shopfloor february 2013

MANDATE TRADE UNION MARCH 2013SHOPFLOORDUNNES STORES

TIME TO TALK

DON’TSPEAK TO US

DON’TLISTENTO US

DON’TSEE THENEED...

BUT LABOUR COURT & OUR MEMBERS SEE THENEED SO MANDATE SAYS THIS TO DUNNES: IT’S

Labour Court says Dunnes failed to engage over wage claim PAGE 10

Report and pictures PAGES 3,4,5OUT IN FORCE Strong Mandate presenceat Lift the Burden demos

SHOPFLOOR y March 20132

INDUSTRIAL NEWS

Boots pay alignmentstrategy ‘is divisive’

Brendan O’Hanlon speaks at a meeting of Boots shop stewards in Mandate HQ last year Picture:John Chaney/Mandate

MANDATE has described B&Q’s an-nouncement that it is to make 92workers at its outlets in Athloneand Waterford redundant as “be-yond contempt”.The union, which represents alarge percentage of staff at the DIYretailer, claims workers have beentreated in the most inhumane man-ner possible.Assistant General SecretaryGerry Light said: “Coming off theback of a refusal by the company tomeet with workers’ representa-tives in order to address the con-cerns of their own loyal workforce,this confirms our suspicions thatthe company is using the examin-ership processas a way todrive downcosts at the ex-pense of theirown staff.“For anyworker to dis-cover they havelost their job inthis manner shows a basic lack ofdecency on the part of those in aposition of power.”Mandate also claimed the com-pany had yet to outline why it is inexaminership.However, the union has receivedconfirmation from the examiner,Declan McDonald of PwC, that he isprepared to meet with Mandaterepresentatives to discuss matters.Mr Light told Shopfloor: “Whilewe understand that many retailershave been struggling in this cur-rent economic climate, and whilewe recognise the fact that B&Q owe€17 million to their parent com-pany, Kingfisher plc, they have notexplained what has happened to

reserves they built up over the pastnumber of years. It is less than twoyears since B&Q UK & Ireland an-nounced a profit increase to £215million (March 24,2011).“Is this the case of a company ex-porting profits during the goodtimes and when a difficult periodinevitably comes, the companyuses the opportunity to addressthe high rental contracts and con-veniently attack the living stan-dards of their own workers – manyof whom helped build those profitsin the past?“We’d also like to establish whatexactly is meant when Kingfisherplc say theywill supportB&Q providedthere is ‘im-plementationof a cost-cut-ting pro-gramme andthe success-ful negotia-tion of a survival scheme’.”Mr Light added: “This is a worry-ing enough time for all of the work-ers in B&Q without reading in themedia that their terms and condi-tions, including their income, couldbe up for renegotiation.“Mandate will continue to makerepresentations on behalf of ourmembers and we will resist any at-tempts to undermine the condi-tions that they enjoy in B&Q.“Due to the dismissive nature ofB&Q management towards theirworkers, the union will now be fo-cusing our energy on an urgentmeeting with the examiner to es-tablish what has been going on inthis company and what the futurewill be for these workers.”

B&Q decision to sack 92 staff ‘beyondcontempt’

MANDATE has slammed a new “payalignment initiative” by Boots man-agement as “divisive” and aimed at“pitching worker against worker”.As reported in the last issue ofShopfloor, members at Boots areseeking an unconditional pay in-crease from the company which re-cently announced profits of morethan €18 million.The firm is insisting that any wagerise – which it claims it is prepared topay staff on a new pay scale agreed in2009 – must be paid for by staff col-leagues who remained on the old payscale.Mandate claims Boots is attempt-ing to disguise its actions under whatthe firm dubbed a “pay alignment ini-tiative”, requiring staff earning morethan €12 an hour to reduce their rateof pay to €12. This will result in some employees

having their pay cut by between 3cand more than €2 an hour. Although the company informedstaff that their decision was “volun-tary”, it clearly stated that those whorefused to change would lose theirentitlement to all bonuses. Even though Boots received an al-most 100% rejection of its “pay align-ment initiative”, it continues to makeit the precondition to the payment ofany wage hike. Following a meeting of the BootsNational Negotiating Committee inJanuary, it was decided to refer theclaim to the Labour Relations Com-mission for a conciliation conferencein line with the procedural agree-ment brokered between the com-pany and the union. Mandate Divisional OrganiserBrendan O’Hanlon expressed disap-pointment at the company’s stance

which he described as “a deliberatemove… to divide the staff and pitchworker against worker despite thefact that all employees of the com-pany had made massive contributionto the company’s continued success”.He said: “ The national negotiatingteam had made a strategic decisionwith regard to communicating to allBoots employees to ensure that thestaff of Boots realise the importanceof remaining unified and not to allowtheir employer create this divisivesituation.”It is understood all existing mem-bers were written to individually toupdate them on developments. Textmessages and store circulars werealso sent out.Mandate Industrial OfficerJonathan Hogan also called on allmembers to ensure they informedthe union of their up-to-date contactdetails.LRC talks still under wayover Penneys 3% pay claimTALKS are still under way at theLabour Relations Commissionover a 3% wage claim made byMandate members at Penneys.

Mandate has agreed to a two-week adjournment of the pro-ceedings at the company’srequest so that they can “fully re-spond” to the members’ claim.

Mandate Assistant General Sec-retary Gerry Light told Shopfloor:“While we reluctantly agreed to a

two week adjournment, we havereminded the company that ourclaim is nearly one year old andthat they are one of the few re-maining main retail employerswho have not settled on a wageincrease for their workers.”

He added: “We expect the com-pany to factor in this reality whenagreement in principle has beenreached.”

Do you have a perspective on the Irish political, social or economic environment that you'd like toshare with your fellow members in Mandate TradeUnion? Do you have a good news story about howbeing a union member has benefited you and yourcolleagues in the workplace. Have you a story about how you or your family are coping in the current recession. Whatever it is, we'd like to hear from you. Please contact Shopfloor [email protected] or post your article to Shopfloor,Mandate Trade Union,9 Cavendish Row, Dublin 1

Could you contribute to Shopfloor?

March 2013 y SHOPFLOOR 3

If AT this stage like me you have had it up to the “eyeballs” with spin andcounter spin on the Government’s Anglo Bank promissory note deal, then readon and we will try and give you some simple facts.First, the cost of bailing out the Irish banks as of 2013 is just over €64 billion, thisequates to more than €9,000 per Irish citizen, as opposed to the EU average of €190per EU citizen. Ireland is shouldering over 40% of the total European banking debt. Of the €64 billion, over €29 billion is debt related to Anglo Irish Bank and €5 bil-lion is Irish Nationwide Building Society. And yes, you might well ask what has thisbanking debt got to do with me? The answer is nothing whatsoever – it is not your debt, you did not run it up,

but the Irish Government chose to guarantee all private banking debt, therebymaking it a debt on every citizen of Ireland. The Government in the case of the Anglo Irish promissory notes previously de-cided to repay all of Anglo’s debt to the tune of €3.31 billion per year, each year up to2023 plus interest.

This money has to be found, and both this government and the previous onefinds this money either through borrowing, cutting services, welfare, increasingtaxes/charges, attacking wages and conditions of workers in general but, in par-ticular, public sector workers. These austerity policies are crushing the Irish economy, forcing tens of thousandsto emigrate, condemning thousands more to a life of poverty and ensuring that the400,000 workers unemployed remain unemployed for the foreseeable future.Now back to the promissory note deal. The main point to note is that Ireland/wewill still have to pay back every cent of the €30 billion debt which was not ours inthe first place, but we can now spread the payments over a longer period – 40 years.This gives us some short-term relief but the debt will be passed on to our childrenand grandchildren so that they may face the prospect of living in austerity. During the talks on a deal at no time did the Irish government seek to write off

the debt or threaten not to pay or stall payments. They fully accepted responsi-bility for it and, in doing so, have turned this private banking debt into a debtowned by the Irish State and Irish people.So this is the scenario as I see it, your neighbour buys a house on your road for€500,000 financed by a bank mortgage over 20 years, with monthly repayments of€1,000 per month. Unfortunately, your neighbour dies, the bank calls you in andtells you that you must take over the neighbour’s mortgage and guarantee the mort-gage of all your other neighbours and you agree (the bank guarantee scheme). You are now faced with paying your own mortgage and your neighbour’s mort-gage and you sign up to promise to do so (the promissory note). After a number ofyears scrimping, saving and going without it all gets too much for you so you go tothe bank and tell them you can’t afford to pay both mortgages anymore. They offeryou a “deal” which spreads your neighbour’s mortgage over40 years, the repayments on which are reduced to €500 permonth, but – critically – you must still pay off the total costof your neighbour’s mortgage. You go home and tell every-one that you got a great deal.Now that is what the Government did with the AngloIrish promissory notes – the sting in the tail is that after40 years of scrimping and saving to pay your neighbour’smortgage, you will not even own his house and further-more, in the case of Ireland’s €64 billion banking debt,you are not only paying for one neighbour’s mortgagebut a whole road of neighbours’ houses and theirmortgages. The banking debt heaped upon Ire-land is simply not sustainable and notfair. It is undermining our society, de-stroying our jobs, living standards,welfare and services – enough isenough, it is not our debt.I ask you – smoke and mirrors

or a game changer? You de-cide. I did, and that is why Imarched and my childrenmarched on the tradeunion Jobs Not Debtdemo on Feb-ruary 9. Didyou???

Shopfloor is published bi-monthly by Mandate Trade Union. Mandate Head Office, O'Lehane House, 9 Cavendish Row, Dublin 1

T: 01-8746321/2/3 F: 01-8729581 W: www.mandate.ieDesign & Editing: Brazier Media E: [email protected]

Shopfloor is edited, produced and printed by trade union labour

The Anglo deal:smoke and mirrorsor a game changer?

Strong Mandate turnoutat all six Feb 9 protests

John Douglas General SecretaryMandate Trade Union

STRAIGHT TALKING

MANDATE members took to thestreets in great numbers on February9 to voice their anger at the €64 bil-lion bank debt being unjustly forcedon to the shoulders of the Irish peo-pleThey joined an estimated 110,000protestors at six mass demonstra-tions across the country, ventingtheir frustration at the paying of vastsums of their money to bondholders.General Secretary John Douglassaid: “Mandate has taken the positionthat any deal with the ECB should in-clude a significant write-down indebt, particularly considering thiswas never the debt of the Irish peo-ple in the first place.“The deal this week does notachieve a reduction in the principaldebt that will be paid to bondholders.

This time last week the Irish peopleowed €28 billion and they still owe itthis week so as far as we’re con-cerned, very little has changed.“The fact is, it will just be paid overa longer period of time and will re-sult in our children and grandchil-dren being saddled with a debt thatwas never ours in the first place.”The banking crisis in Europe hasso far cost the Irish people €9,000per person, while the average acrossthe EU is €192. Mr Douglas pointed out that Ire-land had borne 42.6% of the total netcosts of the European bank debt cri-sis and that this was simply unfairand unsustainable.He said: “The legacy debt issue isalso far from satisfactory for our

members, many of whom have veryyoung children who will be in theirthirties and forties when the actualprincipal repayment of the debtstarts to be paid back.“How are future generations goingto look back on us when they realizethey are paying billions of Euros tovery wealthy bondholders who spec-ulated and lost, but didn’t lose apenny from their gambles?” Speaking at the Limerick protest,Mandate member and retail workerDoreen Curley said: “I work in a su-permarket and can see in people’seyes the difficulty they have in work-ing to the tightest of budgets in orderto feed their families.“I have three children of my own.My eldest is out of school now andout of work.More pictures from the February 9 protests on pages 4 & 5


LIFT THE BURDEN PROTESTS PICTURE SPECIAL


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INDUSTRIAL NEWS

AT LEAST 4,000 frontline workersfrom across the public servicecrammed into the National Basket-ball Arena in Tallaght on February18 to voice their anger at Govern-ment plans to cut their pay.The plan involves reducing theirSunday Premium rate from doubletime to time-and-a-half as well asabolishing special Saturday and“twilight” payments.The Government is reported tobe holding firm despite the pas-sionate display of resistance to themove shown by workers at therally. Mandate National CoordinatorBrian Forbes told Shopfloor: “Pri-vate sector union members, theirfamilies and, indeed, workerseverywhere rely on the dedicationand commitment of these frontlinepublic service workers – whetherthey are nurses, fire and emer-gency services personnel or gar-

dai.” He continued: “Despite claimsfrom some commentators that itthreatens to divide public sectorworkers on the issue of pay – espe-cially in the shadow of the CrokePark deal – surely it is gratifying tosee workers declaring they havesuffered enough and clearly draw-ing a line in the sand over any fur-ther cut to their pay and income.“And this is especially so forthose working at night, at week-ends or doing unsocial hours.” Mandate has been to the fore inthe struggle to defend workers’ payin the private sector particularlyover attacks on the minimum wageand the Joint Labour Committees. Mr Forbes added: “We called onworkers in the public sector to joinwith us in defending low paidworkers in the private sector be-cause as sure as night follows dayonce they are finished with attack-ing private sector wages and abol-

ishing protections for the most vul-nerable private sector workers,they would swiftly move on tothose most vulnerable in the publicsector. “We support the frontline staffworkers making a stand and fight-ing to defend their incomes andurge all workers and union mem-bers to be mindful that solidarity ofpurpose across unions and mem-bers in the public and private sec-tor is absolutely vital.“This is especially so if we wantto eradicate failed austerity poli-cies and to fight back against thedraconian attacks on low-paid pri-vate sector workers, social welfarerecipients, low and middle incomefamilies and those struggling tomaintain a decent living wageacross the public service – not justin the frontline services but every-where” Joe Burke, Tesco, Santry

Why I’m in Mandate...‘I would tell non-union

workers in shops to come together, show strength inforce. Show you can make

a stand for your rightsas an employee’

24/7 Allianceslam dunks Govtplan to slash pay

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FOLLOWING on from the very suc-cessful launch of Fair Shop atChristmas, a range of national andinternational organisations have an-nounced their backing for this excit-ing and innovative initiative. Uni Global – the voice of 20 millionservice sector workers – is one suchorganisation that has thrown itsweight behind the drive. It has 900affiliated unions and representsworkers in 150 countries. Alke Boessigner from Uni said:“We are delighted to be able to sup-port wholeheartedly an initiativethat puts workers first, incentivisesconsumers and union members tospend wisely and highlights the vi-tally important matter of collectivebargaining for workers in retail inIreland.”National Coordinator Brian Forbestold Shopfloor: “It is fantastic newsthat Uni are supporting us alongsideevery single trade union in Ireland.This is a really positive develop-ment in our campaign. “We are also indebted to progres-sive organisations in Ireland includ-ing the European Anti-PovertyNetwork, the National Women’sCouncil, the Migrant Rights Centreof Ireland, Open and the VincentianPartnership who were all among thefirst tranche of supporters for theFair Shop campaign – with manymore joining us as we progress withthe campaign.”

Praise for the campaign has comefrom far and wide and from a rangeof organisations in the UK, Canada,USA and Australia. Mr Forbes said: “As a fledgling eth-ical consumerism campaign, wehave many innovative ideas on howto promote Fair Shopping and if ourwebsite wwwfairshop.ie is any in-dication of interest in the concept,then we are off to an excellent startand are very positive for the future. “We aim to get out to every nookand cranny across the country overthe coming months and years topromote the issue of ethical con-sumerism.“It certainly is an exciting time tobe involved with Fair Shop as manymore consumers are getting in-creasingly aware of both where theyshop and how workers are treatedin that shop. Fair Shop helps topoint them in the right direction.”Future announcements of morefair shops are expected and the sitewww.fairshop.ie is Smartphonecompatible and includes a Fair Shoplocation finder which helps con-sumers pinpoint Fair Shops locallyso there really is no excuse for shop-ping elsewhere.Mr Forbes added: “Fair Shop withretail companies in Ireland whosupport their workforce and spendyour hard earned cash where work-ers count. You know it makessense!”

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Fair Shop drivegets thumbs-up

Mandate General Secretary John Douglas drafted in Santa to help with Fair Shop launch


How do you describe the crisis? The current global crisis is a world historical onesimilar to the stagflationary crisis of the 1970s or theGreat Depression of the 1930s. It is the crisis of globalneoliberalism.What are its origins?This type of crisis is a crisis of the immediately pre-ceding stage of capitalism. That is, it arises from thebreakdown of a range of the institutions which haveunderpinned the previous period of capitalist accu-mulation. Neoliberalism, globalisation, weakened labour andfinancialisation all initially served to raise the profitrate and resolved the crisis of the 1970s, but it isthese same institutions which have led to the currentcrisis. Weakened labour has led to stagnant wages in themajor capitalist economies. Global competition hasled to excess capacity in many industries. Excess ca-pacity and stagnant markets have led to sluggish in-vestment. A reluctance to invest in real capacity along with fi-nancialisation has sucked money into a series of un-sustainable bubbles. The collapse of the latest bubblehas brought the consequences of stagnant wages andsluggish investment to the fore. The crisis is multidimensional and can only be ad-dressed multidimensionally. It also has global, regional and national dimensions.The euro, neoliberal policies and a conservative anddysfunctional European Central Bank have intensifiedthe crisis in Europe. Along with replicating many ofthe global dynamics, rising inequality, debt, and a lowtax regime have been important in the crisis dynamicsin Ireland.How useful is Marxist political economy in under-standing crisis in capitalism? All analyses of capitalist crisis have their origins inMarx and the Marxist political economic tradition.The analysis of capitalist stages and their subsequentcrises which forms the basis of the position laid outabove goes back to Marxist analyses of the resolutionof the long depression of the late 19th century in theemergence of the imperialist stage in the early 20thcentury.You have written recently about Kondratiev’s longwave theory, do you see this crisis as fitting intothat understanding? Kondratiev* first observed a long pattern of accu-mulation and crisis in capitalist history. His analysis,however, was too rooted in technical change and at-tributed too much regularity to these long periods. Long periods of accumulation result from the con-solidation of a new stage of capitalism based in thetransformation of number of economic, political, ideo-logical and cultural institutions.Major crises result when these institutions breakdown due to class struggle and capitalist contradic-tions. Major crises can be resolved by the creation of anew institutional structure and a new stage of capital-ism. This has happened several times in capitalist his-tory but there is no guarantee this will happen againthis time.What developments have there been the systemover the last number of decades? And do you seethese as lasting changes to capitalism? I have made reference to neoliberal policies and in-stitutions, globalisation, financialisation and the rela-tive defeat of labour. These institutions are specific tothe last 30 years of global neoliberalism and are at theroot of the current crisis. If these turn out to be lasting changes to capitalism,the price will be paid in a continuation of the currentcrisis.What do you see as the main characteristics ofcapitalism today and what implications does thishave for workers both in mature capitalisteconomies and those emerging economies? Capitalism today is characterised by the crisis andestablishment responses to the crisis. So far these re-sponses have mainly involved an attempted intensifi-cation of neoliberalism. This has prominently involved a further weakeningof organised labour and an acceleration of efforts to

drive down wages and working class standards of liv-ing. Countries have been increasingly subjected to thedisciplines of international markets both for goodsand finance. Austerity programmes have pursued a deepening ofneoliberal policies and a further hollowing out of therole of the state in the capitalist economy.We are obviously seeing austerity, in various de-grees of measures, being rolled out across Europe.Why austerity? What is it actually designed to do?I think many of both the political and academic ad-vocates of austerity are the victims of a tremendouspoverty of establishment response to the crisis. Since the crisis is a crisis of neoliberalism, neolib-eral analyses have no resources with which to addressthe crisis and the past 30 years have driven all alter-natives off the field of respectable discussion. Theyare at a loss. The notion that austerity will restore “confidence”and promote investment is simply a desperate hope. Others more cynically see a shrunken state and ademobilised working class as good things in them-selves and the crisis is an opportunity to pursue thesegoals through austerity whether it achieves anythingelse or not.

