In this issue:
LRC proposals provide job security for lower paid workers
SIPTU members to oppose job losses at Killarney Golf Club
Body of miner killed in rock fall repatriated to the Philippines
Chomsky meets Vita Cortex workers
Thatcher leaves trail of destruction behind
Glenda Jackson speaks about Margaret Thatcher
1913 LOCKOUT - a new play by Ann Matthews
School pupils’ work on 1913 Tapestry celebrated
President says workers' rights must be at centre of rebuilt economy
Dublin youth projects bring campaign to the Dáil
Suspended Cork County Council workers return to work
SIPTU calls for immediate action on youth unemployment crisis
MANDATE Trade Union
Hands off Public Water
Thatcher leaves legacy of social destruction and economic collapse
NERI: 3% Troika deficit target unlikely to be achieved by 2015
IMF issues stark warning on challenges facing Ireland
Ireland linked to global web of tax avoidance
Global Labour Report
A terrible beauty! – Gaza
Congress welcomes Government commitment on domestic workers
Hugh Geraghty Memorial Lecture
Robert Ballagh Exhibition
Venezuelan Stories: In honour of Hugo Chávez
Jim Connell Society
Tadhg Barry Film
Galway Trades Unions 1913 - 2013
The James Plunkett Short Story Award
SIPTU Solidarity with Cuba Forum
Book Sale in aid of Docklands Senior Provider Forum
Larkin Credit Union
Supporting Quality Campaign!
SIPTU Basic English Scheme
Win a One4All Voucher Worth €250
Cycle Against Suicide
Discount for SIPTU members
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LRC proposals provide job security for lower paid workers

The Labour Relations Commission proposals for a new public service agreement provide enhanced job security and significant protection from outsourcing for workers in Irish hospitals, according to SIPTU’s National Health Division Organiser, Paul Bell. He said that the proposals, on which SIPTU members in the health and public administration divisions are currently balloting, also contain an important job creation initiative. 

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SIPTU members to oppose job losses at Killarney Golf Club

SIPTU members employed at Killarney Golf Club, Co. Kerry, have said they will fight a management attempt to make 24 workers redundant despite an ongoing Labour Court process aimed at saving jobs at the business.

On Wednesday (10th April) management served notice of redundancy on the workers even though a Labour Court hearing had been set for Monday, 29th April, to discuss ways of minimising job losses at the prestigious golf venue.

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Body of miner killed in rock fall repatriated to the Philippines

The body of the mineworker killed in an underground rock fall on Thursday (4th April) in the Lisheen Mine, Co. Tipperary, has been repatriated to his native Philippines.

The body of Mario Francis (49) began its journey home to the Philippines on a flight from Dublin airport this morning (Thursday, 11th April).

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Chomsky meets Vita Cortex workers
Renowned human rights activist and writer, Noam Chomsky discussed their 161 day sit-in with the former Vita Cortex workers in Cork on Thursday (4th April).

During the ninety minute meeting at the Riverside Hotel the workers including SIPTU shop stewards, Sean Kelleher and Jim Power, and other union members discussed the background to the dispute over redundancy payments, the lengthy occupation of the foam manufacturing plant on the Kinsale Road in Cork and the massive solidarity they received from other workers, trade unions and communities in Cork and across the country.

Noam Chomsky (centre) with Vita Cortex workers and supporters in Cork
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Thatcher leaves trail of destruction behind

The general secretary of the Trade Union Congress in Britain has said that Margaret Thatcher’s unwavering belief in the invisible hand of the market “meant that she did not believe it was part of her job description to put anything in its place.” Writing in the Guardian on Wednesday (10th April) two days after the death of the former prime minister, Frances O’Grady said that Thatcher had “assumed” no responsibility to minimise social disruption or to create new jobs and industries” following the collapse of traditional industries across Europe and the US in the 1980s and 90s.

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Glenda Jackson speaks about Margaret Thatcher

Glenda Jackson launches tirade against Thatcher in tribute debate

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1913 LOCKOUT - a new play by Ann Matthews
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School pupils’ work on 1913 Tapestry celebrated
The pupils from Larkin Community College (Dublin 1), St Louis High School (Rathmines) and Mater Dei Primary School (Dublin 8) have helped embroider some of the 30 multi-media textile panels which combine to tell the story of the 1913 Lockout.


