            WORKERS SOLIDARITY
     Paper of the Irish anarchist group,
         Workers Solidarity Movement
   No 43 Autumn 1994 (electronic addition)

Part 4
Campaigns & Struggle in Ireland

   TEAM workers told not to expect a decent job
   Lets get together
   Anti-Water charges campaign gets off ground
   Reasons to bin the bill

        **********************

TEAM WORKERS TOLD NOT TO EXPECT A DECENT JOB

In recent months, over 1,500 workers at TEAM 
have been made redundant, a mass laying-off 
that dwarfs those at Digital and Irish Steel.  
We find out why...

It has been obvious for some time that all 
was not well with TEAM.  In the run-up to the 
1992 general election, local fears prompted 
Labour candidates in north Dublin to make the 
safe-guarding of the jobs one of the main 
planks in their election campaigns.  Since 
then, of course, Labour TDs who were swept 
into office on the promise of an immediate 
equity injection have followed the government 
line that no cash will be given unless the 
workers accept the management's cost-cutting 
proposals.

The workers were also aware that TEAM was in 
serious trouble.  Indeed, Aer Lingus workers 
initially refused to be seconded to the new 
company, feeling that management was 
incapable of running such an enterprise.  
They only agreed to the move when assured 
that Aer Lingus would take them back should 
TEAM fail.  (Management has now gone back on 
this saying that any TEAM workers returning 
to the parent company would immediately be 
sacked.)  

As time went on, the unions commissioned 
business consultants to produce a report on 
TEAM Aer Lingus.  Not surprisingly, their 
recommendations were ignored by a management 
seemingly intent on running TEAM into the 
ground.

Practically since its conception, workers 
have been making sacrifices to try to ensure 
TEAM's survival.  Pay freezes and 
productivity deals have saved the company 
millions, but management keeps coming back 
looking for more.  Agreements dating back to 
1986 have been renegotiated, and it seemed 
that workers would allow all the 
responsibility for TEAM's problems to be laid 
at their door, accepting any cuts to save 
their jobs.  

Management just kept looking for more cuts.  
An agreement reached in March of this year 
was no longer enough, and now workers are 
being told that they must accept a 16% wage 
cut, and an end to overtime pay - which 
translates for some into losses of over #100 
a week.

Action had to be taken, but what sort of 
action? Most of the energy has gone into 
negotiations inside TEAM, with little effort 
being made to secure the support of other 
workers.  Alongside this a campaign directed 
at forcing the eight Labour TD's in the area 
to break with the government was waged.  Four 
did indeed break (on a single Dail vote) but 
this has proved to be of little value.  

The appeal to the Labour Relations Commission 
proved unsuccessful but still the unions 
seemed eager to show that they were 
reasonable and open to negotiation.  It was 
obvious that TEAM management and the 
government would only negotiate on their own 
terms.  Although the unions had proposed a 
plan to save TEAM, they were told that the 
LRC recommendations had to be implemented 
before this could even be discussed.  

At the time of writing, the intervention of 
ICTU has led to the examination of the union 
plan by to save the company by an 
'independent committee', It was no surprise 
when the committee reported back that the 
plan was unrealistic, putting the 'realism' 
of making profit above the needs of the 
workers.

The causes of the job cuts and attacks on 
workers conditions in TEAM are international.  
They come about as a result of European 
integration and the drive for the various 
European airlines to be merged into a few 
super airlines.  Because the process is part 
of modern capitalism it is not one that any 
government can easily be forced to back down 
on.  The defeat that needs to be inflicted on 
the government cannot come about as a result 
of public relations and negotiating, no 
matter how skilled those carrying out the 
exercise may be.

Many of the workers in TEAM doubted they had 
the power and the necessary support to win 
through strikes and occupations.  These are 
indeed tough times but the numbers of TEAM 
workers turning up to the original 
demonstrations showed there was something to 
build on.  The limited solidarity of those 
airport workers who walked off the job 
several times for union meetings also pointed 
away forwards.  

Finally there was a small layer of union 
activists willing to get involved.  They 
probably represented little, many being drawn 
from the ranks of the far-left but if the 
TEAM workers had taken the lead they could 
have started to organise solidarity with 
them.  This was most marked within the Dublin 
Council of Trade Unions, which called a march 
in support of TEAM and looked at the idea of 
calling a limited public sector stoppage.

