Irish Citizen Army plaque unveiled in North Strand
The SIPTU Dublin District Council hosted a march and ceremony to mark the unveiling of a plaque dedicated to the Irish Citizen Army (ICA) outside the Marino College of Further Education, Connolly House, North Strand Road, on Friday, 11th March.
The unveiling ceremony outside the Marino College of Further Education was addressed by a number of speakers including the playwright, Peter Sheridan and SIPTU Dublin District Council member, Alison Regan. SIPTU Dublin District Council joint secretary, Kevin Glackin, read out a roll call of members of the ICA from the local area.
Robert Norgrove and members of the Irish Prison Officers Association in ICA uniform stand alongside the plaque unveiled outside Marino College of Further Education, North Strand Road on Friday, 11th March.
The SIPTU Dublin District Council hosted a march and ceremony to mark the unveiling of a plaque dedicated to the Irish Citizen Army (ICA) outside the Marino College of Further Education, Connolly House, North Strand Road, on Friday, 11th March. The unveiling ceremony outside the Marino College of Further Education was addressed by a number of speakers including the playwright, Peter Sheridan and SIPTU Dublin District Council member, Alison Regan. SIPTU Dublin District Council joint secretary, Kevin Glackin, read out a roll call of members of the ICA from the local area.
Addressing the crowd of over 100 people, SIPTU Dublin District Council joint secretary, John Dunne, said: “During 2016, the SIPTU Dublin District Council in conjunction with local community groups and Dublin City Council are unveiling a series of plaques to commemorate the working class men, women and young people who served in the ICA in the areas were they lived. The story of these ICA members can provide a valuable opportunity for communities to re-discover their history and the values that motivated people to risk all for a new future.”
The plaque was officially unveiled by Robert Norgrove, representing the Norgrove family, several of whom served with the North Strand section of the ICA.
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SIPTU defers Luas strike action on St Patrick’s Day to consider WRC proposals
SIPTU members working on the Luas light rail network have deferred a work stoppage scheduled for tomorrow (17th March) following talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) which have resulted in proposals to resolve the dispute for three out of four grades of workers.
SIPTU members working on the Luas light rail network have deferred a work stoppage scheduled for tomorrow (17th March) following talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) which have resulted in proposals to resolve the dispute for three out of four grades of workers.
SIPTU Organiser, John Murphy, said: “In talks lasting close to 28 hours with the employer, Transdev, at the WRC, we have made substantial progress. The WRC has produced proposals that it believes are the best achievable in relation to finding a solution to this dispute. On the basis of this progress the workers have decided to defer a work stoppage scheduled to take place tomorrow.”
He added: “Revenue protection officers, revenue protection supervisors and drivers will now consider the proposals in relation to their grade and vote on them in the coming days.
“In relation to the traffic supervisor grade progress has been made and we are hopeful a resolution can be achieved.”
Strike action at Cadbury’s suspended
SIPTU and Unite members suspended their strike action at the Cadbury’s production plant in Coolock, Dublin 5, on Friday, 4th March, to facilitate discussion and a ballot on proposals aimed at resolving a dispute concerning outsourcing at the company.
SIPTU and Unite members suspended their strike action at the Cadbury’s production plant in Coolock, Dublin 5, on Friday, 4th March, to facilitate discussion and a ballot on proposals aimed at resolving a dispute concerning outsourcing at the company.
SIPTU Sector Organiser, John Dunne, said: “Following discussions the Workplace Relations Commission put forward proposals which achieve cost savings at the company but do not involve the outsourcing of jobs. On the basis that outsourcing is now off the table, SIPTU and Unite members have decided to suspend their strike action.
“SIPTU and UNITE members are discussing the proposals and will then proceed to vote on them.”
Cork County Council decision on fire service plan places lives at risk
SIPTU retained firefighter members have condemned Cork County Council for putting lives at risk due to its adoption of an Emergency Operations Plan without adequate consultation with emergency workers.
SIPTU retained firefighter members have condemned Cork County Council for putting lives at risk due to its adoption of an Emergency Operations Plan without adequate consultation with emergency workers.
SIPTU National Retained Fire-fighter Organiser, Con Casey, said: “On 22nd February, councillors voted to endorse a new plan for fire services in county Cork. This plan adheres to Section 26 of the Fire Services Act. For more than two years SIPTU firefighters have been campaigning against Section 26 and the extreme safety risks that its implementation would result in for firefighters and the public."