More than fifty pupils from three Dublin schools received certificates for their work on the 1913 Lockout Commemoration tapestry at a ceremony in the National College of Art and Design (NCAD) on Tuesday (9th April).
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President says workers' rights must be at centre of rebuilt economy

President Michal D Higgins has called on Irish trade unionists to play their part in “the transition from an economic model that has failed humanity to one that has yet to be fully realised.” Speaking at the official opening of the recently reburbished Communications Workers Union offices on the North Circular Road in Dublin, President Higgins also said that the personal, social and cultural rights of every worker must be at the centre of a re-built economy.  

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Dublin youth projects bring campaign to the Dáil
Dublin based youth workers and young people met with politicians in Leinster House on Wednesday (27th March) to discuss the impact further cuts will have on the vital work carried out by youth projects in the city.

The meeting followed the announcement that the Minister for Children, Frances Fitzgerald, is seeking to impose a further 10% funding cut on City of Dublin Youth Services Board (CDYSB) youth projects.


Young people from CDYSB youth projects with Sinn Féin TDs Sandra McLellan, Aengus Ó Snodaigh and parliamentary assistant Daithí Doolan
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Suspended Cork County Council workers return to work

Following hearings on Tuesday (2nd April), three Cork County Council workers suspended last month for carrying out urgent road maintenance in breach of council safety procedures have returned to work.

SIPTU Organiser, Con Casey, said: “Following discussions with management the matter has now been definitively concluded in accordance with the grievance and disciplinary procedures of Cork County Council to the satisfaction of all the parties involved.

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SIPTU calls for immediate action on youth unemployment crisis
New figures from Eurostat which show that unemployment in the 15 to 24 age group in Ireland stands at just under 31%, must push this crisis to the top of the political agenda, according to SIPTU policy analyst Loraine Mulligan.The Irish rate reached 30.8% in February 2013. The previous high for youth unemployment in Ireland was 30.5% in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared to the Euro area average of 21.4%.
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MANDATE Trade Union
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Hands off Public Water

Over 100 SIPTU members in the local authority water services rallied outside the Dáil on Thursday (21st March), to protest against EU policies which promote the privatisation of water resources. The rally was part of a EU wide campaign by the European Federation of Public Service Unions, which represents eight million public service workers, focused on highlighting its concern at the liberalisation of EU laws governing the ownership of water resources.
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Thatcher leaves legacy of social destruction and economic collapse
 
LibertyHall

The death of Margaret Thatcher has provoked as much controversy as many of her actions did during her divisive, and hugely influential, political career.

Her damaging role during the H-block protests and hunger strikes, the subsequent shoot to kill policies of the British security forces under her control during the mid to late 1980s in the North and her failure to endorse a potential political solution to the conflict were recalled by many Irish people.

In Britain, the divisions she fermented through her economic and social policies which devastated working class communities, including those traditionally dependant on coal mining and steel, were highlighted.
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NERI: 3% Troika deficit target unlikely to be achieved by 2015
 

On Wednesday (10th April) the Nevin Economic Research Institute published its latest Quarterly Economic Observer outlining the think-tank’s most recent set of projections for the Republic of Ireland economy. These suggest a period of low-growth and high-unemployment for the next three years and include:
  • Low GDP growth of 1% and 1.2% over the next two years, increasing to 2% in 2015;
  • a further shrinking of the numbers employed in 2013, by 0.6%, with employment levels remaining static in 2014 and 2015;
  • unemployment remaining at 14.7% in 2013 and marginally increasing to 15% in 2014 and 2015 as net outward migration releases pressure on expanding labour supply due to rising youth cohorts;
  • Ireland’s gross debt peaking at 121.1% of GDP this year and reducing marginally in 2014 and 2015; and
  • While it is anticipated that Government will exceed its deficit (or General Government Balance, GGB) target in 2013, given our current economic outlook, we do not expect Government to reach the 3% Maastricht target by 2015. 
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IMF issues stark warning on challenges facing Ireland
The latest report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in its ninth review of Ireland released on Thursday (4th April), confirms the huge challenges that remain for the economy and the prospect of an exit this year from the bailout programme according to SIPTU economist, Marie Sherlock.

“There has been a lot of talk both here and abroad over recent months about the stabilisation in the economy and about tentative signs of recovery. Progress has been made but we are still far removed from any significant recovery in terms of employment and in domestic demand,” Marie Sherlock said.
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Ireland linked to global web of tax avoidance
Dozens of Irish addresses have been linked to accounts held in offshore secrecy jurisdictions, allowing their holders to avoid paying their fair share of tax.