Why have the massive injections of capital into theUS economy not resulted in job creation andgrowth? Part of the answer is that they were simply not bigenough to respond to the severity of the downturn. The rest of the answer is that it is not enough to sim-ply pump up spending. A redistribution of income and the regeneration ofinvestment opportunities along with a massive re-reg-ulation of the financial sector are also necessary to ad-dress the crisis within a capitalist framework andthere is little evidence of this so far.Many alternative economic proposals from ‘left’sources seem to want to try and revive a capitalismfrom a previous era, namely through Keynesian-in-spired stimulus plans – can this work in today’seconomy?This is understandable given the tremendous sacri-fices forced on ordinary people during the neoliberalera. Any route out from under neoliberalism will havea great deal of appeal. It was true that a kind of global “New Deal order”did address the crisis of the Great Depression withoutrevolutionising capitalism. It is also the case that thecrisis of a liberal style of capitalism has been ad-dressed in the past through the institution of a moreregulated and organised capitalism. Sometimes capital succeeds in regulating itselfthrough the imposition of monopoly markets or theauthoritarian state. This is much more difficult to ac-complish today on a global scale. Sometimes a regulated capitalism is a compromiseforced on capital through popular mobilisation. Thiswas accomplished after the Second World War throughthe threat of communism from Eastern Europe, mili-tant labour organising and anti-colonial revolutions inthe Third World. Popular mobilisation on this scale would be neces-sary to achieve a similar compromise. Such an out-come would be unlikely to conform to anypredetermined blueprint. If such a mobilisation comesto pass, it will be the duty of the left to try to push be-yond a capitalist resolution of the crisis and for a morepermanent socialist solution.What economic demands should be made if one istrying to build socialism, a different economic sys-tem?In periods of crisis, big changes enter the agenda.The global neoliberal crisis will not be resolvedthrough more global neoliberalism. One demand is the demand for socialism itself whichwill stem from the need to put a radical alternative be-fore the people. This is not adequate, however, in it-self. A movement for change will be radicalised firstthrough the raising of “transitional” demands. Theseare demands which, if met, will strengthen the work-ing class, which have popular support but cannot begranted by capitalism, or which raise the opportunityfor education about alternatives to capitalism. Directly addressing the causes of the crisis createsthe opportunity for these kinds of demands. On aglobal level the crisis stems from stagnant wages, slug-gish private investment, a hollowed-out state and un-regulated finance. This raises the opportunity to demand income redis-tribution, public investment, a more activist state inworking class interests, and a nationalisation of fi-nance. At the European level the crisis stems from aneoliberal euro system without a state capacity formassive fiscal intervention in distressed areas and acentral bank which conducts monetary policy while ig-noring unemployment. Europeans must demand what is called a transferunion to provide support for the unemployed andcountries in crisis or, in the absence of this, an end tothe euro. The central bank must act to fight unemploy-ment as well as worry about inflation. In Ireland, ris-ing inequality must be reversed, debt must be writtendown, and taxes must be shifted to the well-to-do. To the extent any of these demands are realisedworking people will be strengthened and capitalist re-sistance to them will provide the opportunity to raisethe struggle to a higher level.*Nikolai Kondratiev (1892 - 1938) Russian economist, victimof Stalin’s Great Purge, developed theory that capitalisteconomies have long-term cycles of boom followed by depression.

INTERVIEW

In an interview that first appeared in radical economics website politicaleconomy.ie, Prof Terrence McDonough, NUI Galway, looks at the crisis of global neoliberalism and sets out why it can’t be resolved with policies that call for yet more global neoliberalism...

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ANALYSIS

terest rates so that their monthly billonly came to €1,000. They were given an extension onthe mortgage to 40 years. Thisseemed like terrific news at first andthere was a family celebrationwhere all the local big-wigs were in-vited into the party in Pat andAnne’s home. “A real game-changer,” said thegrandparents. “The best possibledeal in the circumstances,” addedthe neighbours who knew howstressed-out Pat and Anne had beenrecently. Their dear uncle from Limericktold them how he had bought a

house for £3,000 many years agoand paid off the mortgage with onemonth’s salary years later. “It will allwork out well,” he assured them.For months after, the local money-lenders stopped pursuing them andthe Credit Union upgraded theircredit standing. However, Pat couldnot get employment apart from afew hours here and there. Anne’s wages were increased butthe cost of energy, school, householdcharges and then water chargesmade it increasingly difficult forthem to make the monthly repay-ment. Added to this the interest rate

doubled over a short period of time(their uncle had not told them thatthe same thing happened to himback in the late 1980s). The last straw was when theirwelfare benefit on part of the mort-gage was stopped as part of a com-bined activation/incentivisationscheme to get people like Pat back towork. Pat and Anne approached thebank to see if they could stop mak-ing monthly paymentns for a while.The bank refused. A nice solicitor helped Pat andAnne to take a case against the bankhaving discovered that the house

they had bought and which was‘noted’ and approved for loan ap-proval by the bank in the first placehad been built on a flood plain withno solid foundations. Not only was the bank corrupt butit had received letters from otherfinanciers who lent to the bank tosay that under no circumstancesshould people like Pat and Anne begiven a debt-write down on theirmortgage. The letter also said that peoplelending to the bank – called bond-holders – should be allowed to de-fault by having all their money backwhen due without any reduction in

By Tom HealyTHE recent ICTU demonstration hashighlighted the importance of reach-ing a satisfactory deal on banking.While this is related to the state ofpublic finances, it is only one steptowards reversing some of the dam-age done through austerity over thelast five years.Was the ‘bank deal’ reached onFebruary 7 a good deal? My view isthat it was one step forward andvery possibly two steps back! Letme explain:Up to February 7, Irish taxpay-ers were expected to pay morethan €3.1 billion a year to paydown a debt of a dead bankwhich had already largely paidoff its bondholders and corporatedeposit holders. This amount was to be paid everyyear for at least another decade and,together with interest on borrowingwas set to cost in excess of €50 bil-lion in the long-run (some of thesedetails were outlined in a NERIworking paper at a February 6 semi-nar – www.NERInstitute.net).What we got on February 7 was atwo-edged sword:In return for a significant relief interms of public finances in 2014 and2015, we got an outcome where –for sure – future generations as wellas this will continue to pay for thepossibly illegal debts of a dead bank(which is now being liquidatedalong with the employment con-tracts of up to 800 workers) for theremaining half of this century.It is difficult to calculate what thefinal bill will be because:• Interest rates on moneys bor-rowed by the Government/CentralBank will vary and will certainly risefrom their current historically verylow levels;• The immediate cost of paying offbondholders remaining in Anglo-Irish (thought to be less than €1 bil-lion) together with the very riskytransfer of bad assets to NAMA overthe coming months leaves the Irishtaxpayer exposed to future costs andshortfalls.The Department of Finance esti-mates little or no gain in this yearbecause of the ‘transaction costs’ ofwinding up IBRC (the new name forAnglo-Irish and what was INBS).From 2014 there could be a net sav-ing of up to €1 billion in public fi-nances. While politicians have claimedvictory in terms of possible fiscaleasing with an additional one bil-lion, others have cautioned againstjumping to this conclusion. Thereare many uncertainties this year andbeyond.A comparison may be made with acouple – Pat and Anne with threechildren who took out a mortgageon a house worth €300,000 duringthe boom years and with a marketvalue of only €150,000 today. They had got bad advice frompeople in the bank who pushed allsorts of loans at cheap rates of inter-est. Then, in 2008, Pat lost his jobwhile Anne had her working hourscut in half. The couple simply could not paythe mortgage of €3,000 everymonth. So, rather than lose every-thing the bank – smartly – gave Patand Anne an ‘interest-only’ mort-gage with special low (variable) in-

Another look at thatbank deal and what itmeans for the Pats and Annes of Ireland

SAFE ASHOUSES?

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Union Representatives Introductory Course

Course content:• Background to Mandate.

• The role and responsibilities of a Shop Steward/Union Representative.• Examining disciplinary/grievance procedures.

• Developing negotiating skills.• Representing members at local level.

• Communication skills/solving members’ problems.• Organising, Recruitment and Campaigns.

• Induction presentations.

Certification and Progression:Members who successfully complete this course will obtain a

Mandate certificate. They may progress to a Union Representative Advanced Course and to other relevant training courses

offered by Mandate.

If you are interested in this course, please contact your Mandate official or Mandate's Training Centre at 01-8369699. Email: [email protected]

INDUSTRIAL NEWS

Manner of dismissal ‘totally inappropriate’

The Union Representative Introductory Training Course isfor new shop stewards/union representatives. The courseaims to provide information, skills and knowledge to our

shop stewards/union representatives to assist them in theirrole in the workplace.

UNIONREP

THE Rights Commissioner has rec-ommended that a Mandate mem-ber dismissed by Marks & Spencerfor an alleged breach of companypolicy be paid €4,000.

The member, who worked at theretailer’s Athlone store, had beendismissed for breach of the ‘Com-pany Reservation of Sale Policy’.

Before her dismissal, she wasasked to attend a meeting with heremployer to investigate the pur-chase of a sales item where shewas represented by a member ofthe Mandate House Committee.

At the end of this meeting the in-vestigation manager instructedthe member to clear out her lockerand hand back her swipe card, Shewas then escorted out of the store.

At a follow-up disciplinary hear-

ing the member was representedby her Mandate shop steward andby a full-time official.

At this later meeting, the Man-date official, among other repre-sentations, strongly objected tothe manner of the initial suspen-sion. Quite apart from the humilia-tion and anxiety this caused, theofficial argued that it was an af-front to the member’s entitlementto a presumption of innocence.

The M&S representative claimedthis was normal practice, but theofficial asked that the employernote the union’s concern that thispractice was prejudicial.

In fact, Mandate’s concerns werelater vindicated at a hearing takenabout the case with the RightsCommissioner.

The Rights Commissioner foundthe action had been “totally inap-propriate” because it had “compro-mised the claimant’s right to thepresumption of innocence beforethe disciplinary or appeal meet-ings took place.”

According to the Commissioner,the investigation manager “wentbeyond his role as an investigator”.

It was recommended that M&Spay €4,000 to the claimant for theunfair dismissal, contrary to theUnfair Dismissals Acts 1977-2007with the stipulation that sumshould be paid within six weeks ofthe recommendation being made.

M&S later complied with the rec-ommendation and paid out theamount.

Get unionised... join Mandatewww.mandate.ie/Contact/Join.aspxWe’re just a

click away...

the amount owed even though theirloans were now worthless and theyhad originally agreed to take a riskwith consequences. This discovery of the letter to-gether with the proof of defectivehouse plans was a major break-through for Pat and Anne and theynow had a perfect legal case to chal-lenge the legality of the whole mort-gage contract in the first place – sothey thought. So off they went to court. Aftermuch contestation it came to lightthat what they thought was a mort-gage originally was not a mortgagebut a strange arrangement referredto as a Promissory Note debt whichwas very similar to a mortgage butwas open to legal challenge accord-ing to advice the bank got from itslegal team (in fact the bank’s legalteams strongly urged the bank to getrid of the Promissory Note arrange-ment quickly to make it look like abig win for people like Pat andAnne). In signing up for an extension inthe term of the loan and no repay-ment of the ‘value’ of the house, Patand Anne did not fully understandthe meaning of a clause written inby the bank that they could neverdefault on mortgage payments and,if they did, they would lose theirhome.Things did work out – in a mannerof speaking – for Pat and Anne even-tually. Pat got a job eventually eventhough his wages and Anne’s re-mained very low and both ended upworking longer hours than ever. Decades after all of this happened,Pat and Anne passed away and therewas the question of the will. There were three children andthey expected a share in the final es-

tate. However, not only was there noestate but the contract designed bythe bank when Pat and Anne got anextension stipulated that, legally,their children and their grandchil-dren were obliged to repay thedebts in full. This had been pointed out at thetime by Pat and Anne’s first solicitorbut he had reassured them that in-flation and economic growth wouldmake the real value of the debt totheir children tiny. Their children would be earninghuge salaries and everything wouldcost more so that the outstandingmortgage of €300,000 would beworth only a fraction of what it isworth in today’s prices and wages. Pat and Anne believed this storyand took the view that a good dealinvolving interest-only paymentswould free up money to pay for thechildren’s education and welfare. As it turned out the children werenot able to meet the debt paymentafter the parents passed away sothey agreed to a new arrangementwith the bank which by now was amajor international player earninghuge profits and present in manyparts of the world. The debt was simply ‘rolled over’.As Pat said before he passed away:“We will never pay off that debt be-cause we cannot afford to do so.”This is indeed true and banks andgovernments know this. This is whythey charge a rate of interest on theamounts you and I own. And in theIrish language there is a saying,thíos seal, thuas seal – “down for atime and up for a time”. The interest rates are very thíosright now across Europe.Tom Healy is Director of the Nevin Eco-

nomic Research Institute (NERI)

Another look at thatbank deal and what itmeans for the Pats and Annes of Ireland

We will neverpay off that debt

because we can’t afford

to do so...

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INDUSTRIAL NEWS

MANDATE has welcomed DunnesStores’ announcement that it is topay its staff a 3% pay rise from thebeginning of February 2013 – butexpressed continued disappoint-ment that bosses at the retailer werestill failing to respect their workers’right to be appropriately repre-sented by a trade union of theirchoice. The wage hike – the first since2007 – was announced on January17 and affects more than 14,000shop workers across the Republic Mandate claims there can be littledoubt that the decision to green-light the pay increase came as a di-rect result of the union serving aclaim on the employer. The fact that management de-cided to announce concession of theclaim on the eve of a Labour Courtcase initiated by the union clearlypoints to this being the case. According to Mandate, it came asno surprise that management againdecided that neither the union, itsmembers nor indeed the Court de-served the common courtesy to beinformed of the decision.In its subsequent recommenda-tion, the Court found that Dunnesfailed in its obligations set out in the1996 National Agreement in refus-ing to meet the union to process thewage claim on behalf of its membersemployed in the company.The Court went on to further findthat it had no hesitation in recom-mending in favour of the union’s 3%wage increase.Assistant General Secretary GerryLight said: “The company persists inbeing high-handed in its dealingswith their workers at local and na-tional level as well as the institu-tions of the State. “In this instance management hasdisplayed once again a total disre-gard for basic decency and respectin dealing with its workforce andthe Labour Court. “The findings of the Court are

Dunnes failed in its obligation to process claim under ’96 deal

clear in that they found Dunnesfailed in their obligations containedin collective agreement and that ourclaim for a 3% pay increase had realand obvious merit. “Hopefully, Dunnes might learnfrom some of its competitors thattreating people with respect is infact a business asset – not a liability.” Mr Light claimed that most retailcompanies had emerged intact fromthe economic crisis and had re-mained highly profitable.“And he also pointed to industryestimates that Dunnes Stores gener-ated sales of around €3.8bn a yearand was achieving significant profits– efforts which were in large part

due to the efforts of hard-workingstaff.” He added: “Since early 2011Mandate has with some degree ofachievement sought to engage withretail employers to put in place payarrangements that reflect theirworkers’ contribution to that suc-cess.”

‘Hopefully,Dunnes mightlearn from someof its competitorsthat treating people with respect is in fact a business asset – not a liability’

– Gerry Light

A MEMBER in Dunnes Stores, Stil-lorgan, was recently awardedcompensation for the loss of latenight overtime by the Employ-ment Appeals Tribunal (EAT).

The member, who joined thecompany in 1982, was a full-timemember of staff and had continu-ously worked a late night at anovertime rate of double time aspart of her roster. This payment

was included in her holiday pay.In 2009, the company closed its

Stillorgan store for a re-fit andthe member was transferred toCornelscourt where she contin-ued to work and was paid for herlate nights.

When eventually the Stillorganstore re-opened, it did so on thebasis of trading reduced hours.

The member was informed that

she would now be rostered for37½ hours. She underlined herwillingness to maintain her hoursover two evenings but manage-ment refused to listen and pro-ceeded to implement the newroster which meant our memberwas at a loss of €67.65 a week.

The union lodged a claim underthe Payment of Wages Act and fol-lowing a hearing – which the com-

pany failed to attend – wasawarded compensation.

Dunnes appealed this case tothe EAT but, in the meantime, be-cause our member was still suf-fering a loss, a further claim wentto the Rights Commissioner’sService.

The company attended thishearing and a different RightsCommissioner ruled in their

favour. The union then appealedthis case to the EAT.

The tribunal heard both casesat one hearing. In its determina-tion, the Tribunal stated that itwas satisfied that the overtimeworking formed part of our mem-ber’s contract and orderedDunnes to compensate her for theamount lost for each week of herclaim.

Late night worker awarded compensation

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Labour Court backs union over 3% claim and points out that...


