IRELAND: The
outcome of the ballots  among the ICTU affiliated unions over the Croke
Park deal will be finally clear by next week when the SIPTU and IMPACT
ballot results are counted. A huge amount of pro deal propaganda has
been brought to bear on the membership of the public sector unions,
backed up by the trade union leadership who have been desperate to
present the deal as the saviour of the Irish working class.  

Alan Docherty, a long standing Unison activist has been banned from holding office for two years by union officials in what is a clear attack on democracy in the union.

Next week’s conference of the public sector union Unison will be the most important for decades given the severity of the cuts being promised by the new government. Many of Unison’s members are low paid or part time and will be hit hard by a government keen to cut costs to bail out the bosses crisis.

Unison Conference Meeting:

"Which way forward for Unison?"

Thurs 17th June 5.30pm start

Royal Exeter Hotel, Bournemouth.

Europe faces a protracted period of austerity, with major
contractions in output, consumption and employment. The crisis has
started with the smaller, more vulnerable economies like Greece,
Portugal and Ireland. But the others will follow, starting with
Britain.