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from Workers Solidarity No 44
paper of the Irish anarchist
Workers Solidarity Movement
Part 2
Democratic left's disposable radicalism
WHO REMEMBERS when Democratic Left was formed? It
was only two and a half years ago when they arrived
on the scene trying to convince us that they were
like an anti-coalition Labour Party. Their founding
policy statement said "we see no role for our party
as a partner of a right wing government". And some
were convinced, like the Labour members who uprooted
themselves and joined DL, thinking it more left
wing.
Now they are sitting in government with the former
blueshirts of Fine Gael (the people who gave us a
'state of emergency' in the 1970's) and their rivals
in Labour (who contributed Conor Cruise O'Brien to
Liam Cosgrave's paranoid administration). Still, no
point in raking over old coals. They will be far
too busy having a go at workers in the ESB and
Telecom, presiding over a run down health service,
keeping social welfare payments at a pitifully low
level, and all the other 'responsibilities of
government'.
It was easy to predict that DL would jump into
bed with almost anyone who would give them a
ministerial car. After all they believe in the
division of society into rulers and ruled. You
won't catch Rabbitte or Gilmore calling for the
workplaces to be turned over to the workers. And if
you believe rulers are ok, you won't have a moral
problem with being one.
The excuse will be that if it wasn't DL it
would have been the PDs. As if DL are doing us a
favour by riding around in state cars, getting big
salaries and implementing laws like the Industrial
Relations Act and giving tax amnesties to
millionaires. It was harder to predict that John
Bruton would need them so badly that he would have
to give cabinet jobs to four of their six TD's!
Trusting a politician to stick by his/her
policies is as naive as expecting a four year old
child to guard a box of chocolates without eating
half of them. To win reforms (apart from ones that
have little financial cost or risk of unpopularity)
we need the 'muscle' of strikes, demonstrations and
civil disobedience to win concessions. That is what
gets us the bigger changes, not appeals to well
meaning or 'left' TDs.
And if we want to change the way society is run we
can't rely on professional politicians. Anarchists
want to end the rule of the rich and see power in
the hands of all - not a small group of
industrialists, ranchers or politicians.
Competition or con?
IRELAND IS THE 19th most competitive country in the
world. This was the finding released last September
by the Geneva based World Economic Forum. Yet
workers in TEAM, Irish Steel, Packard, the ESB, and
a lot more jobs are told that they must accept lower
pay and/or worse conditions in order to "become
competitive".
The ten most competive countries were listed
as:
1. USA 2. Singapore
3. Japan 4. Hong Kong
5. Germany 6. Switzerland
7. Denmark 8. Netherlands
9. New Zealand 10. Sweden
While it is undeniable that low wages are one factor
in attracting multinational investment, there are
other factors. Why are we always told that we must
be like Singapore or Hong Kong but not like Germany
or Sweden? Why must bosses be given more as an
"incentive to invest" but workers given less as an
"incentive to work"?
Anti-Traveller thuggary on increase
OVER THE PAST year, there has been a series of
physical attacks on Travellers in different parts of
the country. Travellers were attacked in Glenamaddy,
in New Ross, Wicklow and Bantry.
In Bantry, a group of hired vigilantes wearing
balaclavas broke into the caravan of an elderly
Traveller couple. They hit the woman in the face
with a pick axe handle, breaking her nose and giving
her dozens of stitches.
In Bray, thugs burnt the caravan of a local
Traveller family, and their van. When the Council
offered them another site in Rathnew, the locals
chased them out of there too. No-one has been
charged with these attacks.
In Enniscorthy Christmas was marked by a 300
strong march through a Traveller camp. As with
Orange marches, this was designed to intimidate and
humiliate. Armed gardai were present but were more
intent on searching Travellers' caravans than in
stopping the bully-boy crowd assembled by the local
Farmers Committee. One of the participants claimed
in the Irish Times that they were "not racist, but
the Travellers should be sent to Spike Island or
Timbucktoo"!
The rise in racism against Travellers is
happening all over Europe. Gypsies and Travellers
from Eastern Europe are seen as fair game for racial
abuse and attacks. In Ireland anti-racism means
standing up to the hatemongers and supporting
Travellers rights.
Patricia McCarthy
Lies, damned lies and statistics
NEVER FORGET that we won the last referenda on
abortion rights! Anti-abortion campaigners such as
Des Hanafin and SPUC have been trying to rewrite
history by claiming that they won, and that the
country had voted against abortion.
