MANDATE TRADE UNION JULY 2018 SHOPFLOOR

RETAIL WORKERS FIGHTING BACK l M inister supports striking LloydsPharmacy workers l C ustomers in their thousands back the stoppages l T rade union movement rolls in behind brave strikers FULL COVERAGE – PAGES 2,3,4,5 & 7 General Secretary NEWS John Douglas Mandate Trade Union Lloyds SWTeR mAIuGstH pTu TnAisLhK bIaNdG employer behaviour workers in IT’S proving to be a long hot summer for Mandate hour contracts (they did not); they even went as far members as they attempt to vindicate their basic as setting up their own in-house “yellow union” – and human rights to have a voice at work through a all of this because they feared the collective strength battle for union of their choosing. of workers with a voice in an independent union. Given the recent reactions of employers, such as TK Their first bribe to employees failed miserably and Maxx, Tesco, LloydsPharmacy and others, one would they have promised that they will further increase have to ask why should decent, hard-working employ - pay and improve conditions again – all within the ees have to endure taking to the streets so that they space of 10 weeks when they did nothing for the can have a voice at work through their union? Why previous 10 years. It just goes to prove that the should workers – the majority of whom are lower paid surest way to improve your wages and conditions is decent work – be forced by large corporations to lose wages in order to join and be active in your union – solidarity and to be heard? collectivism pays dividends for workers. The same corporations have a plethora of employer TK Maxx followed a similar pattern of behaviour. organisations to which they belong to represent their Despite the Labour Court advising them to engage best interests – from IBEC, Chambers of Commerce and with the employees’ union, Mandate, they instead a battery of high-powered legal firms and consultants. choose to try and buy the loyalty of workers at local Deep pockets can buy you a voice as an employer and, level – why??? Because they know workers united will and trade at the same time, be used to stop and intimidate work - make a positive difference to terms and conditions. ers having any say whatsoever. Again, our members are smarter and wiser than to fall One would have to ask themselves what are em - for the short-termism of money today, but employer ployers afraid of when workers combine and join payback down the road. unions – what are they trying to hide? Sadly, this is the approach Tesco Ireland is exploring There can be only one answer to the above question following the recent strike. Regardless of the rights – that is that workers combining and joining unions or wrongs of the strike – and there were many union rights tips the power balance relationship away from the em - rights/wrongs on both sides – the recent behaviour ployer and towards the workers, and in doing so gives of Tesco is a clear indication that they are choosing a By David Gibney workers a very real chance of improving their wages path of closing down free and independent workers’ Mandate communications officer and other terms and conditions of employment. voice at work. The LloydsPharmacy example is a case in point. For This is regrettable because Mandate has in the past years the employer simply ignored the predicament of always held Tesco up as being an employer of high just wish it could be sorted as quickly their employees, who were on low wages, zero-hour standing and while at this moment their terms and as possible.” contracts, no sick pay or pension scheme etc., etc. Fi - conditions are among the leaders in retail, Tesco MORE than 250 workers in Ireland’s Mandate highlighted the hypocrisy nally a sizable group of workers decided to stand up to workers would have to ask themselves as to why the largest pharmacy chain, Lloyds Phar - of the company who are happy to ac - this exploitation and join Mandate and collectively company is spending so much time and effort in try - macy,S hoavpefl onoor w gone on strike five cept very beneficial financial con - fight for better wages and condi - ing to snuff out a free and independent workers’ voice times for their basic human right to tracts from the State through the HSE, tions. As soon as they did this, via their unions (Mandate/SIPTU)? be represented by a trade union of but refuse to accept a recommenda - their choice. there was an immediate re - It is difficult to come to any conclusion other than tion from the State’s industrial rela - As is going to print, the tions body, the Labour Court. sponse from LloydsPharmacy, Tesco is prepared to invest large sums of money and workers are preparing for their sixth their employer. They started effort in the short term to buy its employees with the Mandate has apologised for any in - action on Friday, 20th July 2018. convenience caused to the public but throwing money at the long-term aim of removing employees’ future ability lThe strikes relate to a claim by insists any blaSmuep pfor thivee action must workers to buy them off: to independently improve their own terms and con - Mandate on behalf of its more than be directed towards the company they improved wage rates ditions, by collective means. 25l0 members employed by Lloyd - who have forced their workers into Shopfloor (but not nearly enough); In other words, tipping the power balance rela - sPharmacy including: taking industrial action. they introduced a sick pay tionship at work fully in favour of the employer. If l A pay increase and incremental scheme (substandard); they pay scales; this happens workers need to ask themselves are Assistant General Secretary Gerry l The introduction of a sick pay said they would end zero- they prepared to settle for the crumbs off the rich Light told : “The public have scheme; man’s table into the future? been very suportive. They under - Our members and this union – indeed, the whole Security of hours and the elimi - stand what this dispute is about. trade union movement in Ireland – are not prepared nation of zero-hour contracts; and LloydsPharmacy is part of a highly to stand idly by and allow employers to do this. We Improvements in annual leave profitable multi-national corporation are prepared to engage in genuine and good faith entitlements and public holiday pre - who can easily afford to pay their miums. bargaining with any employer, but for those employ - workers a decent wage with fair con - Earlier this year, the Labour Court ers who set out to deny or remove workers’ voices in ditions of employment, including the issued a recommendation stating: elimination of zero hour contracts independent and free trade unions, then we must all “the Court recommends that the par - and an adequate sick pay scheme. stand united together and fight back by all means at ties engage in order to seek agree - “These workers look after their our disposal. ment in relation to the matters raised communities and, in turn, their com - We, the 700,000 union members and our families, by the Trade Union.” pany should look after them and re - must vote with our feet. We must only spend our Lloyds management have refused spect their right to representation.” union euros where workers count. We must punish to accept this recommendation, leav - McKesson Corporation is the bad employer behaviour. ing the workers with no alternative largest pharmaceutical company in but to go on strike. Stronger together, united in solidarity. the world with revenues of €177 bil - June Kelly, a Lloyds Pharmacy lion for 2017/2018. Shopfloor is published bi-monthly by Mandate Trade Union . worker from Ballyfermot, said: “It’s In a letter to Mandate, Heather Mandate Head Office, O'Lehane House, 9 Cavendish Row, Dublin 1 T: 01-8746321/2/3 F: 01-8729581 W: www.mandate.ie heartbreaking. None of us want to be Humphreys TD, Minister for Busi - Design & Editing: Brazier Media E: [email protected]. Shopfloor is edited, produced and printed by trade union labour on strike. We don’t want to let our ness, Enterprise, and Innovation has customers down. Our customers are 2 called on the compaSnHyO,P “FLiOnO RliynJeu lyw 2i0t1h 8 very important to us because we the Court’s recommendation”, to work within the community and we “proactively and constructively en - know them on a first name basis. I gage in order to find an acceptable NEWS

LloydsPharmacy workers at Nutgrove on the picket line during the first stoppage US-style union busting must be defeated THE damage LloydsPharmacy are doing to capital we are all merely a number and a an important dispute in terms of union their reputation in Ireland by prolonging an piece of labour property they believe they recognition and the human right of workers unnecessary industrial dispute is immeasur - Brian own. to be represented by their union in their able. Their dominant ideology is to avoid LloydsPharmacy by their anti-union and workplace. dealing with unions ‘at all costs’ even if it Forbes anti-worker behavior are exhibiting all The entire union movement must roll in impacts on their business, reputation and Mandate the characteristics of a typical American behind this dispute and collectively flex its once loyal customer base. National union-busting corporation which is clearly industrial and political muscle or we continue This approach by LloydsPharmacy is Coordinator not the ‘Irish way’ and is a tactic which could to fail the memory of Connolly and Larkin. replicated by other anti-union employers for unions and getting colder, which in - very well backfire on them over time. Failure to secure a successful and satisfactory across retail including Tesco, Dunnes, Aldi, evitably will see even more frequent attacks LloydsPharmacy customers have a high re - outcome to the LloydsPharmacy dispute for Lidl, IKEA, Paddy Power and a host of others. on workers’ pay and conditions by the em - gard for striking workers which has been striking workers will be a failure for every sin - It is long past time for robust and effective ployer class and their right-wing political al - manifested publicly in many different ways gle union member in both the public and pri - union recognition, collective bargaining and lies. over the past four weeks. There is no nuance vate sectors. access legislation in Ireland. Workers in Ireland are wage slaves, in eter - or subtlety to LloydsPharmacy’s attacks on LloydsPharmacy can and will be brought to Ireland remains one of the shittiest nations nal debt and controlled by those who have no workers or their ham-fisted attempts to the negotiation table by workers, unions and in Europe for workers exercising their collec - interest nor regard for working people or ‘bribe’ them back to work. our collective strength! Together we must win tive voice in the workplace. It’s a cold place anyone for that matter. To employers and The LloydsPharmacy dispute has become this!

Colm Kinsella, Treasurer of Unite 102 Branch, Dublin, presents General Secretary John resolution to the matters at issue.” Irish Congress of Trade Union is cur - Mr Light continued: “This is a well Douglas with a rently preparing members in other generous soli - Mr Light said this was a significant known and sophisticated US-style, darity cheque of trade unions who deliver to Lloyd - union-busting tactic. boost to the workers. €500 for the “Since the beginning of this dis - sPharmacy for an all-out picket. This “The company admitted to the LloydsPharmacy dispute. Sincere pute, the public have been very sup - is a highly unusual action and, if suc - Labour Court that they funded the thanks to the portive of the striking workers, but cessful, will mean their members CRC to the tune of €10,000. There is 40,000 Unite now they have the backing of the would not pass any of our members’ a phrase often used, ‘Those who pay members on the island of Ireland Labour Court, the Minister for Busi - pickets.” the piper calls the tune’, and it for their solidar - ness and politicians from every polit - The company argues that it allows couldn’t be more apt. ity and support. ical party in the Oireachtas. The its workers representation through a “What our members want is inde - Together we are stronger! Seanad also unanimously passed a management established and com - pendent and professional represen - motion tabled by Sinn Fein’s Senator pany-funded ‘CRC’. Mandate say the tation, and nothing less will do. This July 2018 y SHOPFLOOR 3 Máire Devine in support of the work - CRC is a “creature of the company” is their right, and they are fighting to ers a number of weeks ago.” used in order to avoid allowing their obtain that right and Mandate will “Furthermore,” he added, “The workers independent representation. support them to the hilt.” LLOYDSPHARMACY STRIKE Stoneybatter

Blanchardstown

Wicklow Town Killester

Tallaght

Neilstown

Omni Santry

Rowlagh Tonlagee Road

Bray Shankill

4 SHOPFLOOR y July 2018 LLOYDSPHARMACY STRIKE Baltinglass

Stoneybatter Clondalkin

Kilbarrack Lucan Blanchardstown Main St

Ballyfermot

Artane

Coolock Village

Castleknock

Wellington Bridge

Sligo Drumcondra Killester

July 2018 y SHOPFLOOR 5 NEWS EMPLOYMENT LEGISLATION Key changes benefit members Successes on lookback period, banded hours contracts and working hours

By David Gibney A 3 hours or more Less than 6 hours Mandate communications officer B 6 hours or more Less than 11 hours C 11 hours or more Less than 16 hours D 16 hours or more Less than 21 hours E 21 hours or more Less than 26 hours FOR the past three years Mandate members, F 26 hours or more Less than 31 hours particularly those employed in Dunnes Stores, G 31 hours or more Less than 36 hours have been highlighting the plight of low hour H 36 hours or more contract workers with insecure work. Secure HoIunr rse =c eBnett tmero Fnuthtusr, etheir activities have inten - sified with local lobbying meetings taking place all across the country where members called on politicians of all hues to support the charter. As you can see, the above bands are much The charter sets out the minimum terms nec - tigAhtbeirl iatnyd t op rsoeveidke m foorr me uhcohu mrs ore security of essary from any Bill enacted by the Oireachtas income for workers. The next amendment rein - to ensure workers have secure hours and se - forces and strengthens the above provisions. cure incomes. At a Select Oireachtas Committee Hearing on Thursday, 17th May, a number of key amend - Following the Government’s refusal to imple - ments to the proposed Government ‘Employ - ment the Part-Time Worker Directive correctly ment (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill 2017’ in 2004, Mandate had lobbied for a provision in Briefing the politicians: Mandate organisers Moira Murphy, left, and Gerard Halligan with Denise Curran, centre, of Tesco Sligo were voted on and adopted. law whereby workers would have the legal right In total, there were 50 amendments pro - to seek more hours at work. posed by the Government, Willie O’Dea (Fianna Currently a worker in Ireland can seek fewer Fail), John Brady and David Cullinane (Sinn hours at work and transfer from full-time work Our Fein), Willie Penrose (Labour Party), Roisin to part-time, but they cannot move from part- Shortall (Social Democrats) and Joan Collins Lookback period time work to full-time, even when an employer and Clare Daly (Independents4Change). has the capacity to facilitate this. Effectively, Mandate members had all of their This culminated in an amendment tabled by special key demands adopted. Clare Daly and Joan Collins from Independ - ents4Change inserting the following: “In the event of hours becoming available an employer The first major success on the day was in re - shall be required to offer any surplus hours to lation to the lookback period. This is the period thanks existing part-time employees first.” within which an employee on a low-hour con - This key provision had the capacity to trans - tract (for instance 10 hours), but working in ex - form the working lives of tens of thousands of cess of their contractual hours (for instance 30), workers who want more hours at work but can - may seek a review of their hours and is then is - go to... not access them. These people are often re - sued with a new contract that accurately re - ferred to as “underemployed” or “involuntary John Brady TD Joan Collins TD flects the hours they actually work. part-time workers”, and, according to recent fig - The Government had proposed an 18-month ures, Ireland had the second highest rate of un - lookback period. Mandate members had been deremployment in the EU15 behind Spain. seeBkaingd ead mhaoxuimr cuomn tlroaocktbs ack period of 12 While this amendment was passed at the months. After some debate, it was agreed that Committee stage, following intensive lobbying 12 months should be the lookback period. from the employers’ groups including IBEC and A 1 hour 7 hours the Chamber of Commerce, Minister Regina Do - B 8 hours 15 hours herty tabled an amendment in the Dail to have The Government had proposed a banded this provision removed. hourCs struct1u6r heo ausrs follows: 24 hours D 25 hours 34 hours On Wednesday 11th July, the Minister had her way. With a 54% turnout for the vote, 38 TDs, E 35 hours & over mostly from Fine Gael, voted to disallow work - ers the right to seek more hours at work. Only 35 TDs voted to keep the provision. What is so infuriating is that Tanaiste Joan Burton, as the Minister responsible for the cuts to lone-parents allowance, said back in 2015 Mandate had pointed out that the above that the Government was cutting the allowance David Cullinane TD Clare Daly TD Brid Smith TD bands left too much flexibility for workers in order to “incentivise lone parents to seek hours at the discretion of their employer. more hours.” Now the Government has pre - Se - For instance, Band B facilitates a total reduc - vented those same workers from seeking extra cure Hours = Better Future tion in hours of almost 50% – which would con - hours at work and many of the TDs who cut the stitute a corresponding reduction in income of allowance, including Joan Burton, didn’t bother 50%. Band C facilitates a reduction in hours and to turn up to vote. paign for decent work in Ireland. There is no those politicians who have signed up to the therefore income of 33%. Crucially, it was Fianna Fail’s decision to ab - doubt that the efforts by Mandate members charter. And, as we know from our survey of mem - stain on this provision that helped the Minister across the country in recent months was the key Last, but not least, we want to thank all of our bers in Dunnes Stores, unscrupulous employers to allow the employers’ lobby to have their way. reason these amendments were adopted. Unfor - members who lobbied TDs in recent months, all use flexibility around hours and income to con - Also disappointing is the fact that some political tunately we have lost one key amendment, but the Dunnes Stores members of Mandate who trol and discipline staff (85% of Dunnes work - parties, such as Sinn Fein and it is still a step forward for low-paid precarious took industrial action to highlight this issue in ers say allocation of hours is used as a control Independents4Change, imposed a whip on their workers. 2015, and the delegation of Mandate members mechanism). TDCso nancdlu seinosn ured they turned up to vote, Mandate would like to offer a special thank A number of amendments to these bands whereas the Labour Party did not and only two you to the TDs and Senators in Dail Eireann who who attended the May 17th hearing. were proposed but following Mandate mem - out of their seven TDs voted. have pushed this issue relentlessly in recent The legislation has now passed the Commit - 6bers’ lobbying efforts, where we sought a max - years, including David Cullinane TD, John Brady tee and the Report stage in theS HDOaPFiLlO aOnR dy Jhulay s2 0t1o 8 imum flexibility of five hours between bands, TD, Clare Daly TD, Joan Collins TD and Brid now progress through the Seanad. Following the following amendment from David Cullinane The May 17th hearing of the Select Oireachtas Smith TD. We would also like to thank all the that, the President will need to sign the Bill be - and John Brady was adopted: Committee was a massive success in the cam - TDs who supported the amendments as well as fore it becomes legislation. NEWS INTERNATIONAL

Christy Hoffman: ‘united front to meet challenges’ Christy Hoffman

TK Maxx workers Shopfloor elected to head in Arklow join the picket line on July 7th up UNI Global Keogh told : “It’s very disap - workers pointing that it’s come to this. We don’t want to strike. We’d much pre - fer to be at work, but we want that work to to be with decent conditions UNI Global Union’s new General Sec - of employment.” in Arklow retary Christy Hoffman has ex - He added: “We don’t understand pressed her commitment to fighting why we cannot have the same repre - inequality and expanding collective sentational rights as tens of thou - bargaining across the world, follow - sands of other workers in the retail strike ing her election at the labour federa - sector. We hope the public under - tion’s Fifth World Congress in stand why we have to take this action Liverpool in June. and we hope they’ll support us.” Hoffman, who started her union over firm’s Michael Meegan, Mandate’s Divi - career as a shop steward at a jet en - sional Organiser for Wicklow, said: gine factory in Connecticut in the “Once again we have a highly prof - 1970s, vowed to take on the systemic itable and very successful multina - problems caused by an economic Lab Court tional retaileRre grreefuttsainbgle to engage model that works for the few, not the with their workers through their rep - many. resentatives and ignoring the State’s She was an accomplished attorney refusal industrial relations processes. for the US Teamsters union and later headed up SEIU’s international or - “This is regrettable and very frus - ganising department before becom - trating for our members who have ing UNI deputy secretary in 2010. very reasonable demands.” Hoffman said: “We must address Explaining that TK Maxx workers our biggest challenges as a united are low paid and have insecure work, front. No solitary worker, no single MANDATE members working at TK Mr Meegan continued: “Many of the union, and no individual country can Maxx in Arklow, Co Wicklow, went on workers on strike earn slightly over turn the tide in a world with multina - strike on Saturday, July 7th after the €11 per hour after several years of tional corporations setting the rules retailer refused to accept a Labour service. The company makes €125 of the game.” Court recommendation calling on the million in pre-tax profits per year and She succeeds UNI’s previous Gen - multinational retailer to recognise can easily afford to not only pay their eral Secretary Philip Jennings, who led the organisation for 18 years. and engage with their union. staff more, but they can afford to Jennings predicted: “Under The union had taken the case to the bring in pay scales and ensure work - Christy’s leadership the organisation Labour Court over banded hour con - ers have certainty over their earnings will go from strength to strength and tracts, pay scales and advance notice by implementing secure hour con - UK continue on the path to breaking of rosters. But TK Maxx, through the tracts.” shortest possible notice” to discuss as the representative of those em - through and organising.” employers’ organisation IBEC, in - the issues in dispute in a bid to avert ployees who are in membership of Mr Meegan, speaking on the day of formed the Court they would not be the July 7th stoppage but manage - the Union and should engage with it the strike, added: “We have been re - Usdaw Gen Sec attending or heeding the Labour ment refused to meet with the work - in dealing with employment related ceiving supportive phone calls and Court process because they had “di - ers’ representatives. matters…” Mandate claimed the emails from other TK Maxx workers Hannett retires rect employee engagement processes In February, the Labour Court is - company’s refusal to allow their across the country and we are hope - in place.” sued a recommendation that stated: workers representation had left them ful that those workers will join their Mandate had previously written to “…the Court recommends that the with no alternative but to strike. colleagues in the fight for decent con - TK CMaaxx lolffienring to amelelt “Mat thae nEmdplaoyter esho uLld roecocgnaisel th eC Unioon unAcrkliolws T.K Y Moaxux wro rkuern Ciaon ndi tionnse of eemdplosym eynto in uTK ! Maxx.”

Three very successful public events have recently taken place in Bray, LEADING trade unionist John Han - Arklow and Athlone with an array of guest speakers on the theme of nett retired in late June as General Secretary of UK shopworkers’ union Organise for €15 . Local council activists have been to the forefront in Usdaw to be succeeded by his deputy organising and participating in these local events and already local Paddy Lillis. It was under his 14-year steward - activities in a number of these areas have been happening and led by ship that Usdaw experienced an un - Mandate activists as a direct consequence and follow-on from holding precedented 50% increase in membership when trade union a public event. Every Mandate local council is being encouraged and membership across Britain was gen - invited to begin preparations for having a local event in your area . erally in decline. He said: “I am proud to have So talk to your union official or organiser and let’s kick-start the served the union in many roles dur - Mandate fight back at local level for retail and bar workers in your area. ing my 43 years’ membership. Usdaw’s members, activists and reps not only gave me the opportunity to July 2018 y SHOPFLOOR lead the union, but enthusiastically 7 supported everything we are trying to achieve. I am very proud of the work our reps have done.” NEWS

they know that you’re going to stand up for yourself.” She added: “ Our con - €15/hr campaign signals tracts are flexi, they’re 15 to 38 hours, so it’s a huge difference. When you have the four week roster you can plan financially, social engagements, doctor’s appointments, holidays for the kids.” For the chair of the local council, Brian Fogarty, being in a union has fight for decent hourly rate positive benefits across all aspects of his life: “For someone who left school at 16, with no Leaving Cert, it’s great By Roisin Ni Dhalaigh for me to be able to get qualifications They’re through the union, through training. organised I’m actually a tutor for Mandate now. It’s great to be able to train fellow and we need to get members now.” Having brought workers out on IRELAND has the worst trade union “better organised strike several times in recent years, recognition in Europe and this is if we’re going to Mandate is not naive about the tactics linked to growing inequality, a public employers’ will use to undermine meeting in Bray has heard. fight back... trade unions. Speaking at the ‘Organise for €15’ “Tesco are engaging in very clear, event in the Martello Hotel on Bray determined, considered and long- seafront on June 18th, Dr Stevie term campaign of union busting,” said Nolan of the Belfast-based social jus - Forbes. “This is a long-term objective tice co-operative Trademark said that to take the union out of their com - “there is a genuine crisis of inequality ” pany. And they’re not the only ones, in Ireland, in Europe, in the world”. by the way. We’re ready for it. We’ve Describing austerity as a redistrib - ‘It makes sense to pay people a decent living wage’, Brian Forbes told ‘Organise for €15’ meeting in Bray been used now to dealing with ution of wealth, he highlighted that these types of employers. Starbucks paid just €261 in tax in Dunnes have their own 2014 and €45 in 2015 – the equiva - l specific type of union lent of 13 grande lattes priced €3.45 busting. And it’s not each. dealing with outside upl a strong union membership to half-decent local council can do in business. Nolan added that McKesson, the US companies; they’re fight on three fronts: their local community. And if we can “Any em - healthcare giant which owns Lloyd - just bred to be union Industry: pay increases; security; build Bray and make it stronger then ployer who is sPharmacy, has yearly revenue which busting in their DNA reslpect. the others will follow by their exam - calling for a re - is twice that of the Irish state. At the and they train their Political: taxation policy; access ple.” duction is actu - same time, workers at LloydsPhar - managers to be that type to workplaces by trade union ac - Forbes is clear about the positive ally calling against macy have no sick pay and many are of manager. tivists; collective bargaining. benefit this campaign could have on their own best inter - on zero hours contracts. “But it’s clear now that Challenge the market. towns like Bray. He explained: “You est. It makes sense for The ‘Organise for €15’ campaign is there’s a very significant number Building trade union power will hear many employers saying ‘we us to pay people a decent, Mandate’s fightback by and for bar of retailers in the Republic that are take place by re-energising Mandate’s need to cut wages’. All that does is living wage, moving towards €15 per and retail workers. Mandate will using very, very similar tactics to local councils, which comprise work - drain the local community, drain the hour.” campaign for all bar and retail work - what was used on the US unions. ers from different employment in a local businesses of that money that Muireann Dalton, secretary of Man - ers to immediately receive the Living These companies are using similar local area. One of the reasons Bray low paid workers use in their local date’s Bray local council, saw the Wage (currently €11.70 per hour), tactics to those used by American was chosen as a starting point of the economy. changes that came with a strong moving to €15 per hour in time. firms for decades to keep American campaign is because it is “probably “So if you give pay rises to workers union, having gone out on strike as a Mandate sees €15 per hour as both unions down and to keep them out.” one of the best functioning local who are living and who are spending Dunnes worker three years ago: 3% a fair wage and achievable; if the However, Forbes sees few other op - councils that we have in the locality”, their money in the local domestic pay rise each year, a four week roster This article first appeared unionised major retailers can afford tions available to anyone who be - said Forbes. economy that’s going to help busi - rather than just getting it on a Tues - in LookLeft magazine it, so can the non-unionised, ex - lieves in equality: “They’re organised “I just felt that this was a good nesses as well. So it’s a no-brainer for day, monthly communications meet - plained National Coordinator Brian and we need to get better organised place to start because it shows and a lot of businesses to want people to ings, and the use of grievance Forbes. if we’re going to fight back”. The campaign is not focused solely demonstrates to other local councils have more disposable income in their procedures “so the managers aren’t onI €N15 FperO hoDur; iEt’s SabKout buCildHingILDwhCatA a fRullyE functioning and what a pocket so they can spend it in their buKllyeingy t hfie sntafdf aisn mgucsh .b.e. cause l Childcare is one of the top l For the other one-third two out-of-pocket costs for over (39%) the amount spent out of New Congress survey confirms two-thirds (71%) of all working their family budget on childcare families with a pre-school child. is second only to the amount l Early-years childcare is the they spend on mortgage or rent. biggest cost for one-third (32%) l For half (52%) of families childcare ‘like second mortgage’ of all working parents. with two or more children in childcare these costs are their biggest expense each month. l For another one-third (34%) of such families, childcare costs are the second biggest bill they face after mortgage or rent. A NEW survey from the Irish Con - years education and childcare for childcare affordability for families. gress of Trade Unions has confirmed working families, to allow us take a Removing this employment barrier l Three in five (61%) working that childcare is one of the top two detailed look at the implications of for mothers who want to return to families are struggling to cover out-of-pocket costs for over two- what many parents describe as ‘a sec - work will increase the skills level and their childcare costs. These fami - lies have had to borrow or go thirds (71%) of working families with ond mortgage.” size of the workforce. without an essential item, such young children. Commenting on the survey, Con - “This is vital for sustaining spend - as food and heating, in order to The national opinion poll of 1,000 gress General Secretary Patricia King ing on public services and payments, trade union members on early-years said: “Our findings on high childcare pay for childcare in the past year. such as the old age pension, into the childcare costs was conducted online costs and the number of families future. l Over half (56%) of working between June 10th and 23rd. struggling to cover them will surprise families have worked fewer The results informed discussions few working parents.” “However, while encouraging, this support to parents will do nothing to hours in the last year because on the issue during the Labour Em - The Oireachtas passed the Child - childcare costs are too expense Shopfloor help professionalise the early-years ployer Economic Forum talks be - care Support Bill in June, providing to make it affordable to work education and care sector with pay tween Government, union and for the first time a legal entitlement full-time or overtime. employer representatives on July 5th. to financial support to all parents and conditions that make the work - 8 Congress Social Policy Officer Dr with young children who use regis - force feel valued and attract and re - SHOPFLOOR y July 2018 Laura Bambrick told : “This tered childcare services. tain qualified professionals. survey focused on the impact of gov - Ms King continued: “This legisla - “This other side of the childcare ernment underinvestment in early- tion provides a vehicle for addressing coin needs urgent action,” she added. INTERNATIONAL UWORKpERS dRIGHaTS ted Accord covers 2 million garment workers ) 0

