society, said it would “engage with exist-ing and potential new owners” to ensure both arecovery of confidence in the sector as well asprotecting terms and conditions of employment.
Regional officer Colm Quinlan said: “This announcement is not the first tremor to hit Irishbank workers and it will not be the last.”
A NEW POLL has revealed that around 10% ofpeople in the UK are permanently overdrawnand don’t go back into the black when they receive their wages each month.
The moneysupermarket.com survey alsoshowed that a further 12% used their overdraftat least five times a year.
However, the figures are an improvement onlast year's results, when 17% of those surveyedsaid they were permanently overdrawn and 52%had dipped into the red at least once during theprevious year.
Moneysupermarket.com chief Kevin Mount-ford said: "While it is encouraging to see fewerpeople reliant on their overdrafts, we should beconcerned that there are still such a large number of people permanently overdrawn.
"With rising inflation, it is going to be difficultfor many to break the habit of living in the red,and it may be that more people will fall back intothis position as living costs increase."
Tenth of UK wage earnersare permanently in the red
IBOA fear of ‘slash andburn’ move on bank jobsIBOA chief Larry Broderick has claimed many ordinary bank employees fear they will become“sacrificial lambs” if the industry contracts as aresult of financial crisis.
He urged the Irish Government to use its influ-ence on finance houses receiving public funds tostop any “slash and burn” approach but concen-trate instead on protecting jobs in the sector.
Mr Broderick said: “It would make little sensefor the taxpayer to underwrite these institutionsto the tune of tens of billions of euro so thatthey could then make thousands of their employ-ees redundant – with the result that the Excheq-uer would incur further expense in terms ofadditional social welfare benefits and loss of income tax revenue.”
THE Restaurant Workers Action Group hasstaged a lively lunchtime protest outside Supermac’s flagship restaurant in Galway.
The April 16 demo in Eyre Square was heldto highlight the Quick Service Food Alliance’schallenge to the current system of settingwages in the sector.
According to the Migrant Rights Centre Ire-land, Supermac’s – as part of the QSFA – isseeking to challenge wage pro-tections for its own work-ers.
The MRCI – which setup the RWAG – also claimsthis is happening against abackdrop that saw Super-mac’s pre-tax profitsquadruple last year.
Restaurant owners and industry groupshave been calling for the reduction of workerprotections, including a €1 per hour cut in thenational minimum wage, a weakening of thestandards laid out in the JLC and a challengeto the right of the JLC to determine workingconditions.
Many restaurant workers have already seen
their hours cut and are struggling to survive. Gul Gencoglu, a restaurant worker in Naas,
spoke about the hardship these proposedchanges would cause.
She said: “If my wages were cut, I would notbe able to pay my rent. I would have nochoice but to turn to social welfare for assis-tance.
“This is not what I want. I want to work. Iwant to have decent condi-tions. I don’t want anythingmore than that.”
MRCI director SiobhanO’Donoghue added: “Therestaurant industry is drivingan attack on minimum wagerates and basic protections
for workers. This is not about saving jobs –companies like Supermac’s have actually seentheir profits increase dramatically, while lower-wage workers are struggling to survive.
“The industry’s attack on wages for thepoorest workers is shameful.
“Now, more than ever, we must ensure pro-tections remain in place for those who needthem most.”
CONGRESS has slammed calls for a cut in theminimum wage by the Restaurant Associationof Ireland.
RAI chief executive Adrian Cummins tolddelegates at the group’s conference in Killineyon April 13 that the cost of doing businesswas “increasing on a weekly basis” and thatthe Goverment had to “seriously address” theproblem.
Measures the RAI wanted introduced in-cluded reducing the minimum wage, scrappingSunday pay premiums for staff and cuts tolocal authority rates.
Hitting back, Congress official Peter Rigneyclaimed the body, representing restaurant employers, was being “hyprocritical, given thatthe sector has the worst labour law compli-ance record”.
He said: “Repeated investigations by the National Employment Rights Authority havefound workers in the sector receiving as little€3 and €5 per hour.” Mr Rigney pointed out
that NERA had recovered €737,000 in unpaidwages from almost 450 employers andclaimed the sector as a whole had a compli-ance rate of only 21 per cent – the lowest inthe entire economy.
He added: “The Restaurant Association ofIreland would be better served addressing thesector’s problems with compliance than tryingto cut peoples’ wages. They should be awareof the legal maxim,‘He who comes to equitymust come with clean hands’.
“The sector’s problems do not stem fromexcessive wage costs, but from the fact thatGovernment is sucking money and demandout of the economy through a policy of defla-tion.
“When peoples’ incomes are cut, discre-tionary spending – such as eating out – is hitfirst.
“By supporting the income cutting agenda,the RAI is actually supporting a policy that willjust worsen the situation for its members.”
