union post december 2011

NeWs You caN use

NioN postDeceMBer 2011

puBLisHeD iN associatioN WitH tHe irisH coNgress oF traDe uNioNstHe

u

BuDgetFaiLstHeJoBLess

BuDget reactioN pages 2&3

uK and Nipublicsectorworkersin masspensionsstoppagepictures & reports

pages 8,9,10 & 11

CONGRESS hasclaimed Budget 2012failed to lift the “deadhand of austerity”from the economy andwarned it has “done absolutely nothing for jobs”.

General SecretaryDavid Begg said theproposals outlined onDecember 5 and 6"contained nothingthat would helpbreathe new life intothe economy and kick-start growth.”

He added: "Withoutgrowth we are goingnowhere and will

CONTINUED P3

BUDGET

2012

2 THE UNION POST y December 2011

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

Northern Ireland Committee Irish Congress of Trades Unions4-6 Donegall Street Place, Belfast BT1 2FN, Northern IrelandTel: 02890 247940 Fax: 02890 246898Email: [email protected] Web: www.ictuni.org

Irish Congress of Trade Unions31/32 Parnell Square, Dublin 1, Republic of IrelandTel: +353 1 8897777 Fax: +353 1 8872012Email: [email protected] www.ictu.ieuNioN post

tHe

THE Northern Ireland Committee of Congress has expressed disappointment with the Stormont Executive’sProgramme for Government, describing it as “too little,too late, too slow and too timid”.

Assistant general secretary Peter Bunting said: “We already have more than 110,000 people looking for work,with fewer than 5,000 vacancies.

“The timid plan to ‘promote’ 21,000 jobs over the remainder of the Assembly term won’t come close tomatching the demand of young people entering the jobmarket – at a time when a quarter of the young are without work.”

He pointed out that there were no “contingencies”contained in the document for dealing with 30,000 publicsector workers likely to lose their jobs “in the name ofausterity” and because of “the Tory cuts mania”.

Calling on the Executive to pressurise the Westminstergovernment to adopt a Plan B for growth and invest-ment, Mr Bunting added: “The PfG contains nothingmore than a series of micro-policies. There is no grandvision and little hope for thousands of families acrossNorthern Ireland.” sEE COmmENT PAGE 17

uNite

siptu

UNITE has slammed as govern-ment spin claims that Budget2012 was fair and suggested itcould “hardly have been designedbetter for those seeking to protect personal wealth”.

Regional secretary Jimmy Kellysaid: “Measures suchas the VAT rise, theflat-rate householdcharge and carbon taxincreases will hit hard-est those who canleast afford it.”

He also warnedthat such measureswould be “the vehicleof their own failure”in addressing the economic deficit.

Mr Kelly said: “Cut-ting spending and rais-ing tax other than on the mostwealthy will stunt any growth before it begins to take hold.

“Tax receipts will be lower, un-employment higher and recoverylonger as a result of this latest

austerity budget.”He added: “It is a budget for

the wealthy few. It will damageIreland.”

Mr Kelly also pointed out thatthe ability to pay the householdcharge in instalments did not de-

tract from its “inequity”.The USC changes were,he admitted, “at least agesture towards greaterequality in a tax that wasunfairly conceived in thefirst instance”.

He said: “The greaterproportion of budgetmeasures are regressiveand will impact nega-tively on low-incomegroups – both those atwork and those on so-cial protection income.

“Unite and others put forward alternative proposals that wouldhave made our country a betterplace with a brighter future andstill reduced the deficit in a waythat austerity cannot.”

Budget that will‘damage Ireland’

Jimmy Kelly:Pro-wealth budget

SIPTU general president JackO’Connor has warned that taking another €3.8bn out of theeconomy while failing to invest asimilar amount for growth willnot lead to economicrecovery.

He said: “Thebiggest problem withBudget 2012 is that itwon’t work. It is notpossible to take€3.8bn out of theeconomy on top ofmore than €20bnover the previousfour years withoutfurther depressingeconomic activity, nomatter what way it isdone.

“The key challenge facing thegovernment is how to find a wayof leveraging as much moneyinto the economy as the budgettakes out of it.

“This can be done throughimaginatively incentivising theprivate pension funds to invest5% of their balance sheets –the equivalent of €3.5bn – in the

domestic economy andaugmenting it through€2bn of what remainsof the National PensionReserve Fund. Thiswould generate tens ofthousands of jobs. If thisis not done, the figuresfor Budget 2013 will beeven worse.

“The second problemwith the budget is thatthe burden of adjust-ment is still falling disproportionately onthose least able to bear

it, although the balance is betterthan previously.

“Those at the top of the income spectrum should andcould contribute more.”

It’s a budget thatjust won’t work

Jack O’Connor:Growth warning

Ni’s prog for govt‘too little, too late’

chancelloroffering uspermanentausterity...TUC general secretary haslashed UK chancellor George Osborne’s “stubborn determina-tion” to stick to an unworkable“Plan A” that is locking the UKinto “permanent austerity”.

He made the comments in response to the chancellor’s autumn statement on November29.

Pointing out that all of Osborne’s pre-election assump-tions had proved to be wrong,Mr Barber said: “Growth has

stalled, the eurozone has crashed, the structural deficitis bigger than previously thought and unemploymentcontinues to rise as the private sector fails to take upthe public sector slack.

'The chancellor's stubborn determination to stick tohis Plan A despite the evidence that it is not workingand won't work in the future means that we are lockedinto permanent austerity.”

Mr Barber said the chancellor’s refusal to back a RobinHood tax on bank transactions “while making nursespay... speaks volumes about his values”.

He added: “Public servants are no longer being askedto make a temporary sacrifice, but accept a permanentdeep cut in their living standards that will add up to over16% by 2015 when you include pay and pension contribu-tions.”

Osborne: ‘Values’

Barber: ‘Austerity’

mAGs NEwsPAPErs PAmPhlETsyOU CAN CONTrOl ThE mEANs OF PrODUCTION!FIND OUT hOw... [email protected]

3December 2011 y THE UNION POST

iMpact MaNDate

cpsu

CONGRESS has called for a major in-vestment and job creation programmeto be put in place to combat thescourge of joblessness in the Republic.

The December 12 call came as officialfigures confirmed the number of peopleat work continues to decline as unemployment increases.

Congress chief economist PaulSweeney claimed the Irish governmentmust now focus all its energy on gettingpeople back to work.

