Sinn Féin has accused the leadership of the State’s largest trade union, Siptu, of betraying its members after saying the formation of a leftist coalition was not a “feasible prospect” after the general election.
In a statement, Siptu’s national executive said its 200,000 members should vote for Labour in an attempt to balance another right-led government.
"Obviously, we would prefer a left of centre government," a statement in Siptu's Liberty magazine says. "However, there is no feasible prospect that it can come about in this forthcoming election."
The statement said Fine Gael could win a majority by securing a little more than one third (35 per cent) of first preference votes because the electorate is so splintered.
“Worse still, they may fall just short of it, requiring them to rely on the support of Renua and a handful of right-wing Independents,” it said.
A Fine Gael- Fianna Fáil coalition, the prospect of which has been ruled out by the leaders of both parties - would be the most right-wing government in the history of the state, the union said.
Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Féin’s deputy leader, described the statement from Siptu as a “betrayal of working people”.
“Before a vote has even been cast the Siptu national executive has thrown in the towel and backed a Fine Gael led government and its plans to give massive tax breaks to the wealthiest in our society,” she said. “Luckily ordinary workers are wiser than the leadership of Siptu.”
Ms McDonald said there was a chance to elect “a progressive government” by voting for candidates running under the Right2Change banner, which is supported by six trade unions and cites the removal of water charges as a key objective.
“Siptu would serve its members in a much better fashion if would throw its weight behind this effort,” she said. “It must realise that the Labour Party has abandoned the ‘left of centre’ space that it speaks of and that another Fine Gael led government can only mean more chaos for the people Siptu represents.”
Labour Minister of State Ged Nash welcomed the endorsement from Siptu, saying was crucial Labour returned to government “to continue the job of delivering better jobs and better pay and investing in our public services”.
“Labour represents the best offering for working people in this election,” he said. “Only Labour will increase the minimum wage to a living wage and only Labour will tackle the use of low hour contracts.”
Siptu’s declaration comes a year after its president Jack O’Connor claimed the country was at an extraordinary juncture in history which would allow the massive political swing for the first time in history.
