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The small print at the bottom of the EU/IMF
Bailout would be an enough to make an Asset Stripper’s hair curl. If
anyone in the state was labouring under the delusion that all this snow
meant that Santa had come early then the announcement last night of the
conditions attached to the loans would have put paid to that.
The conditions on the loan explain also the reason why Cowen
and Lenihan failed to mention that they intend to ditch the Croke Park
Deal's commitment to no wage cuts in the public sector for four years.
The answer is straightforward their argument will be that “The IMF made
us do it”.
The Irish Independent reported 2/12/10 that:
“Public sector workers will have to meet savings targets within just nine months or their pay will be cut.
The new threat to wages is included in a list
of stringent conditions outlined by the IMF and EU last night as the
price of the €85bn bailout.
The tranches of loans to keep the country afloat will only be paid over if severe targets are met -- and to strict deadlines.
The terms of the deal clearly state that if any
"shortfall" in savings from the public sector occurs, a fresh reduction
in the "public service wage bill" will be considered by the end of next
September.
Finance Minister Brian Lenihan said the Government had no option but to accept the terms.”
So, in other words the “reforms” in the Croke Park Deal will be pushed through as fast as possible, and if
they don’t save enough cash the workers will have their pay cut.
Notwithstanding the likelihood that managerial incompetence and the need
to consult on changes will delay changes in any event, it seems that
workers are going to be confronted with huge unpalatable changes
telescoped into a period of a few short months.
That would be bad in itself, but the fact that the
public sector workers have already lost 14% as a consequence of wage
cuts and the pension levy means that morale is low and anger is
widespread. The Coalition government is in freefall and the Fianna Fáil
leadership have no authority in the state. Half of the leadership is
retiring on fat pensions and all of this “reform” has the stench of
naked class warfare on behalf of the Irish bosses.
The ground is being prepared for a new upsurge in
the class struggle in Ireland. The Croke Park Deal was a compromise
cobbled together last year. The government wanted to “reform” the public
sector, to cut costs and appease the bond markets, which have been
trailing Ireland for some time. The Trade Union Leaders on the other
hand, are completely wedded to the illusion of social partnership. They
were desperate to come up with a deal, in part because they were
beginning to lose control of the situation. It should be borne in mind
that getting the deal agreed was a complex process and there was a lot
of opposition.
As we explained as long ago as May 2009:
“…there is truly ‘nowhere else to go’. The only way to stop the
bosses’ onslaught is through coordinated national industrial action. If
we give the bosses an inch they’ll take a mile and a country mile at
that. Social partnership in a huge boom is an easy game; the bosses can
afford to offer a few scraps to the workers. But under conditions of
deep slump and crisis all bets are off.
To
rely on the old methods from the Celtic Tiger days is very short
sighted. The bosses won’t make any concessions unless they absolutely
have to do so. Relying on social partnership will be like firing a pea
shooter against a tank. We know that weakness invites aggression. Just
look what Thatcher did in Britain in the 1980s. The British trade union
leaders held up the white flag and the Tories saw it as a sign of
weakness.”
http://ireland.marxist.com/ireland/trade-unions/7573-ireland-class-struggle-rising-as-slump-deepens
So now the bourgeois are preparing to impose
“reform”, with the threat of wage cuts. But what has been the response
from the trade union leaders. There was a lot of speechifying on
Saturday, and its noticeable that many of the speakers were met with
boos. But the pressure from below has already begun to develop. Unite
have called for a General Strike:
“The Unite trade union has proposed
a general strike in opposition to the Government’s economic programme
and in support of an alternative strategy.
The
union has also proposed a campaign of civil disobedience including the
non-payment of any water or property taxes introduced in the forthcoming
budget.
Irish regional secretary Jimmy Kelly said the union
would be putting its proposals for national strike to the Irish Congress
of Trade Unions in the weeks ahead.” RTE 2/12/10
The TEEU have already called for a campaign of
civil disobedience, It is likely that other unions will follow. The
government have a huge problem. Implementing the reforms will be met
with stiff resistance. The Irish workers have demonstrated on many
occasions that they are prepared to struggle to defend their wages, jobs
and conditions as the huge demonstration in Dublin on Saturday
demonstrates. What will be decisive is the role of the ICTU leaders
particularly over the next period.
Central to the struggle against cuts, wage cuts and
austerity will be the campaign to drive out Cowen, Lenihan and Gormley.
But ICTU needs a socialist perspective and a socialist programme,
“Social Partnership” is not enough. Only militant action can defend
working people. That action should be coordinated across the whole of
the trade union movement. We need a general strike.
· Defend Jobs and Services
· No Wage Cuts
· For a 24 Hour General Strike!
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