But on their own the tiny forces of the 
Trades Council and the far-left can not 
organise effective action.  What is needed is 
for the TEAM workers to set a militant 
example and inspire active support.  
Occupation of the runways would probably be 
the most effective way forwards but like any 
effective action would bring workers outside 
the law.  As such it would have involved real 
risks for individuals and met with the 
opposition of the union officials.  But this 
is the only way the dispute can be won.  TEAM 
cannot stand alone but it is only the TEAM 
workers who can start the ball rolling.

Ray Cunningham

       **************************

          LET'S GET TOGETHER

THE ATTACKS on jobs, wages & working 
conditions at TEAM and Irish Steel are only 
the beginning.  The government wants to slim 
down a lot of public sector jobs, with a view 
to privatising the most profitable sections.  
They also want to defeat traditionally strong 
groups of workers.  Such a defeats will 
demoralise a lot of people, and thus lower 
expectations of secure jobs and good wages.

Likely targets are An Post, Telecom and the 
ESB.  Each group faces the same enemy, it 
makes sense to fight together.  The leaders 
of most unions have no intention of going 
beyond aggressive speeches, empty threats and 
token action.  In many cases this is as much 
to con the members as it is to frighten the 
bosses.  The union leaders are, after all, in 
a "social partnership" with the employers and 
government through the Programme for 
Competitiveness & Work.

What we do not need is the ICTU bringing 
together a collection of General Secretaries 
to arrange yet another 'orderly retreat' 
(i.e. surrender).  What we do need is an 
understanding that if we fight individually 
we will be beaten individually, but if we 
support each other we can unleash great 
power.  A public sector wide strike could 
stop almost everything.  No buses, no post, 
no phones, no electricity... the government 
would have to give in, and very quickly. 

To pull this off would require a lot of 
explaining, convincing, organising.  The 
first step is to bring together active trade 
unionists, who are prepared to argue for 
strike action, from the commercial semi-state 
sector.  Such a body could organise a real 
fightback by trade unionists, and keep it 
independent of bureaucrats like Phil Flynn 
and Peter Cassells.  Despite the hostility it 
will provoke from some union head offices, 
representative bodies like Trades Councils 
are well placed to take the initiative to 
launch a rank & file public sector alliance.  

           *******************

       ANTI-WATER TAX CAMPAIGN GETS 
          OFF GROUND IN DUBLIN

Considerable progress has already been made 
in laying the foundations for a campaign 
against the service charges. Throughout all 
three Dublin County Council areas, residents' 
associations and local action groups have 
been taking surveys and petitions, collecting 
bills for return to the Councils, and 
organising public meetings and protests.  All 
the indications are that these efforts are 
meeting with a good deal of success.  In the 
Fingal area, for example, figures are showing 
77% non-payment up to mid-July.  Results of 
surveys carried out in a number of areas in 
South Dublin show similar levels of non-
cooperation.

The Dublin Anti-Water Charges Campaign 
(DAWCC) has been the focus of much of the 
activity to date.  Much credit is due to 
Militant Labour for taking the initial steps 
to get DAWCC off the ground.  The fact that 
the campaign to date has been built in an 
open manner with maximum involvement of local 
activists is to be welcomed.  It is 
imperative that the future development of the 
campaign continues in this open, democratic 
vein.

A conference is being planned for late 
September to attempt to draw all the forces 
together.  This conference must encourage 
maximum involvement and must be built for 
properly to ensure maximum attendance.  
Invitations should be issued as soon as 
possible to all DAWCC groups/branches, the 
Association of Combined Residents 
Associations (ACRA), the National Association 
of Tenants Organisations (NATO), trade unions 
(especially shop stewards and committee 
representatives in the local authorities, 
political groupings and residents' and other 
groups from around the state which have been 
campaigning against the charges for years - 
in fact everyone who is opposed to these 
charges and is seriously interested in 
building a campaign against them.  The 
conference should be open and democratic and 
should look for motions on the future tactics 
and strategies of the campaign.

This conference should elect a co-ordinating 
committee which would ensure representation 
for the various groupings.  This committee 
would have responsibility for building the 
campaign in areas in which it does not 
already have a base and for co-ordinating the 
various activities as decided by the 
conference.  The committee should involve two 
convenors/co-ordinators from each local 
authority area (Fingal, South Dublin, Dun 
Laoghaire/Rathdown and Corporation).  These 
convenors would have responsibility for co-
ordination of the campaign at a local level.