These views are filtering into the mainstream.
A Fianna Fail ex-minister claimed recently that the
last referendum was a vote against abortion. The
government has postponed indefinitely legislation on
legalising abortion, in any circumstances, in
Ireland. Also, the anti-abortion lobby has
pressurised local authorities in 21 counties to
adopt resolutions calling on the Government to hold
a third referendum on abortion.
So let's put the record straight. The 1993
referenda was a vote for women's rights, not against
them.
The anti-abortion lobby, which included the
Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Desmond Connell, campaigned
for a No, No, No, vote. This meant; No, on the
substantive issue on the grounds that it allowed
limited abortion rights in Ireland, No, on the right
to travel, and No, on the right to abortion
information.
Pro-choice groups campaigned for a No, Yes,
Yes, vote. We campaigned for a No vote on the
substantive issue because it was far too
restrictive.
The pro and anti-women's rights groups were
directly opposed in the votes on Travel and
Information. So from these results we can tell which
side the people supported most. And we slaughtered
the fundamentalists, with 62% of the Travel vote and
60% of the Information vote. A definite win.
Mick Doyle
Trusting the politicians
WE ARE OFTEN told that the parliamentary system is
the best way, the most democratic way, to get
change. Politicians are supposed to represent us,
and if they don't do what we want we can change them
and get ones who will do what voters desire. The
story of water charges gives us one small look into
the reality behind the illusions.
When Fianna Fail abolished household rates in 1977
they said the lost revenue would be replaced by
injecting #30 million into the building industry.
This was to create 5,000 extra jobs (and PAYE
contributions) whilst eliminating 5,000 unemployment
benefit payments. The following year they added 5%
to VAT and increased PAYE & PRSI to cover the loss
of rates. The Local Government Financial Provisions
Act No.1 'guarrantied' that local authorities would
receive enough money from the government for their
needs.
The first suggestion of imposing local charges
came in the 1982 Fianna Fail manifesto, 'The Way
Forward'. Later that year a general election was
called. In newspaper advertisements Fine Gael
warned that if Fianna Fail won they would impose
service charges. In the same newspapers Fianna Fail
warned that if Fine Gael won they would impose
service charges. The Labour Party said they were
totally opposed to such charges. So all three of
them were, at least by implication, against these
charges.
A coalition of Fine Gael and Labour formed the
government, and in July 1983 passed the Local
Government Financial Provisions Act No.2 which
empowered City and County Managers to charge for
services. In 1985, just before local elections, the
government decreed that Councillors would have the
final decision on the charges. Fianna Fail
contested these elections on an Anti-Service Charges
ticket. Immediately after the elections they did a
U-Turn and voted for them.
Just before the General Election of 1987 Fianna
Fail gave a written guarantee to the National
Association of Tenants Associations. Paddy Lalor,
MEP and Director of Elections, promised that if they
formed the next government they would scrap the
service charges. He further promised that local
authorities would be given enough money for their
needs.
Since 1978 householders have been paying
domestic rates through increased VAT & PAYE. Local
charges are simply a way of getting us to pay twice,
it is double taxation. They are dishonest charges.
The politicians who voted for them are dishonest.
They are practiced liars and are not entitled to our
trust. That is why the only way to be sure of
ending these charges is a massive national campaign
of non-payment.
No room at the refuge
AN EASTERN Health Board report published in December
1994, shows a huge increase in the number of
homeless people put up in Bed and Breakfast
accommodation by the Health Board.
Five years ago, the homeless unit run by the
Board in Dublin's Charles Street spent #25,000 on
Bed and Breakfast accommodation. Last year they
spent just under #300,000. Homeless people who
cannot get into the hostels because they are full,
are put up in Bed and Breakfasts by the health
board.
Most of them are women and children turned away
from a Womens' Refuge because of lack of space. In a
six week period in 1992, 101 women and 300 children
were turned away from the Dublin Refuges because
they were full.
An increasing number of homeless people put up
in B&Bs are kids, as young as 12 and 13, again
because there is nowhere else for them. A High Court
case is being taken by one of the boys in this
situation at the moment.
B&Bs are private enterprises run for profit.
Nearly all of them make their unfortunate clients
leave during the day, no matter how many children
they have to drag around with them. Recently even
the B&Bs were full. Traveller women and children
were put up in Grade A and B hotels by the Health
Board, much to the disgust of the management!