A worldwide investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) released on Thursday (4th April) has found between 50 and 60 addresses in Ireland in documents, which include the identities of thousands of wealthy account holders who hold their wealth in offshore tax havens. None of the names linked to Irish addresses have yet been released by the ICIJ or the Guardian and other media organisations which co-operated in the extensive search of offshore holdings.
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Global Labour Report
 

Constructing an Anti-Neoliberal Analysis to Arrive at Truly Alternative Alternatives

In this week’s column, Salimah Valiani analyses the shift in the nursing labour market in the global North from permanent migration to temporary migration, particularly in Canada and in the USA. Valiani argues that this stemmed from contradictions which arose during the Golden Age of capitalism. After suggesting solutions directly related to both countries’ health care sectors, Valiani concludes that reforms should be based on sector-specific world historical analyses rather than “superimposing reformist solutions to deeply entrenched inequalities”.

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A terrible beauty! – Gaza

By Mags O'Brien,

When I visited the West Bank of Palestine and Israel as part of the 2007 Congress delegation, I was so appalled at the constant violation of the human rights of the Palestinian people that I vowed to do what little I could to highlight their cause. After my failed attempt on the MV Saoirse in 2011, I finally got to Gaza in January 2013, travelling across the Sinai Desert and entering from Egypt through the Raffa Crossing.


Mags O'Brien in Gaza in January

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Congress welcomes Government commitment on domestic workers

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions on Monday (8th April), welcomed a commitment from the Minister for Social Protection to ratify an international convention on rights for Domestic Workers.

Minister Joan Burton told delegates at the International Labour Organisation's 9th European and Central Regional meeting in Oslo on Monday (8th April), that the Government would move to formally ratify the ILO’s Convention on Domestic Work and try to ensure ratification across the European Union. 

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Hugh Geraghty Memorial Lecture

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Robert Ballagh Exhibition
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Venezuelan Stories: In honour of Hugo Chávez


Saturday, 13th April

Venezuelan Stories: In honour of Hugo Chávez

Admission free. (Donations welcome)

To mark the life of President Hugo Chavez, on Saturday, 13th April, the Progressive Film Club at the New Theatre, 43 East Essex Street, Dublin 2 are screening two films. A rather auspicious date as not alone will it be the eve of the presidential election in Venezuela but also the day that President Chavez was restored to power after the abortive coup in 2002.

    2.30 p.m.                                    4.00 p.m.

Tocar y Luchar (To Play and to Struggle)      The Revolution Will Not Be Televised
                
(2006)                                                         (2003)             


  

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Jim Connell Society
15th Anniversary May Weekend Trade Union Festival

3rd - 6th May, 2013 in Kells and Crosakiel, Co. Meath


Friday: Official opening by Councillor Sarah Reilly, Cathorlaigh Kells Town Council and Paul Anderson M.P.

Saturday: Annual Summer School in Kells Recource Centre, Pig roasting event and Irish night in Jacks Porterhouse venue

Sunday: Annual commemoration at monument in Crosakiel, followed by entertainment in McCabes lounge.

Saturday Lunch: “161 Days” Film of the Vita Cortex dispute must be seen by everyone.

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Tadhg Barry Film
Saturday, 4th May at 2.00 p.m. in the Triskel Arts Centre, Cork City.

Using British Pathe film, historical photgraphs and documents an hour long documentary on the life of Cork trade union leader, socialist and republican fighter, Tadhg Barry, will be shown in Cork on 4th May.
 
The film covers his life from his birth place on the north side of Cork City, to his early years in the work force and his initial leap into journalism, and from there to his political enlightenment and work with the ITGWU, James Connolly and James Larkin to re-build the union in Cork and to fight for Irish Freedom.


The ITGWU James Connolly Memorial Branch with Tadhg Barry as Branch Secretary
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Galway Trades Unions 1913 - 2013
 

Thursday, 2nd May at 7.00 p.m. Forster Court, Galway

SIPTU’s Galway District Committee is marking the occasion of the Centenary of the 1913 Lockout and celebrating May Day on Thursday, 2nd May 2013 at 7.00pm in the Sean Meade Room at the SIPTU offices on Forster Court.

Local labour historians John Cunningham and Mary Clancy will
guide us through the history of trade unions in Galway in the early part of the 20th century in particular a strike for union recognition, which coincidentally also took place in 1913.

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The James Plunkett Short Story Award

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SIPTU Solidarity with Cuba Forum
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Book Sale in aid of Docklands Senior Provider Forum
Read more »
Larkin Credit Union

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Read more »
Supporting Quality Campaign!

Read more »
SIPTU Basic English Scheme

BasicEnglishADLOL
Read more »
Win a One4All Voucher Worth €250

Read more »
Cycle Against Suicide

Read more »
Discount for SIPTU members
Read more »
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