Ireland: 'Reclaim the unions'

Successful activists forum held

Michael O'Brien, Socialist Party (CWI Ireland)

On 7 May, 70 activists from a range of trade unions met at a forum in Dublin organised under the title Reclaim the Unions.

The purpose of the meeting was two-fold. Firstly, it was an opportunity for trade union activists to discuss the state of Ireland's trade union movement in the wake of three years of attacks on jobs, pay and conditions from governments and employers. During this time the leadership of the trade union movement has failed to offer a fighting lead to the membership. From there we could then discuss the measures necessary to prepare for the attacks that lie ahead.

In the discussion, chaired by Eddie Conlon of the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) executive, there was a common understanding that a combination of factors has weakened the trade union movement. Institutionalised 'Social Partnership' [collaboration of the trade union leaders with the government in holding back workers' demands and struggle], from 1987 until 2008, largely robbed a generation of trade unionists of the opportunity of being trained up as militant activists through taking on their employer, locally, to advance and defend pay and conditions.

Likewise, the lack of a real radical alternative to the cuts agenda from the trade union leaders, even among those who opposed social partnership and the rotten Croke Park deal [agreed in March 2010], means that they implicitly accept the attacks and offer no strategy of sustained resistance to the membership.

Strategy

The discussion moved on to what steps were needed to rebuild the combativeness of the trade union movement. A genuine debate emerged as to whether it was a better strategy to develop activist groups within the existing unions to fight the bureaucracies along the lines of the CPSU Activist Group and the newly created ASTI Fightback, whose successful launch was explained by Andrew Phelan.

An alternative view was argued by some construction worker activists and Dave Cotter from the Independent Workers' Union (IWU). He said that the efforts of genuine union activists would be better spent taking people out of the existing unions and either switching to better unions or building new militant organisations from scratch like the IWU.

The prevailing view in the discussion articulated by Socialist Party member Stephen Boyd (Unite) and others, was that while there were some exceptional cases in which the movement of members from one union to another was warranted, in general it was better to stay and fight.

This is in order to avoid the danger of separating the best fighting elements in the unions from the broad membership, who are then left in the thrall of the right wing leadership.

Terry Kelleher from the CPSU Activist Group and Owen McCormack, now in Siptu's Dublin Bus branch, led-off the second session by making proposals for where to take this initiative. It was proposed and agreed that a national network of trade union activists would be built and formally launched at a conference in September. A committee to organise the conference was elected. It was also agreed to organise a protest at the Irish Congress of Trade Unions conference in Kerry in July.

An extensive network of activists spread across all sectors and key workplaces can be a structure through which solidarity can be built for strikes and campaigns that emerge. Importantly, a trade union activists network can be a means of quickly disseminating into the workplaces the key lines of political argument that answer the cutback consensus of the bosses and politicians, as well as the defeatist arguments of the trade union leaders.

With further attacks in sight on REA and ERO [industry pay] rates mainly affecting private sector workers; 25,000 job cuts and attacks arising from the Croke Park deal in the public sector, and privatisation of assets in the commercial semi-state sector, it is clear that the organised working class has major battles on its hands in the months and years ahead.

This first step in building a network of trade union activists can ultimately make a big difference in ensuring that the thousands of workers who want to fight can link up with the best fighters in the union movement and defeat the government and employers' austerity measures.

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The coronavirus crisis has laid bare the class character of society in numerous ways. It is making clear to many that it is the working class that keeps society running, not the CEOs of major corporations.

The results of austerity have been graphically demonstrated as public services strain to cope with the crisis.

The government has now ripped up its 'austerity' mantra and turned to policies that not long ago were denounced as socialist. But after the corona crisis, it will try to make the working class pay for it, by trying to claw back what has been given.

The Socialist Party's material is more vital than ever, so we can continue to report from workers who are fighting for better health and safety measures, against layoffs, for adequate staffing levels, etc.
When the health crisis subsides, we must be ready for the stormy events ahead and the need to arm workers' movements with a socialist programme - one which puts the health and needs of humanity before the profits of a few.