Protest time again

This coming Saturday, ICTU are holding a protest march from Wood Quay to the GPO. This comes almost a year after the last major incident where I spent a day in the pub North doing Xmas shopping cold picketing a building site on Pearse Street. The upcoming demonstration, while nominally about Congress' alternative to the austerity measures, is really the best opportunity for the general public to register their disgust with the decisions and plans of the current government.

Over the last 10 years, the Unions, both public and private sector, have not exactly covered themselves in glory. The fiasco of benchmarking and partnership along with lightning strikes and blue flus have not endeared the organisations to the general public. At this point the sight of Jack O'Connor, David Begg and Blair Horan on the TV has most people either reaching for the remote or throwing something at the screen.

However, this protest has to be about more than the Unions. These organisations are the only groups who are able to mobilize large numbers of people to form the core of a protest. Compare this Saturday's events with the Right to Work events last May and June where there was never more than 1,000 people in attendance and in may cases substantially less. The involvement of fringe groups such as SWP, Eirigí and Anarchists only puts people off attending. The Unions, despite all their faults, give some level of legitimacy to the event.

So turn up on Saturday. Bring a sign and feel free to put an anti-Union slogan - you won't be alone. Together the masses can have a say and hopefully put an end to this disastrous government and their failed policies.

What a week

It really has been one of those weeks. Lets just take a minute to review

Monday

The week started with the dousing of Mary Harney with red paint at a sod-turning in West Dublin. I can't really condone Cllr Louise Minihan's shenanigans at the event, especially seeing as she was there in an official capacity representing the city council. However, considering most people wouldn't have heard of Minihan and Eirigí before this week, the publicity stunt seems to have worked and I am not sure that the Lord Mayor has any sanction he can impose on the unruly Councillor.

Tuesday

Tuesday saw the unexpected resignation of Dr Jim McDaid, FF deputy from Donegal North East. Having been an outspoken opponent of many of the policies of the current government and being long of the opinion that a general election was required, it was surprising to see him leave rather than vote against the budget and precipitate an election.

Wednesday

USI managed to organize their largest march in years with around 20,000 students taking to the streets protesting against education cut backs and the recently announced plans to increase registration charges by up to €1,500 from next year. The entire event was overshadowed by the occupation of the Dept of Finance by a small number of protesters and the heavy handed Garda response featuring the riot squad as well as mounted and canine units. This video on YouTube does not show the boys in blue in a terribly positive light. One wonders if they decided to use the students as practice in case a more aggressive protest against the budget happens in a few weeks.

Thursday

Thursday brought the passing of the DSW by-election writ while the other three vacancies were all voted down. All along the government have used the excuse that a by-election would distract from the current important business and had nothing at all to do with FF hanging on to power at all costs. Now with the distraction of having one by-election, what's the harm in having all of them at once? Oh yes, the spectre of the government falling and all the FF deputies having to face the music.

Friday

Like the main evening news, the week ended with a light hearted "and finally" story with the let them eat cheese fiasco. Considering that this is an event that happens every year under the radar it seems a bit stupid for a Minister to announce it in a Marie Antoinette moment. Brought a smile to my face and about a million bad puns to the Twitterverse.

I wonder if next week can match up to the excitement of the last few days. I hope not as there is almost too much going on to keep track of!

Leaning Left

Today's SBP/RedC poll is significant even though there are no changes outside the margin of error. Mainly it shows that the seven point bump that Labour gained last time out has by and large been retained. Secondly, it shows that last month's poll was a blip in SF support, rather than a nose dive. Thirdly it shows that no matter how bad things are, there is still a quarter of the adult population who will support FF through thick and thin. And finally it demonstrated that FG are not making the sorts of gains that they should. Being down 5 points over a two month period is not good.

Taken as a whole I would say it reflects well on the left as a credible alternative to the tried and untrusted policies of FF and FG. Together Lab, SF and G have 37%, which while not currently enough to oust the conservative blocks, is a huge step forward from the last general election. This is especially welcome when you consider that in areas where SF are likely to hold and/or gain seats, Labour is well off the pace (both Donegals, Cavan/Moneghan) or looking to gain an extra seat themselves (Dublin SC, Dublin SW).

