Labour, the Unions and the future

Issued : Wednesday 21 December, 2005

December the 9th was a tremendous show of the strength on the part of the Labour movement. For once, the Gardai and the mainstream media were loathe to underestimate the numbers on the streets - over 100,000 marched across the country. There is no doubt whatsoever that the massive mobilisation put real muscle into the Unions campaign to fight Irish Ferries, and dramatically improved the worker's bargaining position.

The Labour party has put forward a number of clear political proposals both inside and outside parliament which would protect workers in Irish Ferries and the maritime industry. The Mercantile Marine (Avoidance of Flags of Convenience) Bill proposed in the Dail would have given legislative effect to the UN Convention on the 'law of the sea' requirement that there must exist a "genuine link between an Irish registered ship and any state where it is proposed to re-register that ship. This would have scuttled Irish Ferries' plans to register under a flag of convenience and expose workers to wages and conditions that would not be legal in this jurisdiction.

Exposing the double speak and hyprocisy of Fianna Fail, Labour has brought up the fact that "The "Ferries Directive" passed by the EU parliament in 1999 would have prevented Irish Ferries from doing what it is now attempting. This proposal was strenuously rejected by the Irish government and others and as a result was withdrawn last year.

Some on the Left have sought to undermine the Labour line by misrepresenting our political viewpoint on the dispute. While the Labour placards and the party website called for "partnership not piracy", the party leader, to his credit, pointed out that December 9th was not about partnership but about backing the Irish Ferries workers. Labour Youth has supported the Unions who have insisted that Irish Ferries make partnership negotiations in January 2006 - a bitter pill to swallow. In addition, some of the Unions affiliated to the Labour party are against the partnership process outright.

Labour must now seek to follow up on December 9th by seeking to build closer links with the Trade Unions and seeking greater support from ordinary trade union members by strong work within the movement on the ground. We must also work with others on the left to discredit the position of the right-wing parties within our movement. Frank Fahey, Fianna Fail TD, was on the platform in Galway at the demonstration there while the Taoseachs continues to pose as a socialist. All of this is an effort to bolster the position of right-wing government amongst ordinary people and it needs to be challenged if we are to broaden our own political support.

The deal brokered in the Irish Ferries dispute was accepted by Union members at Irish Ferries. While it fall far short of an ideal settlement from the point of view of the Trade Union movement, there is no doubt that if it were not for direct action on the ships and a huge presence on the streets, the settlement of the dispute would have been less favourable still. Despite the failure to prevent de-flagging, the new workers will receive twice what was originally proposed, more favourable terms and conditions and the right to Union membership to advance their interests. "Red circled" officers wishing to stay will be able to do so on the existing terms and conditions. However, the real impact of December 9th might be in the fact that it has reminded us of the underlying strength of our movement. The message of trade unionism has also been brought to hundreds of thousands of unorganised workers.

If December 9th was to focus minds on building the political dimension of the Unions, boosting grassroots activism within the movement and showing muscle through activity on the streets then it may in time come to represent the same thing for the Unions as February 15th does to the anti-war movement. That truly would be something to celebrate.