This blog is for anyone interested in discussing the political content of a programme for a revolutionary worker’ party in Ireland.
An initial statement by the author of this blog which does not pretend to be a fully finished programme – its aim is to stimulate discussion and debate about the key areas a revolutionary socialist programme needs to cover.
Comments welcome.
http://siptu.ie/media/pressreleases2013/mainnews/fullstory_17308_en.html
Date Released: 23 May 2013
Strike breakers are being utilised in an attempt to disrupt an official SIPTU dispute at the Shanganagh Water Treatment Plant, Co. Dublin.
The decision by the management of SDD Shanganagh Water Treatment Ltd to fly in strike breakers from Spain is a major escalation of the industrial dispute that began on Tuesday, 21st May. Strike action was undertaken in response to a company refusal to refer a dispute relating to pay and shift premium payments to the Labour Court.
SIPTU Sector Organiser, Martin Meere, said: “The use of strike breakers is a major escalation of this dispute and something which will deeply concern workers across the country.
“Unfortunately this action by management is in line with their past treatment of workers at this public utility. Firstly, management decided to employ workers through an agency rather than directly in an attempt to deny them security of employment and the right to negotiate decent terms and conditions.
“This was followed by a refusal to respect the workers’ basic right to be represented by the union of their choice. The company then dismissed without reason a democratically elected workforce representative. Finally, on the centenary of the 1913 Lockout they employ the tactics of the bosses of that period and bring in strike breakers from aboard in an attempt to undermine the resolve of workers while an official dispute is ongoing.”
Martin Meere added: “The workers are now calling on all involved in the operation of this plant, including Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, to end this deplorable treatment of workers.”
The workers voted unanimously for strike action at the plant on Thursday, 25th April. Following this vote management agreed to attend two conciliation meetings at the Labour Relations Commission (LRC). At these meetings some issues in dispute between the workers and management were addressed but no progress was made with regard to the key concerns of pay and shift premium payments.
SDD Shanganagh Water Treatment Ltd is a joint venture between the Irish construction company, John Sisk & Son Ltd, and Spanish companies Dragados S.A. and Drace Medio-Ambiente S.A. SDD Shanganagh Water Treatment Ltd recruits, trains and directs all operations on site, and instructs ICDS to issue contracts and put the workers through the ICDS payroll. The plant operates under the terms of a contract with Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.
Hypocrisy of double standard taxation system highlight by Campaign Against Home and Water Taxes occupation of Revenue Office in O’Connell Street
Less than a week before the deadline for registration for the property tax and the reality of industrial scale tax avoidance by prominent multinationals with the connivance of Ireland’s political and financial establishment has been laid bare.
The CAHWT is currently conducting a peaceful occupation of the Revenue Commissioners office in O’Connell Street to highlight this fact.
The occupation began at mid-day and is expected to continue for some time. This event is part of a promised escalation of actions by those opposed to the so-called property tax, which is actually an attack on the family home. It comes just days before the final date for registration, with CAHWT calling on people to continue to refuse to register for, or pay the charge
Amongst those involved in the occupation is Bernie Hughes of the Finglas CAHWT :
“The so called property tax is unjust. It is just another attempt to make the ordinary citizen pay for the mistakes of the bankers and developers. Shame on the Government for continuing to squeeze every last cent out of workers, pensioners and those on social welfare. It is time for people to stand up and say ‘enough is enough’ and to refuse to register or pay.”
A number of the protesters have chained themselves to furniture or fittings within the building
Amongst those is Chris Malendewicz from East Wall, who explains the personal reasons he is taking part today:
“I worked in the construction industry for years. When it collapsed and I was made redundant I went out and re-skilled. I’ve applied for hundreds of jobs at this stage and have found it impossible to get anything. I simply cannot afford to pay this charge, I just do not have the money and there are loads of people like me out there”
“I am against a charge like this on the family home. Even without the extra burden this tax represents I risk losing my home because I can’t find work. Even if I wanted to pay I simply can’t afford it and this is why I have been driven to take this sort of direct action, I am at the end of my tether.”
Describing today’s action as a ‘warning shot’, Cieran Perry from Cabra CAHWT has said such protests may intensify:
“It is important that protests like today’s take place and that a message is sent out that people are resisting. The government has used bully-boy tactics to try scare people into paying. Threats to use new powers to take money directly from wages, pensions and social welfare are still only threats; if the government attempts to implement this we are sure there will be a massive backlash from decent citizens.”
“At the same time as they are introducing draconian legislation to help bleed people dry the government are still facilitating international tax avoidance on an international scale. Recent news reports prove that as our living standards are still under attack that for the wealthy it’s business as usual”.
The revised Croke Park 2 agreement known as the Haddington Road Agreement 2013-2016 has just been published. The full document is available at - http://static.rasset.ie/documents/news/haddington-rd-agreement.pdf
Howver all anyone concerned with the interests of the working class needs to know is contained in an early paragraph in the executive summary:
“The Parties are agreed on the following series of pay and productivity measures to be implemented in order to achieve the necessary €1 billion savings in the cost of the pay and pensions bill over the 3 years from 2013 to 2015.”
So no matter what positive spin the union leaders are going to put on it in the days to come the reality is that the previous agreement to cut wages and pensions by €1 billion over the next 3 years – that was rejected by a 2 to 1 margin by public sector workers – has been replaced by a new agreement that does exactly the same. Even by the standards of the corrupt and/or pathetic leaders of the Irish trade unions this is a shocking betrayal of our class.
Vote NO to the Haddington Road Agreement!
A fascinating piece in the SBP magazine at the weekend, by ‘mother courage’, who tweets regularly, on the state of our maternity hospitals in this current period of austerity. Frankly, for all the superheated rhetoric about mothers and children that we are hearing at the moment in relation to abortion, the actual situation that faces pregnant women in this state leaves much to be desired.
