DCAR: Racist protestors are “anti-worker”

 “Trade Unions must step up to defend workers from intimidation and assaults” 

 Dublin Communities Against Racism (DCAR) and Communities Against Racism in Ireland (CARI) are this week highlighting increased violence against workers as election candidates are raising tensions. 

A spokesperson for the groups today stated: “Those who have been promoting hate towards immigrants are also targeting workers and setting them up for attacks. Serious abuse, threats and insults have already taken place and will ultimately lead to a loss of life. Branding workers doing an honest days work a traitors quite often based on misinformation or downright lies is absolutely unacceptable and should be condemned unreservedly”. 

 The hate filled rhetoric of anti immigrant candidates has heightened tensions in many Irish communities and led directly to attacks on workers. Last week in Clonmel security staff were violently attacked and one hospitalised. Last month in Aughrim, County Wicklow building workers were surrounded and told to “pack up and get the fuck out” and given a deadline of one hour to leave because false rumours were spread about the site they were working on. In February workers at an IPAS site in Kildare were abused by a mob, with foreign staff racially abused and Irish staff branded “Traitors”. Similarly, we have seen security personnal and other staff at sites been abused and physically threatened, including at Crooksling and Newtown Mount Kennedy. Transport workers delivering food and fuel have also been targeted.

 Helena McCann (DCAR) noted how serious this escalation is :

 “Just as we have seen called on people not to be fooled into scapegoating immigrants and refugees for our governments actions and failings, it is important that ordinary workers are not placed in the firing line and made targets for abuse and potentially fatal violence”

 Brittany Curley (a community activist in Carlow) added :

 “The brutal attack on contracted security guards at the Clonmel refugee accommodation centre is the latest incident in what is a pattern of targeted attacks on workers at IPAS centres. We also saw last week, threats of violent attacks against a charity that has provided homeless services to Dublin’s inner city for 16 years. These threats have arisen since the charity began its response in assisting homeless international protection applicants. Violence against workers is not a legitimate form of protest”.

 Brittany Curley also stressed :

 “It is absolutely essential that the trade union movement becomes more proactive in challenging this extreme anti-worker behaviour, and ensure that those who carry out these acts out are challenged. The callousness of political opportunists who are deliberately raising these tensions must also be addressed”. 

 A worrying trend, which really began with the targeting of health care workers and library staff by far-right activists in recent years is the recording of workers being bullied and sharing the videos on social media for further abuse. We have seen this tactic used also against taxi drivers, in shops, libraries and even at schools and creches. Many of those standing in the upcoming local and European elections have been at the forefront of this anti-worker behaviour. 

 DCAR supporters delivering leaflets in a North Dublin community spoke to a number of health care workers. Despite being frontline staff and essential workers, they said they have all faced increased racial abuse and behaviour in their employment, and actually feel unsafe at times. This attitude towards medical staff is not only racist inspired but also by the conspiracy theory nonsense also promoted by the same agitators.

 A far-right gathering at the Garden of Remembrance at the beginning of March saw European election candidate Malachy Steenson suggesting that Irish medical staff would conspire to murder people and steal their organs to sell. The gathered crowd of anti-immigrant protestors actually cheered him on with this insane suggestion.

 As Joe Mooney (DCAR) pointed out : 

“This is suggesting that our frontline workers, essential to our health and providing such essential services, are actually all part of a conspiracy to murder people for profit. This is not just gravely insulting but also feeds into a paranoid mentality that everyone is an enemy and this helps excuse abuse and attacks on Irish workers”.