James Connolly, Jack O'Connor & Frank Connolly

national | worker & community struggles and protests | opinion/analysis Tuesday June 09, 2009 00:28 by Union Member - N/A

A new left or a new job?

Indymedia readers will be familiar with the work of Frank Connolly- He is the closest thing we have had to a good investigative journalist in this country for many years. The Corrib Gas report, Quarryvale and most recently his untangling of the corrupt mess that emerged from the incestuous nature of the Galway Tent, Dublin Docklands and the Anglo Irish Bank are just a few examples of why we need vocal independent and committed people like him to help us try to hold our political elites to account.

It might seem surprising that someone with his track record would write an unreservedly supportive article about Siptu’s recent performance under the stewardship of Jack O Connor, under whose leadership the union has accepted the inevitability of attacks on workers as the first and maybe only solution to a crisis that could disenfranchise a generation. Remember the day of action that was called off? The Pensions levy?

In the June issue of Village magazine Issue 4 page 23 Connolly (Frank not James!) has an article called ‘ Time for a real, radical alliance’. In this article he is calling for a new radical left to emerge from the current crisis- so far so good. However, he goes on to use the piece as a vehicle to give some glowing praise to Siptu’s Jack O Connor -for example;

‘…its current leadership seems determined to return to its revolutionary roots in order to survive the present storm which has seen an unprecedented attack on its members living standards’

and later in the piece ‘the articulate analysis of the likes of O’Connor and other trade union leaders on the global and domestic causes of the economic meltdown’.

He is talking about the same Jack O’Connor who spoke at the May Day Trades council meeting in Galway for over twenty minutes with some fine rhetoric about defending workers without once even mentioning the public sector pensions levy.

There may be a reason for this; In the Irish Times June 3rd the following article was to be found;

‘Connolly appointed to position with Siptu
MARTIN WALL, Industry Correspondent
JOURNALIST Frank Connolly has been appointed as new head of communications for Siptu, the country’s largest trade union. Connolly, who currently works for the Mail group of newspapers, is expected to commence his new job in July.’

Having long been an admirer of Frank Connolly’s work I hope that the ‘ode to Jack’ that he wrote in Village is not an omen of things to come. We need to hold our unions to account now more than ever before and to demand that they respect workers rights as a priority over short term fixes for an ailing government and economy. Here’s hoping somewhat optimistically, that the appointment of Frank Connolly is part of ‘the union’s return to its revolutionary roots’ rather than part of Frank’s new job application.