Workers Solidarity Movement

Seamus Brennan is a little man in many ways, but one thing he dislikes is not being in the limelight. So in this election year, the Social Affairs minister has decided to drive the last 150,000 people from the live register of the unemployed. Like some figure from the old testament Seamie will perform the miracle of full employment to prove his worth, He will drive the unemployed into the arms of the awaiting super exploitative bosses.The plan is to force people to train with FAS after three months. The reason for this, as put forth by Pipsqueak, is simple: 'The bigger picture is that for every 1,000 people who go to FAS, something like 40% volunteer to go off the register." So, what happens to these people when they go off the register? That's not his problem, it's theirs. They get driven into low paid work, most likely work that's minimum wage.

Does this matter to the egotistical minister in his pinstripe suit? Hell no, just look at the bottom line. People are driven off the live register. That's less people to pay social welfare to. Social Welfare was won by a strong Trade Union movement and now it's under attack by this gobshite. These measures will only have the effect of creating a pool of desperate labour which is prepared to work for very low wages. Great for firms like Dunnes Stores, Burger King and Champion Sports. Not so good for the rest of us.

Brennan goes on to explain "if 150,000 Polish migrants can get employment, then we have to assume that with additional support and training ...our own 150,000 long-term unemployed can do the same." We see the devastating logic of the Minister's grey matter at work here. Perhaps you can drive them into the construction industry Seamie, where some bosses are getting away with illegally paying Polish & Lithuanian builders as little as €4.31 an hour.

The Social Affairs Minster would do better to concentrate on the Organisation for Economic Co-operation & Development report which has Ireland 17th out of 18 OECD states for rates of poverty. The government want to save some shillings by robbing from the poor, and at the same time they want people to be scared into working for crap wages. When that type of bullyboy job is to be done, Pipsqueak Brennan is top of his class.

This article is from Workers Solidarity No96, March April 2007

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