131 lines
5.1 KiB
Plaintext
131 lines
5.1 KiB
Plaintext
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Keywords: Unemployment, Ireland
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This article is from an Irish magazine. Ireland
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currently has 20%++ unemployment.
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WITH A further massive increase in unemployment over
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the last few months there are now 243,000 signing on
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in the South. Of course we, as anarchists, are entirely
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opposed to this appalling waste of human potential. But
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can this problem be solved? Can unemployment be
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eliminated? What can be done? WSM members who
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were delegates to the recent INOU conference give their
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views.
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INOU
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"First a glaring example of how not to fight unemployment. The Irish
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National Organisation of the Unemployed is a federation (in theory)
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of unemployed groups and centres throughout Ireland. Instead of
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organising the massive numbers of unemployed people they are
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generally more concerned with organising and attending expensive
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poverty seminars and building service centres providing cups of
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tea and "info".
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"After 5 years in existence only now has a motion been put down to
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allow individual unemployed people (not in groups or centres) to join
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and this was, eventually, not put to the conference. Rarely are
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they seen at demonstrations and pickets or even at labour
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exchanges - political lobbying and letter writing is more their line.
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PROGRAMME
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"The INOU didn't even ask for representation for the unemployed at
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the talks on the new Programme between bosses, unions and the
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government. This is not to say that such a deal would ever be in the
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interests of the unemployed but it does reveal the character of the
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INOU. The organisation is really a front for the inaction of union
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officials. It is paraded out for the odd photo opportunity to
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"highlight their concern" about unemployment.
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"They refused to condemn the new deal which was a disaster for
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unemployed people. At an executive meeting they were quietly
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made aware that if the deal was condemned there would be no
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further trade union money for unemployed centres.
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UNREPRESENTATIVE
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"The Portobello and Thurles unemployed action groups conducted a
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survey which found that over 85% of the 2000 unemployed people
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surveyed believed there would be no improvement in there living
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standards or job prospects over the 3 years of the Programme.
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However an ICTU official claimed it was "unrepresentative" saying
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that it did not represent the "view of the centres". Given that the
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ICTU funds these centres it is not too surprising that they did not
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come out against the agreement.
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"We believe that unemployment is bound up totally with the
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capitalist mode of production. It won't disappear until workers,
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employed and unemployed, take control. The unemployed act as a
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reserve army of labour for the bosses, keeping wages low and
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making workers afraid to strike.
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THE FUTURE
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"We believe that only after the abolition of class society and the
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gearing of production towards meeting need rather then making
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profit that there will be work for all. With the use of technology the
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working week will be greatly reduced and many of the really dull
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jobs may be abolished. One day the wheel may come full circle with
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work becoming a voluntary activity enhancing both to society and
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the worker.
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THE PRESENT
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"For now we believe it is essential to break the division imposed
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between employed and unemployed workers. The bosses have tried
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hard to divide us but our common interests are obvious. We
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campaign for full membership rights in the unions for the
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unemployed and for unemployed union sections. Such links on the
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ground would move us closer to the time when workers use their
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economic strength to fight for socially useful work for their
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unemployed relatives and friends.
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"Union members should refuse to undertake attacks on the
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unemployed, e.g. cutting off gas and electricity because of inability
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to pay the bills. The unemployed can reciprocate by helping on
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pickets and getting involved in strike support activity. This is the
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way to build a mass campaign for socially useful work which
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threatens one of the very foundations of capitalist society.
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THE PAST
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"The Outdoor Relief (a scheme like SES) strike in Belfast in 1932
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showed what unity between scheme workers, the unemployed and
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employed workers can achieve. The ODR strike saw Catholic and
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Protestant workers and unemployed fight hand to hand with the RUC.
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The Northern statelet was forced to make concessions to the
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unemployed.
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"In the 1950s the unemployed movement in Dublin grew strong
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enough to get Jack Murphy elected to the Dil as an unemployed
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candidate. I'm not suggesting that this is the way to change things,
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it certainly is not ...but it does show that, given the right
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conditions, unemployed groups can gather large-scale support and
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involvement.
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FOR NOW
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"We will continue to work within the INOU with such campaigning
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groups as there are. We are also involved in Trade Unionists and
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Unemployed Against the Programme which is the sort of network
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that might, one day, form the basis for a rank and file movement of
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workers and the unemployed".
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The above article originally appeared in the Irish
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anarchist paper Workers Solidarity.
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The Workers Solidarity Movement can be
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contacted at
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WSM
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PO Box 1528
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Dublin 8
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Ireland.
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