shopfloor september 2013

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MANDATE TRADE UNION SEPTEMBER 2013 S HOPFLOOR BUdgeT cOMMeNT & aNalYSiS Pages 4, 15 & 31

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Page 1: Shopfloor September 2013

MANDATE TRADE UNION SEPTEMBER 2013SHOPFLOOR

Budget comment & analysis Pages 4, 15 & 31

Page 2: Shopfloor September 2013

SHOPFLOOR y September 20132

INDUSTRIAL NEWS

Do you have a perspectiveon the Irish political, socialor economic environmentthat you'd like to share withyour fellow members inMandate Trade Union? Doyou have a good news storyabout how being a unionmember has benefited youand your colleagues in theworkplace. Have you a storyabout how you or your familyare coping in the current re-cession. Whatever it is, we'dlike 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 write for shopfloor?

deliquent companies mustface stronger sanctions

By David GibneyMandate communications officerMAnDATE called off industrial ac-tion scheduled for September 10that four Marks & Spencer stores afteran agreement was brokered be-tween the union and management.Members at the stores – in DunLaoghaire, Mullingar, naas and Tal-laght – voted in favour of industrialaction in August after M&S bossesissued employees with compulsoryredundancy notices without explor-ing alternatives.Mandate officials and M&S repre-sentatives negotiated a settlementwhich was balloted on and acceptedby those members affected on Sep-tember 4th.Mandate Assistant General Secre-tary Gerry Light told Shopfloor: “Itis regretful that our members hadto threaten industrial action inorder to achieve what was a veryreasonable proposition. “As a union, we had never ques-tioned the motives for the closure ofthe four stores and all we were ask-ing was that redeployment shouldbe an option where possible. Ourmembers fought for redeploymentand they have now won that oppor-tunity. Our members voted almostunanimously in favour of a compre-

hensive set of proposals, whichallow for redeployment to nearbystores.“The level of support for the pro-posals shows the quality of the dealnegotiated and it is now up to theunion and our members to ensurethere is as large an uptake of thosejobs on offer as possible.“This successful outcome for theMarks & Spencer workers was onlyachieved because they were unitedin their union and were prepared tofight for a better deal for them-selves and their families. “It again emphasises the impor-tance and value of being a tradeunion member in today’s economicenvironment.”‘Grit and determination’Divisional Organiser Joe Donnelly,who was part of the team involvedin brokering the deal, welcomed thewholehearted backing the agree-ment had received from members. He said: “The issuing of compul-sory notices last month had causedour members a great deal of anxi-ety. However, they showed greatcourage, grit and determination insticking together and, through theirunion, winning an acceptable agree-ment.”

M&S action called offafter deal is brokered

By David GibneyMandate communications officerMAnDATE General Secretary andICTU President John Douglas hascalled for stronger sanctions to beslapped on delinquent companiesand asked why should their “bad be-haviour... be rewarded”.He made the comments at a recentJoint Oireachtas hearing as he high-lighted inadequacies in the Employ-ment Appeals Tribunal. Mr Douglas was critical of manage-ment who “hide behind a veil of cor-porate secrecy” to “avoid theirresponsibilities as employers.”In particular, Mr Douglas raised theplight of Connolly Shoes workersfrom Dun Laoghaire who, despitewinning an unfair dismissal case in2011, have still not received anycompensation from their employer.He explained how directors of lim-ited liability companies sometimesset up associated companies to hideassets when the state deems them li-able for breaches in employment law.Mr Douglas was one of six wit-nesses at the Joint Oireachtas Com-mittee hearing.The committee also heard fromJohn O’Sullivan, a worker who spentfour years chasing his employer forwhat he was owed through an EATjudgment.Employers’ body IBEC, which alsoattended the hearing, was widelycriticised by committee members forimplying that many workers take“frivolous and vexatious” casesagainst employers for unfair dis-missal. IBEC also called for a cost tobe imposed on workers who take un-fair dismissal cases to the EAT.The hearing was also attended byofficials from several government de-partments currently drafting legisla-tion which it is hoped will address anumber of Mandate’s concerns, par-ticularly over the enforcement of

awards by the EAT. Esther Lynch,present at the hearing on behalf ofICTU, claimed there were “101 ways”employers deliberately frustrated thesystem so that employees eventuallydropped their cases. But she added: “The Minister canintroduce changes to insolvencyrules in Budget 2014 which wouldaddress some of the unions’ con-cerns.”Deputy Richard Boyd Barrett fromthe Technical Group raised the injus-tice of unscrupulous employers whotransfer the onus of responsibility forunfair dismissals on to the taxpayerby forcing workers to seek theiraward from the Government’s insol-vency fund.Senator David Cullinane from SinnFein said he had personal experienceof getting the “run around” from em-ployers in the early 1990s andpointed out that nothing seems tohave changed. He added that it wasn’t true to saythat the EAT system is free for allworkers and flagged up the cost intaking time off work, a cost for unionrepresentatives and other associated

costs. Labour Party senator SusanO’Keeffe condemned IBEC’s state-ments claiming it was disingenuousto say that employees had no costswhen taking a case to the EAT, sayingit was a “risible thing to say.” Senator O’Keeffe added she was"disappointed” the employers’ bodyhad used “vexatious and frivolous"language.John Douglas concluded by statingbad employers should not be re-warded by allowing the taxpayer tobail them out when they make baddecisions.He asked: “Why should bad behav-iour from that employer be re-warded? Why should the state notput a charge on the directors of thatcompany? Why shouldn’t those direc-tors be banned from ever being a di-rector again? “This is about workers. Workersshould have access to address theirconcerns and to right wrongs. Thelegislation as it stands forces workersdown cul-de-sacs and it needs to beopened so that workers can accessjustice,” he added.

Gen Sec gives evidence before Oireachtas hearing

SUPPORT Office workers at Su-perquinn have unanimously ac-cepted a set of proposals brokeredby the union in advance of the namechange of stores to SuperValu.The branding announcement,made by grocery chain bosses onAugust 7th and which comes into ef-fect next February, impacts particu-larly on the 102 workers at theLucan-based Support Office.Mandate held a number of meet-ings with management and ham-mered out a comprehensive dealduring the consultation period fol-lowing the announcement.The deal included:l Five weeks inclusive redun-dancy package with no cap on thesum;l In addition to this, an incre-

mental scale of completion pay-ments based on service also applied(€1,000 up to two years; €2,500 be-tween two and five years; €5,000between five and 10 years; €6,000between 10 and 15 years; €7,000between 15 and 20 years; and€8,500 for 20 years and above);l A training fund guaranteeingeach individual €2,000 towards fur-ther education;l An extension to the company’sdoctors scheme for the remainder ofthe year of their departure and oneyear after, as well as the discountcard for an additional 12 monthsafter leaving;l Paid outplacement service toinclude paid release for interviews;l Colleague Assistance Pro-gramme in place for a year.

l Five weeks pay per completedyear of service for those memberswith less than 104 weeks service;l Redeployment options withinMusgrave and Musgrave Operatingpartners along with a six-month,opt-out clause to avail of redun-dancy termsMandate Industrial OfficialJonathan Hogan told Shopfloor: “Theconclusion of the negotiations andthe acceptance of the proposals bymembers represented a fair and rea-sonable outcome having regard toall of the circumstances. “It proves once again that such aresult is more likely to be achievedthrough workers effectively combin-ing and being represented at the ne-gotiating table by a competentprofessional trade union.”

Superquinn support staff vote for deal

Page 3: Shopfloor September 2013

September 2013 y SHOPFLOOR 3

Exactly 100 years ago this month, over 20,000 workers in Dublin werelocked out of their jobs by an employer class supported by church and Statedetermined to smash the emerging trade union movement. Workers of Dublin combined under the leadership of Jim Larkin to fight for de-cent jobs, a living wage and an end to life in the slums. It was a class war, workersdemanding a fairer share of the wealth they created while employers were deter-mined to hold on to their privileges which had as its foundation exploitation, casuallabour and low wages. Against all the odds, the workers of Dublin held out fornearly six months until finally starvation, scabs and police brutality forced an end tothe strike. They returned to work not beaten but determined to fight another day.

And so they did, over the next decades they won many victories – better condi-tions, better contracts, social housing, pensions, sick pay schemes and most ofall they created a value system based on solidarity which at its core had the prin-ciple “an injury to one is an injury to all”.So, today have we forgotten the lessons of 1913? Are the values of 1913 as rele-vant today?, or are we so consumed by our own personal survival that we ignore theplight of our neighbours, fellow workers or the future shape of society for our chil-dren and grandchildren. Over the last five years, Irish people have endured manysacrifices and hardships in an attempt to right the wrongs of the political and eco-nomic elite which brought this country to its knees.

Yes, these are different sacrifices and hardships than those endured by the citi-zens of Dublin in 1913, but nonetheless, they are severe. There are over 400,000 of our brothers and sisters locked out of employment,forced to exist on the dole, tens of thousands of families have been divided throughemigration and more than 100,000 citizens are in fear of losing their homes througheviction by the very banks they helped save. The most vulnerable, the sick, disabledand the elderly have suffered cut after cut in the name of austerity policies.

And the employer groups of today are no less determined to snuff out work-ers’ resistance than they were in 1913. Employer groups, such as the Fast Food Alliance and others have systematicallytargeted workers’ rights and the basic decency thresholds that underpin the valuesystem of a fair society. The Joint Labour Committees once set basic minimumwages and conditions for workers in the most vulnerable sectors, such as hotels,restaurants, cleaning, retail and farming – the Fast Food Alliances armed with deeppockets drove a coach and horses through these minimum conditions in the HighCourt. The construction employer groups did the same to the Construction Regis-tered Agreements in the High Court, prompting a race to the bottom. The same Irish media which cheered on the employers of 1913 are cheering onthe employers of 2013 and those who dare to speak out and stand up are brandedanti-jobs or loony left. Their sole objective is to drive down the share of wealth cre-ated which goes to labour in favour of capital. The net result of their actions is thatlarge sections of the Irish economy no longer provide workers with a decent job ora living wage, instead offering part-time, low hour contracts on the minimum wage.

Workers are seen as commodities to be abused, hired and fired at will andtheir earnings determined solely by the employer. The casual labour of the 1913Dublin Docks has re-emerged in the fast food outlets, hotels, shops and officesthroughout Ireland. The annoying fact is that it need not be like this – these sectors of the economyare profitable and can support decent jobs and decent wages. So what’s missing?

The belief among workers that coming together in solidarity can make a dif-ference, they can fight and win, they are not on their own and they can daredream again of a fairer society for themselves and their children. There are moreof us than them, but we are not organised and they are. We must once again come together bonded by the glue of solidarity, never againallowing them to divide us, never again allowing them to pit private sector workersagainst public sector workers, workers against unemployed workers, Irish workersagainst foreign workers. They put us all in a race to the bottom while they sit com-fortably in the viewing stands. The time has come to fight back to organise to make astand, to create a trade union movement for change. In the future, the question willnot be why does a public sector worker have a pension, butrather why can’t ALL workers have a pension? In future thequestion will not be why a teacher or a nurse can earn a livingwage, but rather why can’t ALL workers earn a living wage?

These are the questions that frighten the ruling elitebecause these questions are underpinned by a value sys-tem of fairness, justice and solidarity.For a glimpse of a world without solidarity you need gono further than to read the words of anti-nazi Lutheranpastor Martin niemöller, he said...

First they came for the communists/and I didn't speak outbecause I wasn't a communist./Then they camefor the socialists/and I didn't speak out becauseI wasn't a socialist./Then they came for theJews/and I didn’t speak out because I wasn’t aJew./Then they came for the trade unionists/and I didn't speak out because I wasn't atrade unionist/Then they came for me/and there was no one left to speak for me.

Let us ensure that when they comefor us, we will not be alone – an in-jury to one is an injury to all.

Let us organise.

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

dare to dream again

John douglas General SecretaryMandate Trade Union

STRAIGHT TALKING

An AGREEMEnT reached betweenMandate and management atJacques Vert has been accepted by alarge majority following a ballot ofthose members affected.The deal, brokered at the LabourRelations Commission, came after ameeting on July 4 and followed therejection of a different set of pro-posals put forward by managementearlier in the year.On February 28, management atthe ladieswear retailer outlined torepresentatives from Mandate’s na-tional negotiating Team that theyintended restructuring their busi-ness in Ireland.At the meeting, managementflagged up a very difficult tradingenvironment locally and claimed alarge number of their stores hadbeen underperforming.

Management set out a a numberof proposals that involved:l Restructuring the managementgrade with a view to downsizingthis in a number of locations,l Restructuring of staffing levelsin some stores with hours beingtaken out of the business, andl The possible closure of a num-ber of outlets.After a number of meetings, theseproposals were subsequently put toa ballot of Mandate and SIPTUmembers at the retailer.Sales advisers and union mem-bers in management roles rejectedthe proposals and a joint referralwas then made to the LRC.Following talks in July at the LRC,both parties agreed only to dealwith the proposal to restructure themanagement grade as well as re-dundancy terms covering the grade.

Jacques Vert agreed that nochanges would be made to the roleof sales advisers until the outcomeof the changes to the managementgrade has been completed. Divisional Organiser MichaelMeegan told Shopfloor: “Followingthe redundancies the parties are tomeet to address the restructuredorganisation in assessing the impacton a store by store basis, withoutprejudice. And the LRC will providefurther help should both partieswish.” The proposal for redundancy forthe management grade was Statu-tory Entitlement plus one week’spay per year of service plus a€3,000 lump-sum payment forthose with between five and 10years service and a €5,000 lump-sum payment for those service of 10years and more.

Jacques Vert deal accepted

MAnDATE has called on all trade unionmembers in Ireland to take the Fair Shoppledge and avail of special deals in Fair Shopoutlets.Mandate is currently in talks with a num-ber of Fair Shop employers to provide spe-cial discount deals to consumers who spendtheir money where workers count.Mandate is calling on all members of tradeunions in Ireland to take the followingpledge:l I pledge to do all I can to support em-

ployers who voluntarily recognise the right ofworkers to be in a trade union and to be rep-resented by that trade union through the col-lective bargaining process.

l I support the Fair Shop campaign and

pledge to spend my money where workerscount.Brian Forbes, Mandate’s national Coordi-nator for Campaigns, said: “By signing thepledge, you are supporting a retail workers’human right to be represented by a tradeunion. “As a bonus, you will receive regular up-dates on deals which could save you hun-dreds of euro every year.”Log on to www.fairshop.ie to take the pledgeor fill in the below pledge and post it to: FairShop Campaign, O’Lehane House, 9 Cavendish Row,Dublin 1.

sign uP noW!Pledge drive gathers momentum

Page 4: Shopfloor September 2013

SHOPFLOOR y September 20134

a different Budget is possible

2014 2015

Revenue ‘carry-over’ from previous year’s budget 600 100

Changes to income tax reliefs for the top 10% of households (e.g. pensions) 400 200

Wealth tax 150 150

Employer Pay-related Social Insurance 100 100

Corporation Tax 250 100

Capital Gains Tax 100 -

Capital Acquisition Tax 50 50

TOTALS 1,650 700

ECONOMY

By tom Healy

BUDGET 2014COMMENTARYRECEnT economic news has beenmixed with some small increases infull-time employment but continuingdepression in retail sales as well ashigh levels of unemployment andrates of underemployment as peoplecontinue to work fewer hours thanthey would like. A combination of austerity budg-ets, high household debt (especiallymortgages) and a slow-down in theinternational economy has taken itstoll on the Irish economy. Many workers and their familiescontinue to see erosion in the realvalue of their wages and social bene-fits as a result of rising prices forgoods and services. The Government needs to changecourse. In recent submissions madeby the Irish Congress of Trade Unionslinked to research by the nevin Eco-nomic Research Institute (nERI) a se-ries of alternative budgetaryproposals have been outlined. Thismay be summed as follows:(i) Use the proceeds of the Anglo-Irish ‘Promissory note’ deal to re-duce the size of the overall budgetadjustment;(ii) Bring forward a capital invest-ment stimulus package of €4.5 billion

NERI Institute Director

over the next two years (or about 2%of GDP per annum); and(iii) Target tax increases at therichest 10% of households.An alternative approach such asthis could result in the creation ofnew jobs, raise consumer spendingas well as government revenue andavoid further damage to essentialpublic services and social cohesion. Crucially, this policy mix wouldalso mean a reduction in the govern-ment deficit to about 3% of GDP in2015.It is important that the quality and

volume of public services should notbe further eroded through additionalcuts, particularly in the ‘non-pay’area of public spending. These include social transfers suchas social welfare and student mainte-nance support, purchase of materialsfrom the private sector and capitalinvestment (expenditure on equip-ment, buildings and maintenance). The total revenue received by Gov-ernment from taxes and all othersources is estimated to be 35.2% ofGDP in 2013. It is projected by theGovernment to fall in 2015 and in2016. We cannot continue to provide de-cent public services on this basis.Widening the tax base is crucial todoing so. There is a strong case tobegin tax reform ‘at the top’ by tack-ling the low level of average ‘effec-tive’ tax paid by many high-incomehouseholds. Marginal rates are in the 52%-55%range for many taxpayers. It is notproposed to increase these rates.However, it is possible to increase,modestly, the average rate of tax paidby the highest-income households(those in the top 10%).Based on research by the nevinEconomic Research Institute, thetable (see left) provides a summaryof possible tax measures that couldbe introduced as an alternative tocuts in non-pay current spending.‘Widening the tax base is crucial... there is a strong case to begin tax reform ‘at the top’ bytackling the low level of average ‘effective’ tax paid by many high-income households ‘

Proposed additional tax measure in Budgets 2014 and 2015 (€ billion)

By Tom HealyNERI Institute DirectorTHE publication, recently, by the Cen-tral Statistics Office of results fromtheir Quarterly national HouseholdSurvey for the year to June 2013 (seelink below) has provided a welcomerespite to the generally negative em-ployment news since the beginningof 2008.Employment is now increasingacross most sectors and occupations,both in full-time and in part-time em-ployments. notwithstanding verydisappointing results for GDP in thefirst quarter of this year, (nERI Quar-terly Economic Observer of Summer2013 – see link below) an increase inemployment is welcome. In summary, the number of jobs isup by 34,000 in the year to June2013, the numbers unemployed (asmeasured by ILO definitions) is down22,000 while the numbers in theworkforce (including the unem-ployed) is up by 16,000). The total estimated population isup slightly. Could this be the turningpoint? Could the austerity zealots beright after all?Doubtfully. A number of factorsweigh on the Irish economies, northand South:

l Stagnant domestic demand andretail sale volumes (July is likely to bea blip in the Republic due to the '132' Central Statistics Office QHNS http://www.cso.ie/en/media/csoie/releasespublications/documents/labourmarket/2013/qnhs_q22013.pdfQuarterly Economic Observer http://www.nerinstitute.net/download/pdf/neri_qeosummer13.pdf

effect on motor sales),l Stagnant and possibly decliningdemand for work as proxied by thetotal number of employee hoursworked up to the early part of thisyear,l Trouble signs in other Europeanand Eurozone economies, andl The over-hang of householddebt, distressed mortgages and busi-ness uncertainty with regards to in-vestment in productive capital.Other caveats are in order:l The CSO has made the point intheir QnHS release on page 2 in re-gards to Agriculture, Forestry andFishing: “Given the continued intro-

duction of the sample based on the2011 Census of Population as outlined

in the note on the front page of this re-lease, particular caution is warrantedin the interpretation of the trend inthis sector at this time.” Of an increaseof 34,000 in total employment,16,000 is related to this broad sector.

l Economic activity and measuresof employment do not necessarilyfollow smooth monotonic line curves.A succession of monthly and quar-terly data is necessary before anyonecan confirm a definite trend and mo-mentum. So far, the evidence sincemid to late-2012 has been moder-ately encouraging as unemploymenthas fallen both in absolute and rela-tive terms as a percentage of thelabour force.l Continuing high levels of netoutward migration are undoubtedly

contributing to a significant fall in thenumbers seeking work especiallyamong the young (and better edu-cated) population.l Total employment has increasedfor persons aged 35 and over while itcontinues to fall for those below thisage (the reasons are varied from re-turn to education and demographicsbut it likely to be the case that netoutward migration is the main causeof the fall in the total labour force ofpersons aged under 35. These trends,if they are sustained, will have pro-found impacts on the structure ofempoyment and age-profile of theworkforce for years to come).l There is some evidence that be-hind some of the employment in-creases there is a rise in precarious

employment especially (but not ex-clusively) for those new to the labourmarket.The regrettable truth is that afterfive years of determined and one-sided fiscal austerity, unemploymentis 13.5%, under-employment is closeto a quarter of the workforce and jobprospects for many young people –especially those with lower levels ofeducation and skill look very poor.Were it not for net outward migra-tion unemployment might now becloser to 20% than 13.5%.Looking to the future, what Irelandneeds is investment, growth and jobs. It will not happen automatically.And we cannot wait for the markets –international and national – and theprivate sector, alone, to come onboard and deliver much lower unem-ployment (with echoes of debates inthe 1930s). There is scope and urgent need fora European-level fiscal stimulus andan end to austerity. There is alsosome scope – even if limited by polit-ical and domestic economic circum-stances – for a pro-growth policies inIreland.Will Budget 2014 do more harm toemployment or help accelerate thewelcome, but modest, increases inemployment? The choice is with ourGovernment and we can't keep blam-ing the Troika forever.

memo to govt: you can’tkeep blaming the troika

Page 5: Shopfloor September 2013

September 2013 y SHOPFLOOR 5

When mandate met the PrezPRESIDEnT Michael D Higgins haspraised the courage and enduranceof those workers involved in the1913 Lockout, describing the famousdispute as a “founding event in ournational history”.He made his comments as he ad-dressed several hundred trade unionactivists at a sun-drenched Áras anUachtaráin garden party to mark itscentenary on July 10th.The colourful event, which wascompered by Joe Duffy, featured a1913 vintage tram parked on thelawn outside as well as music fromthe Cork Pipe Band and the Coronas.Mandate General Secretary JohnDouglas represented the union at thefunction and during a brief meeting;President Higgins congratulated MrDouglas on his election as ICTU Pres-ident. In his speech, President Hig-

talkS over terms and conditionsof employment are continuing be-tween argos and Mandate repre-sentatives at the labour Relationscommission.

