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TRADE UNION UNITE has accused the government of interfering in the democratic process of votes on the extension proposals for the Croke Park agreement.
Today, Jimmy Kelly, Regional Secretary of the union, said ministers and departments have been “paying lip service to the right of union members to vote, before then trampling on the process with misleading statements on pay and reductions required”.
Politicians failed to make a case for cuts in discussions but still persuaded some there was no alternative. They should now be quiet and stay the hell away from subverting the democratic process under way within all trade unions.
Kelly said the government has also failed to produce an analysis of how many jobs will be lost in the private sector as a result of “mugging” public servants for €1 billion in pay cuts.
“It may be that politicians believe what they have been told by leaders in their parties but regular workers know that they cannot take any more cuts, and people working in shops and restaurants and other jobs know that €1 billion less being spent in their place of work will mean a one way ticket to the dole queue or the airport for a life of emigration,” he added.
UNITE has recommended that its 6,500 members vote to reject the ‘Croke Park 2′ pay deal. In a coup for the government last week, the country’s largest union SIPTU encouraged its members on Thursday to accept the terms of the agreement.
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This could be the end of SIPTU. By recommending this deal, they’re gambling like never before. The days of following union leaders instructions are well and truly over.
Brendan Howls that “we need to give the union’s time to reflect and make a choice” then releases that they are preparing legislation and anybody that votes no will no be protected the very next day..
Says it all.
Meanwhile Pat Rabbitte successfully lobbies him for big pay rises for 3 state and semi state bosses!
The hypocrisy with “borrowed money” as they say.
Fine Gael showing its fascist roots again with Labour enabling it. We’ve seen their subversion of the referendum process, the data protection laws and the croke park agreement. They treat democratic processes as an inconvenience.
Yawn
Awwhh. You tired from pounding pavements?
@the heathen
laughing my liathroidi off……………………nice one
LOL! Nearly had a pee haemorrage myself……
These Union Organisers are mere leeches on the backs of workers and now trying to show they’re worth their high salaries by making inflammatory remarks against the “bosses”. They clearly wouldn’t qualify for a real job if it jumped up and bit them!
Go tell a Syrian or a North Korean that a public sector pay deal is fascist and watch their reaction.
No “deal” here David. Just cuts upon cuts for ordinary people and the services they require.
“Awwhh. You tired from pounding pavements?”
roflmao……..that has to be the comment of the year…………..great laugh
“Go tell a Syrian or a North Korean that a public sector pay deal is fascist and watch their reaction.”
What deal david, the one your party just broke?
What does it say about your dear leader when you have to keep mentioning north korea in comparison? Is “Enda Kenny 2016: Not as bad as Kim Jong Un” Fine Gaels official election slogan now??
You can’t just pin that statement on FG every party in this sad country of ours is guilty of doing that.
I note that John murphy isn’t here………
he must be too busy saving the country……………..
Thank you David Higgins for that enlightening and artful insight. Once again you have used a perfectly appropriate analogy that the little people can relate to. Thank you so much.
Said
no one
EVER.
Werejamin, are you seriously implying that a government cannot comment on a serious issue such as this because trades unionists are about to vote ? Change your tablets.
I think if you check a dictionary, “subversion” and “comment” are completely unrelated definitions
I hope he is not pounding the pavements since Leo Varadkar has come out and admitted that we cant afford to repair them, or the minor roads or any other bits of our infrastructure that our Oligarchs don’t need when gadding about the place crapping on us.
@pat-Good man. Always here to tell us what the problems are. Country needs more people like you, Pat. We don’t have enough whingers telling us how it’s not right that we are where we are. We need more people like you, Pat…people incapable of thinking back all of two years, incapable of putting blame at the feet of those actually responsible, opting instead to blame those who are trying to fix it and failing to recognise the progress that has been made. If only there were more like you, Pat. You’re an inspiration.
@ David Higgins.
