In this issue:
SIPTU welcomes Pfizer $130 million investment announcement
Strike action at Milne Foods in County Offaly
Death of paramedic must never be repeated
Credit Union workers to attend Kells Town Council meeting
Welcome for report on workplace innovation in Ireland
ICTU Biennial Delegate Conference 2013 held in Belfast
Begg tells conference 'now is time for major programme of investment'
Jack O’Connor calls for strategic investment in domestic economy
Fine Gael is denying collective bargaining rights
Campaign for repeal of emergency FEMPI legislation
Fire Fighter's Wedding
Support workers in Ireland
Visit the Dublin tenement experience
IBEC call protects wealthy at expense of less well off
NERI questions proposal for a €3 billion budget adjustment
GDP figures make clear crisis is far from over
Global Labour Column
Can the Rehn-Meidner model be a guiding star for the EU countries like Ireland?
The Spirit of Mother Jones Festival
Claiming our Future - Budget Alternatives
Fair Hotel
Fair Hotels
Larkin Credit Union
The James Plunkett Short Story Award
SIPTU Membership Services - Summer Offers from JLT
SIPTU Basic English Scheme
VHI Affordable Plans
Supporting Quality
Useful links
Send to a friend »Subscribe »Search past issues »Contact us »Print all articles »

siptu2

siptu4



Visit our website
Begg tells conference 'now is time for major programme of investment'
Congress General Secretary David Begg has called for a major programme of social investment in the face of “irrefutable evidence that austerity is not working.”

Addressing delegates Begg said: “Five years on we are confronted with irrefutable evidence that austerity is not working. Last week the CSO reported that GDP fell by 0.6% in the first quarter of this year, the third consecutive quarter in which it has fallen. Likewise personal expenditure fell by a further 3 per cent and capital investment fell by 7.4%.

“The realisation is dawning that the plan is not working and we know that a Europe with some 26 million people out of work is simply not sustainable.

“Having virtually wrecked the European economy and created a lost generation of young European citizens, they are beginning to realise that there is a tipping point. This is what is motivating the €6 billion youth guarantee.

"Now is the hour to push for social investment and the construction of institutions of the social market economy to balance the power and independence of the ECB.

“Now is the critical juncture to seek a commitment to the mutualisation of debt.

“Now is the time to demand nothing less than the reflation of the European economy,” Begg said.

He drew strong applause from delegates when he condemned the treatment of staff in the former Anglo Irish Bank.

“I think people were still shocked and certainly offended, by the boorish and cynical behaviour of the senior managers of Anglo-Irish bank revealed in the tapes recently published in the media.

“But justifiable anger at this behaviour should not blind us to the fact that the union members in IBRC are every bit as much victims of their conduct as are the taxpayers.

I do not believe it is acceptable to this Congress for staff to be thrown on the side of the road with just statutory redundancy and I have said this to the Minster for Finance, Michael Noonan, in no uncertain terms,” Begg said.
Facebook Twitter | Comment (0)
Newsletter Marketing Powered by Newsweaver