People Before Profit to propose motion in Dail to abolish FEMPI

national | worker & community struggles and protests | press release Thursday June 02, 2016 00:08 by pbp - People Before Profit

People Before Profit Press Release -1st June 2016

Scrap FEMPI now; payback time for workers. People Before Profit will today propose a motion to the Dail to abolish the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest legislation (FEMPI). FEMPI is the most anti-worker legislation in the history of the state.

People Before Profit will today propose a motion to the Dail to abolish the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest legislation (FEMPI). FEMPI is the most anti-worker legislation in the history of the state.

The motion has been signed by Anti-Austerity Alliance- People Before Profit TD’s (Bríd Smith, Richard Boyd Barrett, Gino Kenny, Paul Murphy, Ruth Coppinger and Mick Barry), Independents 4 Change TD’s (Joan Collins, Clare Daly, Mick Wallace and Tommy Broughan), Catherine Connolly TD, Seamus Healy TD, and Thomas Pringle TD. The motion is also supported by Senator Gerard Craughwell.

The emergency bill was brought into law in 2009 and has had untold consequences for workers.

The government is continuing with the old policy of austerity when it comes to the pay and conditions of public sector workers, while at the same time saying that the economy is in recovery. It continues to hide behind a supposed “Financial Emergency” in order to pursue the draconian provisions of this legislation, supported by the trade union leadership.

People Before Profit spokesperson on Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Bríd Smith TD, said “The FEMPI legislation, from its inception in 2009, represents an attack on workers. People Before Profit believe FEMPI should be repealed immediately. We are tabling this motion to the Dail, with the support of other parties of the left, in a bid to claw back some of the ground lost by workers when they were sacrificed by the Fianna Fail/Green and Fine Gael/Labour governments along with the EU- Troika.

“Recently we have been told that the country is in recovery. We welcome this, but what we have seen when we look closely is a recovery for the rich and for the banks that caused the financial meltdown and which is having disastrous consequences for our society.

“Whilst FEMPI only covers public sector workers, we believe all workers in this country are owed pay restoration. Workers in general need a pay rise after the savage cuts and measures such as FEMPI.

Richard Boyd Barrett TD said “Across many sectors of our society we are seeing a two tier pay structure for example with nurses and teachers; Jobsbridge exploiting workers; massive emigration; the privatisation of public services and a housing crisis the like of which has never been seen before.

“It is now payback time for workers. This means abolishing FEMPI and restoring pay back to 2008 levels. This is in fact a good thing for the economy as it puts money for discretionary spending in people’s pockets. This is good for local businesses and for the people in our society.