Following local engagementwith activists, a claim was lodgedwith the company for a pay in-crease as well as a review of work-ing hours practices.

Industrial Officer David Miskelltold Shopfloor that there has beenlengthy engagement on the issuesover a number of months “to for-mulate a set of proposals that de-liver improvements for ourmembers in argos”.

LRC talks onArgos claim

gins noted that a knowledge of local,national and international historywas “intrinsic to the creation of ac-tive and responsible citizenship” andto the building of communities and asociety that are “fair, inclusive andparticipative”.He said: “This year we are celebrat-ing the courage, endurance, and his-torical human rights significance ofthe Great Dublin Lockout of 1913. “The centenary we celebrate in1913 is about the struggle for theright to join a trade union; a rightthat was challenged in Dublin when403 employers under the leadershipof William Martin Murphy locked out

their workers who were union mem-bers and required those who werenot to sign a pledge saying theywould not join the ITGWU.”But after months of being lockedout “their children starving and theirfamilies in dire hardship”, the work-ers were forced to return to work inJanuary 1014.President Higgins quoted JamesConnolly, who wrote in the aftermath

IN BRIEF

ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN

REMEMBERING THE LOCKOUT

of the Lockout: “And so, we Irishworkers must go down into hell, bowour backs to the lash of the slavedriver, let our hearts be seared by theiron of his hatred, and instead of thesacramental wafer of brotherhoodand common sacrifice, eat the dust ofdefeat and betrayal.”However, he pointed out that whileWilliam Martin Murphy had won ashort-term victory, he had suffereddefeat in his greater aim of smashingthe ITGWU or organised generaltrade unionism. “Through the heroic efforts bymembers and organisations it had re-covered sufficiently to defeat a fur-ther attempt at lockout in 1915 asother employers recalling the cost of1913 refused to join Murphy in hisaction. “By 1919 the International LabourOrganisation would establish someof the principles he opposed as basicinternational labour law. Whilemembership was initially decimated,by 1921 the ITGWU had 120,000workers throughout the country. Theunion that William Martin Murphyhad opposed had survived.”Concluding he paid tribute to theworkers of 1913 and praised thetrade unionists present for “painstak-ing efforts to create a society definedby solidarity and equality for all itscitizens.”

Page 6: Shopfloor September 2013

SHOPFLOOR y September 20136

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:

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GENERAL NEWS

DUBLIn’S nEW transport bridge willbe named after Citizen Army veteranRosie Hackett following a vote ofDublin City Council.The Rosie Hackett Bridge now be-comes the first – out of 16 bridges in thecentre of the capital – to be named aftera woman.The decision to honour the union or-ganiser was welcomed by Mandate na-tional Coordinator Brian Forbes.He told Shopfloor: “We’re delightedwith the vote. This is a very appropri-ate way of honouring the massive con-tribution women have made to thetrade union movement in Ireland inthe centenary year of the Great DublinLockout.” The decision comes after manymonths of public debate about what toname the bridge which will carry theLuas Cross City line between Marlbor-ough Street and Hawkins Street.Out of a short-list of five, Hackett re-ceived 192 points in the Council vote. Insecond place was Dublin camogie player

Under construction: The newly-named Rosie Hackett bridge Picture: Informatique (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Rosie getsthe nod asnew liffeybridge honours ica veteran

By Aileen MorrisseyMandate National Co-ordinator WhIlE many of us are now used toliving in the digital age, at leastone in five adults in Ireland hasnever used the internet.

the BenefIt4 scheme is an initia-tive supported by the Departmentof communications, Energy andNatural Resources that aims to re-duce this by offering practicaltraining to encourage more peopleto learn basic It skills.

congress has been successful insecuring some funding under thescheme to deliver this training.

Mandate’s training centre willbe offering this training over thenext few months.

So this is an ideal opportunityfor those who may lack confidencein using computers to gain usefulskills.

Please let members (includingretired members), family andfriends know of these courses andencourage them to attend. there isno fee for trainees.

the eight hours of It training fo-cuses on the It skills people need –how to use email, using an internetsearch engine, how to use serviceslike Skype, conduct simple online

transactions such as booking aticket, pay a bill, reserve a book-ing, as well as optional training re-lating to digital photographs,banking online, safety and secu-rity online, using social network-ing, using apps or the internet toassist with your own areas of inter-est.

those eligible to attend shouldbe one of the following:

l aged 55 or over,l Unemployed,l Experiencing disadvantage,l Without any recognised for-

mal education, orl have no or little computer ex-

perience.there are five dates to choose

from: October 8th, October 15th,October 22nd, October 29th andNovember 5th, 2013.

Venue: Mandate training centre,Distillery house, Distillery Road,Dublin 3

to apply please phone Mandatetraining centre on 01-8369699.

We may schedule furthercourses if there is a demand. Ifnone of the above dates suit,phone the training centre and wewill advise you of other trainingopportunities that may arise.

TRAINING

opening up yourdigital horizons

Kay Mills, who got 176 points, Alonefounder Willie Bermingham received167 points, Dracula creator Bram Stoker,92 points and Legion of Mary founderFrank Duff, 80 points.Born in 1892, Rosie Hackett be-came a messenger in Jacob’s biscuitfactory in Dublin. She joined theIrish Transport and General Workers’Union when it was founded in 1909and less than a year later she was oneof 3,000 women in the factory whowent on strike and won a pay rise. She was dismissed from Jacob’sfactory during the Lockout latertraining as a printer.Rosie was one of the small groupwho printed up the 1916 Proclama-tion on a faulty printing press bring-ing the first copy, still damp, to JamesConnolly. She was a member of the

Irish Citizen Army and served withConstance Markievicz and MichaelMallin when they occupied the RoyalCollege of Surgeons in the Easter Re-bellion and was sent to KilmainhamJail. On her release she re-founded theIrish Women Workers’ Union withLouie Bennett and Helen Chenevixand for years she served as clerk inthe union which, at its peak, organ-ised about 70,000 women, includingbookbinders, contract cleaners, laun-dry, print and electronic workers.Later she took charge of theITGWU’s newspaper shop on EdenQuay. In 1970 Hackett received a goldmedal in recognition of her 60 yearsof service to the Irish trade unionmovement.

Page 7: Shopfloor September 2013

September 2013 y SHOPFLOOR 7

By David MoranMandate Divisional OrganiserthE Rights commissioners haverecommended a Mandate memberis paid €8,000 in compensation forbeing denied her breaks.

her employer, lowes Publichouse, trading as William lowe,Dolphins Barn ltd, had failed tocomply with the Organisation ofWorking Times Act.

the member, who works aloneon a 5.30pm to 12.30pm shiftthree days a week at the premises,no had facility to allow her to takea break.

She was in no position to closeup and, given the nature of the bartrade, could not leave her place ofwork unattended.

Mandate had raised the barworker’s predicament with her em-ployer on many occasions, butnothing had been done to addressthe issue.

the Rights commissioner foundthat “contrary to Section 12 of theact, the respondent made no pro-vision whatsoever [for her] to takeher breaks” on those days sheworked alone.

the Rights commissioner alsofound that it was not good enoughfor an employer to suggest the em-ployee could take her breaks dur-ing “slow periods” as “a breakperiod is a time when they are notactually working or on call by acustomer”.

the recommendation also statedthat in future employer had totake steps to ensure the employeereceived all her statutory breaks inline with the act.

and, according to Mandate, therecommendation could benefitworkers in other employmentswho find themselves placed in asimilar position through staffingcuts – particularly if they areforced to remain on call while theyshould be taking their legitimatebreaks and rest intervals.

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€8k awarded tobar worker overdenial of breaks

Noteson

theFrontCommentary onIrish Political Economy by

UNITE research officer Michael Taftwww.notesonthefront.

typepad.com

Page 8: Shopfloor September 2013

SHOPFLOOR y September 20138

TRAINING

PLATFORM TRADE UNION LEFT FORUM

By Sylvia RyanDACT project programme managerTHE Irish Congress of Trade Unionshas been selected to offer trainingand support to people with disabili-ties. The Disability Activation Project(DACT) aims to increase the capacityand potential of people on disabil-ity/illness welfare payments to par-ticipate in the labour market. Congress plans to deliver educa-tion and training to enhance the com-petencies of people with disabilitiesin a range of personal development,Information Technology and work-related programmes. The Disability Activation Project isjointly funded by the European SocialFund (ESF) and the Department ofSocial Protection (DSP) and is tar-geted at the Border, Midlands andWestern region (BMW). The target group for this funding ispeople with a disability, 16 to 65years of age, in receipt ofdisability/illness welfare paymentswho reside in the BMW region. To be eligible for the (DACT) Train-ing Options programme, partici-pants/applicants must be in receiptof one of the following welfare pay-ments: Disability Allowance, Invalid-ity Pension; Illness Benefit, Blind

Pension, Disability Benefit, Incapac-ity Supplement, and Injury Benefit.Disability allowanceYou can do rehabilitative work andearn up to €120 per week (after de-duction of PRSI, any pension contri-butions and union dues) withoutyour payment being affected. Youmust get permission from the De-partment of Social Protection beforeyou start work. 50% of your earn-ings between €120 and €350 will notbe taken into account in the Disabil-ity Allowance means test. Any earn-ings over €350 are fully assessed inthe means test. Invalidity PensionFrom February 13th, 2012, PartialCapacity Benefit replaces the previ-ous exemption arrangements wherepeople on Invalidity Pension couldget permission to work part-time(known as an exemption) for rehabil-itative or therapeutic purposes andkeep their full social welfare pay-ment.Illness BenefitSince 13 February 2012, Partial Ca-pacity Benefit replaces the previousarrangements (known as an exemp-

tion) where people on Illness Benefitcould get permission to work part-time for rehabilitative or therapeuticpurposes and keep their full socialwelfare payment.Benefits to Employeel 12 week programme which will include achieving three (3) FETAC ac-credited certificatesl 10 days practical work experiencel Individual Employment Planl On the job Support and Coachingl Follow up Support and Mentoring l Help with workplace integrationl Advice on Employment Benefitsand EntitlementsBenefits to Employerl Range of supports for Employersinclude: l Database of skilled jobseekersl Access to a committed workforcel Grants and Financial SupportsAvailable include:l Wage Subsidy Scheme (WSS)l Workplace Equipment/AdaptationGrant (WEAG)l Job Interview – Interpreter Grant (JIIG)l Personal Reader Grant (PRG)l Employee Retention Grant Scheme(ERGS)

ictu to offer training topeople with disabilities

THE Trade Union Left Forum hasheld a number of successful meetingsfor left activists in unions this year.They covered a range of topics, in-cluding privatisation of our healthservices, the Croke Park/HaddingtonRoad deals and youth activism as aforce for change within the move-ment. When looking at how best to hon-our the Lockout centenary, it wasclear there was a wide variety ofmeetings, events and commemora-tions taking place that left union ac-tivists already had an involvement in.So, it was decided the best way tomark the occasion was to reproducea number of James Connolly articles

on trade unionism in an easy andreadable format.What was important about the1913 Lockout, and the years beforeand after, was the politics of tradeunion organisation and struggle –class politics. The workers of 1913 enduredgreat hardships for their union – theone they choose and helped to build.It gave them a vision of a better soci-ety, giving them hope and a beliefthat they could win out in the end. They no longer had to rely on MPsin an imperial parliament, or almsfrom the Church to better their lot inlife.With the ITGWU they could win a

better life for all workers. This politi-cal vision came from, among otherfactors, the political leadership ofboth James Connolly and Jim Larkin.It inspired the workers of the dayand laid the foundations for crucialworking class support for the revolu-tion that would begin three yearsafter the Lockout.The first in this series of reprintssees Connolly ridicule a Mr Bowman,who was President of the Sligo TUC,for appealing to capital to come andexploit Irish workers as well as call-ing on organised labour to join handswith capital to ensure Irish invest-ments were remunerative for capital! Connolly contrasts this with a callto trade unionists who would have

By Maria HegartyTUS project managerMAnDATE is an active member ofthe Steering Committee of TradeUnion Skillnet (TUS), which is a net-work comprised of affiliates of theIrish Congress of Trade Unions op-erating in the private sector. The aim of the network is to pro-mote education and training amongtrade union members and providethem with quality, lifelong learningopportunities. The overall aim of the network isto improve skill levels among unionmembers, be they employed or un-employed.The training programmes havebeen attended by 897 participantsso far this year.They are designed to help partici-pants cope with the changing work-place – with the continuingpressure caused by job losses, re-duced hours and zero-hours con-tracts – so they can support,negotiate, and advocate for betterconditions and opportunities fortheir colleagues. In today’s workplace, there are arange of demands on workers, andthose demands are placing evenmore emphasis on each of us to de-velop and widen our range of com-petencies, keep up-to-date withemerging labour market andhuman resource trends, and be in-formed of any changes in national

and international labour law thatimpact on every workplace. TUS training courses aim to pro-vide quality learning opportunitiesfor members so that they can dojust that. Training provided aims tooffer opportunities for up-skilling,cross-skilling and re-skilling to en-sure that:l union members are continuallyhoning their communication, man-agement and negotiating skills, l learning about and using allmodern methods to reach agree-ment on change processes, andl enhancing the capacity ofwomen to undertake leadershiproles in the workplace. Our training needs analysis high-lights the continued need for highlyskilled and informed workplace ad-vocates that understand the com-petitive issues facing companies,but also have been trained to recog-nise the factors that make a differ-ence in productivity andcompetitiveness. The training offered is designednot only to build skills, but has astrong emphasis on supporting par-ticipants to apply those skills, in avariety of workplaces. It is very clear, as we conduct ourtraining needs analysis for the nextphase, and review our evaluationsof the training, that people wantthis to continue.

Building skills to meet theneeds of today’s workplace

“striven to infuse into the minds ofhis hearers a spirit of revolt againstthe system that holds them as itsslaves, a system that tortures themwith want in the midst of locked-upstorehouses of plenty; a Socialistwould have taught the workers tomanfully take their destiny, politicallyand socially, into their own hands…”It is this politics, the politics ofclass struggle and solidarity that isworth commemorating and emulat-ing today. Further reprints will be releasedperiodically up to the end of the year,so keep an eye on the TULF websitewww.tuleftforum.com and Facebookpage www.facebook.com/TradeUnionLeftForum. If you want to receive thereprints direct by email, sign up tothe new TULF newsletter atwww.tuleftforum.com/newsletter.

connolly’s wise words republished

USEFUl lINkS Check out www.employabilitymidlands.com For updates on the project go to www.welfare.ie

Delegates to the ICTU conference in Belfast check out the Trade Union Skillnet stall

JOIN USUse yoursmart phoneand find out why...

Page 9: Shopfloor September 2013

September 2013 y SHOPFLOOR 9

GENERAL NEWS

I’m a Person FirstWords create barriers and reinforce stereotypes

Down syndrome is a medical diagnosis A baby is born with Down syndrome he/she is not ‘a Down syndrome’

Help us to break stereotypes by using person-first language:

Please don’t call me a Down syndrome or a Down syndrome person

I am an adult with Down syndrome

I am a person first and foremost; I was just born with an extra chromosome.

www.downsyndrome.ie

DSI Landscape [Snap Frame].indd 10 15/03/2012 09:14

MaNDatE has offered its solidar-ity to recently-sacked Ryanairpilot captain John Goss.

capt Goss was sacked on august 14th following commentshe made during a channel 4 Dispatches programme on thebudget airline.

aileen Morrissey, Mandate Na-tional coordinator, passed on amessage of support and solidar-ity to capt Goss from the union.

capt Goss had been with theairline for 26 years up to his dismissal and was due to retire inOctober. It is understood Ryanair

has now started defamation pro-ceedings against capt Goss,channel 4 and Blakeway Produc-tions, which produces Dispatches;associated Newspapers whichowns the MailOnline; and the Mirror Group, publisher of theDaily Mirror.

the legal firm representingRyanair has been instructed to“vigorously pursue” the actionagainst the pilot.

But the Ryanair Pilots Group(RPG) has accused the budgetcarrier of trying to “suppress discussion”.

mandate offers solidarityto sacked Ryanair pilot

Gesture of solidarity: Mandate’s Aileen Morrissey with Captain John Goss

PROUD dad Dan Horgan has sent abig thank you message to Mandateafter his daughter Alison got a B2 inHonours Irish in this year’s LeavingCert.According to Dan, Mandate getstop marks for helping Alison get ascholarship to go to the Gaeltacht.A member of the union for 30years, Dan, who worked in PTSB,took redundancy in november 2011.He explained: “When I was work-ing I was fortunate enough to win ascholarship for Alison through Man-date to go to the Gaeltacht in 2008and 2012. “She really got to love the Irish – somuch so that she got a job back in theGaeltacht this year as a cuintoir(teacher’s helper).“Alison always loves working withyoung children and was hoping to getenough points to do a BA in EarlyChildhood Studies with a view tosubsequently doing a B.Ed to enableher to become a primary schoolteacher.”Dan continued: “Well, the goodnews is she did it! She got morepoints than she needed – and got aB2 in Honours Irish.“This achievement was only madepossible through the huge amount ofwork she did in school. And her timein the Gaeltacht definitely helped in ahuge way.“So thank you very much in Man-date for giving her the scholarshipswhich has I believe made all the dif-ference to her Leaving Cert resultsand enabled her to reach her full po-tential.”

Proud dadpraisesmandate’sgaeltachtscholarship

BETWEEn 12 and 15 protestorshave been killed in recent weeks inthe Cauca region of Colombia follow-ing an army and police crackdownon local strike action.FESUAGRO trade union activistVictor Alfonso Ortega died fromhead injuries after police openedfire on demonstrators. Another fatality was a 10-year-old boy whodied from tear-gas poisoning follow-ing a protest.And according to reports, fourpeasants, including a six-year-oldgirl, were killed in another incident.Unite Regional Secretary JimmyKelly visited the strife-torn region

recently as part for a Justice forColombia delegation. During thevisit, he met with jailed FESUAGROVice President Huber Ballesteros.Mr Ballesteros was had been in-vited to visit this month’s TUC con-ference in Bournemouth as anofficial guest but was arrested byColomiban police on 25th August.Meanwhile, JFC (UK) havelaunched a petition on change.orgcalling on Colombian authorities tofree Mr Ballesteros. The petition willpresented to the Colombian Em-bassy in London, which covers bothUK and Ireland. Add your name to thepetition at http://chn.ge/1aol9Mh

Trade unionist killed after armylaunches Colombia crackdown

Mandate Youth set to co-hostmajor youth event in November

MaNDatE youth will be co-host-ing a major na-tional forum foryoung tradeunion memberson Saturday, 16thNovember andSunday, 17th No-vember.

the event, whichis an initiative ofIctU President JohnDouglas, will be a politi-cal training and informa-tional event for youngworkers from across IrelandNorth and South.

the event is supported by theIrish congress of trade Unions

and the cWU, IBOa and Mandateare the key spon-

sors.Speakers from

Spain, Franceand Greece arebeing invited toattend and someof the subjects,

among others, upfor discussion in-

clude: Who benefitsfrom austerity? and Or-

ganising a New Ireland. Ifyou would like to attend the

event, please contact yourlocal Divisional Organiser oremail [email protected] are limited, so book early.

Application forms for 2013/14Education Grantsare now available. Details and application formscan be obtainedfrom your local official or onwww.mandate.ieThe closing date for applications is Friday November8th, 2013. (Terms and Conditions apply)

NOTE...

