Workers Solidarity Movement

Anarchist Organisation Workers Solidarity Movement (WSM) has described the leaders of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Public Services Committee as “traitors who have connived with government to attack the wages and conditions of trade union members”, and has called on workers in all unions to unite and organise to “reclaim ownership of the trade unions and get rid of the traitors”.

The cancellation of the December 3rd strike is a blow to the developing movement against the cuts on the scale of the cancellation of the March 30th strike at the start of the year. The so called compromise ICTU have been negotiating for is a further blow, it seems designed to drive a wedge between workers and fails to answer the main problem public sector workers have, the inability to take further cuts. But the strike that did happen on 24th November has brought 250,000 workers into their first experience of the power we collectively hold and points towards an alternative

On the 24th of November something extraordinary happened. Some 250,000 workers acted together in a day-long strike against the public sector wage cuts planned by the government. The vast majority of these workers had never gone on strike before, yet across almost all workplaces the strike involved 90% or more of those working.

WSM member Gregor Kerr was on Liveline prior to the 24th November strike. This is an audio recording of what he said and the responses it drew from other callers,

Strike Day
Thursday 3rd December
Protest Rally
Assemble at Department of Education & Science, Marlborough St. at 10:30a.m.
March to Dáil Éireann, leaving Marlborough St. at 11:30a.m.

From before 8a.m. this morning, members of the Irish National Teachers Organisation were on the picket line outside the Department of Education and Science in Dublin’s Marlborough Street, alongside Special Needs Assistant colleagues, members of IMPACT, and workers based in the DES building itself, members of SIPTU, CPSU and PSEU.

Strikes took off across Cork city and county this morning as workers took direct action to stop the Government's attack on wages and conditions.

During the 24th November general strike Paul spoke to two of the 15 CPSU members picketing a workplace in Cork about the strike.

In Kinsale the Further Education College (FEC) and the secondary school were picketed for several hours this morning. I was unpleasantly surprised to find out that the social welfare office is privatised and so was running as normal today.

Anarchist organisation Workers Solidarity Movement has congratulated public sector workers who took part in today’s 24-hour work stoppage and called for further stoppages “in order to force a change of direction from the government”.

“Today’s stoppage was a brave step by public sector workers,” said Gregor Kerr, WSM PRO. “At last, after months and months of being scapegoated for a financial crisis we didn’t have any part in creating, workers have found a bit of dignity and begun to stand up for ourselves.”