The homeless crisis is out of control in
Dublin, especially for young kids. The lack of house
building and the absence of any kind of a coherent
child care policy has created this mess.
The B&B owners are making a profit out of the
misery of the homeless, and the Health Boards are
wasting money on useless "solutions" which should be
spent on house building. It will take years to make
up for the lack of a house building programme from
1986-1991 unless there is an emergency building
programme and specialist services for homeless kids
set up.
Fiona O'Toole
Water Disconnection threats defeated in Dublin
WITH THE re-introduction of service charges in the
three new Dublin Councils a year ago, the anti-
service charge campaign spread to Dublin.
Throughout the summer public meetings at which
people pledged their opposition to these charges
were held in a large number of areas, culminating in
a conference in late September attended by
approximately 130 people representing local
campaigns and residents' associations.
This Conference established the Federation of Dublin
Anti-Water Charge Campaigns (FDAWCC). A co-
ordinating committee was elected and it was agreed
that all-Dublin activists' meetings would be held
monthly and would remain the supreme decision-making
body of the campaign. Over the ensuing months well-
attended public meetings were held in practically
every area.
Registers of non-payers were collected, local
councillors lobbied and picketed and a very
successful series of public protests were held
outside council meetings when the 1995 estimates
were being discussed. A successful Trade Union
Forum was held to discuss how trade unionists - and
especially council workers - could get involved.
This phase of the campaign culminated in a protest
rally in the city centre in late November.
By December 1st - the date on which non-payers'
accounts fell overdue - non-payment rates were
holding firm despite the councils' mix of bribery
("free" draws for those who paid) and ntimidation
(threats of disconnection). Official figures given
by the councils showed that the non-payment rates of
November 1st remained virtually unchanged (South
Dublin - 65%; Fingal - 67%; Dun Laoghaire/Rathdown -
41%).
Council Threats
On Sunday November 26th South Dublin County
Council's campaign of intimidation began in earnest.
Selected residents received letters threatening
disconnection of water supply if the charges were
not paid within seven days. These letters were
designed to isolate and intimidate people but in the
vast majority of cases had quite the opposite
effect.
The campaign responded with the immediate
distribution of 60,000 leaflets advertising a 24-
hour emergency 'hotline' for those who required
advice or assistance. Emergency public meetings
were held in many areas and lists of volunteers
taken who would help to monitor their areas and
ensure that disconnections were resisted.
Assurances were received from council manual
workers in SIPTU and AGEMOU that they would not
become involved in doing the council's dirty work.
Unfortunately, the water inspectors - most of whom
are members of IMPACT - were unable to get similar
backing from their union leadership.
Disconnections defeated
At 4 am on Wednesday December 6th the first attempts
to disconnect were made. Water inspectors who
arrived in estates in Clondalkin, Lucan and Tallaght
found, however, that campaign activists were well-
organised and that mobile patrols were in place to
prevent disconnections. Over the following two
weeks several unsuccessful attempts were made to
effect disconnections. Time and again when
inspectors arrived at non-payers' homes they
discovered that stopcocks had been blocked up and
that disconnection was not possible.
And indeed on more that one occasion - with
residents of the Riversdale estate in Clondalkin
deserving special mention - council vans were run
out of areas where cut-offs were attempted. All
told, the number of successful disconnections was
tiny - less than 20 according to the council
themselves - and in all of these campaigners were
able to reconnect supply within hours.
Preventing disconnections was a huge success
for the campaign and a major bodyblow for the
council. The tremendous fight against such tactics
over many years in areas such as Waterford, Cork,
Limerick, Galway, Leixlip, Ashbourne and indeed many
others proved an inspiration for Dublin residents.
There is no doubt that it is as a result of the
years of campaigning by committed activists in these
areas that the new government was forced to make
some changes in the area of service charges.
Neither is there any doubt that Dublin councillors
and council officials now know that the campaign
must be taken seriously.
Local Action Groups
While all those involved in the campaign deserve
congratulation, the events of December also
highlighted an organisational weakness. The number
of people directly involved in this activity was
relatively small and this put huge demands on those
activists. In order to counteract this for the next
phase of the campaign, immediate steps must be taken
to ensure that in every area where there are a
number of activists, they are encouraged to form
themselves into local action groups taking
responsibility for the maintenance and development
of the campaign in their areas.