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GENERAL NEWS & COMPETITION

By David GibneyMandate communications officerMAnDATE General Secretary andICTU President John Douglas wason hand to launch a special issue ofstamps featuring three key figuresfrom the Irish trade union move-ment – James Connolly, ConstanceMarkiewicz and Jim Larkin – tomark the 1913 Lockout centenary.The James Connolly stamp usesthe original ITGWU headquartersbuilding as a backdrop, while theConstance Markiewicz stamp is setagainst a photograph of childrenoutside tenements in ChanceryLane (now Bride Street).ITGWU chief Jim Larkin is setagainst an iconic image of theBloody Sunday riot when workers

were set upon by the Dublin Metro-politan Police and Royal Irish Con-stabulary. The disturbances weresparked when James Larkin was ar-rested at the Imperial Hotel onSackville Street (now O’ConnellStreet) on August 31st, 1913.‘Courage and determination’Mr Douglas described it as a priv-ilege to launch the stamps on suchan important anniversary for thetrade union movement. He said: “The 1913 Lockout is notjust an event in our history books. Itchanged the course of Irish historyand, as workers, we should alwaysadmire the courage and dedication,not only of the three leaders com-

memorated in these stamps, butalso the thousands of workers andtrade union activists who partici-pated in the struggle.”Also on hand at the launch wasMinister for Communications PatRabbitte, Congress General Secre-tary David Begg, SIPTU GeneralPresident Jack O’Connor and CWUGeneral Secretary Steve Fitzpatrick.David Begg said he thought thestamps “pictorially” captured the“difficult day-to-day experiences” ofordinary workers and their familiesat that time and their “heroic deter-mination to achieve decent treat-ment and fairness at work and,ultimately, radical social change andadvancement”.He added: “Critical to events of

100 years ago was the right ofworkers to organise and to collec-tively bargain – an issue that has yetto be resolved, along with the time-less pursuit of decent work.”Minister Rabbitte said he hopedthe special issue of stamps would“raise awareness locally, nationallyand internationally of an event ofconsiderable economic and politicalsignificance”. He added that he was sure AnPost would be producing more com-memorative issues. “I have no doubtbut that we have more to look for-ward to in this decade of commem-orations.”The stamps feature photographsfrom the ‘Darkest Dublin’ photo-graphic collection.

ShOPFLOOr has five “Centenary of the General Lockout” prestigestamp booklets and 10 first day cover envelopes to give away, allcourtesy of www.irishstamps.ie and An Post. Simply name ONE of thepeople pictured in the brand new stamps from An Post who werekey figures in the 1913 Lockout. Please send your answer toShopfloor, O’Lehane House, 9 Cavendish Row, Dublin 1 and please rememberto include your name, address and phone number. Online entriescan be sent to [email protected]. All entries go into a draw. Competition closes on Friday, October 11.

Putting their stamp on history

1913 lockout stamP giVeaWay!

ICTU President John Douglas launches Lockout centenary issuesharpen upyour skillsat special organisingseminarIF yOU are involved in organisingwithin your respective union, thenyou’ll be excited to hear that plansfor an organising seminar to beheld in Dublin on 18th October areat an advanced planning stage.

this will be the first in a series oforganising events, run by thetrade union movement North andSouth, aimed at consolidating,promoting and improving our or-ganising capabilities as well aslinking the organising work ofunions much closer together.

the conference, which will beopened by John Douglas in his roleas IctU President, will hear from arange of international experts onthe subject.

they will outline their experi-ences and speak on the challenges,successes and critical issues im-pacting on effective organisingacross the island of Ireland.

Mandate National co-ordinatorBrian Forbes told Shopfloor:“Unions North and South are en-

gaged in some excellent work onorganising and we hope to focusour deliberations from the eventto produce qualitative informationto contribute to a strategic discus-sion by union leaders on organis-ing.”

this organising event is beingfacilitated by the Irish congress oftrade Unions and will be held inthe newly-refurbished cWU headOffice building.

Mr Forbes added: “We are ex-cited about the prospect of ourfirst all-Ireland specific organisingevent coinciding with the cente-nary of the lockout in 1913.

“We are confident this event willsee both a prioritisation of collab-orative work by unions on organis-ing as well as the beginning of anongoing commitment to improveour work on behalf of workers andmembers everywhere.”

Further details and arrange-ments for registering for the eventwill be circulated to unions in thecoming weeks.

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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]

The Union Representative IntroductoryTraining Course is for new shop stewards/union representatives. The course aims to provide information,skills and knowledge to our shop stewards/union representatives to assistthem in their role in the workplace.

UNIONREP

INDUSTRIAL NEWS

EASOnS management have told ameeting of shop stewards that theyplan to open discussions with Man-date and SIPTU over cost savings atthe newsagents chain.At the August 14th meeting, theystated they were seeking to make an-nual savings of about €2.5 million aspart of a sustainability programme. Mandate reminded Easons repre-sentatives of the great contributionsmade by staff in 2011 and 2012 – ef-forts which had already delivered an-nual cost savings of €6.1 million.While acknowledging this contri-bution, management claimed the cur-rent and future cost base wasuncertain due to weak consumerspending. And Easons identified a number ofpossible cost savings pointing outthat its preferred option would be foragreement on revised terms and con-ditions of employment.Mandate Industrial Officer RobertMcnamara told Shopfloor: “Mandatehave informed the company that wewill not be in a position to enter intoany discussions or even comment on

the company briefing until such timeas the financial position of Eason &Son has been verified and the unionhas had the opportunity to consultwith its members.”Mr Mcnamara said both Mandateand SIPTU had requested the com-pany appoints forensic auditorsMazars as well as accountancy advi-sory firm RSM Farrell Grant Sparks tocarry out this work. He added: “As the discussions areonly the exploratory stage at presentand Easons’ financial position has notbeen verified, it is important mem-bers do not get drawn in conjectur-ing on the outcome, whether on theshop floor with colleagues or at the‘listening tour’ with management. “The only message that should beconveyed to management at thisstage is that we are united and thebest way to convey that message is toencourage any colleagues who maynot be a member of the union yet tojoin.”Meanwhile, Easons have confirmedthat the Airport Stores are not in-cluded in the cost savings discus-sions.

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StaFF at the towers Pub, Bally-mun, are to meet in the next fewweeks to consider how to respondto a failure of meaningful engage-ment by management.

the response, which could include industrial action, followsmanagement’s failure to reply to arequest made months ago for ameeting to discuss terms and conditions of employment. the

company has also now refused toattend the labour Relations com-mission to resolve the dispute.

Industrial Officer David Miskelltold Shopfloor: “It is regrettablethat the employer has refused toengage on what is a reasonable request for a meeting and it is nownecessary to take this step with aview to resolving the issues athand.”

Towers Pub staff consider nextmove as firm refuses LRC invite

MAnDATE and B&Q have provision-ally agreed a number of test casesover payment of wages claims oversummer/Christmas bonuses acrossall stores as well as the Zone Al-lowance (which applies only to theTallaght, Swords and Liffey Valleystores).The provisional agreement followsa Rights Commissioner’s hearing onJuly 2nd.Mandate Industrial OfficerJonathan Hogan told Shopfloor: “Tomanage any future claims, Mandate

has written to the Rights Commis-sioner’s office seeking confirmationin writing from B&Q, that these testcases will mean that our memberswon’t have to process any similarclaims, should they arise.”Mr Hogan said that though theunion was still waiting for a responsefrom the company, he was hopefulthe written commitments wouldmade. It is understood two furthercases from members at B&Q stores inSwords and Galway will be heard onOctober 1st.

B&Q chiefs & mandate reach provisional deal on test cases

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SHOPFLOOR y September 201312

ICTU CONFERENCE BELFAST 2013

COMRADES, It’s a great honour to be elected as yourPresident and I want to thank all of you forplacing your trust in me. I promise I willdo my best to repay your faith in me.I want to begin by thanking the outgoingPresident, Eugene McGlone. Eugene hasbrought tremendous energy and commit-ment to Congress and has helped to steerus through some difficult times over thelast couple of years. Thank you Eugene.I also want to congratulate my fellow of-ficers and those elected to the ExecutiveCommittee – I look forward to workingwith you over the next couple of years.It’s also right that I thank the staff ofCongress – in particular our General Sec-retary David Begg – for their tireless workon our behalf.In addition, it’s only fair that I mentionmy own team in Mandate who have givenme such tremendous support over theyears.At this point I also want to say that I in-tend to operate as President in an inclu-sive way. I will listen to and take on board theviewpoints of all no matter how big orsmall your union is – I know this is impor-tant, as I came from a union with less than5,000 members. [Irish National Union ofVintners Grocers and Allied Trades Assis-tants]Expose agendaAt this stage of the conference's pro-ceedings I know everyone’s thinking about‘chilling out’. We've had three days of debate and dis-cussion – both formal and informal – soI’m not going to hold you for too long, butthere are a few important things I want toleave you with as you begin your depar-ture from here. Our mission is to mobilise and campaignfor a fairer, better society north and southand to do this we must reclaim the heartsand minds of workers and we must exposethe agenda of the other side. In the past we have allowed our enemiesto divide us, but they have not conqueredus and they never will! We will unite in solidarity in exposingthe type of society the neo-liberals pro-pose, a society which:a) Puts no value on public services otherthan to measure it in terms of payrollcosts;b) Which educates its children for emi-gration;c) Which condemns 100,000 plus con-struction workers to an existence on thedole;d) Where the pension savings of tens ofthousands of private sector workers areallowed to go down the drain;e) Which values saving bond holders,but reduces the availibility of specialneeds assistants/home helps to the mostvulnerable citizens;f) Where 26 million workers across Eu-rope have no jobs, and are drowning in

a battle for values and ideas

debt and in fear of losing their homes.Irish people and trade unionists need towake up and smell the coffee and weneed to be the ones who are sounding thealarm clocks.In some respects we are at war – we'rein a battle for the values and ideas thatwill shape the future of this island.The trade union movement togetherwith community groups and political ac-tivists must be in the frontline leading the

fight back.Our message is one of hope and a de-cent future for all. This vision for the fu-ture will not be given to us, but rather wewill have to win our own destiny.However, this can only be achieved ifwe include our local activists in a coher-ent and consistent campaign – not justonce-of days of action.That is why it is critical that the tradeunion movement reorganises immedi-

ately. That is why it is so important weadopted Motion 9 last Tuesday to pavethe way forward.It is clear also that the trade unionmovement must make a political impactif we are to win. If we could mobilise 800,000 tradeunion members and their families tovote for progressive political parties, itis likely that we would not be facing aus-terity policies north and south. What is also clear is that if we couldmobilise the political muscle of thetrade union movement, we would todayalready enjoy free collective bargainingand our public sector members wouldnot have the Financial Emergency Meas-ures in the Public Interest Bill 2013(FEMPI) hanging over their heads.On the FEMPI Bill 2013 let me beclear.Free collective bargaining is a humanright, and the FEMPI Bill 2013 is an AT-TACK on that right... in that it imposespenalties on workers who exercise theirfree choice in collective bargaining. This legislation must be repealed as amatter of urgency. It has no place in theindustrial relations’ arena and we mustcampaign to have it removed.tide has turnedI also think that the tide has turnedwith regard to corporation tax acrossthe world. Multinationals who operateon this island must be made pay theirfair share towards a recovery – a mini-mum social contribution, if you will.It is not acceptable that they benefitfrom the investment we – particularythose on low and middle incomes whoare just about getting by – have made inour education system, our health serv-ice and our infrastructure and then paylittle or nothing back – remember somepay no tax at all – to maintain the qual-ity of these services.They have a social and corporate re-sponsibility to the citizens of Irelandand the world and should be making afair contribution.I am sick of politicians north andsouth pandering and tipping the fore-lock to multinational abuse of the taxregime, while the same politicians cutservices to the most vulnerable andcriminalise ordinary workers who can’tpay service charges.The present crisis presents the tradeunion movement not only with chal-lenges but with a great opportunity.We are still the biggest civil society or-ganisation in Ireland; our challenge is tobuild on our strengths, refine our struc-tures and to mobilise with a unity ofpurpose. We have common cause.But, this will require sacrifices, gen-erosity and solidarity; we have but onechance and failure is not an option. Our shared history and our class de-mands that we succeed. Let us go forthfrom today, stronger, united and withpurpose.

John Douglas’ incoming speech as ICTU President July 4th, 2013

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September 2013 y SHOPFLOOR 13

ICTU CONFERENCE BELFAST 2013

BACK ROW: Left to right: Lorraine O'Brien, Joe Quinn, Karen Wall, Tara Keane, Brian Forbes, Willie Hamilton, Ciaran Campbell, Anthony Meaney, Denise Curran, Dermot Fay.MIDDLE ROW: Sandra Stapleton, Phyllis Kearns, Gerry Thornley John Douglas, Joan Gaffney, Aileen Morrissey, Noel Dunphy, Margaret O'DwyerFRONT ROW: Colm Maguire, Keith Pollard, Gerry Light, Liam O’Meara, David Gibney, Jason Tully, Joe McGouran, Dessie Finnegan ICTU BDC pictures: Kevin Cooper/PhotolineouR team at ictu Bdc

MAnDATE Assistant General Secre-tary Gerry Light, right, spoke aboutthe need for unions to campaign for“decent work” at the 2013 ICTU Bi-ennial Conference in Belfast in July.Mr Light proposed the Mandatemotion to conference claiming that itwas a “basic human right to sustaindecent work in order to properly par-ticipate in the society in which onelives.” He continued by pointing outthat the trade union movement hadalways been to the fore on decentwork and we must get back to basicsand “demand a fair day’s pay for afair day’s work.”Drawing on lessons from history,Mr Light made comparisons betweenthe hiring fares of 1913 and the cur-rent hiring methods from employers.“Unfortunately, it is not an over-statement to say that certain realitiesof the modern workplace would findparallels with the Dublin labour mar-ket of 1913. “The opportunity to exploit work-ers was widely availed of by un-scrupulous employers largelybecause of excessive unemploymentand associated social deprivation.Hiring fares were the norm with noguarantee of employment from oneday to the next. When work was se-cured there was no assurance thatearnings would be maintained. “Employer manipulation of work-ing hours was used as an effectivecontrol mechanism leading to un-

healthy levels of compliance and sub-servience. Most of these challengesare not only familiar in a historicalcontext but regrettably they are asreal today as they were then, formany current Irish workers, particu-larly those employed in the servicessector,” said Mr Light.In the context of the retail sector,he added: “Mandate has discoveredthat some of the most profitable em-ployers are operating a structurewhereby up to 90% of their workersare employed on part time flexiblecontracts. “Weekly hours can be as low asfive. To retain a contract a workermust in some cases make themselvesavailable over an equivalent numberof days from 7am to 11pm which in-variably include Saturdays, Sundaysand Public Holidays – in fact, thespread in some cases is now over365 days a year. To counter the new trend towardsprecarious work, Mr Light empha-sised the importance of ‘banded hourcontracts’.“In Mandate we now insist thatevery agreement entered into mustcontain provisions whereby decentweekly earning thresholds are notonly created but sustained and pro-tected. Furthermore, we insist thesehours are worked over patterns thathave a true regard for individualworkers work life balance needs,” hesaid. Sadly, this precarious working

environment is not challenged in anymeaningful way by an Irish govern-ment whose current job creation pol-icy appears to be focused on shiftingnumbers from the unemployed to theemployed with little or no regard forthe notion of quality or long term se-curity, rather the emphasis is solelyon the numbers game. “Our political leaders also fail tograsp that the unprecedented growthin precarious work. Ironically it tookthe IMF in their latest review of theeconomy to point out that if the vastamount of part-time workers whoare involuntarily compelled to workreduced hours are factored in, itwould push the current unemploy-ment figures to effectively nearlydouble the headline rate. Mr Light added that members ofMandate were fighting back but thatit required all union membersthroughout the country to use theirconsumer power to eradicate precar-ious work.“Mandate’s Fair Shop campaignprovides union members throughoutIreland with the ability to spend theirmoney in workplaces where theunion has negotiated agreements.This enables workers the opportu-nity to ensure they have security ofearnings and income,” he said.Mr Light concluded by urging alltrade union members to actively sup-port the campaign and spend theirmoney where workers count.

decent work agenda must be pushed

Gerry Light: parallelswith 1913 highlighted

Page 14: Shopfloor September 2013

SHOPFLOOR y September 201314

BRASS TACKS

Blame for dublin Bus dispute lieswith the govt, not the workers

IkEa’s “teflon-clean” image in thehome of its birth has taken a slightdent after it lost its top slot in aleague table of most trustedbrands among Swedish shoppers.

the flat-pack furniture com-pany, which had been voted num-ber one for the past nine years,slipped to fourth place behind DIychain clas Ohlson, supermarket

Ica, and Google – only non-Swedish firm to make the top 10.

Nordic Brand academy chiefRobert Gelmanovsky told SvenskaDagbladet newspaper: "IkEa hashistorically been teflon cleanwhen it comes to the question ofcustomer confidence.

"they've got through scandalafter scandal and no-one's confi-

dence has been shaken. Now it ap-pears the trend of being super-trustworthy has been broken. Ikeais becoming like all the other com-panies in terms of reputation."

according to the survey of15,000 Swedes Ryanair topped thepoll of the 10 least reputable com-panies.

ikea slips to fourth place

In THE on-going media coverage ofthe Dublin Bus dispute, the publicare being treated to a debate which,for the most part, manages entirelyto ignore the real issues involved.There is hardly a mention of thematter which is at the heart of theproblem, which is that the Govern-ment subvention for Dublin Bus, al-ready very low by internationalstandards, has been cut further bythis administration.Each year, Dublin Bus receives aPublic Service Obligation (PSO)payment from the Government,through the national Transport Au-thority (nTA). In 2008, the subven-tion was €85.6 million, accordingto the Dublin Bus annual report.According to the Dublin Bus an-nual report 2012, the PSO for 2013has been confirmed by the nTA at€64.9 million, a reduction of €4.5million (6.5%) on 2012. This is not a handout for an un-productive semi-state company,which would not be necessary ifthe company was privatised – assome suggest.Subventions to provide bustransport are the norm in all majorEuropean cities, and are acceptedas necessary to provide an ade-quate transport system.It is a mark of the right-wing con-sensus that exists in so much of ourmedia that a public policy to pro-mote social and economic well-being is presented as a subsidy forfailure.According to a 2009 Deloitte re-port, the Dublin Bus subvention iscomparably low by European stan-dards. The bus subvention, as apercentage of revenue, was 79% inLyon, 62% in Amsterdam, 57% inZurich – and 29% in Dublin.Another factor causing troublefor Dublin Bus is the issue of fallingpassenger numbers. In 2007,

Dublin Bus counted 147.5 millionjourneys on services. The total for2012 was 115.2 million journeys,which was in itself a fall of 1.5% on2011Contrary again to some media re-ports, Dublin Bus workers have takena huge hit in recent years. Since 2008, there has been a 589fall in staffing numbers. In 2011alone, payroll cuts totalled €6.4 mil-lion.Pro liberalisation governmentThe context to the Dublin Bus de-bate is that in 2014, the public serv-ice obligation payments contractbetween Dublin Bus and the nationalTransport Authority is up for re-

newal. The nTA is currently assess-ing whether it should “undertakecompetitive tenders in relation tosome or all of the services”.We know where Transport Minis-ter Leo Varadkar stands. In 2011, Varadkar said he intendedto "explore the benefit to the publictransport passenger of more diversebus service provision."In July of this year, we are told thatVaradkar brought a proposal thatwould see up to 10% of Dublin busroutes being handed over to privateoperators. If any of the Labour mem-bers in the Cabinet have a problemwith this, they have maintained avow of silence.The experience of the farming out

of profitable routes has been costlyelsewhere. In London, for example,the experience of bus privatisation inthe early 1980s has been bitter. As part of the privatisation agendaof the then-Thatcher government,Londoners were promised that thesell-off would lower costs and im-prove services. Wages for drivers were lowered byabout 25%, but services declineddramatically and fares increased.The result was an increase in carjourneys and huge pressure on theLondon Underground.But this Government is ideologi-cally pro liberalisation of the publictransport system. In March, the Cabi-net, at the suggestion of Leo Varad-

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iel D

udek

Cor

rigan

(CC

BY

2.0)

IKEA WATCH

It is reported that IkEa founder Ingvar kampradis to return to the small town of Älmhult in a more“tax-friendly” Sweden after nearly 40 years livingin Switzerland.

Älmhult was where kamprad, right, foundedIkEa in 1943 at the age of 17.

Now 87, he said he wanted to be closer to familyand friends. In recent years, Sweden has abol-ished a wealth tax and lower income taxes.

according to Swedish daily Sydsvenskan, kam-prad – who has frugal habits and famously recy-cles tea bags – has a personal fortune of 750million Swedish kronor (€86 million).

Ingvar finds home less taxing

Much of the media coverage of the Dublin bus dispute has only confused the issues, argues Paul Dillonkar, agreed not to seek derogationfrom EU rules on rail market ac-cess.This is likely to lead to the emer-gence of "competition" on our railinfrastructure, whereby CIE wouldbe broken up and there would be asplit between an operator runningthe trains and an infrastructurecompany which would own andmaintain the tracks.Invest in public transportRather than the introduction offurther subvention cuts to DublinBus, which make a short-term sav-ing but represent a long-term loss,what we need is an increase in thesubvention. The long-term benefits, socialand economic, of investment inpublic transport are massive, evenif much of our media cannot un-derstand that short-term cuts donot equal long-term savings.A major 2009 report for theAmerican Transport Associationby the Economic Development Re-search group in Boston showedthat for every dollar invested inpublic transport, there was a fourdollar return. In France, 20 urban areas nowoperate public transport which isentirely free, which has resulted ina dramatic reduction in car con-gestion.But points like these are entirelyabsent from our media debate.The logic of how investing inservices can boost the economicand social life of a city are likely tobe lost on a government which in-troduces cut after cut, regardlessof the impact, as part of an auster-ity policy which seeks to protectthe elite and shift resources up-wards at all costs.Paul Dillon’s blog is atwww.pauldillon.ie.