By John Douglas . 2 General Secretary Y B

C C (

n g i a sweat-shop and near slave-like condi - p signed the first Accord, preferring to m a

tions that existed before. C

do their own thing – companies such s

IN JUNE 2018, the Bangladesh Transi - But a safe working environment is e

h as North Face, GAP, IKEA, Walmart. We t o tion Accord took effect working to the least workers should be entitled l

C call on all companies to join the Tran -

make garment factories in Bangladesh to. No-one should be killed producing n a sition Accord 2018. e l

safer for workers. throw-away fashion for western con - C

: One of the new features of the Tran - s

This Transition Accord follows on sumers. Workers also need a decent e r sition Accord is that it also covers the u t from the original Bangladesh Accord living wage, a fear free working space, c i production of home textiles, fabric and of 2013, agreed in the aftermath of the an end to sexual harassment, free P knitted accessories – this extends pro - deadly factory collapse that year in trade unions and a right to collective tection and safety to smaller craft and Rana Plaza in which 1,134 garment bargaining. home producers in Bangladesh. workers were killed and hundreds of The new 2018 Transition Accord The Accord offers any company others injured. has now been signed by 175 garment sourcing garments an excellent oppor - The old Accord put in place a safety and textile companies, including some tunity to guarantee factory safety inspector regime which was inde - of the main companies sourcing in through a collective and transparent pendent and verifiable; it closed un - Bangladesh, such as Primark, H&M, proven scheme. safe factories; it monitored major C&A and Aldi. Cheap fashion need not be stained safety renovations; and it set up a More than 1,300 factories and two with the blood of vulnerable workers. compensation fund for those families million workers are covered. The orig - It need not be tainted by poverty that lost loved ones or who were in - inal accord was signed by more than wwagwe.csle aanndcl outnhseacfaem wpaoirgkni.ine g conditions. jured. The Accord of 2013 heralded a 220 companies, so there are some no - Above: Bangladeshi garment workers at union demo; Top: cramped working conditions on factory floor We, as consumers, have a responsi - new beginning for workers in the gar - table companies that have refused to ment industry in Bangladesh. It gave sign this time. bility to shop with our conscience. them some hope of a safe and free These include Abercrombie and For more information go to woIrkNing FenOvironDmeEnt SratKher thEanM the PFLitOch YandM othEerN comTp anies that never Revenue’s mean-spirited change on uniform expenses

By John Douglas General Secretary

cover the purchase and maintenance We understand that other groups icy mandarins in the Revenue Com - make a claim to be backdated for the of staff uniforms necessary for the of workers – hotel workers, bar staff missioners, it means a lot to lower allowance. FOLLOWING a review of flat-rate performance of their retail duties. (€93), construction workers (€103 - paid workers. Mandate will continue From 2019, if you continue to (employment) expenses by the Rev - So for workers earning more than €175), Rail/bus staff (€160) – have to lobby with other unions for a full spend money on either purchasing or restoration of this allowance. enue Commissioners, they have de - €16,500 per year this meant an an - also had their ‘flat rate’ expenses tar - maintaining your uniform, or any cided to cease the current automatic nual net benefit of either €24 or €48 In the meantime, if you do earn geted and withdrawn. other expenses “wholly and exclu - system which applies to shop assis - depending on their tax band and This is a clear case of those in pub - more than €16,500 per annum (i.e. sively necessary in the performance tant grades with effect from the end earnings. lic office not understanding the reali - the national minimum wage – below which you pay no tax) and you have of your duties at work”, make sure oJufl yt 2h0e1 8 2y0S1HO8P FtLaOxO R year. Mandate made a detailed submis - ties of working in the real world. Our 9 Essentially, all shop assistants were sion to the Revenue Commissioner members in Mandate are lower paid not got your €121 flat rate allowance you keep receipts and make a claim entitled to an un-vouched income dis - seeking the retention of the old flat and while €24 or €48 per year might each year, contact Revenue Online with these receipts at the end of regard allowance of €121 per year to rate expense system but to no avail. not seem too much to lose to the pol - Service (ROS) via ‘My Account’ and 2019. SHOP STEWARDS TRAINING PRVOIEGWRAPMOIMNT E 2018

Course Title Course Dates Duration Location Closing date

Employment Law Level 2 Sept 3 1 day Dublin 23/07/2018

Communications & Personal Development QQI Level 5 Sept 11 - Dec 4 14 weeks 1 night p/w Dublin 23/07/2018

IT Skills QQI Level 5 Sept 11 - Dec 4 14 weeks 1 night p/w Dublin 23/07/2018

IT Skills Advanced Sept 12 - Dec 5 14 weeks 1 night p/w Dublin 23/07/2018

Union Representative Introductory Sept 10/11/12 3 days Limerick 23/07/2018

Union Representative Advanced Senior Sept 17/18/19 3 days Cork 23/07/2018

Union Representative Introductory Sept 24/25/26 3 days Dublin 23/07/2018

Training and Development Part 1 October 1/2/3/4/5 5 days Dublin 13/08/2018

Trade Union Representative QQI Level 5 October 8/9/10 3 days Dublin 13/08/2018

Health and Safety Level 5 October 15/16/17/18/19 5 days Dublin 13/08/2018

Union Representative Introductory October 22/23/24 3 days Galway 13/08/2018

Union Representative Advanced Senior November 5/6/7 3 days Dublin 13/08/2018

Negotiation Skills 3 November 12 1 day Dublin 13/08/2018

If you are interested in attending any of these courses, please contact your Mandate Union Official or Mandate Organising & Training Centre on 01-8369699 or email [email protected] l Dublin courses will take place in Mandate Organising & Training Centre l Please note venue/dates may vary l To secure your place book early to avoid disappointment

House Committee training in progress at Tesco Birr with Mandate Midlands Divisional Organiser Mandy Kane, far left

Union Representatives Introductory Course The Union Representative Introductory Training Course is for new shop stewards/union representatives. The course aims to provide information, skills and knowledge to our shop tewards/union representatives to assist them in their role in the workplace. COURSE CONTENT: • Background to Mandate • The role and responsibilities of a Shop Steward/Union Representative • Examining disciplinary/grievance procedures • Developing negotiating skills • Representing members at local level • Communication skills/solving members’ problems • Organising, Recruitment and Campaigns • Induction presentations.

CERTIFICATION AND PROGRESSION: Members who successfully complete this course will obtain a Mandate certificate. They may progress to a Union Representative Advanced Course and to other relevant training courses offered by Mandate.

If you are interested in this course, please contact your Mandate official or Mandate's Training Centre at 01-8369699 . Email: [email protected]

10 SHOPFLOOR y July 2018 UEYnEWdIeTNrESsS tRaEPnOdRT ing Palestine’s terrible beauty

By Ruairí Creaney Communication Workers Union

the terror these settlers inflict on old protester in Gaza during the Great Palestinians. March of Return. A 17-year-old was RECENTLY I visited Palestine to Literally every Palestinian city in murdered by a direct shot to the head speak at the conference of the Pales - the West Bank is surrounded by at the same protest. The following tinian Postal Service Workers’ Union these ever-growing metropolises. day, an 11-year-old boy was mur - (PPSWU) in the West Bank city of The arterial routes between the main dered by an Israeli sniper. Israel’s Jericho on behalf of my union, the Palestinian cities are intersected by strategy of murdering and crippling CWU. settler-only roads which the natives young Palestinians is how they sow My visit to the occupied country are banned from using as well as per - this hopelessness among the youth. was easily one of the most powerful manent army checkpoints, making a However, I also found that the bru - experiences of my life. Before I went, Palestinian state within the confines tal occupation and Israel’s attempt to I thought I had a fairly extensive of the two-state solution totally im - humiliate an entire nation have led to knowledge of what is happening in possible. an incredible resilience among Pales - Palestine, but experiencing the occu - These injustices are compounded tinians and a desire to better them - pation and Apartheid at first hand by the fact that these Jewish-only selves collectively. was a massive shock for me. cities are built on what was, until They are obsessed with education. very recently, Palestinian vCihlelackgpeosin at nin d Most of the Palestinians my age are It forcefully brought home the utter Bethlehem humiliation that is inflicted on the farmland that were ethnically able to speak two or three languages Palestinian people by Israel. cleansed. and have Masters degrees in educa - Established in 2012, the PPSWU is tion, computer science and finance. a young union but already represents The first question that got asked of the majority of workers in Palestine me every time I met a young Palestin - Post, and is one of many independent ian was about my university educa - trade unions that have been formed tion. in the past 10 years. The growth of I was also asked about Irish history these unions is an impressive and literature, and their grasp of both achievement, given the harsh social was impressive. One lad, Ishmael, conditions under which they were was quoting lines of James Joyce and built. Oscar Wilde and asking if I had read The two things that had the most their books and was aware of the profound effect on me throughout the quotes. To my embarrassment, I had trip were the Israeli ‘settlements’ in to answer, “no”. the West Bank and the abject hope - The youth of Palestine recognise lessness of the youth of Palestine. that education is a weapon of the op - Firstly, the ‘settlements’. I use in - pressed, and one day they will use verted commas when talking about this education to smash the them, as the term ‘settlements’ im - Apartheid system. The Palestinians plies that they are small villages. Is - are a warm, beautiful, strong and de - rael’s ‘settlements’ in the West Bank termined people. They ask us not for are actually sprawling cities housing our charity, but our solidarity. They tens of thousands of people, most of are not charity cases; they want to be Secondly, the youth. From those I whom are actually from the United treated as equals with the rest of the spoke to, Palestinians in their 20s human race. States. and 30s have close to zero hope that The huge solidarity that Irish peo - These are cities complete with they will ever see justice and freedom ple continually express for their shopping malls, universities, fire de - struggle does not go unnoticed in partments, luxury apartment com - for their country. Many of them, see - Palestine. In times of abject hopeless - plexes, hospitals, schools and Top: Former ing no way of effectively resisting the Palestinian homes in ness, strong displays of international factories. Around them is a fortifica - US-backed system of Apartheid, have East Jerusalem now given up hope of flourishing in their solidarity can lift spirits in the dark - tion of heavily armed soldiers, mili - occupied by Israeli est of situations, and many Palestini - tary jeeps and electrified razor wire settlers own country and have now become Above: Illegal resigned to the idea of eventually try - ans expressed their gratitude to me designed to keep out the indigenous for Ireland’s role in giving them this people. settlement in the ing to emigrate. West Bank They are rightly asking how people small bit of hope when much of the The settlers, too, are heavily armed. Left: The Apartheid living in refugee camps can ever de - rest of the world turns a blind eye. When I was in Hebron, a gang of Wall in Bethlehem It has given me a much deeper re - around 40 settlers passed us on the feat a brutal Israeli army that is funded and armed by the most pow - spect for the tireless solidarity ac - street, many of them openly bran - tivists in Ireland in the vital and often erful empire in human history, the dishing M-16 rifles, an obvious at - thankless work that they do. United States. They are asking what Ruairí Creaney is an organiser with the tempt to intimidate any Palestinian Palestine is a beautiful country they can do when the international Communications Workers’ Union that lives anywhere near them. with a beautiful people. I hope, one Being so close to such fanatically community allows Israel’s racist day, we can visit Palestine again when supremacist people was a scary expe - regime to act with impunity. it is free, from the river to the sea. rience even for a white Western Eu - On the day I landed in Palestine, Is - roIpeNan FlikeO meD, so EI caSn oK nly iMmagAine NDATE TRADE UNION raeli tank fire murdered a 24-year- Retired Workers’ Group – get involved!

A GROUP of Mandate Trade Union activists It is planned – subject to numbers – that care as well as a lack of access to some State has decided to set up a Retired Workers’ the new group will arrange a half-day inau - services. Group within the union. gural conference to agree and set out an So, if you have retired or are about to retire, This group will be a national group com - agenda for the future as well as to elect a or know a colleague who is, or has, retired, prising of retired Mandate members who will steering committee. please bring this notice to their attention. advocate on behalf of retirees on issues, in - There can be no doubt that retired Man - You – or they – can express your/their inter - cluding pensions, social welfare, healthcare date members and retired retail workers gen - est by emailing [email protected] or by etc, with the Government, the trade union erally have many pressing concerns such as contacting Mandate Head Office on 01 movement and local authorities. inadequate or no work pensions, poor health - 8746321 Picture: Public Domain July 2018 y SHOPFLOOR 11 NEWS Mayo ROC committee meet up in Castlebar to plan campaign By Ciaran Campbell Divisional Organiser

THE Mayo ‘ROC’ Committee (Recruitment, Organ - ising and Campaigning), right, which was formed in early 2017, held a very successful meeting of all the Mayo Local Councils on May 17th in the Breaffy Hotel, Castlebar – a ‘Fair Hotel’. Each of the Mayo Local Councils was repre - sented at the meeting. There was discussion and analysis of the Biennial Delegate Conference, and – importantly – how best to implement subsequent union policies and how they relate to the Mayo ROC’s ‘Decency at Work’ campaign. This campaign, which was successfully launched in May last year, embraced and re-invigorated the union’s ‘Respect for Retail Workers’ Campaign. In October 2017, the Mayo ROC Committee also hosted a trade union delegation from Germany set - ting out for the visitors the hard economic facts for workers and their families living in Ireland’s north - ern and western regions. The delegation was also informed of ongoing workplace pressures faced by retail workers as well as Mandate’s continuing struggles to combat these in the face of hardening employers’ attitudes and behaviours – not least the lack of legislative collective bargaining rights. While still in its formative stages, those attend - ing the May 17th meeting agreed to press ahead Alke Boessiger chosen as next UNI deputy general secretary with the Mayo ‘Decency at Work’ campaign. A further meeting was scheduled for June 7th with a view to involving activists from across the county in the implementation of the union’s full Alke, friend of sHtrEaAteLgTy Hon zero hour and banded hour contracts, respect for retail workers, retail pay, and terms and Cconeditiorns.vical Check Mandate, gets scandal flags up leading UNI role need to reshape A LONG-TIME friend of Mandate has just been chosen as the next deputy general secretary of UNI Global Union. Alke Boessiger will take up health service her new position during the UNI World Con - gress in Liverpool in June. She has had a long career at UNI Global Union in a variety of different roles and sectors includ - ing as Head of ICTS and UNI Commerce. “I am incredibly happy to be chosen as the next UNI deputy general secretary,” said Boes - THE Irish Congress of Trade Unions has claimed siger. “I have been at UNI for much of my life as the Cervical Check scandal highlights the “danger a trade unionist and have held many different of outsourcing in essential services such as health” responsibilities in various departments and sec - and reinforces the need to move to a publicly con - tors. trolled and universally accessible single-tier na - “My trade union roots are in Germany, where tional health service. I learned what our work is all about – making General Secretary Patricia King said: “The scan - workers’ lives better. Fighting against inequality, dal highlights the danger of outsourcing in essen - unfair treatment and striving for an eSqhuoaplf sloocri - tial services such as health, where direct control is ety that is inclusive and gives opportunities to transferred to a private sector organisation abroad, all.” as happened in this instance. Some women may Commenting on the appointment, Mandate now have paid the ultimate price for this. It is com - General Secretary John Douglas told : pletely unacceptable.” “Alke has shown over many years that she is a Ms King said the Oireachtas Sláintecare Report Veronica’s 25 years of service wonderful advocate for workers – and I have no recognised the need to move towards a universal, doubt that she will put that experience to great fully integrated, single tier public health service VERONICA Madden receives a well-de - down and thanks her for the many years use in her new role at UNI. She has also been a that guarantees access and quality care, regardless served floral presentation from General of loyal service she has given to members valued guest at our Mandate conferences in Ire - of income. Secretary John Douglas as a mark of ap - in Dunnes.” land when she headed up UNI Commerce. We “This will require very major additional invest - preciation on her retirement as a shop However, he pointed out that Veronica wish her every sucCcesso in hner nnew eposcitiotn.” ment and Congress believes that a long-term target steward after 25 years serving colleagues “wasn’t going quietly”. Callan added: “She of 10% of GDP should be set for health spending.” in Dunnes Stores on Cardiffsbridge Road, has already plans in place to elect a new She added: “It is time to immediately end the Finglas, Dublin. shop steward in her store and has also with outsourcing of critical health services and to pro - Industrial Officer John Callan told promised whoever takes over that role her vide a road map towards the implementation of Shopfloor : “Everyone at Mandate wishes continued support and guidance. Now Mandate the recommendations of the Slaintecare report. Veronica all the very best as she steps that’s organising at its best!” www.mandate.ie “Only then will women and their families be Picture: Rodrigo Senna (CC BY 2.0) 1w2 holly confident that we have a health system ca - SHOPFLOOR y July 2018 pable of providing the highest standards of care, with respect to cancer prevention and overall health care for women in Ireland.” IN FOCUS Keyboard warriors: why there’s nothing wrong with click click click campaigning... Brian Forbes Revolutionary pyjama

MORE THAN half the population of the globe now has access to the in - ternet. The use of social media to - wards developing online support activists really matter for social justice campaigns has risen dramatically over the past number of years. There are two differing opinions on the actual value of social media and in particular towards measur - ing its effectiveness and value. Some feel that it is merely a con - in 2017 he did successfully manage to and winnable. In 2011, researchers Furthermore, they found my so- ers in Ireland. Mandate will not science cleanser for people who win significantly more seats for the in Georgetown University studied called “pyjama activists” to be a “crit - ignore the obvious advancements feel the need to empathise with Labour Party and a 40% share of the what they termed “slacktivism” and ical periphery” towards mobilising in social media technology and will others in struggle while others feel vote. Corbyn’s increased social net - which I term “pyjama activism” and action. By sharing a tweet their ac - always organise and mobilise our it is a method of channelling anger work activity has also proved very found that contrary to popular belief tions help to double the reach of the members when required. and discontent. popular with a younger demographic. the critics of “pyjama activism” were core protestors. Social media, like garlic bread, is Whatever your feelings, one Mandate understands the increas - wrong. It is clear that boosting the overall part of the future as long as it is not thing is clear, social media is here ing value of social media in speaking They found those who use social digital visibility of one of our union solely relied on for outreach to our and it’s here to stay. directly to our members and we are media twice as likely to volunteer campaigns is important but the real members. It must and it will be Political parties, always looking increasingly providing tailored mes - their time and concluded that pro - key to success for trade unions in util - used by Mandate as part of our ar - for an edge over opponents, have sages for our members in our many moting causes on social media can in - ising petitions is combining the on - moury against bad employers. fully embraced the concept of effec - different unionised employments. crease – and certainly does not line activity with a well organised On their own, a rally and an on - tive digital media campaigning and As campaigners we must embrace decrease – offline engagement. network of core protestors. line petition separate from each the influence it can bring to bear on the obvious potential in social media A more recent study on youth em - It is a well organised online digital other could be as useless as each voters. messaging and outreach to members powerment through social networks platform with traditional trade union other. However, combine that on - Demos research from late 2016 and also – critically – the outreach to in Spain found that 44.9% of young mobilising and organising that will line petition with a well-organised found that 23% of UK adult social those future union members who people considered themselves regu - achieve success and a better working public rally and coordinated, ongo - media users believe social media have yet to join us in struggle but who larly committed to social causes. A environment for retail and bar work - ing online and offline campaigning platforms help them “understand definitely will if we are relevant and majority – 64% of those surveyed – and you create a savage beast of parties’ policy positions” prior to reach them with a cause that is just stated they’d signed an online peti - worker power that will force any election and 26% said it made tion, with 44% saying they’d at - and all bad employers to sit up them more likely to vote. tended a demonstration and 39% and take notice or face the It took Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour donating to an NGO. retail consequences. Party until 2017 to really exploit the massive potential of social media by not only investing capital but also through tacti - cally pushing ads that were highly targeted and positive in nature in comparison to the Tories who stayed nega - tive and failed to engage their audience. Although Corbyn was - n’t elected Prime Minister

Pictures: Zeyus Media (CC BY 2.0); monicasecas (CC BY 2.0); Public Domain Email us at DO YOU HAVE A MANDATE-THEMED STORY OR PIC? [email protected]

July 2018 y SHOPFLOOR 13 CONFERENCE REPORT

14 SHOPFLOOR y July 2018 CONFERENCE REPORT

OvER THE last two years Mandate they stood on the line and they held Trade Union has cemented our posi - the line. tion as the foremost campaigning Only a few times in the past have I union in Ireland. witnessed such strong shows of soli - Our members have fearlessly darity from the public and other fought to defend not only their rights, unions. One was the Dunnes Stores but injustice in society both here and Strike in the 1980s and the second abroad. was the Miners Strike in the UK when Our members continue to cam - Margaret Thatcher tried to smash paign and struggle for legislation their union. which would outlaw zero hour con - The challenges facing Mandate tracts and precarious employment Trade Union are many and serious. contracts – our members in Dunnes Our sector is going through funda - Stores are spearh“eNaod imngo rteh dise lacayms – - mental and radical change – self- pJuasitg dno b trhineg riinggh th tehiirn mg aesnsda dgeo tiot neovwer!y” scanning and internet retail technol - TD across the country and our mes - ogy are having a profound impact on sage to these TDs from today’s con - the structure and delivery of retail. ference is simple: The jury is out as to the future of bricks and mortar stores. Our members continue to cam - But change is inevitable – the retail paign against water charges and sector in five or 10 years will be a to - water privatisation and they are de - tally different one than the one we manding the referendum on water know today. Our union will have to ownership which was passed by the adapt and evolve to meet these chal - Dail. lenges. We have to consider all our Our members continue to fight for options and take all opportunities. decency and respect at work includ - There is no room for personal ing the right to be a member of and agendas or big egos. The next Man - be represented by a union of their date Conference in 2020 could possi - choice. bly be my last but I can assure you Struggles and campaigns are in our that it will not be the last retail work - D“aNnA in, wjuhreyt thoe or nite w isa as nA ipnajurtrhye tiod aSlol.u” th ers’ union conference. It is vital that Africa or Apartheid Israel, whether it the incoming National Executive is Tesco workers or Dunnes workers, Council understand these challenges housing or healthcare – our moto is and do all in their power to ensure that when we meet again in 2020, we Our members will not be bullied or have an army of motivated activists in silenced by multinationals, our union every town and city across Ireland. will not turn our backs on our mem - So, that is our overall mission. But bers, we will not take the path of least what should it mean to retail workers resistance, for it’s struggle that makes on the shop floor? There are some us stronger – our activists have cut basic and fundamental rights which their union teeth on adversaries. shlould be at the core of our mission So for those employers who believe and which we should fight for, in they can browbeat Mandate and our short ‘A Union Charter for Decency members – they are sadly mistaken – anld Respect in Retail’ to include: their vindictive actions only make us John Douglas: visionary No retail worker in Ireland strWoneg weril al nndo tm goor ea wdeatye!r mWien eadre. pre - speech to conference should earn less than the living wage paArendd ,t oa pwlaayr tnhine glo tnog agnaym e!m Wpelo wyeilr l (currently €11.70 per hour) woviesrhcionmg eto! inhabit the space recently The union rate should be at least vacated by Ryanair: 30l% above the living wage [i.e. an General Secretary John Douglas ’ address to conference hourly rate of over €15 per hour] – we have already achieved this in some companies. At this point I would like to pay a l Every worker should be treated special tribute to the Tesco workers. with dignity and respect at work – The workers in 22 stores who this includes the right to be a member stood in solidarity with their pre-96 of, and represented by, a trade union. colleagues who were being unfairly Organise and mobilise Contracts of employment should targeted by the company. offler workers a certain and decent Those 2,000 union members stood weekly wage. Exploitative flexibility on the picket line for 11“ daany isn, jnuorty f otor is lre placed by fair and reasonable monoer ies amno inejuyr, yn toot a flol.”r better condi - work/life balance agreements. tions, but in solidarity with their fel - Workers have access to a home, low union members and colleagues. edTuhcaist iiosn t haen du nhieoanl’tsh v ciasiroen. of the fu - They lived that motto to seize the future! ture oAf lwl owrko rinke rrest awil.i lIlf whaovreke arsn s hadare e- oqura tvei siroenti, rtehmene ntht eiyn cshoomueld f ororgma ntihse The bravery of these Tesco work - not surrender! We will not tip the fore - Satnadt em/oEbmilpisleo –y ethr. is vision is achievable, ers, young and old, was humbling. lock! but it must be won. They endured a bullying and victimi - sation campaign by the company, but still they stood solid. Even as we Connolly and Larkin, and indeed line. Our recent struggles have shown speak here today, many of th‘Porso e - Michael O’Lehane, the ex-General us the importance of public support bjercatv Bel amcke’m habse rnso ta groen set ialwl abye.ing tar - Now before we re-engage in a long Secretary of the IUDWC, understood and the support and solidarity of This mission and our vision for re - tail workers starts here today with geted and victimised. war of attrition, we call on Tesco to the importance of and the relation - other unions. you, each and every one of you must The company is still attempting to cease ‘Project Black’ and return to the ship between the industrial struggle The Irish public can spot injustice damage and destroy this union, a mile away. We don’t like bullies in return to your shop, your town and negotiating table, there is but a short and the political struggle. We must do it! Ireland, and we have a history of organise. Together we must build a window of opportunity. We are continuing their mission of union network across Ireland, a voice Let Tesco hear this and hear it standing up against the odds. The It has been my privilege over the building a strong industrial move - for workers in every town (the farm - clearly, Mandate Trade Union can be public get it, they voted with purses last 40 years to stand side by side, ment and a strong political move - ers can do it, the employers can do it). reasonable when faced with reason - and feet and stood shoulder to shoul - able employers and reasonable ac - often on the line with Dunnes work - ment – for what good is a 3% pay der with our members in recent dis - tions, but we will fight to the last ers, M&S workers, Tesco workers, bar increase if your members cannot af - Our officials and staff are fully com - putes. member standing to defend workers’ workers and workers right across the ford to put a roof over their heads? mitted to working with you to create rights and the rights of workers to be retTahili ss eucntioorn. Ii sh ainv es twroitnnge hssaendd sin, ictr’se din - Our political education programme On behalf of Mandate I want to say a Stnraotniognera lt ogMetahnedr,a Oterg acnoisme,m Orugnainty - represWenet ewdi lbl yn otht ibse u dneifoena t–e tdh! eW weo wrkil-l itbhlee h barnadvse royf tahned m uenmseblefirssh. sacrifice, I and organising programme are the a big thank you to the shopping pub - aiscer, oOsrsg aIrneislaen!!!d. So thank you dele - Jeurlys 2i0n1 8 RyySHaOnPaFLiOrO pR layed the long game have watched young men and women foundations for everything we do. lic for their support and solidarity. gates, thank you National Executiv1e 5 and won. Our Tesco members will do step up and become leaders. So whether it is decent wages, The support and solidarity from Council and thank you staff. whatever it takes and for as long as it health care or housing, our members other unions was also amazing, they takes: and their union will be on the front put their hands into their pockets, CONFERENCE REPORT