Provisions in abortion legislation that a woman could face up to 14 years in prison if she has a termination in Ireland do not make any sense, the former master of the National Maternity Hospital has said.
Dr Peter Boylan said in his submission to the Oireachtas hearings that it was “bizarre and contradictory” to propose a woman be sentenced to 14 years in prison for accepting medical advice in this State and having a termination.
This was particularly so when she “has the constitutional protection of this country if she goes to the UK and has the same procedure. It doesn’t make any sense at all,” he told the committee.
Master of Holles Street hospital in Dublin Dr Rhona Mahony described it as “extraordinary” that a woman could face this punishment.
Under heading or section 19 of the proposed Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill it is an offence for a person to do any act with the intent to destroy unborn human life.
The section restates the general prohibition of abortion in the State under article 40.3.3 of the Constitution, and includes an infinite fine and up to 14 years imprisonment.
Earlier Seanad Labour leader Ivana Bacik said the creation of such a criminal offence “falls foul of the Constitution in creating a criminal offence that is too vague and too broad”.
She said the woman herself should not be criminalised. Chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan told her “it is something we can look at in terms of drafting”.
Later during a question and answer session Dr Mahony said terminations of pregnancy were performed in Irish hospitals to save a woman’s life. “These are rare.”
She said that her hospital was one of the busiest maternity hospitals in Europe.
Dr Boylan estimated there were some 60 terminations in hospitals in the State annually.
He said in the North there were 40 terminations for 25,000 pregnancies, and he said extrapolating from those figures would mean 60 terminations for 75,000 pregnancies in the State.
Dr Mahony said it was very difficult to estimate the incidence of suicides. It was extremely rare.
Asked by Labour TD Ciara Conway if the legislation would save lives, Dr Mahony said the legislation “would provide protection and flexibility for doctors to do their job”.
“ I believe it will give doctors some peace and prevent hesitation where doctors are uncertain about whether or not they may act.”
She said doctors would always try to save a life “but at the moment what is wrong is that they don’t have the necessary legal protection” and the Bill provided this.
In a session last night with obstetricians outside Dublin Dr John Monaghan, a consultant at Portiuncula Hospital in Ballinasloe, Co Galway, warned that the serious problem of increasing suicide in Ireland and reporting of it might affect suicidal ideation in people exposed to it.
He said “to relate a crisis pregnancy situation to suicide in a legislative Act may of itself increase suicidal ideation in some women who are pregnant and vulnerable”.
This evening I moved the following motion at the Cobh local CAHWT group meeting for taking to the Cork CAHWT regional AGM on Saturday 25 May. The motion was passed unanimously by the Cobh local group:
“Cobh CAHWT recognises that workers taking industrial action will be a necessary component of any successful civil disobedience campaign against the Property Tax.
“Cobh CAHWT therefore calls on Cork CAHWT to produce, as a matter of the highest urgency, a leaflet aimed specifically at workers in the Revenue and Abtran workplaces calling on them to take industrial action against collection and administration of the Property Tax. The leaflet to include a confidential phone number for any worker interested in taking such action to discuss how to take the project forward. This leaflet to be distributed at the work sites concerned at the earliest opportunity.”
(I’ll be attending this though leaving before the Focussed Discusions to attend the Action on X protest)
Final Agenda for the First Left Forum
The Left Forum will be divided into three main parts. The first section, the deliberative section, will see the agenda discussed in small groups of approximately six to ten attendees which will be chaired by a convenor. At the lunch break the conveners will meet to discuss if there seems to be a consensus from the discussions that can be formed into a document.
The second part of the process will take place after lunch which will be a plenary session involving all present. If possible the document will be presented, amended by attendees and voted on. If not possible a vote will be taken on whether to continue the process.
The third part of the forum will see a number of focused discussion groups around specific areas for example economics, trade unions and left media. This will be an opportunity to build networks of activists and those interested in the topics and develop ways that attendees may work together in the future. If agreed the convenors of the focused sessions will carry the work forward. Attendees are free to propose topics for focus discussions either in advance or at the forum.
Proposed Timetable
11.00am- 11.15am - Registration and seating.
11.15am – 11.30am – Brief Introduction and explanation of the process.
Deliberative Section
11.30am – 1.00pm - Deliberation on questions below using tables of 10 randomly assigned participants. Chaired by convenor with more detailed agenda.
Deliberative Agenda
1 Who is the Left?
2 What can the Left realistically hope to achieve in the short, medium and long term?
3 How and where do we achieve these aims?
4 What sort of left organisations can help us achieve our goals
1.00pm-2.00pm - Lunch. Conveners meet, discuss outcome of deliberation discussions prepare document for plenary session
Plenary Section
2.00pm – 3.00 pm – Plenary session – document shown numbered on projected screen. Attendees have opportunity to discuss document in single town hall style meeting, offer amendments etc. If agreed vote on the document, if not vote to continue process.
3.00pm- 3.15pm - Coffee break and organise tables of pre-arranged focused discussions i.e trade unions, education, media, – also allow space for anyone to set up table for any other issue they wish to discuss.
Focused Discussions
4.15pm-5.30pm – Focused Discussions –The focus of these discussions are to get people together, and may be of a more practical nature. And hope to establish networks for future work together. Each discussion group if decided will elect a convenor to carry on the process after the event.
Focus Discussions will take place on the following areas:
Left/Alternative/Community Media; Youth Issues; Housing; Economics and Policy; Education
(more may follow at a later date)
5.30pm Closing remarks, based on outcomes of deliberation and focused discussions (If a document has been agreed from deliberation and plenary). There can be brief report back from focused discussions conveners.
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