Page 15: Shopfloor September 2013

September 2013 y SHOPFLOOR 15

VIEWPOINT

By Patricknulty

THE Government is presiding overeconomic disaster, rising inequalityand a society where despair andfear for the future grip many peo-ple.In this context, it is more neces-sary than ever to put forward an al-ternative to austerity. Mandate and other unions haveput forward alternative after alter-native to the Government, only tobe ignored. This is because, choice afterchoice, the Government has decidedto protect elites rather than sidewith ordinary working people.Mandate pointed out at the timeof the introduction of the propertytax that this measure would resultin reduced spending and job lossesfor the retail sector. Unfortunately,these predictions are coming true.There should be no further in-creases in taxes and charges on lowand middle income earners inBudget 2014.Rather than introducing meas-ures to kill domestic demand, weshould focus on fair and just taxa-tion on those who afford to con-tribute more.

Reducing relief against tax for in-terest payments on residential prop-erties from 75% to 50% and applyingPRSI to rental income would raise€90 million. Confining tax relief to a rate of30% for individuals who can obtainrelief at the 41% rate in respect of in-dividual contributions to occupa-tional pension schemes, retirementannuity contracts and personal re-tirement savings would yield €245million.A French-style wealth tax wouldyield €500 million.

Increasing Employers’ PRSI on in-comes of more than €100,000 to16% would raise €100 million. An increase in both Capital Gainstax and Capital Acquisitions tax to40%, accompanied by other reformsto capital taxation thresholds and al-lowances, would yield €500 million. The introduction of a financialtransactions tax would raise €10 mil-lion. Allowing Revenue to employ anextra 120 staff to carry out additionaltax audits and investigations to curbtax evasion would yield €90 million.

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our P

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there are alternatives toausterity, let’s use them

These measures would raise € 2 billion. Many of them are thenorm elsewhere in Europe.There should be no further cuts topublic spending in Budget 2014.The total reduction of the cost ofinterest payments on general govern-ment debt will be €1 billion in 2014. These savings should be usedwhere they matter most – in the in-terests of fairness, the full savingmust be passed on to citizensthrough using the savings as a substi-tute for the sort of cuts in public serv-ices we have witnessed in recentyears.We badly need a budget thatboosts investment in the economyand creates jobs.There is €6.64 billion in the pen-

sion reserve fund that needs to bedrawn down now for investment inIreland. The use of €4.5 billion of thisfund in a two-year period for com-mercial investment would create100,000 jobs.We must build as broad as possi-ble coalition in the run up to thisBudget in order to mobilise publicopinion in support of an alternativeto austerity. There will be opportunities topoint to an alternative direction – inthe Dail for TDs, in the media andon the streets for citizens and theseopportunities should be used. We simply cannot withstand aus-terity for ever.

CHEEKY SPEECH BUBBLE COMPETITION...

Five dates to choose from: October 8th, October 15th, October 22nd,

October 29th and November 5th

BenefIT IIII Dept Communications Energy & Natural Resources

IT-4-todayTrade Unions supporting Learning FREE 1-day Computer Basic Course

8 hours of IT training

Eligible to attend if you are:l Aged 55 or over l Unemployed l Experiencing

disadvantage l Without any recognised formal education or l Have none or some computer experience

During this one-day session, you will learn how to use a computer, including: send/receive email, use social media,use of Apps, introduction to digital photography, perform

simple online transactions, such as: book a ticket, pay a bill,online banking and introduction to safety & security online

Venue: Mandate Training Centre, Distillery Road, Dublin 3To apply, contact: Mandate Training Centre 01-8369699

BUDGET 2014COMMENTARY

‘The Government has decided to protect elitesrather than side with ordinary working people’

TD for Dublin West

A French-style wealth taxwould raise €500 million

Picture: Kenteeegardin (CC BY 2.0)

get unionised... join mandatewww.mandate.ie/contact/Join.aspxWe’re just a

click away...

I’ve heard of a ‘Spot the Ball’

competition to boost

newspaper sales butthis is ridiculous...

... SO WHAT WOULD ‘BUBBLES’ SAY? THINK YOU CAN DO BETTER?

Email your suggestions to [email protected] tickets for four to Dublin Zoo. Competitioncloses Friday, October 11. Editor’s decision is final.

Page 16: Shopfloor September 2013

SHOPFLOOR y September 201316

OUR VIEW TRADE UNION LEFT PLATFORM NEWS

tesco loseseat appealover hoursand pay cutBy John CartyMandate Divisional OrganiserTHE Employment Appeals Tribunalhas upheld a Rights Commissioner’sdecision in relation to a complaintover a cut in pay and a reduction inhours taken by a former SectionManager at Tesco.Mandate’s Divisional OrganiserMandy Kane initially referred thecomplaint to the Rights CommissionService on June 3rd, 2011, allegingthat the retailer had breached thePayment of Wages Act by unilaterallyreducing our member’s hours from45 to 35.In 2010, Tesco decided to do awaywith the role of Section Manager. AllSection Managers were given threeoptions – to become a Line Manager,Team Leader or General Assistant. There were no union/companydiscussions or agreement on this de-velopment.Our member had a number ofmeetings with the Store Manager andobjected to the options presented if itmeant a reduction in either his rateof pay or his hours. He did advise he would accept theposition of Team Leader on conditionthere was no reduction in his termsand conditions of employment. At a meeting with the Store Man-ager in March 2011, he was informedthat effective from March 25th, 2011his rate of pay was to be cut as wellas his hours.The Rights Commissioner foundthat under the Payment of Wages Act1991 and on the basis of the evidencepresented that our member’s com-plaint was well founded. As the period covered by the dis-puted cuts amounted to 11 weeks,the Rights Commissioner orderedthat Tesco pay our member€4,111.25, subject to any lawful de-ductions, within six weeks of the dateof her decision.Tesco appealed the decision to theEmployment Appeals Tribunal. As Tullamore Local was subse-quently transferred to the WesternDivision, I took over the case and rep-resented the member at the EAT.The Tribunal heard the company’sappeal on the July 16th, 2013 and inits written determination stated:“Having listened to all evidence, theTribunal is absolutely satisfied thatthe Rights Commissioner’s findingsshould be upheld and the appeal bythe employer [Tesco] therefore fails.”

THE Labour Party claims to be com-mitted to, in this centenary celebra-tion of the heroic struggle of 1913,providing the legal right to tradeunion representation and collectivebargaining for workers with theiremployers. They claim its part of the Pro-gramme for Government that theynegotiated with their coalition part-ners, Fine Gael, although in reality allthis commits to is reforming currentlegislation to be in line with recentEuropean Court of Human Rights rul-ings. The relevant Minister, Richard Bru-ton of Fine Gael, has requested sub-missions on this subject earlier in theyear and has committed to bring for-ward legislation to reform the 2001Act to Government later this yearthat will “reconcile Ireland's constitu-tional, social and economic tradi-tions, and international obligations,whilst at the same time ensuring con-tinued success in building Ireland'sdomestic jobs-base and in attractingoverseas investment into the econ-omy.” (Minister Bruton in a letter tothe ICTU Youth Committee)Already, however, it is clear thatthis Government will not legislate forcollective bargaining for workers andthe legal right to be collectively rep-resented by an independent tradeunion chosen by the workers them-selves. What is likely to occur is a reformof the discredited 2001 Act that willallow multi-national corporations,Ryanair included, to continue to con-sult with their own dependent staffassociations and avoid any efforts byworkers to achieve recognition fortheir trade union. So, while the fanfare may be greatfrom the Labour Party and their rep-resentatives in various trade unions,the devil will be in the lack of de-tailed mechanisms for legal tradeunion recognition and collective bar-gaining.But what would we want if wecould achieve legislative collectivebargaining? First of all it’s important to statethat legal union recognition wouldnot be the panacea for the decliningstrength of the movement. Many countries have a variety ofmechanisms for this, yet in the devel-oped work, unions are declining nu-merically and in strength in virtually

every country. Why? Because unions have failed toadapt to new forms of employer con-trol and domination of workers andhave dropped the broader social andeconomic demands of the class infavour of sectorial professional im-

agery. Where unions are growingthey are allied to community de-mands and struggles and are chal-lenging the political system – forexample, nurses in California orteachers in Chicago.But nonetheless the right to unionrecognition and collective bargaining

is a recognised human right and hasthe potential to strengthen both ourmovement and our class and so iswell worth pushing for. So, what demands should wemake? What would constitute pro-gressive legislation on this issue? For this right to be meaningful andpossible for workers to achieve, morethan just a right to be represented isneeded.Legislation should include, the fol-lowing:l Recognition of union member-ship and collective bargaining as abasic human right;l Legal right and mechanism forcompulsory recognition of a tradeunion for staff by employers;l Broad parameters for what con-stitutes collective bargaining and ne-gotiating mechanisms and anavoidance of minimal consultationstyle frameworks;l Clear understanding of a tradeunion as an independent registeredtrade union and not a staff associa-tion established by management;l Right to access to workers intheir workplace for trade unions toensure all workers are given the rightto organise a union free from intimi-dation;l Right to access existing mem-bers and staff where collective bar-gaining is in place;l Protection for union membersfrom penalisation, discrimination ordisciplinary action for carrying outlegitimate trade union activity;l Legal protection for at-sourcecollection of union subscriptions; andl Economically harsh fines andpenalties for companies found to bein breach so that it is not economic toillegally avoid unions.These are not unrealistic demands.Indeed, many of these kind of rightsare in place in Australia, newZealand, parts of the US, Britain andother countries in Europe. However, we are fully confidentthat anything this Government pro-poses, so as to keep their friends inbig monopolies happy, will fall farshort of them. Legal campaigns will not win usthis result either. It will requireunions themselves get serious aboutthis issue and make it an industrialand consequently, political, issue.

Picture: marxist.ca/marxiste.qc.ca (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Referral: Divisional Organiser Mandy Kane

our union rights... will thisgovt deliver?

SINN FEIN tD Mary lou McDon-ald has told the chair of homeand community care Ireland(hccI) – the body representingprivate home care contractors –that he has zero-credibility toargue for social inclusion if he isto argue in favour of the ex-ploitative regime of 'zero-hourcontracts'.

Speaking at a meeting of theFinance, Public Expenditure andReform committee Deputy

McDonald on September 13th,she said: "Representative bod-ies as well as employers need tostop regarding care work assome form of second-rate serv-ice and instead start to valuecare workers by providing themwith decent contracts.

"Zero-hour contracts aredeeply exploitative, it's thatsimple.

"the reality for thousands oflow-paid workers is that they

are on call seven days a weekwith absolutely no guarantee ofwork.

“this kind of exploitativeregime disproportionately im-pacts negatively on the low paidand women workers.

"It is unacceptable for thehccI to come before the com-mittee and talk about incentivis-ing the care sector, to makearguments for exchequer fundsfor services that are delivered

by private operators who will inturn exploit their workforce.”

Ms McDonald added: "Underno circumstances will Sinn Féinsupport any organisation pro-viding any service that uses zerohour contracts to deliver itsservices.

“If we are to value care workwe need to put a premium onthe service and not undermine itwith disgraceful employmentpractices."

‘Zero-hour contracts are exploitative, it’s that simple’

Page 17: Shopfloor September 2013

September 2013 y SHOPFLOOR 17

a call to action

gerry light Assistant General SecretaryMandate Trade Union

VIEW SHOPFLOOR

ON REaDING the above headline one would be excused in thinkingthat the article which follows will contain another imploration ofworkers to rally behind a particular cause in the spirit and traditionof collectivism. While many such causes still exist today, along with the need to addressthem in an appropriate fashion as they arise, the thrust of what follows isinstead a call to employers – particularly those operating in the retail sec-tor – to use their individual and collective influence to demand from theGovernment measures which would have the effect of boosting the do-mestic economy and consumer spending. The fact that they have not done so up to now in a way that reflects themomentous and unprecedented challenges facing the sector raises suspi-cion about the delicate balancing act they appear to be trying to maintain.

For the past six years, Mandate and its members have been at thecoal face in dealing with the consequences of the economic recession. On many occasions we have had to listen to employer after employerbemoaning the fact that because of the collateral impact arising from thecollapse in trade, they had been left with no option but to address the situ-ation by attempting to significantly erode the hard-won terms and condi-tions of our members.

From an early stage, while accepting that a certain amount of slip-page had occurred in trading and profit levels, your union fought and –in many circumstances – won the fight against this particular employeragenda. We also highlighted the reality that the cause for the decline in retailspending, while rooted in the global economic crash, had as much to dowith the austerity policies pursued by the Irish government.That is why we continue to place at the centre of our campaigning activ-ities the need for the current Government to ease the intensity of theirausterity programmes and to use recourses which are now available tothem in a way which will stimulate domestic economic growth and retailspending.

It often feels that we, as workers’ representatives, are left alone indefending the interests of the retail sector. On far too many occasions,major retail employers have remained conspicuously silent in challeng-ing our political masters to make them recognise how important retailis to the domestic economy as well as the need to highlight what needsto be done to ensure no further damage is inflicted. One surely is entitled to ask why this is the case? Throughout history, the relationship between big business and politicscan at best be described as blurred if not dangerously compromised atmany levels. Recent initiatives to remove corporate funding of political parties are tobe welcomed but far too many hidden aspects of the corporate politicalrelationship remain covert in nature. It is also obvious from an Irish perspective that any profitable businesswill think long and hard before causing through their actions potentialdamage to the structure in which profits are so generously treated for tax-ation purposes, not to mention all of the other shelters and breaks whichare available to them. So therefore the call to ac-tion is clear in that Mandate invites all re-tail employers in the run-up to Budget2014 to join with us in demanding thatthe Government introduces meaningfulpolicy changes which will see a lessen-ing of austerity leading to greater do-mestic economic activity with the retailsector at its core.

Any response which is not fulsome inthis regard will only serve to sustain the

perception that the corporate world con-tinues to engage in the most crass

form of opportunism and doublestandards.

fromthe

By Thomas PringleIndependent TD for Donegal South WestOVER the last four months, theOireachtas Joint committee onagriculture, Food and the Ma-rine has been holding hearingsinto the retail sector.

these hearings were to assistus in preparing a report on theproposed code of conduct forthe grocery goods sector, pric-ing and the impact on primaryand secondary suppliers, sup-port for local produce and la-belling of goods in the grocerysector.

the government intends topublish a new competition Billin the autumn which I stronglybelieve should include the es-tablishment of a statutory codeof practice for the grocery sec-tor.

RGData, IFa and Retail Excel-lence Ireland are some of thegroups we heard from duringthe hearings, as well as most ofthe multiple retailers involved inthe grocery trade. however,Dunnes Stores declined the invi-tation to attend the committeeand give their views.

the hearings provided a valu-able insight into the workings ofthe retail sector.

all of the operators, apartfrom RGData, are opposed tothe government plan to imple-ment a statutory (backed up by

legislation) code of practice andare in favour of a European-stylevoluntary code instead.

In fact it was very interestingto hear the language used by allthe retailers – it was remarkablysimilar – about how effectivethey perceive the existing legis-lation to be here in preventingsharp practices in the sectorsuch as ‘hello’ money and suppli-ers paying for the cost of promo-tions in the stores.

they were all at pains to pointout that the 2006 CompetitionAct banned all these practicesand allowed for individuals tomake a complaint to the compe-tition authority should they besubjected to any illegal prac-tices, and that it shows how ef-fective this legislation isbecause there has not been anyprosecutions under it, accordingto the retailers.

We have all learned in Irelandover the years that just becausethere are no prosecutionsdoesn’t mean that everything isrunning smoothly!

On the last day of the hear-ings, the competition authoritygave evidence and they con-firmed that their role under the2006 act is only to act in circum-stances where these practicescould affect competition, aslightly different version ofevents to what was previously

purported.a statutory code of practice is

totally unnecessary as far as allthe multiples are concerned be-cause they are so compliant any-way and it would only add costto them that they would have ‘nochoice’ but to pass on to cus-tomers.

When posed with the questionas to how, if they are so compli-ant and already spend so muchmaking sure they are, could astatutory code add so much costand a voluntary one wouldn’t.

Surprisingly, they never reallyanswered this question exceptto quote vague references tolegal costs.

But expect to see the multi-ples using the introduction of acode of conduct to increaseprices and profits when it is im-plemented.

But. of course. we will neverknow how much it will increasetheir profits in Ireland becausethey are not required to publishthem separately here.

like many aspects of Irish life,the retail sector could do withmore transparency and a statu-tory code of conduct could gosome way to providing that –but only if it is enforced, andthat is unfortunately where wefall down.

do we needa code of

practice forthe grocery

sector?

Pictures: Howard Lake (CC BY-SA 2.0)

Page 18: Shopfloor September 2013

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1913 COMMEMORATION PICTURE SPECIAL

PRESIDEnT Michael D Higgins laid a wreath onSaturday, 31st August, atthe statue of Jim Larkin, inO’Connell Street, Dublin, tocommemorate the workersand their families who suf-fered during the 1913Lockout.The laying of the wreath,left, on top of an image ofthe Starry Plough flag wasthe centre point of an after-noon of commemoration in-cluding performances bysingers, actors and commu-nity groups.They brought to life theevents of late summer 1913in Dublin and in particularBloody Sunday, 31st August,when police baton chargedstriking workers.To the roaring enthusiasmof a crowd of more than5,000, that included around200 in 1913-vintage cloth-ing, actor Jer O’Leary re-en-acted ITGWU leader JimLarkin’s speech of BloodySunday, 1913.“The bosses of Dublin areusing starvation as theirweapon, but they will fail asall tyranny will fail. Thehunger that we have awak-ened will not be satisfied bybread alone,” he told thecrowd before being “ar-rested” by two “members”of the Dublin MetropolitanPolice.There was then a re-en-actment of the infamousbaton charge with a horse-drawn Dublin fire brigadeambulance collected the “in-jured”.Among those who at-tended the event were rela-tives of James Larkin andJames Connolly. ICTU Presi-dent John Douglas alongwith SIPTU General Presi-dent Jack O’Connor andICTU General SecretaryDavid Begg laid wreathes onbehalf of the trade unionmovement.

Wreath forour heroes

Page 19: Shopfloor September 2013

19September 2013 y SHOPFLOOR

ICTU President John Douglas with ETUC chief Bernadette Ségol, Frances O’Grady, who is general secretary of the TUC, ICTUGeneral Secretary David Begg and ICTU Deputy General Secretary Peter Bunting Pictures: ICTU

ICTU President John Douglas interviewed at the event

Page 20: Shopfloor September 2013

SHOPFLOOR y September 201320

ANALYSIS

tors in civil society in discussing howwe could build a civil society thatcould persuade people of the value ofan equal, sustainable and participa-tive society and advance these agen-das with some impact.Claiming Our Future started outwith this idea of seeking an empow-ered civil society in 2010. Tradeunions, community groups and envi-ronmental groups played a centralrole in its development. It mobilised new energy by organ-ising public events where peoplefrom these different sectors could de-liberate on the values they sharedand the policy demands that flowedfrom such values.Equality, environmental sustain-ability, participation, accountabilityand solidarity were the shared val-ues. Income equality, an economy forsociety, and political reform weresome of the policy priorities. Claim-

WE ARE not just commemoratingthe 1913 Dublin Lockout. We arecelebrating it! This is a bit strange,unless of course you are an em-ployer into lockouts and unionbusting. Possibly, we are celebrating thecourage and tenacity of those in-volved in taking on the challenge ofhigh unemployment, low wages,desperate housing conditions andgrinding poverty. But, there is a danger we aremerely pursuing a favoured na-tional pastime of celebrating glori-ous defeat.Why bother getting so wound upanyway about events a hundredyears ago? Living in the past seems to be an-other favourite national pastime.This is certainly a moment for thehistorians. However, there appearsto be little effort to explore whatthe 1913 Dublin Lockout has tooffer the struggles of today.1913 marked a high point in civilsociety’s demand for social change.We could celebrate the leadership,strategies and tactics that madethat possible. But, the realities of1913 were very different and wecould just end up indulging in nos-talgia. lacking in purpose1913 did mark the culmination ofa period of change in civil society –change in leadership, strategy andtactics. It is that process of changethat could hold lessons for us today.We need to explore that changefor what it can tell us about thechallenges civil society currentlyfaces. Civil society is strangelyquiet, lacking in purpose, andbereft of agenda. This is despite, and possibly be-cause of, a context of high unem-ployment, worsening workingconditions, emigration, deepeninginequality, and unmanageable in-debtedness.We need to create opportunitiesto assess the internal challengesfacing civil society – across all sec-tors – if we are to build capacity tomake an impact on where our soci-ety is heading. We need to explore what hashappened to the organisations incivil society that are concernedwith equality, environmental sus-tainability and empowerment.This is a challenge to tradeunions, environmental groups,community sector organisations,global justice groups, cultural or-ganisations and more. It is not achallenge to navel gaze and becomeever more turned in on ourselves –each sector trying to puzzlethrough what went wrong and howto make it right. It is a challenge to involve all sec-

ing Our Future struggled to take offwith increasing pressures on civilsociety turning organisations backinto themselves.Claiming Our Future survived. Itis now progressing a budget cam-paign seeking an end to cuts and afocus on taxing the wealthy. It is challenging the Seanad aboli-tion referendum as the ‘wrong’ ref-erendum and putting forwardproposals for real political reform.It is raising the issue of income in-equality and building a campaign todevelop policies to close the gap bypushing down higher incomes.Renewed energyRenewed energy within ClaimingOur Future has brought the originalchallenge of building a more pow-erful civil society to the fore again. One initiative being organised isto bring leaders from national anti-poverty and equality organisationstogether with leaders from globaljustice organisations. This meetingwill explore our different ap-proaches to seeking social changeand discuss the links we need tomake to empower and enable bothsectors.The learning from this should en-able more ambitious cross-sectoralengagement. Leaders from thetrade union, community, environ-mental, global justice and culturalsectors could usefully meet to ex-plore the current state of civil soci-ety, to build new links and to findthe new strategies and tactics thatmight make some progress. That would be a useful legacyfrom our celebration of 1913.

celebrating aglorious defeat?