Attack on wages ‘shameful’
RAI call for paycuts ‘hypocrisy’
RWAG protest outside Supermac’s in Galway
� April 26 - May 1: PhotographyExhibitions in Liberty Hall, Trin-ity College Dublin and DublinCity Council's Wood Quay Venue� Thu April 29: Launch ofDWAG Documentaries ‘HiddenVoices: Stories from BehindClosed Doors’. 6.30pm-8.30pm,Wood Quay Venue, Dublin CityCouncil Civic Offices� Fri April 30: 'From Exploita-tion to Empowerment,' presen-tation by DWAG member inSeminar Room 3, 3 CollegeGreen, Trinity College Dublin,from 1pm-3pm
� Sat May 1: May Day Rally: JoinDWAG members at the paradeto celebrate InternationalLabour Day. Meet 2pm, ParnellSquare.
DOMESTIC WORKERSACTION WEEK:April 26 - May 1
Picture: Paula Geraghty/MRCI
THE UNION POST � April 201010
DECISION TIMESIPTU’S National Executive Councilconcluded that “the balance of ad-vantage rests with acceptance” ofthe draft agreement on public service pay and reform.
However, the NEC also statedthat the proposals “would benefit”from some clarification – in particu-lar that part of the agreement dealing with a share of savings fromreforms being put towards restor-ing pre-Budget 2010 pay scales.
The union executive pointed outthe plan also provided for securityagainst compulsory redundancy andallowed for “rigorous mechanisms”to control outsourcing.
SIPTU denied any acceptance ofthe proposals would entail a“wholesale diminution of terms andconditions of employment” relatingto the resolving of disputesthrough arbitration over the reform element.
The statement, issued on April13, stated: “Our negotiators did notagree to anything of the kind.”
The NEC underlined that mem-bers would be justifiably scepticalabout whether the Government
could be trusted which was whyunion negotiators insisted on thesetting up of an implementationbody with equal employer andunion representation and overseenby an independent chairperson.
“Members must decide whethercontinuing with the industrial campaign or adopting a mediumterm strategy entailing acceptanceof the proposals and workingwithin them offers the best way offurthering our objectives.”
Meanwhile, delegates at theSIPTU-affiliated Medical LaboratoryScientists Association voted to endorse the public service proposals at their AGM in Westport on April 17.
It is understood the endorse-ment is conditional on obtaining atemporary pause in the cold labo-ratory procurement process aspart of seeing a “meaningful engage-ment” on the reconfiguration ofthe pathology service.
MLSA general secretary TerryCasey described the Croke Parkproposals as “the best strategy inthe medium term”.
PUBLIC SECTOR PAY PROPOSALS
UNANIMOUSLY recommending a rejectionof the Croke Park draft agreement, the CPSUExecuitve claimed it:
� Failed to secure a reversal of all pay cuts,� Provided no guarantees on the restora-
tion of pay pay levels, and� The Civil Service Transformation Agree-
ment was “too opened, lacked clarity andwas, therefore, unacceptable”.
THE INMO Executive Council, after a “detailed examination” ofthe draft document, voted unanimously to recommend a rejec-tion of the proposals in a nationwide ballot of members.
In a letter to members, general secretary Liam Doran claimedaccepting the current recruitment moratorium would result in afurther 6,000 posts being lost in the public health service overthe next three years.
It would also involve an acceptance of the recommended cutof more than 3,500 acute hospital beds contained in the “funda-mentally flawed” McCarthy Report.
On pay, Mr Doran also pointed out that the draft documentfailed to guarantee there would not be any further pay cuts.
He added that the INMO would only support change that is“patient centred and quality assured” producing a more produc-
THE National Executive of IFUT unanimously recommended rejection of the government's proposed agreement at a meetingon April 14.
General secretary Mike Jennings said: “While recognising thatthere are some positives in the proposed agreement, the offer of a blank cheque for the renegotiation of staff contracts, with fundamental and far reaching implications for educational stan-dards, is simply not acceptable”
IMPACT’s Central Executive Committee is to seek clarification throughthe LRC. A spokesperson said the CEC remained committed to a nego-tiated settlement but that “lack of clarity over certain aspects” of thedeal remained “problematic”. Once clarification is given, union officialswill then bring the package back to the union Executive before the pro-posals are put to ballot.
PDFORRA’s National Executive recommendedrejection of the public service agreement following a meeting on April 12.
General secretary Gerry Rooney said thedeal was considered to offer “no guarantees”over the recovery of pay or, indeed, over further wages cuts.
He added: “It was also felt that the list ofcommitments being sought in return for thevague guarantees on pay from ordinary mem-bers of the Permanent Defence Forces wereexcessive – particularly given the widespreadreform process that has taken place over thepast decade or so.
“No recognition was given to this reform inthe proposed agreement at all.”
RECOMMENDING rejection, ASTI’s Central Executive Councilexpressed its “total and vehement opposition” to the deal.
SIPTU YES
PDFORRA NO
CPSU NO
ASTI NO
THE Executive Committeeof the Association ofHigher Civil and PublicServants has recom-mended acceptance ofthe public service agree-ment.
In a statement issuedon April 9, the AHCPSleadership claimed thedocument was the “besthope” in the “current eco-nomic climate” of ensur-ing no further cuts in payas well as providing amechanism for reversingwage cuts through the reform element of thepackage.