He said: “We urgently need a majornew jobs plan. The continued imposi-tion of austerity is decimating theeconomy and the recent budget willonly serve to make the situation worse.It will cost us more jobs.

“The latest figures confirm a veryworrying and dangerous trend, with

long-term unemployment rising to56.3% from 47% last year.

“That is quite shocking and indicativeof the huge damage being done to botheconomy and society by current policies.

“We need a major programme of in-vestment and job creation. In advanceof Budget 2012, Congress put forward anumber of proposals about how jobscould be created and how investmentinitiatives could be funded.

“While government has expressed interest in attracting investment fromprivate pension funds, as we suggested,they now need to move on initiativeslike this as a matter of urgency.”

He added: “There will be a huge socialand economic price to pay if we fail toact now.”

We need urgent jobs plan

USC change is welcomed

MANDATE accused the Irish governmentof targeting workers on lower and middleincomes in Budget 2012.

General secretary John Douglas claimedVAT increases as well as hikes in carbonand other stealth taxes when combinedwith cuts to welfare payments, such asChild Benefit, represented a “doublewhammy” hit on lower income workers.

He said: “VAT is going up by 2% and theprice increases brought about by thischange will hit those on lowest incomesthe hardest as they spend nearly all of theirincomes. In addition, the introduction ofthe annual household charge, increases incarbon tax and public transport fares willhit many people who are already strugglingto heat their homes and travel to and fromwork.”

Mr Douglas said the government hadalso failed to sufficiently tackle the unfairnature of the Universal Social Charge.

“Mandate acknowledges the governmenthas removed workers earning up to€10,036 a year from the USC net – an in-crease from the previous €4,004 threshold.

“However, we believe they should havegone much further and set the threshold at€16,016 a year or €308 a week.

“Unfortunately, the current governmenthas missed the opportunity to right thewrong done by the last government andgive lower paid workers a significant breakat this difficult time.”

it’s a doublewhammy onlower paid

the usc is‘still unfair’CPSU general secretary Blair Horan haswelcomed the fact Budget 2012 didn’tcontain income tax increases for ordinaryworkers but expressed disappointmentthat the minister did not go further onthe Universal Social Charge.

He said: “The USC impacted very severely on all low-paid workers earningup to €27,000 last year, with a single par-ent on €27,000 seeing their tax contribution doubleovernight.

“The change announced by the minister will helplow income atypicalworkers but willhave no effect forfull-time workers on the minimum wage.This is still unfair and needs to be addressed.”

Mr Horan also backed the move togrant additional mortgage relief for first-time buyers between 2004 and 2008 andchanges to improve Research & Develop-ment capacity for indigenous industries.

Blair Horan

IMPACT has welcomed the increase in the Universal SocialCharge threshold, which means330,000 people earning lessthan €10,000 will no longerpay.

However, the union also expressed disappointment atthe lack of measures to tackleunemployment, although it gave

backing to the finance minis-ter’s indication he was to explore union suggestions that€70bn worth of existing Irishpension fund resources couldbe invested in job-creating infrastructure projects.

IMPACT also joined withother unions in welcoming increases in capital gains tax

and capital acquisition tax, butinsisted the government hadmissed an opportunity to introduce a wealth tax.

It slammed VAT increasesand claimed that other taxchanges could have eased theburden on lower income families.

Budget fails our joblesscontinue to bump alongthe bottom without anyprospects for recovery.

"In addition, the failureto target the better offand high earners meansthe burden of adjustmentis not being fairly shared.

"But it is the failure onthe jobs issue that is criti-cal as that issue will deter-mine how quickly we canemerge from this crisis."

Mr Begg said the onebright note was the gov-ernment’s commitment toprobe an idea put forwardby Congress to incentiviseinvestment by private pension funds in major jobcreation projects.

"This has the potential tocreate in the region of100,000 jobs and signifi-cantly boost competitive-

ness by enhancing criticalinfrastructure in areas likebroadband and transport.”

He also welcomed thechanges to the UniversalSocial Charge for the lowerpaid but expressed disap-pointment that the “opportunity was lost toincrease the charge forthose earning over€100,000”.

Mr Begg saidthe increase inVAT was regres-sive and would addto inflation. "Itwould have been farbetter to place a temporary 2.5% levy onprofitable corporationswhich would have raisedmore money and wouldnot have had a negativeimpact on jobs."

FrOm P1

THE UNION POST y December 20114

CONGRESS president Eugene McGlone has warned the Irish gov-ernment the country’s economicdifficulties will not be eased by “further impoverishing the people”or by attacking social welfare.

He made his comments from aplatform outside the GPO to thou-sands who had gathered at the endof the Dublin Council of TradeUnions-organised March AgainstAusterity on November 26.

Pointing out that there was “stillwealth in this country”, Mr McGlone told the crowd that thebetter off “must be forced toshoulder a fair portion of the responsibility” to help resolve thesituation.

“Our top 1% own 28% of all thewealth in the country – 34,000 ofwhom own €130bn in financial andhousing wealth. And the averageholdings for adults in the top 1% is€3.8m.”

Referring to Congress’ pre-bud-get submission, he called on thethe government to first off “do nofurther harm” but to concentrateon promoting investment, employ-ment and growth.

Mr McGlone said: “In our sub-mission – which we have backed up

November 26 March against austerity

ictu calls on govt not to repeat failed

neo-liberal approach

with hard evidence – we haveurged the government to take anumber of measures in relation totax, such as to introduce a wealthtax.”

These measures included reduc-ing residency rules for for tax reasons and shutting down loopholes allowing taxes to belevied only on declared profits.

Mr McGlone said Congress hadalso argued that high-earnersshould pay a minimum tax of 35%.

He described the Congress pro-posals as a “far better alternative”

to the “slash and burn politicswhich have so far been the only response from this and the last government”.

Congress had, he said, presentedthe proposals to the Taoiseach andTánaiste, but added that the bigquestion was whether they wouldlisten or once again “repeat thesame failed neo-liberal agendawhich has done so much damage tothe fabric and lives of the people”.

INTO general secretary SheilaNunan also spoke at the rally.

She told the crowd she feared

that ordinary citizens faced theprospect of “digging even deeperinto their pockets” to bail out thebankers, speculators and develop-ers.

And she warned that collegeswould soon be the privilege of thewealthy.

Ms Nunan added: “This budgetmust not add educational povertyto its list of shame.

“Make no mistake, every euro cutfrom the education budget reduceschildren’s prospects, harms their futures and risks recovery.”

Speaking after the rally, DCTUpresident Phil McFadden said therally gave working people the opportunity to call on the government to rethink any cuts itwas going to make in the budget.