By niallcrowley

Claiming Our Future

FIFTEEn years after the signing ofthe Good Friday Agreement sectari-anism is thriving. While we have wit-nessed historical changes in thestatus of the north and its relation-ship to both states, there remains anongoing challenge to ensure that sec-tarianism is not allowed to go un-challenged through a dangerousacceptance of narrow ethnic divi-sions as normal. While moving from violence topeace and from a one-party state to,in essence, a two-party state is wel-come, to assume that a functioningassembly will create a peaceful andshared region is to ignore the prob-lem that an ethnic assembly in itselfposes. The need for parties to shore up astrong electoral vote obliges them toplay to an identifiable cultural andpolitical audience and in the processprevents the emergence of more pro-gressive voices. Republicans appear to hold out inhope that being nice to unionism andleaving open the promise of a finan-cial stake in any united future will beenough to see them into an all Ire-land. Unionism on the other hand,cowed by the loss of ‘their state’ anda rising Catholic population seems tohave absolutely no cogent strategythat might involve convincing the na-tionalist population that a genuinelyshared future in the Six Counties ispossible. The reality of a united Ireland com-ing to pass is anyone’s guess, but thenow old adage that republicans aretoo clever to admit they’ve lost andunionism is too stupid to realise it’swon, appears increasingly apt. When republicans and nationalistsin the city council voted in favour offlying the union flag on designateddays (as is done in Great Britain andmost of the rest of the north), the re-action, stoked by both unionist par-ties, saw a furious outpouring ofsectarianism and a wilful blindnessto see it for what it was – constitu-tional nationalism implementing theGood Friday Agreement within theUnited Kingdom. It has beenbranded by some within Loyalism,

rather clumsily it has to be said, asthe ongoing ‘de-Britification’ of thenorth. But the idea that the north is lessBritish than it was, is not credible. In-stitutionally, militarily, politically, andculturally, the north is still a veryBritish place. Thousands of uncontroversialLoyal Order marches every year, thepresence of more than 2,000 Britishtroops, several major military bases,the (controversial) presence of MI5and the transfer of further covertpolicing functions to the ‘nationalCrime Agency’ are just some exam-ples of northern Ireland’s full inte-gration into the British security state. Further, it is almost entirely inte-grated into the British state economi-cally, its media is almost whollyAnglo-centric with a sprinkling ofGaelic games and cúpla focal, andmany of the laws that govern thenorth (when they’re not European inorigin) have a very British origin in-deed – the parliament of Westmin-ster, where they are signed into lawby a British monarch. There is also the not insignificantissue of 900,000 people with aBritish identity living here. (Andwhile not wishing to rain on anyone’sparade the Life and Times survey in2011 claimed 52% of Catholic re-spondents wanted to remain in theUK, with just 33% admitting to want-ing a united Ireland.) So if it isn’t less British (and indeedmight be a little more unionist),what’s the problem? The problemmight be that it’s less Orange. While the institutions that governnorthern Ireland remain fundamen-tally wedded to British traditions,cultures and laws, significantly theyare no longer under the direction of aProtestant religious organisation andits political out rider, unionism. While this fledgling democracy islimited by the absence of any real op-position, the north is more demo-cratic than it has been since Partition,and maybe that’s the problem.Is that where this rage and angercomes from? Does it emerges from apalpable sense of loss within union-

case offlaggingmorale...

REMEMBERING THE LOCKOUT

Loyalism’s bitter street protests over flying ofthe union flag coupled with an inability to compromise is actually weakening the union, argues Trademark co-director Dr Stephen Nolan

‘1913 did mark the culmination of a period of change in civil society– change in leadership,strategy and tactics.It is that process ofchange that could holdlessons for us today’

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Page 21: Shopfloor September 2013

September 2013 y SHOPFLOOR 21

ANALYSIS ism? A loss of “our wee country” re-flected in the obsessive flying of flagsand an inability to compromise onmarching. To many within the nationalistcommunity, the anger is a reac-tionary and sectarian response of apolitical ideology rooted in su-premacy and a sense of entitlementmade worse by a deep sense of un-ease about their place on this islandand their place within the UnitedKingdom. It is made worse by a false narra-tive of discrimination and exclusionwhich claims a loyalist victimhoodand screams charges of anti-Protes-tant victimisation. The reality is thatnationalists still fair worse in jobs,employment and measures of depri-vation. The Millwall mentality of ‘no-onelikes us, we don’t care’, needs tochange because if Unionism’s histori-cal deal of having one foot in theBritish state and one foot outside isbeing undone, it’s not being undoneby Irish nationalism, but by Unionismitself. Its inability to contemplate what itmeans to share this place and to

compromise is making this relativelystable state that much weaker. Theironly blessing perhaps is that thesouth is more partitionist than theyare. For those on the left in this caul-dron of shifting demographics andsectarian scare-mongering that wecall politics, there is a desperate long-ing for a progressive working classvoice within Loyalist communities,but when it appears, it seems to burnbrightly before being snuffed out. When an Eleventh night bonfiresported the slogan “F**k your sharedfuture”, it spoke about a deep unwill-ingness in sections of the workingclass community to share this place. But for this place to move forwardthere has to be a recognition withincommunities that the north isn’t asBritish as Finchley, it never was andwhen Loyalism proclaims “this is ourwee country”, there’s a problem, be-cause it isn’t. And not because nationalists livehere, but because they don’t own it,none of it – they never have. They’venever owned the profits of their ownlabour, they don’t own any planta-tions, they own nothing and can liveonly by selling their labour into zerohours contracts. This is the reality of working classlives, Catholic and Protestant. Whilein the past they may have benefitedfrom loyalty to the Empire, thosebenefits are fast disappearing, leav-ing only a fading British militarismand the opportunity to defend Britishcapitalist interests by invading some-

one else’s country. When Loyaliststurned up at the anti-G8 march andprotested that the march was ‘anti-British’, it showed a staggering ab-sence of political consciousness.Being anti-capitalist is not about dis-loyalty to the state, it is about loyaltyto a future for all of our children. The working class, Protestant andCatholic, needs to be involved inbuilding a strong labour movementand defending the gains of a Britishsocialism that are being cynicallysold off to anyone who can stump upthe cash. But unity among the working classcan only emerge if we accept that thisplace is a shared cultural space andthat yes, Fenians live here too, Following the Good Friday Agree-ment, many experts in conflict reso-lution from around the worlddescended on northern Ireland tooffer their own expertise about whatshould happen here. Many believedthat the absence of serious armedconflict would simply eradicate sec-tarianism, while others believed thatsectarianism was a product of that vi-olence and that given space commu-nities would automatically see thebenefits of peace. The international conflict resolu-tion industries’ focus was, and is, ex-clusively on the positive transitionfrom violence to peace. It has almostcompletely ignored the accompany-ing and devastating transition to neo-liberalism, Sectarianism weakens our resist-ance to the continued march of thefree market into every area of ourlives and the acceptance of its in-evitability. The re-organisation of the worldeconomy over the last 40 years andthe emergence of a particularly sav-age form of capitalism poses manychallenges to all those actors in-volved in the pursuit of democratisa-tion and social justice. The emergence of atypical forms ofemployment, low pay, anti-unionpolicies and ‘market flexibility’ hasoffered little protection for workersand communities, regardless of whatflag they fly, and has ensured thatlabour rights and related social andeconomic benefits remain beyondthe majority of people. Whether it is the attacks on thewelfare state, privatisation, the con-tinuation of the failed PFI pro-grammes or attacks on some of thelowest paid workers, these free mar-ket policies are considered insepara-ble from ‘democracy’. However, with the ongoing implo-sion of this deeply-flawed economicsystem across the globe, our politi-cians who invested all our futures onroulette wheel economics, nowscramble around looking for answerswhich do not lie in more of the samebut in an alternative, progressive anddemocratic economics. This alternative future desperatelyneeds a progressive strong Protes-tant/unionist/Loyalist voice, particu-larly in the labour movement. Itneeds to defend the gains of thosemen and women that fought fascismand on coming home brought the re-sources of their state under demo-cratic control. It needs to show loyalty to aniconic symbol, the nHS and one ofthe greatest welfare states in history. That is a legacy worth fighting for.

Loyalist mural in west Belfast...time for a new lick of paint?

Picture: Robert Paul Young (CC BY 2.0)

Belfast City Hall and that missing flag...

Page 22: Shopfloor September 2013

22 SHOPFLOOR y September 201322

VIEWPOINT 1913 UNFINISHED BUSINESS

By Ronan Burtenshaw & Shane McNally1913 Unfinished BusinessTHE recent commemorations of the1913 Lockout have recognised awatershed moment in Irish tradeunionism and celebrated hard wonrights. However, there has been little dis-cussion of the erosion of the founda-tions that were laid down a hundredyears ago – a serious problem forthe trade union movement today.The 1913 Lockout was brutal andended in an short-term defeat. Butby 1920 the membership of theITGWU had surpassed 120,000 –more than four times what it hadbeen in 1913. The Lockout invigorated the Irishworking class and reminded themof their capacity to be an agent forchange. It was a struggle based onan understanding of the fundamen-tally incompatible interests of work-ers and their bosses in theworkplace. The men and women in 1913knew that if you divided a page be-tween what bosses and workerswanted, you would see that theywere in conflict every hour of theday. Bosses want higher profits, wewant higher wages. Bosses want toinvest as little as possible, we wantto improve the conditions we workin. Bosses want to limit the amountof paperwork they do, we want de-cent health and safety standards.This awareness was the fuel that

REMEMBERING THE LOCKOUT

propelled the trade union movementat the beginning of the 20th centuryto win the gains it did.But it contrasts with today. Howmany people talk about the impor-tance of class interests in determin-ing the direction of society? In the last 30 years our trade unionmovement has sought refuge in so-

duced trade unions to service-provi-sion and disarmed many in themovement of the tools needed tofight and win.And the results are evident: tradeunion density when the first socialpartnership agreement was signed in1987 was 55%. now, it is 31% –down 7% from the turn of the cen-tury. As austerity loads the burden ofa crisis – both practically and ideo-logically the making of bosses – on toworkers, we find little fight-back inIreland. The class struggle between work-ers and capitalists that led to hard-won gains, we’re told, should beconsigned to the past – even as thesegains are eroded on front of our eyes. Those who discuss class struggletoo often do so in obscure or dog-matic ways, wrapped in academictheories rather than the experienceof today’s workers. But if we examine what radicalslike Connolly were talking about – asocial conflict between workers whoneed their wages to survive and capi-talists who own society’s wealth –who could deny their relevance tothe world we live in today?Take, for example, the situa-tions that retail workers havefaced with the demise of HMV,GAME and La Senza – occupyingshops in search of justice like theirforebears a century ago. Look at the soup kitchens in aus-terity Ireland. Or the emigration. Orthe dole queues. Capitalism is a system run for andby the rich. It says that workers willonly get the essentials they need tolive – such as housing, food, clothesand employment – if someone, some-

sector, with its secure jobs, we seein zero hour contracts and intern-ship programmes the future ofwork. The way this crisis is resolvedwill dictate the development of thenext phase of the system – andworkers can expect persistent un-employment, low-pay, less securityand reduced services. What we’reliving through now is not a blip. It isthe basis of the new normal.But that doesn’t have to be thecase. Societies are shaped by strug-gle and we can fight back. Larkin’snew Unionism won amazing gainsfor the working class in its time, andmany other fighting workers’ move-ments have done the same. This is because workers havemore power than we are led to be-lieve. We are the majority in this so-ciety. Forget ‘job creators’ – workersproduce the wealth. They make society run. And withthat comes strength. But this canonly be tapped if we take tradeunionism out of the negotiatingrooms and back to the streets. And we need to get political – weneed to talk about a society beyondcapitalism, its super-rich and bigbusinesses. In short, trade unions must bethe democratic and organic organi-sations of workers in their work-places. And they must say, “workersshould own and control their com-munities, workplaces and society.” But it can’t be divined fromabove, workers must get together tocreate it. A hundred years on fromthe Lockout, it’s time for a rebirth ofthe workers’ movement. We have unfinished business.

cial partnership – a system of agree-ments between bosses, unions andthe government. Its proponents argue that it resem-bles ‘worker democracy’, becauseworkers are permitted to sit at thetop table. But in reality, by mitigating conflictin the workplace, it has robbed manyworkers of class consciousness, re-

where is making money from it. Social partnership has told us for aquarter of a century that workers cansimply sit down at a table and negoti-ate with bosses under this system –that you don’t need to fight. This hasweakened workers’ organisationsand created a layer of professionalnegotiators who are the subject of

suspicion for many working people. We have seen in the mass strikes offast food workers in the US and newZealand an effort to forge a differentpath. Street-fighting trade unionism,built on organising at the grassrootslevel and aimed gaining fairer wages.These workers are developing fight-ing trade unionism in societies as de-void of it as ours.Those movements have a lot incommon with the tactics and form ofnew Unionism which emerged at theturn of the 20th century. It chal-lenged the ethos of existing workerorganisations, developed a class con-sciousness through struggle and ar-ticulated a vision of a society run forand by workers. Commemorations ofConnolly, Larkin or Rosie Hackett arenot enough. We must learn the les-sons their actions teach. As capitalism shreds the public

‘By mitigating conflictin the workplace, social partnership hasrobbed many workersof class consciousness,reduced trade unionsto service-provisionand disarmed many inthe movement of thetools needed to fight andwin’

it is time the workers’movement was reborn

Page 23: Shopfloor September 2013

23September 2013 y SHOPFLOOR

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terror attacks on their homeland, byCuban exiles based in the UnitedStates. They should be erecting stat-ues to these men, not jailing them.”One of those attacks – a no warn-ing bomb in a Havana Hotel – killeda young Italian tourist in 1997,while in 1976 a bomb on a Cubanaairliner killed all 73 people onboard.The Cuban Five were imprisonedin the US after being arrested by the

GENERAL NEWS

tERRORISt attacks against cubahave killed 3,478 people and in-jured 2,099, the majority carriedout by Miami-based cuban exilesand paramilitary groups. this in-cludes the October 1976 bombingof a cubana airliner, killing all 73passengers.

Gerardo hernandez, Ramónlabañino, Fernando Gonzalez, an-tonio Guerrero and René Gonzalezwere accused of the vague crime ofconspiracy to commit espionage.

the US government never ac-cused them of actual espionage,nor did it affirm that real acts of es-pionage had been carried out, asno classified document had beenconfiscated from them.

the trial of the men lasted morethan six months and included thetestimonies of three retired armygenerals and a retired admiral,who agreed that evidence of espi-onage did not exist.

In august 2005 a three-judgepanel of the court of appeals re-voked all of the convictions on thegrounds that the five accused hadnot received a fair trial in Miami.

the US government intervenedand on august 2006, in spite of thestrong disagreement voiced bytwo of the three judges who madeup the panel, a new court revoked,by majority, the decision of thethree judges.

FACT-FILEictu President calls forcuban 5 to be released

ICTU President John Douglas, hascalled for the immediate release ofthe ‘Cuban Five’ from custody in theUnited States and for them to be al-lowed to return to their homes andfamilies in Cuba.Speaking ahead of a vigil held inDublin on September 12th to markthe men’s 15th year in prison, MrDouglas, who is also Mandate Gen-eral Secretary, said: “The entireprocess surrounding the convictionof the Cuban Five was dubious to saythe least and, in the interests of jus-tice, the US government must re-lease these men immediately andallow them to return to their homecountry.“Following the recent anniversaryof the September 11, 2001, attackson the United States, it is ironic toconsider that these men were jailedfor their role in trying to prevent

Federal Bureau of Investigations onSeptember 12th, 1998. The five men – Gerardo Hernán-dez, Ramón Labañino, Antonio Guer-rero, Fernando González and RenéGonzález – were investigating theactivities of Cuban exile terrorgroups based in the United Stateswhen they were arrested.They were convicted in a Miamicourt of conspiracy to commit espi-onage, conspiracy to commit mur-

der, acting as an agent of a foreigngovernment, and other illegal activi-ties. Mr Douglas, pictured left at thevigil, said: “In 2005, the United na-tions Commission on Human Rightsadopted a report stating that ‘thetrial did not take place in the climateof objectivity and impartiality that isrequired in order to conform to thestandards of a fair trial’.”The convictions and sentences ofthe Cuban Five have been stronglycontested by the men and theirmany supporters, including Arch-bishop Desmond Tutu and formerUS President Jimmy Carter. At least eight international nobelPrize winners have written to the USAttorney General calling for the re-lease of the men and Amnesty Inter-national has criticised theirtreatment in custody, describing itas “unnecessarily punitive and con-trary to standards for the humanetreatment of prisoners.”In May of this year, René González,who had been released on parole,was allowed to return to Cuba afterrenouncing his US citizenship.

thE MUch-anticipated Ryder cup is to beheld in Gleneagles, Scotland next year. Butits highly-regarded local counterpart, theBurger cup, was held recently at ardglassGolf club – and what a venue it turned outto be! the beautiful, windswept linkscourse is known throughout as a favouriteof home-grown golfing superstar RoryMcElroy.

however, “scintillating” and “superla-tive” – words often used by tV punditscovering the Ryder cup – were notable bytheir absence on the fairways of co Downas Mandate squared up to the IctU.

current holders Mandateunder the astute leadershipof the evergreen Gerry ‘Bingcrosby’ light, alongside thetalented but injured Brian‘Seve’ Forbes, faced thedaunting prospect ofplaying local man Peter‘Pitch & Putt’ Buntingalong with liam ‘Dou-ble Bogey’ Berney. theIctU duo took com-mand at the turn with aonce-in-a-lifetime birdiefrom Bunting.

Moving on to the 17thtee, dominant and ex-

pressing supreme confidence, the con-gress pairing could almost taste Burgercup success for the first time. that is, untilBunting six-putted the 17th and sure-shotlight drove the 400-yard 18th to secure anunbelievable birdie under the most daunt-ing pressure as he was watched by apacked gallery at the lion’s Den.

light’s 3ft birdie putt secured a well de-served half match against the congresspairing who had more shots than JamieFoxx had in Django Unchained, resulting inMandate retaining the prestigious Burgercup in a thrilling final turnaround reminis-cent of the famous liverpool v ac Milan2005 European cup Final.

Speaking afterwards and dubbing it as“a moral victory”, the debilitated but de-

lighted Forbes told Shopfloor: “Wewere down and out, battered and

bruised, but real leadershipcame in the form of Gerry withthat birdie at 18.

“It actually brought asmall tear to my eye as Iknow how much winning theBurger cup meant to Buntoand ‘Double Bogey’ Berney.”

SPORT

Wee buns! mandateretains Burger cup

The Burger Cup: Enjoyed byMandate – with extra relish...

Page 24: Shopfloor September 2013

SHOPFLOOR y September 201324

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 voice in 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 McADAIMMUSINGS...