VIEWPOINT MORTGAGE DEBT

By PatrickNulty TD

FOR many people the single biggestinvestment of their lives is buying ahome. Homes aren’t just bricks andmortar – they are also the placeswhere newborn babies are wel-comed into the world, where birth-days, communions and otherimportant family occasions are cel-ebrated. When someone’s home comesunder threat due to mortgage ar-rears, this creates huge financialand emotional pressures. Therecouldn’t be a more pressing issuefor the thousands of families whoare struggling to make mortgagepayments today.There are now 180,000 mort-gages in some form of distress ordifficulty in Ireland. According to the Central Bankmore than 10% of private mort-gages are in arrears for 90 days ormore. Last September there wassome €16.8 billion of Irish mort-gage arrears debt. Clearly this is a problem thatneeds to be tackled head on by theGovernment which controls themain Irish banks. There are two key principles thatshould underline the way this is ap-proached. Firstly, no family that is making agenuine effort to make reasonablepayments should face eviction fromtheir home. Secondly, the problem of address-ing mortgage arrears should betreated as a national priority in thesame way that the Government has

focused its attention on re-structur-ing the Anglo and Irish NationwideDebt. If the Government can go to greatlengths to ensure that the privatedebt of banks immersed in irrespon-sible and speculative lending is paid,then surely they can prioritise assist-ing families who are in difficulty. To date the effort by banks in Ire-land has been to re-structure mort-gages. This means that people havebeen moved to lower paymentsbased over a longer period (soundsfamiliar?).

In some instances householdshave been moved to interest-onlypayments for a period. However,there has been no serious effort toactually write off part of the debtthat is unsustainable and cannot bepaid. This approach will be necessary ifthe country is to move forward andconfidence is to return in our econ-omy. The sooner we come to termswith the part of the mortgage arrearsdebt that cannot be paid off the bet-ter. In Iceland after the banking crash

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How Reykjavikkept the homefires burning...

In Iceland, loans were written off if they exceeded 110% of ahouse’s value, helping the nation move towards recovery

there were similarproblems with mortgagearrears. Some 20,000households (or one inevery five) were in diffi-culty with mortgage ar-rears. Inflation and currencydevaluation put manyhouseholds into difficulty.Like Ireland, debt restructur-ing was offered to thesehouseholds but also debt for-giveness. Loans were written off ifthey exceeded 110% of ahouse’s value. So a personwho borrowed the equiva-lent of €500,000 to buy ahouse that then halved invalue could potentiallyhave €225,000 of themortgage written off. This helped Icelandmove towards recovery.And because only debtthat was in negative equitywas written off, this systemwas a fair way of helpingstruggling families while notgiving them any advantageover other families who hadmanaged full repayments inbetter times. In addition the Icelandicgovernment is spendingthe equivalent of €100 mil-lion on interest rate subsi-dies for indebted households.There is also a debt ombuds-man that can accompany house-

holders in negotiations with thebanks. Of course these reforms in Ice-land had benefits beyond the fami-lies who benefited from debtforgiveness. These measures helped to re-store confidence and spending inthe domestic economy whichwas of particular benefit to theretail industry. Without debt forgivenessthese mortgage arrearswill continue to have adampening effect on oureconomy. There are plenty ofoptions open to theGovernment if theywish to make dealing with ourmortgage arrears crisis a toppriority. We must demand a swift re-sponse that will take pressureoff families and house-holds and willspeed up a recov-ery of our do-mestic economy.

Young Icelandertakes part inbanks protest

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NEWS

MANDATE has welcomed the Government’sapology to 10,000 women and girls treatedas virtual slaves over a period of 90 years inthe Church-run Magdalene Laundries.

But the union called for compensation pay-ments for the estimated 800 victims who arestill alive to be fast-tracked by the State.

In his emotionally-charged speech to theDáil on february 19, Taoiseach Enda Kenny,left, said what had happened had "cast along shadow over Irish life, over our sense ofwho we are".

He said he "deeply regretted and apolo-gised" for what had been done.

It came a fortnight after a damning 1,000page report was released outlining the hor-rific treatment suffered by those sent to thelaundries, where they laboured for no pay.

The report, headed by Senator MartinMcAleese, found that the State was com-plicit.

It is understood a senior Irish judge is to beappointed to oversee how the survivors arelooked after.

The compensation package will includecounselling services, healthcare and individ-ual payments.

National Coordinator Brian forbes said:“Tears in the Dáil are all well and good, butthese women need to get a tangible redressfrom the State for what they have suffered.

“It really is a question of our national in-tegrity and it is of the utmost importancethat this compensation process is expeditedas quickly as possible.”

State must move swiftly onMagdalene Laundries payouts


AGENDA

to their members who experiencediscrimination. It is not clear howthis support has weathered the vari-ous vicissitudes that have beset thetrade unions and the resources avail-able to them. This important role in champi-oning, defending and asserting theright to equal treatment in the work-place has to continue. It has alwaysbeen important. It is now more im-portant than ever, as the State ap-pears to renege on this responsibility.2013 should be an important yearin relation to these rights to equaltreatment. Minister Alan Shatter willshortly bring forward legislation tocreate a new merged Human Rightsand Equality Commission. This legislation must ensure thenew body is sufficiently independentto be a champion for workplacechange so that discrimination is elim-inated, diversity is adjusted for, andequality is achieved.

WORKERS beware! Your protec-tion against discrimination isbeing eroded! The potential of the Employ-ment Equality Act to ensure thereis no discrimination or harass-ment in your workplace is dimin-ishing. This is bad news,particularly for pregnant women,migrant workers, employees withdisabilities and older workers.Since 2008 the number of casesreferred to the Equality Tribunalunder the Employment EqualityAct plummeted an incredible38%. This was from 831 cases in2008 to 517 cases in 2011. Couldthis be the good news that work-place discrimination is being de-feated? Not so, sadly!The ESRI and Equality Author-ity published a report on discrimi-nation in Ireland in 2012. Thiswas based on the Central Statis-tics Office’s special equality mod-ule in the Quarterly NationalHousehold Survey (QNHS) of2010. They found that work-relateddiscrimination was perceived asbeing experienced in the previoustwo years by 7.8% of those aged18 and over. This is at least187,300 people who felt they hadbeen discriminated against whilein work or seeking work. Far fromdecreasing, this figure repre-sented a very slight rise from7.2% in 2004. Workplace discrimination is notgoing away. It is just becomingmore hidden and invisible.The fall in cases referred to theEquality Tribunal is, therefore, anissue of increased under-report-ing of workplace discrimination. Itis no coincidence that this is hap-pening at the same time as thewithering away of the institutionset up to implement this equalitylegislation. The Equality Authority cur-rently has no legal staff availableto support people to take cases.Anecdotal evidence suggests thatthey are telling callers they cannotoffer support at present.The Equality Authority nevertook all such cases. However, itslitigation provided a flagship thatsecured a strong and constant vis-ibility for the equality legislationand the protections it offers work-ers. Its legal work provided the re-assurance that change was possi-ble and it was worth taking thecase if you had been discriminatedagainst. This role has disappeared withthe demise of its litigation work.There has been an extraordinarydrop of 66% in the number ofcases supported by the EqualityAuthority between 2008 and2011. Trade unions have alwaysbeen the key provider of support

It must ensure that the newbody is sufficiently effective andadequately resourced in order torebuild a culture of compliancewith the equality legislation. This requires that it can takeand support a sufficient numberof cases under the equality legisla-tion each year. The Equality Rights Alliance,which includes a strong tradeunion presence, is now working toensure there is a public demandfor such legislation. This is no easy task with prom-issory notes, long-term bonds,mortgage crises and unemploy-ment crowding out attention. Trade unions have been a pow-erful voice for equality and thisvoice is badly needed now if theprotections that should be avail-able to the diversity of workersare to be effectively in place.

Equality agendabeing diminished

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By NiallCrowley

By Stephen NolanACROSS the globe neo-liberal eco-nomics continues to see increases ininequality, poverty, social instability,new imperialist adventures and en-vironmental degradation. In Northern Ireland the welcometransition from violence to a func-tioning assembly is accompanied bya second transition from an eco-nomic framework formulated uponthe post-war social contract, to onethat is dominated by market agen-das and neo-liberal principles.In the south we are witnessing afast-track transition to the sameneo-liberalised economy using thefinancial crisis as cover. An insidious media, business, po-litical and third sector consensushas emerged which seeks to ‘re-bal-ance’ the economy by selling offstate services making the countrymore ‘favourable’ to foreign directinvestment through increased cor-porate welfare and a concerted ideo-logical attack on workers, theunemployed and the vulnerable. Such political and institutional ad-diction to a failed neo-liberal ortho-doxy only guarantees futureeconomic and social insecurity. If we want a balanced, stable andsustainable island economy it istime to start building co-operativeand socialised alternatives, and thatis what Trademark, the anti-sectar-ian unit of the Irish Congress ofTrade Unions is attempting, in ourway, to do. In parallel with our traditionalrole, we recognise the importance offorging allegiances with other pro-gressive social movements that seekto create a more equal and demo-cratic world. This, of course, mustinclude the co-operative movement. In Ireland north and south the co-operative movement comprises

credit unions, agricultural co-opera-tives, housing associations and theco-operative retail movement withbillions in assets, tens of thousandsof employees and with the contribu-tion of the credit union movement,millions of members.Worker-owned co-operatives,however, are almost entirely absent.It is clear that worker-owned andworker-managed co-operativesmust be part of a new alternativeeconomic landscape. They can offer an alternativemeans at creating dignified and so-cially-useful employment that isdemocratically controlled by thosewhose labour creates the wealth. In order to create more sustain-able, independent and democraticwork practices, the model of co-op-erative development needs to ex-pand beyond retail, social financeand farming, just as the focus on so-cial enterprises generally needs toseriously look at worker manage-ment and ownership. co-operative forms of economicactivity deserve to be part of the cre-ation of a sustainable economy, thatminimise the ‘leakage’ of revenuestreams (profits, wages, assets andcredit creation) from the economy. In 2009 we undertook researchinto worker co-operatives and thecontribution they might make intackling inequality and promotingdemocracy. The research showed that workerco-operatives can distinguish them-selves as democratic and communityfocused and can contribute to a co-operative ‘commonwealth’ in part-nership with other socialmovements that can act as an alter-native to neo-liberalism. Trademark took a strategic deci-sion to begin a Worker co-operativeDevelopment Programme with theinitial focus on interfaces in Belfast. The organisation felt that the de-

‘Capitalism is not a success. It is not intelligent, it is notbeautiful, it is not just, it is not virtuous – and it doesn'tdeliver the goods. In short, we dislike it, and we are beginning to despise it. But when we wonder what toput in its place, we are extremely perplexed’

– John Maynard Keynes

Co-ops mustform part ofalternative response to neo-liberalism


AGENDA

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Examining whatlies behind B&Qexaminer move

Gerry Light Assistant General SecretaryMandate Trade Union

VIEW SHOPFLOOR

THE manner and motivation behind the recent decision to seek theappointment of an examiner to B&Q Ireland deserves our careful at-tention for the following reasons...Like other many UK-based operations, B&Q came to these shores andprofited hugely from the lucrative spoils which were on offer during theera of the Celtic Tiger. Significantly the vast amount of these profits wereshipped, after the payment of one of the most lenient corporation tax ratesin the world, back to the home land of the parent company. In the case of B&Q the parent is the Kingfisher Group – a hugely prof-itable international business. When B&Q Ireland was placed into examin-ership, it was reported to have been €17 million in the red – all of whichwas owed to the parent company. It would appear at face value that very little parental loyalty has been

shown to the Irish business and its dedicated workforce. Little has been offered in defence of the view expressed by many busi-ness commentators that the route chosen by B&Q management is essen-tially a one-issue examinership in that it is solely focused in bringingpressure to bear on landlords in order to get them to reduce rents. If thisproves to be the case, then it must be argued that this is far too convenientand borders on an abuse of the examinership process itself. An increasing amount of easy escape routes are available to employ-

ers which simply allow them to walk away from their responsibilitieswhen a business gets into trouble leaving in their wake many distressedworkers and their families. There can be no doubt that many other retailers in similar circum-stances are watching and awaiting what emerges from the B&Q situation.It is reasonable to suggest that some might think twice about following thesame route because of high levels of union membership and organisationin their respective businesses. One thing is for certain that wherever this union is active we will at-

tempt to close down these routes of easy exit and demand that employ-ers remain loyal to their workers and face the challenges facing thebusiness together in a sense of true and meaningful partnership.An ironic development emerged in the commercial court last weekwhen one of the potential investors prepared to put money into the B&Qbusiness was identified as their current owners, but only when the Irishoperation is suitably restructured, in this case by somebody else and notthem.

A typical example of getting others todo the dirty work for you. Few moralsor little decency involved here I wouldsuggest – rather it seems a clear caseof having your cake and eating it.

fromthe

velopment of Interface co-operativestructures held potential to resistand challenge sectarianism bybringing workers together daily towork democratically for joint benefitin which values of solidarity anddemocracy can replace the dynamicsof suspicion and mistrustAt the 2011 much vaunted MTVEurope showcase in Belfast, whereLady Gaga and Justin Beiber tookthe headlines, a perhaps more sig-

nificant event was taking place backstage. A group of worker-ownersfrom the Falls and Shankill Roads,set about establishing Belfast’s firstInterface Worker Co-operative, TheBelfast Cleaning Society(www.belfastcleaningsociety.com).Belfast native Alice McLarnon, atrade unionist, community activistand co-worker, was one of thefounding members. It is unionised, itis worker controlled, it is democratic

and the workers pay themselvesabove the industry average, whilere-investing their profits in their fu-ture.Following the successful estab-lishment of the first co-operative,Trademark became involved in as-sisting the establishment and devel-opment of a number of co-operativestart-ups leading to the establish-ment of the all-island Workers’ Co-operative Network(www.workersco-operativenet-work.org) who alongside the devel-opment of inter-cooperation arelobbying to secure progressivechanges to Irish and British law onco-operatives.Worker co-operatives can make adifference because of the presenceof political consciousness expressedthrough core values – values such asthe sovereignty of labour, the subor-dinate nature of capital, democracy,inter-cooperation and sustainability. co-operatives offer opportunitiesfor political engagement and exposeworkers to tangible democratic ex-perience. In distinguishing them-selves as democratic, and ascommunity focused, worker co-op-eratives offer new experiences andcan act as spaces of collectivism andsocial solidarity. The system that is in crisis is notabsolute. It is always resisted, chal-lenged and transformed. Whetherin the struggles of labour againstcapital or in those co-operativespaces where the markets grip isloosened, we are challenged to lookbeyond the system for answers. We can perhaps look to alterna-tive structures where participativedemocracy is practised and wherecollective forms of ownership stillexist.Stephen Nolan is a co-director of Trademark.Trademark is a social justice co-operative es-tablished in 2001 and dedicated to tacklingsectarianism and inequality.

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Proud and noble tradition: Lancashire co-operative shop at the turn of the last century


CONFERENCE REPORT NEWS

Dunnes staffat Droghedastore praisedfor takingunited standMANDATE has praised workers atDunnes Stores in West Street,Drogheda, for taking a united standin a bid to address a number of localissues.The union claimed regional man-agement had ignored “a long list ofcomplaints” from the staff about“unacceptable behaviour” at thestore.Divisional Organiser Willie Hamil-ton told Shopfloor: “ A general meet-ing of staff was called and it wasagreed our members would pursuetheir grievances using our proce-dural agreement right up to strikeaction.”It is understood Dunnes manage-ment tried to ignore members’rights to be represented by theirunion, refusing to attend either theLRC or Labour Court.Mr Hamiton said: “But just prior toour members going to the LabourCourt, the company came to theirsenses and convened a meeting withthe regional management.“Our members communicated avery blunt message to them that ourmembers were not prepared to putup with the behaviour.”Another general meeting was sub-sequently held where it was decidedto call off the Labour Court hearingand to monitor management behav-iour on an ongoing basis. Mr Hamilton added: “It was veryclear at this meeting that the mem-bers were prepared to continue theircampaign up to and including all outstrike if the management failed to ad-dress the complaints.”

HAVING recently worked with staff atMandate to set up a youth committeefor our union, we jumped at thechance to represent the union andmeet other young union activistsfrom overseas.By doing this, we hoped to gainfrom their experiences of engagingwith young workers in other parts ofEurope. The meeting, which is held everytwo years, kicked off on February 6,with a welcoming address from out-going members of the steering com-mittee. There was also a report ofthe various issues UNI Europa Youthhad been involved with since the lastmeeting. No doubt, the most interesting aspect of our first day was an ‘ice-breaker’ exercise we all took part in. And it was uplifting to speak faceto face with so many young activistswho are continuing to exercise theirright to organise and campaign forworkplace rights in the face of grow-ing austerity. We then had a video conferencewith the UNI Regional SecretaryOliver Röthig. Despite the poor inter-net connection, his message wascrystal clear. The world has changed, he tolddelegates. National governmentswere making decisions in Brusselswithout regard for national interests.

Mandate Youth Network members Christopher Byrne,Daniel McCarthy and Robert Rattigan attended UNIEuropa Youth’s biennial committee meeting recently inAlbufeira, Portugal. This is their report...He argued that the fight for a fairereconomy was no longer an ‘at home’issue, but had to be fought on a Euro-pean level, which is why Europeantrade unions had to stand together. The following day was no less fas-cinating. We heard a very motivatingspeech by Rui Riso, the president ofPortuguese banking union SBSI, whomade it perfectly clear that thelabour movement’s young memberswere its future. We also heard from outgoing mem-bers of the steering committee whoshared their experiences of visitingPayatas, a very poor region of thePhilippines. In this region, children as young asfive scavenge in the local landfill formaterials to recycle so that their fam-ilies can survive.Some were moved to tears as theyrecalled how they had treated thechildren to a day out at the zoo, alocal theme park and a visit to a fastfood restaurant. The whole conference was veryemotional as they heard about thejoy experienced by these children,who are ordinarily only used to ex-

treme poverty, because of thefundraising efforts of UNI EuropaYouth. Later that evening there was muchdebate about what motions shouldgo before the conference. Topics fordiscussion included the rise of ex-treme right-wing organisationsacross Europe, the regulation of in-ternships, reductions in the workingweek and the fight against Europeanausterity. UNI Europa Youth aims to take ac-tion by consensus, so motions werethen referred back to a resolutionscommittee who worked on draftingnew motions that would be accept-able for everyone to vote on the fol-lowing day. On Friday the conference openedwith a presentation from delegatesfrom Turkish union Koop-Is on workcarried out by its activists. The main part of the presentationcentred on their work to organise inIKEA. This was of great interest to usas Mandate members and showed uswhy it was so important for unions tocooperate with each other whendealing with employers that operate

in many countries. We then heardcase studies on youth unemploymentin Spain, Greece, Portugal and Italy. Robert made a presentation on thissubject from an Irish perspective,which was well received by the otheractivists. The closing of the conference wasimmediately preceded by the elec-tion of the new steering committeetasked with overseeing the work ofUNI Europa Youth over the next twoyears. Then, there was nothing left for usto do but enjoy the conference partywith our new friends in UNI EuropaYouth. Over all, the conference was veryinformative and we also managed toget a Mandate representative electedto the UNI Europa Youth steeringcommittee. We came away feelingenergised as young trade unionistsand feel it is now more importantthan ever, for us to help build a unionthat is open to the ideas and energythat young people can bring. We are the generation that will bemost affected if the trend towardslow paid, precarious work continues. We hope that young members ofMandate will join us in our efforts. If you would like more information onMandate Youth Network, please [email protected].

