The Government is deliberately cutting pay and allowing unemployment to rise in a bid to drive down private sector wages, Irish Congress of Trade Unions and Siptu president Jack O’Connor told delegates at the Sinn Féin ardfheis in the RDS today.
He said social cohesion in Ireland had been sacrificed on the “altar of appeasing the financial markets in the interests of rebuilding bondholder confidence,” and added that the country had swapped subservience to British rule to that of the financial markets.
A guest speaker at the ardfheis, Mr O’Connor congratulated the party in its role in successfully concluded talks on devolution of policing and justice to the power sharing Executive in the North.
“It is a tribute to your political leadership and skills and to those of the other party and Government leaders involved that this vital part of the architecture of the Good Friday and St Andrew’s Agreements is close to completion.
“It is also necessary because it is critical to ensure that there will be no return to the atrocities and violence which have so marred the past and which, fortunately, only a misguided few appear determined to repeat.
“We in the trade union movement are steadfastly opposed to any course of action that threatens the lives and welfare of citizens and those tasked with their protection.”
He accused the Government of following policies that were aggravating, rather than addressing, the current economic, fiscal and banking crises.
The Pension Reserve Fund was being “plundered to appease the insatiable appetites of the zombie banks” he said.
To combat this he said the trade union movement with embarking on “an intensive campaign of industrial action to leverage a fair agreement”. On Monday Ictu will meet to discuss the next stage of escalation in its campaign against the public sector pay cuts introduced in the Budget.
“Quite apart from any dispute about public service pay it is quite simply mind-boggling that a Government faced with the requirement to do more with less refuses to engage with the trade union movement in this regard.”