“Cutting Our Pay Will Not Create Jobs” …. June 27, 2011
Posted by irishelectionliterature in Economy, Unions.trackback
Good to see the ICTUs Better Fairer Way campaign having an ad in today’s paper.
The message being “Cutting Our Pay Will Not Create Jobs” and that workers on low wages are already suffering.
It is a pity that ads such as these have to be taken out to combat ISME, IBEC and their media and political cheerleaders.
I think the attempt to change the JLCs has inadvertently publicised the increasingly tough position low paid workers are in. I’ve yet to meet anyone who believes that reduction of the minimum wage or the JLC rates will create new jobs.
The Cedar Lounge Revolution 
Taking an ad out is just optics. How low will do we have to go before ICTU will call a day of strike/protests to TELL them we won’t take any more reductions? ICTU are in bed with these guys and are as much a part of the problem as IBEC and ISME.
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What is the point of a day of strikes? We did that before. And how how many people in unions would stay out for anything more than a token protest?
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What’s the point? Are you for real? We need to send a message that we’ve had enough cutbacks and austerity forced on us. We won’t take any more.
When did we have a national day of strike? When did ICTU last offer any leadership to the workers and unemployed suffering now? Begg and O’Connor et al. are an absolute disgrace and are traitors to the workers they claim to represent.
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Whoops. That one-day strike was just the public sector.
And the national ICTU protest wasn’t a strike.
However, my question still stands: What is the point of a one-day anything? Why would the government be deflected from its course because the unions help people let off a bit of steam for a day.
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A one-day national strike to start with, to show some muscle and fire a shot across their bows, let them know we will not accept any more. Escalate. We’ve already proven that apathy and docility just lead to more enforced austerity. It’s about time we started to fight back.
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I wonder though if I wouldn’t need to dressed up in some fairly distinctive clothes… Private sector workers are terrified of losing jobs, public sector are simply cowed. Getting any of them out is a difficult task. Not impossible but requiring something out of the ordinary.
I’m not agin th idea of a one day national strike but the danger is that at the moment it would be sparsely attended. Though none of this is static. Come December and another cutting budget and three or more to follow greater support might be more evident.
One major problem is the dance the unions are doing with the govt. For fear of something worse. You see it with the union who initially voted agains Croke Park.
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Yeah, a strike on it’s own and without real context will achieve little. However as the culmination of a coordinated campaign, and timed to have maximum effect on budget plans, would send out a very strong message.
As you said though, the current Union leadership is involved in a dance, and has been for years. They don’t want to step on the toes of their dance partners. Once Begg and O’Connor get their massive wages (losing that is what they really fear) without having to actually fight for the people they are paid to represent, they’ll let the govt, and their dancemasters, lead. They are part of the problem, and nothing will happen with them as the ‘leaders’ of the workers of this state. They need to stop dancing and start fighting.
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I’m a bit confused on this one,why would workers go on strike,loosing a days pay etc and yet not be bothered showing up to any protest outside the dail against austerity measures,Greece has had numerable large rallies attend by hundreds of thousands as a pre-cursor.I agree with WBS it will take something out of the ordinary to kick things off.Last winter a woman died in Ballymun because the corporation turned off her heating and not a murmer,thousands on the dole, those waiting on hospital trollys,suicides on the rise, rising unemployment,the list is endless and still no fight back.Some new leader will emerge out of all this I am sure,someone who stands in front of the tank so to speak,something visual.
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Those people who say “oh why aren’t we all out marching” do my head in. The initial wave of opposition in Greece was via unions – strikes and marches. It is recently we’re seeing horizontal autonomous protesting in Greece. I think they’ve had about ten 24hr national strikes.
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Was the initial wave of protests orchestrated by PAME,and is this the first national strike supported by GSEE and ADEDY.Alan you seem to have missed /trivialised my point.Do you think workers who aren’t prepared to protest will be prepared to strike.
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