“The Association be-lieves that the alternativeis either prolonged indus-trial action which in thepresent economic cir-cumstances will not pro-duce a better outcome,and/or further pay cuts.”
AHCPSYES
IFUT NO
INMO NO
IMPACT
How some of the unions responded...
INTO knife-edge: Delegates endorsed recommendation by narrow margin
SEEKING CLARIFICATION
April 2010 � THE UNION POST 11
INCREASING work pressures havelead to higher levels of depressionamong teachers, the NASUWT haswarned.
The union based its claim on thefindings of a new survey of schoolstaff in England and Wales.
Researchers found that a lack ofsupport from management, a “tick-box culture”, targets and difficultpupils was leading to stress,burnout and depression amongteachers.
Symptoms reported includedheart palpitations, lack of sleep, eat-ing problems as well as depression.
NASUWT general secretaryChris Keates said: 'This researchhighlights the need for access tosupport, counselling and specifichealth interventions for the work-force.
“It also confirms the need totackle the root causes of stress inschools, such as the impact of thehigh-stakes accountability regimeon the wellbeing of school leaders,teachers and other staff.”
A NEW survey has flagged up analarming increase in mental healthillness among UK workers.
The authors behind the Roe-hamption University study haveblamed worries connected to theeconomic downturn for the shockrise.
According to the research com-missioned by charity Elizabeth FinnCare, 47% of people have experi-enced depressive symptoms sincethe recession hit – nearly fivetimes higher than levels recordedamong the general population be-fore the slump.
Of those who have lost theirjobs over the past year, 71% havesuffered depressive symptoms.
Interestingly, figures show thatpeople in the middle Social Eco-nomic Status (SES) groups aremore likely to suffer from depres-sion if they lose their jobs (59.8%),compared to those in the lowerSES groups (44.9%) and the higherSES groups (46.7%).
Also young people (aged 16 to30) are more likely to be sufferingfrom depressive symptoms thanany other age group in the reces-sion, with 43% suffering from anxi-ety and 45% from stress.
Dr Joerg Huber, of RoehamptonUniversity, said: “What makes ourfindings worrying is the high percentage of people reportingsymptoms of depression, anxietyand stress.
“This applies even more tothose who have lost their job or experienced a major loss of income.”
Recent reports have linked re-cession-related job insecurity andpressures to problems includingincreased suicide, heart diseaseand other problems.
Targets healthrisk to teachers
Recessionblamed forshock risein workers’depression
A MEETING of UNITE’s public sector representatives votedoverwhelmingly on April 8 to reject the public sector agree-ment – a decison that was later confirmed by the union’s National Executive.
Irish regional secretary Jimmy Kelly claimed the documentwas seeking to “copperfasten” Government policy of takingmoney out of the real economy to prop up the very banksand finance houses that had caused the crisis in the first place.
He said: “The promise of ‘jam tomorrow’ is wholly under-mined by the actions taking place in banking and insurance.
“A billion euro was saved in public sector pay that takesmoney out of every business and enterprise in the country,while €8bn as a minimum has gone into Anglo Irish Bankwhich has no long-term future benefit for anybody other thanoverseas bond holders.
“This is like Alice in Wonderland and the membership ofUNITE and other trade unions needs to stand up and inject adose of common sense. Our unequivocal recommendation tomembers will be to reject this proposed agreement.
“We will ballot our members over the next two weeks andwill continue our campaign of public sector action to forcegovernment to adapt a more progressive approach to theproblems we face.”
UNITE NO
tive health service that was “accessible to people in local communities and delivered in a safe manner”.
Describing the proposals as “flawed”, Mr Doran concluded:“Even in the face of the very troubled times that we live in, theINMO is not prepared to advise acceptance of an agreementwhich we sincerely believe will not reverse pay cuts but willmaterially damage an already struggling public health servicefor generations to come.”
INTO YES
PSEU YES
The INTO Executive has recom-mended acceptance following a narrow vote in favour at the unionʼsrecent congress.
THE PSEUʼs EC has recommended acceptance of the proposals.
General secretary Tom Geraghty toldThe Union Post: “We did this becausean agreement that there will be no com-pulsory redundancies for four yearsand no pay cuts for four years, that pro-vides for pay reviews each year plus adeal that commits to negotiate on pro-posed pension changes, has to be better than continued uncertainty.
“The only alternative is prolongedhigh-level industrial action.”
He added: “There is no evidence ofsupport for this and even if there was, itwould not change the facts that oureconomy is shattered and our fiscal position is parlous.
“The real question to be asked iswhether a person voting on this agree-ment can be assured that a vote againstthe agreement will leave them safe?”
Press conference: INMO leadership recommends rejection
Cool reception: Tanaiste speaks at INTO congress
Pictures: Moya Nolan/INTO; INMO
12 THE UNION POST � April 2010
THE LABOUR Court has issued a binding recom-mendation on the TEEU on its nine-week disputewith Pickerings Lifts.
In its recommendation, the Court expressedregret that the employer had opted not to attendthe case or to make a submission on the issue indispute.
