Five Reasons Workers Should Counter The Far Right

The far right stirred up a riot that destroyed Dublin city centre, they’ve attacked bus drivers and migrant workers. It’s time workers in all our cities and towns said enough is enough - we’re not putting up with this any longer!

Here’s five reasons why every worker in Ireland should make a stand against the far right.

REASON ONE:

As workers - as trade unionists and as socialists - we have a duty to defend all workers in Irish society. All workers, migrant workers included, should feel safe in their workplace. As a class - united we stand, divided we fall.

An attack on a bus driver or a nurse is an attack on our class. The burning down of a pub that was to be used as a homeless hub is an attack on our class. The burning of the inner city was an attack on our class.

REASON TWO:

The far right won’t stop with attacks on migrants. Like every fascist movement in history, if they grow they will attack the left, our trade unions and every other progressive movement.

We’ve already seen this in practice as bus drivers were attacked during the riot. We need to push back against this now!

We’ve made massive strides forward in Ireland since the Church dominated hell of the 1950s. Workers should defend all those gains and stand against those who want to take us back to the dark old days of child abuse and cover up.

REASON THREE:

Division weakens our building of local, national and tangible campaigns around housing. We need to cut through fascist lies and smokescreens on housing if we want to win.

For decades successive governments have privatised the housing market, while cutting back on social housing builds, leading to soaring homeless figures, endless waits on lists and insecurity for many of us.

Migrants aren’t to blame for this, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and their partners in government are. We can’t take on landlords and their pet politicans if we’re distracted by fascist lies. We need to take them on.

REASON FOUR:

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have gone up in the polls. The rise of the far right and the rise ot racist sentiment in Irish society has served as a useful distraction for the two big parties. They must be delighted.

Their D4 mouthpieces in RTE blame the housing crisis on “population” to distract from forty years of neglect by government after government.

We need to pin the blame where it lies, the political establishment. The far right are attack dogs for the rich whether they know it or not they serve the establishment with everything they do.

REASON FIVE:

Workers have great power. Our labour can shut down the economy. Workers have a duty to defend the vunerable from attack and help those who don’t have any power.

Refugees are the most powerless in our society. While Denis O’Brien has billions and lives as a tax exile the far right want you to kick some hungry bloke in a tent living on a cold street.

Solidarity has always been a key to working class success. We need to stand up for the values of our class and challenge the far right so we can rediscover our power, unite and pull down the establishment.