Workers have not only been balloting for action in Britain but also in Northern Ireland, where the Tory-led Coalition’s attacks on pensions will also apply if carried out. Fightback – the voice of Marxism in Ireland – reports on the ballot results in the North.
The result of NIPSA’s ballot on industrial action for the 30th November
is a clear demonstration that public sector workers are prepared to
fight to defend their pensions. (NIPSA – the Northern Ireland Public Sector Alliance covers union members across the civil and public service and the voluntary sector in Northern Ireland)
But even more so, the fact that 43% of workers voted in the ballot is
a sign that the mood is solid and also determined.
Here are the
official ballot results:
In Favour of Strike Action | 12,366 | (66.87%) |
Against Strike Action | 6,126 | (33.13%) |
In Favour of Action Short of Strike Action | 14,985 | (81.66%) |
Against Action Short of Strike Action | 3,365 | (18.34%) |
The turnout was | 42.98% |
The General Council also made clear the reasons why they were
unimpressed with the Tory/Lib Dem coalitions so called amended
proposals:
- There was no withdrawal or alternative to the plans to
significantly increase employee contributions at a time when salaries
were effectively frozen. - The government would not restore the inflation mechanism for
uprating public service pensions in payment from the Consumer Price
Index to the Retail Price Index. - The government still expect public servants to work until 66
(with effect from 2020) before they receive their public service
pension.
NIPSA General Council 7th November 2011
As we have reported the strike action on November 30th
will be on a scale unprecedented for decades. The political
implications in the North of the economic crisis are still playing
themselves out. One thing is for certain, neither Sinn Féin nor the DUP
have any answer to what is the deepest crisis in world capitalism for
generations.
An eruption of the class struggle in the North would demonstrate the
potential that exists to fight for a better future. Unity in struggle is
the basis for genuine workers unity, workers unity is a concrete
question not a mere slogan. The Tories attack on pensions affects
Catholic Workers and Protestant workers also.
One thing is for certain a
public sector general strike will affect the consciousness of all
classes in the North. As James Connolly said in relation to the struggle
for the eight hour day in Belfast in 1913 “the forces of Labour generally seem to be gathering for a battle of battles for the things that really matter.”
ON THE DAY…
Belfast – noon, four feeder marches assemble at:
Central Railway Station, Bridge Street, BT1 3PB; Mater Hospital, Crumlin
Road, BT14 7AB; Royal Victoria Hospital, Grosvenor Road, BT12 6BA; City
Hospital, Lisburn Rd, Belfast, County Antrim BT9 7ER. They will march
to a rally at 1pm at Belfast City Hall, Donegall Square, BT1 5GS.