After a “careful consideration” of the evidencethe Court recommended that the company offer:
� An ex-gratia lump sum of four weeks' aver-age pay per year of service, average pay to be de-termined by reference to the method ofcalculating pay for the purposes of the Redun-dancy Payments Acts, without the application of aweekly cap on earnings,
� Statutory redundancy entitlements in linewith the Redundancy Payments Acts 1967 to2007,
� That the company should first seek volun-teers for redundancy, and
� In the event additional compulsory redun-dancies are necessary, these should be selectedon a last in/first out basis.
The Court urged both parties to “engage con-structively and with some urgency” to settle thedispute.
NIPSA has warned of “disgruntled and demor-alised” staff after thousands of public sectorworkers across Northern Ireland were orderedto switch off their workplace radios for good.
In recent weeks, chiefs at both the Departmentof Social Development and the Department ofEducation and Learning have banned members ofstaff from listening to music and radios, whichunion sources claim came “out of the blue”.
Civil service bosses said they took the actionbecause workplace radios require licences fromorganisations that collectmusic royalties.
Blasting the move,NIPSA general secretaryBrian Campfield warnedthe ban would impact onworkplace morale.
He said: “This will leadto problems for the de-partments because theywill have a lot of disgrun-tled and demoralised staffon their hands, and thatsituation can't be allowedto continue for any length of time.
“Even people in prisons are generally allowedto listen to the radio.”
Accepting that tariffs had to be paid for work-place radios, Mr Campfield claimed taxpayer-funded departments should pay the necessaryfees, particularly for those employees carrying outrepetitive tasks.
He added: “A lot of the work that people inthese areas perform can be quite monotonousand it's a long enough day without having somebackground music.”
NIPSA hits outat Civil Serviceban on radios
INTO CONGRESS
Lifts disputecourt ruling
Campfield: warning
OUTGOING INTO presi-dent Maire Ni Chuinnea-gain, above, has slammedthe Government for forc-ing ordinary workers tobail out “an elite band” of“so far untouchable finan-cial joyriders”.
She made the remarksduring her address to del-egates at the unionʼs an-nual congress in Galwayon April 5.
Ms Ni Chuinneagainclaimed current Govern-ment policies were crash-ing the economy causinghigh unemployment andleaving emigration the“default option” for thou-
sands. She told delegatesthe wealth of recent yearshad been squandered andthe financial future mort-gaged to pay for the mis-deeds of the few.
“The recent NAMA reve-lations in the Dáil showthe extent of the decep-tion, the result of which isdownward spiral for ordi-nary workers, local indige-nous businesses andvulnerable members ofour society – the young,the old, the sick and theunemployed.”
She warned the Govern-ment was turning the re-cession into “full blown
depression”, adding:
“Their only plan it seems
is to cling to the wreckage
of their own disastrous
economic policies.”
Ms Ni Chuinnegain
added: “Every year for the
foreseeable future, the
equivalent of the annual
education budget, cur-
rently half of EU norms,
will be used simply to pay
the interest on the NAMA
debt.
“That is the legacy of
the elite band of financial
joyriders who we now
forced to bail out.”
TRADE UNION veteran John Carr hasstepped down and is to retire after 10 years atthe helm of the largest teachers’ union in Ire-land.
In a moving speech at the INTO’s annualcongress in Galway last month, he spoke ofhow it had been an “extraordinary honour”and “immense privilege” to lead the union.
And he described his time as general secre-tary as “the most challenging... and most re-warding of my life”.
Mr Carr added that though he was nowleaving the pitch, he would be “supportingfrom the stands”.
Referring to the struggle to improve invest-ment in education, he told delegates: “To-gether we opposed the crude imposition forpolitical purposes of national testing on allchildren.
“We were successful because of your pro-fessionalism and understanding of curriculumand assessment.
“Together, we put class sizes in primaryschools at the very top of the educationalagenda.
“We argued for improvements. Weprotested against cutbacks. Last year we cele-brated a significant reversal of those cut-backs.”He reminded his fellow teachers that
class sizes were now smaller than a decadeago “but nowhere near small enough”.
Despite the many gains made over the years,Mr Carr warned that these advances could bereversed “at the stroke of pen” and pointedthat this was a challenge that faced a new gen-eration of activists.
He also told conference he had supportedsocial partnership “not as a blind principle butas a means to an end” and that INTO wouldcontinue to oppose “the race to the bottom inall employment”.
Mr Carr said he wished he could have de-parted with his “agenda complete” but under-lined that it was necessary to confront thefallout from the government’s failed economicpolicies.
He added: “But I say to you that the humanspirit is never beaten when it is defeated. It isonly finished when it surrenders. Don’t everdo that.
“But I have always believed that it is betterto negotiate hopefully than to arrive prema-turely at a dangerous impasse. We are thereright now.
“The choices you will make in the comingmonths will be vital, not just for teachers butfor the country.”
