Socialist Appeal - Ireland: Civil Servants strike a blow against the crisis.

Ireland: Civil Servants strike a blow against the crisis.

By Séamus Loughlin

Friday, 27 February 2009

No doubt Brian Cowen was fairly pleased this morning when he woke up after seeing the pension levy go through in the Dáil. But a rock solid strike of 13,000 civil servants will have soon brought him back to reality. This was the first national civil servants’ strike in twenty years.

As well as Dublin, where government buildings and the Dáil were picketed, 700 turned out in Cork and in Limerick, while 600 were out in Sligo. Meanwhile Tullamore, Letterkenny, Ennis, Westport, Athlone, Castlebar, Wexford, Kilkenny, Galway, Cavan, Dundalk, Portlaoise, Longford, Tralee, Killarney and saw picketing.Waterford

The solid nature of the strike and the national character of the dispute means a lot in the run up to the national series of strikes that ICTU have called for the 30th March. Despite the fact that half the membership of the Civil and Public Services Union are based in Dublin the strike seems to have penetrated the whole country.

Despite Taoiseach Cowen’s protests, this movement sets to grow and grow. The key task for Trade Unionists and Socialists in Ireland must be build for March 30th; let’s turn it into a one day general strike!

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