The Bottom Dog

The

BOTTOM DOG Vol.10 No138 Price €2.50 www.limerickcounciloftradeunions.com January 2014

The US Military Use of Shannon

Trade Union Recognition

A Lesson In Class Power

JOB BRIDGE

Publication of The Limerick Council of Trade Unions

2 newsThe Bottom Dog

January 2014www.limerick counciloftradeunions.com

EDITORIAL STATEMENTOF THE BOTTOM DOG

The Bottom Dog, a publication of the Limerick Council of Trade Unions, was first published on 20th October 1917. The paper brought together the forces of industrial unionism and radical elements among the craft unions. By the time the Dog’s first editor, Ben Dineen, died in november 1918, forty-eight editions of the paper had been published. The Dog began its life in order to represent the interests of the oppressed (the “bottom dog”), whether oppressed in terms of class, race, nation, sex or otherwise. Always and

everywhere the Dog worked to expose social injustice and to highlight the plight of those whose stories are omitted in polite society, insisting that the “bottom dog would only come into his own when every worker, male and female, was thoroughly organised”. The Dog has always attempted to give voice to the oppressed and has always focused its attention on issues such as bad housing, low pay, unemployment and poor working conditions. since the attacks on the working class are as fierce as they have ever been, The Dog is

now ready to return as a quarterly publication (from December 2013). The current editorial team is determined that when the Dog returns it will bite hard. with sincere respect to the history and spirit of the publication we take the 1975 editorial statement as our starting point: “The Bottom Dog is not a platform for any political party or faction. It is rather a forum open to all workers who wish to contribute articles or ideas etc. The paper covers issues where the working class is under attack or on the advance e.g. redundancies,

unemployment, wage freezes and attacks on workers’ rights, repression, sex discrimination and womens’ rights, strikes, sit-ins and trade-unionisation, especially when they relate to, affect, teach lessons or show the way forward for workers in this country.” The Dog aspires to be a voice of, and for, the working class – a space where workers, activists, scholars and all others committed to furthering the interests of the working class as a class, can develop and disseminate ideas, and prepare for the struggles ahead.

Paul Murphywww.paulmurphymep.eull JobBridge con

In the last number of weeks the go-vernment have announced new changes to the JobBridge sche-me and the roll out of a new sche-me called Gateway. These schemes are part and parcel of the war on young people seen with the sava-ge cuts to social welfare payments for young people and part of an at-tempt to drive down wages and working conditions generally.JobBridge was part of the government’s Action Plan for Jobs in 2011. It is supposedly an inter-nship scheme which will give pe-ople the opportunity to gain work experience, and therefore ma-ke them more employable. Inter-nships can last for 6-9 months, and while on the scheme the intern will be paid an extra €50 on their dole payments. The extra €50 is paid by the state, the employer contribu-tes nothing at all, and in effect the state is providing free labour to the employer.Minister Joan Burton announ-ced that the length of time some-one can spend on the scheme is to be increased from 9 months to 18 months, a doubling of the exploi-

tation. The basic premise of the scheme, that young people can’t get jobs because they don’t have the neces-sary experience, is bogus. The fact is that there are no jobs for them to get - for every job vacancy, there are 32 people unemployed. It is part of the ideological war, demo-nising young unemployed people - attacking a non-existent suppo-sed “welfare culture”, which is abo-ut trying to shift the blame for mass unemployment onto people indi-vidually rather than looking at the real causes: the crisis of capitalism, austerity and the massive drop in investment by the private sector. JobBridge is a way for the gover-nment to look like they are doing something, while massaging the unemployment figures. But mo-re importantly, for a new generati-on of workers and young people, it attempts to normalise the idea of working for free for a period before you get a job.The government have claimed that JobBridge has been a massive suc-cess hence the need to extend it. Minister Burton is fond of quoting from the Indecon report, which was commissioned by the gover-nment into JobBridge. According to her the report shows that 52% of interns are currently in paid em-ployment. However, when the fi-

gures are examined it shows only 19.5% of interns are actually hired by the company they do an inter-nship with, less than 1 in 5. To infla-te the success figure, anyone who ever did JobBridge and found work at any point afterwards was coun-ted as a success. This is a lesson in how to spin a failure into a success, there is no evidence of any link be-tween these people getting a job and their participation on JobBrid-ge. The real story of JobBridge is the 58% of interns who don’t finish their internship. Lots of these are people who realised it for the scam it was. However, the biggest scan-dal is exploitation of the scheme by profit hungry bosses to displace paid workers and replace them wi-th free interns. Amazingly, 3% of employers who took part in the scheme admit to displacing existing jobs – this is on-ly the tip of the iceberg. since the launch of the scambridge.ie web-site, we have been in contact wi-th hundreds of people around the country who have given examples of jobs being replaced with free la-bour through JobBridge. However, only 28 companies have been ban-ned from the scheme even though the 3% who admitted it in the In-decon report would equate to over 200 companies.

The government have been quick to take advantage of JobBrid-ge too. The recruitment embar-go in the public sector has left ho-les across the civil service. To try to mitigate against this effect of their austerity policies the government itself has been hiring through Job-Bridge. Of 218 interns, not one was given a paid position. Over the course of the summer, it became clear that the educati-on sector were looking to JobBrid-ge to hire staff. numerous schools have been hiring caretakers, class-room assistants and in some cases even teachers through JobBridge. This is a further attack on teachers’ working conditions following on the cut in salary for new entrants.The trade union movement needs to oppose JobBridge vigorously. not only does it undermine pay and conditions it displaces what would previously have been jobs with a wage. why would employers pay someone to work when they can get a free intern? A fight is needed to see the phasing out of JobBridge and its replace-ment with a Real Jobs scheme with investment in education and real training and to create the jobs whi-ch the private sector is incapable of providing.

JobBridge.con

3 InDUsTRIAL ReLATIOnsThe Bottom Dog


UNION RECOGNITION & COLLECTIVE BARGAININGTIME TO GET RID OF THE

CONFUSION !

Thomas Turner and Daryl D’ArtKemmy Business schoolUniversity of Limerickll UnIOn ReCOGnITIOn

“The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but al-ready it was impossible to say whi-ch was which.” George Orwell Ani-mal Farm.

In the 2007 supreme Court case of ‘Ryanair versus the Labour Court’ the Court adjudged that Ryanair re-gularly engaged in collective bar-gaining through its employee Re-presentation Councils which were deemed to qualify as ‘excepted bo-dies’. Under section 6(3)(h) of the Trade Union Act 1941 an excepted body is defined as ‘a body all the members of which are employed by the same employer and which carries on negotiations for the fi-xing of wages or other conditions of employment of its own mem-bers’. This clause in the 1941 Act, es-sentially dormant since the passing of the Act, was central to the supre-me Court judgement. The supre-me Court’s interpretation and ela-boration of the term ‘excepted bo-dy’ effectively gave legal legitimacy to company or house unions. The Court’s judgement has explicitly clarified the conditions under whi-ch an ‘excepted body’ can be esta-blished and operate in a company

as follows: • Anexceptedbodycanonlyexistor be established at the behest of the employer• Anexceptedbodydoesnotre-quire a negotiation licence• Noapplicationorverificationprocedures exist for the establish-ment of an ‘excepted body’• Anexceptedbodydoesnotne-cessarily require the consent or participation of the company’s em-ployees• Employeewithdrawalisofnoconsequence with regard to the continuing existence of an excep-ted body• Anexceptedbodyonlycoversthe employees and employer in a single company• AccordingtotheSupremeCourtan excepted body can carry on col-lective bargaining negotiations wi-th its progenitor employer

In effect the excepted body is an in-digenous version of company uni-onism. Disparities of power and employee dependence are ende-mic features of such organisations. It is little wonder that company or house unions have long been stig-matised as an unfair labour practi-ce. In Canada and the United sta-tes employer dominated bodies or house unions have been decla-red illegal since 1935. Indeed, the International Labour Organisati-on categorises any worker’s organi-

sation established under the con-trol and domination of the emplo-yer as an interference with the right of freedom of association (ILO Con-vention 98).