We need statutory collective bargaining rights

By David Gibney Mandate communications officer

tives when requested to do so. Such and highly-profitable employers ig - ment to recognise and accept that the an approach also has the effect of nore their human right to be repre - momentum for such change comes MANDATE Assistant General Secre - rendering the value of a worker’s sented by a trade union of their from the behaviour of their own tary Gerry Light has slammed the constitutional right to association to choice. members like Dunnes who constantly “anti-union behaviour” of retailers that of junk status. The balance as it “Dunnes Stores have been consis - refuse to reasonably recognise the le - such as Dunnes, Tesco, Paddy Power, currently exists is totally skewed in tent in ignoring not only Mandate, but gitimate right of their workers to be LloydsPharmacy, IKEA, TK Maxx, Lidl favour of the employer.” also the Labour Court and the state’s represented by a trade union?” and Aldi and called for statutory col - Gerry Light: ‘balance skewed in favour of bosses’ Ireland is one of the few countries industrial relations mechanisms,” he He continued: “Employers cannot lective bargaining rights for workers in the European Union without a leg - said. “However, now we see Tesco, have it both ways. They cannot be al - in Ireland. islated right to collective bargaining. Paddy Power, LloydsPharmacy, IKEA, lowed to refuse to collectively bargain He made the comments as he Mr Light claimed that a “volun - TK Maxx, Lidl and Aldi, to name but a while at the same time bemoan and spoke to 300 shopworkers and bar tarist model” only works when both few, who are refusing to engage with fight against the introduction of workers gathered for the Mandate employers have decided, probably in sides are prepared “to volunteer workers through their union.” statutory measures designed to pro - conference in Wexford in April. collaboration with each other, to hide [and] to engage”. Anticipating resistance from em - tect some of the most vulnerable Mr Light insisted the entire trade behind an extreme interpretation of He warned that while trade unions ployers’ representatives who are ex - workers in our society. union movement had to mobilise the voluntarist industrial relations were always happy to negotiate, em - pected to vigorously campaign “So let IBEC go knock on their ahead of the next election to make model of engagement. ployers were increasingly refusing to against stronger workers’ rights, Mr members’ doors and explain that the sure that workers’ have a stronger “They believe that volunteerism participate in the process. Light said they only had themselves potential introduction of new legisla - voice in the workplace. means an absolute right of not having He added: “In recent months Man - to blame. tion is only coming to the fore be - LHoe toldw deleg atpes: “Ian reycent ‘yepars rteo endgage iwcith aworkmers’ reperesennta -t’d acte maembuers hsavee seedn hig h-bprofiyle d“Doe theny neivear stolp for ofne mbo - acausse oif cthei r rbehiagviourh.” ts

CONGRESS General Secretary Patri - unions can exercise their right of ac - policy of past governments to cede and warned that it must not be used cia King has claimed the “predica - cess to be heard.” the housing market to developers as a “pretext” to “dismantle hard-won ment” of the prevalence of low pay in And Ms King also pointed out that and landlords, Ms King said that as a social rights and protections or drive Ireland is a direct result of the ab - around 160,000 workers were in result “profit and greed” had “re - down employment standards”. sence of the right to collectively bar - precarious jobs across Ireland. placed social need”. Turning to women’s rights, she gain. She claimed the Government’s ap - This had led in turn to thousands predicted that 2018 would be a “sig - In a wide-ranging speech to the proach to precarious working as con - of people – “including thousands of nificant year for women” – as the Mandate conference in Wexford, she tained in the Employment children” – being either homeless or year marked the centenary of women pointed out to delegates that 70% of Miscellaneous Provisions Bill was living in totally unsuitable accommo - over 30 being awarded the right to workers “earn at or below the aver - “deficient”, she suggested, and dation. She continued: “The damage vote as well as the then-upcoming age industrial wage”. needed several amendments. done to those children in their form - Eighth Amendment referendum. Ms King said: “That predicament Ms King continued: “We need to ative years will never be undone and “We know from experience,” she arises directly as a result of the ab - see the total abolition of zero-hour they will never regain their lost child - told delegates, “that each progressive sence of a right to collectively bargain and ‘if and when’ contracts. We need hood which is surely a cause for na - move we make would not be realised in this state. to see, the establishment of a mini - tional shame. without the involvement and advo - “As you know our current laws mum three-hour payment for work - “While some of our politicians try cacy of the trade union movement.” don’t even officially recognise our ers at their normal rate including at to normalise the scandalous extent of Ms King continued: “Laws and right to exist as a movement. We did JLC and SEO rate, even if no work is this housing emergency we in the state agencies can write and regulate Patricia King: cause of progress needs unions make some progress in the 2015 Act provided. trade union movement cCohnatritneur ef otor our rights in the workplace, but it and throughout the decades through “We need to see the proposed dHeomusaingd Rthigaht tshey act to end the mis - Char - takes union members to observe and relentless efforts and battles of the bands for banded hour contracts nar - ery of thousands of people.” ter enforce them on the ground, in the trade union movement, have sought rowed with a look-back period of no In response, Ms King said that Con - factories and shop floors and build - to mitigate the power imbalance be - more than 13 months.” gress had produced a ing sites and offices and classrooms tween labour and capital. Ms King told conference: “Over the with five straight for - TDs had been asked to sigCnh athrete r and hospital wards. “But this situation will only be ad - past decade imposed austerity meas - ward demands: a major public house and that “we intend shortly to “There can be no doubt that with - dressed when we achieve collective ures have resulted in a level of social building programme; a legal right to publish the names of those who sup - out the recent action of Tesco or 1b6 argaining rights, where workers can scarring not seen in this country be - housing; protection for the tenants; ported and – importantly – those Dunnes stores workSeHrOsP FtLhOOeR GyoJuvlye 2r0n 1-8 bargain the value of their labour, fore. One such scar evident to all of an end to forced evictions; and a na - who did not support the . ment would not be contemplating without fear and claim their fair us, is the current housing emer - tional land management policy. On Brexit, she suggested there was legislation to improve the rights of share and where members of trade gency.” Attacking the “unforgiveable” She informed delegates that all “no such thing... as a positive Brexit” low wage workers.” CONFERENCE REPORT Call on retail and bar workers –organise for €15 an hour By David Gibney Mandate communications officer

of the social problems we see today Spencer, Boots, Penneys, Supervalu doubt that many employers can af - freezes or reduced terms and condi - including the dramatic increase in and others and has led the way in lob - ford to increase pay rates for their tions. But now that the economic cri - GENERAL Secretary John Douglas homelessness across the country, bying for legislation to protect low staff and give them secure hour con - sis is coming to an end and we are called on all workers in the retail and along with high poverty and depriva - hour contract workers from exploita - tracts. They simply choose not to, and supposedly experiencing an eco - bar trades to join their union and win tion rates. tion. “The benefits that our members instead prioritise shareholders and nomic recovery, it’s only fair that re - pay rates of at least €15 per hour. “If we are to tackle this crisis,” con - enjoy in retail, including pay rates in wealthy owners over their workers. tail and bar workers share in that Speaking at the union’s Biennial tinued Mr Douglas, “it will mean win - excess of €15 per hour in some in - “There is only one real and effective recovery,” said Mr Douglas. Delegate Conference in Wexford on ning significant pay increases for stances, were not handed to them solution to this, and that is for all re - Mr Douglas said Mandate had al - April 23, he said “no retail worker in many low paid workers.” freely by some benevolent employer. tail and bar workers to get organised ready lodged claims in a number of Ireland should earn less than the liv - Mandate has been winning pay in - They were fought for and they were and prepared to stand up for better retail outlets to achieve the union’s ing wage,”currently set at €11.70 an creases for its 40,000 members since won through workers joining their conditions of employment.” objective of decent work in the retail hour. 2013 with the union quantifying trade union and getting active,” said Mr Douglas said that Mandate is a sector. And he went further, stating that these at more than €60 million. Mr Douglas. responsible trade union and if an em - “Mandate has lodged claims in the “union rate” should be “at least A survey conducted by Mandate in “Ireland is one of the most prof - ployer can prove they have a genuine Dunnes Stores, Tesco and others 30% above the living wage”, which 2016 showed that unionised workers itable countries in the world to be a inability to increase wages, his union which would have life changing im - equates to €15 per hour. in retail outlets earned 30% more major retail outlet, and we know that will not be left wanting. pacts for our members. We intend to Mr Douglas claimed Ireland had a than those in non-union outlets. Tesco Ireland make approximately “During the financial crisis, our follow up with these claims, and to “very serious problem” – low pay and The union has also won secure €250 million in profit every year union and our members behaved re - campaign and mobilise to win signif - insecure work coupled with a high hour contracts in a range of employ - while Dunnes Stores make €200 mil - sponsibly and reluctantly did deals to icant and lasting change for workers cost of living. “This is leading to many ments including Tesco, Marks & lion,” he said. “There is absolutely no protect jobs. That often meant pay in the retail and bar trades.”

CONFERENCE PICTURES: Tommy Clancy

July 2018 y SHOPFLOOR 17 Picture: safesolar (CC BY 2.0) NEWS COMMENT INTERNATIONAL Brands probe Our union offers abuse claims us opportunity to

H&M and Gap are to probe reports overseas garment workers supplying challenge stasis... the top brand fashion chains have faced a “daily risk” of being abused sexually at work. By Amy Moran According to rights organisations, Mandate Youth Committee victims working in supplier factories in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, In - donesia, and Sri Lanka faced retalia - through our trade union, the over - tion if the attacks were reported. whelming consensus that there is The allegations were based on a CONTEMPLATING the lot doled out no alternative to the current cruel series of interviews carried out with to Ireland’s youth, it’s easy to see orthodoxy. more than 500 workers across the how many of us have become de - At present, those in power see region. spondent and cynical. young people’s discontent with our H&M have reacted to the reports Issues affecting younger workers working-lives as a hazard to be nul - by stating that local teams would have been met with a dismissive in - lified and made impotent through a carry out a review at factory level difference and disregard by our cur - series of HR-sponsored productivity and insisted that “all forms of abuse rent political establishment. strategies. or harassment” were against what If you were to accept uncritically These strategies are attempts the global retailer stood for. the conventional wisdom given due made by those in power to encour - Meanwhile, US fashion giant Gap prominence in the media, you’d age among us a convenient type of PsaUidB iLt IwCo uFlIdN laAuNncChE an investigation think that young people are respon - political quietism. The individuali - and “address these issues”. sible for the abject material depriva - sation of culpability for the circum - Over a million tion in which they try to eke out an stances we, as workers, find existence, rather than it being the ourselves in has prompted some to responsibility of the state and capi - embrace a resigned acceptance of don’t pay tax tal. ‘how things are’. Confronted with the crisis in pre - But as young workers, we have carious work, mental health and had enough of being told it’s just because they’re housing – all issues which dispro - ‘how things are’. In response to this portionately affect young people of we say, it may be how things are but our class – those in power have un - that doesn’t mean we need accept it. so poorly paid burdened themselves of any guilt. The trade union offers to us an We are told by our betters to opportunity to challenge this stasis, avoid holding businesses account - and a vehicle through which to de - able for the ruthless pursuit of their mand our vision for a more equi - ever-increasing profit margins table and just society. We wish to through the manipulation of an in - mobilise young members of Man - secure and underpaid labour force. date toward achieving this vision for FIGURES released by the Revenue Conventional political and eco - Ireland’s youth. Commissioners show that more than nomic ‘wisdom’ would like you to As young workers in Mandate, we a million workers won’t pay income believe that younger people prefer are going to begin organising, cam - tax this year, flagging up how Ireland insecurity of income and hour. We paigning and challenging the cur - continues to be a low pay economy. are told it is ‘flexibility’ that we rent orthodoxy with which we are According to the data, a total of want. faced. 956,000 tax “units” – a term that Crucially, however, this flexibility We will achieve this through or - covers both individual workers and to which we, as young workers, are ganising in our respective commu - working coupShleosp wflohoor are jointly as - so encouraged to aspire and prac - nities for an active and enthusiastic sessed – won’t be taxed in spite of tice does little to benefit us. Instead participation between young work - earning an income. we see businesses’ exploit our ‘flex - ers, activists and the Irish trade Mandate General Secretary John ibility’ for their own gain. union movement. Douglas told : “The number Employers and landlords have Following our Biennial Delegate of people who have ‘tax exempt’ sta - been profiting off of the back of a Conference the decision was taken tus is nothing for this Government to general culture of insecurity and by a group of young workers to rein - be proud of. desperation, in which they played a vigorate our youth committee. For “It may be a much trumpeted pol - key role in creating in Ireland since ourselves, and for the future gener - icy goal of theirs to remove people 2008. ations to come, we feel that organis - from the tax net – but again it just As young workers who have come ing for decent working lives is no underlines the fact that so many of of age in the era following the reces - longer a choice but a pressing ne - our workers are so badly paid, that sion, we are actively challenging cessity. they fall below the tax threshold. That’s one in three workers. Indus - try and retail bosses have been get - ting away with paying workers peanuts for years.” Income tax and USC are not the only taxes working people face. PRSI as well as indirect taxes, such as vAT, excise duties and levies are other burdens on people’s incomes. The figures do not include people on State pensions or the long-term unemployed. Currently, single earn - ers must pay income tax on earnings of €16,501 or more. Following Mandate’s BDC in Wexford, decision was taken to reinvigorate Youth Committee And, according to the Revenue 18 Commissioners, 769,800 people SHOPFLOOR y July 2018 won’t pay the Universal Social Charge this year, which is levied on those earning €13,000 or more. WNERWCS : ‘Bogus self employment’ on Govt projects

SIX members of the Operative Plas - privatisation is circumventing work - the time these workers were on site Department of Education.” terers and Allied Trades Society ers’ rights. OpatSshi ohpafvloeo ar lso argued they were under the control of the He added: “This decision shines a (Opatsi) on two separate building that regulation is non-existent on contractor. They received a predeter - light on local authorities and other sites have been awarded almost many building sites, even govern - mined wage, they could not provide government agencies.” €20,000 in compensation by the ment procurements. materials nor could they profit from Opatsi is now calling on the Minis - Workplace Relations Commission Mr Wall told : “We pre - the job. They were very clearly em - ter for Education to settle the work - (WRC) over “bogus self employment” sented our case to the WRC last De - ployees and not self-employed con - ers’ unpaid wages because it was the issues. cember. We explained that the tractors.” department’s lack of protocols that Two schools were built on govern - workers were given a choice to regis - Criticising the growing practice of caused this issue for our members. ment procured sites in Bray, Co Wick - Billy Wall: ‘Workers losing out’ ter as self-employed workers or stay bogus self-employment, Mr Wall said: Mr Wall said: “These decisions low, and Cabra, in Dublin 7, but at home. This has been a growing “There are no regulations of workers’ show how the revenue commission - Opatsi say the workers on the sites trend for some time and is costing the rights on these sites, which is a re - ers eRCT system is facilitating this were given an ultimatum to work as State millions in lost revenue.” quirement under the procured con - precarious work practice. We know self-employed contractors or lose the Employers who hire workers on tract. Main contractors, such as that parents are encouraging their work completely. bogus self-employment contracts Sammon, are required to declare that teenage children away from the con - The six plasterers were contracted sues including wages, contracts of save money by not contributing em - all workers are paid their entitle - struction sector because employers by Kas Plastering, which was in turn employment, holidays and compen - ployers’ PRSI and not paying annual ments and workers are not owed are openly circumventing employ - sub-contracted by Sammon, which is sation for work on the two building leave entitlements, for example, but more than one month’s wages. Yet ment legislation. How can the indus - now in liquidation. sites. the workers lose out on social welfare when Opatsi advised Sammon of the try attract new blood into it when Opatsi took the cases on behalf of Opatsi General Secretary Billy Wall entitlements. shortfall, the company claimed it was craftsmen are being treated in such a thIe Nsix mFeOmbeDrs oEn aS nKumb eHr oOf is U- SclIaiNmeGd t hCeseR exIaSmIpSles show how He continued: “For the duration of not their problem, but so too did the shoddy way?” SHOCK SURVEY RENT THEN FOOD!

ONE in two young workers are strug - gling to cover their housing costs and are going without meals and other es - sentials to pay their rent according to a new survey from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. The national opinion poll of 1,500 trade union members under the age of 34 on their housing costs was con - ducted online between June 1 and 14. Picture: woodleywonderworks (CC BY 2.0) The survey was carried out by Con - gress ahead of the Labour Employer Key findings... Economic Forum (LEEF) discussions between Government, union and em - l Over half (54%) of all young workers are l Almost half (46%) of all young workers are ployer representatives on housing. a generation of people who are sand - struggling to cover their housing costs. One in dissatisfied that they are renters or that they wiched between high housing costs According to ICTU, it recognises the every two have had to borrow or sacrifice remain living in their parents’ home. One in six and low wages, to allow us take a de - significant and unacceptable impact tailed look behind snappy terms such another basic need, such as food, heating and (18%) are very dissatisfied with their current of Ireland’s broken housing system as ‘generation rent’ and ‘delayed transportation, in order to pay their rent or living arrangements. on vulnerable individuals and fami - harter for Hous - adulthood’.” mortgage in the past year. Of those young l One-third (33%) of all young workers are ilinegs wRitihg hytos ung children experiencing workers struggling to make the rent, one in six homelessness. Commenting on the survey find - blighted by housing insecurity, with one in three ings Congress General Secretary, Pa - (17%) are unable to keep their head above water having little or no confidence in being able to Congress is lobbying TDs to com - tricia King said: “The findings are and are in to arrears. continue living in their current home for as long mit to adopting its C worse than feared. Lives are being , which sets out key l Two in five (40%) of all young workers are as they would wish. damaged and destroyed and a whole spending in excess of the 30% rent-to-income principles on the creation of a secure generation of young workers are now l The vast majority (74%) of young workers and sustainable housing system. ratio of housing affordability. One-quarter are have little or no confidence in being able to buy feeling alarming levels of frustration, spending between 41% and 50%. The other These include: declaring a housing insecurity and despondency with a home in the future should they wish to. quarter are spending above 51%, which emergency; establishing a legal right their housing situation. We are failing Over eight in 10 (84%) of all young workers represents one in 10 of all young workers l to housing; guaranteeing tenants’ badly our young people.” say housing will influence how they vote in the spending more than half of their wages on hous - rights; preventing Sehvoipctflioonr s into Ms King added: “Congress will use next election. homelessness; and developing a na - these stark findings to continue to ing. Half of these workers are spending between tional land purchase policy, put pressure on Government to take 31% and 40% of their take-home pay on rent. JulyC 2o0n18 gyrSeHsOsP FSLOoOcR ial Policy Officer Dr action through our ongoing housing 19 Laura Bambrick told : “This campaign and in the upcoming social particular piece of research focused dialogue with ministers and employ - on the impact of the housing crisis on ers.” INTERNATIONAL

Five years on... we must never forget the importance of these type of agreements in the eyes of the hugely- profitable worldwide brands and also the Bangladesh government, or is it a Rana Plaza and our duty as consumers mistake to believe they ever cared in the first place? Importantly, the latest agreement also seeks to involve non-garment Gerry producing companies within its Light terms of reference. This brings the likes of IKEA into focus, whose initial Rescuers scramble in response was to state that while they the debris following the shared the objectives of the agree - Rana Plaza collapse ments they preferred to work under in a desperate search their own internal company code of for survivors conduct, called IWAY. While parts of this code are seen to be progressive it significantly does not make public any findings with re - gard to site inspections or where they IT’S HARD to believe that five years were carried out. have passed since the deaths of 1,134 Sadly, it would appear that the in - garment factory workers in the Rana tensity of focus and the importance of Plaza collapse on the outskirts of worker safety seems to be lessening Dhaka in Bangladesh. and we are being asked to trust those This tragic occurrence led to the who were responsible for creating Bangladesh Accord which was, in the deplorable conditions that these essence, a safety agreement reached workers found themselves in in the between unions and the well-known first place to monitor the situation high street brands who use similar going forward. manufacturing plants. While others are prepared to do so, The accord expired at the begin - we – as consumers – must never for - ning of June and for the rest of the Picture courtesy of IRLF get our fellow workers who tragically year it will be replaced by a similar lost their lives in the Rana Plaza agreement, the Alliance for Worker building five short years ago. The best Safety. At their core both agreements way we can honour their memory have a stipulation that factory owners and to ensure they will never be for - are required to improve structural groups are also keen to shy away only fixed half of the dangers that re - Primark, Zara and H&M – have signed gotten is to think about and question and fire safety in order to keep their from the concept of international quired attention. up to the new agreement. However, the origin of manufacture of every production lines open. agreements favouring the monitoring On the contrary the experience of worryingly, about 44 of those who product prior to purchase. The reason why the new agree - of worker safety themselves. companies operating within the had been part of the previous accord If you are not satisfied that it has ment only runs to the end of the year This form of self-regulation clearly agreements have experienced a dra - have not yet signed up. The stark re - been ethically sourced, then put it is because it is being currently chal - does not deliver for workers as Inter - matic fall in worker fatalities, with ality of this means that over 250 fac - back and let the seller know why you lenged in the Bangladesh High Court national Labour Organisation figures more than 100,000 issues resolved tories will now fall outside the scope are taking this action. The alternative by unhappy factory owners. It would show – as of February 2018, less than over the past five years. of the agreement. product may cost a few cents more appear that the Bangladesh govern - 15% of employers operating outside On the positive side, about 176 Can it be that the passage of such a but sometimes doing the right thing ment along with powerful industry of the international agreements had companies – including the likes of short period of time has diminished is a price worth paying. Health and Safety Representation Negotiation Skills Level 2 for Elected Reps QQI Level 5 ‘Building Skills and Knowledge’ This five-day QQI Level 5 Health and Safety Course is for elected Health and Safety Representatives. The following topics will be covered on the course: This one day progression course in Negotiation Skills is for union activists, union representatives who have a desire to improve their knowledge and understanding l Health & Safety Legislation l Role of Health & Safety Representative in conflict resolution and negotiation skills, managing the process and the psychology of the negotiating environment. l Safety statements l Role of Health & Safety Authority There are three levels: l Occupational health l Identification of hazards and risk assessment l Introductory l Building Skills and Knowledge l Negotiations in Practice l Accident investigation l Fire safety l Effective communications

l Health and safety promotion Course content: l The Negotiating Team – formation; delegation l An Evolving Plan – sitting around the table l Different roles for different people l Who takes the lead? l Who takes the notes? Members who successfully complete this Training Course l Who provokes the other side? l Who watches the other side? will obtain a QQI Level 5 Certificate in Health and Safety. l Handling problems without sensation and becoming emotional l Producing Facts to support arguments l Predicting counter arguments l Benchmarking – what are the markers to work towards? – top; middle and bottom

Progression: Members who successfully complete this training course will obtain a Mandate certificate. Members who complete this course may progress to Level 3 Negotiations in Practice.