He said: “People are feeling reallylet down over the last two years.The government are not going afterthe people that can pay and won'tpay – and that's the big problem.

“It’s not a public-private sectorfight. It’s a working class fight andthe government needs to listen.”

Lucia Fay, a SIPTU activist in theFair Deal for Cleaners campaign,claimed the day had been an oppor-tunity for “ordinary workers tocome together with one voice”.

She added: “We need a budgetthat puts people first – a budget forjobs and growth.”

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INTO delegation at the DCTU-organised pre-budgetprotest. Right: young marcher gets ‘into the swing’ of things

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December 2011 y THE UNION POST 5

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THE UNION POST y November 20116

CONGRESS president Eugene McGlone has welcomed the cominginto force of the Agency Workers Directive earlier this month andclaimed it brought “an end to thedays of exploiting workers based onhow they are employed".

He described the directive, enforced since December 5, as “another milestone in the battle forequality in the workplace”.

Workers employed through anagency are now entitled to the samepay as other workers in the sameemployment.

Mr McGlone explained that Congress had made it clear to boththe Republic’s enterprise ministerRichard Bruton and employer repre-sentatives that ICTU would not agreeto any measures that undermindedthe rights of agency workers.

He added that it was a matter ofdeep concern that the Northern Ireland Assembly was intent on imposing an agreement brokered between unions and employers in theUK, with regard to agency workersemployed in the North.

He claimed Congress had repeat-edly voiced objections to its imposi-tion.

"Congress believes that any suchagreement is contrary to the purposeof the Agency Workers Directive andhas sought legal advice with a view tomounting a challenge to the intentionto impose this serious disadvantageon agency workers in Northern Ireland."

change hailedas ‘milestone’on equal rights

New eu rulesshow unionsfighting backMANDATE has called on all employ-ers in the Republic to adhere to newrules granting equal treatment foragency workers.

General secretary John Douglas –who is also Congress vice president –said: “This is just one example of howtrade unions are fighting back to protect vulnerable workers, such asagency workers.”

He said unions would fight all attempts by government and employ-ers to drive down pay and conditionsin a “race to the bottom”.

“The employers had argued thatequal pay and conditions for agencyworkers who perform equal workwould cost jobs and increase businessoverheads.

“Unions, including Mandate, arguedstrongly that equal pay and equal conditions for equal work is a princi-ple the trade union movement wasnot prepared to compromise on.”

Mr Douglas also called on agencyworkers who have not received theirlegal entitlements since December 5to contact a union immediately.

He added: “We urge all workers tojoin a union and fight back for respectand a decent income.”

TRADE UNION

MANDATE NEWSMANDATE

A CAMPAIGNING & ORGANISING UNIONWEB: EMAIL:www.mandate.ie [email protected]

LOW PAID

WORKERS:

PROTECT

YOURSELVES ORGAN

ISE

NOW!

ageNcY WorKers

Participants stand in silence to remember colleague Sunday World reporter and NUJ activist Martin O’Haganwho was shot dead in 2001. Congress president Eugene McGlone, below left, spoke at the conference

PIct

ures

: Pau

la G

erag

hty/

Kev

in C

ooper

THE NUJ has held a special trauma conference in Belfastexamining the experiences of journalists who have workedthrough the Troubles in the North and other conflict zones.

The one-day event, titled NUJ Journalist Safety – the North-ern Ireland Experience, was dedicated to the memory of Sun-day World reporter Martin O’Hagan and occurred two daysafter the 10th anniversary of his murder on September 28.

Participants – many of whom knew Mr O’Hagan person-ally – stood in silent tribute to the slain journalist, who wassecretary of the Belfast & District branch NUJ at the timeof his death. Journalists later took part in a series of work-shops sharing their own, often moving, stories of conflictjournalism and the impact it has had on their lives.

7November 2011 y THE UNION POST

By Fiona Dunne

A FORMER political prisoner inColombia has thanked in personthose who campaigned for her release – among them two sec-ond-level students from Co Kerry.

Rosalba Gaviria Toro – a tradeunion and human rights activist –flew to the Republic earlier thismonth as a guest of Congress andcampaign group Justice for Colombia Ireland.

Ms Gaviria Toro was detainedand imprisoned without trial byColombian authorities in March,2009, before being released with-out charge in June 2011. A leaderof the Women’s Movement for

Peace & Human Rights, Ms.Gaviria Toro arrived in Cork onDecember 4 where she met with trade union activists and members of the Cork Council ofTrade Unions.

The following day, she travelledto Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine, inKenmare, where she was wel-comed by school principal Der-mot Healy and Anne Piggott, theteacher who had encouraged herstudents to get involved in theICTU/JFC Ireland prisoner release campaign.

Students EllieGudgeon and AnnieCooper chose totake on Rosalba’splight as part oftheir school proj-ect. Their actionslater proved tohave played an in-strumental part insecuring Ms GaviriaToro’s release.

She wrote di-rectly to the twogirls from VillaCristina Prisonin Quindio,

Colombia: “Ilook for-

ward to

meeting you and thanking you inperson.” More than 400 letters,signed by fellow students andteachers, protesting against MsGaviria Toro’s imprisonmentwithout trial were sent to theColombian embassy in London.

Speaking through an inter-preter during the visit, MsGaviria Toro claimed the letterswere an extremely importantpart of the international cam-paign to secure her release.

She said: “I think it was one ofthe main things that helped me,and visiting the school to express my appreciation is mymain mission in Ireland.”

A leading member of Fen-suargo, the agriculture workers’union, she pointed out that tradeunionists, student activists, com-munity leaders, human rights defenders and academics whooppose the governing regime areimprisoned in Colombia.

Later on December 5, MsGaviria Toro travelled to Dublinwhere she met the president andvice-president of Congress, offi-cers of Justice for Colombia Ire-land and members of ICTU’sGlobal Solidarity Committee.

She detailed the dire situationsuffered by trade unionists andhuman rights defenders inColombia and thanked both or-

ganisations for their help in cam-paigning for her release. How-ever, she added that the plight offellow trade unionists was neverfar from her mind and askedeveryone not to forget the manytrade unionists – including col-leagues from Fensuargo – whowere being held without trial

During her time here, MsGaviria Toro also met with theCongress GPC and officials fromthe Department of Foreign Affairs.

Her primary mission is to keepthe plight of under-threat Colom-bian trade unionists and humanrights defenders to the forefrontof world attention.