Does Ryan air engage in collective bargaining? According to the su-preme Court judgement collec-tive bargaining regularly occur-red in the employee Representati-ve Councils. Yet Article 2 of the ILOs Convention 98 explicitly excludes the notion of employer dominated bodies or company unions being considered as mechanisms for col-lective bargaining. The ILO claims ‘it is now a well established princi-ple that the independence of trade unions is a prerequisite to effecti-ve collective bargaining’ (ILO 1960). Collective bargaining, according to the ILO cannot begin until emplo-yers recognise a union for that pur-pose. Consequently, whatever in-dividual or collective negotiations might go on within an excepted body these could never be consi-dered as collective bargaining. However from a recent article in In-dustrial Relations news (IRn 37-16/10/2013) it appears that many trade union leaders are contempla-ting solutions to the union recog-nition impasse that involves a defi-nition of collective bargaining that would grant internal employee bo-dies a degree of independence by setting down rules for collective bargaining entities (not necessari-ly trade unions) which grant them a

measure of independence that ac-cords with ILO provisions. Accor-ding to the sIPTU vice president trade unions needed to find a defi-nition of collective bargaining that does not allow for employer domi-nance of workplace representati-ve bodies. This reasoning implicitly accepts some form of ‘representati-ve bodies’ entitled to carry out col-lective bargaining. This is confu-sed and unsound thinking. Only in-dependent trade unions can enga-ge in collective bargaining. Any di-minution or dilution of this funda-mental principle is contrary to the ILO. This is a line that the trade uni-on movement crosses at their peril. The clause that characterises com-pany unions (excepted bodies) as interfering with the rights of fre-edom of association is contained in ILO Convention 98 and was for-mally ratified by the Irish govern-ment on the 4th of June 1955. The excepted body clause of the Tra-de Union Act 1941 is clearly in bre-ach of ILO Convention 98 to which the Irish government is a signatory. The trade union movement must campaign to amend the Trade Uni-on Act 1941 and remove any refe-rence to an ‘excepted body’ to bring Irish law into line with ILO Conven-tions. Failure to do so will undermi-ne independent trade unions and likely pave the way for company sponsored structures designed to avoid unionisation or more distur-bingly replace existing indepen-dent trade unions in the workplace.



Paul GavansIPTU

ll some people would have you believe that this government has nothing to offer people apart from cutbacks, hardship and pain, and especially so when it comes to what’s left of our crumbling health service.so it might come as a surpri-se to discover one area whe-re health spending has increa-sed seventeen fold over just a five year period. Hse funding to private for profit Home Ca-re companies has increased from €2.3 million in 2007 to over €40 million in 2012. Un-fortunately during the same period funding for direct Hse provision of Home Help ser-vices has suffered significant cutbacks falling from 12.6 mil-lion hours in 2008 to 10.3 milli-on hours last year. It doesn’t take a genius to work out what’s happening here- the wholesale privati-sation of Home Help and Ho-me Care services is well under-way. This process was kicked off by former Minister for Heal-th Mary Harney in 2006 when she introduced the home ca-re package scheme, effective-ly opening up Home Care ser-vices to the market. what fol-lowed was a progressive incre-ase in state funding for priva-te agencies from 2007 to 2010, even as funding for Hse Home Helps began to suffer signifi-cant cutbacks.

Any hope that a change of go-vernment might re-prioriti-se hours back to Hse Home Helps was shattered when funding for the private agen-cies was doubled in 2012 even as deeper cuts were made to Hse Home Help funding. so-me Hse Home Help workers, all of whom have been effec-tively employed on zero hour contracts, found themselves working as little as 4 hours per week, while cuts to vulnerable and elderly clients caused ou-trage across the country.sIPTU members from the Hse Home Help service have fou-ght a determined campaign against this agenda of cu-ts and privatisation for over two years now. They highligh-ted that while private agen-cy Home Helps are paid sig-nificantly less than their Hse counterparts, the cost to the state of outsourcing this work is actually higher than that of employing Hse home Helps directly. In september of this year following intensive lob-bying and protests right acro-ss the state, sIPTU Home Helps won a significant bin-ding Recommendation from the Labour Court which could have the potential to partially reverse the move towards pri-vatisation of services.The Recommendation mo-ves Hse Home Help mem-bers from zero hour contracts to annualised hour contracts, and establishes a minimum guarantee of 7 hours per we-

ek for all home helps, which in turn will rise to 10 hours after further review. The Court al-so recommended “robust ma-nagement” on a “county by county basis” with regard to a commitment to redirect ho-urs to directly employed staff before considering any other options (i.e. private agenci-es). notwithstanding the con-tent of this recommendation it is only through active mobi-lisation of Home Help union members in each county that potential gains will be trans-lated into additional hours of work and increased job securi-ty for sIPTU Home Help mem-bers.The real scandal of this story is that a policy of privatisation of Home Care by successive governments has been pur-sued under the radar and wi-thout any mandate from the electorate. no politician from any political party advocated the dismantling of Public Ho-me Help services and their re-placement by private agen-cies when knocking on our doors in 2011, or 2007. It wo-uld have been political suici-de to do so. Yet we now know we are 7 years into a process that appears designed to do just that. In fact our politicians promised to protect vital pu-blic services. But as a leading member of our current Cabi-net might say, “Isn’t that what you tend to do during an elec-tion?”

The Quiet Privatisation of Our Home Help service

The Casualisation of Labour in Third Level Institutions

Micheal O’Flynn

ll Provisional results from a survey carried out by the newly formed Third Level workplace watch indicate that third-level institutions are to the very fore-front of the shift towards preca-rious employment in Ireland to-day. A considerable volume of teaching work (sometimes in-cluding the delivery of core mo-dules) is now carried out on the basis of 6 month and 9 month contracts. As more responsibi-lity is heaped on the shoulders of junior lecturers, more tea-ching work is carried out by lec-turers with no job security at all - by temporary lecturers and so-called teaching assistants. These precariously employed lecturers are systematically thrown out of employment prior to perma-nency; and with further cuts to funding, the pool of unemplo-yed and underemployed educa-tors expands, creating feelings of isolation, vulnerability, demo-ralisation, a disinclination to join trade unions, and in turn, furt-her opportunities to undermine conditions.The normalisation of short-term contracts is only part of the story. Third Level workpla-ce watch has found that a con-siderable amount of teaching-work is also carried out by lectu-rers on the basis of hourly-paid contracts, by so-called adjunct lecturers. The prevalence of this in the University of Limerick and the Limerick Institute of Techno-logy has yet to be fully revealed – though initial discussions wi-th part-time staff indicate some conformity with the Third Le-vel workplace watch survey fin-dings. The rates of pay for hourly-paid lecturers are relatively ea-sy to find out, but these actu-ally tell us very little. For exam-ple, we know that the hourly-ra-te for day-time lectures in UL (in the humanities at least) is €50. And this does sound attractive. However, when we look at what €50 per hour really means, a very different picture emerges. Anyo-ne familiar with teaching at third level (including most of those enrolled as students) can under-stand that lecture hours are real-ly only a small part of what com-prises the teaching role – it is ne-

cessary to prepare and write lec-tures, deliver lectures, set asses-sments, carry out assessments, answer students’ emails, carry out all kinds of technical and ad-ministrative tasks, as well as pro-vide guidance on a daily basis. Given that precariously emplo-yed ‘adjunct’ lecturers take on all of these duties - exactly the sa-me duties as permanent mem-bers of staff - the compensation is actually far closer to the mini-mum wage (if not below) than it is to €50 per hour. Apart from this, the hourly rate for tutorials averages between €20 and €30, but can be as low as €13 (the ca-se with at least one humaniti-es department); assessment per student is approximately €6.50 per student per semester. we know that on this basis, a part-ti-me lecturer taking on a modu-le with 30 students, lasting one semester - 12 weeks, with for example, two lecture hours per week and two tutorial hours (tu-torials lasting for approximately 7 weeks of term) - will carry out all duties for less than €2000. The role of lecturers on perma-nent contracts, or contracts of indefinite duration (CIDs), is typi-cally divided between teaching, research and administration - with teaching assuming appro-ximately 40% of the workload. This usually involves the delivery of 4 or 4.5 modules per year (wi-th the other activities rightful-ly taken into consideration). Ob-viously, the research and organi-sing work carried out by ‘adjunct’ lecturers is not paid, but that do-es not mean it is avoidable. It is essential activity to all those that intend to remain employable, and precariously employed lec-turers only have a short brea-thing space before they must re-sume the hunt for elusive short-term contracts. However, most have little time for research and publishing; they must also work outside of academia precise-ly because nothing they do be-yond their face-to-face teaching figures in their hourly claims, no matter the benefit to the univer-sity. such principles as equal pay for equal work are abandoned as precarious conditions open up opportunities for exploitati-on. To highlight the inequity in-volved it is enough to consider

