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”.“For the past 20 years of social partnership we have witnessed a wholesale erosion of democracy in our trade unions,” said Gregor Kerr PRO of the WSM. “Events of the past couple of weeks have demonstrated that the gap between the wishes of trade union members and the actions of their so-called leaders is huge and unbridgeable.”

“250,000 public sector workers took strike action on Tuesday 24th November in protest against pay cuts and attempts by the government to pin the blame for the financial crisis on ordinary workers while letting the wealthy away scot free,” Kerr continued. “Instead of using the strength of this action to force the government to change course, the Public Service Committee of the ICTU went in to talks on how a pay cut could be implemented.”

“The so-called ‘agreement’ involving unpaid leave which unions and government almost made was a pay cut by another name,” said Mr. Kerr. “It was an insult to the intelligence of trade union members to try to pretend otherwise. But even more worryingly the supposed ‘transformation agenda’ which this pay cut paved the way for was a huge attack on the living standards and working conditions of trade union members.”

“That anybody who calls him or herself a trade unionist should be party to such a deal is disgraceful,” Kerr continued. “That they were actually complicit in proposing this attack on workers beggars belief. If they had any sense of decency they would immediately resign having failed to represent the views of their members and having acted totally without mandate.”

“However we know that they won’t resign,” said Mr. Kerr, “so we are calling on all trade unionists to get organised within their unions to get rid of them. Members should be looking for special general meetings to be called to discuss these issues. At these meetings, motions of no confidence in the leadership and strategy of the Public Services Committee of ICTU should be passed, and a discussion should begin on formulating a new strategy to defend workers’ pay and conditions against government attacks.”

“Trade unions belong to union members, not to overpaid bureaucrats,” Kerr concluded. “Our challenge now is to reclaim ownership of our unions and begin to formulate a political strategy of making sure that the wealthy are made to pay for the financial crisis they created.”

Statement Ends
For confirmation/further information please contact WSM PRO Gregor Kerr on 086 1501151

Note to Editor:- Workers Solidarity Movement (WSM) is an Irish anarchist organisation with branches in Dublin, Cork and Belfast and members in several other places around the country. WSM members are actively involved in many community and trade union campaigns, and have been involved at local and workplace level in building support for the recent public sector strike, and in Budget Day protests due to take place tomorrow.
For more information about the WSM visit our website www.wsm.ie