It is vitally important that con-tinuing focus is put on theColombian government at inter-national level to stop the abuseof human rights, to free politicalprisoners and to end anti-tradeunion violence.

This can be done in a numberof ways but it is up to Irish tradeunion leaders, members and activists to work towards thisend in solidarity with theirColombian brothers and sisters.

On December 6, Ms GaviriaToro addressed a packed publicmeeting in Dublin’s Liberty Hallon the difficulties facing tradeunionists and human rights’ activists in her native land.

Colombia is the most danger-ous country in the world to be atrade unionist, with more than4,000 activists and officials mur-dered in the last 20 years by rightwing paramilitaries or by govern-ment forces. More than half ofthose murders have taken placesince 1991.

Many trade unionists are alsojailed without trial, though insome cases some are convictedand face up to 40 years in prisonfor so-called crime of “rebellion”.

Letters of freedom... activist’sthanks for school campaign

http://www.ictu.ie/globalsolidarity/mOrE INFOrmATION:

http://www.justiceforcolombia.org

Students Ellie Gudgeon and Annie Cooper with Rosalba

Rosalba Gavirira Toro, centre, met with senior Irish trade unionists during her visit to the Republic earlier this month Pictures: Congress


...15,000 pack Belfast citycentre as 2m workers takestrike action on pensions...

NIPSA general secretary Brian Campfield managedto attract support from an unexpected quarter...

as Far as tHe eYe caN see

TENS of thousands of publicsector workers across North-ern Ireland and hundreds ofthousands across the UK tookpart in the largest action in ageneration on November 30.

Teachers, nurses and class-room assistants joined civil servants and local authorityworkers to brave the cold,stand on picket lines and attendrallies during the day of actionon pensions.

British PM Dave Cameron,who laughably described whatwas the greatest mobilisation indecades as a “damp squib”, wasslammed by TUC general secretary Brendan Barber, whocalled on him to stop “the warof words” and get back to serious negotiations.

Rallies were held acrossNorthern Ireland, but thebiggest was in Belfast, where15,000 strikers and supportersconverged on City Hall.

Assistant general secretaryPeter Bunting read out a NIC-ICTU statement in support ofthe strikers.

He praised them for “nailingthe lie” that they were beingbrainwashed by “alleged tradeunion militants”.

In fact, he suggested, the “realextremists” were the specula-

tors who had “gambled billions” to “sate their greed”and those politicians who werenow making ordinary people“pay for the conduct of thepampered elite”.

“The same elite who haveawarded themselves 50% payincreases in the past year andwho receive £22bn of taxpay-ers’ money in tax relief fortheir 22-carat gold-plated pensions, far more than thecost of providing public servants with a basic pension.”

Mr Bunting claimed the lossof one day’s pay was worth itbecause “if the Tories get theirway, public sector workers willhave one day’s pay docked,every single month, for ever topay off the bankers’ debt”.

Slamming the “poisonous ideology” of the Tories and the“pathetic” Liberal Democats,he said the only people stand-ing in their way “are heretoday” and in “towns and citiesacross Northern Ireland, Scot-land, Wales, the regions of England and in the shadows ofthe City of London”.

Mr Bunting said millions ofpeople across the UK andNorthern Ireland were nowsaying “enough!”

“We beg no longer, we en-

November 30 public sector strikes

CONTINUED P10


NIPSAdawn patrol atStormont

SIPTU chief Jack O’Connor &, right, NIC-ICTU’s Kevin Doherty

UNISON ‘fat cats’ from RVH took a prominent position on the platform outside City Hall

Congress assistant general secretary Peter Bunting delivers a message of support from Northern Ireland Committee to public sector strikers

PCS adopt‘hands off’approach

picture speciaL: Kevin cooper/photoline


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November 30 public sector strikes

FBU thumbs-up up for publicsector strikers, above. ICTUpresident Eugene McGlone, left

treat no more, we petitionno more. We defy them!”

He added: “We are themany – they are the few.”

Ryan Wilson, speaking onbehalf of civil servants, saidthe government would notbe allowed to “steal our future and the future of ourchildren”.

Describing himself as “aworker from the youngergeneration”, he had thismessage for the politicians:

“We know what’s goingon, we can see you eroding

our job prospects, our pensions, our quality of life,our very future and we willnot simply stand by andallow you to do this.”

Mr Wilson told thecrowd that the trade unionmessage to the politicalclass was simple.

“Collect the £123bn inunpaid tax by the superrich, then there won’t be afinancial crisis, and stopsqueezing those ordinaryfamilies that every monthare in danger of falling into

poverty.” He concluded byvowing: “This fight startsnow!”

Michael Dornan, whospoke on behalf of trans-port workers, slammed thelies that had been peddledin the media about publicsector workers.

He said: “Standing up forwhat you believe is right –it is not a crime.”

Teacher Mary Cahillanetold the crowd: “We wantto teach, we want to educate our pupils but we

want to do it for a livingwage and for the pensionthat we were promised.

“We don’t want to workuntil we are 68. If I amworking until I am 68, itwon’t be a case of thepupils forgetting theirhomework, it will be a caseof me forgetting that I gaveit to them!”

In her speech, healthworker Stephanie Green-wood said: “We will notstand by while the mil-lionaries steal our futures.

We will not be accepting socalled pension reform andwe will not accept healthand education cuts.”

Calling on local politi-cians to “get a backbone”,she added: “Rememberhow we voted you in. Re-member there is no suchthing as a safe seat. You willnot rely on traditional patterns for much longer.

“If you are not preparedto defend the Welfare State,and the National HealthService, then we will...”

FrOm P8


picture speciaL: Kevin cooper/photoline; NNu; tuc.org.uk

Some of the inventive placards on display on November 30 where more than 25,000 public sector workers marched through central London

CAMPAIGNING US unionNational Nurses United leda series of solidarity actionsacross the States on November 30 in support ofstriking UK public sectorworkers.

Rallies were held outsidethe British embassy inWashington and at UK consulates in Boston,Chicago, Orlando, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

The nurses, many sportingUNISON and NIPSA plac-ards and flags, were joined

by members of otherunions, including UnitedSteel Workers, Teamsters,AFT, ATU, SEIU and AFL.

Speaking outside the embassy in Washington DC,local nurse Rajini Raj said:“We're here in support ofthe more than two millionpeople striking in GreatBritain today.

“We know an injury to oneis an injury to all even ifthere is an ocean betweenus.”