Pictures: Moya Nolan/INTO
Bank ‘joyriders’caused crash
‘Never surrender’ pleaas INTO chief bows out
ICTU chief David Begg and INTO general secretary Sheila Nunan at INTO congress
�NIPSA claims it is bringing “equality
to the heart of government” by or-
ganising a special event at Stor-
montʼs Long Gallery on May 5. Prof Richard
Wilkinson, co-author of The Spirit Level –
Why Equality is Better for Everyone, will be
detailing the hard evidence that shows
almost everything from life expectancy to
depression levels, violence to illiteracy is
affected by how wealthy a society is but
how equal it is. The event kicks off at 10am.
13April 2010 � THE UNION POST
IMO issue Govthealth warning
Clockwise from top left: John Douglas (MANDATE), Eric Fleming (SIPTU), Eugene McGlone (UNITE),Patricia King (SIPTU), Tom Geraghty (PSEU), David Begg (ICTU), Jack O’Connor (SIPTU, ICTU) andLiam Doran (INMO) voice support for UNISON’s A Million Voices campaign in defence of public servicesIn perfect UNISON...
IRISH Medical Organisation chief ProfessorSean Tierney has called for a public debateon universal health coverage and warnedthat Ireland – with the development of private hospitals and private health insur-ance – may be veering towards a US ratherthan European healthcare model.
Addressing delegates at the IMOʼs annualconference in Killarney on April 8, Mr Tier-ney said: “I would warn against any attemptby the State to try and use the private healthsystem to shore up an under-funded publichealth services.
“Privatisation in the area of health hasbeen proved to be a failed ideology acrossthe world and can only ever benefit the better off.
“While we acknowledge the role of privatemedicine in Ireland and the part it hasplayed in the provision of some services,private medicine is not and cannot be a substitute for a publically funded system.
“Neither is there a case for selling off ourpublic health services to private entrepre-neurs, as some people now advocate.”
LEN McCluskey – hotly tipped to be the firstsole head of UNITE – was in Northern Irelandrecently on a three-day visit to some of the region’s manufacturers.
A former Liverpool docker, he was the chiefnegotiator in the recent British Airways dispute,and is a leading contender to become generalsecretary of the union.
During his visit, Mr McClusky said he wantedto hammer home the message that having astrong manufacturing base was of vital impor-tantce.
He said: “Manufacturing is something govern-ment needs to support in order to ensure thatwe have good public services.”
Mr McCluskey also voiced his support forNorthern Ireland’s public sector workers, who,he said, were baring the brunt of governmentspending cuts. He added: “It needs to be made
clear that public-sector debt was not caused bypublic sector workers but by spivs and bankers.”
When dubbed “an agitator who relished in-dustrial disputes” by the local press, he hit back:“My history shows that my career has not beenabout destroying industry – but if I’m accused ofbeing an agitator in defence of working peopleand better wages, then I plead guilty.”
Mr McCluskey also explained to local UNITEmembers that the union would be endorsing theLabour Party in the General Election “despitethe obvious disappointments of the past 13years”.
He added: “We know the Tories will attackworking people and the trade unions.
“Despite David Cameron’s touchy-feely approach, the Tories still represent the elite andthe corporate giants.”
UNITE front-runner visits NorthLen McClusky (front row, third from right) during his recent three-day visit to Northern Ireland
Picture: UNITE
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 TV!Create 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 showshttp://www.youtube.com/user/TradeUnionTVIreland
Contact [email protected] call +0353 (0) 876101340to discuss your media needsTV
Trade Union
�
�
14 THE UNION POST � April 2010
A NEW REPORT from the TUC has claimed unionscan play a positive role in helping to prevent staff feeling stressed and de-motivated by new workingpractices as well as in reducing the number of staffquitting their jobs.
The Road to Recovery calls on government and employers to recognise the value unions can bring toworkplaces – with the resulting contribution to eco-nomic prosperity.
The report – part of the TUC Touchstone series –uses case studies to show how unions have workedwith employers to introduce green initiatives in theworkplace, create redeployment opportunities for staffand negotiate changes to staff pension schemes.
It claims that as well as giving staff an opportunity toraise concerns at work, unions are better at resolvingconflicts, with the number of UK employment tribunalclaims in unionised workplaces (1.3 claims per thou-sand staff) less than half that of non-unionised work-places (2.9 claims per thousand staff).
The report’s authors argue that by giving staff a voiceat work, employees are less likely to feel de-motivatedby changes to working practices. The report cites research showing that unions can reduce 'quit rates' inboth the public and private sectors – staff in unionisedworkplaces are less likely to quit their job than in non-unionised workplaces. This positive effect is more pronounced in workplaces where unions have highermembership.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “Unions'work goes well beyond wages and working conditions.By giving staff a voice at work they can help to resolveconflict and reduce number of people quitting work.
“Conflict between unions and employers will alwaysgenerate the headlines. But behind the scenes, many employers are working closely with unions tomodernise their workplaces and recover from the recession.”
Unions goodfor reducingwork quit rate
�FIGURES released by the Central StatisticsOffice show an increase in trade union mem-
bership in the Republic.A total of 34% of employees were union
members in the second quarter of 2009 – up twoper cent on the same period in 2008.
According to the CSOʼs Quarterly NationalHousehould Survey, 37% of full-time workers saidthey were members of a union, compared with20% of part-time employees.