Please contact your Mandate Union Official or Mandate Training Centre on Please contact your Mandate Union Official or Mandate 01-8369699 if you are interested in taking this course; or alternatively you Training Centre on 01-8369699 if you are interested in can email your request to [email protected] taking this course; or alternatively you can email your request to [email protected]

20 SHOPFLOOR y July 2018 OVInEW tPOoIN tT he next phase of the struggle...

By Dr Sean Byers Unpaid labour: cooking up a Trademark Belfast storm in the kitchen... Picture: Michelle Hartman (CC BY 2.0) which the common good cannot be achieved. The State shall, therefore, endeavour to ensure that mothers THE overwhelming vote for Repeal of shall not be obliged by economic ne - the Eighth Amendment represents a cessity to engage in labour to the neg - cathartic, watershed moment for lect of their duties in the home.” Irish society. But the result should not be seen as Ireland’s coming of age, as its entry into the modern world, or as a gift conferred on us by the estab - lishment parties with the blessing of In other words, women shall be in - the liberal commentariat. structed by legislation and cultural Instead it has to be understood as norms established by the Church, the product of sustained and deter - state, and economic and political mined struggle by thousands of elites to engage primarily in the gen - (working-class) women over the past dered tasks of cooking, cleaning, car - 35 years, with the support of allies in ing etc., both to the detriment of their the progressive trade union move - participation in the workplace and ment, in communities and on the po - without due recognition that such litical left. tasks themselves constitute impor - Their job seemingly done, the po - tant forms of labour. litical establishment and the eco - Over tWhe hpaatset vcenrt turrayn wsopmireens in nomic interests it serves will now Ireland have struggled against the es - return to business as usual – the busi - tablishedin g etnhdee rceodm ainndg class rela - ness of low wages and precarious work; rising wealth and income in - months and years, we equality; industrial-scale corporate “can be sure that Ireland tax avoidance; homelessness, prop - erty speculation and rack-renting; has entered a new two-tier and crises-ridden health - historical moment ripe care; systemic abuse and cover ups; and endemic police corruption. with possibilities for But having decisively broken the moral authority of the Catholic profound change Church, stemmed the tide of attacks on women’s rights and invigorated an FIG1 Time spent in unpaid work by gender entire generation of young people across the island, many involved with the Repeal campaign will now be ” looking to push on. challenge existing social and eco - tions that have seen them confined to Already there is intense pressure nomic relations and, against the back - the home or, worse still, forced into for reform of the North’s abortion drop of Brexit and Unionist Magdalene laundries and mother and laws in the face of DUP reaction, intransigence, to create something baby homes where they slaved in ap - while the accompanying campaign anew. palling conditions, for no pay and for marriage equality, too, raises the Whatever transpires in the coming under the constant threat of abuse. unfulfilled demand of ‘British rights months and years, we can be sure While these struggles have brought for British citizens’ first articulated in that Ireland has entered a new histor - about significant advances, the social, the 1960s. ical moment ripe with possibilities economic and cultural dynamics that In the South, the next phase for the for profound change. One issue that is Repeal movement is securing the both pertinent to the current con - reinforce gendered (and class) roles proper legislative provisions for juncture and neglected as a potential persist. One manifestation of this is abortion. Others are turning their at - site of struggle for the trade union the fact that, according to OECD na - tention to the Church’s grip on educa - movement is that of unpaid and re - tional time use surveys, Irish women tion, which is anathema to the productive labour i.e. the unpaid carry out more than 70% of unpaid fundamental republican principle of work that takes place outside the work. To this it should be added that Church and State separation and, as sphere of p“Trohde uScttaitoen r eyceotg nisi sfeus nthdat- the majority of these women are we know, has caused untold damage mbye nhtearl ltiofe I rwisihth cianp itthaeli shto smurev, iwvaolm anadn likely to be fromDr wSeoarnk Biynegrs- cisl as Rse sbeaacrck h- to the lives of Irish children. agcivceusm tuol athtieo nS.tate a support without grounds, unabOleff iacesr taht eTrya daerme atork a Bfeflofarsd t Still others are keen to use the mo - Article 41.2 of the Irish Constitu - the costs of childcare and other do - mentum achieved by the campaign to tion reads: mestic supports. build and mobilise a movement capa - ble of transforming Irish society, to

July 2018 y SHOPFLOOR 21 COMMENT Assistant General Secretary Gerry Light Mandate Trade Union TOURISM INDUSTRY from the IMF backs ICTU call VIEW SHOPFLOOR to end tax subsidy The future is here, Macdara Doyle that the special rate led to the cre - ation of thousands of new jobs and lower prices for consumers. do not ignore it Figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show that job creation in the sector tracked the wider eco - nomic recovery from 2013 onwards. TAKE a look at the following list which represents course ,throw in the still unknown impact of a hard The latest IMF report concurs with in the main the estimated 35,000 retail job losses Brexit and you have all of the ingredients of a perfect the view put forward by Congress that have occurred in the UK since the beginning of storm. and calls for thed el ifmacitno ation of tax THE International Monetary Fund 2018: Tesco 2,200, Marks & Spencer 1,880, East 314, A recent report from PricewaterhouseCoopers pre - breaks, such as the lower vAT rate for Morrisons 1,500, Debenhams 320, Warren Evans (IMF) has backed a Congress demand the tourism sector. dicted that more than 10 million jobs will be at risk in for the abolition of ‘tax subsidy’ for 287, Toys R Us 3,000, Maplin 2,500, New Look 980, the UK over the next 15 years due to automation alone. The Department of Finance has es - Littlewoods 1,992, Carpetright 300, Calvetron the tourism sector that may have cost timated that the subsidy re - Whilst not all of these jobs will be directly lost to retail, the state almost €3 billion in lost rev- Brands 1,000, Carphone Warehouse 500, Mother - many of them represent workers who on a regular sulted in the loss of some €2.2 billion enue, to date. in revenue, between 2011 and 2016. care 800, Poundworld 5,000, House of Fraser 6,000. basis dispose of their incomes in retail businesses and In its regular report on Ireland is- A 2017 aTshses sAmcecnotm frommo tdhea Dtieopn art - Clearly a revolution of sorts is taking place and it isn’t without this revenue they will invariably suffer and run sued in May, the global agency recom- ment statnedd: “FIot ios des Stiemravteicde tshat the good for retail workers and their dependents. Many of the risk of disappearing altogether. mended ending the special lower 9% the household names listed above have retail opera - The classic knee-jerk response by many of the top vAT rate that has been enjoyed by the have the highest incidence tions in this country and there is a concern that much executives in suffering retail businesses is to target the sector since 2011. of the negative fallout already witnessed in their home Congress has consistently opposed “of low pay with nearly 75% terms and conditions of their workers and, in many country will impact here sooner rather than later – in cases, unilateral reductions are attempted against the the subsidy and repeatedly raised the of workers earning €400 some cases the chill winds have already been felt. will or without agreement of the workers concerned. matter directly at ministerial level, with government and with all politi- per week or less The rapid growth in online sales along with the ad - We have already seen some examples of this type of cal groupings. vances made in in-store technology are without doubt behaviour here which is clearly learnt and demanded the main driving forces behind what is happening. In March 2017, Congress General by the corporate parent across the Irish Sea. Recently Secretary Patricia King wrote to However, other factors such as unsustainable increases in the UK we witnessed Sainsbury’s attempt to cut in rents, rates, insurance, energy costs along with less- members of the Seanad, on the mat- without agreement the pay of over 9,000 of their staff ter: “Despite this large, ongoing loss ” than-impressive consumption figures, the decline of by an average of £400 a year through the removal of town centres and downright inept senior manage - [of revenue] to the state and its citi- paid tea breaks, annual bonuses and premium pay - zenry there is no verifiable evidence ment are also contributing to the mix. abolition of the 9% rate and a return ments. Think something similar couldn’t happen here, and not a single independent study to to 13.5% for the goods and services It is estimated that more than £1 billion is now spent then you better think again. show that benefits have been passed in this sector would result in in - every week in the UK on online purchases. Out of the The role of your union is to work in a constructive on to the consumer, in the form of creased revenues of around €500 total annual retail spend of €40 billion in Ireland, €5 and progressive manner with businesses that employ lower prices, or to the thousands who million (per annum).” billion is being purchased online and 60% of this is our members to ensure the maintenance of as many work in the sector, in the form of The subsidy was introduced in going to foreign retailers. quality jobs as possible. For those employers who higher wages.” 2011 as a ‘temporary measure’ for Another indicator is reflected in recent figures re - don’t wish to engage in this manner then we must re - In its 2016 and 2017 pre-budget the sector, in the midst of the eco - leased by An Post that show an increase in their parcel sist and construct a robust defence. submissions, Congress noted the re- nomic crash. However, it has been re - fusal of employers in the sector to en- newed every year since, despite the delivery volume of 30%. Given the inexorable growth Of course the best protection against these savage gage with the Joint Labour Committee sector enjoying strong bookings and that is taking place surely the time has now arrived for attacks on workers hard-won entitlements is the exis - the Government to ensure that in this year’s budget process: “It is inappropriate that the profit levels. tence of a strong and active trade union within the tax subsidy should continue along- Overseas visitor numbers are now traditional bricks and mortar retailers are treated no business in question. Clearly the secret is not to wait less favourably when it comes to taxation policy. Of side high rates of low pay and precar- at record levels, with almost 10 mil - too long before making this reality happen. The extent ious work practices in the sector.” lion arriving in Ireland in 2017, with of the challenges and the real threats to workers in re - A delegation from Congress met figures up a further 7% in the first tail should not be considered likely anymore, the fact with IMF representatives recently quarter of 2018. is they are going to happen, it’s now a matter of when. and highlighted concerns about the Dalata – the state’s biggest hotel The key consideration is are workers capable of deal - tax break, along with the ongoing fail- chain – saw its rates in the capital rise ing with the unsavoury and dramatic consequences ure of government to invest properly by some 16%, in 2016. An August that will undoubtedly unfold. It’s only workers them - in high quality public services and 2017 report revealed that hotel room selves who can decide what model to adopt in order skills training and tackle the housing rates in Dublin had soared above the to defend their interests and not allow others to make crisis. boom time record levels, last seen in these critical decisions for them. The Accommodation and Food 2006. Services have the highest incidence of Meanwhile occPuictuprea: Nniccolays Rraaymtoends ( ChC BaYv 2e .0) If there was ever a case of forewarned being fore - low pay with nearly 75% of workers steadily risen across the country armed, this is it. Don’t put off until tomorrow what is re - eTaorunrisntg a t€tr4ac0t0io np:e r week or less. In ad- since 2014, according to an industry quired today. dPitoiuolna, btrhoen ei nDdolumsetnr y has failed to pro- survey carried out by Crowe Hor - An effective and strong union on the ground is the duce any evidence to back its claim wath, in 2017. only way to mount a credible defence. If workers wait for somebody else to do this for them they will be left waiting and – sadly – they will ultimately pay the greatest price for not organising in time.

22 SHOPFLOOR y July 2018 FROM WHERE I STAND... Brian Forbes ceded far too much anti-EU ground to EUROPEAN right-wing racists and fascists. What UNION is so wrong with Irish political and economic self-determination sepa - rate from a federal Europe while “One day Alice came to a working alongside other nation fork in the road and saw states? Switzerland survives very a Cheshire cat in a tree. well indeed at the heart of Europe ‘Which road do I take?’ while staying outside the EU. The British are no loShnogpefrl oothr e she asked. biggest threat to Connolly’s vision, ‘Where do you want to go? rather it’s the EU and the Eurozone was his response. that now hold that dubious honour. ‘I don’t know,’ Alice In a previous article for I answered. suggested the unlikely scenario of an llustration: Public Domain Picture: Yanni Koutsomitis (CC BY 2.0) Irish Brexit (Irexit) precipitating the ‘ Then,’ said the cat, ‘it political, societal, economic and dem - doesn’t matter.” ocratic shift back from Europe to Ire - land of our sovereignty and to reinstate control of our national des - tiny. Global capital facilitated by Eu - rope and our own political class has Beware the taken complete control over our BORN 150 years ago, Marxist social - country and hand in hand with Euro - ist James Connolly, a true leader and pean Union treaties they invariably intellectual, was executed by the force impotent EU countries, such as British 102 years ago for his leader - Ireland, to “toe the line” or else. ship role in the 1916 Easter Rising. The 2018 Connolly would be con - For it was that Connolly and his spiring with anyone and everyone to comrades had the temerity to seek ensure Ireland’s freedom from Euro - an independent Ireland free from im - grinning cat of pean debt slavery passed on to future perialist shackles – to establish a new generations by inept and out-of-their- socialist 32-county island republic LAND depth Irish politicians and their EU for the many not just the few. IRE puppet masters. For many people the defining It is strange to see so many of our image of Connolly strapped to a chair political parties advocating member - at Kilmainham Gaol while having his ship of the EU as the only show in battered body riddled with British town – in many ways mirroring the bullets was – and is – a defining mo - EU domination Thatcherite claim that the capitalist ment in Irish political history. market economy is the only system It changed forever the hatred and that works and that there is no alter - disdain felt by Dubliners of the time native (TINA). towards tPhaersea d“eudn wine dlceofmeaet revolu - That particular ideological ortho - tionaries” who didn’t know what side Communist doxy has had its day and kowtowing to it is deserving of a severe ‘slap up their imperialist bread was buttered Mofaf nai fsetsotno:e as two previous reason - throw of capitalism. There is no deny - elected and unaccountable anti-de - on. the bake’, as they say in Belfast. ably well known revolutionary ing that Connolly’s death and that of mocratic bureaucrats running the EU Globalised capitalism is killing our thinkers and influencers, Marx and his comrades inspired, albeit through now hold an economic and political country and also our citizens and the The brave but defeated revolution - Engels, wrote in the 1848 a violent civil war struggle, the move ‘sword of Damocles’ over the heads of Thatcherite mantra that free markets “T aries were pelted with rotten vegeta - hough not in substance, towards an Irish Free State. Con - every Irish citizen. and free trade are the best ways to yet in form, the struggle of the pr bles by angry Dubliners as they were ole - nolly’s final words to his wife Lily, They’d be well prepared, for the create wealth is one brilliant way of tariat with the bourgeoisie is at first paraded in defeat through the streets “wasn’t it a full life Lily and isn’t this protection of global capital, to use delivering an increasingly unequal a national struggle. The proletariat of of the capital – their leaders march - a good end?” had in them hope in that imaginary sword to chop Ireland and divided Ireland with the 1% mas - each country must, of course, first of ing towards execution and ultimately death for a better Ireland. off the edge of their European project sively wealthy and the 99% of the rest all settle matters with its own bour - revolutionary immortality. However, Connolly’s vision of a 32- if we didn’t act sHuebcskerlevsient to our Eu - of us just barely scrapping by. geoisie.” There is no Irish revolutionary county republic with national inde - ropean lords and masters and behave Ireland is a bit like poor Alice in the Therefore, it would appear that who commands greater national and pendence and a socialist like good boys and girls as Brussels quote at the beginning of this article, the unsuccessful 1916 Rising and international interest in his develop - transformation of society was be - and Germany demand. lost and directionless economically the more successful 1917 October ing political journey and his writings trayed by those left behind. and socially as the big grinning Revolution in Russia followed this than James Connolly. The likes of Fine Gael poster Cheshire cat of federal Europe leads original 1848 Marxist train of Often, I try to imagine if Connolly Following Connolly’s passing in boy and sell-out Michael us blindly and merrily down the path thought through direct mili - Collins and Fianna Fail’s was alive in 2018 what he would October of that same year, a little of deeper concessions to eternal cap - tary action and towards na - Catholic conservative make of our circumstances today. known Russian revolutionary italism, debt slavery and generations tional insurrection and Eamon de valera as well The lack of union recognition and col - vladimir Llyich Ulyanov, better of lost opportunities for the delivery revolution. as subsequent genera - lective bargaining rights more than known by the alias Lenin, in admira - of even a small part of Connolly’s vi - Those two revolutionary tions of their gombeen 100 years after the 1913 Lockout tion of Connolly and the 1916 Rising sion for Ireland. uprisings mirrored deci - political acolytes have be - would surely rise the hackles of the wrote a salient observation on the The fight that Connolly and James sions taken at the 1915 trayed Ireland through ac - auld revolutionary. need for national uprisings: “The Larkin led for a decent, secure job Zimmerwald anti-war con - ceptance of partition and misfortune of the Irish is that they The rampant inequality and the ex - and the fight we, as trade unionists, ference in Switzerland but set back any possibility of a have risen prematurely when the Eu - acerbating homeless and housing cri - must lead today for a decent living in particular the defeated 32-county socialist Ireland ropean revolt of the proletariat has sis would be a cause for anger and wage is one and the same. resolution proposed by the for the foreseeable future. not yet materialised. On the other surely subsequent direct action by Connolly’s vision for a more equal Bolshevik left-wing bloc, Collins and de valera by hand the very fact that revolts break the 2018 Connolly. society is not yet won and that strug - aka the Zimmerwald Left, their treacherous actions out at different times in different In fact, I’d say Connolly would be at gle between the elite class and work - who disagreed with Leon were two anti-revolutionary places guarantees wide scope and the vanguard of a radical Irish trade ing class people still rages. Trotsky’s less Marxist-orien - political opportunists who depth to the general movement, only union movement calling and fighting Unfortunately, the key difference be - tated resolution by insisting weren’t fit to lace James in premature, partial, scattered and for a 32-county socialist republic free tween 1916 and 2018 Ireland is that on the need to not merely Connolly’s boots. therefore unsuccessful revolutionary from the strangulation of free market we don’t have a James Connolly fight - seek peace but to utilise the Today, Ireland remains movements do the masses gain expe - capitalism. ing in our corner. First World War by estab - under the jackboot of im - rience, acquire knowledge, gather I am convinced that James Connolly 150 years after the birth of James lishing “a clear-cut perialism and as unfree strength, get to know their real lead - would be a proud Brexiter and an Connolly, the time is long overdue for Marxist position in re - as it was in 1916 under ers, the socialist proletarians, and in Irish revolutionary defender against revolutionary thinking in the trade gard to the tasks with British imperialist this way prepare for the general on - James Connolly: the excesses of European imperial - union movement. Our sleeping and which the epoch of rule. Ireland blindly slaught.” revolutionary ism. He’d probably even agree with subservient proletarian masses must imperialism has con - surrendered its na - Lenin in these words acknowl - with a vision... the “right-wing Brexiters” about the beC eodnuncoaltleyd w aonudld e nexcpoeucrta ngeodth iinntgo lceosls-, fronted the prole - tional independence edged and linked the importance of need for an independent and sover - lweec tsihvoeu alcdt eioxnp etchtr nooutghhin ag plersosg! r a m m e tariat.” over decades to the national struggle in Ireland to the ad - eign Ireland while vehemently dis - of aggressive organising in every sin - In other words, a newer and shinier Jvualyn 2c0e18myeSHnOtP oFLfO sOoR cialism across nation agreeing with every reason those gle workplace across the country. 23 Marxist struggle for jackboot of the Euro - states. Now we all know that Lenin fascists have for wanting out of Eu - the ultimate over - pean Union. The un - didn’t lick his revolutionary theory rope. The left in Ireland today has NOTES FROM THE FRONTLINE... FOOL ME O FOOL ME T MANDATE members employed by The hourly rates, the premiums an Tesco Ireland are no fools, they un - overtime rates, the banded hours, th derstand the day-to-day reality of sick pay scheme, the bonuses, th working on the frontline in retail, pensions, the scheduling etc., were a often understaffed, under appreci - won by workers coming together co ated by local management and cer - lectively in their union and having tainly underpaid. democratic voice at work. The corporate bonuses of CEOs and That is why it is vital for the future directors are a long way away from the decent work in Tesco that these har weekly struggle for survival on retail won conditions are not only protecte wages and retail hours. but improved upon, i.e. better rates No more can retail workers aspire to pay, a living wage, more full-time jo n buying their own homes, or indeed and more family-friendly scheduling Unio even renting a home, no more the as - Workers need to be ever vigilan s r pirations of a job for life with decent they need to recruit and organise icial abou basic pay topped up by a bit of over - mobilise for decent retail jobs – not off L time which allowed retail workers the ing is given, it must be won. The colle D luxury of an annual holiday or a school tive power and strength of workers RRE Court Shop BA s trip for the kids. the only sure way of a better future. BBED ward There was a time when all of this was That is why companies such as Tesc SNU Ste possible and a full-time job meant and others are systematically ENIED something. But that was before the engaging in the destruction of IR D corporate bosses decided that these the collective strength of their THE jobs were “old fashioned” and did not workforce by attacking their AIM fit with the “modern” way of doing unions and by a “charm offen - CL business. These jobs were targeted, sive” to fool staff and the workers were vilified and worker was turned against worker, all in the THE name of greed. Let’s be clear, there is H nothing “old fashioned” about a decent TRUT living wage and there is nothing “mod - ern” about exploitation. Every existing wage rate and every term and condition of employment in Tesco was negotiated by your Tesco EIR activists’ negotiating team and voted TH on democratically by all Mandate CLAIM members employed by Tesco.

Tesco’s June 28 announcement of 2% pay award and management’s proud bo ast of being the ‘only o be f ly proud t ood retailer to giv e incredib Work. e... We’r t Place to bande as a Grea d hours contracts cognised ho play re leagues w across all our col day. all our stores nk you to ess it is to ssive tha the busin and rosters A ma ing Tesco four weeks ole in mak a key r in advance’... GUESS WHO NEGOTIATED THOSE TERMS? Picture: Gordon Joly (CC BY-SA 2.0)

24 SHOPFLOOR y July 2018 ONCE, SHAME ON YOU TWICE, SHAME ON ME nd hide their real intentions. Tesco has: 8. Holding disciplinary hearings in mined to spend time, resources and he Tesco has been consistently attack - 1. Barred union officials from lobbies of hotels and other unsuit - money attacking workers’ rights. he ing your union for more than two years many Tesco locations across Ireland. able venues, and on one occasion The trade union movement in Ire - all now. They are trying to remove your 2. Refused to meet with your ac - held a “very personal” grievance land will not allow this to happen. ol - democratic right to an independent tivists’ lead negotiating team to dis - hearing in a cinema. More than 40 unions, (comprising g a voice at work and remove fair and pro - cuss improvements in pay, full-time The list goes on and on. This is an 700,000 members) have pledged both fessional representation from their jobs etc. outright and blatant attack on your their financial and manual support of of workers. 3. Refused to provide union list - union(s), and your voice at work, which their organisations and members in rd- ings to unions so as to reconcile goes hand in hand with a charm offen - any upcoming campaign. ed ...it would appear the company union subs paid by their employees sive in the local community, the per - In addition, unions in the UK, Europe of is determined to spend time, via payroll. sonalised pay increase notifications and the USA have also pledged sup - bs resources and money attacking 4. Refused to attend the Labour from head office, the “great place to port. From our lived experiences on g. work” etc., etc. the picket lines in Dunnes, Tesco, Lloyd - nt, “workers’ rights. The trade union Court on a range of important issues impacting on workers. All this while Mandate and SIPTU sPharmacy and TK Maxx disputes, the to movement will not allow this to have been working quietly behind the Irish shopping public are clearly on the th - 5. Taken down union notice happen. More than 40 unions, scenes with the officials of the Labour side of Irish workers. They will shop ec - boards in stores. Court in an effort to bring about a with their conscience. They will not re - is (comprising 700,000 members) 6. Refused release for shop stew - peaceful and sustainable resolution to ward appalling behaviour. They expect have pledged both their financial ards to attend training courses and this very dangerous situation, but all to co good service and good value, but they and manual support of their their Delegate Conference. no avail, presumably because Tesco is also expect that workers have a free 7. Attempting to change working unwilling to engage with the Labour organisations and members and independent voice at work. contracts – removing any mention Court in exploring solutions. Rather, it Mandate, SIPTU and the Irish Con - in any upcoming campaign. of unions. would appear the company is deter - gress of Trade Unions have been meet - ing to draw up plans to expose the ” dirty tricks of employers. We intend to out those who are attacking workers and their unions – a large scale public information campaign is in the pipeline. In the meantime, all workers in Tesco need to see through the company’s spin. You need to organise and recruit and rally yourselves for a fight back against attacks on your terms and con - ditions. Mandate Trade Union will be hosting a major Tesco activists’ event in early September 2018 at which we will de - velop the strategy further and bring all activists up to date. Make sure your store is well represented at this event. This is your chance to have your say on your future, on decent jobs and a living wage. You are where you are today because you and previous generations stood shoulder to shoulder for rights at work. We must continue this struggle – a weak union or no union means no hope and no future. Workers will be isolated and forced to accept whatever management decides. Don’t let this happen – stand up and join your fellow workers in the fight for a better future.