I only hope your aspirations get you as far as being on a ballot paper one day.. Then when you get fu*k all votes due to your arrogant pompous attitude we can all revel while thinking.
Told you so.
Kevin, just wondering – how long will it be before it becomes FG’s responsibility to clean up the mess? Is there any chance we could withhold their salaries until that point? (because I thought that was what the last election was all about)
@censored- it became their responsibility 2 years ago. But the blame will forever be Fianna Fáil. So far they’ve reduced the interest rate we pay, extended repayment schedules, reduced the overall cost of repayment, they’ve reduced Ireland’s cost of borrowing on the open financial markets, succeeded on getting us back onto the financial markets , restored our reputation, made Ireland one of the few economies in growth in the EU, stabilised unemployment and by the end of this year will have restored our economic sovereignty and sent the Troika packing. Now you won’t acknowledge that, of course but its not my fault you’re blinkered, nor is it my fault that you live in a land of make believe where the enormous problems this Government inherited could be waved away by a magic wand. What can I say? You just need to grow up and stop believing in fairytales.
So you admit that FG election promises were fairytales?
(like your other points)
@censored- blinded, blinkered & unable to contradict me. What a shock. Funny. Most people are embarrassed by ignorance. Not proud.
Reduced the overall cost to the country??? How is turning a €27 billion illegal debt which this government turned into a €68billion sovereign debt, reducing the overall cost???? Please please explain.
Unions lost their soul somewhere in the seventies…
I passed SIPTU HQ last week around 6pm and was stuck in traffic outside it. I noticed Jack O’Connor waiting in the lobby, I presume for his chauffeur.
I hope you were on the bus…he certainly was not !!
Michael
Why do you hope David was on a bus? Is he not entitled to be in a car or on a bike or a motorbike or in a truck etc? Is the Trade Union Movement insisting we all travel by bus?
Howlin picked him up.
They went peasant shooting in the country.
Little Jim : I nearly got a fit laughing ?
Did the peasants shoot back?
I’m surprised that SIPTU didn’t understand that unity was of primary importance.
The governments divide and destroy policy was lapped up by SIPTU and will cost them this time.
One would have thought Jack O’Connor was smarter than that.
Unions are finished their officials get the same wages, expenses as our dimwit politicians then they get positions on quangos Why would they fight for the ordinary joe soap James Larkin is doing summersaults in his grave at this moment we need a new leader to stop all this shit
No yapping, and vote one in? sorry but our great country has banned the use of the term ” ordinary joe soap” not PC dear Rose, you could face jail time for that,
Unions aren’t finished. Finally, union members have woken up to the fact that their unions don’t represent them how they should and there is likely to be a change coming but they certainly aren’t finished.
Unions aren’t finished, the same way politics isn’t finished..
We just need a far better calibre of people leading, people who will take personal pain for the wider good of all that they represent.
Unions lost their soul somewhere in the seventies……..
Given the high level of dual membership between SIPTU & the labour party, the fact that the government got them to recommend CP2 is hardly a coup.
As former member of unite i fully support jimmy Kellys stand against the bullying tactics of howling and his tribe of faceless suits who will never face the severe economic problems they have served on the people they are suppose to protect
Any other we should be attacking, people are fed up the union bashing, cannot touch the farmers, as for the church and the their WAGE structure and payment of state taxes,dear god NO stay away from that, what about a tax on all savings and deposits of 150,000 euro, Oh dear, dear, no way, what a bloody kip, and I am paying for it monthly.
Cannot touch the farmers? Government supports to ag were axed in the 2008 budget. The only money we get now is from the eu. And that is justified as they are limiting our production to its 1983 level. Leave the farmers alone when we aren’t on the nations pay bill.
What? you are joking now, come on.
Jim – maybe you should wait for those stories to come up or submit a column yourself?
I don’t think there are many who are fed up with union bashing, let’s be honest….
