Fair Hotels is an initiative of hotel workers employed in Fair Hotels throughout Ireland and trade union representatives. Hotels listed on www.fairhotels.ie were invited to participate in the Fair Hotels campaign by their own staff and their staffs' representatives. Each of the hotels listed on www.fairhotels.ie has agreed to participate. Our objective is to support and promote quality employment in the hotel industry in Ireland.

Related Links:
Fair Hotels Website | Siptu Fair Hotels Iniative (from Cedar Lounge Revolution) | New Ethical Template for Quality Jobs (from Mandate.ie)

Who's Endorsing Fair Hotels:
IUF - Uniting Food, Farm and Hotel Workers World-Wide | Irish Congress of Trade Unions | Trade Union Congress | Fairtrade Mark Ireland | National Women's Council of Ireland | Consumers Association of Ireland | Lynch Hotels | Irish Federation of University Teachers | Migrant Rights Centre Ireland | Immigrant Council of Ireland | Community Platform | Sport Against Racism Ireland | Hotel Solutions

This letter to Baxter International was inspired as a response to the Irish Independent Best Workplaces in Ireland award. Seeing that the company seemed so good, the author decided to check for himself and did a little background research. What he came up with surprised him and will probably surprise you.

PharmaWatch
9th May 2011

Attn: Alan Markey
Baxter Healthcare Ireland
7 Deansgrange Business Park
Blackrock
Co. Dublin

Re: GREAT PLACE TO WORK-2011 Best Workplaces Ireland, -Irish Independent Feb, 2011

Cc. Dr Andrew Wakefield; cc. Judge Alison Lindsay: cc. Jane Burgermeister; cc. Robert L. Parkinson, Jr. CEO & President, Baxter International; cc. Christopher Bona, Baxter Director of Global Bioscience Communications; cc. Pat Gallagher, General Manager of Baxter Manufacturing Ireland; cc. Erin Gardiner, Baxter Spokesman; cc. Rhona Blake, Fleishman-Hillard Saunders; cc. Deborah Spak, Baxter spokeswoman; Attorneys General of every state Baxter ripped off;cc. Lloyd Gorman, IDA Ireland; cc. Jerry O‘Connor, Department of Enterprise, Trade & Employment; cc. Mark Murray, Irish Kidney Association; cc. Brendan Cuddy, Manufacturing and Quality Compliance, European Medicines Agency; cc. Petrina Vousden, Hacks-Irish Independent, Times, Daily Mail, Examiner, UK; Telegraph, Guardian, Observer, Express, Private Eye and many more; cc Ben Goldacre, Big Pharma mouthpiece; cc. John Ryan, CEO Great Place to Work, Ireland, , Several Mayo Gombeen politicians etc..

Dear Mr Markey
From perusing and reading your jubilant result in the ‘2011 Best workplaces in Ireland‘ list I was thrilled at your success and wanted to share in your overwhelming jubilation. I was so overjoyed for your magnificent accomplishment that I decided to find out for myself what kind of company Baxter really is and why being on the Baxter payroll could be such a fantastic experience. As an avid environmentalist with a hawk‘s eye on corporate mischief, I wanted to find out if as you say, "at Baxter we have a very customer-centric philosophy called the Baxter Way" and "as a company Baxter complies with all national and international best practice…Baxter has a Code of Conduct, which sets out the highest standards of business ethics and compliance", was indeed truthful. I must say I was devastated at what I found out, the truth rocked me to my boots. What I discovered was truly shocking. I have found out that your company, Baxter International, Inc. (HQ in Deerfield, Illinois) and its subsidiary Baxter Healthcare Corporation, are one of the world‘s worst Pharmaceutical companies; routinely fined for fraud, deception, rogue marketing, contaminated products-to name but a few of the scandalous practices that you rogues are engaged in (1,2,3,4,5,6,7). Once I recovered from my initial shock I decided that I had to let as many people as possible know what you scoundrels get up to.

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• Scientists accuse European Food Safety Authority of corruption and fraud
• Doctors invoke the Precautionary Principle
• Consumers want GM-free Irish label to support responsible farmers

Related Links: FF reverse Irelands position to pro-GM during last days in office. Fianna Fáil Decision on GM food is dangerous and foolhardy | Gathering Momentum: Stop GM! all Island meeting | European Commission exceeding its powers to approve more GM crops: | EU citizens should not be force-fed GM food — Former Chair, European Food Safety Authority | Two Governments call for Ireland to become GM-free zone | Bio Technology and G.M.O.s sponsored by the Irish tax payer | Call for Government's Chief Scientific Adviser to resign | And this scientist advises FG - Irish biotech scientist's fraudlent pro-GM paper slammed by leading experts Irish Greens amazing u-turn on GM feed External Links: www.gmfreeireland.org/

This evening (Wed 11th March), after the news of the 30 day sentence imposed on 55 year old Shell to Sea protester Maura Harrington filtered through, supporters converged on the gates of Mountjoy prison. By the time the van carrying Maura came into view over 30 supporters were waiting at the prison gates, matched by a similar number of Gardai.

Latest Stories About This:

Maura Harrington to be taken to Mountjoy Jail for 28 Days
* "Veteran Shell to Sea Campaigner, Maura Harrington has just been sentenced to 28 days imprisonement in Mountjoy"
Report on day in court which led to Maura Harrington's Jailing
* "Yesterday evening Shell to Sea spokesperson Maura Harrington was sentenced to 28 days in prison in relation to an assault charge arising from the incident at Pollathomais Pier on the 11th June 2007."
Political Policing sees Maura Harrington jailed for 28 days
* "This evening at Belmullet court Shell to Sea spokesperson Maura Harrington was sentenced to 28 days in prison in relation to an assault at Pollathomais Pier on the 11th June 2007."

Send Messages of Solidarity
Maura Harrington
Dochas Centre
Mountjoy Prison
N Circular Road
Dublin 7

There is no money left in Ireland. At least that’s what you might think after listening to Brian Cowen, Enda Kenny, IBEC and the parade of capitalist economists and pundits who parrot this nonsense. Yes, we are heading into a deep recession but guess who is expected to pay the cost?

Related Links:
• Workers Solidarity Movement Website - www.wsm.ie
• Irish Congress of Trade Unions - www.ictu.ie
• Workers Issues on Indymedia.ie.
• Workers Solidarity Movement articles on Indymedia.ie
• Michael Taft's, from Notes on the Front - The Recession Diaries, proposal Towards a New Economic Narrative

Indymedia Reporters Group:
Mick Burke and the Indymedia Collective are trying to set up a dedicated reporters group to report on the (potential) strike on March 30th. Read about it here.

Don't just sit there, contact someone:
If you feel strongly about this, why not contact some/all politicians - Contact.ie

The Government has no problem finding money to bail out bankers and speculators, it’s only when cash is needed for special-needs teachers, the sick, or to improve run-down schools and hospitals that nothing can be found. The attack on pay and pensions is a class struggle by employers and the government against working people.

It may sound old-fashioned to talk of class struggle, but what else do you call it when one class wants to preserve its wealth at the expense of the other class? When private sector workers see 90% of pension funds they paid into for years going down the tube, Brian Goggin of Bank of Ireland thinks he is hard done by because he will “take home less than €2 million” this year.

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