Mandate Youth Network activist Robert Rattigan gives a presentation on the Irish experience of youth unemployment to delegates at the UNI Europa Youth conference Picture: Mandate

Forging links at UNI Europa

Lorraine O’Brien, Tesco, Carlow

Why I’m inMandate...

‘I joined Mandate tohelp people

who are being

unfairly treated’

Willie Hamilton: ‘Blunt message to Dunnes’


OUR HERITAGE NEWS

Labour Courtruling backsMandate onlong-serviceprogressionTHE Labour Court has found infavour of Mandate on the issue of in-cremental progression in Argos. The case – which was taken by Di-visional Organiser Amanda Kane onbehalf of a member in the Mid-lands – has a bearing on membersacross the company. The issue arose out of an interpre-tation of when progression on to along service increment starts – onthe anniversary of the start date oron completion of the service, in thiscase six or nine years. It was Ms Kane’s contention that itshould apply on the anniversary ofthe start date, an argument acceptedby the Labour Court who found inthe member’s favour. As incremental progression formspart of a collective agreement be-tween Mandate and Argos, bothsides will seek to rectify the issue ata meeting scheduled to take placeover the coming weeks. In the meantime, steps have beentaken to inform members of the de-velopment in all stores.

By Therese MoriartyA CENTURY ago, among the most en-ergetic trade unionists in Ireland wasMichael O’Lehane, general secretaryof the Irish Drapers’ Assistants’ Asso-ciation – Mandate’s forerunner.His memory has been overshad-owed by later comrades, especiallyJames Larkin and James Connolly. But before either had joined thestruggles of the Irish Trades UnionCongress, Michael O’Lehane had builta national shop workers’ union, withits own monthly journal.His short life – he died before hewas 50 years old – has contributed tohis national obscurity. But in his 20years spent as a trade union organ-iser, O’Lehane built a union withmembers throughout the country, incity and small towns, with dedicatedwomen’s sections for members andin their publications. Michael O’Lehane was a west Corkman, born near Macroom (Knock-aveillig, Killinardish). His working lifebegan as an apprentice in Cork city’sdrapery stores.When he took up working in Lim-erick, he contracted typhoid in the

poor working conditions at Can-nock’s. He recovered, but it may wellhave undermined his long-termhealth. In 1899, he arrived in Dublin towork at Arnotts. Here among othercommitted men and women the IrishDrapers’ Assistants’ Benevolent As-sociation (IDAA) was formed. O’Lehane became its general secre-tary, and prominent among theDublin labour movement, first, andas new branches formed across thecountry, in the national labour move-ment. The IDAA was built on three prin-cipal grievances, the living-in systemwhere young workers in the draperytrade lived in dormitories above theirworkplaces; long, unregulated work-ing hours, and poor pay. The IDAA campaigned for betterwages, early closing and a minimumwage. Shopfloor’s predecessor, the IDAA’smonthly journal, the Drapers’ Assis-

tant, was Ireland’s first trade unionjournal. Michael O’Lehane filled its pageswith information on new employ-ment laws affecting members, union

business, reports of their local gath-erings and provincial meetings, a reg-ular ‘Ladies Letter’, building it up to30 or so pages. It published photographs through-out – which was still unusual in jour-nals at that time. All this was achieved at a timewhen better-resourced Britishunions were recruiting workers inIrish trades and industries.Alongside his IDAA commitments,Michael O’Lehane was involved withDublin Trades Council, and waselected its president in 1910. He was an elected Poor LawGuardian and city councillor, an exec-utive member of the Irish TradesUnion Congress for two terms and itselected treasurer.There he was a frequent supporterof smaller union claims, especially forthe Belfast linen women workers. In1912, he became the president ofCongress, chairing the historic con-ference in Clonmel that voted for in-dependent labour representation. He represented Ireland at early in-ternational trade union conferencesin Europe. O’Lehane was also a GaelicLeague member.

Women were members from thestart – almost unknown amongDublin unions – and addressed in adedicated column in the union jour-nal. A women’s section of the Dublinbranch was set up and O’Lehane him-self was a public supporter of thewomen’s suffrage campaign. By 1914over a third of IDAA members werewomen (1,400 out of 4,000). Michael O’Lehane died suddenlyon March 1, 1920. He had never mar-ried, and died without a family totend his reputation. The record of his 20 years of ac-tivism demonstrates he was a crucialfigure of the Irish trade union move-ment both in the capital and acrossthe country in the opening decadesof the 20th century. The Irish Labour History Societyjournal published the fullest accountof O’Lehane’s life, from which most ofthese details are taken, ‘Michael O’Le-hane and the organisation of linendrapers’ assistants’, by Dermot Keogh(Saothar 3).

Dictionary of Irish Biography alsohas a shorter account by Angela Mur-phy.

Shop workers’ leader had a pioneering vision for unions

The Irish Trade Union Congress Executive Committee of 1914. IDAA chief Michael O’Lehane, far right front row, sitting next to Jim Larkin. James Connolly stands at the far leftPicture: 1913 Committee

Jennifer Mullins Penneys, Galway

Why I’m inMandate...

‘As a unionisedworkforce

we have the

ability tostand

together’

A MEETING of Argos shop stewardshas been scheduled in the comingweeks to formulate an agenda for ameeting with management in earlyMarch. This will be a good opportunity toengage with the members in Argosand address areas of concern. Industrial Officer David Miskelltold Shopfloor: “Given the progressthat has been made on pay by Man-date in other major retailers in re-cent times, it is imperative that ourmembers in Argos keep abreast ofthese trends. “We remain committed to con-structive engagement with the com-pany on all issues.

Meeting ofArgos reps


THE BIG QUESTION IS IRELAND BEING DRAFTED INTO PLANS TO FORM A EUROPEAN ARMY?

By Frank KeoghanMINISTER for European Affairs LucindaCreighton has recently described Ire-land’s position on military neutrality as“narcissistic” and says that she is “verysupportive” of Ireland joining a commonEuropean defence – in other words, an EUarmy – but doesn’t believe her partycould gain “political traction” for that inthe short term. Of course this is just empty rhetoricthat hides the reality that we are at thepoint where we practice a peculiarly Irishform of military neutrality. The ‘triple-lock’ mechanism, drawn upin the wake of Ireland's referendum rejec-tion of the EU's Nice Treaty, requires UN,Government and Dáil approval for any de-ployment of Irish troops overseas. But In September 2010, the then-FineGael foreign affairs spokesman Seán Bar-rett, Creighton’s predecessor, argued thatthe triple-lock system, “though hon-ourable”, is “flawed” due to its require-ment of a UN Security Council resolutionfor any overseas mission. Dropping this requirement would openthe way for a government with a strongDail majority – such as the present ad-ministration – to commit Irish troops toany conflict anywhere in the world – withor without UN sanction.The triple lock was weakened by IrishDefence Acts of 2006, which states thatsuch a force should be ‘established’ by theSecurity Council or General Assembly. A number of recent military missionswere ‘authorised’ by the UN SecurityCouncil, but this new authority is deliber-ately vague. The Acts also gave the gov-

ernment the right to approve the IrishArmy taking part in an EU Battle Groupassembly and embarkation – dangerouslyclose to active deployment.These are the Defence Acts that GayMitchell, MEP and Presidential candidatewanted amended to allow Irish troops totake part in ‘peace missions’, even whenthose missions were not set up as an in-ternational UN force. For some, he seemed to be promotingunimpeded involvement of Irish soldiersin NATO operations, and the abandon-ment of neutrality. So, why is this so im-portant and is there the possibility of theformation of an EU army to which Irelandwould be committed? “Our Defence Forces must possess anappropriate level of capability to properlyparticipate in a UN or European context,”according to Minister Shatter. We all know what a UN mission is butwhat about the European element? Whilethere is not yet an EU army, all the build-ing blocks have been put in place over thepast decade or so.Back in 2001 the EU Commission Presi-dent Romano Prodi candidly asked theEuropean Parliament: “Are we all clearthat we want to build something that canaspire to be a world power?”This was at a time when the EU wastrying to establish an embryo military ca-pability – and let us not forget that twomembers of the EU possess nuclearweapons! Since then, the EU has incre-mentally increased its military capabilityas it pursues Prodi’s vision and through-out that time, Ireland’s involvement hasdeepened.The Single European Act in 1986 hadensured that EU common foreign policy

provisions became part of European Law.And it was specifically the transfer ofpower over foreign policy that swung theIrish Supreme Court in favour of Ray-mond Crotty, who had challenged the con-stitutionality of the Act – resulting in areferendum in Ireland. This was consoli-dated by the Amsterdam Treaty in 1992,which added defence to the provisions ofthe EU’s common foreign and securitypolicy. In June 1999, the EU set up the Politicaland Security Committee (PSC), consistingof the member states’ ambassadors to theEU which meets twice a week. It also setup the Military Committee consisting ofthe member states’ Chief of Defence Staffsto advise the PSC on military issues and inDecember 1999 the EU agreed to estab-lish an EU military capability. This involved the creation of an EURapid Reaction Force of 50,000-60,000soldiers with a self-sustaining military ca-pacity, including intelligence, air, navaland combat support units capable of de-ployment within 60 days to any region upto 6,000 km from the borders of the EUfor up to a year.Fortunately, the EU states lacked the ca-pacity to do this as most of their militarywas already allocated to NATO. Theylacked the necessary strategic air force tocarry these 60,000 soldiers 6,000 km aswell as the required air-to-air refuelingplanes. This was recently demonstrated duringthe recent French invasion of Mali whenthe US provided aerial re-fueling andtransportation.There are presently 18 EU BattleGroups, each consisting of more than3,000 soldiers. Two are mobilised every

six months and are ready for deploymentat any time and can be sent anywhere inthe world at five days notice. The decision to deploy them is made bythe EU Council of Ministers. They aretrained as an advanced guard for an evenlarger military force. The Battle Grouphas to be “the minimum military, credible,rapidly deployable, coherent force pack-age capable of acting alone, or for the ini-

tial phase of larger operations”.As Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the DutchSecretary General of NATO, said in 2005:“EU Battle Groups could be used to go towar. Why did the EU create the BattleGroup? It is not just to help rebuild acountry. The Battle Groups are not therefor building schools. We shouldn’t thinkthe EU is for soft power and NATO fortough power.”The Petersberg Tasks define the roles

allocated to the EU Battle Groups. Theoriginal tasks of humanitarian, rescue,and peace-keeping and peace enforce-ment missions have now been expandedby Lisbon into “joint disarmament opera-tions, military advice and assistance tasksand post-conflict stabilisation.”Article 28 B (1) states: “All these tasksmay contribute to the fight against terror-ism, including by supporting Third Coun-

tries in combating terrorism in theirterritories.”Ireland joined the Nordic Battle Groupwith Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Norwayand Latvia in 2007. When troops from anumber of countries take part, one coun-try takes the lead role and provides thecommander and most of the troops. One of the outcomes has been to ensurethat officers and soldiers from differentcountries get to know each other and

learn to work together (interoperability),creating over time a growing number ofmilitary that develop a European, as dis-tinct from a national, sense of identitywithin a military frameworkThe last time Irish troops were onstandby in 2012, the Battle Group was ledby Germany as we have committed a fur-ther 175 soldiers to a second BattleGroup comprising Germany, Austria, the

Czech Republic, Croatia and the Republicof Macedonia.The Government has allocated €10.7million to cover the potential cost of IrishArmy participation for 120 days if theywere actually deployed. Of course, if it was deployed, it is an ab-solute certainty that the €10.7 millionwill turn out to be a massive underesti-mation of the actual cost, and there is nochance whatsoever that the war the Bat-

tle Group takes part in would be over infour months.While the Irish Defence Forces have re-mained small, at 9,500 in total, through-out the period of its integration into theEU military bloc, defence expenditure in-creased to over €1 billion per annum in2010 – €914m estimate for 2013. This money was spent primarily on thesubstantial upgrading of its militaryequipment to ensure military interoper-ability with NATO as the majority ofmember states are NATO members. NATO and the EU cooperate on issuesof common interest and are working sideby side in crisis-management, capabilitydevelopment and political consultations.Ireland is a member of NATO’s Partner-ship for Peace, widely considered as anannex to full NATO membership.The Lisbon Treaty established an EUMinister for Foreign Affairs responsiblefor EU foreign, security and defence pol-icy. Article 19(2) states than when the EUhas defined a common position; thosemember states on the UN Security Coun-cil shall request the EU Foreign Minster topresent that position. The member statesare now legally obliged to support theEU’s foreign and security policy, “activelyand unreservedly in a spirit of loyalty andmutual solidarity”. Lisbon also includes a Mutual Assis-tance Clause and a Solidarity Clausewhich states: “The Union and its memberstates shall act jointly in a spirit of soli-darity if a member state is the object of aterrorist attack or the victim of a man-made disaster. The Union shall mobiliseall the instruments at its disposal, includ-ing the military resources made availableby the member states...”

All these developments represent anunremitting drive to establish an EUarmy, enthusiastically supported by suc-cessive Irish governments. The EU institution, the InternationalSecurity Information Service (ISIS) in itsJuly 23, 2004 European Security Review,quoted by PANA, states that joint disar-mament operations “could include any-thing from providing personal security toUN inspectors to full scale invasions á laIraq”. Nowhere in the Lisbon Treaty doesit state that a UN mandate before EU Bat-tle Groups can be deployed.It is commonly said that one person’sterrorist is another’s freedom fighter. Anexample is the jihadists fighting the secu-lar government in Syria with the encour-agement of some EU countries while onthe other hand, the EU lauds French inter-vention in Mali to combat jihadists andTuareg tribesmen fighting a governmentinstalled with the assistance of theFrench, who have long-standing interestsin the region, not least in the uranium andsubstrate deposits. The question is:should we get involved?As it is, Irish soldiers may help train theMalian army. Alan Shatter is to bring aplan to Cabinet that would send about adozen Irish soldiers on the mission. Thiswould commit personnel to train an armythat maintains an unelected government– and in whose interest? It’s not a hugestep from training to combat duties.Then there’s the European DefenceAgency (EDA), whose budget was €30.5million in 2011. This budget covers theAgency's operating costs. Individual proj-ects are funded separately. Its role in en-couraging the militarisation of the EU wasconsolidated by Article 28(3) whichstates: “Member states shall undertake

progressively to improve their militarycapabilities. The Agency... shall participatein defining a European capabilities andarmaments policy, and shall assist theCouncil in evaluating the improvement ofmilitary capabilities.”In early February 2013, Tony Blair letthe cat out of the bag when he pointedout that “the rationale for Europe in the21st century is stronger than it has everbeen. It is essentially about power, notabout peace anymore”. At a press conference in Strasbourg afew years ago, EU Commission PresidentBarosso said: “Sometimes I like to com-pare the EU as a creation to the organisa-tion of Empire. We have the dimensionsof Empire.” These statements represent the viewsof those at the highest level in the EU andthe only thing standing between Irelandand full participation in EU imperialistventures is the requirement for a UNmandate to satisfy the triple lock – andwe have seen how precarious that is! The other more powerful impedimentis the antipathy on the part of Irish peopletowards war – an antipathy we shouldnurture. A vital element of that task is toinform ourselves of developments andnot allow ourselves to be quietly andsilently incorporated into an EU army.The last word is appropriately left toFrau Merkel, who said in 2010: “We havea shared currency but no real economicor political union. This must change. If wewere to achieve this, therein lies the op-portunity of the crisis... and beyond theeconomic, after the shared currency, wewill perhaps dare to take further steps,for example for a European army.”

NATO Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen with Irish Defence Minister Alan Shatter at a meeting of defence ministersheld in Dublin Castle on February 12 and 13

Marching to the beat of the EU drum?People’s Movement

17March 2013 y SHOPFLOOR

THE BIG QUESTION IS IRELAND BEING DRAFTED INTO PLANS TO FORM A EUROPEAN ARMY?