REPORT
A GLOBAL petition has been launched onlineto ask G20 chiefs to implement the RobinHood Tax.
The ITUC-backed petition will be presentedto the world leaders before their next summitmeeting in Canada at the end of June.
An accompanying letter states that the financial sector has caused the current crisisby creating “a casino economy” through focusing on short-term speculative gain.
It continues: “You [the G20 leaders] havemobilised hundreds of billions of dollars tosave the banks and the financial system.
“At the same time, neither the social northe climate emergency is being addressedwith the political urgency it deserves andwith the necessary financial resources toback it.
“Financial services corporations benefitedfor decades from the absence of meaningfulregulation and are largely responsible for thecrisis.
“We believe it is time for them to pay theirfair share of the costs of recovery.
“A Financial TransactionsTax would be the mosteffective instrument tosecure this.”
It concludes: “Busi-ness as usual is not anoption. We urge you todecide at your nextmeeting in Toronto tointroduce a tax on fi-nancial transactions.Back your wordswith action.”
Sign the petition at www.makefinancework.org
‘It’s a sweet little idea... but I don’t thinkit will work.’ Bill Nighy stars as a financehouse CEO spouting the usual nonsensein the Richard Curtis directed short TheBanker in support of Robin Hood Tax.www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYtNwmXKIvM
Global moveto petitionG20 leaders
SIPTU has sent its “heartfelt condolences” to Polishmembers, to the wider Polish community in Ireland,and the Polish people as a whole following theSmolensk air crash tragedy.
In a statement, the union’s leadership made particu-lar reference to veteran trade union activist Anna Walentynowicz who died in the crash.
Ms Walentynowicz’s sacking from her job in Gdanskshipyard in August 1980 resulted in a wave of strikesthat led to the setting up of Solidarnosc.
General president Jack O'Connor and general secre-tary Joe O’Flynn extended their sorrow at her passingto family, friends and colleagues.
They added: “The deceased also included senior officials of the government, the central bank, the army,navy and judiciary as well as noted political figures andhistorians who will be sorely missed by their familiesand Polish society.
“Our thoughts and solidarity are with the people ofPoland at this difficult time.”
Condolences atPolish tragedy
CWU bidto recruitNI callcentreworkers
ORGANISING
THE CWU is stepping up its focus onorganising non-recognised telecomsworkers in Northern Ireland – includingthose employed in call centres.
To kick-start this initiative, the North-ern Ireland Engineering branch haslaunched a Telecoms Workers Section tohelp union members in non-unionisedfirms organise and provide them withworkplace representation.
A special launch was held in Belfast’sBlack Box venue on March 31.
Workers from a number of firms, including Teletech, Firstsource and Car-phone Warehouse, attended the event.
These companies mostly employyoung people – often in their first joband with little knowledge of their rightsand even less experience of the benefitsof belonging to a trade union.
The TWS will provide support, trainingand resources to help address the spe-cific needs of these employees, who areinvariably having to deal with appallingterms and conditions, low pay and nojob security.
CWU Regional Secretary LawrenceHuston said: “Poor employment prac-tices have a detrimental affect on theworking lives and well-being of many ofour young and vulnerable workers.
“Insecure employment and poor treat-ment at work lowers expectations ofwhat working life should be about.
“Workers repeatedly tell us theirmanagers have told them they are notallowed to join a union.
“This attitude is a disgrace. “Our message to these workers is
clear – you have a legal right to belongto a trade union.”
It is understood the TWS of the NIEngineering Branch will be holding itsfirst meeting in May.
A number of TWS members have al-ready attended workplace reps training,
CWU organiser Kerry Fleck said“Moving towards a solid network ofunion members across this industry andhaving workplace reps is a massive stepforward for workers in this industry.
“Many are facing employers who areopenly hostile to the entire concept oftrade unions.
“It is important that these new reps,working at the coal face have the entiretrade union movement behind them asthey try to overcome anti-union attitudes of multi-national companies.”
She added: “Members of the TWSsection will be attending their first MayDay celebrations this year and hopefullythey will be back next year in evengreater numbers.”
To find out more about the TWS con-tact CWU regional secretary LawrenceHuston at the CWU Regional website :www.cwuniregion.org or contactthe N.Ireland Engineering Branch via e-mail: [email protected]
15April 2010 � THE UNION POST
THE UNION POST � April 201016
Pictures: Congress
TRADE unionists from Palestine and Israel tookpart in a lively – and sometimes heated –debate at a conference on the Middle East earlier this month.
The Congress-organised event, in St Patrick’sHall, Dublin Castle, went ahead despite the lossof nine key speakers.
They were unable to attend the April 16 conference because of the closure of air spaceover much of Europe following the volaniceruption in Iceland.
However, the conference did hear from Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin, OmarBarghouti (Palestinian National Committee forBDS) and Avital Shapira-Shabirow (InternationalDepartment director of Histadrut – the Gen-eral Federation of Labour in Israel).
Speakers from the US and Canada also madecontributions.
