Get rid of David Begg
We need a French Style stoppage!

A small clique in the ICTU have called off the national strike that was set for March 30th.

This clique is led by David Begg, who sits on the board of the Central Bank. Even though he is supposed to represent workers, he never blew the whistle on its failure to challenge the economic crimes of the banks

The other key figure is Peter McLoone, who sat on the board of FAS and allowed expensive junkets to take place.

The union leaders have become far too close to the government and the employers.

They have refused to fight the wage cuts imposed on public sector workers. They only want to ‘tweak’ the pension levy – not fight to abolish it.

As long as these people lead our unions, we will always be shafted. That is why we must replace them with people who want to fight.

Events in France show a better way..

The French unions called a general strike on January 29th and more than 2 million took part.

A further six-week general strike occurred in two of the overseas departments, Martinique and Guadeloupe. The strike ended with concessions on all 170 on its demands and an increase in the minimum wage.

This in turn inspired the French ‘mainland’ into further resistance.

On March 19th, a second general strike occurred which involved more than 3 million people. Opinion polls indicate that 70 percent of the population supported the strike.

The New Anti-Capitalist Party, has also surged ahead in the polls and its leader, a postal worker named Olivier Besancenot, has been deemed the most credible candidate of the left.

Meanwhile, a new tactic is spreading through French factories.

As soon as redundancies are declared, workers march to the bosses’ office and physically surround it until concessions are made.

The right wing press denounces this as ‘hostage taking’ but the tactics are perfectly legitimate. Under capitalism, a worker is treated like a disposable hankie that is used for profit and discarded when not enough is made. Showing the employer that real human consequences follow their decisions on ‘unit costs’ is the only way to recover dignity.

This is the type of union we need in Ireland.

What you can do:

* Call meetings in your workplace to demand the resignation of David Begg.

* Elect shop stewards who will stand up to the government and the employers.

* Start pushing for a general strike to oppose the wage cuts and mew taxes on low paid workers.