By Frank KeoghanMINISTER for European Affairs LucindaCreighton has recently described Ire-land’s position on military neutrality as“narcissistic” and says that she is “verysupportive” of Ireland joining a commonEuropean defence – in other words, an EUarmy – but doesn’t believe her partycould gain “political traction” for that inthe short term. Of course this is just empty rhetoricthat hides the reality that we are at thepoint where we practice a peculiarly Irishform of military neutrality. The ‘triple-lock’ mechanism, drawn upin the wake of Ireland's referendum rejec-tion of the EU's Nice Treaty, requires UN,Government and Dáil approval for any de-ployment of Irish troops overseas. But In September 2010, the then-FineGael foreign affairs spokesman Seán Bar-rett, Creighton’s predecessor, argued thatthe triple-lock system, “though hon-ourable”, is “flawed” due to its require-ment of a UN Security Council resolutionfor any overseas mission. Dropping this requirement would openthe way for a government with a strongDail majority – such as the present ad-ministration – to commit Irish troops toany conflict anywhere in the world – withor without UN sanction.The triple lock was weakened by IrishDefence Acts of 2006, which states thatsuch a force should be ‘established’ by theSecurity Council or General Assembly. A number of recent military missionswere ‘authorised’ by the UN SecurityCouncil, but this new authority is deliber-ately vague. The Acts also gave the gov-

ernment the right to approve the IrishArmy taking part in an EU Battle Groupassembly and embarkation – dangerouslyclose to active deployment.These are the Defence Acts that GayMitchell, MEP and Presidential candidatewanted amended to allow Irish troops totake part in ‘peace missions’, even whenthose missions were not set up as an in-ternational UN force. For some, he seemed to be promotingunimpeded involvement of Irish soldiersin NATO operations, and the abandon-ment of neutrality. So, why is this so im-portant and is there the possibility of theformation of an EU army to which Irelandwould be committed? “Our Defence Forces must possess anappropriate level of capability to properlyparticipate in a UN or European context,”according to Minister Shatter. We all know what a UN mission is butwhat about the European element? Whilethere is not yet an EU army, all the build-ing blocks have been put in place over thepast decade or so.Back in 2001 the EU Commission Presi-dent Romano Prodi candidly asked theEuropean Parliament: “Are we all clearthat we want to build something that canaspire to be a world power?”This was at a time when the EU wastrying to establish an embryo military ca-pability – and let us not forget that twomembers of the EU possess nuclearweapons! Since then, the EU has incre-mentally increased its military capabilityas it pursues Prodi’s vision and through-out that time, Ireland’s involvement hasdeepened.The Single European Act in 1986 hadensured that EU common foreign policy

provisions became part of European Law.And it was specifically the transfer ofpower over foreign policy that swung theIrish Supreme Court in favour of Ray-mond Crotty, who had challenged the con-stitutionality of the Act – resulting in areferendum in Ireland. This was consoli-dated by the Amsterdam Treaty in 1992,which added defence to the provisions ofthe EU’s common foreign and securitypolicy. In June 1999, the EU set up the Politicaland Security Committee (PSC), consistingof the member states’ ambassadors to theEU which meets twice a week. It also setup the Military Committee consisting ofthe member states’ Chief of Defence Staffsto advise the PSC on military issues and inDecember 1999 the EU agreed to estab-lish an EU military capability. This involved the creation of an EURapid Reaction Force of 50,000-60,000soldiers with a self-sustaining military ca-pacity, including intelligence, air, navaland combat support units capable of de-ployment within 60 days to any region upto 6,000 km from the borders of the EUfor up to a year.Fortunately, the EU states lacked the ca-pacity to do this as most of their militarywas already allocated to NATO. Theylacked the necessary strategic air force tocarry these 60,000 soldiers 6,000 km aswell as the required air-to-air refuelingplanes. This was recently demonstrated duringthe recent French invasion of Mali whenthe US provided aerial re-fueling andtransportation.There are presently 18 EU BattleGroups, each consisting of more than3,000 soldiers. Two are mobilised every

six months and are ready for deploymentat any time and can be sent anywhere inthe world at five days notice. The decision to deploy them is made bythe EU Council of Ministers. They aretrained as an advanced guard for an evenlarger military force. The Battle Grouphas to be “the minimum military, credible,rapidly deployable, coherent force pack-age capable of acting alone, or for the ini-

tial phase of larger operations”.As Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the DutchSecretary General of NATO, said in 2005:“EU Battle Groups could be used to go towar. Why did the EU create the BattleGroup? It is not just to help rebuild acountry. The Battle Groups are not therefor building schools. We shouldn’t thinkthe EU is for soft power and NATO fortough power.”The Petersberg Tasks define the roles

allocated to the EU Battle Groups. Theoriginal tasks of humanitarian, rescue,and peace-keeping and peace enforce-ment missions have now been expandedby Lisbon into “joint disarmament opera-tions, military advice and assistance tasksand post-conflict stabilisation.”Article 28 B (1) states: “All these tasksmay contribute to the fight against terror-ism, including by supporting Third Coun-

tries in combating terrorism in theirterritories.”Ireland joined the Nordic Battle Groupwith Sweden, Finland, Estonia, Norwayand Latvia in 2007. When troops from anumber of countries take part, one coun-try takes the lead role and provides thecommander and most of the troops. One of the outcomes has been to ensurethat officers and soldiers from differentcountries get to know each other and

learn to work together (interoperability),creating over time a growing number ofmilitary that develop a European, as dis-tinct from a national, sense of identitywithin a military frameworkThe last time Irish troops were onstandby in 2012, the Battle Group was ledby Germany as we have committed a fur-ther 175 soldiers to a second BattleGroup comprising Germany, Austria, the

Czech Republic, Croatia and the Republicof Macedonia.The Government has allocated €10.7million to cover the potential cost of IrishArmy participation for 120 days if theywere actually deployed. Of course, if it was deployed, it is an ab-solute certainty that the €10.7 millionwill turn out to be a massive underesti-mation of the actual cost, and there is nochance whatsoever that the war the Bat-

tle Group takes part in would be over infour months.While the Irish Defence Forces have re-mained small, at 9,500 in total, through-out the period of its integration into theEU military bloc, defence expenditure in-creased to over €1 billion per annum in2010 – €914m estimate for 2013. This money was spent primarily on thesubstantial upgrading of its militaryequipment to ensure military interoper-ability with NATO as the majority ofmember states are NATO members. NATO and the EU cooperate on issuesof common interest and are working sideby side in crisis-management, capabilitydevelopment and political consultations.Ireland is a member of NATO’s Partner-ship for Peace, widely considered as anannex to full NATO membership.The Lisbon Treaty established an EUMinister for Foreign Affairs responsiblefor EU foreign, security and defence pol-icy. Article 19(2) states than when the EUhas defined a common position; thosemember states on the UN Security Coun-cil shall request the EU Foreign Minster topresent that position. The member statesare now legally obliged to support theEU’s foreign and security policy, “activelyand unreservedly in a spirit of loyalty andmutual solidarity”. Lisbon also includes a Mutual Assis-tance Clause and a Solidarity Clausewhich states: “The Union and its memberstates shall act jointly in a spirit of soli-darity if a member state is the object of aterrorist attack or the victim of a man-made disaster. The Union shall mobiliseall the instruments at its disposal, includ-ing the military resources made availableby the member states...”

All these developments represent anunremitting drive to establish an EUarmy, enthusiastically supported by suc-cessive Irish governments. The EU institution, the InternationalSecurity Information Service (ISIS) in itsJuly 23, 2004 European Security Review,quoted by PANA, states that joint disar-mament operations “could include any-thing from providing personal security toUN inspectors to full scale invasions á laIraq”. Nowhere in the Lisbon Treaty doesit state that a UN mandate before EU Bat-tle Groups can be deployed.It is commonly said that one person’sterrorist is another’s freedom fighter. Anexample is the jihadists fighting the secu-lar government in Syria with the encour-agement of some EU countries while onthe other hand, the EU lauds French inter-vention in Mali to combat jihadists andTuareg tribesmen fighting a governmentinstalled with the assistance of theFrench, who have long-standing interestsin the region, not least in the uranium andsubstrate deposits. The question is:should we get involved?As it is, Irish soldiers may help train theMalian army. Alan Shatter is to bring aplan to Cabinet that would send about adozen Irish soldiers on the mission. Thiswould commit personnel to train an armythat maintains an unelected government– and in whose interest? It’s not a hugestep from training to combat duties.Then there’s the European DefenceAgency (EDA), whose budget was €30.5million in 2011. This budget covers theAgency's operating costs. Individual proj-ects are funded separately. Its role in en-couraging the militarisation of the EU wasconsolidated by Article 28(3) whichstates: “Member states shall undertake

progressively to improve their militarycapabilities. The Agency... shall participatein defining a European capabilities andarmaments policy, and shall assist theCouncil in evaluating the improvement ofmilitary capabilities.”In early February 2013, Tony Blair letthe cat out of the bag when he pointedout that “the rationale for Europe in the21st century is stronger than it has everbeen. It is essentially about power, notabout peace anymore”. At a press conference in Strasbourg afew years ago, EU Commission PresidentBarosso said: “Sometimes I like to com-pare the EU as a creation to the organisa-tion of Empire. We have the dimensionsof Empire.” These statements represent the viewsof those at the highest level in the EU andthe only thing standing between Irelandand full participation in EU imperialistventures is the requirement for a UNmandate to satisfy the triple lock – andwe have seen how precarious that is! The other more powerful impedimentis the antipathy on the part of Irish peopletowards war – an antipathy we shouldnurture. A vital element of that task is toinform ourselves of developments andnot allow ourselves to be quietly andsilently incorporated into an EU army.The last word is appropriately left toFrau Merkel, who said in 2010: “We havea shared currency but no real economicor political union. This must change. If wewere to achieve this, therein lies the op-portunity of the crisis... and beyond theeconomic, after the shared currency, wewill perhaps dare to take further steps,for example for a European army.”

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Marching to the beat of the EU drum?


Communication Skills/ Personal Development and EffectivenessFor those who want to brush up on their writing and spelling skills while you develop personal and interpersonal skillswhich are important for dealing with workplace situations and improve communications in everyday life situations

Communication through ComputersThis course is ideal for adults just learning about computers and confidence for communicating online.

MathsPerhaps you’d like to brush up on your everyday maths,including home budgets, tax and weights/measures.

Name

Address

Workplace

Location

Phone

Adult Education Courses for the WorkplaceMandate Trade Union with the VEC network is offering a programme of Training Courses called Skills for Work. Skills for Work offers members the opportunity to get back into educationat their own pace with a wide range of courses to choose from. Each course has 6 – 8 participants and may be held locally and outside of working hours. Some of the courses include:

Courses are free and open to members who have not achieved Leaving Certificate or who have an out of date Leaving Certificate. You can also achieve a FETAC Level 3 Award. Skills for Work is funded by the Department of Education & Skills

Please tick the box or boxes of the courses which interestyou and return this form with your details to:

Mandate’s Organising and Training Centre DistilleryHouse, Distillery Road, Dublin 3

Phone 01-8369699, email [email protected] Closing date Friday 29th March 2013

TRAINING

By Joan DevlinfOR the last five years, Mandatehas been offering members theopportunity to become involvedin second chance learning in theworkplace through an initiativecalled Skills for Work.

The initiative is a national pro-gramme that is funded by the De-

partment of Education and Skills.And this training is provided to

Mandate members by the localVEC. The City of Dublin VEC hasdelivered many courses to mem-bers drawn from across thegreater Dublin area in the modernand up-to-date Mandate TrainingCentre on Distillery Road.

This programme gives members

the opportunity to return tolearning in a nurturing, safe,friendly training environment.

All tutors have vast experiencewithin the VEC and are more thanhappy to meet the requirementsof each participant.

As the workplace education co-ordinator with the City of DublinVEC, I have been working in part-

nership with Mandate's trainingdepartment on this programmefor four years.

These courses offer a great op-portunity to return to learningand for Mandate members to takethat initial step forward.

Many Mandate members havebuilt up their confidence to returnto further learning.

And as the Skills for Work co-or-dinator, I am delighted to be involved in any way that encour-ages and motivates people backinto learning.

These courses are a benefit inevery way to an individual. It isvery encouraging that Mandatecontinues to support the Skills forWork training initiative.

‘This is my third course in Mandate'sTraining Centre. I have completed twocomputer courses and one on communications. I really enjoyed themand am now attending one on personalfinance’ – Linda Rogers

‘I am really looking forward to thiscourse and learning about personal finance. I am also doing a communica-tions course in Mandate Centre and am enjoying that course also. It’s brilliant that these courses are availablefor us’ – Maria Heaney

‘I really enjoyed the three courses that Ihave attended so far. The tutors arepeople friendly and make everyone verywelcome. I am now just beginning my latest course which is personal finance’ – Martina May

‘I attend this course to improve my confidence and also to improve myknowledge no matter how small. So far in the course I have acquired a lot of knowledge in what I have done and I am really delighted’ – Geraldine O’Connell

Feedback

Personal FinanceCourse

Skills for Work courses offer Mandatemembers a gateway back into learning

Communications Course Fetac Level 4 Computer Course Fetac Level 4

Personal Finance Course

A Century of Workers in Struggle 1913-2013National Commemorative Event11am - 4pm, March 2nd, Liberty Hall, DublinSave the Date

Hosted by Sinn FéinSpokesperson on Workers’ Rights,Senator David Cullinane

JUST A THOUGHT...

By Brian ForbesDO YOU remember the classicscenes from Father Ted’s famouscaravan episode? The one were Fa-ther Ted is trying to unsuccessfullyexplain to Dougal the difference be-tween a plastic cow being “small”and the cows outside the caravan inthe fields being “far away”. PricelessIrish comedy at its best. In the same episode Ted and Dou-gal decide to put Father Jack to sleepby putting a cardboard box over hishead. It’s the same episode when theisland eccentric Tom who happenedto be transporting raw sewagestopped to give our intrepid heroesa lift and in trying to open the truckdoor releases his cargo showeringthe priests in excrement. Hilarity en-sued.The entire episode in many waysand given a little stretch of imagina-tion could be seen as a metaphor forrecent events orchestrated by thecabal of politicians who have givenup their day jobs to run our country. These political experts create, as afamous ex-Taoiseach would say, a“smoke and daggers” scenario ofmanufacturing a so-called “deal” on

The bank debt through Fr Dougal’s eyes...Mandate National Coordinator

and it certainly doesn’t mean re-solved. They have merely kicked the candown the road by transferring thepain of this odious debt to our chil-dren and our grandchildren. We must now collectively qualifyas the worst generation of parentsin the history of our young countryby allowing this burden to beheaped on to the shoulders of ouryoung people and by not fightingback. The image of Father Jack fallingasleep when the box is placed overhis head feels similar in many waysto us collectively sleepwalking ourway into the future as Enda et alcarefully place the bank debtmetaphorical box over our headsand we nod off when they talk aboutthe principal debt needing to bepaid in 2038. Our future generations born andunborn will not appreciate thelegacy they have been bequeathed. We nod off when Micheál Martinplaces the electoral box over ourheads and we forget the notion thatthe instigators of our loss of eco-nomic sovereignty, Fianna Fail, areback in opinion polls as the largest

party electorally. We obviously must have the col-lective memory of a goldfish to haveforgotten already the damage in-flicted upon us as a sovereign nationby the gombeen parish pump poli-tics of Fianna Fail and their ilk andtheir wrecking ball approach to oureconomy and our future at thattime.History will not absolve us forour inactions and general apathy. We are by our behaviour and sub-servience a lot like the island eccen-tric Tom in this episode of FatherTed, merely heaping more sh*t ontothe heads and backs of our sons,daughters and grandchildren in theform of bank debt not of our makingand certainly not of their making.“I don’t think it helps people tostart throwing white elephants andred herrings at each other” and “Weshouldn’t upset the apple tart” aretwo famous quotes from the afore-mentioned ex-Taoiseach which hu-mourlessly sums up the thinking ofour political classes on a range of is-sues including bank debt. Father Ted and Father Dougal putit rather succinctly when theydonned the campaign trail “Downwith this sort of thing!” and “Carefulnow!” bank debt by treating us all like Fa-ther Dougals. This debt is “large” but don’tworry because this debt is “faraway”. They replaced the plastic cow

in the Father Ted episode with bil-lions of euros of bank debt andchanged the cows in the fields intosovereign debt right under ournoses. Far away doesn’t mean gone

Fr Ted explains the ins and outs of bank debt deal to an uncomprehending Fr Dougal

20 SHOPFLOOR y March 201320

COMMENTARY

Picture: AFL-CIO (CC BY 2.0)

By Ed TellerWE often hear the slogan ‘auster-ity isn’t working’ at variousdemonstrations or see it on plac-ards at protests. But I’m here tosay that austerity is working. It isdoing exactly what it is designed todo.Let me start by saying what aus-terity is not designed to do. It is NOT designed to create jobs.It is NOT designed to protect pay. Itis NOT designed to tax income andwealth fairly. It is NOT designed to redistributewealth to working people. It is NOTdesigned to protect community serv-ices. It is NOT designed to provide ad-equate supports to those out of work.It is NOT designed to protect publicservices and public wealth. And, surprise surprise, it is not doingany of those things, in fact the opposite.Austerity is designed to pass corpo-rate debt onto the shoulder of workingpeople, privatise valuable state assets,maintain unemployment to reducelabour costs, impose direct pay cuts, re-duce the cost of pensions for employers,

provide state welfare and free labour toglobal monopolies, cut state expendi-ture, increase state dependency on pri-vate financiers, secure the financialsystem as an avenue for accumulatedcapital, maintain core periphery (deficit-surplus) relations within the EU, main-tain low inflation to protect accumulatedcapital, weaken the trade union move-ment and collective consciousness.Fundamentally austerity is designedto transfer wealth from working peopleto monopolies and debt and risk frommonopolies to working people. It is apolicy designed to restore profitabilityfor monopolies (not small businesses)through reducing production costs,weakening state regulations and provid-ing new outlets for private investmentand profit. Austerity is not the mistaken policy ofpeople who just don’t understand its im-pact. They understand very well its im-pact on people and its impact on thedomestic economy but they don’t carebecause the role of the Irish economy isa combination of a legal money launder-ing unit for global monopolies and acheap access point to European marketsfor non-EU monopolies.Austerity is working because it has

succeeded in the largest ever transfer ofcorporate debt onto workers’ shouldersin history. It has succeeded in maintaining highlevels of unemployment to facilitate paycuts to help restore profitability for mo-nopolies. It has taken economic sover-eignty away from the control ofnationally-elected states and into un-elected and unaccountable hands. Close to €100 billion will ultimatelybe handed over to banks and theirwealthy investors. Austerity is class war. It is a waragainst working people, against publicwealth, against collective organisationsand consciousness and against nationaldemocracies (even as limited as theseare).Those who are not working to recovercapitalism but are actually fighting tooverthrow it must produce slogans andcampaigns that are not merely whatmight be popular but that actually ex-pose weaknesses in the system and leadpopular consciousness. Austerity isworking, for example, poses this chal-lenge.Thanks to the Nevin Institute for some of thestats used in this article.

Austerity IS

21March 2013 y SHOPFLOOR

working( (seriously...

it REALLY is

...while poverty is on the increase...

Income distribution is heavily weighted towards the top 20%... and austerity policies have actually made the rich richer and disproportionalitytargeted the poor and middle income earners... By Padraig Yeates

NEW technology is not onlychanging our world, it is alsoreconfiguring our past. History is no longer beingwritten by the victors but byanyone who can access infor-mation online.

One consequence is thatarchives are divided into twocategories – those that aredigitised and online andthose that are gathering duston a shelf somewhere. Unfor-tunately most trade unionrecords fall into the dust cate-gory.

Given the year that is in it,the centenary of the 1913Lockout, the Irish Congress ofTrade Unions has decided todigitise the records of theIrish Trade Union Congressand Labour Party from 1900until 1925.

The task is almost completeand this major historicalrecord will be made availableonline for students of historyand the general public alike inthe coming months.

SIPTU is to launch aChronology of the Lockout onMarch 1 in partnership withUniversity College, Cork.

This will be far more de-tailed than any previous at-tempt at a chronology of theevent and will be availableonline for people to access ifthey wish to follow the day-by-day record of events inDublin a hundred years ago.

Mandate members may askthemselves, ‘What has thatgot to do with us?’ Well, quitea lot actually.

One of the union’s principalforerunners, the Drapers’ As-sistants Association, was ex-tremely active in Dublin

before the first World War. It was one of the largest and

certainly the wealthiest Irish-based trade union of the time.During the Lockout many DAAmembers in Dublin gave uptheir half-day to help organ-ise the distribution of sup-plies from the food ships thatsailed over from Merseysideto help feed strikers and theirfamilies.

At a national level the unionwas less happy about sup-porting ‘Larkinism’ during theLockout and many DAA mem-bers’ own livelihoods werethreatened because the Lock-out drained money out of thecity.

It is estimated that workingclass districts of the capitallost £400,000 in wages be-cause of the action by WilliamMartin Murphy and other em-ployers determined to starveworkers into submission.

