Des Derwin announces candidacy for SIPTU General Secretary

national | miscellaneous | news report Friday August 30, 2002 15:10 by Des Derwin Supporters Campaign dderwin at gofree dot indigo dot ie

Derwin for a fighting democratic Union

Dublin Shop Steward to Challenge Union Establishment. Derwin Calls for an End to Social Partnership and for Democratic Reform in SIPTU

Des Derwin is today announcing his candidacy for the position of General Secretary of SIPTU. Balloting begins on Thursday 19th September. In declaring his intention to challenge the two “mainstream” candidates, Noel Dowling and Joe O’Flynn, Derwin says:

“I’ve become increasingly concerned by the direction SIPTU is going in. In recent years it has almost become a third member of the coalition government and as we face into a period of economic uncertainty it is time we returned to a position of independence, a position of strength, from which we can properly represent our members’ interests. I am standing to give a voice to all those who are disillusioned with the current state of the union”

Derwin is against social partnership and is calling for an end to wage restraint:

“Social partnership has benefited the employers more than the workers. The Unions should not be in partnership with the rich and powerful. We should be able to lodge claims and back them up with industrial action if necessary. The union should put the interests of the members first. Social partnership has led to big profits for the employers and extra productivity from the workers.”

Derwin wants to see democratic reform in SIPTU. He wants:

· To restore the vote for the election of the National Executive Council, taken away last year, to the ordinary members.
· To change the Rule Book to allow Branches, and not just a small Rules Revision Committee, to propose amendments to the Rules.
· To get more women involved. No woman among the twelve top industrial Officers of the Union is just not good enough.
· To improve the service to our membership. Shop stewards to have quick access to officials and face-to-face meetings without delay.

Derwin is confident he will get a substantial vote. He feels his position as a shop floor worker gives him a unique advantage over his rivals:

“I think I am more in touch with the general membership. Every day I work next to them. I hear their concerns, indeed I share most of them, and therefore if elected I shall be best equipped to represent them.”

And he is keen to put this pledge on the record:

“If elected I will accept only the average industrial wage. I am well able to carry out the duties of General Secretary and I have demonstrated over the years that I can work with people of differing viewpoints within democratically decided policies and structures.”

For more information contact:

Des Derwin Supporters Campaign
10 Comyn Place, Drumcondra, Dublin 9.

Des Derwin ph: 8375760 or 087 6229686 dderwin@gofree.indigo.ie

About Des Derwin:

Who Is He ?

If elected, Des Derwin has a wealth of experience from which to draw having been a member of SIPTU and the ITGWU since 1973. He works as an Assembly General Operative at a plastics factory in Finglas, Dublin, where he is a shop steward. He has a wide and varied industrial, negotiating and administrative experience gained from thirty years working in industry and over twenty-five serving on the Committee of the Electronics and Engineering Branch. He is familiar with the inner workings of SIPTU. Des is currently:

· President of the Electronics and Engineering Branch.
· A member of the Dublin Regional Executive Committee of the Union
· On the executive committee of the Dublin Council of Trade Unions.

He has been an active delegate to successive National Conferences.

What Does He Stand For ?

· An end to social partnership

· Democratic control of SIPTU by its members

· Support for any public sector members who wish to reject the Benchmarking Report in order to seek better deals.

· A National Minimum Wage of €8 per hour.

· Action to bridge the gap between the average earnings of women and men.

· Statutory union recognition and a major recruitment drive.

· SIPTU and the ICTU should be campaigning more actively for improved health and social services and against health cuts and double-taxation service charges.

· An immediate increase in statutory redundancy payments to three and a half weeks per year of service. The current rate as shown in the recent I G B dispute is totally unacceptable.

· A NO VOTE in the forthcoming Nice Referendum. Enlargement should go ahead, but EU deals which forbid subsidies and require deregulation and privatisation are bad for SIPTU. It is outrageous that ICTU called for a Yes Vote without consulting its members.