He added: “Our members in the retained fire service are appalled that elected local representatives could endorse such as plan. It is retrograde step which flies in the face of best practice. The decision was taken before the new Fire Services National Oversight and Implementation Group (FSNOIG), which was established last December, has had time to deliberate on Section 26 and related issues or make its recommendations.”
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Vote David Begg for Seanad (NUI)
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| David Begg |
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Vote No. 1 for experience and vision
My Vision
The 2008 financial crisis was the fourth occasion since independence that the viability of Ireland’s future came into question. Our susceptibility to boom and bust cycles suggest that there are deep structural flaws in our development model.
Vote No. 1 for experience and vision
My Vision
The 2008 financial crisis was the fourth occasion since independence that the viability of Ireland’s future came into question. Our susceptibility to boom and bust cycles suggest that there are deep structural flaws in our development model.
I believe that we need to become more like some of the small open economies of Northern Europe. Not only are they sustainable but they are consistently among the most economically efficient and socially cohesive in the world. They have proven that high quality public services and low levels of inequality in society complement rather than detract from competiveness.
This proposition is evidence-based and the outcome of many years of research conducted in Finland, Denmark and the Netherlands, the findings of which I have set out in a book recently published internationally by Palgrave Macmillan.
If elected, I will use the Seanad to advocate for a new development model that will secure a better, fairer and more sustainable future for our people. These strategic issues were largely ignored during the recent general election campaign.
A Wealth of Experience
Over a long working life I have gained extensive experience of the public, private and voluntary sectors which will help to ensure that I will contribute effectively to the Seanad. This includes: • Chief Executive of Concern Worldwide • General Secretary of ICTU • Director of TASC (Research Institute) • Governor of the Irish Times Trust • Chairman of Barnardos • Director of Aer Lingus
• Director of Central Bank • Member of the National Economic and Social Council
David Begg is supported by: • Sheila Nunan, General Secretary of INTO • Tom Arnold, Chairman of the Constitutional Convention • Martin Fitzpatrick, Business Journalist • Padraig McManus, Chairman of EIR • • Fr. Gerry O’Hanlon SJ, Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice • Prof. John Fitzgerald, Economist • Anne Butler, Former President, Engineers Ireland • Prof. Joe Barry, Medical Doctor • Pat King, Former General Secretary, ASTI • Fergus Finlay, Chief Executive, Barnardos
www.davidbegg.ie
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Looking at the bigger picture
Seanad election candidate David Begg discusses his life and ideas for a better Ireland with Scott Millar.
David Begg needs little introduction to anyone that has taken an interest in current affairs in recent years. In his prominent role in organisations such as the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), Concern and TASC he is long established as one of the key voices in Irish society speaking up for egalitarian values.
David with Tom Arnold in Bangladesh in 1998
Seanad election candidate David Begg discusses his life and ideas for a better Ireland with Scott Millar.
David Begg needs little introduction to anyone that has taken an interest in current affairs in recent years. In his prominent role in organisations such as the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), Concern and TASC he is long established as one of the key voices in Irish society speaking up for egalitarian values.
Speaking about what he hopes to achieve as a member of Seanad Éireann, it becomes very clear that he is man focused on a bigger picture than is the norm for Irish politics.
“The crisis of 2008 was the fourth time since independence that we have looked into the abyss of economic dissolution. It happened before in the 1930s, 1950s and 1980s. That should cause us to reflect for a minute about our development model and why we are so susceptible to boom and bust.
“Part of the answer to that means accepting you cannot run a country effectively without a strong state sector. We need State intervention to build houses, for instance. Also, how are we ever going to manage the transition to a low-carbon economy without a State-led intervention to bring the economy around?”
His ideas have been long in maturing. Born in the North County Dublin rural area of Rolestown near Swords, Begg recalls the year and a half his father spent recovering from TB as a defining experience that also introduced him to the work of one of the champions of the Irish Left.
“In the sanatorium he was under the care of Dr Noel Browne, of latter political fame. My father had enormous admiration for him as a very kind, compassionate and egalitarian man.”
Begg, who recently turned 66, is married to Máire, has three children and seven grandchildren and still lives in Rolestown. He began his working life as an apprentice electrician in the ESB in 1965. The semi-state company provided him with a scholarship to study and he became an ESB engineer before taking up full-time employment as a union official with the then ESB Officers Association.