It is a pity, therefore, that the various left groups spend more time fighting amongst each other than working together. I attended last week's Right to Work protest having missed the first two. The event was dominated by SWP, PBP and Eirigí with some support from SF and Labour. Listening to the speeches though, the groups spent more time slagging each other off than actually making headway against the government and promoting job creation. Luckily the event passed off without incident and a very good natured march down to Dublin Castle rounded out a nice evening in the sunshine. Hopefully the complete lack of potential violence and disorder at the last march will convince more people to join. Until all the trade unions and Labour come out officially in support of the campagin, I can't seen it getting more than a few thousand attendees at best.

Strike Aftermath

Tuesday was the first national public sector strike day. I picketed from 8am until 11am outside the building site at the back of campus thereby avoiding most of the hassle of interacting with people I know who wanted to cross the picket. Luckily it stayed dry for my stint and it was all fairly good natured. The guys on the building site, while working, were positive and joking with the strikers. Only one passer-by made negative comments, most were just getting on with their lives.

Once my slot was finished I wandered up town to meet some others who had been picketing at the City Council offices and we proceeded to support the private sector by propping up the bar in the Foggy Dew from midday until the Champions League started on the TV. Apart from not being paid, all in all it was quite a pleasant day. However, the sight of massive traffic jams heading into Newry didn't really help the cause and the letters in the Irish Times over the last few days have borne that out.

There is meant to be another strike on Thursday of next week in advance of the budget. It will be interesting to see if it actually happens and also to see if as many people join the picket line this time. It will also be interesting to see if our local union branch could be slightly more organised with rotas and covering the important places rather than locked gates.

Preparations for Tuesday

As a unionized worker in the public sector I'll be striking on Tuesday. It is a sign of how low the level of industrial action has been in the last decade or so that it will be the first time I've picketed (as opposed to protest marches). That seems to have been the main upside of the policy of appeasement and buy off in social partnership. It also seems like the first time that many on both the union and management side have been involved in this sort of situation.

Considering that the date has been fixed for over a month now, my union still hasn't sent around a rota for picketing duty. Several emails have been sent around asking those who will not be available (medical, childcare seem to be the main acceptable excuses) or who have a preference for where to picket. They also sent around an incomplete list of locations since several entrances to the campus have been changed since the SIPTU strike in 1996.

On the other hand, management seem to be intent on stoking up the flames and being as divisive as possible. While I accept that my striking should result in my not being paid for the day, the powers that be have made it very difficult for those who don't want to protest. Sick leave, work from home and holidays have been suspended so there is no option but to cross the picket line. A few of my colleagues would really rather not have to cross the picket but cannot afford to loose a days pay. In our line of work it is very easy to work remotely and this would ease tensions substantially.

I'm also still unsure as to how this strike is going to play with the public in general. I still believe that the premise is indefensible given the state of the public finances and media outlets like the Independent and Newstalk are going to have a field day driving further wedges between the private and public sector. At least emergency response units in Cork, Clare and Galway have postponed their actions due to the flooding so we can't all be accused of being totally self-centred and selfish.

Finally there is the small question of how I'm going to get to the protest if there is no public transport and I can't cross the picket line to park my car on campus. Guess it'll be shanks mare into town unless I get an afternoon slot in which case I can park for free on street thanks to Dublin City Council and their efforts to get people into the city centre for Christmas shopping. Must also remember to bring the rain poncho and my boots as being wet and protesting would suck.

ICTU Protest today

This afternoon marks the first round of the ICTU protests against cutbacks in the public sector and social welfare. At 2:30 in various locations around the country, Congress hopes that thousands of workers and the unemployed will take to the streets to force the Government into backing down on the proposals to cut expenditure in the budget. At least that is how the unions will try to spin the event. Unfortunately, the main premise of the march is to try to force through a pay increase that was postponed last year for 11 months and now hasn't been delivered.

As a public sector worker, SIPTU member and Labour Party member I feel that I should be 100% behind this protest but the pragmatic side of my brain knows that the stance that Congress is taking is just going to divide the workers in the public and private sectors even further apart. At a time when the state is running a massive deficit it is totally unrealistic to demand more money. If ICTU had any balls they'd call for an all out strike, both public and private, until a general election is called. At least that is a protest that everyone could get behind.

With 90 minutes to go until kick off I'm still unsure if I'll wander up to Parnell Square. Maybe if I can round up a few co-workers to join me then we'll hit the streets.