Organisers staged the conference – chairedby ICTU president Jack O’Connor – in a bid tobuild support for Congress policy as well as tolearn how other union bodies dealt with theissue around the world.
They also hoped to strengthen relationshipswith labour movements in the Middle East andbeyond and to assist discussions about howunion solidarity can contribute to a peaceful solution that respects UN resolutions as well ashuman and trade union rights.
A lively debate followed a speech by AvitalShapira during which she accused Congress ofbias against Israel.
She also claimed the Boycott, Divestment andSanctions campaign could damage the prospectof a negotiated solution to the conflict.
Several speakers challenged Ms Shapira on
this point and claimed Histadrut had not onlyfailed to condemn the 2009 attack on Gaza –which claimed 1,400 lives – but had actively defended it.
Concluding the sometimes heated discussion,Jack O’Connor said it was not sufficient fortrade unionists and progressive people to ignore the plight of the Palestinian people just as they should never have ignored theHolocaust in the mid-20th Century.
Several speakers called for an examination byCongress of more effective means to progressthe BDS campaign.
A full record of proceedings – includingspeeches and debates – will be posted on theCongress website in the coming days.
Congress has a long history of engagementwith trade unionists in the Middle East.
In November 2007, an ICTU delegation
visited the region and met with representativesfrom all sides, including Israeli and Palestiniantrade unions, the Israeli government and civilsociety activists.
Members of the delegation also entered theGaza strip to meet with representatives of theelected Hamas authority.
A report arising out of the visit and contain-ing key recommendations was later published(see link 1 below).
In 2009, Congress adopted a motion at its Biennial Delegate Conference, which includedsupport for calls from Palestinian civil societyfor the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctionscampaign against Israel (see link 2 below).
Meanwhile, the TUC and the Palestine Soli-darity Campaign has issued a joint appeal toconsumers not to buy goods from illegal Israelisettlements.
Speaking at the launch of a campaign leafletWould You Buy Stolen Goods? on April 8, TUCgeneral secretary Brendan Barber also called onthe UK Government to ensure the EU bans thesale of such goods.
He said: “As consumers we can make a differ-ence by not supporting the businesses that sustain these settlements.
“So next time you're shopping, make sure youdon't buy goods labelled 'Product of the WestBank (Israeli Settlement produce)'.
“This is not a call for a general boycott of Israeli goods and services which would hit ordinary Palestinian and Israeli workers.
“Instead, we're calling for targeted, consumer-led sanctions to send a clear message againstthe settlements.”
MIDDLE EAST CONFERENCE
CONGRESS DEBATESBOYCOTT CAMPAIGN
NEWS YOU CAN USE LET US KNOW WHAT YOUR UNION IS DOING. EMAIL US [email protected]
Clashing viewpoints: PNC’s Omar Barghoutiand Avital Shapira-Shabirow of Histadrut
LINK 1 www.ictu.ie/download/pdf/palestine_final.pdf LINK 2 www.ictu.ie/globalsolidarity/newsevents/2009/12/07/palestinian-trade-union-movement-unanimously-confirms-support-for-boycott-campaign/
April 2010 � THE UNION POST 17
Pictures: Paula Geraghty
EVERYONE in Ire-land has an ances-tor who came fromsomewhere else,Congress presidentJack OʼConnor toldan anti-racism rallyin Dublin.
Addressing acrowd of 1,500gathered outsidethe Dail, he said theonly difference waswhen they arrivedon these shores.
The April 11 rallyand march from theGarden of Remem-brance to the Dailwas staged in mem-ory of slain Tyrell-stown teenagerToyosi Shitta-Bey.
In his speech, MrOʼConnor said Con-gress had long de-manded that everyworker in Ireland,no matter who theywere, be treatedwith dignity and re-spect.
He remindedthose present:“Noone of us shapeswhat is. Whatshapes what is, isthe combined col-lective activity ofus all.”
PCS urgescandidatesto ‘take thepledge’ onservices...
UK GENERAL ELECTION
THE Public and Commerical Services union hasorganised a series of question time events in anumber of Northern Ireland constituencies inthe run up to the May 6 General Election.
Union members as well as the general publicwill be able to grill candidates in particular ontheir attitudes to public services.
The events are being held in:� City Hotel, Queens Quay, Derry, onWednesday, April 28, from 6.30pm – 8.30pm� Holiday Inn, Ormeau Avenue, Belfast, onThursday, April 29, from 6.45pm – 8.45pm� Canal Court Hotel, Merchants Quay
Newry, Tuesday, May 4, from 6pm – 8pmRefreshments will be provided at all the
events.The PCS has 300,000 members in the Civil
Service, non departmental public bodies andthe private sector across the UK – 3,000 ofwhom work at the Home Civil Service inNorthern Ireland. The union has also asked allcandidates to support its five pledges on publicservices. These are:
1) I pledge to work to ensure that publicservices are properly resourced and deliveredby the public sector and that there are no further local office closures, public sector jobcuts or privatisations.
2) I pledge to support measures aimed atclosing the UK tax gap including recruitingHMRC staff and ensuring tax loopholes areclosed.