The DAA also produced theDrapers Assistant, one of thebest trade union newspapersof the day, which was editedby the Association’s founderand general secretary MichaelO’Lehane.

A collection of this magnifi-cent publication is held inMandate’s head office and de-serves to be accessed bymembers and a much wideraudience. The easiest way tomake it available is throughdigitisation and placing it onthe union’s website.

The cost of digitisation isrelatively low, although it canrapidly escalate if people optfor elaborate add-ons.

If unions don’t take care ofnot only preserving but alsopromoting their own history,they can be sure that no oneelse will do so. 2013 is a goodyear for starting the habit.

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BLOW THE WHISTLEON THE BAD BOSSES

10MANDATE1. An organising and campaigning union: Mandate is focused on building an activist base to protect and improve employment conditions. Through better organised workplaces and the power of the collective strength, we will deliverjustice for working people.

2. Modern and effective training:Mandate provides free courses to help you learn new skills, improve existing skills and develop you and your prospective career. We negotiate agreements with employers to pay for attendance at courses and also to provide reasonable time off foremployees to attend them.

3. Campaigning for success:Mandate is a progressive campaigning union fighting on issuesthat really matter to our members, their families and society in general. Mandate campaigns challenge social injustice at all levelsof Irish society.

4. Protection at work:Highly trained and skilled Mandate officials provide professionaladvice and assistance, where appropriate, on a variety of employment issues.

5. Safety at work: Mandate health & safety representatives are trained to minimisethe risk of workplace injuries and ensure that employers meet theirlegal obligations at all times.

6. Better pay:Year on year, Mandate campaigns for and wins pay rises for itsmembers. Mandate also campaigns to close the widening genderpay gap in Irish society.

7. Legal protection:Mandate has won significant legal compensation for members whoare injured as a result of an accident at work.

8. Mandatory pensions:Mandate has secured pension schemes with a variety of retail employers and will campaign to secure mandatory pensionschemes for all members working in the private sector, partcularlythose on low wages.

9.You’re less likely to be discriminated against:Mandate has won agreements with employers on respect and dignity at work policies and procedures. Mandate will continue tocampaign for tougher laws to make it illegal to discriminate on thebasis of sex, race, age, disability or sexual orientation.

10. You’re less likely to be sacked:Membership of Mandate protects you and strengthens your voicein your workplace.

Together we’re stronger

REASONSTO JOIN

JOIN MANDATE TRADE UNION ONLINE AT http://www.mandate.ie/Contact/Join.aspx

MUSIC Q&A POL McADAIMPLATFORM SINN FEIN

EVERY nation, and every labourmovement, has in their collectivememories landmark moments of so-cial agitation and of workers assert-ing themselves. In the US, they recall the Haymar-ket massacre, and the Homesteadstrike; in Britain, the 1926 GeneralStrike and the miners’ strikes of 1974and 1984. All around the world these inci-dents and disputes – where ordinaryworkers stood up for their rights andsaid, “Enough!” – are recalled withspecial significance by ordinary peo-ple and by trade unions. In Ireland, the 1913 Lockoutstands out clearly as the most signifi-cant event in Irish labour history. Faced with such arrogance and ablatant effort to intimidate Irishworkers, the ITGWU had no choicebut to respond decisively, and theIrish working class, not just inDublin, but also around the country,responded, and took to the streets, ina remarkable show of strength and ofdefiance. William Martin Murphy and therest of the Dublin employers re-sponded with venom and pitiless-ness, bringing the full force of officialrepression and media manipulationto bear on them. The suffering of these workers andof their families has long passed intofolk memory and has been commem-orated in literature, film, song andpoetry. While the dispute was ultimatelydefeated in the short term, Irish em-ployers learned that the Irish work-ing class, organised and unified, was

A proud history butwhat of the future?

a force to be reckoned with, andwould never again attempt in such abrazen way to intimidate Irish work-ers and to deny them their right toorganise. So much progress has been madesince then. Workers are better paid,are much safer, have better condi-tions and better employment protec-tions. They cannot be restricted fromjoining a union, nor can they be sum-marily dismissed. Workers have taken on unscrupu-lous employers and achieved sub-stantial victories. We have seen theseefforts in recent years with Vita Cor-tex, La Senza and Lagan Brick – butyet many, many challenges remain. While they cannot be restrictedfrom joining a union, the lack of col-lective bargaining in this state meansthat they do not achieve the full ben-efits of union membership. In many workplaces workers areactively discouraged from joining aunion, accompanied by both induce-ment and intimidation. The legalrights that exist for workers are oftenflouted due to a lack of inspectionand through weak compliance mech-anisms. This is particularly the casewith migrant workers and other cate-

gories of vulnerable workers, andwhile the Government’s decision tobring in legislation to tackle forcedlabour is welcome, there is muchmore yet to be done in this area. The 100th anniversary of the Lock-out offers an excellent opportunity toreflect upon the struggles of workersin the past, and on the challenges fac-ing workers today, both in Irelandand abroad. To that end, I – as the Sinn Feinspokesperson on workers’ rights –will be hosting a major conference inDublin to consider all the key issuesworkers faced today and in the past. The conference, entitled A Centuryof Workers in Struggle 1913-2013, isto take place on March 2 in LibertyHall in Dublin. As well as addresses from invitedguests, the conference will hear fromunion leaders, including Mandate'sJohn Douglas, on the challenges fac-ing workers today. This conference will be an excel-lent opportunity to reflect on the tra-ditions of the union movement, andan opportunity to consider how wecontinue to bolster and protect therights of workers as well asstrengthen the labour movement inIreland and elsewhere. I hope that you will be able to joinus in this celebration of past achieve-ments, and discussion of present andfuture challenges, and look forwardto seeing you in Liberty Hall. David Cullinane is the Sinn Fein spokesper-son on workers’ rights For more informa-tion contact [email protected] 01 6184069 The full programme willbe published in the coming weeks.

By SenatorDavid Cullinane

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Striking dockers and carters march across London Bridge in a show of strength during a pre-WWI stoppage Picture: LoC Bain Collection


ANALYSIS

Health & Safety FETAC Level 5

This course is aimed at Health and Safety representatives

• Health and Safety Legislation• Role of Health and Safety Repre-sentative• Safety statements• Role of Health & Safety Authority• Occupational health

• Identification of hazards and riskassessment• Accident investigation• Fire safety• Effective communications• Health and safety promotion

Topic covered on course:

Certification and Progression: Members who successfully complete this course receive a Fetac Level 5 component award certificate and may progress to other courses offered by Mandate.If you are interested in this course, please contact your Mandate official or Mandate's Training Centre at 01-8369699. Email: [email protected]

Safetyfirst atwork!

Challengingthe rentierclass’s gripon economy

By Dr Conor McCabeON February 14, 2013 a report wasreleased which stated in no uncer-tain terms that in the EU, austeritywas not working. It also found that Ireland wasone of only two countries in theunion where “the greatest impactof financial distress in householdshas been in the lower income quar-tiles rather than the upper quar-tile.”The report, written by the Cari-tas Europa group, concluded thatthe present measures were“putting the social cohesion of Eu-rope and the very political legiti-macy of the European Union atrisk.” Given that this is the case, why isausterity put forward as the onlygame in town? Why, when auster-ity is challenged, the response fromthe State is TINA (There Is No Al-ternative)?The answer can be found, of allplaces, on one of the most popularshopping streets in Dublin.A week before the report was re-leased, the Irish Times carried astory on the sale of the River Islandand Wallis buildings on GraftonStreet. The German fund managementcompany, GLL Real Estate, boughtthe properties for just over €40million – a drop of 65% from the€115 million that the developerDavid Daly paid in 2007. Three years ago GLL Real Estatebought the AIB branch next toRiver Island and is now one of thelargest property owners on thestreet. Despite the loss in valueand, indeed, in sales due to thecrash and subsequent austeritymeasures, GLL Real Estate contin-ues to charge Celtic Tiger prices forthe properties. In the case of River Island, thecompany is paying €2,152,500 inrent a year for its Grafton Streetstore. This is because the shop ison a long-term, upward-only rentlease.And while River Island may beable to afford it, the issue of unsus-tainable costs has led to a raft ofclosures – most recently Korky’sshoe store in Dublin, Cava restau-rant in Galway, and B&Q homestores nationwide.The Irish Examiner reported onFebruary 13 that almost one-thirdof all retailers are in danger of col-lapse. Celtic Tiger rents in a post-Tiger world is a causal factor in allof this. The scramble to save financefrom itself has led to a situationwhereby one of the most protectedsectors in the economy is the land-lord sector – that is, those land-lords who are financial institutions. This shift in economic power,away from producers and distribu-tors of products and services, andtowards landlords and rentiers ofwealth, has also seen a change inwhat is perceived as growth. What we are facing here is aclash between employment and in-flation. For rentiers who draw anincome from paper assets – that isfrom interest and dividend pay-ments on loans, bonds, shares, cur-

rency, hedge and money marketfunds – inflation is a disaster as iteats into the profit-margins of theirinvestments. For those whose income is drawnfrom their wage, inflation is part-and-parcel of a growing economyand rising levels of employment. For example, last year in China,Brazil, Russia and India – the fourcountries seen as the most dynamicin terms of growth in the world today– inflation ran at 5.53%, 6.63%,8.46% and 8.87% respectively. In Ire-land the figure was 2.59%, while inthe eurozone it stood at 2.2%. In order for the Irish economy togrow, it needs to stimulate the econ-omy and get people back to work. And growth in inflation is part andparcel of this process. Yet, such is thehold that rentiers have on Irelandand the eurozone that any govern-ment policy that might in any waycreate employment and cause infla-tion to rise is immediately shot down.

This is the real reason why aus-terity is being foisted upon us. Wehave to suffer unemployment andcuts in social spending in order forthose whose recklessness causedthe crisis in the first place to con-tinue making money from theirrent-seeking activities.Ireland and Irish society needsjobs and that means inflation. Andfor that to happen we need to chal-lenge the rentiers. Almost everything we need isrouted through the money circuit.This gives rentiers enormous socialpower and influence. Nevertheless,for Ireland to have a future, the ren-tiers need to be challenged. The best way to do this? Employ-ment-based growth. Let that be thefocus and let us consign the wealth-renting growth model to the dust-bin where it belongs.Dr Conor McCabe, Equality Studies Centre, UCD School of Social Justice.

Grafton Street – Dublin’s premier shopping area Picture:Sebastian Dooris (CC BY 2.0)

One Struggle: Women Workers 1913-2013 is a day-long FREEevent in Liberty Hall on Saturday, March 9. The day will feature ahedge school, conference papers, speeches, film, the announce-ment of a major new art project, an opportunity to observe democratic art in the making and the launch of a new book. The theme is 100 years of women’s struggle with an emphasis onwomen in the trade union movement.

Online registration at:

The day before, on International Women’s Day, Friday, March 8there will be a ceremony to launch the Irish Women Workers UnionCommemorative Plaque on Liberty Hall. The ceremony will takeplace in Beresford Place at 5pm. All welcome.

Straight after the plaque launch, we will host an InternationalWomen’s Day 2013 celebration. The evening of food, drink, ceolagus craic will feature a pop-up Lockout Commemorative SoupKitchen in the basement of Liberty Hall. 100 years after CountessMarkievicz fed the 1913 Lockout strikers and their families in thesame spot, we want to welcome friends to come and join us as we eat, drink, chat, sing and celebrate our proud tradition.Tickets, €5, are available on the door. All proceeds to IWWUCommemorative Committee.

On the Seventh Day She Rested on Sunday, March 10 and is atour of the graves of prominent women activists buried in GlasnevinCemetery. Orator Shane Mac Thomais. Meet at the front gates at2.30pm; €3 per person.

www.siptu.ie/services/equality/conference/

SIPTU Equality in conjunction with Women’s History Association of Ireland, History Ireland, the Irish Labour History Society, 1913 TapestryProject, and the National Womens Council of Ireland presents

One Struggle:Women Workers 1913-2013 SSAATT 99TTHH MMAARRCCHH

LLIIBBEERRTTYY HHAALLLL TTHHEEAATTRREE,, DDUUBBLLIINN

International Women’s Weekend

March 8 -10, 2013


ANALYSIS

Union Representatives Advanced Course

• Understanding Mandate’s structures• Overview of Mandate’s rules• Industrial Relations institutions and mechanisms• Mandate’s Organising Model

• Negotiations & Collective Bargaining• Understanding Equality and Diversity• Developing induction presentation skills• Introduction to Employment Law• Identifying issues and using procedures

If you are interested in this course, please contact your Mandate official orMandate's Training Centre at 01-8369699. Email: [email protected]

Certification and Progression: Members who successfully complete this training course will obtaina Mandate certificate. They may progress to the FETAC level 5 Certificate in Trade Union studies

or other relevant training courses offered by Mandate.

The Union Representative Advanced Training Course is for shop stewards/union representatives who have completed the introductory course or who have relevant experience.

Course content:

Towards a people’s recoveryHERE’S the good news: the reces-sion is slowly coming to an end. Allthe main indicators are finally bot-toming out: consumer spending,employment, domestic demand, in-vestment; either this year or nextyear they should all stop falling. Like a ship that has been sinking,the economy has started to hit theocean floor.Here’s the bad news: the ship islikely to remain on the ocean floorfor a while. And it will take a longtime for it to rise back to the surface. • Unemployment will remain highfor a number of years. The Govern-ment has already admitted that un-employment will only fall by onepercentage point by the next elec-tion. On current trends unemploy-ment will remain above 10% for anumber of years.• Over one million people suffermultiple deprivation experiences –or nearly one-in-four. Nearly400,000 of these are children. Thisis not something that just affectsthose reliant on social protectionpayments. More than half of thosesuffering deprivation live in house-holds with at least one person inwork. • Investment is half the rate otherEU countries. When we invest, wespend money today to generatemore money in the future. If a busi-ness does not invest, it will stagnate.The same thing happens to a Gov-

ernment: if it does not invest in newtechnologies such as next genera-tion broadband or in modern energyand water systems or – most impor-tantly of all – in education and re-training, the future growth will below, unemployment high with depri-vation persisting.So, we are leaving the recessionbehind us only to enter into a pro-longed period of stagnation. Now, for some better news: thisstagnation is utterly avoidable. Wecan have a recovery that benefitseveryone, creating more jobs andraising living standards. But thingswill have to be different. Workersthemselves will need to participate.In other words, we must launch apeople’s recovery programme.First, there are demands weshould be making on the Govern-

ment. With over €20 billion at theirdisposal (yes, this is the amount theGovernment is holding in cash),there is no reason to put off a sus-tained and substantial investmentprogramme into modernising ourinfrastructure and upgrading oureducation system. Here is the benefit of just €1 bil-lion of investment – based on workfrom the trade union think-tankNevin Economic Research Institute.• In the first year, more than16,000 temporary jobs would becreated. When the constructionwork is done, the economy wouldstill benefit – with nearly 1,000 per-manent jobs being created.• Over half-a-billion euros in addi-tional consumer spending wouldoccur – spending in shops and busi-nesses throughout the country.

• The Government would receivemore than €700 million in tax rev-enue in the first three years. Theywouldn’t have to cut public services,child benefit, social protection pay-ments, etc.This is just the benefit from €1billion investment. Imagine doingthat three or four times over. Launching an investment pro-gramme is a demand that peopleshould be making to their local TDs,and through their trade unions, tothe Government.

Another demand is to stop hittinglow and average income earners.The latest idea floated is to tax ChildBenefit. For those on the standardrate tax band (that is, if you earnmore than €320 a week), taxingChild Benefit would mean a loss ofover €300 for every child. Familieswould receive another substantialblow to their living standards.Are there other sources? Here isone small example: the Governmentgrants tax relief for people who ownforeign property. This is worth over€70 million. Simply put, the Gov-ernment is writing owners of for-eign property a cheque to covertheir interest payments. Where isthe equity in that? There are just a couple of exam-ples from a very long list of policiesthat could grow the economy while

By Michael Taft

‘OurGovtaskedfor littleandgotless’

p29

EugeneMcCartan

at the same time ending austerity.But there’s more to be done andthis is where workplace organisa-tion becomes a vital element of apeople’s recovery programme. When workers succeed in increas-ing their income, they are helping torebuild the economy. It doesn’t matter if the increasecomes via the hourly wage or an in-crease in hours (an issue whichMandate has highlighted). What are the benefits – besidesthe obvious one to the workersthemselves?• Business a big beneficiary: In-creasing the income of low-paidworkers will immediate translateinto higher consumer spending.This means more money in the tillsand cash registers all over the coun-try.• Workers in those businessesbenefiting from the increased con-sumer spend: they will find it easierto negotiate their own income in-creases. This, in turn, will benefit morebusinesses and more workers – avirtuous cycle.• Public Finances: here is anotherbig winner. More tax revenue withhigher wages, increased spendingand rising profits. But a first step to all this is to or-ganise workers into unions. Thereason is simple – being in a unionmeans higher pay. This is called the‘trade union premium’. Recent research shows that beinga member of a trade union (and bar-gaining collectively) will result, onaverage, between eight and 10%higher pay.So it starts with being in a union,with persuading your fellow workerto join – your family members andfriends; join and become active. By strengthening ourselves in theworkplace, we can start a people’srecovery from below while demand-ing alternative policies from above. From the workplace to MerrionStreet – that’s how we will get thiscountry on the right track.Michael Taft is a research officer with Unite

A first step to allthis is to organiseworkers intounions. The reasonis simple – being ina union meanshigher pay. This iscalled the ‘tradeunion premium’

Notes on the Front

www.notesonthefront.typepad.com


MARCH – International Women’s Day and the role of women featureprominently during the month. The main events will be the unveiling of aplaque to the Irish Women Workers’ Union on Liberty Hall on Friday,March 8th and a major conference at the same venue on Saturday, March9th including leading experts on labour and women’s history

March 1st and 2nd: Cork Studies in the Irish Revolution – ‘The Cause ofLabour: 1913 and beyond’ . This will be accompanied by the joint launch ofthe Lockout Chronology by UCC and SIPTU. The Chronology will be amajor research tool for academics, teachers, students and the general pub-lic – more details to follow

March 2nd: A Century of Workers Struggle 1913-2013, Liberty Hall, hostedby Senator David Cullinane, Sinn Fein Workers Rights SpokespersonMarch 8th: International Women’s Day: Commemorative Plaque to the IrishWomen Workers’ Union by Sculptor Jackie McKenna to be unveiled at Lib-erty Hall, 6pm. ‘Food Kitchen’ enactment with music in Liberty Hall after-wards