Nurse Zenei Cortez, after

delivering a letter support-ing the strikers to the SanFrancisco consulate, said:“Even though we all live indifferent parts of the world,we are all fighting for thesame issues.”

NNU executive directorRoseAnn DeMoro in a letterto Sir Nigel Sheinwald, theUK’s ambassador to the US,called on the British govern-ment to stop its attempts tomake public sector workers“pay more and work longerto receive a smaller pension

us Nurses support striKeswhen they retire”.

She continued: “This attack on the people whoprovide patient care at theNational Health Service,teach school children, andprovide essential publicservices is unconscionable.”

NIPSA general secretaryBrian Campfield said NIPSAmembers greatly appreci-ated the solidarity demos.

“The response frombranches and members whosaw the photos of the solidarity action was thatthey were uplifted by thedemos staged such a distance away in solidaritywith their cause.

“It is clear that workers inany country have muchmore common interest witheach other than with otherinterests or forces in theirsociety.

“Long may such solidarity continue.”

Desi Murray, of the California Nurses Associa-tion and one of organisersof the LA protest, is a former secretary of BelfastTrades Council.


inaugural cWu forum chartspath for call centre workersTHE Communication Workers Union held itsfirst Call Centre Forum last month, bringing to-gether workers from, among other employers,An Post, American Airlines, O2, Siemens andVodafone.

The November 12 event was staged to helpforge strategies to encourage employers to operate “according to the principles of qualityemployment”.

It was also held to coincide with UNI GlobalUnion’s annual Call Centre Action Month.

Participants gathered at Jury’s Croke ParkHotel, Dublin, were asked to put together aCall Centre Charter looking at breaks, leave,pay, benefits, targets and health and safety.

CWU organiser Fionnuala NíBhrógáin said:“The purpose of this exercise was not simplyto talk about existing laws, it was about theideal conditions that we would all hope towork under in a call centre environment.

“All these standards are being compiled intoa charter for call centre working. This docu-ment can be used to engage with employers toadopt these best practices and to recognisewhere there is room for improvement inworkplaces.”

Ms NíBhrógáin went on the add that all theparticipants agreed that the day was a greatsuccess. The event was held against the back-

Pictures: John Chaney/CWU

drop of major changes in the sector both in theRepublic and internationally.

She said: “Large numbers of Irish jobs are being‘off-shored’ and those jobs that remain are underincreasing pressure for ever greater productivity.

“This pressure causes many problems forworkers, including unreachable targets, poorwork-life balance and the stress and health issuesthat result.

“We believe call centre workers are no differ-ent to other workers and deserve to be treatedwith dignity and respect in the workplace.”

THIS CHRISTMAS

GIVE SOMEONE A

GIFT THAT OINKSGIVE SOMEONE A

GIFT THAT OINKS

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Use private pensions funds to drivegrowth-generating capital projects CONGRESS has claimedkey infrastructural proj-ects could be saved by attracting investmentfrom some of the €75bncurrently held in Irish private pension funds.

Official Fergus Whelanmade his comments at apensions seminar in Liberty Hall, Dublin, onNovember 10.

A major cut in capitalspending by the govern-ment was, he said, badnews for jobs and growthbut pension funds couldbe persuaded to invest in-

stead. “All that is requiredis the creation of an appropriate risk-sharinginvestment vehicle thatwould attract a small por-tion of the €75bn of Irishworkers’ pension moneythat is currently investedinternationally and stimu-lating economic growthand job creation every-where but here.

“We could save majorjob creating, growth generating capital projectsthat have been abandonedby government, such asthe DIT campus, Metro

North or DART Under-ground.

“The investment vehiclecould be gradually expanded to cover manymore hospitals, schoolsand other socially neces-sary infrastructure.”

Mr Whelan added: “Weneed smart, innovativeand creative strategies toget ourselves out of thiscrisis. And this proposalcould help tap a majornew source of funding toget people back to workand kick start the recovery.”

WHAT has happened to the IrishRepublic is “proof cuts won’t work”,Congress assistant general secretaryPeter Bunting warned a gathering ofEnglish trade unionists last month.

He told delegates at the North-ern Public Service Alliance confer-ence in Newcastle upon Tyne onNovember 12 that austerity “stran-gles demand and growth”.

“The solution to a crisis of neolib-eralism,” he pointed out, “is not amore intense and concentrateddose of the same medicine.”

Mr Bunting outlined the climate offear that has gripped people in theRepublic since the 2008 crash.

“For most people fear manifestsitself in the loss of personal eco-nomic security. People are afraid oflosing their jobs, afraid of losingtheir homes, afraid they won’t havea pension when they retire.

“These fears are not in any senseirrational. There is plenty of anecdotal evidence to give themcredence and there are individualsin all socio-economic categories –workers, professionals, businesspeople, pensioners and students –who are hurting very badly and who

need help.” A series of austeritybudgets had hit public services inthe Republic – “cutting into mus-cle” – leading to a cumulative 20%reduction in GDP since 2008.

He told delegates gathered at theNewcastle Civic Centre that afurther €9bn is to be slashed from

budgets over the next four years.“This level of retrenchment is

profoundly mistaken in economicterms. Domestic demand has fallenby 21% since 2008. Retail sales inMay were 5.2% below the samemonth in 2010, the 45th consecutivemonth that they have fallen.”

Mr Bunting warned that price paidfor this level of austerity was “potentially... a lost generation”.

He said: “The young are bearingthe brunt of the crisis. You are mostlikely to be unemployed if you areyoung.

“That is true is the Republic ofIreland, it is true in Northern Ireland and it is true across all ofthe regions of the UK.

“It is true in Greece, Italy, Portu-gal, France and especially Spain, withalmost half of the under-25s out ofwork.”

Referring to recent events inGreece and Italy where Papandreouand Berlusconi had been replacedby technocrats, he warned delegates,“something is missing here – thesense that we live in a democracy”.

Democratic governments seemed,he said, to be at the mercy of thebond markets.

Mr Bunting added: “We could bereaching the stage where marketsand democracy are becoming incompatible.

“What is emerging is a series ofcrises, separate but all connected.Banking crises, fiscal crises, sover-

eign debt crises, growth crises, austerity crises, political crises, democratic crises – a whole seriesof crises of legitimacy.

“Something is in its deaththroes – either the spirit of socialsolidarity or the dogma of neoliber-alism.

“We cannot stand idly by andhope it is the latter. We must beagents of change and grapple withthe reality we face.”

It was up to those who favouredsocial solidarity to convince thepublic that the “cosy consensus supporting the indefensible” waswrong.