3) I pledge to support civil service nationalpay bargaining and to press the government tooffer pay increases to public sector works atleast in line with inflation.
4) I pledge to honour the 2005 commitmenton public sector pensions and defend the rightsof existing members of the civil service com-pensation scheme.
5) I pledge to campaign to ensure anychanges to public services are only made afterproper equality impact assessments have beenconducted and their findings implemented.
For further information, contact GayleMatthews, PCS, on 028 90 687137 or byemail [email protected]
UNIONS have claimed moves by France Telecom to address a recent spate of workplace suicides don’t go far enough.
The telecommunications giant was heavilycriticised last year over a sharp rise in the number of employees taking their own livesafter a major restructuring of its operations.
The outcry led to the personal interventionof President Sarkozy and prompted the com-pany to bring in new policies to reduce work-loads and stress. Company chiefs agreed torecruit 3,500 extra staff and ensure that jobtransfers were voluntary and not mandatory.
However, Nabyl Beldjoudi of the Force Ouvriere union slammed the plan and claimedit amounted to a series of emergency responses and did not represent a comprehen-sive national strategy to deal with “psychosocialrisks”.
Firm’s suicide response‘is just not good enough’
THE UNION POST � April 201018
April 2010 � THE UNION POST 19
UNISON has hailed the move to bring more than200 ancilliary staff employed at Belfast’s MusgravePark Hospital back into the health service after19 years of privatisation as “an outstandingachievement” for the union and its members.
Hospital workers at Musgrave Park – who pro-vide cleaning, catering, portering, transport, secu-rity and telephone services – became the firstcasualties of Thatcher’s discredited privatisationprogramme in 1991.
More than 300 employees – 85% of them low-paid women workers – were sold off, first toCompass, then to Mediguard and later toMediclean.
Of the original workforce just over 20 remain. UNISON regional secretary Patricia McKeown
said: “This is the longest and last privatised con-tract in our health service. It is the final in-housereturn of workers who were put through hell toserve political dogma.
“They have perservered and justice is theirs at
last.” Ms McKeown insisted the union’s determi-nation that one day these workers would returnto the health service had won through in the end.
She said: “Throughout those years we success-fully sued the former Eastern Health board forfailure to apply TUPE transfer rights to the cater-ing staff, denial of pension rights for the workersand equal pay for the women.
“In 1996, the Equal Opportunities Commissionfor Northern Ireland investigated this and othercontracts and concluded that the women work-ers had suffered discrimination.”
Ms McKeown pointed out that new employeesunder contract had subsisted on minimum wagelevels for many years while those workers whohad been transferred lost out on pay and condi-tions.
She added: “Standards fell as exploitation rose.On three separate occasions [as contracts weresuccessively awarded to different companies] theEastern Health Board and the old Greenpark
Health Trust could have done the right thing butfailed to do so.”
It was only in the last few years that Mediclean– the last company to take on the contract –conceded to UNISON negotiators new healthservice pay rates but by then most of the originalworkforce had gone.
Ms McKeown added: “The remaining originalworkers have lived through very difficult timesbut still did their best to deliver to patients andpublic.
“UNISON pays tribute to all our members inthe Musgrave Park team.
“We know their stories and the sacrifices theyhave made to stick with the health service.
“We acknowledge the role of the Belfast Trustin recognising their worth.”
Ms McKeown warned that a “new privatisationthreat” loomed if the Tories took power butadded: “We do not intend it let it happen again.”
NEARLY 10,000 people marchedin Ballinasloe last month toprotest at any bid to downgradeservices at Portiuncula Hospital.
The numbers who took to thestreets underlined local resent-ment over the proposals to putin place a super manager to runPortincula, Roscommon andMayo hospitals from a base inUCHG. The move is bitterly op-
posed by IMPACT, SIPTU and theINMO.
Portiuncula Action Committeesecretary Padraig Mulligan, ofIMPACT, described the March 28protest as the biggest Balli-nasloe had ever seen andshowed the depth of communityresistance to cuts at the hospitalwhich employs more than 700people.
He said: “As we come to
Easter, a quote from PadraigPearse springs to mind, 'Bewarethe risen people', because thepublic have given the messagethat they will not tolerate thedowngrading of the hospital."
Noreen Muldoon, of the INMO,said her union would fight “toothand nail” to protect services andwarned there would be furtherprotests and action taken unlessassurances were given over the
future of Portiuncula andRoscommon hospitals.
She added: "Why change whatis working well? This new re-porting procedure can be onlyseen as a reduction or closure ofthe two hospitals. It's somethingwe cannot accept.”
Locals have also called onPortiuncula-born Health MinisterMary Harney not to reduce thecurrent level of services.
Staff return to NHS after 19years on private contracts
HEALTH
Picture: Paula Geraghty
10,000 at rally over hospital cut planPeople power: Thousands tooks to the streets of Ballinasloe on March 28 to voice their opposition to Portiuncula proposals
magsjournalspress/pr
BRAZIER MEDIATRADE UNION NEWS SPECIALISTS
[email protected] Bob Miller 07894305173 Joe Mitchell 07703055302
MEDIAMATTERS