July 2018 y SHOPFLOOR 25 NEWS INTERNATIONAL GAZA SHOOTINGS OCCUPIED TERRITORIES BILL e r i a ́ c o r T / n a l

Irish Govt must consider e h W

n a l A : e r u t

expelling Israeli diplomats c i P

THE Executive Council of the Irish tion into these incidents and to hold Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has the Israeli government to account in hit out at the Government’s “inade - the EU by calling an emergency meet - quate response” to the recent mas - ing for European ministers to con - sacre of civilian protestors in Gaza sider a proportionate response, and called for consideration to be including through the imposition of given to the expulsion of Israeli diplo - trade sanctions. mats and the withdrawal of Irish Ms King added: “Ireland needs to diplomats from Israel. lead the way in its own right also by Members of the Congress Executive supporting the urgent passing of Sen - Council observed a minute’s silence ator Frances Black’s Occupied Terri - for those killed and injured in Gaza at tories Bill and by formally their meeting on May 16th. recognising the decision of the Dáil In a letter to Minister Coveney, Con - and finally recognise the state of gress General Secretary Patricia King Palestine.” claimed the shootings by Israeli Army snipers in Gaza were a “shameless vi - olation of international law” and pointing out that Israel had shown no sign that “such excessive force” would be reined in. She continued: “The Irish govern - Bill: Frances Black Call: Patricia King ment must not only strongly con - demn these actions but must also be to the fore internationally, at the UN, calling for an independent investiga - Heed the cry of Palestine Employment Law By Gerry Liston Sadaka - the Ireland Palestine Alliance Introduction Level 1 Shopfloor tion of Crimea). The Israeli government is making One the other hand, the signifi - hay while Trump, whose administra - This one day progression course in Employment Law is for union AS goes to print, the Seanad cance of this measure, if enacted, can - tion is the most anti-Palestinian U.S. activists, union representatives who have a desire to improve their is set to vote on the Occupied Territo - not be underestimated. Back in 1980, administration yet, is in office. knowledge and understanding of employment law. ries Bill, 2018. It was introduced to Ireland, under a Fianna Fáil-led gov - The Green Party, Fianna Fáil, the the Seanad in January by Senator ernment, became the first European Labour Party, Sinn Féin and the So - The introductory course in employment law will enable course Frances Black and is supported by country to call for the establishment cial Democrats have all committed participants to gain an understanding of the legislative Mandate, ICTU, Trócaire, Christian of a Palestinian State. their support for this Bill as have a Aid, Sadaka and the Irish Palestinian Almost immediately, several other environment within which the employment relationship operates. number of independents. That Solidarity Campaign, among others. European countries followed suit, as means a majority of TDs and Sena - If enacted, it would ban the sale in did the EU (or EEC as it was). There tors now support it. Unfortunately, Ireland of goods produced in settle - is every possibility that the same the Government is opposing it, claim - ments established by Israel on the would happen if Ireland once again l Sources of Irish Law employers and employees in the ing it is incompatible with EU law. land it has illegally confiscated from took the lead and enacted the Occu - Common law, judicial precedent; workplace. This is despite the fact that several Palestinians over the course of its 50- pied Territories Bill. And if Europe Equity; l Contract of employment: year occupation of the Palestinian stopped trading with Israeli settle - eminent legal experts – including for - Constitution. Distinguish between an independent West Bank. ments, that would simply cripple mer Attorney General Senator l Statute Law contractor (contract for service) and On the one hand, this Bill is a very them. Michael McDowell and judge on the Primary legislation; an employee (contract of service); modest measure. It is not an enact - Never before has a measure of sol - International Court of Justice Profes - Secondary legislation; The nature of employers defences; ment of BDS (Boycott, Divestment, idarity like this one been so needed sor James Crawford – have said that EU law does not prevent Member Role of EU law. Directives. Redress/remedies in Employment Sanctions) called for by Palestinian by the Palestinian people. The recent civil society. All it does is stop trade slaughter of unarmed protesters in States from banning trade with Is - l law. The role of law in regulating with settlements which are not just Gaza by Israeli snipers served as a raeli settlements. working conditions. ‘illegal’ but amount to war crimes horrific reminder of the contempt PalesGteinrriya nLiss tdoens ips eLreagtaell yO fnfieceedr wthitihs l The role of law in promoting under international criminal law. with which the Israeli government BSialdl atok ap –a sthse. SIroe lapnleda Psael ecsotinntea Actll iyaonucer

equality, Health & Safety and best e This is exactly how any other illegal and its military views Palestinian life. local TDs and make sure that they r i a

practice in the workplace ́ c situation is automatically treated by Meanwhile, in the last year, Israel support it. o r T l / the international community (think has announced settlement expansion

The rights and duties of both h s l of the response to Russia’s annexa - plans on a scale not seen in 20 years. a W

y r r a

Certification and Progression: G : e Members who successfully complete this training r u t c course will obtain a Mandate certificate. i P Members who complete this course may progress to the Advanced Employment Law Level 2 course on September 3rd, 2018

If you are interested please contact Mandate’s Training Centre on 01-836 9699 or by email [email protected] . Check out www.mandate.ie for further 26 SHOPFLOOR y July 2018 NEWS SUNDAY TRADING Usdaw hails Belfast Council vote

Shopfloor

SHOPWORKERS union Usdaw has Usdaw Divisional Officer Mike that longer Sunday trading hours welcomed the decision by city coun - Aylward told : “Our mem - are not wanted by the vast majority cillors in Belfast to reject proposals bers are delighted that city council - of shopworkers and would be a that would have seen the extension lors again rejected extended Sunday threat to the profitability, productiv - of current Sunday trading hours. trading by 16 votes to 4, which is ity and viability of many retail busi - The proposals were overwhelm - the same 80% opposition as the last ness. ingly rejected in a key vote during a time the committee considered the “So we are very pleased that city meeting of Belfast City Council’s proposal. councillors have listened to those Strategic Policy & Resources Com - “We said at the beginning of this concerns, supported our campaign mittee on May 18th. campaign that nothing had changed and recognised the efforts Usdaw The vote followed a protest by since last year and that proved to be has made to illustrate the detrimen - shopworkers organised outside the case. Usdaw ran an evidence- tal effects longer Sunday trading Belfast City Hall earlier that day. based campaign to demonstrate would have on Belfast.”

Meeting of minds: Seamus McNamee, James Rabbitte, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, Christy McQuillan and Daniel Troy ‘Boxer’ quizzed on housiPnictureg: SIPTU

AN ICTU housing campaign lobby voiced his total backing for the five met recently with OPW Minister of principles contained in the Congress State Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran calling for Charter. action to resolve the housing crisis. He gave a commitment that in his Mandate’s JamCoens grReassb Cbhitatret era fnod r next meeting with Ministers for HDoavuisdin Tg rRoiyg hatlso ng with Seamus Mc - Housing, Eoghan Murphy and Namee and Christy McQuillan of Damien English, he would advocate SIPTU spoke to the Minister about in favour of the principles as offering the the five-point real and long term solutions for both at his constituency of - social and affordable housing. Sunday best: Usdaw's Mike Aylward and Michala Lafferty (front, centre) lead a protest of shopworkers outside Belfast City Hall fice in Athlone on 26th March. The delegation also discussed the The delegation underlined the extent of homelessness and damage Picture: Kevin Cooper/Photoline need to build 10,000 public houses being done by vulture Funds. on public land over the next five years Minister Moran agreed to get back with a key role being played by local to the delegation after meeting with authorities. In response, Kevin Moran his Government colleagues. Occupational Health Negotiation Skills Intermediate Level 1 This one day progression course in Negotiation Skills is for union activists, union and Safety representatives who have a desire to improve their knowledge and understanding in conflict resolution and negotiation skills, managing the process and the Awareness Training psychology of the negotiating environment. There are three levels: This three-day QQI Health and Safety Course is for elected Health and l Introductory l Building Skills and Knowledge l Negotiations in Practice Safety Representatives. The following topics will be covered on the course: Course content: l Psychology of the Negotiating Environment Module 1 History and Principles of OSH l Strategic approach to negotiations l Collective Decision Making Module 2 The Law Part 1 l Identifying goals to be achieved l Prioritising issues Module 3 The Law Part 2 l Developing tactical plans l Tactics in negotiations – both sides – *Key Learning Module 4 The Safety Statement l Stone walling l Cooling off periods Module 5 Hazard Identification and Risk assessment Progression: Module 6 Safety representative - role and rights Members who successfully complete this training course will obtain a Mandate Module 7 The Health and Safety Authority and Enforcement certificate. Members who complete this course may progress to Level 2 Building Members who successfully complete this training course will obtain a Skills and Knowledge and Level 3 progessional route into the QQI Level 5 Certificate in Health and Safety Negotiations in Practice.

Please contact your Mandate Union Official or Mandate Training Centre on Please contact your Mandate Union Official or Mandate 01-8369699 if you are interested in taking this course; or alternatively you Training Centre on 01-8369699 if you are interested in can email your request to [email protected] taking this course; or alternatively you can email your request to [email protected]

July 2018 y SHOPFLOOR 27 IBnOOfKSeHELrF nal machine exposed The Adoption Machine By Paul Jude Redmond Published by Irish Academic Press

Rhona McCord REVIEW

Hard at work in a Magdalene laundry I FIRST met Paul Redmond in 2013 at a press conference in Buswell’s Picture: Public Domain Hotel. The press event was being held to highlight the denial of access to birth records for illegally adopted people in Ireland. Before that day I knew nothing of Ireland’s illegally adopted or of forced adoption or the nature of the state’s collusion with religious institutions to conceal the history and identity of thousands of people born in the seclusion of so called Mother and Baby Homes. What Paul Redmond, and his col - league Theresa Tingall, divulged that day, of their own personal stories and the wider damage to society that can never be undone, enrages me still. All of the lives destroyed by cold forced separation, itself an unimagin - Castlepollard able hurt that will never fully heal, is Mother and Angels plot at magnified by the wilful collusion, lies Baby Home and delibPereartseo cnoavl esrtinogr y up by the Castlepollard state and the institutions over the Pictures: Adoption Rights Alliance )

decades and may prove impossible to 0 . 3 Irish Examiner untangle. Y B

C C (

i c c U

Nevertheless Paul Redmond has, in e d r a this book, made a serious attempt to n at the has also ex - get.” The author has taken on a diffi - and 1826, more than 41,000 died. o B

unravel the whole sad story from the e n i posed much of the illegal activities cult task of rescuing history from Furthermore an investigation by the l o r opening of the first foundling hospi - a

The Adoption Machine C carried out at all of the state’s Mother those Angel plots. This is literally a British government found that in a : e tals in Dublin in the 1730s through to r u history from below and a thoughtful t

and Baby Homes, including unregis - six-year period between 1790 and c i the 20th century institutions and P tered burials. If it were not for O’ - attempt to tell the story of so many 1796, 12,768 babies had been admit - the most recent discovery of infant Fatharta’s persistence much who were buried without a name. ted and 9,786 of them had died. burials at Tuam. For Paul it is a per - evidence would not have seen the traces the On top of those figures another im - sonal story – however, it is much developmeSnutr ovfi voarpl rhanteags es back to more than autobiography. light of day. portant statistic was revealed, that of the establishment, by Captain The book is divided into four sec - By way of context, Redmond ex - 2,847 vanished babies with no record Thomas Coram, of London’s first tions organised chronologically. This plains his own personal story of how of their existence. This is an impor - foundling hospital in 1739. provides the reader with a thorough his first visit, as an adult, to Castle - tant precedent in terms of a culture of historical background of the institu - pollard Mother and Baby Home, undocumented infants held by insti - tions involved and the conditions that where he was born, profoundly af - Before this babies were often aban - tutions without a record to identify Judi Dench played role of Philomena Lee existed inside them. The majority of fected him. doned or became the inmates of them and, sadly, that practice carried space is naturally given to the 20th He described the visit as “life workhouses where survival rates through to the modern era. century and the early decades of the changing” and the impetus for his were perilously low. It was Coram Redmond provides a factual guide current century, when Paul’s own campaigning work: “I hunted down who introduced the practice of to the various ‘homes’ established quest for justice began. every scrap of information I could changing the babies’ names upon en - throughout Ireland, beginning with The release of Martin Sixsmith’s find about Castlepollard and in par - tering the hospital and therefore los - the Rotunda Girls Aid Society in 1881 story of Philomena Lee, as a movie in ticular the Angels Plot.” ing their identity. Almost 20 years through to those currently under in - and treated appallingly.” 2013, went some way to highlight the Over the years I have got to know after Coram’s initiative the first Mag - vestigation in the Commission of In - Naturally the appalling treatment practice of illegal and coerced adop - Paul Redmond on a personal level dalene laundry was opened in vestigation into the Mother and Baby of unmarried mothers had a detri - tions in Ireland and shockingly and the fact that he was not prepared Whitechapel in London, its function Homes. mental effect on the health and well brought attention to the practice of to stop there, but to go beyond his to house ‘fallen women’. The hard attitude to single preg - being of their babies. Apart from this, deliberately misleading family mem - own experience, does not surprise Meanwhile, in Ireland legislation nant women in the early 20th century the stigma and prejudice against ille - bers attempting to locate one an - me; he has unselfishly taken on a mo - did provide for similar institutions, is put in context in terms of both gitimate children persisted in Irish other. It was, of course, the more mentous task on behalf of all those but as Redmond points out the con - Catholic prejudice and the reign of legislation until the 1980s. recent press coverage surrounding stolen lives. ditions appear to have been signifi - Queen victoria. A public policy ex - As Redmond comments they were 2th8 e discovery of the burial site at In his own words, “I became an ac - cantly inferior to Coram’s isted in both Ireland and Britain to “vilified as bastarSdHOsP, FLOwOR eyaJkulliyn 2g01s8 , Tuam that blew the story wide open. tivist by default. The ‘something’ I London-based hospital. “dispatch single pregnant girls to runts” and so on but it is the statisti - While the consistent and forensic wanted to do, I realised afterwards, Of the 51,000 children who entered public workhouses where they were cal evidence he provides of mortality work by journalist Conall O’Fatharta included never letting people for - the Dublin hospital between 1796 separated from the ‘respectable poor’ rates that really indicates their disad - Entrance to the site in Tuam where some 800 babies are thought to be buried

Picture: RollingNews.ie

The different circumstances of sep - of agencies, institutions and private understanding has a tendency to es - aration are described with great care individuals. calate online to a greater extent than in this book. Redmond explains that The right to those records is tied to in the real world and this has had some were taken for lon-term board - the second aim and that is to give devastating effects on online political ing before being sent to industrial adopted people a right to their true activity. Redmond gives a very good schools aged from three or four years identity. account of this here. until the age of eight, or for adoption The manipulation of the truth, of The intricacies of the disagree - after 1952. Other records show birth records and other data has ments between the various personnel mothers and their children being Entrance to Castlepollard made the task of tracing a natural may be superfluous information for transferred together to country parent or child extremely difficult. the general reader but it does reflect homes before they were split up That experience is fore-fronted in the on the problematic nature of trying to when the child reached six or eight movie abouBti rPthhi lroemceonrad Ls ee and her organise from a position of limited re - years of age when they could then be son’s attempts to find each other. sources. sent to an industrial school. Their efforts were maliciously Overall this work provides a good Adoptions were particularly har - 1997. Millotte specifically focused on thwarted by lies and misinformation. and balanced history of the various rowing as the following paragraph the illegal trade of babies during the institutions that incarcerated women testifies: mid-20th century from the homes to and their children in Ireland. It goes This was not unique to them it is a “Adoptions and transfers generally Catholic couples in the UK and US. further to describe the lasting impact common experience for the adopted happened with little or no warning. The extent of this was revealed in and damage that a policy of incarcer - community. The adopted community Sometimes mothers returned from records of the Department of Exter - ation and forced adoption has had on have campaigned for decades for leg - their work assignments to be bluntly nal Affairs discovered in 1996 by the our society and in particular on those islation to give them a right to access informed that their baby was gone for archivist Catriona Crowe. Those directly affected. their birth records. That legislation ever. Mothers were normally called to records relate to the illegal docu - The fallout is very much to the fore was eventually drafted in 2015 and vantaged status. Throughout the the office and ordered to return to the ments, passports and birth registra - at present and as a society we are moved as a bill, the Adopted Persons 1920s infant mortality rates for ille - wards to prepare their babies by tion that recorded the names of likely to grapple with it for some time Tracing Information Bill 2016, but gitimate children ran as high as 34%, dressing them in their best clothes. adoptive parents as the natural par - to come. has made no further progress since. this was approximately four times They were then instructed to carry ents. This practice esTsheen tAiadlolyp toiob n - For anyone interested in learning In their attempts to highlight their higher than the rate for legitimate them to the front room in the con - Mscaucrheidn te he identities of possibly tens more on the history of forced adop - stories and further their aims many children. vent. Any protestations were met of thousands of people, the true fig - tion and the Mother and Baby Homes, in the adopted community have used The central theme of the book is ev - with a battery of standard responses ures can never be known. this book is a good place to start; it social media as an organising tool. ident from the title; the issue of how common to all homes. Mothers were The second half of gives a comprehensive overview of Redmond goes into some detail here so many children were removed from told to ‘Get over it! You knew this day deals with the attempts of the history of the institutions from the care of their natural mothers and of the problematic nature of using so - was coming. What else did you ex - the adoption community to organise their establishment up to the most re - placed for adoption. cial media, Facebook in particular. pect? How can you possibly look and form associations, to lobby for cent official investigations into them. It is very important to note that Ire - This makes for interesting reading after a child on your own? Isn’t your their rights, and to have their stories It is important that this narrative land did not have adoption legislation and will no doubt be a feature of com - Rhona McCord is the Parliamentary child better off with a good Catholic brought out into the public domain. be owned by those affected from the in place until 1952, unlike our nearest mother andB afantihshere?d’ ” Babies The campaigning work has two mentary in the future as the prob - Assistant to Clare Daly TD neighbours who had introduced leg - survivor community and in that July 2018 y SHOPFLOOR This book can be added to a small main aims: the first being to highlight lems he highlights are part of a wider 29 islation in the aftermath of the First sense Paul Redmond, as a leading fig - canon of material on the subject in - their story and to have a thorough in - pattern on the use of social media for ure, has taken a very important step. World War. So effectively all adoption cluding, in particular, Mike Mil - vestigation of the past which involves political activity. The breakdown in before that date was illegal. lotte’s of access to all records held in the hands communication often caused by mis - NEWS SLIGO & LEITRIM LOCAL COUNCILS ‘Organise for €15’ strategy tops meeting agenda By Ciaran Campbell Divisional Organiser l

ment, Organising and Campaigning) Committee cil ROC Committee will be renamed the North pulblic meetings is to be set aside for a political wals s et up comprising of Jason Kavanagh, Oisin West Councils ROC Committee. economy course for key activists from the in - l SLIGO and Leitrim Local Councils held a very O’Dwyer and Tony Meehan from Leitrim and Consideration is be given to the hosting of volved local councils to be conducted by Dr successful joint meeting on June 6th in Carrick- Sligo’s Ryan Martin, Thomas Cummins and two public meetings of ‘Organise for €15’ on se - Steven Nolan and Trademark. on-Shannon to discuss and agree a campaign Saoirse Curran. lected dates on each of the first two weeks of Local politicos, unions, community group strategy centred around Mandate’s ‘Organise Letterkenny Local Council is to be invited August or as soon as possible thereafter. activists and media will be invited to attend the for €15’. to ljoin the campaign and have full representa - Dr Stevie Nolan of Trademark is to be in - Well done all that attended! Tlhe meeting was very well attended, picture tion on the Sligo/Leitrim Joint Council ROC vitled to speak at these public meetings, with the public meetings following which the related below, with a notable and sizeable travelling Committee and subsequent organising of the remaining keynote addresses from shop work - ROC Committee will meet to assess the event contingent from Sligo. After active participation campaign. ers themselves as well as a contribution from and consider possible next steps. and contributions, the following was agreed: In the event that Letterkenny Local Council Mandate’s Organising Department. A Sligo/Leitrim Joint Council ROC (Recruit - take up this invite, the Sligo/Leitrim Joint Coun - The following two days after one of the

SC TAY O

Computer Applications N N

Basic Skills QQI Level 4 E

What you’ll learn... C

T Learn English with l Word processing common uses for example: E document formatting, graphics tables and mail merge. D Mandate for free! Mandate, your trade union, is offering English speaking

l Create documents applying a range of processing features. w classes for members. The course is for members who

l Use proofing tools such as spell check, thesaurus w while speaking some English have never had the oppor -

and search/replace. w tunity for formal training. In the course you will learn the

l Learn File Management facilities. .

m basic grammar and improve your vocabulary. You will have the chance to correct those mistakes that your a

Venue: Mandate Training Centre, Distillery Road, Dublin 3 n workmates are too polite to tell you about! Improved

Cost: Free of Charge Eligibility: Mandate members d a Training is FREE to Mandate members. If there are t

e 10 Mandate members who wish to attend this training,

Evening Courses take place one evening .

i classes will take place in a location near to your workplace.

per week for a duration of 12 weeks. e If you are interested please contact: Mandate’s Training Centre on If interested contact Mandate Training Centre on 01-8369699 01-8369699 or email [email protected] Places are limited and are allocated on first come, first served basis

30 SHOPFLOOR y July 2018 OPINION n o i n U

e

Tommy d a r T

e t

McKearney a d

n lic of Ireland is organised in favour of a M

: the better off and to the disadvantage e r u t of a majority of working people. c i P In order to deal with this situation and create a fair society, we need to carry out a fundamental re-evalua - tion of the Irish economy, how it is structured and thereafter act to change it for the better. AS HE concluded what may yet prove It is important that the received to be an epoque-marking address, wisdom relating to neoliberal eco - Mandate General Secretary John Dou - nomics is challenged both in public glas urged those gathered for the discourse and, just as importantly, union’s Biennial Delegate Conference through practical politics. This is not in Wexford in April to “Organise! Or - something that will come about ganise! Organise!” spontaneously or fortuitously. This call could hardly be more A conscious and coordinated effort timely or necessary and not just for will have to be made by the working those trade unionists in attendance. class and its different organisations Notwithstanding a welcome and pos - in order to carry out this task. itive referendum result, the Republic It is in this light that we should un - of Ireland appears intent on taking a derstand the real import of John Dou - lead from playwright Sean O’Casey glas’ address. After stating explicitly and rebrand itself ‘the state o' chas - sis’. the Mandate mission of “… building a An outside observer would be for - strong industrial movement and a strong political movement …”, the given for believing that this state is Rallying cry: managed on the basis of ongoing John Douglas general secretary continued by say - chaos. As one crisis reaches mid-life, at Mandate’s ing, “… whether it is decent wages, another seems always to emerge and BDC in April health care or housing, our members eclipses the previous emergency. and their union will be on the front A cynic might well say that this line.” style of governing benefits many of These are powerful, promising and those who must be held responsible inspiring words. Few can underesti - for an endless series of scandals. The mate the signCirfiucacniacle i osfs au se enior Irish Minister for Homelessness could trade unionist highlighting his heave a sigh oSf ireegliee fl iafntde dreturn to in - CWU’s union’s determination to combine in - activity as the spotlight was turned We need to dustrial and political activity. on his colleague in the Department of 4 point plan Justice. l All unions to agree a There are obviously echoes here of common bargaining the Right to Water campaign, as - The siege on Eoin Murphy was sisted and facilitated as it was, by lifted, at least temporarily, as Charlie agenda to tackle Flanagan wrestled timidly with the insecure employment progressive Irish trade unionists. put a positive That struggle provided an example of lengthy tale of Garda mismanage - l The TUC to call a ment. Then, while the frantic but organised labour making a decisive fruitless search by the Disclosures summit meeting for impact on a crucial issue at an impor - Tribunal for the commissioners’ unions to agree a charter tant time. missing iPhones and laptops contin - However, it is now necessary to ued, focus was diverted from the ‘law to bring about greater recognise that Ireland’s working peo - and justice party’ minister by still programme cooperation in recruiting ple need to move forward and ad - more distressing revelations. millions of unorganised vance a coherent package of Citizens of the state were left demands. For too long we have been aghast as they learned of the HSE’s workers. in defensive mode struggling to de - botched cover-up of tragic misdiag - l All unions to publish a fend public services on the one hand noses of cervical smear tests. manifesto of demands and to stall the imposition of stealth Worth noting by the way, was how taxation on the other. one private sector institution reacted on what constitutes a There is now a need to put a posi - to the cervical cancer story. Ulster on the agenda new deal for workers tive programme on the political Bank’s release of disturbing informa - agenda and demand that the much- tion about selling off of domestic l The TUC to announce touted economic recovery benefits mortgages just as the smear test a date later this year scandal was receiving maximum at - the working class. tention, was hardly coincidental. where all UK workers Such a move would also be timely. The bank is putting 6,500 Irish can participate in some Progressive unions in Britain are cur - rently encouraging the TUC to de - mortgages (including 3,600 belong - privileged minority as wealth is in - heartily endorsed, by the banks, by form of action mand what is being described as a ing to standard owner occupiers) on variably accumulated by those with property speculators, by large con - new deal for workers. the market in the latest mass sale of access to sufficient resources and tractors and buy-to-rent landlords, CWU General While still at an early stage, Com - home loans by an Irish bank, and pre - thereafter becomes concentrated in among whom are many TDs, sena - sumably selling to overseas vulture Secretary munications Workers Union leader fewer and fewer hands. tors and county councillors. Dave Ward funds. It doesn’t take much imagination No surprise either that we have a Dave Ward has outlined a basic four- It may be tempting to attribute to understand why this system is so two-tier health system where, scan - point action plan that includes call - much of the above to incompetence, appealing to the well-to-do and why dalously, money buys access to pref - ing on the TUC to announce a date ineptitude or cynical opportunism. they are so anxious to keep things as erential treatment. Some medical when British workers would partici - However, that would be to miss the they are. Simply put, it means they practitioners, health insurance com - pate in some form of coordinated ac - underlying cause or indeed rationale tion.There is a message in this for for this. The Republic of Ireland’s rul - hold on to and increase their wealth panies and shareholders in private regardless of the consequences for hospitals benefit financially from this Irish trade unionists and indeed all ing and governing elite is driven by a citizens committed to ending the cur - the rest of us. arrangement. Meanwhile, public Picture: Garry Knight (Public Domain) commitment to pursue a neoliberal, rent chaos and replacing it with a free-market agenda that ultimately It is not by chance, for example, health services are starved of ade - better Ireland. accepts no compromise with the that we have a housing crisis. The quate resources resulting in the type common good. state refuses to instigate a meaning - of corner cutting that led to the mis - We have seen with recent refer - Make no mistake about what this ful programme of public house build - diagnoses calamity. enda in Ireland that deep running means. The neoliberal economic ing; an initiative that would And the list goes on. Care for the and positive change is possible. What model favoured by the two largest definitively address the issue. Why? elderly is increasingly becoming while the roll out of high-speed we’re lacking is unity as a movement. parties in the Dáil ruthlessly pro - Because of its dogmatic insistence monetized to the detriment of pa - broadband to all areas (an essential Mandate’s general secretary has Jmuloy t2e01s8 tyhSeHO pPFrLiOvOaR te sector with its ab - that the answer lies through housing tients who can’t afford private facili - facility in this high-tech age) is de - made a valuable contribution to 3-1 solute commitment to profit-making provided by private sector entrepre - ties. An underfunded public pendent on profit-seeking companies wards rectifying this situation. It to the exclusion of all else. neurs. transport system is being down - listed on the stock exchange. would be a crime not to avail of the This model only ever benefits a Unsurprisingly, this assessment is graded in favour of private operators In a nutshell, society in the Repub - opportunity offered within his call. INTERNATIONAL

By Eugene McCartan Communist Party of Ireland Italy’s troubles flag up ANTONIO Gramsci, the famous Italian Marxist, described the crisis in Italy back in the early 20th century as an interregnum, in which “the old is dying and the new cannot yet be born,” and during which time “a great variety of morbid symptoms” can ap - pear. This insight can be applied to the instability of EU project present political crisis in Italy but also, more importantly, to the Euro - ) 0 pean Union itself. The crisis in Italy is . 2