March 8th: 1913-2013 Celebrating the Involvement of Women in the Lock-out. Speakers include James Curry on Delia Larkin and Lynn Ni Bhaoigheal-lain on Women’s Journey 1913-2013, plus A scene from ‘The Risen People’directed by Peter Sheridan and music by Niamh Parsons and GrahamDunne in The President’s Room, The Law Society, Blackhall Place, Dublin,at 7.30pm

March 8th-9th: ‘The British Labour Party and Twentieth Century Ireland’,Speakers include Dr Kevin McNamara, Joan Allen Gearoid O Tuaghaidh,Emmet O’Connor, Henry Patterson and Steven Howe, Moore Institute, NUIGalway and Harbour Hotel

March 9th: Irish Women Workers Union and the Lockout Conference.Venue: Liberty HallSession 1 Chair: Suzanna GriffinProminent Personalities of the IWWU (9.30 am -11.00)Nell Regan on Helena Molony; Rosemary Cullen Owens on Louie Bennett;James Curry on Delia Larkin; Francis Devine on Jenny Shanahan; Session 2 Chair: Helen MurphyEvents of the Time (11.30-13.00)Leann Lane on Cultural events at this time; Theresa Moriarty on the IWWUand the Lockout; Brendan Byrne on Jacobs during the Lockout; MaryMcAuliffe on The Early YearsSession 3 (14.00 to 15.30) Hedge School: Chair: Tommy Graham Panel: Mary Jones; Padraig Yeates; Francis Devine; Theresa Moriarty; MaryMcAuliffe; Rosemary Cullen Owens Session 4 Modern Times and the Role of Women in Trade UnionsSpeakers: SIPTU General Officer16.50 Close of Conference17.00 Launch of Mary Cullen’s book ’Telling It Our Way: essays in genderhistory’. Publisher, Arlen House

March 21st: ’Class Conflict or Social Compact? 1913-2013’ John LovettMemorial Lecture by Padraig Yeates, University of Limerick, 7.30pm

March 21st: Mechanics Institute, Galway: ‘Locked out: 1913 in Dublin andGalway’ – John Gibney, Mary Muldowney, Francis Devine, James Curry,John Cunningham (History Ireland Hedge School with Centre for Labourand Class)

March 26th: Launch of One City One Book, ‘Strumpet City’ in Liberty Hallat 10.30 am by Dublin’s Lord Mayor, Naoise O Muiri. Members of Plunkettfamily and actors from the cast of the RTE adaptation of ‘Strumpet City’,including Bryan Murray will attend

Lockout Centenary Admission is free unless otherwise stated

EVENTS


REPORT CLEAN CLOTHES CAMPAIGN

‘A stark reminder of value placedon the lives of garment workers’CLEAN Clothes Campaign Ireland(CCCI) recently took part in a soli-darity mission to Pakistan followinglast year’s devastating factory blazewhich claimed 259 lives.Clare Nally travelled to Karachi,Lahore and Faisalabad on behalf ofthe pressure group. During the 10-day visit she met with garmentworkers and labour organisationsand spoke to victims’ families.Ms Nally first visited the guttedremains of the Ali Enterprises fac-tory, situated in the industrial dis-trict of Baldia, Karachi, where theSeptember 11 blaze tragedy oc-curred.She told Shopfloor: “The fire beganin the fabric store on the groundfloor and quickly blocked the onlyentrance to the cutting departmentlocated in the basement, leaving allthe workers trapped inside. “The factory itself had no fire es-capes, and it was possible to seefrom the burnt remains that all thewindows in the factory were barredshut – some doubly so with a metalgrid over the bars. “This was one of the major factorsthat caused the huge loss of lifewhen the fire took hold.” As the inferno tore through thefactory, workers on the first and sec-ond floors tried to break the barsfrom the windows when they re-alised they could not escape by thestairs. Workers who had escaped the fireinside, tried to remove the bars fromthe windows from the outside, butthis proved to be almost impossible. Ms Nally said: “One of the workerswho escaped the factory told of howlocal people brought ladders to tryand reach thewindows fromoutside. “The ladderscould not reachhigh enough soworkers fortu-nate enough toescape though thewindows werefalling on to thehard gravel below.He told how theywatched helplesslythough the bars astheir friends andcolleagues burnedinside the building.”Ms Nally describedthe “poignant sight” of seeing a largepile of finished jeans lying in a pileoutside the gutted factory – somecovered in dust, some charred. She said: “Each is labelled withthe Okay mark of German discountbrand KIK, pictured above – the onlybrand so far identified as sourcingfrom the factory.

“For the most part, these jeans areall perfectly made and still perfectlywearable. Despite their cheap price,they were all hand-made with skill,and are now strewn at the side ofthe factory as a stark reminder ofthe value society has put on the livesof garment workers.“It was a reminder of the hardwork and appalling conditions the

high street fashion industryand the Pakistani governmentis constantly turning a blindeye to.”Ms Nally added that it wasimpossible not to noticewhile driving through thearea that factories – many ofthem producing garments –has their windows barredshut.After visiting the blaze site, theCCCI delegation then met the fami-lies of some of the victims to heartheir accounts of what happened onthat terrible evening and what sup-port they subsequently received. Many of the families affected lostmore than one member – often thesole family breadwinner.Some families received a smallamount of compensation from thePakistani government. The sums

they received varied from 6,000-7,000 rupees, around €60-€70, apittance given that the price of alitre of milk in Karachi costs 80c. In order to receive this compensa-tion the families had to have thedead body of their relative. However,many bodies were burnt beyondrecognition. Ms Nally said: “At the time of thetrip, there were more than 40 fami-lies still waiting for a body and therewere only 26 unidentified bodies inthe morgue. “The families of the 17 bodies stillunidentified are not entitled to com-pensation, and neither are the rela-tives of those whose bodies werecompletely destroyed in the fire.Families have submitted DNA tests,but are still waiting for results.“Tragically, one man lost five of hissix children – four daughters and a

son. Another girl the delegationspoke to was 14, with two youngersiblings, and lost both of her parentsin the blaze.” But these stories are unfortu-nately not unique. “On numerousoccasions the families mentionedhow they were struggling withmoney, finding it hard to pay forsimple needs like photocopying doc-uments – the financial strain of pho-tocopying was mentioned on severaloccasions. “These families are very con-cerned about the future, but alsoworried about finding enough foodto feed themselves in the shortterm.”Ms Nally added: “Justice is a basichuman right but seeking it is a longand hard process which these fami-lies can’t afford.”

Gutted: the now-derelict Ali Enterprises factory in Karachi where 259 workers died in a horrific blaze last September Pictures: CCCI

CCCI visits scene of horror factory blaze that claimed 259 lives...


VIEWPOINT

Game in extratime at CrokerIT’S NICE to be back. Shopfloor’seditor was kind enough to inviteme back to make another contri-bution to the paper this year. I’mflattered and grateful, not least be-cause one senior trade unionistwas forced to note my last effort(‘Stuff Croke Park’- ShopfloorMarch 2012) was a “surreal de-fence of the Croke Park agree-ment”.

Shopfloor’s editor was muchmore succinct. “Mad” was how hedescribed it, and I don’t blame him.It was.But back to business. Despite allof the complaints, demands andhate levelled at the Croke Parkagreement, its capacity to deliversavings and reforms meant that bythe end of a very challenging yearin 2012, it remained intact, andhad delivered beyond its savingstargets for the second year run-ning.As I mentioned before, this wasonly possible through the hardwork and commitment of publicsector workers since the agree-ment came into existence. There was still much disbeliefwithin the media. At every IMFpress conference last year journal-ists sought their view on the agree-ment (expecting criticism), but theIMF confirmed it was happy withit; though that response rarely gotmuch attention.Return to Croke ParkHowever, when economicgrowth fell below expectations,and a further requirement to re-duce the public sector pay bill sur-faced, it was to the Croke Parkmodel that the Government turnedto once again.Management wants to reducethe total public service pay andpension bill by €1 billion, on top ofthe measures currently being im-plemented under the Croke Parkagreement. Unions and Government arenow in discussions and the dead-line for a conclusion of those talksis at the end of February.This is a very tough call for all ofthe staff in the public service. Ourgeneral secretary, Shay Cody, de-scribed the negotiation of a furthercost saving deal as “probably themost difficult ever”.We’ve told management thatwe’ll try to reach an agreement,but that it would have to meetthree criteria to succeed:1. Management would have toprove that its proposals wouldmake genuine and necessary sav-ings.2. Any measures would have tobe fair and could not fall dispro-

banking debt, the asset sale pro-posals are still on the agenda.Among the assets up for consid-eration are the harvesting rights ofour state forest company, Coillte.What it would mean is that pri-vate interests could harvest ourtrees, but we would still own theland. The responsibility for main-taining and replanting that landwould fall to the state. And thatwould mean spending money wedon’t have on a once-profitableasset.IMPACT has formed an alliancewith a number of groups, includingMountaineering Ireland and theWoodland League, to oppose theproposed sale. Save Our Forests isthe name of the campaign, and you can found out more (and sign up to support it) at www.saveourforests.ie.Just this month, the campaignpublished a report, by economistPeter Bacon, which find that theeconomic rationale for the pro-posed sale of Coillte harvestingrights “no longer stands up andcannot be justified.” The report finds that the statewould remain liable for costs of€1.3 billion following a sale of har-vesting rights. To cover these costs,Coillte would need to sell the rightsat almost twice the current com-mercial price for supply to the tim-ber industry.If the proposal goes ahead, we’dhave sold off 80 years of harvest-ing rights for a relatively smallamount of money (a grain of sandin our desert of debt), and thenhave to find more money to serviceand replant the land. There are also the vital issues ofaccess to our forests and theamount of money lost fromtourism and trade. State forestswelcome 18 million visitors a year.In private hands, it’s doubtful thatcould continue.As Professor Gunther might say,“Don’t sell off your lovely forestsfor a handful of colouredy beanspixie heads.”Niall Shanahan is a communications officer with IMPACT

portionately on any group of staff,particularly those on low and mid-dle incomes.3. The outcome would have topass the tests of ballots in IMPACTand other unions.“Management will have to con-vince us of the genuine need forany changes they seek, and alsoconvince union members that theyare preferable to any possible al-ternatives,” said Shay.Ministers from both Govern-ment parties have recently saidthere will be “no further ask” ofpublic servants if an extension tothe Croke Park deal can be agreed. The comments come as negotia-tions intensify; following detailedtalks on cross-sectoral issues in re-cent weeks, management is ex-pected to table the overall shape ofa potential agreement shortly.Extra timeManagement have raised theissue of extending working hoursfor public servants, and has tableda proposed increase of an hour perday during the negotiations. It hasprovoked a lot of discussion atmember AGMs and at the union’sexecutive. IMPACT and other unions havedemanded data on how, and byhow much, any added time wouldreduce the public service pay bill.The unions have engaged externalfinancial advisors to examine themanagement data.There is some way to go yet, butIMPACT continues to emphasisethat anything that emerges mustbe equitable, and that it will be putto a ballot of all members. Theywill have the final say on whetherto accept or reject it.Saving our forestsWhen we’re not down on thepitch at Croke Park, we’re out inthe forests trying to save the pre-cious resource of our state forests.As you might already know, ourGovernment is weighing up a lot ofstate assets for sale in order to re-duce our substantial debts. Despiterecent events in relation to the

By Niall Shanahan

Why I’m on sidewith Fair Shop!

DAVE Meade from Tesco, Clearwater infinglas, Dublin, won the firstever fair Shop competition runby the campaign and received a€200 fair Shop voucher.

Dave, pictured above with hisson Cillian, is a long-time Man-date Trade Union activist andsaid he was delighted to receivethe voucher.

He told Shopfloor: "fair Shopis a fantastic idea and it'ssomething I'm very supportiveof. fair play to everybody in-volved. Any campaign thathighlights the importance ofcollective bargaining in theworkplace and the right forworkers to be represented bya trade union has to be com-mended.

“I look forward to future fair Shop ini-tiatives and my involvement in them."


www.fairshop.ie

INDUSTRIAL NEWS

AT A significant cost to Tesco Ire-land the Employment Appeals Tri-bunal has ordered the retailer tore-instate a worker dismissed morethan two years ago over an alleged“breach” of its privilege card policy. The move follows two hearingsheld in July and November last year. In its decision, the Tribunal foundthat Dominic Shiels, who worked atthe supermarket in Clarehall, wasunfairly dismissed and cited numer-ous failings by Tesco during thecourse of an investigation and ap-peals process. In its determination, the EATstated that there was “no fact infinding to justify” the company’s as-sertions that Mr Shiel’s continuouslyaltered his version of events duringthe investigation.The Tribunal relied on three prin-cipal points when reaching its deci-sion – “the unreliability of

documents relating to the privilegecard, the lack of warning and im-proper procedure”. It accepted that Mr Shiels “hon-estly understood that his use of theprivilege card in December 2010was not prohibited”.It claimed the “various documentsoutlining the use, misuse, transferand all rules relating to the privilegecard are ambiguous at least and donot set out with adequate accuracythe rules relating to the use of thecard”. Mr Shiels, had worked for TescoIreland since 2004, was checkoutmanager at the time of his dismissal. Despite his unblemished recordhe was dismissed by the companyon the January 12, 2011 for what itdescribed as a “breach of the privi-lege card policy”. Mr Shiels appealed the decision inaccordance with the

company/union appeal processthrough his trade union representa-tive Brendan O’Hanlon.However, the company upheld thedismissal, leaving Mr Shiels with no

option but to refer the matter to theTribunal.During cross-examination, the ap-peals manager stated in evidencethat he saw no difference betweenalleged “misuse or abuse” of the

card, before going on to say that hehad not dismissed an employee inanother store for a similar breach.The Tribunal flagged up this pointand referred to Mr Shiels being“treated differently to other employ-ees without any apparent reason”. Mr Shiels in sworn evidence toldthe Tribunal that he could havemade “an honest mistake” in the useof his privilege card during certaintransactions. He added that there was no inten-tion on his part to deceive the re-spondent and added that he mighthave misinterpreted the privilegecard rules. Commenting on the decision MrO’Hanlon said he was “delighted” forMr Shiels, who had taken the “bravedecision to challenge the injusticecarried out against him”. He told Shopfloor: “It is clear fromthe Tribunal’s decision that the com-

pany had not acted reasonably.“Notwithstanding the fact that MrShiels will have all his entitlements –including his pay, annual leave andbonuses etc – backdated to his dateof dismissal, the stress of having nojob and having to make ends meetfor over two years is an enormousburden and extremely stressful onany employee.“This is a burden and stress whichthe Unfair Dismissals Act does notlegislate for.” Expressing his gratitude “for allthe help I got from the union and mylocal representatives”, Mr Shielsadded: “They supported me andwere with me all the way through-out the case. “I am delighted with the Tribu-nal’s decision and I’m really lookingforward to returning to work andgetting my life back on track after along two years.”

Tesco told to reinstate worker‘My union and mylocal rep supported me and were with me all the way throughout the case’


By Eugene McCartan

THE Government and the EU have been at-tempting to spin the deal done on the Anglopromissory note (a giant IOU) as the best dealpossible, one that will benefit the country tothe tune of €1 billion a year, thereby easing theausterity by that amount.This is simply untrue: we still have bor-rowed and owe the same amount of money,just from a different source. The fact is that theGovernment asked for little, and less wasgranted.All of the internal Irish troika – Fine Gael, Fi-anna Fáil, and Labour – have agreed from thevery beginning that they would make the Irishpeople pay back every penny of the debt, be-cause they (not us) were duty-bound to “hon-our” the debt of their political and financialbackers, a debt they incurred to German,Dutch, British, French and other banks. This was a political deal between the Euro-pean and Irish elites and nothing else: it wasnever for the people or for relieving the suffer-ing of the people. What the Government’s much-heralded“bank deal” has done is to turn very dodgypromissory notes (which were possibly illegalin the first place) between institutions intosovereign debt. What that means is they turned a debt be-tween corporate institutions into your debtand your responsibility to pay for the nextthree to four decades.This is like being asked to pay the mortgageon a house you don’t own and that will neverbe yours and that you will never live in, but youaccept the responsibility of paying the mort-gage regardless, while your income is con-stantly being cut, and your job becoming moreprecarious.Cost of the bank bailoutA recent study by Eurostat showed that Ire-land, and the Irish people, have paid the high-est cost for the bank bail-outs in Europe. Ireland has paid 42% of the total Europeanbank bailout, or €41 billion; that is a quarter of

the country’s GDP. This compares with the €40billion Germany has paid, which is only 1.5% ofits GDP. It is costing the Irish people the equiv-alent of €9,000 per person, compared withGermany’s €491 per person or an EU averageof €192 per person.Economists believe that a debt of 80% of acountry’s GDP is unsustainable and becomesunpayable. Ireland’s national debt today is120% of GDP. Without a significant write-down of the debt,the situation becomes impossible. The recentdeal presented by the Government was not awrite-down of the money owed in the form ofthe promissory-note debt: they just extendedthe repayment period.What is important is to remember that theIrish bailout was ultimately paying back loansmade to Irish financial institutions by our“partners” in Germany, Britain, France, Bel-gium, and the Netherlands. The Irish guaranteewas a guarantee that we would pay them back. All the main parties in the Dáil, includingsome on the left, and even some trade unionleaders (though not Mandate), have beentelling the people that the debt is payable if we“grow” our exports, thereby generating morejobs and so more taxes, thereby providing in-come to the Government with which to pay thedebt.The obvious question to ask is: if every oneof the heavily indebted countries – Ireland,Portugal, Spain, and Greece – is being told toexport more to pay the debt, who is going toimport? One example of how false this argument iscan be seen in the fact that in the last threemonths of 2012 the German economy had itssecond-largest trade surplus (exports greaterthan imports) in almost 60 years, in part be-cause of an unexpected drop in imports in De-cember, while during those three months theeconomy contracted by 0.5%. German work-ers’ wages have barely kept pace with inflation,in more than 20 years. As we have argued before, “austerity” isabout the transfer of wealth from workers, theunemployed, the sick and pensioners to therich, to global finance houses. It is taking money out of your pocket and

giving it directly to foreign banks. The harderwe work, the more we produce for export, themore poverty will grow.So what they are planning is economicgrowth that generates greater profits and atthe same time generates more poverty andausterity for the mass of people. Who ben-efits? The transnational corporationsand bankers. Who loses? You andyour family. The real challenge thatworking people now face isthat we can’t resolve thedebt burden on the termslaid down by the banks,the EU, or all the mainparties represented inthe Dáil. We need tostart thinking outsidethe box. We can no longerafford to think interms of “I” and “me”but need to starttalking, thinkingand – most impor-tantly – acting as “we”and “us.” There are al-ternatives to perma-nent debt slavery, butthey are not wishedinto being, they arebuilt.Just as previous gen-erations of trade unionactivists were told thata 40-hour week orovertime payments ormeal breaks were piein the sky, they dreamtbigger dreams than thesmall minds that con-trolled their lives. They had thecourage to think out-side the box, to standup for their own de-mands, and throughbitter struggles realisedthose dreams.