the number of modules that wo-uld be necessary for an hourly-paid lecturer to take on before reaching the relatively modest salary of a junior lecturer with a permanent contract. It works out at well over 20 modules per year (which of course is impossi-ble). shocked yet? Don’t worry, it gets even worse. The survey car-ried out by Third Level workpla-ce watch has also uncovered a sizable gender gap. women ap-pear more likely to be in hour-ly-paid work or to report being in precarious employment for 10 years or more (sometimes 20 – 25 years). The recent launch of the Defend the Irish Universi-ty campaign has indicated that many tenured staff now realise this. Hopefully, more academics will now understand that resear-ching the ‘working poor’ does not necessarily require field trips – that sometimes a glance to-wards the cluttered desks surro-unding their own offices is suffi-cient.All of this fits into a wider trend toward the abolition of permanent contract positions in third level. Presently in the Uni-versity of Limerick the best that can usually be hoped for is a 5 year contract, but all the signs indicate that even these con-tracts will be few and far betwe-en, that many third–level edu-cators will have to continue cha-sing 6 and 9 month contracts, being out of work for the sum-mer months, and relying on ho-urly-paid teaching work in the periods of strategically forced redundancy. The drive to normalise short-term and casual-hours contracts in third-level institutions can-not go uncontested. There are at least some signs of an emerging opposition. However, until su-ch time as precariously emplo-yed lecturers manage to organi-se themselves, they will be used to undermine the conditions of permanent members of staff. It is in the interest of the perma-nent workforce – and perhaps a duty on the part of those invol-ved in the trade union move-ment – to ensure that all precari-ously employed workers in third level institutions get organised. This is precisely what Third Le-vel workplace watch is now cal-ling for.

5 FInAnCe The Bottom Dog


Irelands’ Bank Guarantee: A Lesson In Class Power

Conor McCabell Irelands’ Bank Guarantee:

At the start of 2013 the indepen-dent TD for wicklow, stephen Don-nelly, stood up in the Dáil and ta-lked about the bank guarantee. He said it was passed because ‘of a di-ktat from europe that said no euro-pean bank could fail, no eurozone bank could fail and no senior bond-holders could incur any debt.’ It is a curious opinion to hold, as the on-ly foreign accents heard on the re-cently-released Anglo tapes are imitations done by Irish bankers of considerable wealth and influence. The tapes shone a light on the short-term focus, the scramble for capital that was to the front of the bank’s management team. John Bowe, the head of Capital Markets at Anglo Irish Bank, told his collea-gue Peter Fitzgerald that the strate-gy was to get the Irish central bank to commit itself to funding Anglo, to ‘get them to write a big cheque.’ By doing so, the Central Bank wo-uld find itself locked in to Anglo as it would have to shore up the bank to ensure it got repaid. The Irish financial regulator, Pat ne-ary, in a conversation with Bowe, said that Anglo was asking his offi-ce ‘to play ducks and drakes wi-th the regulations.’ Once the gua-rantee was passed the bank’s CeO, David Drumm, told his executives to take full advantage but advised them to be careful and not to get caught.This was reinforced by an article in the sunday Independent on 17 no-vember 2013 which looked to the British Treasury’s archives for in-

formation on Anglo and the bank guarantee. ‘The documents reve-al’ said the newspaper, ‘that the Fi-nancial Regulator tipped off Britain that Anglo might be “unable to roll €3bn [in funding] overnight,” but not to worry as if that happened the Central Bank or Government would step in to bail it out.’The idea for a blanket guarantee, however, did not originate entirely with the Anglo management team, regardless of how much they em-braced it. In the weeks leading up to the decision, the idea of a gu-arantee was flagged in the natio-nal media by people such as David Mcwilliams and the property deve-loper noel smyth. In a piece for the sunday Busine-ss Post, 21 september 2008, Mcwil-liams outlined his plan to save the Irish banks. He called for a full gu-arantee, one that would give ‘full protection for all creditors, all our own deposits and those of the fo-reign institutions who have lent to the Irish banks. The government could do this for a limited period – let’s say two years.’ He said that the ‘Irish government would be using its well-earned reputation as a so-vereign entity, not its hard-earned cash, to solve this crisis’ and that over the two years ‘with the return of confidence, the banks would ha-ve time to sort out their asset pro-blems.’ noel smyth, in a piece for the Irish Times, said that with a full state gu-arantee the ‘three-month inter-bank facilities would then return, trust and confidence between the banks would replace the present fear of illiquidity created by the cre-dit crunch and the system, stagna-ting at present, would come back

into full operation.’ smyth at this stage was a valued customer of bo-th Anglo Irish Bank and Irish nati-onwide. A selection of his property portfolio ended up in nAMA, as did his art collection. Yet, Mcwilliams, smyth, and the managers at Anglo, all touch upon a key factor in the 2008 crisis: the collapse in the inter-bank lending market. Two days after the bank guaran-tee was passed by the Dáil, the Irish Times journalist, simon Carswell, wrote a short, succinct précis of what had just happened. ‘The sta-te guarantee’ he said, ‘allows the six lenders to borrow more freely and more cheaply for short-term fun-ding that had become scarce due to the global credit crunch.’ He quo-ted Denis Casey, chief executive of Irish Life and Permanent, who said that with the credit crisis ‘the oxygen supply for Irish banks was being cut off and healthy banks were starting to gasp for breath. This guarantee turns on the oxygen supply.’ On 3 October 2008 the eCB wrote a letter to the Irish Department of Fi-nance, outlining its grave concer-ns regarding the scale and depth of the guarantee. It noted that the Irish state ‘opted for an individual response to the current financial si-tuation and not sought to consult their eU partners.’ It also made the following observation: … the financial exposure of the Irish state under such guarantees is potentially very large, the Irish Go-vernment could be obliged to ma-ke significant payments in case the-se guarantees are called over the next two years… this is a cause for concern, even when the provision

of financial support would, under the draft law, as far as possible ulti-mately have to be recouped from the credit institution or subsidiary in question.when the Irish state went guaran-tor for six banks and one stockbro-king firm (Goodbody was also in-cluded) it merged the state, Borg-like, with the parallel, or shadow, banking system. It was a reckless last throw-of-the-dice, one that no other country replicated. The Anglo tapes, while shocking, are white noise. The deep corrupti-on of Irish political and business li-fe is there for all to see. It is alrea-dy in public view. And why should it hide itself? It has little to fear from the justice system, and in terms of general analysis the German straw man has worked. The next time you see an Irish comic on RTe in drag as Angela Merkel, the Irish moneyed class will be laughing along as well. Unfortunately it will be the Irish public, not the screen, that will be their source of merriment.At the very least, let us be clear as to what took place in 2008: it was a scramble by our indigenous mo-neyed class to protect itself at all costs, with a plan that backfired, le-aving the Irish people to clean up the mess. since 2010, that class has been talking up the role of the eCB and eU in an effort to disguise the local class interests that came in-to play in 2008. In other words, the consequences of the guarantee are now put forward as the causes of the guarantee. And so far, at least, the subterfuge has worked. At the end of the day the guarantee was about class power. Unfortunately in Ireland, that is usually the case.

6 sPeCIALThe Bottom Dog


Paul [email protected]

ll Out of the Picture?

