Sir, – I read with interest David Begg’s article on the need for a new deal for Europe (Opinion, June 5th) and as an active trade unionist I find myself in agreement with him.
What amazes me, however, is Mr Begg’s silence on the recent anti-union Financial Emergency Measure in the Public Interest Bill 2013. Mr Begg and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions have stood by while the Government attempts to bully workers into accepting a deal they have already rejected. Mr Begg has been silent on these measures but has implicitly backed the Government against public service workers with his “we must be realistic speech”. Mr Begg and ICTU are in my opinion an embarrassment to the trade union movement in 2013. – Yours, etc,
BREDA LYNCH,
New Row Square,
Dublin 8.