Y B

a product of the growing economic C C ( crisis and the crisis of legitimacy of i b r e t the European Union. i v

a t t

Italy was one of the founding mem - e n

o we look to? The volatile stock ex - m bers of what was then the EEC. The i s

: change, productivity, trade, invest - e present crisis grows out of decades of r u t c

i ment, or growth? And who is in a imposed “austerity,” a combination or P position to speak on behalf of the an alliance of interests between the markets? The rating agencies? The EU as a bloc, which functions in the International Monetary Fund? Do interests of European monopoly cap - ital, and the needs and interests of the working people not count, only the Italian ruling class. rich owners of capital? The Italian national debt has The priority of the Italian presi - grown to an unsustainable level. Italy dent and the Brussels bureaucracy is holds the world’s third-largest public to protect the euro and safeguard the debt, totalling €2.3 trillion at the end fiscal commitments that Italy has al - of March 2018. The Italian Treasury ready entered into. plans to issue €240 to €250 billion in The EU commissioner for the bonds this year, rising to €400 billion budget, the German Christian Demo - when short-term notes are included. crat Günther Oettinger, was very The two-party coalition that has clear in expressing the attitude of reached agreement on a programme German banks and large industry for government is made up of the when he suSgiggnesatle tdo t hvaott ethres markets Five-Star Movement, which won would demonstrate to the Italian vot - ers the dangers in voting for pop - 32.5%, and La Lega (the League) – Deutsche Welle formerlNy orthteh erNno rftrhuesrtnr aLteioangue – ulists. which won 17.5%. These were the undisputed winners in the last gen - On May 29th the German news eral election on March 4th. network stated that “Italy’s economic development could The Lega expresses the frustra - be so drastic that this could be a pos - tions of the north of Italy, which is sible signal to voters not to choose populists from left and right.” In still productive (some high-quality Ghost town: Sesto San Giovanni products, including clothing, and other words, the people must be taught a lesson. services) and demands lower taxes, ) 0 . 2 Industrial blight: abandoned factory in Crotone The warning is clear: you can vote as Italian taxes are among the highest A S -

Y for whomever you like so long as they B in Europe. It also wants a parallel na - C C

( follow the diktats and abide by the tional currency, a reduction in circu - b e EU fiscal rules and treaties. If not, W lation of the euro (which slows down l o v exports, especially to Germany), and e then we will use all economic and po - R

: e

r litical levers to bring you back into

limits to immigration. u t c i Some members of the Five-Star P line. Movement see themselves as heirs to Within the European Union we the historic Italian Communist Party have multiple political parties, but (PCI), with a social base consisting of only one manifesto is allowed, that elements of the working class, those which is agreed by the EU and oper - in precarious employment, the unem - ates within the EU economic strait - ployed, marginalised youth, rural jacket and fiscal controls. Democratic poor, and small businesses. choice is permitted only within It advocates a moral renewal of agreed parameters. Italian politics and of Italian political The two parties involved in the lat - parties. It campaigned on a platform est attempt to form a government are

) of a universal basic income of €750 ) very critical of immigration, of EU fis - 0 0 . . 2 2

Y per month for the poorest, to reduce Y cal controls, of the euro, and of B B

C C greater EU military integration. They C the effects of the social crisis that is C ( (

a R n o are both concerned about the grow - affecting most heavily the south of a C c

i e x h e

t ing power and control by Germany the country, which in the last 10 years M n

i

a p c

liamentary coup in Italy, following the i

l within the EU – what some charac - has suffered 20% unemployment, u ́ b o r u p G

imposing by the EU of Mario Monti, and 40% among young people. e terise as German imperialism. P R

E a E l

an economist who served as prime Internal difficulties for the Euro - : The economic policies pursued by e e d r

u a t minister from 2011. But the EU i c successive Italian governments, in al - c pean Union will intensify with the i n P e d election of and now the formation of knows that this would only cause it i liance with and in adherence to EU s e r P

further difficulties and would further policies of deregulation and privati -

a new Italian government. Both par - : e r u strengthen anti-EU forces within Italy t sation, have facilitated a massive

ties in the new coalition are, to vari - c i ous degrees, critical of the European and throughout the EU in general. P growth of the mafia and organised Union. Better to have the new coalition gov - crime, now the biggest “employers” The president of Italy, Sergio ernment in office and emasculate it. in the most critical southern regions. Mattarella, first rejected the the new This approach poses some interest - The agreement reached between coalition government’s nomination ing questions for those who support the Lega and the Five-Star Movement for finance minister, Paolo Savona, the EU, and in particular such ele - Günther Oettinger: market warning to voters Sergio Mattarella: pro-EU Italian president proposed a relaxation of fiscal rules who is a fierce critic of the euro. Then ments here in Ireland. Simply put, governing the euro zone. Support for 3h2 e attempted to put together a “tech - democracy has no meaning if it be - further integration iSnHO oPFtLhOOeR r ycJruuly c2i0a18l nocratic” government, believing this comes a mere function of serving areas, including an integrated Euro - would placate the EU. capricious greed and “market forces.” pean military policy, may turn more This is the second attempted par - It raises the question, What should lukewarm or reverse altogether. The PLATFORM Níl uainn ach an Domhan! Linne!

A crumbling factory in the Alto Adige region mirrors an economy in ruins Picture:Thomas Kohler (CC BY 2.0) By Cllr Micheál Choilm Mac Giolla Easbuig

sochaí agus cultúr an caipitealachais. thuigeann tú teangacha nó foghlaim MáS saoránach na hÉireann thú, Tógadh le Gaeilge mé, ón chliabhán ar bith fiú bheadh a fhios agat luach the full truth. The real unemploy - beidh a fhios agat gurb í an Ghaeilge aníos, mar a togádh mo shinsear is an fhoinse sin. Thuigfeá gur taisce fi - ment figure is 30% – again the high - céad teanga na hÉireann, de réir bun - sinsear mo shinsearsa leis an teanga achmhar í an ghaeltacht. Thuigfeá est in Europe. In addition, 23% of the reacht an tSaor Stáit. Ach is cosúil le is ársa san Eoraip. Ba mhaith liom, gurb uirlis iontach sa chogadh in population, about one in four people, go leor atá scríofa ann níl beart á mar atá ceartaithe domhsa sa éadan domhan gan éagsúlacht are now at risk of poverty –the high - dhéanamh de réir na briathra sin. Má cháipéis údaí, mo theaghlach féin a theacht ar an fhíor fhréamh as a est level since 1989. bhrúnn tú an cnaipe sin, ‘Uimhir a 2’, thógail le Gaeilge agus a maireachtáil d’eascair rud ar bith, gan trácht ar The depth of the crisis in Italy is re - más Gael thú nó gur mhaith leat ann. Is mé atá bródúil as sochaí beo. flected in areas such as Sesto San Gio - bheith i do Ghael, beidh tú ag glacadh m’oidhreachtsa ach deirtear go dtig Thuigfeá gur fhiú na céadta uaire í vanni, a town on the outskirts of ceann de na roghanna is cinniúnaí, is bród roimh an tit. Is amhlaidh atá sé ná ag léamh as leabhair a scriobhadh Milan, which used to be one of the in - réabhlóidí, is cróga, i do shaol agus sa Ghaeltacht do dhuine ag iarraidh fá dtaobh de. Is sinne an taisce deire - dustrial capitals of Italy. With about beidh ort fanacht muna níonn muid ár saol a chaitheamh fríd ár dteanga aneach dár gcultúr féin agus an tobar 200,000 inhabitants, including gniomh fá dtaobh dó. féin agus muid ag titim lá in aghaidh a thiocfas tarrtháil na teanga as, nó 45,000 blue-collar workers and a ro - Fud fad na tíre uilig, chasfá le tui - lae. fiú, go fóill, tá Gaeilge na gaeltachta bust middle class, it was the site of smitheoirí is le pobail, le daoine Tá titim scáfar i líon na ndaoine le mar a bheadh uachtar ann i gcom - some of the most dynamic Italian aonaracha, atá ag iarraidh sochaí Gaeilge sa Ghaeltacht nó tháinig paráid le rud ar bith atá ar fáil áit ar companies, including Magneti agus saol ghaelach a chothú. Tá bor - laghdú de 10% ó 2011 go 2017 agus bith eile. Tuigeann daoine sin nó thig ITALY Marelli, Falck, Breda, and many more. radh agus borradh, i measc na ndío - suas le 50% ó chéad bunaiodh an na mílte agaibh chun na gaeltachta Today Sesto is an industrial desert. graiseoirí atá ag iarraidh Gaeilge a ‘stáit´ seo. Níl aon iontas ann nó tá achan bliain leis an uachtar sin a shú AT A GLANCE... The factories are gone, the profes - chur chun cinn le ranganna, scoil - titim i líon na ndaoine atá fostaithe sa isteach agus fáilte rómhaibh. sional class has fled, many shops teacha, clubanna peile, tob-ghaeltach - Ghaeltacht agus titim arís sa mhéid a Ach faraor géar, ní bheidh a neart have shut down. GDP taí, ionaid chultúrtha agus le gheibh siad dá saothar. Tá titim i ar an scéal seo gan athrú iomlán sa Twenty-three km (14 miles) to the réabhlóid. Díograiseoirí agus feach - soláthar seirbhísí, titim sa chóras chóras cháidheach seo. Ni fheicfidh €1,734,982,692,016 north of Sesto the town of Meda was taiseoirí an chuid is mó acu nó bíonn léinn, sa leigheas agus cúram leanaí. na rialtais seo thuaidh nó theas gur the seat of various symbols of Italian na daoine ceanann céanna i Go fóill, 2018 níl téacs leabhair fiú eolas, teanga nó cultúr. Deirfidh Population excellence, including Salotti Cassina dtoiseacht ar achan feachtas a Gaeilge le fáil don chuid is mó de na siad leat go gcosnódh sé barraíocht and Poltrona Frau, both of which ex - bhaineann le leas na ndaoine, ó hábhair ar an ard-teastas cionn is gur airgid postanna a thabhairt do 60,795,764 ported highF-aqcuatolirtyie fusr gnoitnue re all over chearta oibre go cearta na mban, go céad bliain i ndiaidh don chigireacht mhuintir na gaeltachta, go gcosnódh the world and employed tens of thou - Interest per year hagóidi in éadan impiriúlachais. sasanach a mholadh go gcuirfí ar fáil sé barraíocht iad a íoc mar is gceart, sands of workers and designers. ‘Daoine iad seo atá ag iarraidh a iad. léigheas, léann nó fiú leabhair scoile Today both companies are gone. €91,751,859,974 bheith saor agus a thuigeann nach Ni inniu nó inné a thoisíodh ag tab - a thabhairt daofa. Interest dtiocfadh leat bheith saor agus tú faoi hairt ‘teanga na mbocht’ ar an “B’fhearr an cur i gcéill a choin - Another victim is the town of Sora, thioncar agus faoi smacht teanga thír Ghaeilge nó is fíor é. Bainnean meath neáilt a’ ghabháil agus ligint orainn go per second with a population of 25,000, 80 km do chiapaitheora. na Gaeilge leis an chóras lofa seo a bhfuil muid ag iarraidh, le brúigh (50 miles) east of Rome. Until re - Tuigeann na daoine seo stair na chuireann luach níos airde ar uimhir a 2, seirbhís go bhfuighfidh €2,909 cently Sora was an affluent commer - teanga agus stair a meatha; mar a bhrabús an aicme bourgeois, na siad lag, go bhfuighidh siad tuirsech cial city, with medium-sized paper rinne ansmacht an impiúralachais huaisle ná ar rud ar bith eile sa agus sa dierireadh go bhfuighidh an Debt per citizen factories and hundreds of shops. scrios ar chultúr, ar chóras agus ar domhan seo. Is le bochtanas agus mí- t-iomlán bás. Ach is duine saor i mo €39,485 Today all the factories are gone, and mheon na ndaoine le marbh, gorta roinnt luach ár saothar atá siad ag mheon is mo ghniomh mé, cosúil half the shops have closed. The eco - agus goid ó chosmuintir na tíre. De leanstan leis an slad ar anam na tíre. libhse agus tá me ag troid in éadan an Debt as nomic crisis of the system that thairbhe seo tuigeann Gaeil na tíre Dá mbeadh a laghad crann de iomláin ag súil le athrú córais agus erupted in 2007, coupled with the agus lucht na saoirse go chineál amháin fágtha ar an tsaol saol. Tá mé ag súil le Poblacht na percentage imposing of “austerity” policies by hidirnáisiúnta luach agus tairbhe bheadh lucht caomhnaithe specis ag nOÉibirrimí, áísi,t n aí l buhaeinans maceha asn a dr odmhahoainn. e, Brussels, has only accelerated the Gaeltachtaí agus áiteacha cosúil leo cruinniu airgid dár dtarrtháil. Nil ach eolas, cultúr agus an Ghaeilge. Ni of GDP sharp decline in the Italian economy. mINa rT nHaE f oPinIsCíT dUeRireEa.n.. eacha teanga fíor bheagán daoine sa domhan mhór thiocfaidh sé gan obair, gan gníomh, 138% The solution to the problems of the agus frith-impiriúlach i lár fásach seo le Gaeilge ón chliabhán acu agus tá go leor le déanamh againn. Italian working class – as with the mhór ghainimh an tsochaí Béarla seo, nios lú á usáid i rith an ama. Má NEC member Keith Leonard, Irish working class – is not more EU far right, with other Together for integration and stronger controls Yes activists in front of the 1798 from Berlin but rather the assertion monument in Castlebar, Co Mayo of national democracy and sover - eignty, giving working people real power and control over economic present crisis can only pit the will of and social policies. the Italian people against the EU es - With a more EU-critical govern - tablishment and the global markets. ment in Italy, and Britain on its way The backdrop to the election re - out, the EU is looking even more pre - carious than ever. The crisis within sults is that about 20% of Italy’s in - the European Union is multiplying dustrial capacity has been destroyed, the morbid symptoms within the and 30% of the country’s firms have member states. People are demand - defaulted. Such destruction of wealth ing less EU and more accountable has sent shock waves through the democracy at the national level. country’s banking system, which was Unfortunately, much of the left, in - (and still is) heavily exposed to small cluding some communist parties, are and medium-sized businesses. only offering more EU, while the right Unemployment continues to be wing captures the mood, the frustra - Eugene McCartan is General Secretary of one of the worst in Europe, with an tions and aspirations of the working official unemployment rate of 11% the Communist Party of Ireland class. But these forces are not con - 33 J(u1ly2 2%01 8 iny SsHoOPuFtLOhOeR rn Italy) and a youth cerned with weakening the system unemployment rate of 35% (with but rather with strengthening it. peaks of 60% in some southern re - gions). But these figures do not tell TVhIEWinPOkINTi ng the unthinkable on the EU Ciaran Many have queued Campbell up to denounce AS THE European Union reels from Brexit, to broadcast the EU’s coupled with an incredible rise in far cietal wealth and benefits as well as one catastrophe to another, not least “effectiveness in delivering right nationalist politics across the employment rights were solely based the recent Italian situatPiaornt ia Onudv rtiheer globe, appearing at best to be unfet - on membership of the EU is to be to - nInedveepre ennddaintg DBermexoitc rsatgiaq,u ae recent Eu - societal wealth and tered, if not totally out of control. The tally disingenuous. ropean Workers Conference hosted world’s Big Powers’ relentless pur - Is it conceivably possible that by the French Independent and Dem - benefits, employment suit and monopolising of capital pres - Brexit might not materialise as the ocratic Workers Party – rights but none have ents very real dangerous prospects evil everyone appears to suggest it – held on for all of us. will be? Is it also not the case that so - May 12th and 13th May in Paris, com - examined what is The time has now come for the EU cially-focused, national economic memorating the 25th anniversary that Ireland and the UK were well actually happening model – while its origins were ar - self-determination might actually de - signing of the Maastricht Treaty ahead of the pack compared to some guably morally aspirational and prin - liver more in terms of wealth, bene - clearly outlined an imperative for of our European counterparts. That on the ground cipled – to undergo an examination fits and rights for all citizens? workers to internationally enjoin and said, it’s saddening that countries on a proper class perspective and a At this European Workers Confer - fight the obvious ills and impacts of constituted to provide full and wide critical analysis that sets aside the ob - ence keynote speaker after keynote the EU’s neo-liberal economic social inclusion and supports are vious puerile bashing of those who speaker from many different parts of agenda. now coerced by the EU, the IMF and ” argue its days are numbered and set Europe – Belarus, Belgium, Britain, Keynote speakers and conference the World Bank to sell off national out the reasons why. France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, audience contributors laid bare the utilities, embrace privatisation and ists who fought to prevent this hap - Many from all quarters have Ireland, Italy, Macedonia, Portugal, effects of this agenda – war, immigra - scale back on financing those very pening as well as the other devastat - queued up to denounce Brexit, to Romania, Serbia, the Spanish State, tion, job losses through privatisation, same supports such as health, hous - ing impacts of neo-liberal economics broadcast the EU’s effectiveness in Switzerland and Turkey – spoke of social charter and wage erosion, ing and education. on the country have been and con - delivering societal wealth and bene - their current experiences and strug - union de-recognition, flexible inse - In 1989, Bulgaria had 220,000 tinue to be jailed because of their ac - fits, employment rights but none gles against the impending demise of cure working practices, denial of mine industry workers but by 2015 tivism. One of them died while in have examined what is actually hap - their hard-won rights, all of which rights towards women and minori - this figure had been cut to 20,000 due prison. pening on the ground. had a particular resonance. ties, education and health care to the country’s mining industry It shouldn’t go unnoticed that this To suggest that those that voted for Common to all of these addresses budget ravages, capital over labour… being privatised and the wholesale unfettered pursuit of capital domi - Brexit are like “Turkeys voting for was the EU’s capitalist model, driven and so on and so on. closure of many of its operations. nance over labour has led to war and Christmas” and/or “It was a racist and replicated across all its member In fact, one couldn’t help wonder Many of Bulgaria’s brave trade union - subsequent widespread immigration vote” is insulting. To suggest that so - states, which along with other global Trade Union House Committee Representation (QQ1 Level 5) Workshops This course for shop stewards/union representatives who have Our House Committee Workshops are designed to assist completed the introductory course or who have relevant experience. Activists in their role as Union Representatives. Our Workshops run for about 3 hours and can be delivered Course content: and tailored by your Mandate Trade Union Official/Organiser to ensure the best time and location is • Understanding Mandate’s structures • Negotiations & Collective Bargaining used for our member’s convenience. • Overview of Mandate’s rules • Understanding Equality and Diversity Learning Outcomes: • Industrial Relations institutions • Developing induction presentation skills l Briefing on Current Industrial Relations Environment and mechanisms • Introduction to Employment Law l Understanding House Committee Roles and Structures • Mandate’s Organising Model • Identifying issues and using procedures l Communication Skills

Certification and Progression: Members who successfully complete this training course l Workplace Organising will obtain a Mandate certificate. They may progress to the QQI Level 5 Certificate in Trade Union studies or other relevant training courses offered by Mandate. l Dealing with Workplace issues l Tips for Representing Member/s in Grievance Meetings If you are interested in this course, please contact your Mandate official or Mandate's Training Centre l Tips for Representing Members/s on Disciplinary Matters at . Email: 01-8369699 [email protected] l Principles of Natural Justice and Fair Procedures

Progression: Members who successfully complete this training course can apply to do our Union Representative Introductory training which is currently delivered over 3 days.

If you are interested in this training please contact the training centre at: Mandate Organising and Training Centre, Distillery House, Distillery Road, Dublin 3 Tel: (01) 836 9699 Email: [email protected]

34 SHOPFLOOR y July 2018 ) 0

. Street artist Banksy’s 2

Y take on Brexit – perhaps B

C

C it’s time to reconsider our (

l l

u own participation in the H

n

a whole European project... c n u D

: e r u t c i P

punches well above its weight on EU lobbying practices. A recent Irish Times article (4th June) pointed out that Ibec was the third biggest lobby spender across the EU’s 28 member states – lagging behind the BDI (the Federation of German Industries) and the BDA (the Confederation of German Employers’ Associations) – spending €1.3 million on EU lobbying activities in 2017. Ibec has four full-time staff based in Brussels who are also supple - mented by employees based at its Dublin Head Office regularly visiting Brussels on business and lobby mis - sions. This equates to an Ibec self-de - clared full-time staff equivalent of 10 for the purposes of its EU interactions Union in the same year. As the Irish Times reports: “Ibec is also the busiest lob - bying group by far in Ireland, giving it powers is savaging a collectivist un - will bemoan any and all criticism of an influential voice with Govern - Representative derstanding of what constitutes the the EU, they should be fully appraised ment.” common good across the planet. of the fact that Ibec – the Irish ‘trade No wonder it feels like we are try - While many Irish workers and union’ like body that represents more ing to push back the tide in defending Advanced their representative organisations than 7,500 Irish businesses – workers’ hard fought and won rights! Senior Course The Union Representative Advanced Negotiation Skills Level 3 Senior Training Course is for union representatives who have completed the ‘Negotiations in Practice’ Introductory and Advanced course and who have experience as a union This one day progression course in Negotiation Skills is for union activists, union representatives who have a desire to improve their knowledge and Course content understanding in conflict resolution and negotiation skills, managing the process and the psychology of the negotiating environment.  The history of trade unionism The emergence and development There are three levels:  of the market system l Introductory l Building Skills and Knowledge l Negotiations in Practice  The impact of globalisation Course content: Free trade and open markets l Review of Level 1 & 2 l 1st Exercise: producing a team plan and objectives  in a modern society l Real topic to negotiate on (recorded) l Learner assessment by Tutor l Individual learner feedback l 2nd Exercise: based on feedback l Supports for negotiations – media strategy if appropriate, member info and commitment Certification and Progression: Members who successfully complete this training course will obtain a Mandate certificate. Progression: They may progress to the FETAC level 5 Members who successfully complete Certificate in Trade Union studies or other this 1 Day Training Course will obtain a relevant training courses offered by Mandate. Mandate Certificate. If you are interested in this course, please contact your Mandate Official Please contact your Mandate Union Official or Mandate or Mandate's Training Centre at 01-8369699. Training Centre on 01-8369699 if you are interested in taking this course; or alternatively you can email your Email: [email protected] request to [email protected]

July 2018 y SHOPFLOOR 35 NEWS TRAINING INTERNATIONAL US unions vow to fight back after Supreme Court ruling

AMERICAN public sector unions have negotiations. Following the ruling, slammed as a “nefarious political at - AFSCME President Lee Saunders tack” the decision of the US Supreme said: “Despite this unprecedented Court to overturn a 40-year prece - and nefarious political attack – de - dent that coAmbopoedls v ns.o Dne-turnoito Bno warodr ko-f signed to further rig the rules against eErdsu ctoa tpioany agency – or “fair share” – working people – nothing changes fees to trade unions. the fact that America needs unions Those fees, approved by the court now more than ever. in the 1977 Janus vs. AFSCME “We are more resolved than ever to Council 31 case, cover collective bar - fight like hell to win for our members gaining costs, such as contract nego - and the communities they care so tiations. much about. The June 27 “AFSCME members don’t do this Union Representative Introductory course participants proudly display their certificates at the Mandate Training Centre in Dublin in May. Standing (left to right) are: John O’Reilly, Joanna Paszkiewicz, Thomas Griffin, Thomas Carroll, John Murphy, Robert Butler, and tutor Martin Mahony. Front Row: Mandate ruling is being seen as a work to get rich. They do it because Dublin North West Divisional Organiser Keith Pollard and Lorraine O’Connor. major blow to workplace organising it’s a calling – and for that service, Stateside – but unions have vowed to they deserve respect.” fight back. AFGE National President J. David Mark Janus, an employee at the Illi - Cox said: “On behalf of the wealthiest Why I’ll be jumping at next available course nois Department of Healthcare and one per cent and special interest Family Services, had claimed the fees groups, the Supreme Court has at - were a form of political advocacy and tempted to strike the death knell for infringed on his First Amendment public-sector unions, but the workers rights. themselves will ultimately decide Shopfloor AFSCME countered by insisting the their own fate. Workers know the im - fees prevented “free-riding” from em - portance of unions in the workplace AFTER completing his course arriving. I honestly didn't think I'd cussions – and the learning was made ployees who benefit from the union's and they will survive.” Thomas Griffin (Garveys Supervalu enjoy the course as much as I did and, easy.” Limerick) spoke to about as true as God, I've been recommend - Thomas added: “On top of that I his learning experience. ing it to other members. metH sooumse eC ofamnmtitateset itcra pineinogp ilne P worhtlaoo iIs leo. ok He said: “After feeling a bit nervous “[The course was] interesting from forwPaircdtu rteod sfaere riinghgt aisg Maaind. a Ite’l lM bidela jnudms p - I was put at ease within a minute of start to finish, with some great dis - ing at theD inviesxiotn alv Oariglanbisler cMoaundrys eK.a” ne

Information Technology Skills QQI Level 5 What you’ll learn... l Word Processing: Document Formatting, Graphics, Mail Merge l Create documents applying a range of processing features l Use proofing uools such as spell-check, thesaurus & search/replace l Learn File Management l Use Windows Explorer l Open, edit, and print a document l Enter, edit and sort data Left: Participants in the Employment l Insert and delete rows and columns in a worksheet Law Level 1 course in the l Enter formulae l Microsoft Outlook - send and receive emails. Connolly Room, Mandate Training l Excel – create spreadsheets Centre in Dublin l PowerPoint presentations

If you are interested in taking this course in 2018, contact Right: Union Mandate Training Centre on 01-8369699 or email Representative Introductory course [email protected] to secure your place held in Cork in May. Mandate President Places are limited and are allocated on a first come first served basis John O’Donnell, and are open to Mandate members who are currently unemployed. who dropped in to meet the new shop Please see Mandate website for stewards, is pictured further training courses at www.mandate.ie with the group, back right