Homelessness is a lonely, isolating experien-ce that negatively affects people’s health, un-dermines people’s confidence, and seriously hampers people’s ability to interact normally with the wider community.

“People become homeless for loads of rea-sons”, says elizabeth – a resident of one of Cork simon’s high-support houses. “For Me”, she says, “I just couldn’t find a home for my heart. I felt lonely. It’s when you feel happy inside….that’s when you find your home”.

People experiencing homelessness feel invi-sible, feel like they’re ‘out of the picture’ of life. As ‘stephen’ – a former long-term rough sle-eper in Cork put it, “One of the most difficult things about being homeless is that you get to a stage where you learn not to trust anybody. This is a horrible feeling; it creates a feeling of loneliness and of feeling unwanted”.

As ‘elizabeth’ points out, people become ho-meless for a variety of different reasons. For many, homelessness is the result of a brief cri-sis in their lives. with the right help and sup-ports they can be assisted to access alternative housing quickly and with little fuss. For some, however, homelessness is the result of people being overwhelmed by a series of personal cri-ses and problems, many of which can be outsi-de their control. They build up over time – so-metimes years, until that final crisis moment that triggers homelessness.

‘How Did I Get Here?’ – a recent study of pe-ople using Cork simon’s emergency shelter, found that many experienced deep social ex-clusion and disadvantage. Their journey in-to homelessness started at a young age. early school leaving, literacy problems, learning di-fficulties and a history of institutional care all featured prominently. As a result, people we-re not equipped with the tools to make it in the real world, as summed up by ‘Paula’, a resi-dent in Cork simon’s emergency shelter: “I’ve been institutionalised all my life. I wouldn’t know what it is like to live independently on my own. I dunno what it’s like to live out in the real world”.

Many people were unskilled – an obvious di-sadvantage in the current labour market with knock-on effects of social exclusion and parti-cipation in civil society and social arenas. Peo-ple weren’t just unemployed – they were long-term unemployed, resulting in elevated levels of distress, depression and low self-esteem. Poor mental health was reflected in high rates of depression, anxiety and paranoia; rates of self-harming and attempted suicide were hi-gh, as were admissions to psychiatric care.

People experiencing homelessness are found to be arrested more often, incarcerated lon-ger, and re-arrested at higher rates that peo-ple with stable housing. The majority of peo-ple included in the ‘How Did I Get Here?’ study had had experience of the criminal justice sys-tem with custodial sentences ranging from fo-ur days to seven years. ‘stephen’, writing from prison, explains: “There are quite a few lads in this prison at the moment who have nowhe-re to go when they get out, and they would all

tell you themselves that they more than like-ly will re-offend, just so they have a roof over their heads and food in their stomachs”.

experience of homelessness can lead people to engage in substance misuse, whilst sub-stance misuse is a predominant cause of ho-melessness. The majority of people included in the study were currently using alcohol or drugs in a way that was causing problems in their lives. ‘siobhan’, a resident of Cork simon’s emergency shelter, describes herself as a “…recovering addict”. she says, “The disease car-ries on through your life. I’m always going to be in addiction. Alcohol, tablets, opiates. It’s very easy to slip back in – once an addict al-ways an addict.”

The interplay between the various risk factors – many evident since early childhood, is stri-king. One factor can lead to another, or influ-ence another, or start a chain of events that overwhelm people to the point of homeless-ness. People who experience a long journey into homelessness more often than not face a long journey in leaving it behind. Apart from the obvious supports people need in securing and maintaining housing, they need support with their addictions, with managing their mental and general health, with improving li-teracy and skills and with finding work. Per-haps the most challenging aspect of all is sup-porting people to interact with the wider com-munity; become normal members of society and participants in their local communities.

There’s a stigma attached to being homeless. In stephen’s experience, “Many people fear the homeless or look on them with disgust ra-ther than realising that most of us are not bad

people…”. He says, “some homeless people give off the impression they don’t care abo-ut anything and are really hard people. This is a front, a survival technique you develop so you can last on the street. Most homeless pe-ople I know are not violent, regardless of what you might hear. In fact, they are much more li-kely to be the victims of violent attacks them-selves”.

Cork simon aims to address these challenges in three distinct ways. Our volunteer program-me brings people from all walks of life into all of our services to interact in a normal way with the people using those services. secondly, an Activities Programme organises a range of da-ily activities that match people’s interests, and, just as importantly, actively encourages peo-ple to take part. Thirdly, Cork simon’s annual simon week aims to highlight the challenges that people who are homeless face and en-courage the wider community to see people who are homeless as people – someone’s son or daughter, brother or sister, who are vulnera-ble, marginalised and facing sever challenges in their lives.

This year, our sixth annual simon week, inclu-ded an exhibition of 25 stunning black & white photographs taken by residents of Cork simon Community. Months of creativity and photo-graphy workshops over the summer months for eleven residents of Cork simon culmina-ted in the unveiling of ‘Out of the Picture?’ The black & white photographs offer a glimpse of the residents’ perspectives of Cork and its sur-roundings. It’s a safe means of expression, of socialising, and of getting one’s voice back.

Volunteer, stephen Browne – an Architect by

PHOTOs BY CORK sIMOn ResIDenTs FROM THe eMeRGenCY sHeLTeR

OUT OF THe PICTURe?

7 sPeCIALThe Bottom Dog


training but with a passion for photography, came up with the idea for ‘Out of the Picture?’ 25 year-old stephen, a native of waterford, had spent time previously volunteering for an nGO in Peru, helping to re-develop the city of Pisco after a devastating earthquake in 2007. He subsequently worked for an nGO in Co-lumbia as a photographer for the Columbian Government’s social Reintegration Projects in remote areas of the country.

stephen got the idea for ‘Out of the Picture?’ whilst taking photographs of people in a re-mote village in the Andes. He says, “Photogra-phing people as ‘subjects’ for the intention of provoking an emotional response was some-thing I felt uncomfortable with. I flew in the helicopter into an active warzone full of ex-citement, and left with something I had ne-ver expected: self doubt. Instead of trying to evoke feelings of pity without ever knowing the ‘subject’s’ background or overwhelming problems, I wanted to know more about the

‘subject’s’ perspective. I approached Cork si-mon with the idea last March and we started work in earnest when I returned to Ireland at the start of the summer.”

The project got off to a shaky start which ser-ves to highlight the challenges and vulnera-bilities that people who are homeless face. As stephen explains, “Rebeca and I, laden with my presentation, 35 single-use cameras, and a certain nervous excitement, rounded the cor-ner to Cork simon’s emergency shelter only to be greeted with a scene of paramedics car-rying a patient on a stretcher out the double doors of the shelter into an awaiting ambul-ance. Friends looked on anxiously, their ner-vous conversations finally drowned out by the ambulance’s wailing as it jerked down the road and around the corner out of sight. As someone who was about to address the very first group of new participants for a photogra-phy project I didn’t even know would work, this was one of the few times when I was left

truly speechless. I was tempted to turn aro-und, but I am wholly thankful that I did not.”

Using Ilford single-use cameras featuring the HP5 35mm black & white film, Cork simon re-sidents from the emergency shelter and from several of Cork simon’s High-support hou-ses participated in a series of workshops faci-litated by stephen and his partner, Rebecca – a psychologist. Learning the basic principles of photography, and learning from photogra-phs they took each week, the final exhibition began to take shape as the summer drew to a close. each print is mounted in a hand-craf-ted, recycled pallet timber frame, creating a unique and stunning exhibition.

The recently opened Perry street Market Café in Cork City kindly hosted the exhibition - and the unveiling, which served to give the ele-ven photographers confidence that there are those in the wider community that believe in them, that believe they should have a voice,

that believe they should have a place in our community. That belief in people cannot be underestimated.”

Poet, author and broadcaster, Theo Dorgan, in launching the exhibition, said, “Here is eviden-ce, if anyone needs it, that we are all in this to-gether, that we share one world and one hu-manity, no matter where we live or what it is we do with our lives.”