He told delegates: “There arethings that we can do to fix oureconomy and society that Cameronand Clegg and Osborne and Alexander would never think ofdoing.

“This is a long haul. We are in anargument about the economy andits future, but also about the valueswhich shape our society.

“We are fighting an ideologywhich did not ever deserve to succeed, and has, in recent years,failed even on its own terms.”

Something ismissing here –the sense thatwe live in ademocracy

tuc conference toldirish experience isproof austerity doesn’t work

http://www.youtube.com/user/TradeUnionTVIreland#p/u/0/ATDACnrvrqgTrADE UNION TV GET ThE lATEsT rEPOrTs FrOm ThE

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Pictures: CEA

AMERICAN unions havehailed last month’s referen-dum victory in Ohio as a“game changer” after votersdecisively rejected state governor John Kasich’s punitive attack on public sector workers.

The November 8 ballotsaw 61% of Ohioan votersreject a Republican-backedlaw that sought to ban thestate’s 350,000 governmentworkers from going on strikeas well as limiting collectivebargaining in the public sector.

Earlier this year, the state

legislature had narrowly approved the controversialmove.

This sparked state-wide,union-organised demos thatmirrored similar popularprotests in Wisconsin and Indiana.

One commentator claimedthat the law offered unionsonly “collective begging”.

Under the Ohio state constitution, it is possible toforce a public vote on legisla-tion and by the summer activists had managed to collect nearly three times thenumber of signatures needed

to do so. International Asso-ciation of Fire Fighters President Harold Schait-berger called the vote “an absolute momentum-shiftingvictory for the labour move-ment”.

He said the fight for unionrights would now switch toWisconsin, where activistsare set to collect signaturesto force a recall vote onanti-union Republican governor Scott Walker.

Walker will be forced tostand for election again ifcampaigners collect 500,000signatures.

ohio vote derails anti-union laws

U PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH CONGRESS

THE

NION POSTFOR CAMPAIGN LATEST

GO TO www.getupstandup.ie

Picture: © Paula Geraghty

STANDINGTOGETHER

PAGE 3

WERE YOU THERE?

PICTURESPECIALSPAGES 4,5,8,9

Picture: © Paula Geraghty

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

PEOPLEPOWERNEWS YOU CAN USENION POST

OCTOBER 2010


THE

U►NORTH SHOCK CUTS IN SPENDING REVIEW

►SOUTH FOURTH ‘HAIR SHIRT’ BUDGET LOOMS

UNDERATTACKBUT WE’RE FIGHTING BACK ...

SEPT 29 DAY OF ACTION PICTURES & REPORTS PAGES 14-17

More cuts: Lenihan

Axe man: Osborne

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REPORT & PICTURES: P2/3

RISE LIKE LIONS! Eamonn McCann concludes October 23 rally against the cuts in Belfast with a rousing quote from radical poet Shelley

NEWS YOU CAN USE

NION POSTDECEMBER 2010


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SHAMEFULNOV 27 NATIONAL DEMO PICTURES & REPORT PAGES 6-11

Axe man: Lenihan

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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 ceded financial sovereignty to the IMF and the

European Central Bank, agreeing to a humiliating €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

NEWS YOU CAN USENION POSTJANUARY 2011

PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE IRISH CONGRES

S OF TRADE UNIONS

THE

UPicture: Paula Geraghty

FULL STORY PAGE 3

HANDSOFFOUR PAY

European Commission warned over alleged

‘interference’ in Ireland’s labour market

people’scongressFEB 5Octagon Room, King

’s Hall, Belfast

FOR A BETTER, FAIRER WAY

CONFERENCE

DETAILS P2

TRADE UNION NEWS NORTH AND SOUTH

INMO VOWSACTION ONNURSING STUDENTSPAY CUTS P4

THE European Trade Union

Confederation will met

European Commission chief

Olli Rehn over reports the

EU is "intervening" in

national collective bargaining

rights.Under existing a

greements,

the Commission has no

powers to determine wage

levels in individual states.

In a letter to Mr Rehn,

ETUC general secretary John

Monks, pictured, slammed

the use of "diktat pressure"

to cut minimum wages and

pensions in countries strug-

gling to escape the economic

crisis, claiming this amounted

to "an attack on Social

Europe".Mr Monks told a

meeting in

Dublin on January 19 that

what Europe needed most

was a “a spirit of generosity”

to help hard-hit countries,

“not the kind of penalty

regimes and punishment

squads imposed at present”.

NEWS YOU CAN USE

NION POSTJUNE 2011


THE

U

GETTING SET FOR BDS 2011 PAGE 2 COMMISSION REPORT DETAILS PAGE 5

WHEN trade unionists from across Ireland gather for Congress’ BiennialDelegate Conference in Killarneynext month, they will find a tradeunion movement that is in goodshape, fighting fit, and ready for thebattles that lie ahead.The 800 delegates, observers andguests will hear figures detailinghow membership has remained robustly strong despite the depth ofthe recession and the loss of tens ofthousands of jobs. Trade unions are working people’sfirst – and last – line of defenceagainst a neoliberal onslaught thathas turned a banking crisis into anattack on jobs, pay, conditions andservices.But a guiding principle of ourmovement has always been strengthin numbers – and figures show thatthe number of members drawn fromCongress’ 54 affiliated unions nowstands at 797,399. This is down 19,449 on the 2010figure and represents a 2.4% dip inunion membership.It is a reflection of the savage assault on jobs and is not an indication of any disenchantmentwith trade unions or trade unionism.In fact, the figures back this view,showing that decline in union membership has occurred at aSLOWER rate than the general fallin employment.It should be remembered that inthe Republic alone, there is a tradeunion density rate of 38.3% of theworkforce – one of the highest ratesin Europe.

STRONGERTOGETHER

Picture: Congress

NEWS YOU CAN USENION POSTAPRIL 2011

PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE IRISH CONGRES

S OF TRADE UNIONS

THE

U

CELEBRATE INTERNATIONAL WORKERS’ DAY

• WEEK OF EVENTS NORTH AND SOUTH • DETAILS AND LINKS PAGE 5

DON’TBANKON IT!

Think the EU/ECB have your interests at heart?

THE primary objective of the EU and

ECB is to protect the European banking

system, Congress general secretary David

Begg has claimed.He told delegates at the PSEU confer-

ence in Galway on April 15 that those

voices from Brussels calling for greater

austerity were not “distinterested actors”

in determining who shouldered the

burden for the financial crisis.