36 SHOPFLOOR y July 2018 ANALYSIS

The next step... nation) in the sector. There are a number of strategies to end the gender pay gap: legislation (and highly resourced monitoring and compliance) and transparency which the Government intends to in - women’s rights troduce, requiring companies to pub - lish gendered payroll breakdowns. One strategy that doesn’t get much mention is the attempt to rebalance, however slightly, the power relation - ships in the workplace; namely, col - lective bargaining. Where collective in the workplace bargaining exists there is a tendency for the gender pay gap to fall. There are two examples of this in unad - gap) entangles in its measurement justed figures. Michael both possible discrimination between First, in the public sector – where men and women, in terms of ‘unequal workers benefit from collective bar - Taft pay for equal work’, as well as the im - gaining – the gender pay gap is much less than in the private sector, where SIPTU Research pact of differences in the average char - acteristics of men and women in the only 15% of workers benefit. In the labour market.” public sector the gender pay gap is 9.7%; in the private sector it is more than double – 19.7%. Second, those economic sectors with higher levels of union density (the number of workers who are Eurostat has been working on an members ofU tnriaodne duenniosnitsy – this can ‘adjusted’ gender pay gap – one NOW that women have secured a be used as a proxy for collective bar - which removes these structural fac - gaining) tend to have lower gender basic human right denied them by the tors. What iPs elerffto irs mcaalnlecde the ‘unex - pay gaps. constitutional caprice of the now de - plained’ pay gap and it is in this funct 8th Amendment, what is the measure we will find actual pay dis - next step? crimination. Not only is the gender pay gap It depends on how people see the lower in health, education and public issue. If it was about secularising the administration; the transport sector constitution, then the next step So how do these compare? Ireland performs comparatively well in the has a lower gender pay gap. And the would be to dis-establish the church transport sector has the highest in the provision of health and educa - ‘unadjusted’ pay gap with a lower percentage than the average of our union density in the market economy. tion. If it was seen as a woman’s issue [SEE FIG 1] There is a strong and positive rela - – an issue of choice and autonomy – EU peer group (13.9% as opposed to 16.9%). However, when we turn to tionship between the ability of em - then the next step would be to ad - plo“ y.e .e .s styos nteemgos twiaitteh c ao llfeoctuivs eolyn wceitn h - dress issues that continue to deny the adjusted, or unexplained, gender tralised bargaining (sectoral and pay gap a different picture emerges. their employer and a lower gender women their rights. (By the way, we pcraoys-sg-asepc. t oTrhael) E aunrdo hpiegahn c oTlrlaedcteiv Uen biaor n - can take these and other steps in tan - Cgaoinnfiendge rcaotvioerna fgoeu ntedn tdh itso: have been dem). Ireland shoots up to the top. While more successful in integrating gender In the workplace, this means the it cannot be assumed that the entire equality issues into collective bargain - continuing discrimination against amount of this gap is due to actual ing . . .the most successful gender women – in pay and working condi - pay discrimination, it suggests such equality outcomes are found where tions. The usual way of measuring discrimination is the highest in our sectoral and company bargaining co- peer group. this is the gender pay gap, a simple exist.” calculation that measures the earn - WhenW weh teunrn p toe tohpe lweh woleosrakle and ings inequality between men and retail setcotogre wthe efirn –d twhaht ewthhileer I re - women. This has rightly received a land is not at the top of the league, the lot of attention. However, there are in a social organisation problems with this measurement. This shouldn’t be too surprising. A pay gap can be due to structural “campaigning for the When people work together – factors, not outright gender discrim - whether in a social organisation cam - ination. For instance, occupational repeal of an odious Picture: Joseph Francis (CC BY-SA 2.0) paigning for the repeal of an odious segregation could explain the differ - amendment or in the amendment or in the workplace cam - ence in earnings. While 24% of workplace campaigning [SEE paigning for equality – positive women work in the low-pay distrib - change can occur. These are persist - utive and hospitality sectors, only FIG 2] for equality – positive ent leNsostoen: Tsh. i s data was presented by Ethel 19% of men work there. Because of And when people work together, this and other factors (occupational Buckley, SIPTU Deputy General Secretary, to change can occur... Irish gender pay gap is significantly sector it is nearly 21%. Again, it must the next steps and the steps after that seg“. r. e. gthaeti uona, djeudsutecda tGiPonGa (lg enacdherie pvae y- a Unite seminar on collective bargaining. above its own national average. be stressed that this is not all down to become a little bit easier. ment, number of working years), this simple measurement is called ‘unad - actual pay discrimination. But it does justed’. The EU Commission states: ” The national gender pay gap is point to serious disparities and in - FIG 1 13.9%; in the wholesalFe IaGn d2 retail equalities (including actual discrimi -

July 2018 y SHOPFLOOR 37 TRAINING ANALYSIS Link between low pay and in-work poverty... Lisa Wilson So, if you are a low paid worker and the sole earner of the household there is a much higher risk that your household will be classified as poor, than if you live in a household with one or more other workers. Some of the latest figures show that 17% of low paid individuals who are the sole earner in their households THERE has long been an assumption are poor. This figure drops to 1% or that work is the best and most effec - 2% for those low paid individuals tive route out of poverty. who live with another worker. This maxim, however, has been We can conclude from this then questioned recently by a report pub - that for a significant proportion of the low paid – work only becomes a route Mel Corry lished by Social Justice Ireland that (above left) posits that there are more than out of poverty if one lives with an - and Stephen 104,000 people in employment in other worker. Thus, for low paid Nolan of Ireland who are living in households workers, work is by no means a guar - Trademark anteed route out of poverty. (below far with an income which is less than the right) who official poverty line – about €250 per This is all the more concerning in took the adult per week. The working poor. the context of research which shows Advanced Social Justice Ireland argues that that the in-work poor have a higher Senior Reps risk of being in poor health than the course in in-work poverty and the fact that Galway in poverty figures for those in employ - unemployed or economically inactive. late June, ment have moved very little over the Additionally, there has been much pictured last 10 years reflects a persistent debate and discussion lately about with course the extensive number of jobless participants problem with low earnings. Some commentators, however, househoWldse icna nIr ecloandc luwditeh fmroam ny have been highly critical of the propo - commentators arguing that if we are sition that low earnings are the key serious tahboisu tt hreednu ctihnga tp foover raty we explanation of in-work poverty, argu - ing that the explanation put forward significant proportion of by Social Justice Ireland is at least im - “ the low paid – work only precise, if not incorrect. What then can we make of these becomes a route out THERE’S A N EW conflicting claims? Is low-earnings the best explanation for in-work of poverty if one lives poverty? Or are the responding com - mentators correct in saying that this with another worker WAY TO JOIN OR explanation is an inaccurate one? As like most social issues, the answer to this question is less straight-forward than a simple Yes or No. ” PAY your dues To be counted as in-work poor one must have a job and, at the same time, must concentrate on reducing job - belong to a household at-risk-of- lessness and getting more people into poverty. This is because low earnings work. www.joinmandate.ie are measured at the individual level, In the context of the above data – while risk of poverty is measured at which suggests that for many people the household level. work only becomes a route out of What this means is that you can poverty if a second member of the have a low paying job, but not live in household also works – we must poverty. And, despite having low tread with caution. OUR new web earnings, substantive proportions of At the same time, the types of jobs low-paid workers do not live in available and the nature of employ - portal ALSO households which are classified as ment has changed, becoming more poor. precarious, marked by a reduction in We can conclude from this that full-time, permanent jobs and a gen - allows there is some merit to the proposi - eral decline in the terms, conditions tion that being in low earnings em - and quality of employment. ployment does not necessarily imply This has especially been the case existing members that you will have a low standard of for younger workers; those with living, or that you will live in poverty. fewer qualifications; those employed to switch This is because the household cir - in certain sectors such as retail or the cumstances of individual workers are accommodation and food sectors; or key in determining whether or not a those in lower skilled occupations their payment low-paid worker will be classified as such as routine or elementary occu - poor. pations. Nevertheless, how much you earn Labour market activation strate - method does play a significant role in increas - gies for reducing the number of job - ing your chances of being in poverty. less households could have the Those with a low paid job are much unintended consequence of increas - more likely to be poor. ing in-work poverty. This could hap - But, as said, risk of living in poverty pen if one becomes employed in a for low earning individuals also de - low paid job which does not pay pends importantly on the household Lisa Wilson is an Economist at the Nevin Illustration: Daniel Huntley (CC BY-SA 2.0) enough to brinEcgo tnhoem hico Ruesseahrochld I nasbtiotuvte in which they live – and indeed it is the income poverty threshold. We 38 the role which low earnings play in must ensure that theS HjOoPbFLsO OcRreyaJutelyd 2 0t1o 8 the household that is critical in deter - reduce joblessness are decent ones. mining the likelihood that the house - hold will be in poverty. SPOTLIGHT Abortion IS a workplace issue, here’s why... Thomas Pringle reason. That’s why I believe the Ma - ternity and Infant Care Scheme should be expanded to cater to the needs of women seeking a termina - tion. Currently it provides an initial examination, if possible before 12 weeks, and a further five examina - tions during the pregnancy, which are alternated with visits to the mater - AFTER a forceful ‘Yes’ win in the Ref - nity unit/hospital. It also includes erendum the 8th Amendment will free in and out-patient visits to the now vacate its long established home maternity hospital. within our constitution. Women The next step would be to ensure today and in future generations will that employers recognise the scheme finally have access to what was right - and adhere to it by providing paid fully theirs in the first place: health - leave to a staff member seeking a ter - care at home. mination. Now that the priority is on drafting Furthermore, it would mean the legislation to make this a reality for woman would not have to disclose the first time in Ireland it got me the reason for seeking leave as long thinking what other areas apart from as it was a recognised maternity serv - our healthcare system needs to adapt ice and privacy would be preserved. to this momentous result? And what Not everyone has a positive relation - can we do to dismantle and prevent ship with their employer, so this the shame and stigma that has been needs to be respected. plaguing women and their families Much of this will have to addressed for too long? between various Departments but I While I believe there are many All changed, changed utterly: crowds in Dublin await the result of the referendum on repealing the 8th Amendment am hopeful that the Government will areas in Irish life that will have to play Picture: Mandy La Combre recognise the importance of this so catch-up, an important area will be that workplaces across Ireland can the workplace environment. In the cater to the needs of women at this context of the repeal of the 8th difficult time. Amendment abortion should now be We have a lot of work to do to make formally recognised as a workplace into facilitating a compassionate and while 20% stated the person had ployers ensure that abortion is recog - up for the 34 years of the 8th Amend - issue. For yeaArsb oitr wtioans as s ae cWreotr kopnlea.c e understanding work environment for wanted sick leave after the abortion nised as a workplace issue and secure ment hovering over the lives of women and their families in Ireland. IssTuhee: Ab Tasraisd efo Ur ntihoins Swuarvse syt Nauonrtchh l& y staff undergoing terminations. but could not take it. supports necessary for female staff But let’s not forget how long it can vSoaulitdha otef dth ien I sal arnedport published last The basis for such a need to recog - A further 11% needed time off and members seeking healthcare at home take for culture to change and for February by Mandate and other trade nise abortion as a workplace issue were able to get sick pay, whereas and in some rare cases abroad? unions, titled stigma and shame to dissipate into was established through some reveal - 10% needed time off and used un - Firstly, employment legislation the past. ing statistics in the report worth con - paid leave. may have to be amended to place the . For that reason it’s important that sidering in the context of Repeal In addition, 28% stated that the onus on employers to recognise the The long awaited and much needed abortion as a workplace issue is Ireland. person had needed time off and used rights of women to access healthcare survey on abortion provided a valu - recognised and kept firmly on the able insight into abortion in the For example, in those with direct annual leave to facilitate this. at home. Whereas before a women Government’s agenda. I will do my workplace in a way never seen be - experience of abortion as a work - As we can see from the figures, would take annual leave or unpaid best to make it so and I’ve no doubt fore. A total of 3,180 members re - place issue, almost half (42%) stated supports ranging from disclosure, ad - leave to travel to the UK we now that Mandate and the trade union that the person concerned had strug - vice, support, time off and sick pay agree that women should be facili - movement will be pThuosmhains gPr ihnagrled i s oan sponded to the survey while 48 took Independents4Change TD for Donegal part in online discussions. gled to pay for the costs of the proce - will need to be facilitated to ensure tated here at home. It makes sense to this issue as the legislation pro - It continues to be a vital piece of re - dure. Related to this were issues such that workplaces are compassionate ensure women are entitled paid leave gresses through the Dáil. search that will, if supported and as time off and sick pay, with 23% and understanding places for staff for seeking medical attention of any acted upon, help bring along employ - wanting time off after the abortion who find themselves in this situation. kind during pregnancy, including in ers, employees and their colleagues but unable to afford to lose wages, How can the Government and em - the case of termination for whatever Higher Level Computer Training Advanced Word Processing

l To manage a word processing application to include customising l To edit complex documents using advanced editing menus & toolbars & automating common tasks by using macros techniques & tools l To utilise advanced file handling techniques l To prioritise efficient work practices in relation to the use of the l To generate complex documents computer, printer and materials l Organise information of different types within a document l To take responsibility for own work and or the work of others while l To format complex documents planning and adhering to timelines within a supervisory capacity

Evening Courses take place one evening per week week for a duration of 14 weeks. If you are interested please contact Mandate’s Training Centre on 01-836 9699 or by email [email protected] Places are limited and are allocated on a first come first served basis and are open to Mandate members who are currently unemployed.

July 2018 y SHOPFLOOR 39 NEWS EU Parliamentary Left group report’s Apple tax allegations

A REPORT commissioned by the Left only $1.7 billion for the rest of the particular, has been central to profit- group in the European Parliament world combined. The research sug - shifting involving Ireland; claims it has found examples of sys - gests that Apple could be paying as Along with Apple, US multina - tematic tax evasion and abuse of legal little as 0.7% tax on its EU profits; tionals such as Starbucks, Mi - loopholes by tech giant Apple be - The report claims Ireland plays a crosoft, Google, Facebook, AirBnB tween 2015 and 2017. crucial role in Apple’s company and Pfizer have used tax mecha - It examines the corporate tax rate structure – with five of its seven most nisms such as the ‘Double Irish’, the paid by Apple globally and in the Eu - significant subsidiaries (owning ‘Dutch Sandwich’ and even the ’Sin - ropean Union after it made signifi - Picture:Filip Maljkovic (CC BY-SA 2.0) more than 20 other subsidiaries lo - gle Malt’ (Ireland-Malta treaty); cant changes to its corporate A series of shock Par - cated around the globe) being incor - The Irish government has been structure in 2015. claims involving tax adise Papers porated here. These subsidiaries have slow or reluctant through de - The GUE/NGL report also looks arrangements by Apple been crucial in holding cash – none of into the methods Apple uses in han - have been made in a lays to phase out the many legal report by the Left which is disclosed or subject to EU dling its tax affairs today, and how it loopholes, which has allowed Apple group in the European ment’s TAX3 committee over the taxes; to exploit the tax system; deploys features of Irish tax law and Parliament, above revelations. policy that help with what the report Apple has used pre-2015 Irish Apple does not disclose any fi - Claims in the report include: authors claim is the company’s ongo - laws to enact tax avoidance nancial information from its ing tax avoidance. Apple has no geographical dis - strategies – from residency to intel - Irish subsidiaries that are taking ad - SUTMheM puEbRlic SatCioHnO oOf tL he report coin - closure of profits and taxes lectual property laws, and transfer vantage of Irish financial secrecy al - cides with Apple’s recent refusal to wherever it operates – paying $13.9 pricing to APAs (advanced pricing lowance for unlimited liability Uappeanr beifoore MnEPs sin th’e Payrlia -outh billion in taxes for the Americas but agreements). Intellectual property, in companies. committees share knowledge and discuss strategy

TEN young members from Mandate activist. The event began with a pres - particularly retail and bar workers, tion about how the two youth com - history has developed into the mod - Youth took part in a summer school entation from Stevie Nolan from are extremely low paid by EU stan - mittees cSahno pwfloorokr closer together to ern world. I attended the full three in Carlingford on Friday, 22nd June TradeMark Belfast who explained to dards. We need to win pay increases, achieve shared objectives. day political economy course last and Saturday 23rd June. The event participants the history of trade and secure hour contracts. However, James CallaghEanng, afrgoemd Supervalu in year but this condensed version was was a cross-union initiative between unionism and capitalism. This was there’s no point in winning a 3% pay Swords, took part in the conference still useful as it's so dense with infor - Mandate Youth and the CWU Youth followed by a briefing titled ‘Neo-lib - increase if the Government can come and told he “thoroughly en - mation that I still learned a bunch the Committee. eral Turn and the Rise of Disaster along and introduce water charges joyed” the experience. second time round.” The event was named after two making you worse off than you were Callaghan added: “Going forward, Capitalism’. young trade union activists Francis before.” our youth committee will stay in Participants discussed the great re - Gormley (29) from Nightline and a Housing was also discussed along He said: “Being engaged with like- touch with the CWU youth committee CWU activist, and Mandate member cession before a small social event al - with the homelessness crisis. “Almost minded people my age is great be - so lthat we can work together on a few and young activist Daniel McCarthy lowed everyone to get to know each 50% of all those categorised as home - cause we can share our experiences key issues we had agreed upon at the (26) from Penneys in Cork who other a bit more. The second day less are under the age of 24. This is a and learn together. It was also great conference.” passed away in September 2016. consisted of a presentation about low scandal and young workers need to to speak with activists from another Mandate President John O’Donnell pay, insecure work, housing and the get organised and fight back,” added unions and realising that they share ShopMfloaonr date Youth hosted a confer - said Daniel was instrumental in en - importance of trade unions being ac - Gibney. similar conflicts in their jobs. ence in Dublin on Tuesday, 17th July suring the underage rates of pay were tive both industrially and politically. The final part of the event dis - “The political economy education for members under the age of 35. abolished in Penneys and helped to Mandate Communications Officer cussed how young workers can get is vital for anyone wanting to under - Further details in the next edition of bring in secure hour contracts as an David Gibney said: “Irish workers, organised, culminating in the ques - stand how the world works and how .

40 SHOPFLOOR y July 2018 EYES LEFT! Introducing our new column... NEWS En francais s'il vous plait... Mandate organiser Ciaran Campbell Biffo spoke to La Tribune des travailleurs on the referendum result... The Eye That Never Sleeps

Yes Minister, remember your roots!

Biffo’s Dail spy tells us that a certain TD who’s a dapper chap, always well-tanned and beautifully coiffured, walked past the open door of the AV Room in Leinster House recently where a group of LloydsPharmacy workers were presenting their per - sonal stories to assorted TDs and Senators about being de - nied by their employer their basic human right to belong and be represented by a trade union in their workplace. The dap - per chap had received an invitation and a reminder to attend the presentation but instead proclaimed to his adoring en - tourage: “I must go and check into the hotel now.” Life must be so difficult for ex-Workers Party alumni, imagine this poor dapper chap having to book into a nice hotel while low paid workers only a few feet away desperately seek help from po - litical influencers and legislators, people just like him. An historic victory...

The turn-out seems to have been important with a big mobilisation of the electorate. Can you confirm?

abortion law in Ireland has been ence that legislation in such a way overcome but abortion has not yet that those rights will be restrictive. A fishy tale! been legalised. There are already We will also need to mobilise again This is very much the case. There signals that some of those that can - to ensure that the huge democratic was a 64.1% electorate turn-out in vassed and campaigned for no mandate of the Irish electorate is TK & Maxx are the glorious names of the two goldfish brought to this referendum election. The change will now mobilise to influ - legislatively delivered. staff in TK Maxx in Arklow by management in a last-ditch attempt electorate – and particularly youth at getting them to abandon their recent successful strike. The big and women – were motivated and fish who made the staff an offer they couldn’t refuse is now re - mobilised to have their democratic ferred to locally in Arklow as The Codfather! Their diabolical fishy voices and ultimately to emphati - cally defend their rights. This has plan sank without trace and one of the workers commented: “It bWeheant a a mreo tmhe notbosutsa acnleds htois tboer iocv dear y- really wasn’t the time or the plaice to start codding about some - cfoorm Irei sinh worodmere nto a rneda Icrhe lsauncdh i an re - thing so serious. It was a soFISHticated plan but they failed to hook gsuenlte? ral. us this time.” Rumours are now rife in Arklow that management are hatching a devious follow-up plan to introduce a piano to the staff canteen. One worker source quipped: “We will not be caught out as everyone here knows the difference between a piano and a fish. You can tune a piano but you cannot tuna fish.” The obvious obstacle in this refer - endum was the Catholic Church and its influence in Irish society and politics and that the trade union Knight Rider Bertie movement is not excluded. While many Irish politicians showed lead - Ex-Taoiseach the bold Bertie Ahern was loitering with no intent ership in advocating change, others close to a LloydsPharmacy picket line in the Northside of were very active in declaring for the Dublin recently. He was draped across his car like the Hoff on ‘No’ side, most notably the many his beloved car KITT from the 1980s TV series Knight Rider . Fianna Fail TDs. Sinn Fein also expe - When a lone striker, crouching tiger, approached Bertie for a rienced similar but lesser problems. selfie, he made like a startled gazelle or one of those Dukes of However, probably the most worry - ing were some of the serious mixed Hazard boys diving into his car as if he was at the starting line messages or silence emanating from of the Donegal Rally. On hearing this picket line tale it struck the Irish trade union movement. me on the similarities between Bertie and KITT the car which This is indicative of the obvious are actually quite startling. In the Knight Rider TV show KITT institutional fear to embrace radical was described as “an advanced artificially intelligent, self- and progressive change, to remain aware and nearly indestructible car.” Substitute “car” in that entrenched in a comfort zone that sentence with “Smithwicks swilling chancer with a neck like a denies real democracy and people jockey’s arse accompanied by Presidential delusions of pWohliatitc ws.i Tllh baen tkhfuel ilmy tmhe dIriiasthe impact grandeur” and KITT and Bertie could be one and the same. eolfe tchtoisr aretes uhlatv oenn ’wt loismteenne’sd rtiog horts faonlldo wpaerdt itchualta mrlye swsaogrke.ing women’s rights?

July 2018 y SHOPFLOOR 41

The obstacle preventing any pro- WTHINoKINrG kGLOeBArLLYs... UnitinNEgWS A worldview that builds

Some of the joint delegation watching the Pittsburgh Pirates bridges across oceans... lose to San Diego Padres Mel

Corry union that organises across all sec - However, Tom said the hardship in - tors – and as such addresses this di - flicted on workers’ families during versity in its education. the dispute was unforgivable. He We left Linden Hall and on our way used colourful language to describe to Pittsburgh we stopped off in Brack - ATI management – the people who enridge and visited a local steel mill had seemed so accommodating just a owned by ATI. Brackenridge is a town few days earlier. ravaged by industrial decline and We spent time preparing for the clearly dependent on what jobs were union’s rapid response conference in IN MAY this year I was privileged, as available. Washington DC. The USW had a dif - a member of Unite, to be selected to We toured the plant in groups, ferent position to Unite and other take part in a course run by Workers some led by HR managers and some unions affected by Trump’s proposed Uniting, a global union created by the by shop stewards. The plant was run - tariffs on imported steel. We talked USW (United Steelworkers) USA and ning at 30% of its capacity but is the through the different positions and it Canada and Unite the Union in Britain most modern steelworks in the helped us gain a greater understand - and Ireland. world. ing of each other’s concerns. The union boasts a combined While its operation was impressive The rapid response conference membership of more than three mil - the group couldn’t help noticing the lasted three days and culminated in lion members on both sides of the At - absence of workers on the factory 650 delegates descending on Capitol lantic and has also strong links with floor. Hill to lobby politicians about the trades unions in Mexico, Brazil and The answer of course was automa - needs of workers in their local dis - South Africa. tion and what few workers were tricts as well as big national issues The goal is to maximise solidarity there were on computers driving the such as ‘Right to Work’ and the Na - with workers in struggle anywhere in mill. Of course, automation is one of Main picture: Workers Uniting delegation visits the Lincoln memorial in Washington DC tional Wage Act. the world in a bid to match the glob - the greatest challenges we face in the Below right: Mel Corry and Laura Duggan, the Irish contingent in the Workers Uniting We participated fully along with alisation of capitalism. coming years and we need to be hav - delegation, on the heights overlooking Pittsburgh, home of the United Steelworkers USW colleagues meeting senators I was interested in acquiring new ing conversations about how we sur - and House representatives and some ) 0

. vive it or, indeed, harness it. had bigger fights than others. I was

insights into education that would 2

USW leader

A In a question and answer session lucky in that the senators I lobbied – enhance and develop my own politi - S

- Leo Gerard

Y after the tour the company reluc - Senator Sherrod Brown and Con - B cal education work in Trademark and points out

C tantly told the delegation that they gresswoman Marcy Kaptur – on be - indirectly the trades unions to which C that Trump is (

e half of USW workers from Ohio we deliver services. I was not disap - r a huckster o

m were labour-friendly.

pointed. d i

k What was most impressive S

The Irish/British delegation spent e

g about this mass lobby was how the

two days in the facility in Linden Hall a G

union officials took a back seat in rural Pennsylvania acclimatising : e r

u and let the workers lead the and getting to know the union struc - t c i tures in our respective organisations P charge. The rapid response co-or - and gaining an understanding of the dinators had their members well legislative framework for employ - prepared for what might have ment law in the various jurisdictions. been a daunting experience for Our first guest lecture by Guillermo some. Picture: US Dept of Agriculture (CC BY 2.0) Perez was pitched as a workshop on The glue that held our group immigration and fresh from the together was the fantastic facili - Brexit experience some of the partic - tation of Lisa Jordan from the ipants approached this session with USW and Ben Richards from Unite ably assisted by Pam Can - some trepidation. had made a significant investment in Trump as a huckster who had stolen We need not have worried as tolina, Steffi Domike and the the site despite the fact that the num - the labour message and convinced others mentioned. Guillermo skilfully and comprehen - bers employed had gone from 5,000 many USW members to vote for him. sively laid out the positive role played The need for structured political at its height to around 450. President Gerard was very clear wing populism. Many of us by immigrants not only in the devel - were of the opinion that there were education mainstreamed in union ed - The union side were reluctant to about the need for the union to con - opment of the United States but also dangerous parallels between the ucation has never been more evident. talk openly but referred to a dispute nect with its members and make the American Labour movement. Trump regime and 1930s Italian fas - In this regard the USW are ahead of which the company called ‘the event’ sure that Trump is confronted for his We learned about the history of the cism. John was also clear that fascism the game, pointing to the enemy of and it was clear there was more to deceit and that the union focuses its AFL-CIO, the American union federa - will not accede to reason and needs the workers and reminding us of our the story as I will outline later. tion, and about how the AFL (Ameri - resources to international solidarity to be confronted at every turn by pro - rich history of struggle against those We proceeded to Pittsburgh and can Federation of Labor) organised such as Workers Uniting. gressive people. who would exploit every bead of craft workers resisting immigration the HQ of the USW. Pittsburgh is a city Every minute of our time was We then met with USW vice Presi - sweat from our labour. and organising among immigrant steeped in industrial and trade union packed with activity but all of it good dent Tom Conway. Tom wanted to It certainly sharpened my under - workers. The CIO (Congress of indus - heritage. Steffi Domike, an extremely quality engagement. We had an ex - give us more detail on the ATI plant standing and knowledge on a range trial Organisations) organised all in - committed educationalist within the cellent presentation from John Lep - we had visited earlier in the week. of issues and will greatly enhance the political education I deliver, but the dustrial workers. The AFL-CIO came union, who was more than generous ley about fascism and the rise of He informed us that what the com - Mel Corry is a trade union coordinator together in the 1950s. with her knowledge, gave us a tour of right-wing populism. As someone pany had dubbed ‘the event’ was in style, passion andw ciothm Trmaditemmearnkt B oeflf asltl It was from the CIO tradition that the city’s important labour sites. steeped in this kind of education, I effect a lockout lasting many months. of those who assisted us was inspira - tional.I look forward to a return event 4th2 e United Steelworkers emerged We also met USW President Leo was extremely impressed by John’s The union prevailed during the dis - SHOPFLOOR y July 2018 and they are very proud of their Gerard who gave us an overview of content, style and delivery. pute and the company had subse - in 2019. roots. The USW is a diverse organisa - the political situation in the USA from He was very clear about what con - quently paid a lot of money to the tion – as you would expect from a the union’s standpoint. He described stituted fascism and what was right- union for breaches of the law. PLATFORM CAddroess (nabrindgedo) dellivleryed b’y sGea róvid Ói Msacihoail ant CP If Arboourr Hil l ctomomedmoaratioy n...