For stephen, sticking with the project, despi-te the shaky start, was the right thing to do: ‘I believe that this project is a testament to the ability and potential of each and every per-son. I believe the exhibition stands as a shi-ning example of ability and achievement for everyone involved, and a beautiful represen-tation of the simon Community motto, ‘Belie-ve In People’. I certainly do.”

PHOTOs BY CORK sIMOn ResIDenTs FROM THe eMeRGenCY sHeLTeR

By Christos Tsiaglis

ll A few fragments of history

‘who governs this land?’ allegedly the words of the Greek Prime Mi-nister Kostantinos Karamanlis, furi-ous after the murder of Grigoris La-brakis, an MP affiliated with the Left back in the early 60’s. This is one of the most quoted anecdotes in Gre-ek political and historical texts. But it is also exemplary of the hypocrisy

ruling the milieu, since it is well known by now -as it was back then- that the Greek state, orchestrated by the nATO and the CIA, had cre-ated the very same bands of thugs who murdered Labrakis. what Gre-ek popular culture very spiritedly rendered as the parakratos, ‘that which stands beside the state in obscurity’. One recalls the Cold war years in Greece, Italy, Belgium and Ger-many, where nATO, CIA and state intelligence and security services, recruited, trained and funded the remnants of nazi collaborationis-ts, crooks and thugs, neo-nazi and neo-fascist groups, in urban gueril-la warfare and terrorism. These ‘pa-rallel structures’ consisted a clan-destine counter-insurgency army, waging a latent, low-intensity war, with the purpose of suppressing political dissent, and the rise of the Left in particular.

what was acknowledged back then was that ‘the enemy had mo-ved within’ and that consequently, the very nature of war had alte-

red. It was essential thus, that coun-ter-revolution should be waged on a different level, on the most pri-mary, organic level: in the street, in working places, in everyday life, in social relations, and of course wi-thin the psyche, agents of repressi-on had to be implanted. At Present a state of emergency reigns in Greece. exception has - in-deed - become the rule. The consti-tution is being practically suspen-ded. A puppet government passes

legislation through emergency de-crees designed to be used in cases of war and natural disasters. Heavi-ly armed and highly mobile police units scan the streets. Police com-mandos raid the public television building, take over remote trans-mitters and cut off the signal. stri-kers are being conscripted. Drug addicts are gathered and exami-ned by force in concentration cam-ps in a ‘police-medical joint ventu-re’. Concentration camps for emi-grants are being set up.

Most people don’t understand the importance of -seemingly small, but crucial in essence- gradual steps being made. One day you wa-ke up only to realize that all the ele-ments of a totalitarian dystopia are in place.

It is in this context that GD grew - or was being nurtured to be more precise- from a marginal nazi gang, to the third party in Greece.

GD was a very useful tool. The regi-me could win from it under a vari-ety of scenarios. It could use it bo-

th as an instrument of self-con-tainment (of the Golden Dawn fol-lowers themselves) and of con-taining others (trade unions, pro-testers, immigrants). Policing and self-policing. It could also win from crushing it when the time would come, presenting itself as the gu-arantor of stability and normalcy, and using all the repressive appara-tuses being built in the meanwhi-le, in order to suppress wider politi-cal dissent.

Through a nazi - mafia hierarchy GD was able to organize pogroms, armed patrols and stash quantiti-es of arms. It appears to have be-en involved in killings, heavy bat-tery attacks, arms dealing, extorti-on and protection rackets. A nexus was created, between GD mem-bers, policemen, army officers, jud-ges, prison officers, psychiatrists. Its funding remains ‘a mystery’ un-til today, with research focusing on

prominent ship-owners, business-men and the clergy.

The fascist factory

In these times of grave humanita-rian crisis, the economy is not the only thing collapsing. It is also the economy of the self of the common citizenry. Power was to provide the new sentimental education. It took on the task of producing reactiona-ry, anti-libertarian subjectivities.

The public sphere was colonized by spectacular issues, addressing a very specific part of the emotio-nal pallet. The aim was to subtract a certain affect from the people. “The

immigrants pose a physiognomic bomb in the heart of Athens”. “HIV prostitutes are contaminating hard working family men.” And most recently, from Athens to Dublin: “Gypsies steal our babies.”

Moreover, the crisis was the Left’s fault. The catastrophe was not the result of a rampant deregulated market economy. It was exactly the lack of it. It was the Leftist “do-minant culture”, therefore, with its dogmatic archaisms and its para-sitism that was responsible for the crisis, “the generation of the Polyte-chnic uprising”.

The relationship between fascism and capitalism has long been dia-gnosed and contemplated. ‘who-ever is not prepared to talk abo-ut capitalism should also remain si-lent about fascism.’ Max Horkhe-imer warned the hypocrites. Bre-cht saw fascism “as the nakedest,

most shameless, most oppressive, and most treacherous form of ca-pitalism.” nowadays, these words hardly seem to move the european public, let alone the decision-ma-king mechanisms in Brussels, Ber-lin, or Athens.It would perhaps be Karl Polanyi though, who offered a most valu-able explanation of fascism, as a way out of the dead-end of libe-ral capitalism, as an attempt to sa-ve the collapsing economic system, “as a reform of the free market eco-nomy” in particular, which seems alarmingly precise today.

8 InTeRnATIOnALThe Bottom Dog


The Golden Dawn as Structural Reform

9 InTeRnATIOnALThe Bottom Dog


Zoe Lawlor

ll As the internationally backed “peace process” trundles on, the humanitarian situation in Gaza is increasingly dire and life for Palestinians in the west Bank and Jerusalem is also precarious.

Approximately one year af-ter the last major Israeli mili-tary assault on Gaza, the 8 day “Operation Pillar of Defense”, which killed 174 people, inju-red 648 and further damaged the already devastated infra-structure, there has been no justice for either the victims or their families and the Israeli ar-my continues to act with im-punity. Indeed, the Israeli Kne-sset passed an amendment in 2012 exempting the state from liability for any damage caused in ‘combat actions’ or ‘military operations’, thus th-warting Palestinians seeking justice for their losses. I visited Gaza in January 2013 as part of Gaza Action Ireland (formed by activists involved in Irish ship to Gaza project) and the trauma wreaked by that military attack was both visible and palpable: the phy-sical scars all over the densely populated strip, and the emo-tional hurt in a people subjec-ted to brutal siege and regu-lar airstrikes. As the Israeli elec-tions were looming, there was much speculation as to whe-ther there would be further bombing - Palestinian lives ex-tinguished equate to votes it seems. The people in Gaza, as they are all over Palestine, are welcoming, warm, funny and above all resilient – they have summoned a steadfastness, without which they wouldn’t have been able to withstand 65 years of occupation, apart-heid and ethnic cleansing.

while the minimal media at-tention accorded to Palestine is focused on John Kerry’s feig-ned attempts to revive a long-dead peace process, the situ-ation in Gaza is at near catas-trophe level. On november 1st the United nations Huma-nitarian Coordinator Mr. Ja-mes w. Rawley called for ur-gent action to address the loo-

ming humanitarian crisis due to the shut-down of Gaza’s on-ly power plant. such outages affect the hospitals, water and sewage systems, as well as im-posing severe limitations on people’s ability to live as nor-mal a life as is possible under ongoing blockade, limited as they are to six hours electricity per day. The Ministry of Heal-th has warned of an imminent “health catastrophe” due to shortages of medical suppli-es and equipment. As many as 40% of essential medicines may be at zero stock level and children are having to wade through sewage on their way to school, as the enclave’s lar-gest waste water treatment plants stopped for lack of fuel. The Israeli imposed siege has been compounded by the new regime in egypt whi-ch has shut down most of the tunnels which serve as Gaza’s lifelines, used to bring in food and fuel staples, many of whi-ch are banned from entering by Israel. not only is the eco-nomic situation dire - unem-ployment is very high and 80% of families are aid-depen-dent - but freedom of move-ment is severely curtailed. It’s difficult to describe how per-vasive the blockade is and how restrictive it is of the ba-sic freedoms we take for gran-ted. The egyptian crackdown has meant the closure of the Rafah crossing, the only other entry/exit point for Gaza apart from Israeli controlled erez, often for days at a time, and even when it is open the ho-urs are short and the process extremely humiliating. As this academic year commenced, many students with scholar-ships to study outside of Pa-lestine were prevented from leaving and making it to their universities. The reality for pe-ople in Gaza is that their fre-edom of movement is at the whim of Israel and egypt. Isra-el also regularly subjects Gaza to airstrikes, further harming existence there. One of the most damaging as-pects of the occupation of Pa-lestine is how Israel is trying to divide it into three separa-te entities and make it impos-sible for those living in the di-fferent parts to be unified. In