His activities in the trade union movement have always included a consideration for the position of the other side, and where possible seeking to negotiate a solution that could benefit all. This approach was evident in his commitment to the partnership model of industrial and state management when he assumed the role of ICTU General Secretary in 2001.
“My commitment to the Social Partnership model was dictated by a belief that we were operating in very unfavourable political circumstances, philosophically at least, and to an extent social partnership was an attempt to create a social democratic polity without the electoral political success. If you think about it, for 22 years that was reasonably successful.”
Begg says his approach was at least partly inspired by a somewhat surprising source. “In the late 1960s I saw a series of films by the Swedish director Bo Widerberg. One of them, Ådalen 31, in particular, had a huge influence on me.”
Based on real events, the film tells the story of a strike by Swedish wood pulp workers in 1931 which resulted in the killing of five men by the army at a protest against strike-breakers.
Remembering why the film had such an impact on him, Begg says; “There were no bad guys in it - that was the interesting thing. Even the employers or the ‘scabs’. It explained the position of everyone, why circumstances had brought them to where they were. The employers were shocked by the killings and the result of it was a kind of synthesis of opinion that they couldn’t go on like this and that they had to change and Sweden did change.”
Begg became general secretary of the Post Office Workers Union in 1985. During his period leading the union he managed its merger with the Irish Communications Workers Union in 1990. Begg left trade unionism in 1997 to become the chief executive of Concern Worldwide.
Having already served on the Board of Trócaire for 10 years it was a role for which he was well prepared and over the next six years saw him visiting some of the world’s worst trouble spots and disaster situations.
“I worked in 27 countries overall, mainly in South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa and in Central America. The main thing we were trying to do was build capacity for people to organise for themselves. However, at the emergency level it was just trying to supply people with food, mainly refugees fleeing war-torn situations.
“Everywhere I travelled with Concern, the thing that struck me very forcibly was that no matter where you go people are people and they are motivated by the same need to keep body and soul together as everybody else and it is tragedy to see people divided for different reasons.”
During his time leading trade unions and Concern Worldwide, Begg was continuing to ponder the issue of why Ireland has failed to successfully follow the social democratic model of countries such as the Nordic states. He embarked on a degree in International Relations in DCU and a PhD in sociology in NUI Maynooth to further his knowledge of the subject.
His thesis, which compared Ireland with other small European counties with open economies and how they have developed more equitable social systems, became the basis of his recently published book, Ireland, Small Open Economies and European Integration: Lost in Translation.
“The book is my magnum opus”, he said, “It contains my thoughts on social democracy that I have considered for many years.“Ireland is a particular case because social democracy really has not had a huge foothold here. I argue that this is because the outcome of the Civil War was two main political parties offering competing versions of nationalism and that the net result of all of that was that all major questions of public importance thereafter became conceptualised in terms of visions of independence rather than in terms of class interests.”“We are now at a point, post-election 2016, that those competing versions of nationalism are now forced towards one another in a way that everybody recognises that there is no ideological difference between those parties, although there are cultural and historical differences.”
Begg believes this situation opens the way for “new alignments of political forces” and even, hopefully, the consideration of new development models for the country.
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Seanad Éireann Election
Dear Member,
I am seeking your support for David Begg who is contesting a seat in Seanad Éireann on the NUI panel.
As you know David has been an active trade unionist all his working life. After he left school he became an electrician, worked in the ESB and became active in the then ETU. He went on to become a trade union representative with the ESBOA. Later, he became General Secretary of the CWU and oversaw the very successful merger between the postal and telecommunications worker's unions. After that he served as Chief Executive of Concern - a role which saw him advocating for underprivileged and oppressed people across the globe.
Dear Member,
I am seeking your support for David Begg who is contesting a seat in Seanad Éireann on the NUI panel.
As you know David has been an active trade unionist all his working life. After he left school he became an electrician, worked in the ESB and became active in the then ETU. He went on to become a trade union representative with the ESBOA. Later, he became General Secretary of the CWU and oversaw the very successful merger between the postal and telecommunications worker's unions. After that he served as Chief Executive of Concern - a role which saw him advocating for underprivileged and oppressed people across the globe.