n i a m o D

c i l b u P

: e r u t c i JAMES Connolly’s formative years P brought him face to face with the cruel realities of grinding poverty, labour exploitation and life in the im - perial British military. In ‘Official Ireland’ the great man’s teachings are at best ignored, and at worst defiled and debased in a state where the noble ideals of socialism, workers’ democracy, economic plan - ning, redistribution, and political and economic sovereignty are drowned out in a contemporary clamour of consumerism, individualism, identity politics and deference to the neolib - eral and imperialist ideology of the European Union and their US associ - Address: ates. Gearóid Ó Machail While the First Dáil Éireann give democratic and tangible expression to the Chononuorallbyle’s iMdeaarlsx iosfm James We must harness the Connolly and his republican allies, the counterh raesv oalluwtioanyasr imesa odf et hhei mnew energy of resistance. an uncomfortable figure We must combine, unite functioning of capibtayl idsemfi nwitiitohn in its “among the 1916 leaders – “ member-states. Our strategy will and give leadership to bring the state and working people now deemed safe for disparate political, social, into conflict with that framework. Building socialism, , will beatification by the cultural & economic bring us into conflict with the EU. modern bourgeoisie James Connolly was keenly aware points of struggle of the nature of imperialism and stressed the importance of broad threat working-class unity in resisting its in - ” ” sidious threat to our democracy, in - dependence and sovereignty. free state bourgeoisie recognised the Connolly do today?’ But these com - cal destruction of our planet and growing campaign for a change in Connolly developed a number of posed by the Democratic Pro - rades are the wrong questions! obliteration of our natural resources. the law governing abortion. There is innovative theoretical positions re - gramme’s egalitarian and socialist James Connolly clearly understood Working people need to under - a spirit of co-operation between the garding the relationship between principles and moved quickly to first the futility of attempting to duplicate stand the interconnected relations campaigns in both parts of the coun - Marxism and anti-imperialism. He marginalise and then eradicate the historic blueprints for revolutionary between the state, establishment po - try. was among the first to combine the more progressive economic and so - action or of replicating the political litical parties, and the powerful eco - Fundamental to our strategy is politics of anti-imperialist national - cial ideologies stirred by the Irish techniques of past eras, divorced as nomic forces that control their lives. identifying the weak points of capi - ism with international Marxism in Revolution. they are from their specific historical Workers need to understand who re - talism here in Ireland and putting the colonial arena. context. In the 102 years since Con - forward demands that bring about James Connolly’s Marxism has al - ally runs the Government and whose His fundamental teaching is that ways made him and continues to this nolly’s execution, Irish society, the interests it serves. long-term change through the mobil - the struggle for national liberation is day to make him an uncomfortable global economy, technological Historically women have been sub - ising of workRiensgi spteaonpcle and in so not opposed to the struggle for social - figure among the leaders of the 1916 progress and the very structure of jected to discriminatory laws in rela - doing affecting the balance of power Rising – now deemed safe for beatifi - capitalist enterprise have all changed tion to employment, healthcare and between labour and capital in a di - ism but an integral and necessary cation by the modern bourgeoisie. beyond recognition. The British Em - family planning. This is a legacy of the rection favourable to labour. part of it. Buoyed by their temporary success pire that exeCcuontetdr aCdoincntioolnly has been alliance of a reactionary state, a state The Irish state and the political es - in turning the last financial crisis and superseded by a new imperium of created by the victory of counter-rev - tablishment are currently using globalised finance and unrestrained We must harness the energy of re - crises developed by the long-term the weakness of organised labour’s olutionary forces, with the moral au - sistance. We must combine, unite markets. planning of hawkish elements within response into a golden opportunity to thority of the Catholic Church. and give leadership to disparate and roll back the modest gains made by Women, who played such an im - seemingly unrelated political, social, military-industrial nexus of the US to the working class in the last 60-odd None of us are naïve about the dif - portant role in the revolutionary cultural and economic points of advance their strategy of aligning this years, the capitalist robber barons ficulties we face in reorienting the decade from 1913 to 1922, had to be struggle. state with NATO and the military have now unleashed a full-frontal as - struggles of the working class into a driven back, repressed, and con - Housing provision in Ireland must strategy of the EU. sault through the adoption of neolib - cohesive and ideologically-driven trolled – just as the state had to drive be transformed into a system where Clearly what is needed is to end eral economic prescriptions. challenge to the capitalist state. How - the working class and revolutionary every citizen has a right to a decent, this obsequious and collaborationist Profiteering landlordism, rack-rent - ever, the strengthening of monopoly forces back so as to cement its victory. secure home, available for rent from approach of the Irish political estab - ing, evictions, epidemic homeless - capital is bound to bring a further While the right of access to safe the state, as part of the social con - lishment to both the EU and NATO. ness, economic insecurity, food sharpening of the contradiction be - and secure abortion is an issue for all tract between citizen and state. Shannon Airport should be closed to banks, child poverty and malnutrition tween capital and salaried labour women, it is also one that tells the These homes could be designed, the US war machine. All co-ordina - have all returned to haunt modern story of a class-divided society. and, thus, a sharpening of all social built and fitted out by a state-owned tion and involvement in EU military urban and rural Ireland. As women make up the majority of contradictions. building company and the local au - strategies, including the battle groups In almost 100 years of existence, low-paid workers, it is working These are contradictions that arise thorities, reducing costs by up to a and PESCO, should be ended. Irish the Irish state has failed to provide a from the built-in reproductive cycle women who mainly experience pre - half and ensuring that homes are soldiers should be withdrawn from universal healthcare system or com - of capitalism. Co-existing extreme op - carious employment and zero-hour built to a decent, safe standard. This NATO Headquarters in the Hague and prehensive, secular state education ulence and mass poverty, surplus and contracts. For them to gather the nec - would help bring to an end the pre - for our people, funded by general tax - want, economic growth and wage re - essary funds both for travel and to carious nature of employment in the froWme aNrAe TthOe mailnitya;r tyh eeyn agraeg tehme efenwts . ation and free at the point of delivery straint, full employment and in-work have a termination in Britain, and building industry and the wide - aWreo uondly twhae nwt othrled e. aArnthd! Irish military J–u tlyw 20o1 8coyrSHnOePrFsLOtOoR nes of basic provision poverty. These are not blips, mis - also to secure the necessary time to spread use of bogus self-employ - neutrality should be enshrined in th4e 3 in any republic worthy of the name. takes, the product of corruption, or do so, has an inordinately discrimina - ment. Constitution. It’s tempting to ask ‘what would Con - bad policy. They are as much a by- tory effect on working-class women. The EU has built a neo-liberal con - nolly have to say?’ or ‘what would product of capitalism as the ecologi - In the six counties there is also a stitutional framework around the PNEERWSPS ECTIVES Recently retired activist George Lacey looks back... but not in anger

ever since, but the summer wasn’t a summer and the winter wasn’t a win - ter and what with one thing after an - other we thought that drapers GROWING up in the 1950s and 1960s generally just hadn’t a chance! was indeed tough. At that time most people were poor. Work was scarce a lot of the time and our parents had It’s been a great their hands full trying to put food on the table and clothes on our backs. My gratitude to Avril for her kind The surprising thing was that we did permission to include the above not realise we were hard up. pieces from her book. The main reason for this was that I must say that working for Had - our elders then were fantastic money dens and Shaws was, by and large, en - managers, not that there was much to joyable. I along with my fellow work manage. Borrowing a cup of sugar or colleagues went through good and a loaf of bread was common enough, 48-year journey bad times, as did people in other paying it back when the wage packet walks of life. The recessionary peri - arrived on Friday evening. We never ods were difficult, we all suffered, but went hungry and did get the odd we survived. It was a case of belt treat. tightening and wading our way If we got a penny or two pence for through it. doing a chore, it was straight down to As the years rolled on wages im - but – believe it or not – life was good, by the domestic staff. the corner shop for a liquorice string proved. This was due largely to long or a few sweets. This was the high - most times anyway. School days, we Haddens was seen as one of the were told, would be the best years of best department stores in the coun - and tough negotiations by the union. light of the day. Yeah, Heaven on We became stronger and this re - Earth. our lives. Did we believe our parents? try for apprenticeships and many sulted in our members having a bet - Playing cowboys and indians (indi - Not a bit. Having said that, education who Htraadidnends t –h eWre xwfoerndt –o Dn utno gbairgvgaenr ter lifestyle. I got involved with ans were always the bad guys, as por - gave us a good foundation for the fu - a–n Cda brleotwte, r1 t8h4in8g –s . 1976, A Social His - IUDWC, as it was called then and the trayed in the films) we would climb ture. torIy will now quote from the excellent name was later changed to IDATU. over a wall and enter an old cemetery, Weekends were my favourite time recent publ‘iHcoantieosnt b wy oAmvrailn H’ ogan, ti - I, as a shop steward would collect staying there for hours. Disrespect - of the week. Saturdays nearly always tled union dues every Saturday and bring ful, I hear you say? This graveyard meant going to the local cinema. them to the Secretary. It is easier had not been used for burials for over Here we would cheer on “The Chap”. . a hundred years and really we did no He was the hero who would win now being deducted from wages – no every battle almost single handed. hassle, no arrears. I became Chair - harm. Incidentally Avril is the daughter of Afterwards there would not be hair man of the Local branch in the late Not like kids of today with their the late Director Mr victor Hadden. out of place and showing no scars as 1970s and I still hold that position to smart phones and computer games, This piece I took from the book is he walked off into the sunset with the the present day. I took up that post we spent all our free time outdoors, quite humorous. It is a letter from girl in hand. Yeah, simple stuff – but all those years ago mainly because I playing football and all kinds of AmDeerairc aM (br yH aand ‘dHeonn, eIs ta Wmo menacnlo’)s. i nIng we really look4e2d yfoerawrsard to it and believed in justice and fairness for games until it got dark. We didn’t Mfouayr d1o9ll5a8r,s ao nle atctecor uwnta so fr ae cbeiilvl eodw eind after the film we would try to emulate everyone and if I could contribute in need to count sheep to nod off at Wto eyxofuo rind 1b9r1a5n.c hSo frrroym to O haakvlea nkedp, tC yaoliu - what we had just seen in the action a small way then it would be worth - night. fwoirtnhioau: t it so long. We had a hard time very, very few people had phones sequences. getting work after leaving home. while. making sure we completed our tasks way back then. Television was only Going from one city to another. If I can Having recently retired after nearly to their satisfaction. starting and cars were few and far be - At 17 years of age I took employ - remember it was a coat I purchased 48 years I would encourage anybody My charge-hand was an eldery gen - tween. Cycling or walking was our ment with W&G Hadden. This was in for 17 shillings. Hope the enclosed will approaching this milestone to em - tleman who lived above the store. only way of getting around but it cer - 1970. Six years later the Hadden pay for it. If not please let me know. brace it. Do not resent it, as there is Every day he would send me out to tainly kept us fit. Group – consisting of three shops, I’m a widow and not in too good cir - no point fighting it and giving your - During the summer a real treat was Wexford, Dungarvan and Carlow – buy groceries in the nearby shops. cumstances and business isn’t so good self unwanted stress. travelling by train to the nearby was taken over by Shaws. I continued On my return he would go to his here and I’m too old to work. Sincerely The best way to deal with retire - beach. There we would have a picnic to work for this company for the next room (he had two rooms, bedroom yours, Mrs M.E.C. ment in my opinion is to plan in ad - after our swim (well, paddling 42 years. Coupled with the time and a kitchen-come-sitting room) vance what you intend to do. Perhaps mostly). Later on as a Boy Scout we spent with Haddens, gave me a grand and prepare and start his cooking this could be a mixture of leisure pur - would board an open coal truck and total of almost 48 years. process insuring that it was ready an A New Depression suits, exercise, exploring new inter - camp for a fortnight in Dunmore East The retail trade was so different in hour-and-a-half later. He was the It set in with rising unemployment ests and, of course, rest. Remember or Fethard-on-Sea. very basic but it those days. We, as apprentices, were caretaker and opened and closed up geAnenroatlhlye ra nedx ttrhaec dt rfaropmer yA tvrraidl’es ebxopoe k - this will be the beginning of the rest toughened us up a lot for the years to given morning duties to perform, every day. He lived alone except for a irsie nfrcoemd a Wde&clGin eH wadhidcehn h anso ctoenst ifnruoem d of your life, not the end. come. I would suspect that younger such as sweeping large areas of bare small dog. 1954 and titled : I would like to thank all those who readers would find it hard to believe floorboards. Sprinkling of water was Most staff, up to 1965 lived indoors have helped me in my working life our lifestyles at that time. Of course necessary so as to keep the dust as they were from all over the coun - and in my involvement with the it was hard, of course it wasn’t easy down. A keen eye was kept on us try and were loolkedS ataftertri vnegry fwroelml scratch this course helps you utoni oinm. Ipt’rso bveeen ya ogrueart journey. communications skills. l Courses are open to members who have not achieved their Leaving Certificate or who have an out of date Leaving Certificate. Training Course Communication Skills: For those who want to brush up on their writing and spelling skills while (QQI Level 3) also developing personal and interpersonal skills which are important for dealing with workplace and personal situations. DO YOU HAVE A DESIRE TO IMPROVE YOUR COMMUNICATIONS SKILLS? BUT NEVER GOT AROUND TO IT? Evening Courses take place one evening per week for a duration of 12 weeks in a venue near your workplace. Mandate Trade Union in conjunction with Skills for Work is offering funded training. The courses are to encourage members back If you are interested please contact Mandate’s Training Centre on or by email into learning and training whilst aiming 01-836 9699 [email protected] towards a QQI Level 3 Award. Check out www.mandate.ie for further training courses Places are limited and are allocated on a first come, first served basis. Courses are delivered by the Education and Training Board in a location near your workplace.

44 SHOPFLOOR y July 2018 PLATFORM Eoin Ó Murchú Forum delivers address tribute to ICA By Eogan Fox

ON 13th May 2018, the Peadar O'Donnell Socialist Republican Forum, including members of the Mandate Trade Union, held a wreath- laying ceremony in Eyre Square, Gal - way to commemorate the 1916 Rising, in particular the contribution of James Connolly and the Irish Citi - Computer zen Army. The event took place, fittingly, at the Liam Mellows statue at the top the square. Connolly had met Mel - Training Course lows in Tuam, Co Galway, while recov - ering from his hunger strike of 1913 and was impressed telling his daugh - QQI Level 3 ter Nora, "I have me a real man here". Mellows, a committed revolution - ary, was active in the IRB, and was a founding member of the Irish volun - Mandate Trade Union in conjunction teers. During the 1916 Rising, he led the operations in Galway where de - with Skills for Work is offering spite the rebels being badly supplied, funded training. The courses are to encourage they held Athenry for a week. In 1918, he was elected to the First members back into learning and training Dáil as a Sinn Fein TD for Galway East whilst aiming towards a QQI Level 3 Award. and Meath North. He considered the Anglo-Irish Treaty to be a betrayal of became a focal point for annual detriment of our people. the Irish Republic and took the anti- events remembering the Easter Ris - Ó Murchú quoted Connolly in the Treaty side in the Civil War. ing. In recent years there have also words of the banner hung above Lib - In June 1922, along with a number been ceremonies by left and trade erty Hall in 1916, ‘We serve neither Starting from scratch this course helps you of other leaders entered the Four union groups commemorating the King nor Kaiser but Ireland’ and to use a computer and builds confidence Courts in Dublin which had been oc - radical and revolutionary contribu - warned of the European Union and for communicating on-line. cupied since the previous April. After tions our own movements have made its complete disregard for society in two days of shelling by Free State to the struggle against imperialism. the economic crisis of recent years. forces they surrendered. Ian Daly, chairing the event on be - After the address there were two Mellows and the other leaders half of the Peadar O'Donnell Forum, wreaths laid at the base of the statue Courses are open to members who have not were captured and imprisoned. They introduced Eoin Ó Murchú who gave were subsequently executedTinh eM Goautnes- an address highlighting the connec - on behalf of the Peadar O'Donnell So - achieved their Leaving Cert or tFjloeyw GOapoenl on 8th December 1922. tions between Connolly, Mellows and cialist Republican Forum and Man - who have an out-of-date Leaving Cert Peadar O'Donnell wrote about the ex - Peadar O'Donnell. date Trade Union. ecutions and the impact on fellow in - He spoke of the important role, as The event was well attended and mates in his prison memoir set out in their writings and actions, we hope to continue the work of the . https://socialistrepublicanftohreuym g.wavoerd tphre sbs.uciolmding of a sustain - forum in Galway, recognising and Evening Courses take place one In 1957, thhet tsptas:t/u/we wofw L.fiaacmeb oMoekl .-coma/Pbelea dsoarc-iOetDyo, nnoet lol-nSeo criealliiastn-tR oepnu tbhleic fai -n-Focroum-m15e3m8o2r9a6t7in09g8 o3u3r4 0h2is/ tory, to con - evening per week for a duration louws uwas erected in Eyre Square and nancial backing of others to the tinue the struggle today. Neither King nor Kaiser: floral tributes, including of 12 weeks in a venue near your workplace. For more information on the forum and further upcominogne e frvome nMtasn dvaties, iptl:aced at the Liam Mellows statue in Galway’s Eyre Square If you are interested please contact Mandate’s Training Centre on 01-8369699 or by email at [email protected]

Please see Mandate website for further Training courses at www.mandate.ie

Email: [email protected]

Places are limited and are allocated on a first come, first served basis

Picture: European Parliament

July 2018 y SHOPFLOOR 45 TRAINING Communications & Professional Development (CPD) The objective of this course is to provide you with tools and techniques that will allow you to know more, learn more and develop yourself, your knowledge and your abilities for your own personal and professional development. Gain a National Qualification with a QQI Level 5 Course and develop your own skills and learn more about your rights and your society.

• Communications skills: public speaking skills, • The environment in which we live and work better writing skills • Social, political and economic landscape of unions • Finding the right information that will • Media ownership – who is telling you what and why steer you in the right direction • Social Media – What it is all about?

Evening Courses take place one evening per week for a duration of 12 weeks. RIGHT: Placard reads ‘Brazil - first place in corruption’ If you’re interested, contact MPaictnureds: Baent Teav’esne r T(CrC aBYi 2n.0i) ng Centre on 01-836 9699 or email [email protected]

This training course is FREE and designed for YOU!

46 SHOPFLOOR y July 2018 THE LAST WORD By Tomás REVIEW Mac Síomóin

ever-present, anti-Irish racism of Britain’s ruling class. WHEN we were taught that “one mil - The British Public Record Office ad - lion died, one milIliroenla enmd ig1r8a4te5d-1” 8d5u0r -: mitted that their British regiments’ iTnhge Ptehref ecGt rHeoalto cPaoutsat,t oA ndF aWmhion eK epotf DEADLY TOLL Daily Activity Reports of 1845-1850 I1t8 4‘P5e-r4f7ec, ot ur history teacher was un - had "gone missing". These recorded wittingly propagating a lie. Christo - each regiment's cattle drives and the pher Fogarty’s Author claims 5.16m died in the Famine... grain-cart convoys it escorted at gun- ) 0

. point from their assigned Irish dis - 2

A

S tricts. ’ nails that lieC, oersks Eexnatmia-l - Y B Also "missing" are the receiptsT ihs e- rineear ding for all who would know the C C (

o Times real facts of history rather than de - r sued by the British army commis - o s n

o sariat officers in every Irish port

pend on official narratives. r r o D Contemporary reports ( tallying the cattle and tonnage of o k r U

foodstuffs removed. However,

, 1848) refer to this famine more : e r u t of London and other periodi -

graphically (and accurately) as a c i “Holocaust”. For rigorous scrutiny by P cals recorded regular landings in Eng - researchers of official Irish mortality land of massive amounts of Irish food. data for that period reveals a figure of What instigated this unparalleled at least five million deaths, roughly as atrocity? When potato blight ap - was the case for Jewish World War II peared in Europe in 1844, food prices Holocaust victims. rose and Britain sent troops to Ire - The 1845-47 Holocaust was but land as a precautionary measure. one major traumatic event of English When its own potato crop succumbed colonial rule in Ireland, a regime im - to the blight, and being grossly over- posed with extreme brutality from populated relative to its food supply, the beginning of the 17th century up industrial England faced famine un - to this day, as recent Post-Traumatic less it imported vast amounts of food. Stress Disorder (PTSD) data for But it didn't stop at robbing Ireland's Northern Ireland reveals. surplus food to save England; it And this has consequences. De - robbed more, for profit and to exter - scendants of early 20th century Turk - minate the Irish. ish pogroms of Armenians, World Queen victoria's economist, Nas - War II concentration camp and sau Senior, complained that existing Leningrad Siege victims, for example, policies "will not kill more than one have behavioral tics rooted in ge - million Irish in 1848 and that will netic/epigenetic changes caused by scarcely be enough to do much good." ancestral trauma. Chapter 6 of the new edition of the Thus, the British government’s gun- and bayonet-point by the British When an eyewitness urged a stop to Published psychological studies book, written by experienced census own figures show that it murdered police and military, battleships, excise the genocide-in-progress, Lord suggest that certain Irish behavioral investigator Jack Lane. approximately 5.16 million Irish men, and Coast Guard vessels. Trevelyan replied: "We must not com - traits are consistent with a history of Fogarty argues as follows: The women and children. More than half of the British army plain of what we really want to ob - violent colonization. Salient features 1841 census of Ireland showed a The German government repented perpetrated that robbery – some 67 tain." Sorciére of contemporary “Irishness”, as ex - population of 10,897,449. Accepting and paid $100 billion reparations to out of its total number of 130 regi - He further said all reports of star - pressed culturally and politically, are a 1.63% rate of annual population in- survivors and relatives of the six mil - ments. vation were exaggerated, thereby re - explicable on this basis. crease until mid-1846, the 1846 pop- lion World War II Jewish Holocaust On behalf of English landlords fusing entry to the American food Chicago researcher, Christopher ulation would have been 11,815,011 victims. The Irish Holocaust? Not claiming ownership of Ireland and all relief ship, . Fogarty opines that Irish Potato and in 1851, about 12,809,841. But even an official apology! According to its produce, they robbed tens of mil - The influential English essayist Famine casualty figures must be as the 1851 census recorded a popu - Fogarty, drawing on his own experi - lions of head of Irish livestock; tens of Thomas Carlyle, wrote: “Ireland is greatly increased upwards. Working lation of 6,552,385; 6,257,456 “dis - ence: “But, while the British govern - millions of tons of flour, grains, meat, like a half-starved rat that crosses the from official, British census data for appeared” according to the British ment and its Dublin surrogates still poultry and dairy products. This was path of aAn neelewp ehdaintito. nW ohf aCth mrisutsotp thheer Ireland, they demonstrate that the government's own data. use terror and slander against those enough to feed 18 million persons, elepFhoagnat rdtoy’?s SIrqeulaenlcdh 1 it8 4–5 b-y1 8h5e0a:v Tenhes “one million died, one million emi - This includes roughly 1,000,000 who commemorate the Irish Holo - while starving to death over five mil - – sqPuerefleccht iHt.”o locaust, and Who Kept it grated, due to potato blight” myth who emigrated (many on the notori- caust, it is still dangerous – after 172 lion of them. ‘Perfect’ (2014), will be taught to generations of Irish school - ous “coffin ships”) and another years – to reveal the truth of it.” They left thousands of mass graves available shortly in book form. children is false. 100,000 unborn between 1846 and Ireland didn’t starve because of po - behind them. The author’s map The real murder figure, was about 1851 due to malnutrition-induced in- tato blight, it starved because of lack shows the locations of 180 of them: 5.16 million. The basis of this famine fertility, amounting to 1.1m persons of food. Some 40 to 70 shiploads of mute testimony to the rapacity of un - death calculation is discussed in lost to Ireland but not murdered. foodstuffs per day were removed at bridled capitalism and the vicious, SKILLS FOR WORK Interested in doing a personal finance or maths course? Do you have a desire to improve your personal finance skills? Or maths skills? But never got around to doing it? Personal Finance & Maths course Starting from scratch this course helps you to improve your maths and personal finance. Mandate Trade Union in conjunction with Skills for Work are offering members the opportunity to attend training. The courses are to encourage members back into learning and training while aiming towards a QQI Level 3 Award.

If you are interested in doing a Communications through Computers course, contact: Mandate Training Centre, Distillery House, Distillery Road, Dublin 3 Phone: 01-8369699 Email: [email protected]

Courses are free and open to members who have not achieved Leaving Certificate or who have an out-of-date Leaving

City of Dublin Education and Training Board Certificate. You can also achieve a QQI Level 3 Award. Skills for Work is funded by the Department of Education & Skills.

July 2018 y SHOPFLOOR 47 What HAVE OUR unions ever done for us? ...Annual leave Pay increases Sick leave Lunch breaks SMOKE FREE WORKPLACE BANDED HOUR CONTRACTS Redundancy pay The weekend Health & safety laws Unfair dismissal legislation Maternity & parental leave And much, much more... Join YOUR union www.joinmandate.ie