Gaza, people often described their sense of isolation from the rest of Palestine. Meanwhile in the west Bank, ethnic cleansing continues unabated and, in true apart-heid style, more than 30 laws discriminate against Palestini-an citizens of Israel, subjected as they are to myriad check-points, ID regulations etc. whi-le making noisy threats about Iran and claiming that the Pa-lestinians don’t want peace, Israel is expanding its illegal settlements, itself thrashing any possibility of a two-state solution. since the beginning of this year, more than 500 Palestinian properties in the west Bank, mostly in east Jeru-salem have been demolished, displacing 862 people, accor-ding to Un OCHA. (Office for the Coordination of Humani-tarian Affairs). This equates to multiple families made home-less and entire communities fractured. with the added des-truction of thousands of olive trees by settlers, life for those in the Occupied Territories is difficult in the extreme. Last June, the Knesset appro-ved the Prawer-Begin plan, which if implemented will re-sult in the destruction of mo-re than 35 unrecognized villa-ges in the negev and the for-ced expulsion of more than 70,000 Palestinian Bedouins. As with illegal settlement buil-ding, the international com-munity has repeatedly cal-led on Israel to halt such acti-vity. However, the fact rema-ins that while Israel is in brea-ch of international law, and re-fuses to fulfil its legal obligati-ons to the people it occupies, there is no actual sanction or concrete action from said in-ternational community. This is why the Palestinian-led cam-paign for Boycott, Divestment and sanctions (BDs) is so cru-cial for those in solidarity with them to support their struggle against apartheid. As politici-ans consistently fail them, Pa-lestinians have reached out to civil society, after 65 years of occupation, apartheid and si-ege surely the time has come for justice for Palestine?

Palestine: 65 years of Colonisation

The US Military Use of Shannon

John Lannon, shannonwatch

ll In the 1990’s shannon was a busy civilian airport. The Irish government gave tax breaks for companies to set up manufacturing facili-ties in the nearby shannon Free Zone, shannon Deve-lopment attracted the mul-tinationals in, and the air-port ferried people to and from the region. But times have changed. The terminal building is practically deser-ted these days, apart from a few scheduled services and charter flights. But behind the departure gates there’s a constant Us military pre-sence, and it’s been like that for most of the last decade. when George w. Bush in-vaded Iraq the Irish gover-nment gave him permissi-on to use shannon and sin-ce then well over two mil-lion Us soldiers have pas-sed through the airport. The Iraq business eased off, but the Bush invasion of Afgha-nistan and the not-so-new dawn of the Obama era still pro-vided plenty of war business. And there were regular CIA fli-ghts, many of which were involved in ille-gal kidnapping acti-vities leading to tor-ture by the Us and its allies.successive Irish go-vernments have po-inted out that Ire-land has always facilitated the Us army. But the Us mili-tary use of shannon over the last decade is different. For a start, the scale of usage is significantly higher than in the past, with up to 20 lan-dings a week by the civili-an airline contracted to car-ry Us troops, Omni Air Inter-national. Furthermore these troops are directly involved in military operations, and their weapons and ammuni-tion travel with them on the flights (a fact that presents significant security risks in an airport designed for civi-lian use). There are also up to 50 Us Air Force and navy aircraft lan-ding at shannon every mon-th. These include Hercu-les C-130 military transpor-

ters, typically used to deliver troops, weapons and other equipment directly to areas of military operations. They are capable for example of transporting the unmanned aerial vehicles (drones) used by the Us to track and hit tar-gets in Afghanistan, Pakistan and elsewhere. The present Irish govern-ment insists that the milita-ry aircraft are not engaged in military operations or car-rying any weapons. This is despite the fact that a Us navy aircraft with a visible 30mm cannon was photo-graphed there on sept 5th. The government claims al-so beg the question as to why the Irish Army is regu-larly stationed beside these aircraft. Over the last decade Us and nATO actions around the globe have, by and large, be-en heavy-handed and coun-ter-productive. Afghanistan is a prime example; the post sept-11 Us invasion has led to increased levels of corrup-

tion and drugs production, ongoing civilian deaths, and no improvement in the hu-man rights situation. Yet Ire-land continues to support this failed policy like an obe-dient lapdog. But as well as being morally indefensible the Us military use of shan-non is problematic on seve-ral legal grounds. The first is in relation to neutrality. A 2003 High Court judgement (Horgan v An Taoiseach) sta-ted that Ireland was in bre-ach of the Hague Conventi-on on neutrality by allowing Us troops to use shannon airport on their way to and from the war in Iraq. The judgment highlighted the fact that a neutral state may not permit the movement of large numbers of troops or

munitions of one belligerent state through its territory en route to a theatre of war wi-th another. The second is in-ternational humanitarian law. The killing and harming of innocent civilians by the Us forces in Iraq and Afgha-nistan are in violation of the Fourth and Third Geneva Convention. And these for-ces are given the freedom to wander around the duty free lounges in shannon. ne-xt there is human rights law. we know that shannon has been used by the CIA as part of its renditions policy (this has been well documented by Amnesty International, the european Parliament and others), and this brea-ches international human ri-ghts norms as well as Irish law, in particular the Crimi-nal Justice Act (Un Conven-tion Against Torture) 2000. Finally there is aviation law. The Chicago Convention and various Irish laws should have come into effect in rela-tion to the inspection of sus-

pect rendition pla-nes but the autho-rities took no ac-tion. Finally it is worth noting that the Programme for Go-vernment presen-ted by Fine Gael and Labour at the start of 2011 said that they will “en-force the prohibi-tion on the use of Irish airspace, air-

ports and related facilities for purposes not in line with the dictates of international law.” At the time it seemed to present a glimmer of ho-pe. But that hope has faded. And instead of using whate-ver influence Ireland has in order to find creative, pea-ceful and healthy alternati-ves to wars that benefit a few elite and kill and impoverish many, we are providing lo-gistical support for Us impe-rial overreach every day of the week at shannon.

shannonwatch are a group of peace and human rights activists based in the mid-west of Ireland. For more in-formation see their website, www.shannonwatch.org.



ENDING THELOCKOUT OFYOUNG PEOPLE

ending the Lockout of Young Peo-ple,

ll By we’re not Leaving

Across Ireland a generational gulf is forming. Years on from the bank guarantee and the imposition of austerity, we now live in an anti-de-mocratic society that locks young people out from basic social pro-tections and the decision-making processes that impact on our lives and futures. The result is common negative experiences – such as fee hikes & grant cuts, youth unem-ployment, forced emigration, esca-lating mental health crises, corpo-rate internship culture, lack of affor-dable housing, precarious and un-paid work – being aggressively fois-ted on us but not caused by us. we won’t accept this ‘new normal’ of increasing impoverishment or be their ‘safety-release valve’ through forced emigration. Young people played no part in creating this crisis of the wealthy, the corrupt and the powerful – and we will not tolera-te these attacks on our present and futures to pay for it.This is a call out to any young per-son who feels ready to take that step into getting organised wi-th their generation to fight back against all the crap, against all the corruption, against all their attacks on our lives.On saturday 9 november at the Yo-ung People’s Assembly in Liberty Hall, the largest and broadest ga-thering of young people since the crisis began – for the first time brin-ging together students, the young unemployed, precarious workers and their representative organisa-tions – started work on a common charter and strategies to get orga-nised and fight back. Facilitated by the we’re not Lea-ving campaign, the Young People’s Assembly collectively produced the following:PReCARIOUs wORK & InTeRnsHIP