In 2001, he became General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU). In that capacity, he fought valiantly to get the right to collective bargaining enshrined in law. While he did not succeed he led the negotiations which resulted in the '2004 Act' but it was subsequently struck out by the Supreme Court. Ultimately, he led the ICTU team that engaged with the government on what became the '2015 Act'.
His other priority was the establishment of a national second pillar pension for all workers. On that project he has not succeeded yet - but continues to battle on.
David led the ICTU against the background of the biggest economic collapse in any developed country in the world since the Wall Street crash of 1929. They were the toughest years in the history of the movement. Yet thanks to him the unity of our movement was preserved, north and south, and despite a great deal of misery working people are getting through it better than in any of the other 'Programme Countries’.
It is rarely acknowledged that David was one of the few who warned against the potential for the collapse of the credit fuelled property bubble as far back as 2002. His warnings were of course dismissed. Indeed, they were described as the utterances of 'left wing pinkos' seeking to destroy the party.
Seanad Éireann will assume greater importance in the context of a hung Dáil. The other side are lining up their spokespeople - including some who were instrumental in promoting the winner take all policies that brought about the collapse in the first place. It is vitally important that we have a voice for fair and sustainable development, in the interests of working people and their families. There is no more coherent voice than that of David Begg.
Ballot papers will issue on 21st March. All NUI graduates are entitled to vote. While you may not be a graduate you may know someone who is one. Please encourage them to use their vote for David Begg and transfer their second preference to Alice Mary Higgins. Yours in solidarity 
Jack O’Connor
General President
16th March, 2016
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Vote Alice Mary Higgins for Seanad (NUI)
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| Alice Mary Higgins |
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In a changing national and global landscape, I believe we need an integrated vision for society and economy underpinned by clear commitment to equality.
Equality has been a driving principle for me since my earliest days growing up and campaigning in Galway and throughout my career. As a Fulbright Scholar in New York, I combined academic work with activism, including union campaigns for undocumented workers and with the World Social Forum.
In a changing national and global landscape, I believe we need an integrated vision for society and economy underpinned by clear commitment to equality. Equality has been a driving principle for me since my earliest days growing up and campaigning in Galway and throughout my career. As a Fulbright Scholar in New York, I combined academic work with activism, including union campaigns for undocumented workers and with the World Social Forum. Returning to Ireland, as Co-ordinator of the Comhlámh Anti-Racism Project, I campaigned against regressive legislation on migration and supported positive intercultural and trade justice initiatives. I later moved to Trócaire to campaign on climate change, food security and peace-building, linking with partners in Somalia, Malawi and Palestine. Elected as a SIPTU shop steward, I negotiated terms for my 180 fellow staff and also engaged in wider solidarity work, serving on the SIPTU Communities Against Cuts committee and working to secure an ICTU motion on ethical investment. At Older and Bolder, I worked with older people across Ireland to deliver the successful ‘Defend the State Pension’ campaign, developed the ‘Make Home Work’ campaign on homecare services and advocated on a National Positive Ageing Strategy. Most recently, as Policy Co-ordinator with the National Women’s Council of Ireland, I have campaigned for gender equality at all levels and in all aspects of our national life. As an invited expert to Joint Oireachtas Committees and the Low Pay Commission, I have highlighted the impact of austerity, precarious work and pension inequality on women in Ireland. Elected to the Executive of the European Women’s Lobby, I have a strong understanding of policy formation at EU level. I have also worked within UN structures and recently addressed the United Nations Committee for Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in Geneva.
Equality If elected to the Seanad I will seek equality proofing and impact assessment of social and economic policies and join with unions and civil society to press for full Equality Budgeting. I will continue to advocate for full equality between women and men, the closing of the pay and pension gap, resources to tackle violence against women, and repeal of the 8th Amendment.
Sustainable economics and decent work Ireland recently played a key role in the ground-breaking UN Sustainable Development Goals, a global blueprint for an inclusive, ground-up approach to development. Unfortunately, the economic policies we pursue at home are still too attached to discredited trickle down theories which have failed in the past. I will promote sustainable economics that build from the base by supporting fair taxation and decent work. I will fight for increases in the minimum wage, implementation of the University of Limerick recommendations to tackle precarious work, active promotion of a Living Wage and the strengthening of the Low Pay Commission to address work poverty and the gender pay gap. Sustainable economics also require long-term environmental planning and recognition of the cost and contribution of care.
