Twenty four hours ago (on February 24th 2009), we suggested
that the way ahead for the Irish public sector trade unions was to build
towards a 24 hour public sector general strike. We didn’t pick that idea from
the sky. It seemed inherent in the situation, following on that it is, from
Saturday’s monster march. Now the Irish Confederation of Trade Unions has
called for a national strike day on the 30th March because the
employers in both the public and private sectors are reneging on the national
wage agreement.

Following on from Saturday’s
mega-demonstration in Dublin, now workers in the public sector have voted
massively for strike action, starting with a strike this coming Thursday of the
Civil and Public Service Union.

Tuesday, 24 and Thursday 26th February at 1pm. Join the second demonstration in
support of 5 cleaners who were unfairly sacked by the cleaning services company
Mitie in order to undermine their union work. 
The address is in front of the insurance broker Willis Offices, 51 Lime
Street, C3M 7DQ London. Liverpool Street tube. Meet at the station in front of
the McDonald’s and all go to together to Willis. Tuesday, 24 February and
Thursday 26, at 1 pm. Contact 
williscleaners4justice@live.co.uk

There were spectres haunting Dublin on Saturday, the fear of
unemployment and of job cuts but more importantly the spirit of James Connolly
and Jim Larkin the founding fathers of the Irish labour movement. It took two
hours to get from Parnell Square to the final rally. 200,000 people, workers,
their families and their kids, young and old, from all over the country, Cork,
Kerry, Sligo, Donegal, the midlands and all over.

As I write, the New York stock exchange index fell to its lowest level in six years as the big financial institutions and investors in company stocks slipped into the depth of despond about the state of the world capitalist economy. And these investors have every reason to feel depressed.  The world economy, by most estimates from the major international institutions, will contract this year for the first time since the 1940s.  And by the world, they mean everywhere, not just in the advanced capitalist economies. 

Support the Statutory Redundancy (Amendment) Bill. On 13th March Labour MP Lindsay Hoyle will put forward the Statutory Redundancy (Amendment) Bill for its Second Reading.  This far from revolutionary proposal seeks to up-rate redundancy pay and to link it to average earnings.  It is however a measure of this government that this is a private member’s bill.

As the capitalist crisis continues to ravage the once mighty ‘celtic tiger’ the
Irish government has stumbled across a sure fire method to stimulate economic
growth and raise living standards; cut the wages of the lowest paid workers! The
Labour Courts are currently debating whether to drop the minimum wage a euro to
€8.65, and Labour Affairs Minister, Billy
Kelleher, has argued that the review needs to take account of the current economic
climate. He expanded his support for the counter reform by suggesting that the
minimum wage should not be a barrier to employment.   Such talk is all very well from a government
junior minister who currently earns a salary of over €139,000 per year and no
doubt enjoys all the perks and benefits offered by the parliamentary gravy
train.

Jerry
Hicks is standing as general secretary of Unite-Amicus. He has been storming up
and down the country, taking on the establishment within the union in his
campaign to become general secretary. He travels everywhere by coach (because
it’s cheap), stays overnight in supporters’ back rooms, and is currently
nursing a fractured leg kindly donated by the police while he was picketing on
behalf of the workers outside Staythorpe Power Station. His campaign is financed
by voluntary donations of Unite-Amicus activists. He deserves our support.