Rather, he suggested, they were “not

without responsibility” themselves.

French and German banks had a €900bn

exposure to “peripheral” EU economies

but this amount was now being reduced.

This meant that bondholder exposure

to Irish banks had declined at the same

time as ECB emergency funding to the

Republic had risen.

They were, Mr Begg told delegates,

“getting out under covering fire provided

by the ECB”. FULL STORY PAGE 3

MARCH 26 DEMOS PICTURE SPECIAL P12-15

SPECIAL EDITION

NION POSTAUGUST 2011


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BRUTON JLC/ERO PLAN LASHED PAGE 3 BEEB JOURNOS ON STRIKE PAGE 4

REPORTSPICTURES

&

PAGES 6 - 19

CONGRESSBDC 2011

TROIKAWARNING

CONGRESS general secretary David Begghas warned Taoiseach Enda Kenny that theEU/ECB/IMF Troika is using Ireland as a “social laboratory” to test out its economicpolicies.He made his comments in front of 800 delegates, observers and guests gathered forCongress’ three-day Biennial Delegate Con-ference last month.Mr Begg was responding directly to theTaoiseach who had just delivered his speechto delegates at the INEC conference centrein Killarney on July 4. He pinpointed the fact that “all the talk of reform” ignored the actions of the banksthat had sparked the crisis in the first place.“It occurs to a lot of people that reformis for the little people – it is not for the powerful.” SEE REPORT PAGES 6/7

Pict

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: Kev

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REFORM AGENDA TARGETING ‘LITTLE PEOPLE’ NOTTHE BANKS, BEGG TELLS KENNY

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THE CWU’s Youth Committeehas held a special training eventto help young members buildup their confidence when dealing with employers.

The YC has the stated aim ofinfluencing CWU policy “fromthe grassroots up to reflect theparticular needs and views ofyoung members and to encour-age their greater involvementacross all branches and sectorsof the union”.

Training, spread over twodays, was held at IBOA House,Dublin, in October.

The first sessions covered

presentation skills, and mem-bers were given the opportu-nity to present to the groupand to receive feedback ontheir performances.

Youth Committee’s BarryGorman said: “The training obviously worked as all themembers present overcametheir nerves to give confident,assured presentations.”

The second day covered themore practical side of repre-sentation by giving members anunderstanding of grievance anddisciplinary processes.

All aspects of procedures

were discussed, including SI146and the concept of natural justice.

Members role-played variousscenarios to give them an un-derstanding of what to expectin a real-life situation. CWU organising intern CaseySweeney said: “The training was extremely informative and theparticipants seemed moreequipped to handle G&Ds intheir respective workplaces.”

The CWU plans to continueproviding extensive training tothe members of the YouthCommittee.

INTO ‘friends’ honour national bardWORLD-renowned poet SeamusHeaney received a special honourlast month from his former union,the INTO.

The award, honouring the Bel-laghy-born Nobel Laureate’s contribution to literature, was presented at the union’s confer-ence in Athlone on November 19.

Heaney, who taught at CarysfortCollege of Education in the 70s and80s, met up with many of his former pupils, now primary schoolteachers, at the event.

INTO president Noreen Flynntold the 400-plus audience thatteachers wanted to emphasise the

joy of reading but feared this couldbe lost in the rush to assess standards.

She added that teachers lookedto figures such as Seamus Heaneyfor inspiration.

Ms Flynn, a former student of thepoet’s, spoke of the affection inwhich Heaney was held and of hislifelong association with primaryteachers.

To honour his contribution toliterature, she presented him with afirst edition of Mairtin O Cadhain’s1949 book Cre na Cille.

In response, Seamus Heaney said

there had been many good daysbut described this presentation as“one of the best days yet” becauseit was what he called “domesticand intimate”.

He appeared genuinely delightedto be back among what he calledhis “Carysfort friends”.

Having outlined how his auntSally, a primary teacher with booksby Hardy and Kipling, had a forma-tive influence on him, Heaney wenton to read a number of his poems.It was an emotional affair.

Starting with Digging which hesummarised as “moving from the

spade to the pen”, he then recitedMid-Term Break, a poem taught tomost Irish pupils. Heaney quippedthe audience would know it byheart and as if to prove him rightmany could be seen lip-syncing thepoem along with the author.

Others were looking for tissuesto wipe their eyes.

The poems Alphabets and Valedic-tory Verses which he wrote for thegraduation ceremony in Carysfortin 1988 – “the year the college wastaken out of play” – brought thereading to a close, followed by astanding ovation from his formerstudents.

A SURVEy of Irish journalists aboutmedia ownership and diversity isbeing conducted in advance of amajor conference Media Diversity:Why does it Matter? being held inDublin in February.

The online, multiple-choice ques-tionnaire takes less than five minutesto complete and the strictest confi-dentiality is assured.

Results of the survey will be re-vealed at the conference. Complete the survey at:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/PW7M9QN

irish journos asked tocomplete online survey

Training event for CWU young members

CwU NI POlITICAl sEmINAr P16


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visitor/residential centre in CoTyrone on November 18 included young CWU activistsfrom across Northern Irelandas well as youth officers fromCongress and members of theunion’s National YAC.

A range of discussions wereheld, debating issues surround-ing youth unemployment,union-busting activities in theUK, public sector cuts and theeconomy.

Representatives from localpolitical parties also attendedand faced tough questioningabout their policies in a specialpanel discussion.

CWU general secretary BillyHayes described it as “an excel-lent opportunity for young activists to engage with theNorthern Ireland Assemblymembers on current issues ofconcern”.

CWU regional secretaryLawrence C Huston said theseminar had been “extremelyencouraging”.

“The content of the weekendagenda had clearly engaged ouryoung members in the need toplay a much bigger role in theday-to-day affairs of the CWU.

“There is no doubt thatthese young members are thefuture of the union. There isclearly a need for the region tonow build on this initiative.”

Mr Huston added: “It wasdisappointing that a number ofour postal delivery youngmembers had been unable toget release from Royal Mail toattend.”

cWu holds first Ni politicalseminar for young members

CWU NI young activists with general secretary Billy Hayes, national officer Simon Sapper, yAC chair Ryan Case, regional secretary Lawrence C Huston and guests

Pict

ure: C

WU

THE Communication Workers Union has hailed as an “outstandingsuccess” a political seminar held last month for young members ofthe union in Northern Ireland.

