The political representatives of big business have united with IBEC, and the millionaire-owned media, to declare all-out war on ordinary public and private sector workers, their families and their communities.
The Socialist Party welcomed ICTU’s decision to organise mass protests in eight centres right around Ireland on Friday last November 6th. which could be a significant start to smashing the government plan to butcher 4 billion euro worth of jobs, public services and social welfare supports out of Irish society in 2010.
Earlier this year ICTU and the trade union bosses caved in and retreated from the fight to defend jobs, wages and public services when new ”social partnership” talks were dangled in front of their faces by government. The outcome of these talks was ICTU slavishly supporting the government , IBEC, and the Fine Gael-Labour “official” (phoney) parliamentery opposition’s united Lisbon “YES” campaign as well as supporting “in principle” Colm McCarthy’s Bord Snip Nua in slashing and burning jobs, health, education and social welfare services, mass wage cuts and the pension levy, in an intensification of the national “RACE TO THE BOTTOM”.
Before last Friday’s National Day of Protest even began ,ICTU leaders Peter McLoone (IMPACT) and Blair Horan (CPSU) began selling their own members down the river by openly advocating throwing civil and public service workers on the dole. Clearly their comments reveal that they greatly value their personal public status of being “social partners” with IBEC and government much more than the jobs of the people (their members) who fork out 5 or six euro every week from wage packets as low as 300 /400 euro, to fund their 200k plus salaries, benefits and pension packages.
It’s ironic that this is all happening this year (2009), the centenery year of the foundation of what is now Siptu (formerly the ITGWU). It’s as if the Jack O’Connors, Peter McAloons and Blair Horans of the “modern” Irish trade union movement are in unison with government and IBEC, in dragging the ideals and idealism of the late Big Jim Larkin into the gutter of the neo-liberal, free market, post celtic tiger Ireland.
Begin the fightback on November 24th with a 24-hour GENERAL STRIKE.