The campaign should build - through local 
activities (petitions, pickets, lobbying of 
councillors' clinics, occupations of council 
offices, public meetings at which councillors 
would be put on the spot, etc.) for a 
rally/march before the end of the year.  This 
should be aimed at putting maximum pressure 
on councillors when the budgets for 1995 are 
being discussed in December.  However, it 
should not be expected that councillors will 
suddenly cave in and activists should look on 
this period as merely the first phase of the 
campaign.

It is of extreme importance that campaign 
groups at local level remain active.  Many 
working-class people who have never been 
involved in political activity before will 
form the backbone of this campaign and if it 
is to be successful, it must remain open and 
democratic.  Control must rest in the hands 
of these local groups of activists.

Above all, the campaign must remain a non-
payment campaign.  In this context, ideas and 
facilities must be put in place to ensure 
support for people who could well face court 
action or cut-off.  Strong links must be 
developed between the campaign and local 
authority workers.  Model resolutions should 
be drawn up calling on the relevant trade 
unions not to co-operate with cut-offs or 
legal intimidation of non-payers.  As soon as 
possible after the conference, a meeting 
should be called for local authority workers 
opposed to the charges to discuss how they 
can contribute to the work of the campaign.

As Anarchists, the Workers Solidarity 
Movement will be fully involved in building 
this campaign.  We believe that these charges 
can be beaten.  We also believe that they 
will only be beaten by working-class 
solidarity and by a campaign which aims to 
involve as broad a layer of our class as 
possible.  It is important that all political 
groupings leave aside the one-upmanship which 
has been a feature of many campaigns in the 
past.  The issue is greater than any 
political party/group and is far too 
important for petty sectarian bickering.  It 
is also important that all who are angry 
about these charges become actively involved.  
Don't expect someone else to take the 
initiative in your area - do it yourself.

Let's all stand together because we can win.

Gregor Kerr

         ***********************

         REASONS TO BIN THE BILL

Reasons to bin that bill

o The average PAYE worker pays #3,565 in 
income tax each year, compared to #2,642 by 
the self-employed and just #575 by farmers.

o Last year PAYE workers paid #3,030 million - 
up #243.8 million on 1992 - due directly to 
the one per cent levy imposed by the same 
government which promised "tax reform".

o The tax inspectors trade union says that 
last year #2,500 million was outstanding in 
taxes, and that with increased staffing much 
of this could be collected.

o Instead the government gave the rich their 
second tax amnesty inside five years.  While 
we have to pay 48% they were let off with 15% 
and no questions asked.  Hundreds of millions 
of pounds were simply written off, over ten 
times the total service charges levied 
throughout the 26 counties.

o The government refuses to raise the Rate 
Support Grant by #35 million, which could see 
all local charges abolished throughout the 
country.  Yet they had no problem finding #35 
million for the beef tribunal, much of which 
ended up in the pockets of their barrister 
pals.

           Conference

Wednesday August 3rd saw the Dublin Anti-
Water Charges Campaign meeting in Wynn's 
Hotel.  Delegates from over a dozen local 
groups discussed the next steps in building 
the campaign, and targeted new areas of work.  
A conference is being held on September 24th, 
by which time more of Dublin is expected to 
be organised.  Get involved. Contact the 
campaign at 01-6772686.

           *********************

Part 1  (Intro & Shorts)

    Socialism & freedom
    10 years of the WSM
    Thats Capitalism
    World Unemployment
    Revolutionaries
    letter from Serbia

Part 2  (Ireland & Imperialism)

    It was always time to go..Troops out now!
    When British army chiefs refused to obey orders
    Nationalism...No Thanks
    When the Falls & the Shankill fought together

Part 3  (Drugs)

In this section

    Legalise it
    The heroin menace

Part 5 (A rotten world)

    Interview with Italian anarchist
    Ireland..The land of a 1000 welcomes?
    Hicksons chemical spill
    37% illegally underpaid
    

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Workers Solidarity currently comes out four
times a year.  For subscription details write
to WSM, PO Box 1528, Dublin 8, Ireland.  
Also appearing in the near future will be a 
theoretical magazine called Red and Black 
Revolution.

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The Workers Solidarity Movement can be contacted at 
     PO Box 1528, Dublin 8, Ireland

or by anonymous e-mail to an64739@anon.penet.fi

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