CULTURewe demand:1. That companies be barred from displacing current paid workers wi-th internship positions.2. That a day’s work should equal a day’s pay – a living wage.3. An end to the institutional nor-malisation of internship culture and the commencement of inde-pendent monitoring of internship schemes.4. stability and security in the work-place in terms of hours, income and location.5. That the concept of “experience” should not replace paid work.MenTAL HeALTHwe demand:1. Universal access to free, local and high-quality public mental health services.2. A collective and social approa-ch to the de-stigmatisation of men-tal health issues and that positive mental health be promoted in the community, workplace and educa-tion system.3. Recognition of the impact of pre-carious work, internship culture, unemployment and poverty on the mental health of young people in Ireland.YOUTH UneMPLOYMenT & FOR-CeD eMIGRATIOnwe demand:1. That young people who have be-en forced to emigrate must have the right to vote in elections in Ire-land.2. An end to the recruitment em-bargo within the public sector.3. The recognition of our status as adults in society.4. That our trade unions be recogni-sed and be allowed to collectively bargain on our behalf.5. Real job creation from the gover-nment instead of token measures.HOUsInGwe demand:1. That quality, accessible housing be recognised as a universal social right – free from discrimination ba-sed on gender, sexual orientation,

age and/or ethnicity – and that this right is guaranteed by the state.2. strong regulation of landlords and developers in order to control housing costs and ensure access to adequate housing.3. That the state utilise the existing social-housing stock, as well as pro-perties belonging to nAMA and the bailed out banks, in the interest of the public.Fee HIKes & GRAnT CUTswe demand:1. A third-level education system that is truly free at the first point of entry that is funded by a system of progressive taxation.2. A grant system be put in place for all stages of further and higher education, which enables access to education for everyone in society and reflects the cost of living.3. The recognition of the broader non-economic benefits of educati-on, as well as the recognition of the economic and social role that the

students of today will play in the society of tomorrow.4. solidarity between all student re-presentative bodies and the enco-uragement of political learning and engagement at all levels of educa-tion.This opening draft will be further developed in the coming weeks and months, but we hope this in-clusive charter by and for young people will help us to finally come together in solidarity to organise and fight for an alternative Ireland for young people – for a profoundly different vision of social justice for this society.we’re students, the young unem-ployed, precarious workers and mi-xes of all three – we’re angry and #werenotleaving. Get involved. [email protected]@wnLIrelandfacebook.com/werenotleaving

11 OPInIOnThe Bottom Dog


“AAA”-A REAL LEFT ALTERNATIVE

‘AAA’– A Real Left Alternative

ll Pat O’ Connor AAA Limerick

In early 2007 the Irish economy was still basking in the warm glow of the so called Celtic Tiger. The Irish stock exchange Index exceeded 10,000 in the first quarter of that year. As a comparison, it is now cir-ca 2000. Unemployment was in the region of 4% which is regar-ded in some economies as Full em-ployment. The construction indus-try was booming. Properties we-re being ordered in advance as the banks competed with each other to offer loans for every imaginable expense. The main Government Party, Fianna Fáil was still reaching 41% of the popular poll.To quote Michael noonan’s fa-vourite poet again, suddenly ‘ everything changed, changed ut-terly’! By early 2009 unemploy-ment rocketed to 11.4%. Proper-ty values and sales collapsed as the construction industry went in-to severe decline. For the first quar-ter of 2009 Gross national Pro-duct was down by 12% from the sa-me period in 2008. Then CsO indi-cated emigration in the following year was 34,500. In addition a con-siderable number of east european workers returned home as the Irish economy went into further decline.This triggered the ‘Blame game’ as Fine Gael labelled the ineptitude of Fianna Fáil for the world crisis and for some reason ignored the Leh-man collapse and the rise in sub prime lending in the world’s largest economy. Of course, the Fianna Fáil/Green Government played its part in trying to save the structures of capitalism. The infamous Cabi-net Meeting of september 29th.’08 put in place an unlimited guaran-tee for the six main banks. support for Fianna Fáil was in serious decli-ne as its popularity reached an all-time low in December ’10 at 13%. By the February 2011 election it had recovered to a measly 17% re-turning just 10 TD’s compared to its outgoing 71 – a massive collapse. In this election campaign Fine Gael promised to undo all of the auste-rity that the outgoing Government introduced in Budget ’07. Labour, of course as is their form, promised

to be the champions of the wor-king class as they ‘dreamed’ of win-ning the campaign on their own. The slogan ‘Gilmore for Taoisea-ch’ was born and lasted for a short but embarrassing lifetime! On Oc-tober 22nd. 2008 25,000 pensio-ners descended on the Dáil. They were protesting against the deni-al of medical cards to the over ‘70’s. Amongst others, they were addres-sed by Kenny and Gilmore who cas-tigated the beleaguered Govern-ment to the extent of hypocritically shouting ‘shame, shame’ in the best voices of genuine dissenters as Gil-more claimed to be the incorrupti-ble inheritor of Irish dissent! Of co-urse, we all know what the ‘Brave new Coalition’ did on ascending to power!Indeed, the election of Fine Gael/Labour made no difference what-soever as they seamlessly conti-nued with the politics of Auste-rity. Labour’s other slogan in the 2011 election campaign when they still believed they could go it alo-ne ‘labour’s way or Frankfurt’s way’ rings just as hollow! As soon as Labour entered Govern-ment, they became the junior par-ty of Fine Gael. They have suppor-ted measures of austerity that are creating an all-out assault on our li-velihoods.Pay, benefits and public services were slashed to pay for the actions of bankers and speculators. The Household Charge was rationali-sed by their parliamentarians and another of Gilmore’s predictions was actually fulfilled when in April 2012 Labour delegates on their way to the 100th. anniversary (sic.) of its conference had to ‘wade thro-ugh a forest of pickets’ at the nUI in Galway.In the first year of the coalition, fresh from their promises of hu-ge reform, the Government imple-mented hospital closures, incre-ases in education costs, a massi-ve’ tax on employment’ in the form of the Universal social Charge, and presided over the collapse of the waterford Crystal pension scheme after it had closed down earlier un-der the FF/Green coalition. The Vi-ta Cortex occupation in Cork highli-ghted the denial of workers even statutory redundancy. There we-re countless other shut downs and job losses. During all of this time,

the Government with the totally committed support of ‘Connolly’s Labour’ carried out what they re-garded as their ‘patriotic duty’ in the form of sub venting the banks, bailing out the bondholders and laying out a road map of austerity in the form of Property Tax and wa-ter Tax. Measures of collection from welfare recipients, pensioners and the low paid are strenuously ou-tlined daily in the media as Kenny and Gilmore accept plaudits from the eCB and the IMF. every measu-re they take they rationalise on the basis that ‘its all Fianna Fáil’s fault’!Of course, there has been wides-pread opposition to these mea-sures of austerity. On november 27th.2010 over 100,000 people marched down the quays in Dublin to the GPO in protest. Unfortunate-ly they all marched home again wi-thout any strategy being provided by the Trade Union Movement. A year later, the protests continued in the form of a Dublin Council of Tra-de Unions mobilization. The end of 2011 saw small seeds being sown of a campaign against the Household and septic Tank Charges. This campaign grew ra-pidly. Mass meetings were held all over the state. In Limerick in Janua-ry 2012 hundreds of householders crowded into the Clarion Hotel. Huge numbers signed up to the campaign. similar meeting were held in rural towns, such as Foynes, newcastle west and Cappamo-re. The Campaign urged househol-ders not to register for the charge – a tactic which proved to be succes-sful. There was a massive non-com-pliance as the Government was to resort to lies to make its case. In the spring the Campaign Against Hou-sehold and water Tax (CAHwT) or-ganised a nationwide rally of in ex-cess of 3,000 in the national sta-dium. There followed mass pro-tests at the Fine Gael Árd Fheis and Labour Party Conference in April 2012 as the Gardaí used pepper spray to disperse some of the pro-testers. As the year closed the pro-tests continued. December 1st. 700 through Limerick. The mar-ch and meeting called by the CA-HwT was headed up by the Home Help section of sIPTU. Tens of tho-usands again converged in Dublin, later in the month, to show their opposition to the Government’s se-

