Southern Irish electricians take action and vote over 95% to strike

national | worker & community struggles and protests | opinion/analysis

Wednesday May 26, 2004 15:09

by john throne - labors militant voice

loughfinn at aol dot com

Electrical workers challenge bosses division of the spoils of the Celtic Tiger".

The growth associated with the so-called Celtic Tiger has vaulted Southern Ireland into the economic lead in the list of small states in the EU. But the distribution of the fruits of this growth has been mainly decided by the bosses and their parties. However the electrical workers in Southern Ireland have now voted and in fact already taken action in the last weeks to say no to this bosses share up. Victory for the electrical workers could open the door for a much wider struggle. The electrical workers must get full support.

When the electrical workers voted over 95% no and took action against the bosses offer last week, and decided to take more action in the weeks ahead, they were in reality saying they do not accept the bosses share out of the wealth in this country. This share out so far has basically amounted to two for the bosses and one for working people. The electrical workers are now saying hold on there a moment, enough is enough.

These actions by the most skilled and potentially most powerful section of the working class in Ireland are of great significance. They should be getting the full support of the entire trade union movement. The leadership of the trade union movement has to be called to account for not mobilising all their resources to ensure victory for the electrical workers. Instead they have been trying to ensure as little gains as possible are made. For the union leadership the greater the victory for the electrical workers the greater the demands from their own membership and the greater pressure on all the inadequate deals they have done in their own sectors.

The electrical workers actions have significance in another area also. Coming as they do in the lead up to the local elections they assume even greater potential importance. All candidates and organizations who are fighting in these elections on the basis of opposing the present situation, opposing the present bosses system, opposing capitalism, should be giving all out support to the electrical workers. In fact should already have been involved in building the electrical workers struggle. If they have not been involved then they should examine their orientation and consider if they have an orientation to the working class.

However whatever about that for the moment, full support should now be given to the electrical workers and their struggle should be made part of the elections. Challenge all the parties on whether or not they support the electricians on their 95% vote to strike and their refusal to accept the bosses decisions in relation to the sharing out of the wealth. Challenge all those parties who claim to support working people on do they support the workers 95% vote to strike and their saying no to the bosses dividing up of the wealth.

I have written on this site about the damage of sectarianism to the workers movement. What a shame now that there is not a common list of anti-bin charge candidates in the elections. If there was it would be much easier to integrate the electricians struggle along with the anti bin charge struggle. It would be much easier for the electrical workers to see their struggle as similar to the anti bin charge struggle. The anti bin charge struggle, like the electrical workers struggle, is also a struggle against the way the bosses and their parties are dividing up the wealth.

I would like to give full support to the electrical workers in their struggle and call on all workers to do likewise. Victory for the electrical workers will open up cracks in the bosses celtic tiger rip off and help open the door to all workers. I would like to call on all left and anti capitalist forces to support the electrical workers and make their struggle part of their day to day struggles. Support for the electrical workers action is support for strike action against the bosses by the workers and support for a re-division of wealth in the country. This should be put at the center of all our work and in this way it can illustrate the vicious capitalist policies of the bosses and their parties, the similar reality of the policies of the parties who talk about helping workers as opposed to helping the workers when they decide to help themselves and the danger that sectarianism does to the working class movement.

John Throne. Labors Militant Voice.

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Comments (12 of 12)

Shocking Strike

by Hebe

Wed May 26, 2004 15:50

Watt these workers need is support for their revolt. This one will go to the wire.

"Southern" Ireland?

by Canteen Kevin

Wed May 26, 2004 18:47

Last I heard of this place was called Ireland, I think you need to dye your sash red again and interact with the natives a bit more John.

ah c'mon

by pat c

Wed May 26, 2004 18:56

the dispute is in the 26 county (vichy) area, so JT can be forgiven for referring to southern ireland.

no north

by Jo McErlean

Wed May 26, 2004 19:02

Are there no electricians in Donegal? If there are, why did they not go on strike with their fellow workers in Southern Ireland?

free state?

by .

Wed May 26, 2004 23:01

Hi John!

by elfie

Thu May 27, 2004 22:00

you sound like churchill the phat version with that "southern ireland nonsense".
anyways the sparkies of La France have come up brill.

http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3224,36-366526,0.html

One of the features of European Life during the War on Fascism which we generally hold to have been fought between 1939 and 1945 though there are many who see the the War in Spain as it's start, and even those who reckon it began in 1914, was the "black out" or "power out-tage" as they say in Jonh Throne land.
http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3224,36-366526,0.html

Indymedia: Anti working class?

by informed

Sat May 29, 2004 01:17

It says something about indymedia and its editors that when one is putting up a story one can't catogorise it under a 'trade union' or 'industrial action' topic.

And it says something of you

by 1 of IMC

Sat May 29, 2004 01:34

That you'll complain on the newswire rather than contact indymedia volunteers with a suggestion.

support for the electricians.

Sat May 29, 2004 03:43

Are there people who read indymedia who are interested in supporting the electricians. Are there people on indymedia who are interested in discussing how the struggle of the electricians and the struggle against the bin charges and the coming elections could be developed into a more powerful workers movement. If so I think they should speak up. I this would be a constructive way to use the space available on this site. I also think that it would be good for worker activists not to be too pure or too anything else to sit back and allow indymedia to be used in ways that are not particularly helpful to workers struggles. And finally I would like to propose as hinted at by someone else that indymedia have a section where we can place items which is headed trade union and workers struggles or something along these lines. And finally thank you to those who organize indymedia for making this medium available to us. John Throne

Full support to the Electricians in this dispute

by SP Member

Mon May 31, 2004 00:38

John, welcome to the world of indymedia.

Message for JT

by sp member (Personal Capacity)

Mon May 31, 2004 12:02

John,

Indymedia are full of shite stirrers that are not interested in political debate. IF there was genuine debate here then it would be an excellant site. The tolerance of anonymous idiots that are not interested in debate has catagorised Indymedia as a bad website that serious people will not go onto.

John, you have repeatedly posted your "polemics" on this site. This has added to the shit stirring. Personally I'm completely turned off your arguments as they show ignorance of the situation in Ireland and an irrational hatred of all things CWI. It doesn't help your case when you team up with fellow Indymedia cranks and right-wingers to attack the SP at any chance.

another anonymous critic with nothing to say in support of the electricians

Mon May 31, 2004 14:20

So we have another person who won't give their name who claims to be an SP member and who condemns me for going on indymedia. However indymedia is fine for the SP when they want to announce some event of their. Such as the candidacy of the SP Comrades who are running in Letterkenny, see above. I support the candidacy of these Comrades by the way and would vote for them if I could. Just as I would vote for Joe Higgins if I could and other SP members. Comrades I hope that you get a good vote.

I have many disagreeements with Joe H and the SP such as your undemocratic internal life and your refusal to build an anti bin charges electoral front in these elections but I would support SP candidates where they represented the workers and left movement in an area. Why would I not. After all I recruited Joe Higgins to revolutionary politics in the first place and still consider him a fighter for working class people.

But what about the electricians vote for strike. Over 95%. What do you as an anonymous SP member have to say about this. I would have hoped that you would have taken your time here to call for support for the electricians rather than attack me. Maybe it is not me who has the "irrational hatred". I still think that it is a missed opportunity not to have had an anti bin tax electoral front in this election with which it would have been much easier to link the struggle of the electricians and target the celtic tiger and its vicious method of distributing its fruits mainly to the rich.

John Throne

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Southern Irish electricians take action and vote over 95% to strike

Comments (12 of 12)