Workers Solidarity Movement

We think its a disgrace that people are being to forced to queue in freezing temperatures overnight at the Garda National Immigration Bureau in Dublin.

We met up with a North American student to ask her why this was happening and how we could help.

Q. Why are people queuing over night on Burgh Quay in the middle of winter?
A. There are 39,000 international students at present in Ireland, whereas there are only about 7,000 here on work visas (including new applications and renewals). All non-EU students, with a few special programme exceptions must register annually. The queues are huge, so now people are now *queuing overnight*, from 8 pm, until 8 am the next morning. 

It’s appalling to realise that those of us queuing in the freezing cold are amongst the most privileged immigrants in Ireland. This shows the depths of indignity people bear against fortress Europe.
 

On Saturday, the 6th of October, the Solidarity Stroll took place, organised by the Dosmetic Workers Action Group and the Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland. They were calling for the Irish Government to ratify the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention on Decent Work for Dosmetic Workers (C189). This convention would give dosmestic workers the same rights as other workers.

For almost a year Turkish workers at the multi-national construction company Gama waged a struggle to secure trade union rates of pay, improved working conditions and to reclaim wages which had been siphoned from their pay packets and placed in foreign bank accounts opened in their names but without their knowledge. A co-production by the Socialist Party and Frameworks Films, “The Gama Strike: A victory for all workers” is an attempt to document and highlight the exploitation and subsequent struggle faced by the Turkish workers.

Labour leader Pat Rabbitte showed his opportunism when he called for a look at work visas for EU nationals. He raised the spectre of 40 million poles chasing “Irish Jobs”. It was a thoroughly disappointing turn by Labour but hardly surprising.

Since the April 25th day of action against racism and deportations, the Anti-Racism Campaign has been campaigning to win for asylum seekers the legal right to work. At present, refugees seeking asylum are prohibited from working or taking up full-time education.