By Brian ForbesMandate National Co-ordinatorPICTURE it... a balmy summerevening, the soft, velvety glow of thesinking sun caresses the nape of myneck as I cruise in my soft-top Ferrarithrough the beautiful winding roadsof Donegal’s Blue Stack mountains.Sporting a cool pair of Aviatorshades, wind in my flowing locks –you get the idea...As I press the pedal to the metal, Iturn the dial to hear good old WaltWilkins blasting out an old Mike ne-smith number (he of Monkees fame)called The Grand Ennui from the carstereo.Pulling up to Biddy O’Barnes for alittle light refreshment, the sound ofthe track dulling the gentle hum ofthe alarm clock informs me to get myface out of my Cornflakes and returnto planet Earth.Although a dream, it actually hap-pened but in a slightly different con-text. Driving on a miserable windy,wintery day through sweet smellingKillybegs, I cocked an ear to oldWalt’s jaunty rendition of The GrandEnnui:

“And as the headlights cast a glowon the road

I heard a voice inside of meIt said, ‘You lost the lightAnd now you’re moving through the

nightrunning from the grand ennuirunning from the grand ennui’.”Walt sang with such convictionthat I half convinced myself that the

grand ennui was some kind of mid-night ghoul or possibly a double-dealing politician or a megalomaniacmedia mogul. If, like me, you have never heard ofthe word ennui [pronunced ahn-wee] – never mind the grand ennuiversion – you might be interested toknow a quick Google search in-formed me it means a bored, disin-terested state Immediately it struck me that theex-Monkee’s lyrics might just be theperfect metaphor for the state of our

country – the disinterested state!We have 10 people leaving theseshores every day with many of themrunning from what I would now callthe grand ennui. So convinced arethey that nothing but pain, miseryand boredom on the dole exists forthem in our disinterested state. “My mother didn’t raise me for ex-port,” my friend David said as hestood in the departure lounge atDublin Airport.He was speaking with some au-thority as he weighed up a Jobs-Bridge future in Ireland against the

lure of work – paid work – in far-offAustralia. no doubt David was articu-lating the views of thousands ofother young Irish people forced totake the decision to leave.He may boomerang his way backto Ireland in a few years time “whenthings pick up” but for now David isforced into running from the grandennui.This disinterested state of ours hasthrough its policies of austerityforced tens of thousands of well-edu-cated, hard-working, articulate, ener-getic and capable individualstowards that exit door markedFORCED EMIGRATIOn. I recall, in particular, Fine GaelMinister Michael noonan’srecent off-the-cuff sugges-tion backing emigration asa lifestyle choice for peoplewanting to see a bit of theworld. His views echo that ofthe disinterested state thatfails to consider that emi-gration for many people is

a life sentence and not a lifestylechoice. Our political masters wedded tofailed austerity policies have little un-derstanding that people emigrate forwork and if no work exists in Irelandthen their life, lived with the dignityof work, is elsewhere. In effect, it constitutes a life sen-tence – not of their choosing – of liv-ing and working in a foreign country.Shakespeare once wrote that the“miserable have no other medicinebut only hope”. As hope disappearslike snow off a ditch, it is inevitablethat people will continue to run fromthe grand ennui of joblessness ac-tively caused by the policy decisionsof the disinterested state.Unemployment is running at morethan 14%. And there is an unavoid-able correlation between bankbailouts, Troika demands and aseemingly endless succession of aus-terity budgets.The lengthening queue my friendDavid found himself joining at thelong-haul flight desk at Dublin Air-port now makes perfect sense to me. The deliberate political tactic ofsuggesting that emigration is simplya lifestyle choice – unlinked to eco-nomics, politics or social policy – at-tempts to separate flawed decisionstaken by our current Governmentfrom the failed policies of austerity.And add to this the latest budget fi-asco which feels already like a sur-real version of austerity lite. All thosemedia soundbites from party politi-cal machines gearing up to convinceus that we need more doses of aus-terity – a treatment that is clearlykilling the patient.The simple, sad, yet un-avoidable fact is that peopleare not only running from the

grand ennui but sprinting likeEusain Bolt on to the LastTrain to Clarkesville singingDaydream Believer as thepoliticians continue to treat usall like an ex-Monkee’s uncle!

the grand ennui

Noonan: choice comments

‘My mother didn’traise me for export’,my friend said as hestood in the airport departure lounge

Striking a chord: Walt Wilkins, left, with band in concert Picture: Robert Hensley (CC BY 2.0)

Page 25: Shopfloor September 2013

September 2013 y SHOPFLOOR 25

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]

COMMENT

By Dr Conor McCabeOn February 6, 2013, Stephen Don-nelly, the independent TD for Wick-low, stood up in the Dáil to discussthe 2008 bank guarantee. He said it was passed because “ofa diktat from Europe that said noEuropean bank could fail, no Euro-zone bank could fail and no seniorbondholders could incur any debt.” It is a curious opinion to hold, asthe only foreign accents heard onthe Anglo tapes are imitations doneby Irish bankers of considerablewealth and influence. The tapes shone a light on theshort-term focus, the scramble forcapital that was to the front of thebank’s management team.John Bowe, the head of CapitalMarkets at Anglo Irish Bank, told hiscolleague Peter Fitzgerald that thestrategy was to get the Irish CentralBank to commit itself to fundingAnglo, to “get them to write a bigcheque”.By doing so, the Central Bankwould find itself locked in to Angloas it would have to shore up thebank to ensure it got repaid. The Irish financial regulator, Patneary, in a conversation with Bowe,was quoted as saying that Anglo wasasking his office “to play ducks anddrakes with the regulations.” Once the guarantee was passedthe bank’s CEO, David Drumm, toldhis executives to take full advantagebut advised them to be careful.The idea for a blanket guarantee,however, did not originate entirelywith the Anglo management team,regardless of how much they em-

braced it. In the weeks leading up tothe decision, the idea of a guaranteewas flagged in the national media bypeople such as David McWilliamsand the property developer noelSmyth. In a piece for the Sunday BusinessPost (September 21, 2008),McWilliams outlined his plan to savethe Irish banks.

He called for a full guarantee, onethat would give “full protection forall creditors, all our own depositsand those of the foreign institutionswho have lent to the Irish banks. Thegovernment could do this for a lim-ited period – let’s say two years.” McWilliams added that the “Irishgovernment would be using its well-earned reputation as a sovereign en-tity, not its hard-earned cash, tosolve this crisis” and that over thetwo years “with the return of confi-dence, the banks would have time to

sort out their asset problems.” noel Smyth, in a piece for the IrishTimes, said that with a full stateguarantee, the “three-month inter-bank facilities would then return,trust and confidence between thebanks would replace the presentfear of illiquidity created by thecredit crunch and the system, stag-nating at present, would come backinto full operation.”McWilliams, Smyth, and the man-agers at Anglo, all touch upon a keyfactor in the 2008 crisis: the collapsein the inter-bank lending market. Two days after the bank guaran-tee was passed by the Dáil, IrishTimes journalist Simon Carswellwrote a short, succinct précis ofwhat had just happened. “The State guarantee,” he said, “al-lows the six lenders to borrow morefreely and more cheaply for short-term funding that had becomescarce due to the global creditcrunch.”He quoted Denis Casey, chief exec-utive of Irish Life and Permanent,who said that with the credit crisis“the oxygen supply for Irish bankswas being cut off and healthy bankswere starting to gasp for breath.This guarantee turns on the oxygensupply.” On October 3, 2008, the ECBwrote a letter to the Irish Depart-ment of Finance, outlining its graveconcerns regarding the scale anddepth of the guarantee. It noted thatthe Irish state “opted for an individ-ual response to the current financialsituation and not sought to consulttheir EU partners.” It also made the

following observation:“ … the financial exposure of theIrish state under such guarantees ispotentially very large, the Irish gov-ernment could be obliged to make sig-nificant payments in case theseguarantees are called over the nexttwo years… this is a cause for concern,even when the provision of financialsupport would, under the draft law, asfar as possible ultimately have to berecouped from the credit institution orsubsidiary in question.”When the Irish state went guaran-tor for six banks and one stock-broking firm (Goodbody was alsoincluded) it merged the state, Borg-like, with the parallel, or shadow,banking system. It was a reckless lastthrow-of-the-dice, one that no othercountry replicated. The Anglo tapes, while shocking,are white noise. The deep corruptionof Irish political and business life isthere for all to see. It is already inpublic view.And why should it hide itself?It has little to fear from thejustice system, and in termsof general analysis, the Ger-man straw man has worked. The next time you see an

Irish comic on RTE in drag as An-gela Merkel, the Irish moneyedclass will be laughing along as well.Unfortunately it will be the Irishpublic, not the screen, that will betheir source of merriment.At the very least, let us be clearas to what took place in 2008: itwas a scramble by our indigenousmoneyed class to protect itself atall costs, with a plan that backfired,leaving the Irish people to clean upthe mess. Since 2010, that class has beentalking up the role of the ECB andEU in an effort to disguise the localclass interests that came into playin 2008. In other words, the conse-quences of the guarantee are nowput forward as the causes of theguarantee. And so far, at least, thesubterfuge has worked. At the end of the day the guaran-tee was about class power. Unfortu-nately in Ireland, that is usually thecase.

‘2008 was ascramble by our indigenous moneyed class toprotect itself at all costs, leavingus with the mess’

Picture: Dennis AB (CC BY-SA 2.0)

THE ANGLO TAPES

Press rewind to 2008 and localclass interests are revealed...

Page 26: Shopfloor September 2013

nesses that pay their workers morethan their competitors and still suc-ceed? Pay better benefits? Recog-nise trade unions? Includeworkers into the man-agement of the firm?How can this workwhen we’re told it can’twork?There is a new trendin business analysis –which focusses on howpeople work together in acompany. Where companies investin their employees – whetherthrough wages, working hours,benefits, training and re-skilling– this analysis finds that the re-turns to the business are evenhigher. Indeed, during the recessionstudies have shown that worker-owned firms have managed to dobetter than traditional firms. Because it is people, workers,who determine the success orotherwise of a firm. The pro-duction of goods and services,customer relations, ideas fromthe shop floor or factory floor –it all comes back to the worker. This is the new businessmodel of the future – worker-centred firms. Of course, inmany areas and in many coun-tries this future is still quite dis-tant. Here in Ireland, precarious workSHOPFLOOR y September 201326

THE BIG IDEA...

WE are all familiar with the evil cor-poration in films. Omni ConsumerProducts brought us robocop, theSoylent Corporation turned peopleinto food, and Weyland-Yutani wasforever trying to bring Alien back toearth for weapons development. Un-fortunately, the practices of manyreal-life corporations can similarlyturn the stomach.Remember that description byrolling Stone’s Matt Taibbi aboutGoldman Sachs: “The world's mostpowerful investment bank is a greatvampire squid wrapped around theface of humanity, relentlessly jam-ming its blood funnel into anythingthat smells like money.”There’s another corporation thatfits this description: Wal-Mart. The US retail corporation that runschains of large discount departmentand warehouse stores is the largestprivate sector employer in the world.It has championed lower consumerprices but the cost has been high. Wal-Mart has destroyed local busi-nesses wherever they moved in –using predatory practices (they en-gage in aggressive price reductionsuntil their local competitors close up,then they increase their prices). This has had a particularly de-structive impact in smaller towns inthe US where studies have found thatpoverty and unemployment risewhere Wal-Mart sets up shop. It is in the area of labour relations,however, that Wal-Mart has acted likeone of those evil corporations of thesilver screen. Low wages (between 10% and20% less than other retail workers),poor working conditions (wheremanagement keeps stores almostpermanently under-staffed) and fewhealth benefits – something particu-

that 70% of staff leave in their firstyear of employment. Workers have tried to fight back.Trade unions have set up specialcampaigns both to organise and de-fend Wal-Mart workers. Recently, Wal-Mart workers in 15major cities went on strike as part ofa nationwide campaign to double the

minimum wage. However, Wal-Martis such a powerful corporate forcethat it is difficult to challenge them,despite the best efforts of workersand their unions. Wal-Mart appears invincible, agiant shark where everyone else –other retail operations, workers,communities – are just minnows. However, there is an interestingdevelopment going on in Idaho, asmall, sparse region in northwestAmerica. There, a small retail chainis challenging Wal-Mart’s domina-tion. This small regional player beatsWal-Mart on prices and is rapidlygaining market share in their locali-ties. It doesn’t advertise much. It is ano-frills place where customers bagtheir own groceries (not a commonthing in US supermarkets). But what’s more interesting is thatit provides health care and pensionfor its workers. Wages are higherand staff turnover lower.And the really interesting thing is

that it is employee-owned.There’s a theory among manage-ment circles that the route to a suc-

cessful business is to cut, cut, cutcosts. In services sectors, this meanscutting labour costs – wages, over-time, hours, benefits, certainty ofwork. This is called ‘flexibility’ and thismust be overseen by a dynamic,charismatic leader (think Ryanair’sMichael O’Leary). So, downgrade payand working conditions; and set upcults around CEOs – hard men(they’re usually men) who know howto get things done.And yet there are thousands ofcompanies that defy this logic andprosper – whether they are ownedby workers, or by men and womenwho include workers in the opera-tions of the company. How can this be? How can busi-

By michael taft

is on the rise, employees cannot exer-cise the right to collective bargaining,EU Directives to protect part-timeworkers have not been made part ofIrish law and workers are paid wellbelow European averages, while so-cial protection supports are minimal. In too many companies, manage-ment see employees as a cost – whenthey don’t see them as a threat totheir authority. When workers fight back againstthis backward business model –whether it is over wages, workingtime or conditions – they are at-tempting to defend living standardsfor their families and themselves. But they should know that they arealso fighting for a new businesswhich will, hopefully, prevail. Thehistory of business is the history ofadvancing the interests and condi-tions of workers. After all, we don’t send childreninto the mines any more or shootworkers on the picket line (not here;unfortunately, our brothers and sis-ters in many countries still face thesethreats). The working day, the minimumwage, holiday time, overtime, legalregulations for health and safety –these did not come about through de-mands by employers. They camefrom the organisation of workers. So if this new business prevails itwill be due to workers, not manage-ment. And then we can enjoy evil corpo-rations – in the films, that is.

Workers are the key

‘Wal-Mart is obsessively anti-union. They haveeven closed storesand depts whereworkers unionise’

‘A small retail chainis challenging thedomination of Wal-Mart ... andinteresting thing isit’s worker owned’

larly important in the US. Wal-Mart is obsessively anti-union.They have even pre-emptively closedstores and departments where work-ers chose to unionise. no wonder

Pictures: UFCW

Page 27: Shopfloor September 2013

September 2013 y SHOPFLOOR 27

EMIGRATION

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!

WHEn asked to write this articleon emigration, I went along to thelocal library to research the statis-tics. As I studied the figures, I re-alised the sorrow and heartbreakfor countless numbers of parentswho are not listed in “Official Gov-ernment Data”.In the early 1950s, my eldestbrother Sean who was only 17years old took the boat to Englandto find employment. It was the cus-tom in those days for emigrants tosend back money to help the familybudget. My brother, like a lot of Irish peo-ple, was lucky if he could afford theonce-a-year train/boat journeyhome to see the family. There wereno cheap air fares in those days. My recollection of him is a youngman who came home on holidaysbut who also was almost a com-plete stranger to me. As the holi-days ended, there were always thetears at the north Wall when hehad to return to England.Come the early 1960s things hadnot changed all that much. Thescourge of emigration was stillwith us. It was then that I becameone of those statistics, so oftenmentioned in today’s headlines. I met and married my husbandwho was already an emigrant inLondon. The day after we married,we set off across the sea to start anew life. I will always remember arrivingin London and feeling so bitter to-wards the government of the day,because I could not settle down inmy own country. We were fortunate, however, aswe had a house to go to – not likemany of our emigrants. Some werenot so lucky. When they arrived atEuston station they quickly discov-ered that the streets of Londonwere not exactly paved with gold.Finding accommodation was al-ways the big problem, and beingIrish did not help the situation.When landlords heard your Irishaccent, suddenly the room was no

longer available. For some of our emigrants whocame unprepared, life was not easy.The end result was living in squalor,and all too often the solution to theirproblems was found at the end of abottle. Even to this day, the streets of Lon-don and new York are “home” to theemigrants of the 1950s and 1960s.We had three children. They werealso victims of our emigration, andnot mentioned in government statis-tics. They grew up without havinggrandparents, aunts and uncles tocelebrate important events in theiryoung lives – birthdays, first com-munions, confirmations, etc.They were deprived of a close lov-ing relationship with their extendedfamily. This was the hidden face ofemigration.In the early 1980s, the tide hadturned. Emigrants were returninghome to the prospect of low interestrates, double figure wage increases

and the removal of domestic rates onhouses. We, like many others packed ourbags and headed for the promisedland. In 1979, Marks & Spenceropened in Dublin and I and my hus-band were fortunate enough to gainemployment with them. We settleddown to normal domestic life.The children went through theIrish educational system, and littledid I realise then, that they werebeing educated for the EXPORT MAR-KET.In the 1980s, the SPEnD! SPEnD!SPEnD! of the previous decade had tobe paid for. The government were not too wor-ried, however. They had the solutionin the young educated unemployed.Send them off on boats and planes toforeign lands. Then when it is timefor the unemployment figures to beproduced, they look good.It should be compulsory to showthe unemployment and emigrationfigures together, then a more accuratefigure would emerge. My youngestdaughter left school and startedworking for one of the multi-nationalcompanies whose policy is not tohave trade unions. The result was working conditionsthat were intolerable, plus the factthat her earnings were so heavilytaxed; she could see no future forherself here in Ireland. Two days

after her 21st birthday, she quit herjob to join the Emigration Trail. In the last 30 years, the scourge ofemigration has never been far fromthe door, just like thousands ofother families. When I go to the airport to see mydaughter off, I look around me andsee the sad faces and the tears ofmothers and fathers seeing off sonsand daughters to their adoptedlands.Statistics show that within thelast decade a massive 183,000 peo-ple packed their bags and left. How-ever, last year’s figures were evenmore horrendous. I quote from a newspaper article:“But last year the numbers gettingout were 46,000 – a quarter of thetotal for the entire decade. Thereare no firm projections for what islikely to happen in nineteen ninety

but the estimate used in the prepa-ration of Albert Reynolds’ budgetwas that emigration in 1990 will beless than 25,000, which would bethe lowest in five years.” In my opinion, that is 25,000 toomuch. If you add to that the “emi-gration” of the hearts and minds ofparents left behind, it is a sad pic-ture indeed.For far too long we have acceptedthe “export” of our children to solvethe problems created by the mis-management of our country by suc-cessive governments.As we go into the1990s, let ussend this message to our govern-ment: CREATE JOBS, EXPORTGOODS, nOT OUR CHILDREn be-cause one day it may be YOU stand-ing at the airport, saying good bye toa loved one.‘I will always rememberarriving in London andfeeling so bitter towardsthe Govt of the day, because I couldn’t settlein my own country’

This article, written by Doreen O’Keeffe of Dublin Distributive Branch, first appeared in a precursor to Shopfloorin 1990. It is reprinted here because it still reflects the true cost of the failure of the state to look after its own...

Picture: Sean MacEntee (CC BY 2.0)

Picture: yrsis (CC BY 2.0)

sorrow and theheartbreak

Page 28: Shopfloor September 2013

SHOPFLOOR y September 201328

By Esther LynchICTU legislative and legal affairs officerTHE Health and Safety Committee ofthe Irish Congress of Trade Unions isset to consider if electronic ciga-rettes should be subject to the samelegal controls in workplaces as con-ventional cigarettes. The increasing popularity of e-cig-arettes makes it crucial that we getreliable answers to questions abouttheir health impact. This has become an issue for work-ers and their unions because withelectronic cigarettes no burning oftobacco takes place, instead the bat-tery powered cigarettes deliver anicotine vapour. As e-cigarettes do not contain to-bacco, they technically fall outside ofthe scope of the smoking ban. Butwhile e-cigarettes do not contain to-bacco, they do produce second-handvapour. Manufacturers say that the vapouris merely water vapour and thereforeharmless but health and safety ex-perts are questioning if the makers ofe-cigarettes have conducted the re-search needed to prove this. There is increasing medical debateon the impact of some of the ingredi-ents in the vapour, which in somebrands can include propylene gly-col – this can irritate airways – andformaldehyde, which is known toraise lung and nasal cancer risk. Arecent study published by the Fraun-hofer Wilhelm-Klauditz-Institut in

Germany examined second-handemissions from several types of e-cig-arettes and found that the e-cigaretteproduced lower levels of toxins in theair for nonsmokers to breathe thanthe conventional cigarette but therewere still elevated levels of aceticacid, acetone, isoprene, formalde-hyde and acetaldehyde, averagingaround 20% of what the conven-tional cigarette put into the air. In August 2013, France’s nationalConsumer Institute reported thatthree out of every 10 e-cigarettestested contained high levels of somecarcinogenic substances, includingthat of formaldehyde and acrolein. So it seems that while they maynot be as polluting as the conven-tional cigarette, e-cigarettes are notemission-free and the emerging re-search is suggesting that they may beputting detectable levels of severalsignificant carcinogens and toxins inthe air. If several people in a room areusing electronic cigarettes at thesame time, we have to assume thatthis results in considerable indoor airpollution due to accumulation.Some workers, particularly thosewith certain health conditions havereported that the second-handvapour is irritating to their eyes,noses and throats affecting theirbreathing or making them nauseous. Workers have a right to clean air atwork. no one should have to breathein chemicals, whether they come out

of a conventional or e-cigarettes. Likewise, the precautionary princi-ple means that employers should notallow a potentially harmful substanceto be used in the workplace until it isproved safe rather than waiting untilit is proved to be unsafe before theytake action. E-cigarettes may not be coveredunder the legal ban on smoking butunions and safety reps can still raisethe issue with employers and ensurethat the prohibition on smoking intheir workplace applies to e-ciga-rettes in the same way as it applies toconventional smokingIt is worth recalling that not solong ago second-hand smoke wasone of the biggest causes of work-re-lated heart disease and occupationalcancer. Thanks to the leadership ofunions such as Mandate, this risk hasbeen largely removed, saving literallythousands of lives from being cutshort. It is essential that e-cigarettesdo not act as a back door and renor-malise smoking in the workplace. The ICTU Health and Safety Com-mittee will consider and report to theICTU Executive Council in October. l If you would like to see the ICTU

health and Safety Committee focus onany particular issue affecting thesafety, health or welfare of workers inyour sector, let us know as we are cur-rently preparing our programme forwork for the coming year. www.ictu.ie

GENERAL NEWS

ictu considers calling forworkplace ban on e-cigs

E-cigarettes are currently not covered under the legal ban on smoking in the workplace Picture: Taylor Dahlin (CC BY 2.0)

By Ed TellerKARL Marx understood and ex-plained alienation as being rootedin the economic productionprocess in which labour is ex-ploited by capital. He saw how capital alienatedlabour through the seizure of partof what it produced. Workers arepaid a wage for their labour powerand no matter what value theyproduce in their work, they do notreceive its full value, as employerstake some of it in the form of prof-its.But Marx also saw how this par-ticular form of economic exploita-tion also led to thedehumanisation and alienation ofthe worker in general and theworking class as a whole. He wrote:“… the worker is related to the

product of his labour as to an alienobject. For it is clear on this presup-position that the more the workerexpends himself in work the morepowerful becomes the world of ob-jects which he creates in face ofhimself, the poorer he becomes inhis inner life, and the less he belongsto himself.

