Tonight The Pensive Quill features an article forwarded by Sandy Boyer. Although not written by him as mistakenly stated by TPQ, it deals with the recent strike in the North of Ireland. It was originally carried on the Socialist Worker (Ireland) web site
100,000 workers in Northern Ireland staged a massive one day strike on Wednesday. Throughout Britain, it was the largest scale strike action since the General Strike of 1926.
In Derry, 2,500 workers rallied at the Guildhall while 20,000 turned up in Belfast.
At a huge rally afterwards in Belfast, the Northern ICTU leader, Peter Bunting said that ‘The public sector is being sacrificed in the name of an ideology which favours the 1%.’ Many of the union leaders promised that the action was only the start and would be followed up afterwards.
The British government is to increase the amount of money public sector workers pay into their pension, raise the retirement age to 67 and introduce career-average pensions. Higher contributions are due to be phased in over three years from April 2012, amounting to an average 3.2 percentage points more in each employee's contribution rate.
The strike and demonstration showed the fantastic potential for working class unity. When feeder marches from Catholic West and Protestant East Belfast came together, the crowd broke into a spontaneous chant of ‘The Workers United, Will never be defeated’.
Thousands of workers also showed the signs of seeing through the game that the communal politicians of the DUP and Sinn Fein play. These two parties pretend to be at loggerheads when it comes to symbols and
flags but they unite as one when it comes to implementing attacks on workers.
The DUP are more stupid than Sinn Fein and openly opposed the strikes. But tens of thousands of Protestant workers defied these Orange Tories
The populists of Sinn Fein, however, tried the old trick of trying to be at both sides of the barricades. In the Stormont government, they implement cuts with as much gusto at Fine Gael or Labour do in the South but they also claim to be on the side of the workers.
They use the same message that ‘It hurts us more than it hurts you to do it – but we have to do it’. The only difference is that instead of taking orders from the IMF, they claim that London is to blame.
So like the well-seasoned opportunists they are, they turned up on the protests with their banner. In Derry, one republican speaker from the platform even managed to praise a Sinn Fein Minister.
In Belfast, some workers demanded that Sinn Fein banners be removed from the union protests because the party is directly involved in attacking workers. It is a message that needs to be spread far and wide.
The strike represented a huge step forward in working class politics and creates a new space for socialist politics to grow rapidly. But it also casts a cold light on the activities of union leaders in the South.
The question naturally arises: If so many workers are willing to fight north of the border, then why are union leaders doing nothing about raising the state pension age and age of retirement for Southern workers? It is time to re-take our union backs from those who are too cowardly to fight
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Whats the betting Sandy,that the closer our two sections of working class people start to show sign,s of uniting on a common front,the old secterian card will rise its ugly head, just as it did with the ODR strike in 1932,but the answer to all our problems will only come when we are finally united in an unbreakable bond.
ReplyDeleteGovernment can only spend what it raises in tax.The lowest paid workers area are all in the private sector, where working for free and competing with 15/16 yr old workers is the norm.Public sector workers are privileged, the laughable decision by EBS workers to go on strike because the didn't get a 1 month Cmas bonus is a good eg.
ReplyDeleteSandy-
ReplyDeleteDo you care about us workers-
You had a go at a strike platform speaker who supports us workers-
You had nothing to say about the u.u.p who crossed picket lines-
You even said that unions are to cowardly to fight - perhaps it is you who should stay at home at the next strike in case some workers would oppose your-self-
FFS Mickeyboy take your thumb outa yer bum and get yer mind outa neutral a cara even the most loyal psf supporter like yourself can surely see the hypocrisy of your gaffers two faced approach to the serious situation the bankers and their cronies have landed us in, their willingness to implement job cuts and severe changes to our everyday lives like the health services and benefits,all on behalf of the imf,while shedding crocodile tears would be funny if it were,nt so serious,then again maybe psf will do their usual stunt i.e ,throw the muck then apologise profusely.
ReplyDeleteSandy in New York where you and I reside public workers are the most useless, overpaid wasters in human history. How did you make out last winter in the storm of the century when the snow plowers did nothing but eat doughnuts and drink coffee. I didn't fare so well. I hope the public employee unions are smashed to smithereens.
ReplyDelete"The British government is to increase the amount of money public sector workers pay into their pension, raise the retirement age to 67 and introduce career-average pensions. Higher contributions are due to be phased in over three years from April 2012, amounting to an average 3.2 percentage points more in each employee's contribution rate."
ReplyDeleteWhat is so offensive about these wasters paying more into their retirement and working till 67? Most private employees work till they drop dead. I have to pay more tax so these welfare queens can retire early with a hefty pension?
The reason unions in the south are so quiet is because most of them are run by the sticks and the sticks are in government.
ReplyDeleteRyan,
ReplyDelete'in New York where you and I reside public workers are the most useless, overpaid wasters in human history.'
I don't see how this can add up. They earn nothing like those people in the financial services sector who pocketed countless millions while they broke the US economy and who still want to remain in position. There was a brilliant documentary on BBC a few nights ago. These people were found lying through their teeth when confronted with the evidence of their sabotage of the US economy for personal gain. They knew what they were doing.
Seems to me a nod was as good as a wink with the bankers worldwide. Inside job of all time. Fitzpatrick getting questioned again...nothing will come of that. The 'markets' have every government living in terror just now and without the 'war' option it seems political leaders are lost for a way out of the mess.
ReplyDeleteBankers going on strike for the 13th month 'bonus' at a time when you would think bank workers would be keeping their heads down just proves to me as soon as Europe breathes the financial kiss of life into the free state economy the dail and the free state greedy mob will immediately suck it right back out. No imagination and no interest in the nation...grab all wreckers. Glad I'm gettin out.
Well worth reading
ReplyDeletehttp://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/fisk/robert-fisk-bankers-are-the-dictators-of-the-west-6275084.html
Yes it was great to see the people taking to the streets. It was also quite refreshing to see the Unions back in action.
ReplyDeleteSinn Fein are so exposed they should be crying out for a flag of convenience that they wrap around themselves to be flown over the City Hall.
In their quest to engage in irrevlant tribal nonsence, they have actaully used and abused more rate payers money to fund yet another pointless survey in relation to flags.
This time the whoevers found, that the union jack should not be flown on the City Hall all year round.
Who cares? Sinn Fein could not seriously believe anyone other than their own supporters give a stuff about this nonsense.
Theres an issue of history being shifted from magee to coleraine at UU. The Derry SF and its junior 'faithful' are gathering like buzzards round the issue, colonising the UU Historical society. Another vote catcher vehicle no doubt. The idea of Unionist support was dismissed with a 'why would they want to'.
ReplyDeleteConsidering Martha Magee was a presbyterian it might be worth asking.
SF will jump on anything and 'burn' everything in the quest of votes for the electoral furnace; never once looking in the mirror.
martin mcguinness was on who wants to be a millionaire and phoned a friend...the number was 999
Martina Anderson campaigns to save history at Magee. Is it just me had brain removed or ar SF not imposing the cuts? The circus act of riding two horses goes on.
ReplyDeletemehttp://www.derrysinnfein.ie/news/21066