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Title: Thats’ Capitalism (WS42)
Author: Workers Solidarity Movement
Date: 1994
Language: en
Topics: capitalism, Workers Solidarity
Source: Retrieved on 18th November 2021 from http://struggle.ws/ws94/ws42_capital.html
Notes: Published in Workers Solidarity No. 42 — Summer 1994.

Workers Solidarity Movement

Thats’ Capitalism (WS42)

In spite of the Employment Equality Act and the Anti- Discrimination

(Pay) Act many employers still get away with treating women workers

worse than male employees. More than fifteen years after the

introduction of equal pay laws in the 26 counties, women workers earn

only 62% of men’s average earnings. On an hourly basis they are paid, on

average, #2 less.

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60% of the tax relief in the 26 counties on mortgage interest and VHI

premiums goes to the top 20% of earners. Only 5% goes to the bottom

half.

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While workers’ pay rises were kept down to the the PESP level, there

were no restraints on the rich. Last year executive directors averaged

12% and shareholders 13.4%. The seven AIB executive directors averaged

526,666 each, earning more per hour than most workers get for a week.

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Of the #530 million the Child Support Agency hopes to get from ‘absent’

fathers in Britain and the North, just #50 million will go to mothers

and their children. The rest will go the government Treasury. So much

for the Tories’ claim last year that the Agency would be a major help to

mothers and children

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According to the Irish Times industrial correspondent, Jackie Gallagher,

250,000 was spent during the negotiations on the Programme for

Competitiveness & Work. Twenty union officials turned up each day. Most

of them “spent their time playing cards, having quizes and on one

occasion having a sing song”. Snacks included steak sandwiches. Wine was

served with the meals. Indeed the drinks facility had to be cut off at

one stage because so much was being consumed.

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Having being conned into accepting wage rises that may not even keep up

with inflation (the PCW), workers now see top professionals get much

bigger increases. The current chief executive of Telecom, Fergus

McGovern, gets #70,000 a year. The maximum laid down in the Gleeson

guidelines for top public servants pay is #81,000 (six times the average

industrial wage). The new chief executive will be hired as a

‘consultant’, which will allow him to be paid ‘fees’ of over #100,000.

Peter Owen, the new Aer Lingus chief executive is also a ‘consultant’,

and the same will probably happen at the National Treasury Management

Agency which was set up outside the control of the Central Bank so that

its senior employees would not be bound by the Gleeson guidelines.

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According to the MSF union 14% of the workforce in the 26 counties earn

less than #115 per week. Of full-time employees who earn less than #3

per hour 16% of them work in the very profitable banking, finance and

insurance sector