“... The worker puts his life intothe object, and his life then belongsno longer to himself but to the ob-ject. The greater his activity, there-fore, the less he possesses. What isembodied in the product of hislabour is no longer his own. Thegreater this product is, therefore,the more he is diminished.”

The alienation of the worker inhis product meansnot only that hislabour becomes anobject, assumes an ex-ternal existence, butthat it exists inde-pendently, outsidehimself, and alien tohim, and that it standsopposed to him as anautonomous power.The life which he hasgiven to the object setsitself against him as analien and hostile force.The harder theworker works and themore value he createsthe more wealth he cre-ates for someone else,the more he actuallyloses. The fruits of hislabour are not his andwork becomes merely aforced chore to survive,the ‘free choice’ of notworking leaving him in amore worse and dependantposition.

“... he does not fulfil himself in hiswork but denies himself, has a feel-ing of misery rather than well-being, does not develop freely hismental and physical energies but is

physically exhausted and mentallydebased.

“The worker, therefore, feels him-self at home only during his leisuretime, whereas at work he feelshomeless. his work is not voluntarybut imposed, forced labour. It is notthe satisfaction of a need, but only ameans for satisfying other needs.”When technology is introducedit doesn’t lighten the load of work-ers, rather it further displacesworkers and increases their ex-ploitation. Like this practice, when manage-ment introduce ‘efficiencies’ this isalso about increasing the exploita-tion of workers by having theworker create more for less sothey can take a greater percentageof the value created. These efficiencies are usually ac-companied by closer managementoversight or micro-managementand this is the way in which thealienation and dehumanisation ofthe worker is felt most in the open. Being watched over the shoul-der, performing the same task re-peatedly with a manager waitingfor you to slip up so some form ofdisciplinary action can be taken,the reduction of any amount ofhuman creativity or responsibilityfrom the role to the point that thehuman become a mere extensionof a machine. This is alienation. And unfortunately in today’s cri-sis, we are seeing this on the in-crease as capital attempts toincrease profits and profitable av-enues for investment always at theexpense of working people.

FROM WHERE I STAND...

alienated?Here’s why...

Picture: Binary Ape (CC BY 2.0)

Page 29: Shopfloor September 2013

September 2013 y SHOPFLOOR 29

By Ciaran CampbellMandate Divisional OrganiserSInn Fein’s Gerry Adams once musedaloud that he aspired to celebrate aUnited Ireland in and around the1916 Easter Rising centenary com-memorations – which are but stone’sthrow away. While an admirable aspiration I amsure, Gerry Adams fully appreciatedthat this was a hopeful throw-awaycomment that had probably had littleor no chance of actually materialis-ing.Certainly the events in the north ofthe last year would suggest we have along way to go before we can witnesssuch a development, as the deep-rooted northern sectarianism annu-ally exposed itself across all ourmedia – locally, nationally and glob-ally. The incredible but expected union-ist/loyalist reaction to the recentBelfast City Council’s decision re-garding the flying of the union flag atBelfast City Hall, resurrected the age-old sectarian arguments and tensionswhich continue to simmer below thesurface. Lack of real political leadershipfrom this side of the community hasalways and continues to purposefullyincarcerate the Protestant workingclass in a mindless sectarian prisonof thought and attitude.It should not be forgotten that theProtestant working class in the northare subjected to the same economicpressures and exploitations as theirCatholic counterparts and any otherworking class. But as northern trade unions or-ganised meetings, demonstrations,rallies on bread and butter issuessuch as economic and social policyproposals, austerity measures andthe G8 summit, sections of theProtestant working classes ventedtheir collective spleen on the hoistingof a piece of colourful material on theexact same number of days as is thenorm in England and elsewhere inthe British ‘Empire’. Lack of leadership from this com-munity’s political leaders ensured aninflamed and over-the-top reaction ofabsolute civil lawlessness thatchanged nothing.Some people have, in my view,rightfully argued that Orange Ordermarches could and should be overtime transformed into a colourfulpageant of cross-community celebra-tion of a historical culture and eventthat might be a tourist attraction. A recent visit to Belfast and thewitnessing of one of these paradeshas readily disabused me of thatview. Watching drink-sodden Orange

Order march supporters following aband and/or a lodge that espousesthe title ‘temperance’ is, at best, con-fusing. Similarly the coat-trailing sectarianbehaviour at these marches and flagwaving demonstrations is saddeningwhen you think that many of thoseinvolved have in common the sameday-to-day class struggles as the verysection of the community they aregoading. Lifting people out of this sectarianhatred is and has always been thereal northern challenge but today –and despite the so-called peace divi-dends – recent events in the northdemonstrate we are a long way offfrom meeting that challenge. Serious questions need to be ad-dressed at all levels as to how thefledgling northern power-sharingstate is failing its working class com-munities and hasn’t resolved the ob-vious sectarian divisions thatcontinue to plague northern society. comfort zonesLack of real and meaningful eco-nomic opportunity, a socio-economi-cally and religiously dividededucation system, a governing sys-tem that institutionalises sectarian-ism and so on, are all the failed andfailing entities which oxygenates thenorth’s historic sectarian problems. The trade union movements bothnorth and South have been to thefore in trying to unite Catholic,Protestant and dissenter under theclass struggle banner knowing fullwell that this is the only way to movecommunities beyond their sectariancomfort zones. Despite this, the trade union mustat times feel exasperated at its lim-ited success. If you consider that theonly northern marches whereCatholic, Protestant and dissentermarch shoulder to shoulder are thoseorganised by trade unions and its sis-ter organisations – for example theacclaimed and laudable Belfast MayDay march – it is difficult to under-stand why such marches do not gaintraction in maintaining and advanc-ing this unity.Therein lies the lack of real politi-cal leadership, leadership that putspeople before votes, position andpower. Political leadership that is pre-pared to demonstrate that learningfrom the lessons of the past, ratherthan trying to live in the past, is howwe should approach the future.But, then again, maybe the northisn’t the only state where its commu-nities have been failed by the politicalleadership!

PERSONAL VIEW

Power-sharing administrationfailing workersof both traditionsBy Dave Miskell

Mandate Industrial OfficerMAnDATE Divisional OrganiserBrendan O’Hanlon took part in aradio debate with a representativeof IBEC recently on the subject ofzero-hour contracts. Zero-hour contracts, set outunder the Organisation of WorkingTime Act 1997, mean there are noguaranteed minimum workinghours per week for a worker em-ployed under such an agreement. Mandate as part of its broader in-dustrial relations agenda has pur-sued the idea of Decent Work bothdirectly with employers and in themedia for a number of years. In essence, Decent Work relatesto the belief that workers shouldhave reasonable minimum guaran-teed hours and income each week toensure they are able to plan their fi-nancial needs with a measure ofcertainty. An example of this wouldbe the introduction of“banded hours” – whereemployees are guaranteedhours within a certainrange and do not go belowthis at any time – whichhas been achieved with anumber of employers. This gives people thecertainty they need toplan their finances andprevents flexibility overhours being used as aninformal disciplinary toolin the workplace.

IBEC made a number of claims inthe radio debate over the alleged ad-vantages zero-hour contracts hadfor workers. These included flexibil-ity to work for different employers,flexibility around childcare/plan-ning as well as the general claimthat this was the way the employ-ment market needed to go. Mandate couldn’t agree less withthese points as these types of con-tracts achieve the exact opposite –in fact, it is impossible to plan any-thing at all if you do not know whathours you will be working fromweek to week. Also it is not possible to work fortwo employers at the same time asagain there is no certainty aroundwhat hours a worker can commit toeither job. If one looks at the statistics fromthe third party institutions (LabourCourt, Employment Appeals Tribu-nal, Rights Commissioner etc) on

various breaches of employmentrights, it is clear that infringementof workers’ rights is commonplace.It is difficult to see why anyworker would make a complaint ifthey face the possibility of havingtheir hours reduced to zero or to avery low level the following week. If we are serious about genuineand sustainable recovery in Ireland,we need to focus on the creation ofdecent jobs and decent work. It isnot possible to build recovery onthe back of badly-paid, insecure andprecarious work that drives peopleinto poverty. The Decent Work agenda is aboutgiving workers security, the meansto raise and educate a family andthe capacity to develop their skillsand knowledge, which aids competi-tiveness. Across Europe there is a drive toreduce standards to the lowest com-mon denominator and strip awayrights that unions and workingpeople have won over gen-erations – equality, healthand safety, paid overtime,holiday pay, pensions andunsocial hours premiums. l Full details of Man-date’s activities in relation tothe Decent Work agenda areavailable on our website as isthe interview with BrendanO’Hanlon.

IN FOCUS

danger of zerohour contracts

DECENT WORK?THE IMPACT OF THE RECESSION ON LOW PAID WORKERS

A REPORT FOR MANDATE TRADE UNIONBY CAMILLE LOFTUS

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SPECIAL REPORT CLEAN CLOTHES CAMPAIGNIT HAS been five months since thehorrific collapse of the Rana Plazagarment factory, which killed morethan 1,100 people and left over 2,000others injured. It is just 10 months since a firebroke out in the Tazreen Fashionsfactory, in the outskirts of Dhaka,Bangladesh, leaving 117 workersdead and at least 200 injured and it isless than a year since 258 workersburned to death in a garment factoryin Karachi, Pakistan. These tragedies have brought gar-ment workers’ safety into sharpfocus over the past year and have en-hanced everyone’s awareness of thehuman rights abuses taking place ingarment-producing countries on adaily basis. The sheer scale of the devastationcaused by the Rana Plaza collapsegrabbed the global headlines and thepublic outcry was heard loud andclear by those brands involved. The subsequent pressure to act ledto the signing of the Building Fire andSafety Accord – a binding agreementbetween retailers and factories to ad-dress safety concerns when theyarise. This has been seen as a major steptowards ensuring garment workers’rights and eliminating the risk to lifefor workers in the Bagladeshi gar-ment sector but it doesn't help thosefamilies struggling to survive in theaftermath of such loss. Many of those workers that sur-vived the collapse have been left withlife-altering injuries that will preventthem from ever working again. Oth-ers are left grieving a loved one whiletrying to deal with the loss of an in-come in a household already living inpoverty. Too many children havebeen orphaned. The families left behind need fulland fair compensation so they canstart to rebuild their lives. There are children whose educa-tion fees need to be secured, thereare the disabled who will have med-ical costs for the rest of their lives,there are families without mothers,sisters, fathers and brothers whosemissing income is the difference be-tween food on the table or hunger. To date, of the 50 retailers found tohave worked with the Rana Plaza fac-tories in the year preceding its col-lapse, only Primark has publiclystated it will pay long-term compen-sation in line with ILO recommenda-tions. Meetings to be held in Septemberaim to bring together the companieswho placed orders at the twoBangladesh factories so they cancommit together, in shared responsi-bility, to paying the compensationneeded but already Benetton andMango have refused to attend, prefer-ring to offer short-term charity tothose desperate for aid instead of thecomprehensive redress they need.However, improving the garmentindustry is about more than payingcompensation or preventing disas-ters but about addressing problemsof an exploitative and unjust system. Issues – including poverty levelwages, a disregard of workers' rights,daily unpaid overtime, lack of healthand retirement benefits and violentsuppression of union activity – areendemic in an industry that is poorlyregulated and largely non-unionised. Under the Un guiding principles of

business and human rights, compa-nies must excercise due diligence toensure they are not violating humanrights within their supply chains yetthe regularity of human rights viola-tions within this sector is indicativeof a complete loss of control bybrands and retailers of their globalsupply chains. This lack of control and oversighthas been repackaged as disownmentover the years, but the reality is thatthe supply chain – no matter how

complex – must be managed and ac-tions must be taken to address theroot causes of the disasters we haveseen claim the lives and livelihoods ofso many over this past year. Retailers must take responsibilityfor improving conditions and recog-nising international labour standardswithin their supply chains and acceptthe necessity of working with workerrepresentatives to address risks ap-parent in every country they sourcefrom.

thE clean clothes campaign Ire-land is a coalition and the Irishbranch of a global alliance of or-ganisations dedicated to improv-ing the working conditions andsupporting the empowerment ofworkers in the global garment industry.

Operating in 16 Europeancountries with over 200 partnersrepresenting a broad spectrum ofperspectives and interests, such

as women’s rights, consumer advocacy and poverty reduction,the clean clothes campaign lob-bies companies and governmentsto effect change and offers directsolidarity support to workers asthey fight for their rights and de-mand better working conditions.

If you would like to learn moreabout the work of the ccc, checkout http://cleanclothescampaignireland.org

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TAZREEN

RANA PLAZA

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MAnDATE Youth held a table quiz on10th July which raised badly neededfunds for the victims of the RanaPlaza disaster in Bangladesh.A total of 1,129 workers werekilled and about 3,000 injured whenthe Rana Plaza building whichhoused a number of garment facto-ries collapsed.Many survivors and the families ofthose who died in the 24th April dis-aster have still not received compen-sation.Aideen Carberry, from MandateYouth, told Shopfloor: “On 24th Aprilthis year, more than a thousand gar-ment workers who have madeclothes that many of us have worn,went to work and never came home. “Close to 3,000 others were in-jured, although many locally put thefigures much higher. The accident isconsidered one of the worst to haveoccurred in the garment industryand – tragically – it was preventable.“The issue of compensation forthose who died and those injured,many with medical bills, still needs tobe agreed and local relief organisa-

tions are concerned at the misman-agement and the administrativechaos which has ensued since thetragedy.“Meanwhile, workers are withoutjobs and many may not be able towork due to their injuries.”Mandate Youth said they were de-lighted to see such great supportfrom Mandate members and mem-bers of other unions for the fundrais-ing event.

David Gibney, who is also in Man-date Youth, said: “The quiz was wellattended and we’re thankful to every-one who supported our efforts. Whatwe raised, although may seem rela-tively small, will go a long way inhelping the victims of this dreadfuldisaster.”All funds raised on the night will goto victims’ families and help pay themedical bills of those who were in-jured.

FOCUS ONE-PARENT FAMILIES

youth quiz raises €3kfor Rana Plaza victims

By Frances ByrneCEO, OPENTHE 90,000 one-parent familieswho rely on weekly social welfareprovision have, like others, beenspared a cut to that payment, butevery other support has been at-tacked since the current govern-ment came into power in early2011. Cuts to Rent Supplement, theBack to School Clothing & FootwearAllowance and the monthly ChildBenefit, among others, have led to acumulative impact in some cases ofa reduction thousands of euros peryear in vital household income.Various Labour Ministers havemade reassuring noises thatweekly payments will continue tobe protected, as per the Pro-gramme for Government. The Tánaiste also stated publiclyduring the summer that therewould be no further cuts to ChildBenefit. All very reassuring untilyou wonder what will be cut. Fine Gael Ministers, meanwhile,have called for the middle classesto be protected and appear to haveset their faces against tax increases,even for those earning €100,000per year.Austerity has been an abject fail-ure in the opinion of many progres-sive organisations and voices. Andeven those who purport to supportit cannot point to any successes,but instead argue that we had nochoice. Even if that were the case, theausterity ‘project’ as well as leadingto untold suffering in so many fami-lies and communities has alsofailed to deliver any of the reforms,especially in the area of social pro-tection, which might have beenpossible. The short-termism mentality be-hind it also means that nobody ingovernment appears to be planningfor the long-term. There comes a time, a criticalpoint, when the promise to protectbasic rates becomes hollow ifeverything else is cut back by somuch. The Irish Congress of TradeUnions and some of its membershave shown that another way ispossible. It is not only feasible butvital to protect the social welfarespend. The fact is that those on low in-comes, whether social welfare, lowpaid work or a combination of thetwo, spend 100% of that incomeevery week and they do so in ourlocal economy. So if protecting existing jobs is a

BUDGET 2014COMMENTARYpriority, then that chunk of expen-diture is key. The Governmentcould also address a short-termand long-term issue by introducinga housing package which woulduse nAMA/ghost estate stock toprovide badly needed shelter forthe 100,000 plus people on ourhousing lists, saving millions inspending on rent supports immedi-ately. After that process, we could thenlook at developing a proper,planned public housing buildingprogramme. The horrible irony isthat while a housing bubble was amain factor in landing us in themess we are in, accommodationcontinues to be a major factor insocial exclusion.

Finally, it’s too late for Budget2014, which will be revealed in theusual way, on October 15th, butbringing the budgetary processinto the 21st century in the futureby using an Oireachtas committee(or some other means) to interro-gate its proposed contents in ad-vance and to hear from thoseinterested in making submissions –especially those representing thosebe affected by cuts – would im-prove transparency. It might also end the really un-helpful kite-flying which charac-terises much of what passes forpre-Budget debate here. And, even more importantly, itmight make our legislators moreaccountable for their decisions,which are currently made by fourmale politicians behind closeddoors, and that in itself would beno bad thing.

‘The Govt could alsoaddress a short-termand long-term issue by introducing a housing packagewhich would useNAMA/ghost estatestock to provide badlyneeded shelter for the100,000 plus peopleon our housing lists’

no one in thisgovt thinks ofthe long term

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FROM WHERE I STAND...

By David GibneyMandate communications officerWHILE trade unions continue to takea public hammering in parts of themedia, behind the scenes, they havebeen quietly protecting or improvingthe living standards of members andthe wider community. Benevolent employers or generouspoliticians didn’t give workers theeight-hour day, the minimum wage,health and safety standards, Sundaypay rates, holiday pay or a publicpension system¬¬. no, it was work-ers campaigning from within theirown unions that fought and wonthese rights.On this the centenary year of the1913 Lockout, some pundits claimunions are outdated but nothingcould be further from the truth.Despite Ireland having some of themost restrictive trade union laws inthe EU – where, shamefully, we areone of only three countries withoutcollective bargaining rights – unionscontinue to campaign and advocatefor workers relatively successfully.Individual casesFrom a representational perspec-tive, Mandate, along other Irishunions, take thousands of individualgrievance cases to the EmploymentAppeals Tribunal, the Labour Courtor the Equality Authority each year.These can range from unfair dis-missals, sexual harassment, work-place bullying, underpayment of

wages and equality legislationbreaches.The union ensures fairnessin decision making, preventing anabuse of authority from those in po-sitions of power.Economic benefitsOver the past year, while mostother workers have seen reductionsin terms and conditions, Mandate haswon pay rises for staff at Marks &Spencer, Tesco, Dunnes Stores andPenneys.That’s about €10 million extraeach year going into the back pocketsof 30,000 retail workers rather than

into the over-stuffed coffers of share-holdersZero hour contractsAs precarious work has increas-ingly become normalised in the jobmarket, Mandate has been to the forein tackling low and zero hour con-tracts. Unlike the UK – where zerohour contracts have become com-monplace – Ireland has a 25% com-pensation rate for hours not workedif an employee is required to be avail-able for on-call work. Employers often cite this as a dis-incentive to zero hour contracts but

fail to mention that the only reasonthis law is in place is because tradeunions – and, in particular, Mandate –lobbied for it. Low hour contracts.Imagine not knowing how manyhours you have to work week toweek. Imagine being told that al-though you’d worked 40 hours forthe past two or three years, your em-ployer was cutting your hours backto 10. It might be for genuine operationalreasons, or, believe it or not, it couldbe because the worker has asked to

LOOKING BACK...