Public services and the public good Delivery of quality public services must be a national priority. The housing crisis highlights the danger of over-reliance on market solutions and the need for a rights-based approach to health, housing and education. I will champion increased investment in public services and essential infrastructure such as integrated transport and affordable, accessible childcare - along with quality contracts for staff. I will seek attachment of employment, equality and environmental standards to the €12 billion spent on Public Procurement each year. I will also oppose dilution of regulation through TTIP or CETA.
Participation and international solidarity We need an Ireland where everyone can participate. Having worked with young people in unemployment and with older people, I recognise the need for investment in youth work, community development, social care and mental health supports. I also understand the importance of cultural participation and the arts. Committed to Seanad reform, I will campaign for universal suffrage. Seanad Éireann must play a stronger role in examining EU legislation, holding government accountable for international policy and driving responsible public debate on climate change, trade, conflict and migration. As an independent full-time Senator, I will bring care, creativity and long-term thinking into the heart of political decision-making. I am asking you to Vote No.1 Alice-Mary Higgins for Seanad Éireann (NUI)
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Workers' Republic Conference
DOWNLOAD PROGRAMME HERE
DOWNLOAD PROGRAMME HERE
The Rising Centenary Concert
Liberty Hall & The Rising
Pull Down a Horseman
DOWNLOAD THE PROGRAMME HERE
SIPTU Equality Exhibition 2016
ADMISSION FREE
ADMISSION FREE
Glórtha 1916
Mother: A film about 1916 in Laois
Saturday, 2nd April
A short film about the men in County Laois who fired the first shots of the Rising
With Lia Egan and Michael D. McKiernan
5.00 p.m. - 8.00 p.m.
Connolly Room, Liberty Hall
Admission: €5 at door
Followed by reception in Cois Life Bar
Saturday, 2nd April
A short film about the men in County Laois who fired the first shots of the Rising
With Lia Egan and Michael D. McKiernan
5.00 p.m. - 8.00 p.m.
Connolly Room, Liberty Hall
Admission: €5 at door
Followed by reception in Cois Life Bar
Workers Republic
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Our union was central to the Easter Rising
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The Easter Rising of 1916 would not have happened without our union. Under the leadership of James Connolly, the acting general secretary of the ITGWU, the predecessor of SIPTU, was at the very centre of the Rising.
Connolly was a driving force behind the planning for the Rising. With Irish men facing conscription to fight for a British Empire most opposed, he had already decided in late 1915 that with or without the support of radical nationalists the Irish Citizen Army (ICA), the armed wing of the ITGWU, would make a stand against the authorities.
By the Spring of 1916, the ITGWU headquarters in Liberty Hall had become a bastion of opposition to British rule. The banner on the building since late 1914 stated that; ‘We Serve Neither King Not Kaiser But Ireland’.
It was in Liberty Hall the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, the manifesto of the Easter Rising, was printed and it was from there that both the ICA, Cumann na mBan and the Irish Volunteers marched to take over the GPO on Easter Monday.
The Easter Rising of 1916 would not have happened without our union. Under the leadership of James Connolly, the acting general secretary of the ITGWU, the predecessor of SIPTU, was at the very centre of the Rising.
Connolly was a driving force behind the planning for the Rising. With Irish men facing conscription to fight for a British Empire most opposed, he had already decided in late 1915 that with or without the support of radical nationalists the Irish Citizen Army (ICA), the armed wing of the ITGWU, would make a stand against the authorities.
By the Spring of 1916, the ITGWU headquarters in Liberty Hall had become a bastion of opposition to British rule. The banner on the building since late 1914 stated that; ‘We Serve Neither King Not Kaiser But Ireland’.
It was in Liberty Hall the Proclamation of the Irish Republic, the manifesto of the Easter Rising, was printed and it was from there that both the ICA, Cumann na mBan and the Irish Volunteers marched to take over the GPO on Easter Monday.
It is this proud history which will be recalled in the series of high profile cultural events happening in Liberty Hall and organised elsewhere by the union to mark the Easter Rising.
That leading artists and poets including Christy Moore, Damo, Paula Meehan and Lynched, as well as numerous trade union and community activists have provided their services for the SIPTU Easter Rising programme of celebrations indicates that many still appreciate the sacrifices of our predecessors during this period.
The President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins, will also attend key events in Liberty Hall including the gala concert on Easter Saturday 26th March and the State commemoration of the ICA on Easter Tuesday, 29th March.
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