Assistant secretary Simon Sapper, one of the organisers, said theCWU had staged the three-day event as “youth activity” in the re-gion had “historically been patchy” due to the “dispersed nature ofthe population”. Participants who gathered at An-Creagan

Experienced photographer specialises in campaigning photography

for trade unionsand nGos.

For conferences,campaign launches,

street demos, May Day parades,magazine and PR

photography.Shared commission

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M: 07712044751


social enterprisesor private wealth?

Mandatory pensions needed for private sector

THE publication of the new Programme for Government byOFMDFM at Stormont, will resultin us being all be told by politiciansthat these are challenging times,that we cannot ignore the financialconstraints, economic challengesand other issues facing the regionaleconomy.

The PfG will focus on economicrecovery; therefore, we will see thescramble by many of our politicaland business leaders towards supporting a reduction in corpora-tion tax, which is a coded messagefor cutting public and communityservices.

We will also be told that wemust be competitive. But whatdoes ‘competitive’ mean?

Competitiveness and the lower-ing of corporation tax will be soldas a panacea for all our economicills, putting us in line for muchgreater levels of investment, leadingto more and better jobs.

I would argue, and positively fear,that both will have a completely dif-ferent outcome – the widening ofthe chasm between rich and poor,between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’.

Newly-elected Irish presidentMichael D Higgins has vowed tolead Ireland in a transformationaway from values based on privatewealth and has called for a greaterconnection between the person,the social, the community and thenation.

He analysis is correct becausemany citizens north and south aresuffering from the fallout from thefinancial crisis caused by those whoput profit and greed before thecommon good.

There are quite a few examplesof very different social and economic systems where the emphasis is put on each of us givingour best as a member of a tradeunion or community group, unitedby ‘the common good’.

In the early 19th century, theWelsh social reformer RobertOwen set up ‘villages of co-opera-tion’ in New Lanark in Scotland.

This initiative influenced theRochdale Pioneers, who embracedthe co-operative ideal, took theseideas forward and made them real.

Ireland has made its own contri-bution, producing the 19th centurymoral economist and social scien-tist William Thompson (a Corkman,described by James Connolly as thefirst Irish socialist) and a centurylater, Horace Plunkett, the founderof the Irish Farming Co-operativeSociety.

The social economy movementthroughout Ireland has made immense strides forward since

William Thompson. Its strength lies in the essentially

democratic nature of its organisa-tion and in the fact that it does notinvolve the exploitation of thosewho work for it or those who useits products and services.

Why is it that we still allow gov-ernments, the banks and large private-sector organisations –which were responsible for the recent global financial disaster – todismiss the social economy move-ment (that’s you and me, by theway) as a bit-part player when itcomes to the economy?

Ask yourselves this: what wouldhappen if the social economy wenton strike and all the services it pro-vided – formally and informally –were withdrawn? It would be disas-

trous. The fabric of society wouldunravel.

But there remains a major biasagainst those involved in advancingthe social economy. It is viewedwith suspicion and hostility. There isa mind-set held by many politicians,academics, so-called consultants,and in the mainstream job-creationagencies, that the private sectormodel is still best.

The North West has long suffered from high unemploymentand major deficiencies in economicinfrastructure that are much moresevere than in other parts ofNorthern Ireland containing largeurban areas.

These deficiencies relate, in par-ticular, to transport, higher educa-tion, health and tourism support.

These infrastructure deficiencieshave a relationship to economicweakness that exists in the NorthWest.

Over the past 50 years, the tradeunion movement through promot-ing the social economy has played asignificant role in developing com-munity well-being, inter-communityactivity and peace building by ad-dressing the issues of poverty, un-employment and social exclusion.

The global economic crisiscaused by corporate greed meansthat change and reform is now necessary. Experience tells us thatthe best change and reform comesfrom within communities, not fromabove.

It is important that we continueto foster and grow social enter-prises and protect public services.Most will emerge as a result of theenergy, drive and commitment ofthe community, of workers and ofvoluntary groups.

The big question remains – willthe PfG further impede the socialeconomy sector or will it recog-nise, support, and allow it – or evenbetter, assist it – to realise its fullpotential? Or will it continue tochampion the private wealth model– to dismantle both the communityand public sectors?

coMMeNt coNaL McFeeLY CREGGAN ENTERPRISES, DERRY

The lowering ofcorpo tax will be sold as apanacea... butit will widen thechasm betweenrich and poor

UNITE has called for manda-tory pensions for all privatesector workers in the UK –similar to a scheme that already exists in Australia.

Regional secretary JimmyKelly said: “During the past20 years we have seen manyprivate companies withdrawfrom pension schemes toshore up profits or share-

holders’ dividends. “This has to stop and we

need to factor in these payments in our economy.Workers should not be penalised to a life of penurywhen they retire.”

And speaking before theNovember 30 strike, hepointed out the “truly absurd” situation that

meant a typical public sectorworker would have to “workthree lifetimes” to earn aCabinet minister’s pension.

He added: “Equally ridiculous is that, accordingto one report, the boss ofBarclays is on 75 times theaverage pay of the bank’sstaff, representing a pay riseof 4,899% over 30 years.”

Characterising NorthernIreland as “a society governed by the rich for therich”, he pointed out thatcompany bosses’ excessivewages and bonuses werebeing “mirrored” by excessive cuts and job losesin the public sector.

DESIGN

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THE UK's faltering economicperformance over the last 18months has left a £65bn“growth gap”, a new TUC report has claimed.

The report published lastmonth compares the currentstate of the UK economy withthe government's fiscal forecastat the time of the emergencybudget in June 2010.

It shows that poor GDPgrowth, lower than expectedtax receipts, rising unemploy-ment and higher welfare spending is likely to leave theeconomy around £65bn smallerby 2015.

According to the TUC, thegovernment’s austerity pro-gramme, which has contributedto the slowest economic recovery in a century and sentunemployment to a 17-yearhigh, will result in an extra£123bn of public borrowing by 2015.

The report also highlights theself-defeating nature of the gov-ernment's austerity measures.

A total of £83bn of spendingcuts and £29bn of tax rises isonly expected to cut the deficitby £56bn as welfare spendingsoars and tax receipts fall.

TUC general secretary Bren-dan Barber said: "The govern-ment's self-defeating austerityprogramme is becoming an increasingly costly mistake.

"Not only has it choked offthe recovery and sent hun-dreds of thousands of peopleon to the dole, it is failing tomeets its own central objectiveof eliminating the deficit.”

TUC flagsup £65bn‘growth gap’ over finances

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Documents

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mr kelly

mr bunting

kickstart growth

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