By Niall ShanahanIMPACT communications officerMY HISTORY teachers at school, asfar as I can remember, never spentmuch time talking to us about theDublin Lockout in 1913. It was one of those moments inIrish history, along with the Irish CivilWar, that didn’t seem to get muchcurriculum time. The Irish Famine and the EasterRising were, I suppose, the seniorplayers when it came to moments inIrish history they wanted us to un-derstand. The Lockout, as I recall, got oneshort chapter of the standard text-book, with a photo of the Bloody Sun-day baton siege on Sackville(O’Connell) Street, but not much else.Fortunately, for my generation,RTE had adapted a TV series fromJames Plunkett’s 1969 novel Strum-pet City. It traces the lives of a dozen char-acters between 1907 and 1914 andfeatures James Larkin (Peter O’Toole)and Mulhall, one of his supporters(the legendary Donal McCann), dur-ing the Lockout.I was 11 when Strumpet City wasfirst broadcast in 1980. This was at atime when we all watched the sameTV shows at the same time because,with the possible exception of a fewwell-heeled homes, there was no wayof recording them. Television was a

stances of the Lockout itself. Rashers Tierney connected ouryoung minds to the experience of liv-ing in Dublin at that time. He was realto us, and helped us empathise with ageneration whose experience ofpoverty and hardship was a worldaway from the Dublin we knew.A century later, the Lockout is com-memorated this year in many differ-ent ways. From where we stand today, it ishumbling to consider what it musthave been like to be one of the20,000 workers, or one of their80,000 dependents, who struggled to

survive through the winter of 1913. Stories of Dublin tenement lifehave been passed on through genera-tions of families but, for most of us,the experience is still far beyond any-thing we can comprehend today.A unique exhibition which ranthroughout July and August capturedand distilled the essence of Dublintenement life during the Lockout. I visited the Dublin Tenement Expe-rience: Living the Lockout in July. Ittook place at no.14 Henrietta Street,the 18th Century home built by LukeGardiner, and home to 17 families(about 100 people) in 1913. The house is pared back to its1913 condition, with fragments of itsformer grandeur still visible. A shortaudiovisual presentation sets thescene before a small group of actorspull us into tenement life. What followed was an intense andemotional journey through the earli-est days of the Lockout in August1913 to its conclusion the followingspring. The actors’ performances wereelectric. The stories of resilience,pride, hunger and desolation werevivid and real. We were connected tothat time and place and to real peo-ple. It was devastating and brilliant. I wasn’t alone in struggling tochoke back tears by the end.One hundred years on, beyondrhetoric, politics or competing ide-ologies, Living the Lockout connectedus to that generation once again. Anoutstanding commemoration.www.dublintenementexperience.com

see their contract of employment. In Mandate, we’ve even heard froma worker who pointed out a breach inhealth and safety procedures andsubsequently had their hours slashedfrom 40 to 10 cutting their income by75%. Employers can effectively pe-nalise or discipline workers by cut-ting their hours of employment to alevel that is unsustainable, andthere’s nothing illegal about it. Such workers can’t plan theirweekly budget because they don’tknow what hours they’ll be workingand are often afraid to raise genuinegrievances with their employer.

shared experience. I still recall, veryvividly, going into school the morningafter they’d broadcast the finalepisode. It featured the death of oneof the most sympathetic characters,Rashers Tierney, played brilliantly bythe late David Kelly. Rashers dies, alone and destitute,in a derelict basement. It left an im-pression on us, not least that thepoverty of early 20th Century Dublinwas harsh, unforgiving and wide-spread.And so it was that the fate of Rash-ers left a much bigger impression onus than the politics and circum-

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... a living history

REMEMBERING THE LOCKOUT

REMEMBERING THE LOCKOUT

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POLITICAL ECONOMYBelow is an extract from aninterview conducted by the politicaleconomy website with Emeritus Professor John Foster, Social Sciences, University of the West of Scotland on the crisis.

Describe the current crisis for our readers...It is a capitalist crisis affecting themost developed capitalist economies– the United States, Japan and thedominant EU states – and theeconomies most closely dependenton them. Those countries with sig-nificant state sectors, particularly theBRIC countries [Brazil, Russia, Indiaand China], continued to grow vigor-ously through the first five years ofthe crisis as highlighted by the 2012Un Trade and Development report.What were the origins of the current crisis?The crisis emerged in the financialsector as a consequence of specula-tion in debt, the creation of ‘fictitiouscapital’ and the inability of somebanks to cover obligations. An economic crisis followed as thescale of fictitious capital becamemanifest and new investment ceased.The underlying causes were:l Financialisation – being a combi-nation of the deregulation of financialmarkets, making for the growth ofunsecured speculative lending by

banks, together with an intensifyingconcentration of the ownership ofproductive assets and their increas-ing control by a narrow range of fi-nancial institutions,l The long-term decline in thelabour share of national income inmost advanced capitalist economies– particularly the US, Britain, Ger-many and France – as productionwas outsourced to cheaper labourvenues in eastern and central Eu-rope, Africa and Asia after the demiseof the Soviet Union and the concur-rent decline in vigour of trade unionorganisation,l A long-term increase in the rela-tive cost of subsistence goods ascountries in Asia and South Americaindustrialised and placed new globalpressures on supplies of food andfuel,l A decline in the pace of innovationin capital goods arising from thegrowing ownership of productive as-sets by financial institutions withshort-term profit horizons and thecontraction of public sector invest-ment programmes, andl The short-term maintenance ofmass demand for subsistence needs,such as housing, through bank lend-ing – leading to high-risk, high-profitspeculation in unsecured debt on amassive and ultimately unsustain-able scale.The full interview can be read athttp://politicaleconomy.ie/?p=585

Many aren’t even allowed to takeon a second job because they must beavailable for work if called.That’s why Mandate has negoti-ated ‘banded hour contracts’ withseveral leading retailers ensuringthat there is a floor below which noworker’s hours must drop. Since 2006, Mandate members,through their trade union, have man-aged to win banded hour contractswhich guarantee a secure and decentlevel of income for themselves. Con-trast this with the non-union retailsector where zero-hour contracts orlow hours with ultimate flexibility isthe norm.RedundanciesMore than 55,000 retail workershave lost their jobs since the start ofthe crisis. But the contrast between aunion member losing their job and anon-union member is stark. In the non-union retail sector, acompany will often make their work-ers compulsorily redundant on theminimum statutory entitlement oftwo weeks per year of service, even ifthe company is highly profitable.That’s not always the case in theunionised sector though. For example, when Marks &Spencer announced 180 job losses attheir Dun Laoghaire, Mullingar, naasand Tallaght stores, the workers ar-gued for re-deployment for thosewho didn’t want to be unemployedand a decent compensation packagefor those who did want to leave.These options and compensationpackages help workers adjust to theshock of losing their jobs and go

some way towards relieving the anxi-ety felt by employees who are toldtheir jobs are to go.So are trade unions relevant today?In 2010, the Irish government cutthe minimum wage from €8.65ph to€7.65ph. This followed a long cam-paign by employers’ bodies in favourof a cut. It was trade unions who re-sisted this drive and successfullycalled on TDs to restore that mini-mum rate of pay. Of course, employ-ers will always be looking to increaseprofits at the expense of workers.That is unless workers are unitedand prepared to fight back.There are those who will continueto argue that unions are irrelevant in2013, most of whom enjoy the bene-fits won by trade unions in the past –annual leave, lunch breaks, maternityleave, free education, and muchmore. Trade unions aren’t perfect. As fun-damentally democratic organisationsthey tend to be a mirror image oftheir membership. They do the willof their members and they make mis-takes. But they are also the primaryreason Ireland doesn’t have higherpoverty rates. They’re the reason women havemore equal access to the workplace(although there’s still work to bedone on this), and they’re the mosteffective way for any worker to en-sure that they have a say in how theirlife is run, economically, socially andpolitically.It is every bit as important for aworker to be in a trade union in 2013as it was in 1913.

Cluster, engagement, ar-senal, belt, claddagh,pledge, eternity, college,sovereign, nugget, rock,honour, love, obey, charm.

Romanian gypsy womenwith two kids, black man,dyed blonde in a tracksuitwith Adidas runners,nosebleed. Let bygones bebygones – a bygone era –be gone – begin. Everyobject tells a story. Howmany stories are there inhere? Hundreds? Thou-sands? Millions? More?And more. What hasvalue? Are you valuable?

Gold rings, pictureframes, a collection ofpossessions used as collat-eral to get money forwhatever reason. Moneyfor holidays, extensions,hair extensions, abor-tions, whatever yourheart desires. Finderskeepers losers weepers.

“Them ones is it? themones? Glen! Wait Glen!Will you wait Glen!”

“You didn’t look after mePat. You didn’t look afterme earlier. Me young fellawas in here earlier – hewas lookin’ for a few bobon this, and you didn’tlook after him Pat! Meother young fella is on hisway back from Portugaland I need to fix’m up –what’s the story Pat? Willyou look after me? Its€300 I need on it… Pat?”

“Where’s your sovereignskept?’

Empty picture frames, aplace for everything andeverything in its place.

His place her place, yourplace my place.

“Glen! Ge’im will ye! Hehas to try it on.

For fuck sake Glen, GETHIM!

I want to get him the dia-mond one ma.

Glen! Ge’ im – it might fitone of ees other fingers.”

This is a pawn shop – apawn brokers – broker –broke. All sorts come inhere.

Taxi drivers, builders,gypsies, townies, tweeniesand mammies. Buggiesand LIDL shopping bags.

“I have long lobes y’see –that one would be tooheavy for me ears.”

“Johns nuggett ring is liketha’ isn’it? Look at thedoggie Glen, and the hor-sie… look!

(kik kik, kik kik…)”

“Still haven’t seen a rock– ya know? Like a fuckinROCK!”

“I like the dainty ones.”

“… like the rappers dohave. Two million wortho’ damonds in ees teeth!”

“Glen stop it! The man’llgive ou’ t’ye!”

“Still haven’t seen a rock.Ye know wha’ I mean…”

“… like the one AshleyCole’s bird has!”

By Rex Keenan,People’s Poet

VERSEFinders keepers, losers weepers

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TRAINING COURSES

By Brian ForbesMandate National Co-ordinatorA HUnDRED years on from the 1913Lockout and very little has changed. Big Jim Larkin, right, was casti-gated and vilified by those backingthe employers for drawing wagesduring the protracted dispute. It was a deliberate ploy to under-mine the leader of this “insurgency”for workers’ rights while also tryingto weaken the resolve of workers.They wanted to create a “him andus” scenario with the hope of sewingdivision among the rank and file. The dirty tricks brigade of theday – the sworn enemy of the work-ing class – was aware of the emerging

When cowards flinch and traitors sneer...

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

stand together& build together

Course Title Dates Course Location

Union Representative Advanced Fetac 5 Sep 9 to 11 Waterford

Union Representative Introductory Argos Specific Sep 9 to 11 OTC

Union Representative Advanced Tesco Specific Fetac 5 Sep 16 to 18 OTC

Health and Safety Course Sep 23 to 27 OTC

Union Representative Advanced Senior Oct 7 to 9 Cork

Union Representative Introductory M&S Specific Oct 14 to 16 OTC

Union Representative Introductory SQ Specific Oct 21 to 23 OTC

Union Representative Advanced Senior Nov 4 to 6 Waterford

Union Representative Introductory Nov 11 to 13 OTC

mandate shop stewards’ autumn training Programme 2013

power of leaders such as Larkin andthe fact that the iron grip employersonce had over their workforce wasbeginning to loosen.So the bosses fought back using allmeans fair and foul. Jump forward100 years and chances are manyreaders can recite verbatim a storyfrom a canteen or a shop floor whena colleague has berated unions, theirleaders and even their staff. Remember that when some barstool philosopher slams the “left-wing militancy” of union leaders cit-ing everything from their earnings tothe size of their houses, it is exactlyhow Thatcher’s acolytes in the right-wing media attacked Scargill andothers during the 1984 Miners’Strike.And it’s how many union leaderscontinue to be attacked by those de-termined to see the eradication ofany semblance of worker power in

REMEMBERING THE LOCKOUT

AND FINALLY...

By Eugene McCartanCommunist Party of IrelandnEXT month we will face yet an-other austerity Budget, which willbe a continuation of the currentstrategy of making the people payfor the crisis and the odious debt.Tens of thousands of familieshave had to find the money to buyschool uniforms, school books,school “donations,” or sports gear.Many will have either gone tomoneylenders, squeezed a fewquid more out of the credit union,or raided their dwindling savingsto buy what is required to keep thechildren in school.Our children will be returning toclasses that are growing in sizeand bursting at the seams, inschools with fewer teachers, fewerresources, and more children. Chil-dren in the wealthy private schoolswill be well looked after, and theycan expect to end up in university,to follow their mammies and dad-dies into the corridors of power.Families with children eitherheading to or returning to thirdlevel also face mounting bills, withincreased fees and cuts in grants.Many students will simply not beable to return, because their fami-lies can no longer afford it.Spiralling emigrationThe Government is proclaimingthat their policies are working, asthe number on the live register hasdropped to 13.5%, or 435,280,whereas the real reason for thedrop in the numbers unemployedis spiralling emigration, with oneperson leaving the country everysix minutes, together with the lim-ited period for which people areable to sign on, as well as the doc-toring of the figures.People wait in trepidation to seewhat is coming next and what thisBudget has in store for them. TheGovernment is gearing up for along, slow series of cuts, for re-strictions and changes in eligibility,which will have a cumulative ef-fect. More drugs will be unavail-able on the medical card. It is acase of of the spread of poverty bya thousand cuts.We will pay about €9 billion toservice a debt that does not belongto us – money that could be spenton our schools, hospitals, and com-munity services. This €9 billion iscoming out of your pocket, fromyour wage packet, social welfarebenefit, or pension.It is the job of the left and thetrade union movement to assistand give leadership in breakingfree of the grip of fear and aban-doning the feeling of hopelessnessthat permeates people’s lives.The trade union movementneeds to break free of the stiflinggrip of the Labour Party. If it does

not, it will be increasingly margin-alised.The recent shambolic event in O’Connell Street to commemoratethe 1913 Lockout speaks volumesabout how marginal it has become.The ICTU predicted that 80,000people would attend; a little over3,000 turned up, while mostDubliners walked past, ignoringthe assembled dignitaries of theLabour Party in their exclusive VIPsection. The egalitarianism of Con-nolly and Larkin was abandonedby the ICTU in order to rub shoul-ders with Government ministersand hangers-on.

no – Irish workers must now re-build a united, coherent, fightingtrade union movement. The sec-tionalism being fostered is theroad to nowhere. As Connolly andLarkin forged a “new trade union-ism” from 1907 to 1913, it nowfalls to this generation to do thesame.The labour movement can nolonger afford to use old and failedmethods and styles of work. If wekeep doing the same thing then weend up with the same result. If you keep voting for or sup-porting the same people or partiesyou can only get more of the same.The trade union movement needsto develop its own political under-standing of what is happening; itneeds to develop the political skillsof its members so as to recognisefriend from foe.The internal troika of the estab-lishment parties – Fine Gael,Labour Party and Fianna Fáil, andno doubt a few others will join thislist after the next general elec-tion – will continue their policy ofpermanent austerity, regardless ofwhich particular combinationmakes up the government, unlesswe stand together and build to-gether.

VIEWPOINT

‘Govt is proclaimingthat their policies areworking, as numberon the live register hasdropped to 13.5%, or435,280, whereas thereal reason for thedrop in unemployed isspiralling emigration,with one personleaving the countryevery six minutes...’

Note: This is an opinion piece written as a means of generating debate. It does not necessarily reflect the position of the Communist Party of Ireland

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When cowards flinch and traitors sneer... Power of the capitalist press:Anti-Larkin cartoon from 1913.How little has changed...

favour of their chosen nirvana ofcasino capitalism fuelled by deregu-lation, cheap credit, financial greed,unsustainable consumerism and pro-duction levels that have pushed thisplanet to the brink of environmentalcrash.Of course, Larkin was well able tomount a stout defence to these at-tacks on his integrity. In an eloquent speech to theAskwith Inquiry into the dispute onOctober 4th 1913, he said: "I havelived among the working classes allmy life. I have starved because mendenied me food. “I worked very hard at a veryearly age. I had no opportunities likethe men opposite, but whatever op-portunities I got I have availed ofthem.“I am called an anti-Christ and anatheist. If I were an atheist I wouldnot deny it. I am a socialist and have

always claimed to be a socialist...”He continued: “Can anyone sayone word against me as a man? Canthey make any disparagement of mycharacter? “Have I lessened the standard oflife? Have I demoralised anyone? Isthere anything in my private life ormy public life of which I should feelashamed?"As for me, I’m not suggesting forone second that union leaders are be-yond criticism but every unjustifiedanti-trade union sneer is anotherpush for a freewheeling, greedy capi-talism that will lead us towards aneconomic and societal slum.If every caustic, snide and politi-cally-motivated comment denigratingthe work of unions was counteredwith the same force, perhaps at thenext election many people wouldthink twice before electing the samebunch of right-wing capitalists into

office. Union leaders are fallible; theymake mistakes – as we all do in life –but until such times as Josephine andJoe Public see the societal value instanding alongside nurses and fire-men in their struggle for decentwork, we can expect more faulty rea-soning about unions. Until such times as public servantsrealise that attacks against privatesector workers and social welfare re-cipients only serves to weaken theirworking conditions, will the sneeringdiminish. Until such times, it is then and onlythen when you make that consciouschoice and when you take it uponyourself to convince others of theneed for social solidarity that unions,workers and our society as a wholewill benefit. Society is divided. The anti-unionrhetoric is part of the right-wingagenda in keeping it divided. “They see in the population’s hostil-

ity towards the left only the hostilitytowards the left, not the hatredagainst those who are socially privi-leged.”

THE Dublin Simon Community SoupRun and Rough Sleeper Team, is outevery night of the year helping peoplesleeping on the streets and sees firsthand the significant growth in thenumbers who are bedding down inthe city.Growth in figuresWe are really concerned at thetrends visible across Dublin. The mostrecent rough sleeper count conductedby the Dublin Region Homeless Exec-utive, which took place in April thisyear, found 94 people sleeping roughon the night of the count.Dublin Simon would see this as theabsolute minimum figure, as thecount does not include people consid-ered the “hidden homeless” who arecouch surfing, staying in squats orhospitals, internet cafes or temporaryB&Bs. In spite of this the figure is ex-tremely concerning as it is nearly30% up on 2012 and up 25% on2011. We are witnessing the same worry-ing increase in our own weekly streetcounts which are conducted betweenthe areas of Harcourt Street, AmiensStreet and Jervis Street between 5amand 6am. April and May are nearly double thesame period for 2012 and our countin May found 58 people sleepingrough in one night. This is very fright-ening and was, for a short period, the

highest figure since we started ourcount in 2008. However, on Septem-ber 12th. we counted 84 people sleep-ing rough, which is a new record anda 44% increase on May. Accessing accommodation Dublin Simon Community servicesare stretched and are operating atmaximum capacity every night. Inpresent uncertain times, with limitedemergency accommodation, shortageof move-on options, rent increasesand rent allowance restrictions, thepressure for beds in emergency ac-commodation is frantic. In this environment, accessing ac-commodation is very challenging andthe lack of sufficient move-on optionsfor people means so many continue tosleep rough.Housing-led modelThat is why at Dublin Simon we aredesperately implementing the hous-ing-led solution by securing and de-veloping property to provide housingoptions for people distressed and iso-lated by homelessness. We are pro-viding additional long-termpermanent housing to rescue peoplefrom the revolving door of homeless-ness and eliminate their need foremergency shelter.As we help people off the streets,they take the first step towards re-gaining their lives in a suitable envi-ronment where they can redevelop

any skills that were lost when theywere sleeping rough.These skills can be as simple ashaving regular meals during the day,how to make your bed, how to brushyour teeth or how to tie your laces.Our supported housing service pro-vides the necessary help to enablepeople to redevelop these skills andlearn many new ones. How you can helpSecuring the delivery of fundraisingincome is essential to satisfy the con-tinuing demand for increased serv-ices. We are dependent as always onour fundraising activities such as theSimon Fun Run.The run and community day is acritical fundraising event and a fantas-tic opportunity to bring people to-gether to support those who arehomeless or at risk. Taking place Saturday 12th Octo-ber, this year marks the 30th anniver-sary of the Fun Run. To mark 30 yearsof Simon’s ‘Silly Run For A SeriousCause’ we promise an extra fun 5 MileRun and Family Day. So whether you’re an elite runner,jogger, walker, buggy runner, schoolgroup, work group or loyal spectator,you can take part in our special day!

With your participation and supportyou help us to provide vital services tothose most in need and enable them tomove to a place they can call home.

Dublin Simon community pro-vided services to more than2,700 people who are homelessor at risk. In 2012 Dublin Simoncommunity provided 201 bedsper night. this is an increasefrom 2011 which was 184 bedsand again from 2010 which was169. this was in addition to the

Simon Soup Run and RoughSleeper team (Regional contactand Outreach Service) who areassisting people 365 nights ofthe year. For further informa-tion or to go online and register,log on to www.funrun.ie. alterna-tively contact the Dublin Simonteam on 01 6715551.

CHARITY FOCUS DUBLIN SIMON COMMUNITY

Picture: Franco Folini (CC BY-SA 2.0)

How taking part in our funrun helps fund our soup run

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