As we look to the next round in the battle, the
necessity for total decentralisation and for
cohesive action groups in all areas is of the utmost
importance. The campaign must aim to really involve
its activists - not just as leafletters or as people
who can be depended upon to show up for a picket -
but as the people on whom the success of the
campaign depends.
Gregor Kerr
CONCESSIONS FORCED FROM GOVERNMENT
The Programme for Government:-
- acknowledges the crisis in local authority funding
- promises a "professional study" leading to a White
Paper
- introduces a Tax Allowance for service charges paid
(see below)
- promises legislation to prevent councils from
disconnecting water for non-payment of charges
NEW TAX ALLOWANCES
Those who paid the charges on time in 1994 will be
able to claim a new Tax Allowance of up to #150 at
the standard rate.
This will mean:-
South Dublin Charge #70 New T.F.A. #70 Rebate #18.90
Fingal Charge #85 New T.F.A. #85 Rebate #22.95
Dun Laoghaire Charge #50-#90 New T.F.A.#50-#90
Rebate #13.50 - #25
Mayo Charge #205 New T.F.A #150 Rebate #40.50
(Where the service charge is over #150, the rebate
is obviously proportionally smaller)
GET INVOLVED
While the measures announced in the Programme for
Government can be claimed as a victory, the charges
remain and the councils are likely to be looking at
new ways to force compliance (court action, etc.).
The campaign must remain in existence and intensify
its efforts.
The local action groups which must be the
mainstay of the campaign can only become a reality
with the active involvement of all those opposed to
the charges. We urge all our readers to get
involved. Contact the FDAWCC by ringing Gregor Kerr
(4947025) or Joe Higgins (8201753).
Wexford strike declared illegal
WORKERS AT Nolans Transport in New Ross have been
told their strike is illegal. They have been in
dispute since February 1993 for better pay, better
conditions and union recognition. Now they could be
jailed if they continue to picket.
Last December's High Court judgement ordered
SIPTU to pay over #1.3 million in damages and
expenses to Nolan Transport. This has very serious
implications for the entire trade union movement.
If the judgement is allowed to stand, it will have
two principal consequences.
Firstly, in relation to balloting procedures.
Up to now trade union leaders had insisted - despite
several warnings to the contrary - that under the
terms of the 1990 Industrial Relations Act only
trade union members could challenge the validity of
a ballot. Now, however, it is made explicitly clear
that employers are entitled under the law to
challenge balloting procedures.
This means that workers can be brought into
court and asked how they voted in a secret ballot!
If they are afraid of the sack and deny they voted
for a strike, their union can sued for damages.
Secondly, there is a clear implication that
strikes for union recognition are unlawful. Two
prerequisites will now have to be met in order for
unions to take strike action against employers who
refuse to negotiate. Firstly the union will have to
have members within the terms of the rulebook,
implying that they will have to be paying
subscriptions over a period of time. Secondly, the
strike will have to take place over a specific issue
such as dismissal for union membership. It will not
be possible for a strike to take place simply for
union recognition.
There are other implications in the judgement
such as the issuing of leaflets during a dispute
(Nolans were awarded #25,000 for "defamation") and
the fact that a company whose profits actually
increased over the past year was awarded #600,000
damages for "loss of earnings". They also got
#8,000 petrol costs for every month of the strike
because blacking of their trucks by sympathetic
trade unionists meant their lorries had to make
longer journeys.
This situation has come about as a direct
result of the 1990 Industrial Relations Act. As
such, ICTU leaders who were instrumental in drawing
up this Act and who scoffed at all criticisms of it
must bear a portion of the responsibility for
landing the trade union movement in this mess.
We must not allow our movement to be shackled
in this way. The demand must be for SIPTU to refuse
to pay one penny to Nolans, and for all unions to
amend their rule books, removing the changes brought
about by the Industrial Relations Act. Instead
of giving in to state intimidation the unions should
respond with protest stoppages and demonstrations.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Workers Solidarity Movement can be contacted at
PO Box 1528, Dublin 8, Ireland
or by anonymous e-mail to an64739@anon.penet.fi
Some of our material is available via the Spunk press electronic archive
by FTP to etext.archive.umich.edu or 141.211.164.18
or by gopher ("gopher etext.archive.umich.edu")
or WWW at http://www.cwi.nl/cwi/people/Jack.Jansen/spunk/Spunk_Home.html
in the directory /pub/Politics/Spunk/texts/groups/WSM
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