BRASS TACKS ANGLO DEAL

Repudiate The Debt Campaign

‘Economists believethat a debt of 80% of

a country’s GDP isunsustainable and

becomes unpayable.Ireland’s national

debt today is 120%’

Pic

ture

: Inf

omat

ique

(CC

BY-

SA

2.0)

Troubled waters: View of a protestorat the February 9 demo in Dublin

Our government asked forlittle and less was granted

Croke ParkReport bloghttp://crokeparkreport.wordpress.com

UNITE analysis and information on issues relating to the re-negotiations of the Croke Park Agreement

INTERNATIONAL NEWS USA

UNI Global has called on Mandate membersto send their support to striking workers atUS shopping chain Walmart.Staff at stores in Lauren, Maryland andDallas,Texas are taking action over what UNIGlobal claim are attempts to silence workerswho dare to speak out.According to UNI Global, managementmade it clear in a February 6 memo directedat those who took part in the ‘Black Friday’strikes at Walmart last November that staffcould be disciplined for going on futurestrikes.UNI Global General Secretary Philip Jen-nings described the memo as “another low”

on Walmart’s part.He said: “Their cynical at-tempt to rewrite history will not wash. Thestriking Black Friday Walmart workers wereexercising their legal right to withdraw theirlabour and putting their jobs on the line in theface of severe intimidation. “They acted courageously and correctly. TheBentonville bosses are now attempting to runroughshod over the US law. The workers inLauren and Dallas are fighting back and theywill not be the last.”Colby Harris, a striking worker from Dallas,said: "Walmart's threats and retaliation are adirect violation of my rights under the na-tional labour relations act. I believe in a better

Walmart and that silencing associates whowant to make Walmart better is immoral andillegal.” Colby has started an online petition –"Walmart: Stop silencing associates whospeak out” – addressed to the CEO of WalmartUSA.UNI Commerce chief Alke Boessiger toldShopfloor: “Every Walmart worker anywherehas the right to speak freely and to be treatedwith respect." And she urged Mandate mem-bers to register their feelings online at:www.facebook.com/OURWMTwww.coworker.org/petitions/walmart-stop-silencing-associates-who-speak-out

UNI Global urge Mandate members to back US strikers


Work ethic inthe classroom

EDUCATION INTERNATIONAL NEWS COLOMBIA

THE new academic year saw thelaunch of another 12 ‘studioschools’, the work-based sisterproject of academies. By next yearthere will be 30, with more on theway. Launched quietly in 2010, studioschools allow private businesses torun state education for 14 to 19-year-olds with learning ‘on the job’and not in the classroom. Forunder‑16s, that means unpaidwork for corporate sponsors aspart of the curriculum. For UK Education SecretaryMichael Gove, studio schools are amanifestation of his government’spledge to teach children what em-ployers want them to learn. “I am committed to respondingto calls from employers for an edu-cation system that develops the fu-ture workforce with the skills theyneed,” he has said. As such, they are backed by busi-ness lobbies such as the Confeder-ation of British Industry, theChambers of Commerce and theInstitute of Directors. Since they are designed to meetthe needs of sponsor businesses,some of the specialist courses theyprovide include catering, manufac-turing and social care. They alsoreflect working life, with long daysand short holidays.They teach a basic version of thenational curriculum in the UK,which is taught outside of theclassroom and through work-based projects. While on the one hand the op-portunity for students to combineacademic study with work experi-ence may give them a competitiveedge when applying for certainjobs in the future, this watered-down curriculum is equally likelyto narrow students’ careerprospects. Almost any business can set up astudio school by paying a volun-tary subscription of just £8,000 tothe UK government. In return, thegovernment builds and maintainsa school, but the power to run theschool remains firmly in the handsof private sponsors. National Express, GlaxoSmithK-line, Sony, Ikea, Disney, Michelin,Virgin Media and Hilton Hotels arejust some of the corporate playerswho have bought into the scheme. So what is in it for these in-vestors? First, they hope that graduatesof studio schools will work forthem in the future – the taxpayer ispaying to train their future employ-ees. Second, pupils must spend up to40% of their school lives workingfor these companies. Predictably,these sponsor firms only pay theminimum wage – and that’s only

for their over-16 students. Under-16s, meanwhile, mustwork at least four hours a week forlocal sponsors unpaid. It is perhapsironic that a system that is sup-posed to teach children what it islike to work in the real world doesnot pay them to do a job. Moreover, the introduction ofcheap child labour into the work-place is likely to drive down wagesfor adult workers doing similarjobs. For NUT General SecretaryChristine Blower, “studio schoolsare an unnecessary additional typeof school within a system that al-ready has too much diversity”. The teachers’ union believes stu-dio schools represent a threat tolocal education provision becausethey fragment neighbouringschools’ funding and admissionsarrangements, their approval sys-tem and application process lackstransparency, and they have beenset up with little consultation or ev-idence of demand or even effective-ness. The NUT does not see how stu-dents at these schools will experi-ence a broad and balancedcurriculum because most of themfocus on a narrow range of voca-tional subjects beyond the basiccore of English, maths and science. Studio schools are also not re-quired to employ qualified teach-ers, or adhere to national payarrangements. The small size ofstudio schools (which usually holdjust 300 students) means classsizes are smaller. But making classsizes smaller does not require cor-porate sponsorship of schools. Moreover, since the intention isto appeal to students who fail tothrive in a conventional school set-ting, studio schools may just turninto a way to remove under-achiev-ing students from mainstream edu-cation and stream them intovocational pathways at an early age,instead of helping them to improveacademically. Studio schools raise a widerquestion concerning education:what is it for? Employers have al-ready told university graduates thatthey no longer require so manyworkers with degrees. Now they are suggesting thatpupils as young as 14 would be bet-ter off working for them for freethan going to school. With studio schools, education isincreasingly becoming indistin-guishable from preparation for lim-ited-horizon work. Their riserepresents another step in thecreeping corporate takeover of ourpublic services.This article first appeared in radical bi-monthly magazine Red Pepper. Check outwww.redpepper.org.uk

By John O’BrienTHE Colombian government and left-ist FARC rebels returned to the talkstable on January 14 after a three-week break over Christmas and theNew Year.Both sides stated their desire toquicken the pace of negotiations –the talks process is the fourth at-tempt to end bloodshed that has cost600,000 lives and left millions of oth-ers displaced since the conflict beganin 1964.Ivan Marquez,leader of the FARCdelegation, called on the governmentto "cease the warmongering rhetoricthat accompanies false promises toresolve social problems." He also told reporters that the ad-ministration of President JuanManuel Santos must "publicly com-mit to presenting quick and tangiblesolutions that are devoid of dema-goguery."The rebels' unilateral ceasefire wasdue to end on January 20 and FARCtold reporters they would not extendtheir ceasefire unless the govern-ment declared one too, but, the gov-ernment has continued its offensive,accusing the guerrillas of continuingto attack civilians and soldiers. "We are in a phase in which we canget results for an agreement to endthe conflict," said chief governmentnegotiator Humberto de la Calle,stressing that Colombians want an"efficient, dignified, quick and seri-ous" peace process.Colombian President Santos, whohas warned that the talks must con-clude by November, admitted lastmonth that the negotiations weremoving slowly.At the opening session, the FARCdelegation unveiled 15 proposals to"break up and redistribute land own-ership by getting rid of unproductivelarge estates." They also aim to "over-come the political, economic, socialand cultural conditions that generateviolence in Colombia. However, the

government representatives coun-tered that the FARC were merelyseizing on ideas proposed during anagrarian forum that was held in Bo-gota in December to score politicalpoints. The third round of negotiationswere scheduled to last 11 days dur-ing which time the two delegationswould debate the ideas offered by theforum, which came up with 546 pro-posals from 1,314 Colombian citizensand 522 organisations. In addition to land reform, the ne-gotiations would include drug traf-ficking, political participation,disarmament and victims' rights.A few days later, on January 18 and19, a public hearing opened in theCauca department of Colombia, or-ganised by the nationwide social andpolitical movement, Patriotic March. Its stated aim was to raise aware-ness of the humanitarian crisis takingplace in the region as a result of theconflict and highlighted the urgentneed for a bilateral ceasefire to beagreed between the FARC and theColombian government. The event, attended by more than1,000 delegates from 33 organisa-tions, representing 15 municipalities

across the region, included testimonyfrom local communities, and pro-vided medical and psychological as-sistance.Congressmen Iván Cepeda andHernando Hernández attended, aswell as representatives from theHuman Rights Ombudsman’s Office,the UN High Commission for HumanRights and Patriotic March leadingmember, former Senator Piedad Cor-doba.Cauca, the department in south-west Colombia often described as the“epicentre” of the conflict, has beenmarred by abuses against the civilianpopulation, including assassinations,the occupation of civilian homes,schools and infrastructure by theColombian armed forces and illegalarmed groups with a strong paramili-tary presence in the area. The military operation, known as‘Sword of Honour’, was also de-nounced as having resulted in the ar-rests or legal proceedings beingtaken against several communityleaders and human rights activists.Hundreds of arrest warrants havebeen issued.The beginning of 2013 was alsomarked by more bloodshed inColombia. On January 16, seven peo-ple were assassinated in Puerto Asis,Putumayo. The killings are part of awave of violence by the Urabenosparamilitary group, which has al-ready led to the assassination of 18people in the town. Among the deadhave been loggers, taxi drivers andyoung people. On January 30, teacher tradeunionist Elizabeth Gutiérrez was as-sassinated in Victoria, Valle delCauca. Ms Gutierrez was an activistin SUTEV, the teachers’ union of Valledel Cauca, affiliated to the FECODEnational teachers’ union, and taughtat the San Jose de Obando Institutefor education.Justice for Colombia (Ireland) is an ICTUcampaign committee. For further details,please contact John O'Brien by emailing [email protected]

Peace talks to brokerColombia settlementinch on despite killings

Online every month

TRADE UNIONNEWS NORTHAND SOUTH

Produced in associationwith the Irish Congress

of Trade Unions

www.ictu.ie/publications/fulllist/category/unionpost/

NEWS YOU CAN USENION POSTFEBRUARY 2012

PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE IRISH CONGRESS OF TRADE UNIONS

THE

USir Alex phones Vita Cortexworkers with this advice...

MANCHESTER United manager

Alex Ferguson made a surprise

phone call to the Vita Cortex

workers on February 13 to tell

them he supported their fight and

to “stick in there” until they se-

cured victory. The sporting legend expressed

his admiration and backing for the

workers' stand for justice. He told them he had been in-

volved in the apprentice strikes at

the Clyde shipyards in 1961 and

understood what they were going

through in their battle to secure

agreed redundancy terms.SIPTU organiser Anne Egar de-

scribed it as a “magical moment”

to hear Sir Alex endorse the

workers’ stand and reassure them

that they would succeed if they

stick together and fight for what is

just.She said: “When someone like

Alex Ferguson tells you persever-

ance and teamwork will see you

win out, it is of course a huge

boost."Vita Cortex worker Jim Power,

who spoke to Mr Ferguson, de-

scribed the phone call as a "mas-

sive boost"."He spoke about his involve-

ment in an apprentice boys' strike

in Glasgow and told us to 'stick in

there’. I'm a Man United supporter

so I'm delighted but everyone

here – even the Liverpool FC

guys – are saying 'fair play'." Last

month, veteran human rights ac-

tivist Noam Chomsky emailed the

workers to voice his suppport for

their “determination to carry on in

the face of suffering and oppres-

sion”.His January 19 email concluded:

“I hope that your courageous and

honourable actions will be a model

that will inspire others as well to

act instead of succumbing passively,

and wish you the greatest success

in this just and crucial campaign

for basic rights.”The call from the Man Utd boss

came two days after more than

5,000 people marched in solidarity

with the Vita Cortex workers

through the centre of Cork.

Speaking at the rally, organised

by the Cork Council of Trade

Unions, Anne Egar praised the

workers’ “stamina and principle”

and vowed they would not suc-

cumb.The Vita Cortex workers are

entering their third month occupy-

ing their former workplace on the

Kinsale Road, Cork. The facility was closed on

December 16 with management

claiming they could not honour

agreed redundancy terms.

STICK INTHERE

STICK INTHEREPerseveranceand team work

will win out in the end

Backing:Sir AlexFerguson

Pict

ure:

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Congress: Jobs plan fails on ‘demand deficit’ Page 3

NEWS YOU CAN USE

NION POSTMAY 2012

PUBLISHED IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE IRISH CONGRESS OF TRADE UNIONSTHE

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WORKERS’ JOY ASEPIC SIT-IN ENDS

Picture: Courtesy TV3 News

CONGRESS general secretaryDavid Begg has praised the “forti-tude and resilience” of Vita Cortexworkers following the end of theirepic 161-day sit-in.The 23 workers ended their occupation of the Kinsale Roadplant in Cork at 2.30pm on May 24.The sun was shining and therewere cheers from family membersand supporters as they walked outtogether for the last time.

It came after company bossespaid the staff an agreed sum as afinal settlement to the dispute.David Begg told The Union Post:“The extrordinary fortitude andresilience shown by the workers insecuring this deal is an example totrade unionists everywhere. “SIPTU – and its organisers –should also be justly proud of therole they played in supportingmembers at Vita Cortex.”

Shop steward Sean Kelleher, aVita Cortex employee for 47 years,said: “Five months was a very longtime but I’m just glad we never de-cided to walk away.”He said the workers wanted tothank SIPTU, the people of Cork“and those further afield” for theirsolidarity and support.SIPTU organiser Anne Egar saidthe Vita Cortex dispute shouldshow workers “that if you stay to-

gether and never give up, justicecan be achieved.”Jack O’Connor, the union’s gen-eral president and past president ofCongress, added: “The courage anddetermination shown by the work-ers has provided inspiration topeople in Ireland, and abroad, whoare struggling against unfair treat-ment. I wish to congratulate themfor maintaining their resolve andachieving a successful outcome.”

New Congress reportcharts pathway to economic recovery

Page 2

Public hearing: Congressman Ivan Cepeda

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While academies have made headlines across the water,the UK government’s new ‘studio schools’ are making children work for corporate sponsors, Alex Diaz reports


TRAINING COURSES

Course Title Dates Course Duration

Course Location

Union RepresentativeIntroductory March 4,5, 6, 3 days Cork

Union Representative Introductory April 8, 9,10 3 days Waterford

Union Representative Introductory April 15,16,17 3 days OTC* Dublin

Union Representative Fetac 5 Advanced May 13,14,15 3 days OTC Dublin

Health and Safety Elected Representatives Fetac 5 May 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 5 days OTC Dublin

Union Representative Introductory May 27,28, 29 3 days OTC Dublin

Union Representative Introductory June 10, 11, 12 3 days Sligo

Union Representative Introductory June 17, 18, 19 3 days OTC Dublin

Equality and Integration July 10 1 day OTC Dublin

*OTC = Mandate Organising and Training Centre; Venue dates and times may vary

By Frances ByrneTWO very alarming reports havebeen published since the last edi-tion of ShopFloor. The first was the 2011 EU Surveyon Income & Living Conditions,known as SILC, which is an annualpicture of our income and povertylevels. The second was by Caritas-Eu-ropa, a network of EuropeanCatholic charities. The group re-leased a study looking at austeritycovering those countries deemed tobe worst affected – Ireland, Greece,Italy, Portugal and Spain. The EU SILC looks at poverty, in-come levels and reports on depriva-tion rates. It is released annuallyand usually the Central Statistics Of-fice publishes the Irish figures inlate November; but ironically the2011 report was delayed and ar-rived in mid-February, within daysof the infamous ‘prom note’ deal.

Whether you think it’s a great dealor not, the fact is that it will in fu-ture heap bankers’ debts upon theshoulders of our children and evenour as yet unborn grandchildren.The headline 2011 SILC figuresare stark. They won’t surprise any-one who knows the reality of theimpact of austerity, but they areshocking nevertheless:• 733,000 people are living inpoverty – a new record,• One in seven of those identifiedas ‘at risk of poverty’ has a job,• 232,000 children, or 18% of allchildren are at risk of poverty,• The percentage of those of uswho experience economic depriva-tion has more than doubled from11.8% in 2007 to 24.5% in 2011,• Single-parent households stoodout as the most deprived in the sur-vey – with 56% classified as de-prived.The Caritas-Europa report was noless worrying, albeit that it alsowent beyond these shores. Its key

findings about Ireland were:• Youth unemployment rates areparticularly high (30.7%),• Our long-term unemploymentrate is now third highest in Europebehind Greece and Spain,

• 1.3m people are at risk ofpoverty, and• Without social welfare pay-ments, 90% of over-65s would beliving in poverty.In summary, the official CSO fig-ures and the findings of the first re-port about those countries worstaffected by austerity demonstrate

that the choices being made by gov-ernment are leading to increasingpoverty and worsening deprivationfor many.OPEN and others representingthose living in worsening poverty,have warned repeatedly that con-stant cuts to social welfare and vitalservices would result in dire out-comes for generations. The fact is growing up in povertyhas lasting and profound impactson children. This is uncontested. Aswe go to press, the Children’s RightsAlliance has issued its 2013 ReportCard and has given the governmentan ‘F’ for child poverty.It’s long past time the govern-ment stopped congratulating itselffor protecting basic welfare rates. They were never enough to liveon anyway. So other supports, suchas Child Benefit, Back to SchoolClothing & Footwear Allowance,Rent Supplement, Medical Cardsand the Earnings Disregard for loneparents, have all played a key role in

protecting those on a weekly pay-ment from abject poverty. Everysingle one of them has been cut. The Children’s Rights Alliance inits 2013 Report Card stated: “A re-cent longitudinal study of childrenshowed that in 2008 only 7% of thechildren reported that their familieshad some or great difficulties inmaking ends meet. When asked thesame questions in 2012, the figurehad tripled to 23%”.Unless government wants thisfigure to keep increasing, it needs tostop cutting vital income supportswhich all families have to rely on tokeep their heads above water. Otherwise future generations willcarry a deeply unfair doublewhammy: the long-term impact ofthe choices now being made underausterity, as well as the privatedebts of anonymous bondholders. Frances Byrne is CEO of OPEN, represent-ing one-parent groups in Ireland

AND FINALLY...

Generations unborn burdened with debt

‘Fact is growing upin poverty has lasting & profound impacts on children.This is uncontested’

www.fairshop.ie

shopfloor february 2013

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