Oh No, Tony, I will wait in the corner and wait until bloody permission to speak has been granted, Can I comment on the clergy or is that taboo, maybe HRH, or is that to bloody PC.. Maybe I should do a column myself, Oh the state censor would not allow it, you may have the entity of Kerry with the Father and Son protesting. What a bloody country. Enjoy
What a typically eloquent and constructive Union representative. Where would we be without them.
In the bloody pits, not many helicopters in Galway this year, must be all the farmers kids going to Uni free, but again, we could state the action has been noted???
Might have to explain democracy to them first,look it up in the dictionary enda it’s basically everything we are not.
How can the unions accuse politicians of being un-democratic when it was the government that was elected to sort out our unsustainable finances and not Jack O Connor et al? They held away over Bertie long enough and look where that got us.
Kelly closed Waterford Crystal. He now wants a shot at Ireland.
Kelly did not close the glass. Supporting royal doultan and the like closed the glass factory. You sound like a 1990 scab.
The unions destroyed Waterford Crystal hand in glove with the inept management.
I’m glad you brought that up. It’s kind-of interesting to reflect on it at the present time.
No they didn’t. Far from it infact. They gave all they could, redeployment, redundancy, blowers and cutters giving up their crafts, shift patterns, accepting technology, lower wages, absorbing the closure of dungarvan into kilbarry. The union struggled for years to keep kilbarry open, it was still viable on the day the receiver shut the gate, it was infact propping up the whole wedgewood group till the day it closed. The company bleed kilbarry dry to fix the fatally holed wedgewood group. Know what your talking about the next time
How do you know I don’t know what I’m talking about? The fact is that the weak management in Waterford kowtowed to the unions for years. They didn’t do what they were supposed to do – lead the company to a viable future. Waterford should be one of the great success stories on this island. Instead it was bled dry. In your own words the unions “accepted” technology. Wow! That’s the way to compete alright.
Accepted technology along with getting rid of the craft. Everything was made on blowing machines, accepting technology while not saving the craft. Blowers and cutters redeployed onto machines off the blowing platform and cutting benches. Lower wages, shift patterns. It’s not just about modernisation, there is a human factor
When will the unions realise that this perverse argument regarding private sector job losses resulting from public sector cuts is ridiculous in the extreme. If this argument made sense the solution to all our economic problems would be to increase public sector pay. I don’t think so!!
@Kevin, I never said who is to blame but I seem to have touched a nerve!
Varadkar is one of my favourites actually because he is one of very few that calls it as he sees it. That’s what I’m inclined to do myself. Anyone that does’nt like it can put back on their rose-tinted glasses and pretend it will all sort itself out if we would just be good little drones and wait for the second coming…..
Where in the ‘democratic process’ is the so called social partnership by which a bunch of unelected representatives of various vested interests, unions included, ruled and ruined the country?
Sounds like this guy has very little appreciation of economics. The result will not be a loss of private sector jobs, but rather it will result in the cooling of the current over inflation in the cost of living being caused by the inflated wage packets in the public sector. It will actually mean that people will be able to live on less and we will most likely see a return to the work force for some of those currently on welfare, as the subprime positions will then actually be a viable option for them. This in turn will reduce government spending. That’s my take on it. I’m sure many will not agree though.
The unions elect their reps by secret vote. In general turnout is greater than general elections, if you think unions are problem then dont join one, or for all the people who are anti-union why dont you all give your workmates a break and take a voluntary pay cut say 20% and increase your hours to 50 or 60 a week with no day off, or breaks and while your at it give up your paid holidays and maternity/paternity leave and better still put your kids to work as well because we all know that if companies and corporations thought they could get away with it and increase profit margins then they would do it in a heart beat, the.only thing that stands in their way is collective barganing which is basically what a union does
http://www.thejournal.ie/kenny-elected-as-taoiseach-of-31st-dail-99906-Mar2011/
this is what our glorious leader said when appointed taoiseach ;
I think his comments about our “children’s eyes” are particularly apt.
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