Red Statement: Unions Shouldn’t Take First Offer, Strike On Oct 21st

Yesterday’s massive strike of 300,000 workers forced Jack Chambers to go from playing hard ball to using a much softer tone. Now is the time to push for a decisive victory, win a great pay deal for workers and prepare the ground for future fights.

The atmosphere on the picket lines yesterday was electric. Workers were smiling as we came together to show our power. Every car that passed beeped their horn in support for the strike. Passers by shouted encouragement.

It was the biggest show of people power since the tax marches of 1979, the public sector strike of 2009 or the water charges movement.

It was clear that public sector workers were fighting for everyone who is angry with the government. Now is the time to continue the action and go ahead with a second day of strike and protest action on Oct 21st. Why?

Firstly, the government changed their tune after one day of workers’ strikes, imagine what they’d be willing to offer in the face of another strike?

Secondly, public sector workers could call a massive march on the Dáil on Oct 21st and ask all workers to join them, mobilising tens of thousands in a massive show of people power. All workers together in one big march.

Thirdly, a decisive victory for public sector workers would empower and inspire private sector workers to get organised and fight back.

Unions have a chance to make themselves the focus of the fight against the government, to push back those who would promote division in our ranks and to fight to transform Ireland.

We face record homelessness, housing is beyond the reach of many and decades of neo-liberal policies from government after government has hollowed out public services. These pro-market policies won’t stop after one deal.

Now all of us who are in unions know that the union leaders would take whatever the government offered if it wasn’t for the massive anger of rank and file members and the embarrassment the unions faced when fuel protests forced the government to hand over millions.

Our union leaders are a well paid layer of permanent negotiators who are far too comfortable in the halls of power.

But the key question for all rank and file trade unionists is how do we get our unions to employ the kind of strategies we want? The Oct 14th strike saw workplaces elect strike committees, organise placards, buy megaphones and take to the picket lines.

That’s a great experience for all workers and vital training for the future, because we live under an unstable system where the cost of living crisis could escalate at the moments notice. We will need to know how to fight.

The only way to really get fighting unions is to link up workers across workplaces and sectors and coordinate our demands on our leaders. That’s what the Red Network is fighting to to. Don’t get frustrated, get organised.

We want to see empowered workers using the might of the union movement not just to win day to day demands like better pay but to eventually put workers in charge of industries and one day in change of the state.

Yesterday showed the massive power of our class. We need to use that power.

Put workers in the driving seat of our unions so that fighting unions can put workers in the driving seat of the state. If you agree with that then you should join us.