venth austerity budget. This was a joint initiative of the Dublin Tra-des Council and the CAHwT and in-cluded a sizeable contingent from ‘Ballyhea says no to Bondholders’!By early 2013, the Government through a combination of intimi-dation, bullying and fear introdu-ced the Property Tax. By involv-ing the Revenue, as a so called in-dependent body, it frightened pe-ople into reluctantly complying. Of course, the real test of this mea-sure will only be felt in the electi-ons in 2014. As a response to Go-vernment strategy, the CAHwT in Limerick re-named the Campaign CAPTA, the Campaign Against Pro-perty Tax and Austerity. In Februa-ry 2013, the ICTU called marches against Austerity in all cities in the state. Again, as there was no strate-gy deployed for going forward, the protesters returned home with no plan in place. One positive arising from the se-ries of protests has been the emer-gence of a mass campaign aro-und the property and water taxes. However, the Trade Union Move-ment needs to link in with and pro-vide leadership in all of the stru-ggles against Austerity. To this end, all of the many groups countrywi-de have united under the banner of the AAA, Anti Austerity Alliance. This Alliance offers a real Left alter-native. Accordingly the Campaign is standing candidates all over the state in 2014. In Limerick, the AAA has selected 7 candidates for the new wards in Limerick City and County. when joined by a militant Trade Union leadership, willing and able to provide leadership, the up-coming campaign can show Labo-ur, in no uncertain means, what the ideals of Connolly and Larkin are all about.

12 LOCALThe Bottom Dog


“Core Payment” Promise Broken

Karen wallMandate Trade Union

ll In september last Retail Gro-up Arcadia Multiples Ireland Limi-ted announced plans to close the wallis store in Cruises street Lime-rick, the third Arcadia outlet on that street, having closed the Dorothy Perkins and evans stores in recent years. Mandate Members at wallis stores in Limerick bravely took the decision to ballot for Industrial Ac-tion following the Company’s an-nouncement to close the store in Cruises street which lead to a five week dispute in the city.

The company announced that along with the closure of the Cru-ises street store they had plans to restructure its store in Childers Road. A number of loyal wallis sta-ff - some with 28 year’s service were to be made redundant. This news was compounded by the revelati-on that the Arcadia Group would not honour the long standing re-dundancy terms agreed with Man-date, and instead insisted that they would be paying 2.75 weeks a year for those selected.

seventeen Limerick women ma-de it very clear to the company that

they were not prepared to take an inferior offer having worked for this company for 150 years collective-ly. workers in two other locations nine month previously had recei-ved the full package. This firm has just paid €92 million to its UK-ba-sed parent company, with little or no thought for their loyal Irish wor-kers on the brink of losing their jobs in Limerick.

Following a unanimous ballot in fa-vour of taking Industrial Action the Limerick workers at the closed Crui-ses street store with the support of the Childers Road workers moun-ted pickets on the outlet in Childers Road. The support from the gene-ral public in Limerick and surroun-ding areas was unprecedented.In such difficult times for everyone it is absolutely reassuring that some sense of collectivism exists and it demonstrated what can be achie-ved when workers stick together.

Despite the Company’s announ-cement that they would attend the Labour Relations Commissi-on, when contacted directly by the Commission to attend, the com-pany refused. This was a fatal mis-take on the part of the company as they grossly underestimated the

determination of the workers des-pite the difficult circumstances. “The only reason some of the wor-kers were on strike was to show so-lidarity with follow union mem-bers- an extraordinary act in a soci-ety which very much appears dri-ven by individualism and the I’m all right mentality.”

In a further move the company re-plicated its move in Dublin by clo-sing the Grafton street store in Oc-tober. workers in Dublin joined their Limerick colleagues and took to the streets to protect their hard earned Terms and Conditions of employment. The culmination of action and the potential for furt-her stores to be drawn into the dis-pute finally brought the company to its senses and through a series of indirect talks the dispute was brou-ght to an end. Proposals were over-whelmingly accepted by the wor-kers affected and staff that were not redeployed accepted redun-dancy terms based on four weeks per year of service.

Commenting on the outcome of the dispute wallis worker Claire white who worked for wallis for 24 years said “People say you don’t ne-ed to be a member of a trade union

these days, they couldn’t be more wrong. without our union we wo-uld have been cast aside as indivi-duals with no chance. what was most inspirational to me was the professionalism of the union and this left me with no doubt that the union was there to represent wor-kers”. Cruises street worker Marga-ret Baddish, who had 17 years ser-vice with the company was also on strike for more than five weeks. Thanking her colleagues and union for all the support and hard work she said “I felt really annoyed the way the company were treating us and I knew that I wasn’t going to to-lerate it. It was extremely difficult to ask colleagues to take industri-al action and lose their wages every week, so that we could get a fair de-al, but I was amazed at the solidari-ty shown, they were brilliant”. A clear message was sent to emplo-yers who believe that they can ex-ploit the current economic clima-te and play on the fears of workers. Unions will ensure that they use all the resources available to protect the interests of their members.we applaud the wallis workers for the stance they took and thank all those who showed their support throughout the dispute.

The Brave Wallis Workers

Frank McDonnellsIPTU

ll Up to 1 Jan 2014 any person achieving 65 years of age with the appropriate amount of PRsI contri-butions paid could retire from work and go on the state pension (Tran-sition year).

But following a recent decision by the current government, as and from 1 Jan 2014 the transition year pension has been abolished.As a result of this change a person forced to retire from their employ-ment at 65 years of age will now ha-ve to go on job seekers benefit. This payment is normally only paid for 9 months, but the Minister for soci-al Protection has confirmed that for people over the age of 65 this peri-od will be extended up to the age of 66. However the Minister has al-so clarified that Jobseekers Bene-fit has not been extended or incre-ased to 12 months. Rather, excep-tions are being made for persons aged 65 only.

This payment is only for the amount of €188 per week for the main claimant-compared to the transition pension payment of €230.30 .In addition under the old regime this person could have clai-med an additional payment for a qualified adult of €153. This latter payment was paid to a spouse or partner who is under 66. However under the new regime the additio-nal payment for a qualified adult is only €124.80, giving an overall net loss for a qualifying couple of €71 per week. so much for this govern-ment protecting core social welfare payments!

Be warned that the government have already confirmed that the re-tirement age will be further pushed out in future years to 68-causing a lot more pain for our younger rea-ders!

sIPTU General President Jack O’Connor has been scathing in his response to these changes:“we are bitterly disappointed at the

failure to put some mechanism in place to offset the effect of the abo-lition of the Transitional Pension on 65 year olds retiring from em-ployment. It is estimated that there are only 1,400 people involved per year. we will continue to cam-paign to persuade the Government to change its mind on this measu-re which is so detrimental to elder-ly workers who have been paying their tax and social Insurance con-tributions all their working lives.”There is also a kick for those cur-rently receiving disability benefit who are approaching retirement age. Up until now recipients of in-validity pension could receive the transitional pension rate whilst staying on the Invalidity pension. Come the 1st January these people will remain on €193.80, rather than the €230 rate.

Then there are the cuts to medi-cal cards and increased prescripti-on charges. If a retired person on an old age pension/widows pension has to pay 2.50 per item on medi-

cation that they have to take every day of their lives in order to stay ali-ve. Contrast this situation with the wealthy farmer in west limerick wi-th a long term illness book who re-ceives his/her medication free of charge. In any civilised society me-dication for these prescribed ill-nesses should be free of charge to everyone.In an attempt to defend the abo-lition of the telephone allowan-ce for qualifying persons, Minister Howlin suggested that technology had moved on and landlines were no longer essential for these peo-ple. what he forgot to mention was that people who relied on mobi-le phones were also entitled to this allowance. Taken together these changes to transitional pension, in-creased prescription charges and the abolition of the telephone allo-wance amount to a disgraceful at-tack on our senior citizens. They will neither be forgotten nor forgiven.

Date post:	10-Mar-2016
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