Sir, With reference to the article which appeared in The Irish Times (May 28th) entitled "Unemployed Ignored . . . by Mr Paul Billings there are some issues which I think need to be addressed. Mr Billings claims that the deepening divisions in our society have arisen because the unemployed did not have representation at any of the national agreements such as the PESP or the PCW. I do not believe this to be the case. Successive governments choose to keep inflation low at the cost of the unemployed. We've been forgotten about because this is the most convenient policy. We are not viewed as a fixable problem. All the smart negotiation in the world by the INOU or anyone else will not change that view which seems to be held in political circles.
Successive multinationals set up and then pull out as government incentives dry up. Packard, as far as I know, had received government payments extending up to 1998. Where is that money now and where are those jobs? Meanwhile Irish companies have cashed in on the large pool of labour outside their doors by creating low paid jobs with shorter contracts. The Government does little to discourage this trend.
The INOU have now hit on the plan to ensure that the unemployed are not forgotten about. They will sit down at the table with the Government and make sure that we get a share of this "growing prosperity". This may sound like a simple solution but in truth it is only simple. Mr Billings must not have talked to many workers prior to writing his article championing the national agreements. Over the last 10 years the pay rises have been minimal and only had to be given when they could be "self financing" i.e., the onus was on workers to prove they were more productive. This is the reason why there is widespread discontent amongst the trade union movement about agreeing another national agreement.
As the Review Body on Higher Remuneration meets to adjust upwards the pay of top officials, are we really to believe that a few INOU bureaucrats crying in the ear of the Government is going to sort out the mess the unemployed are in? I think not. The INOU if it truly wishes to represent the unemployed should concentrate on organising agitation against politicians who are only too happy to listen to our pleas and then promptly forget about our plight.
In Europe the various unemployed movements are planning a huge march this month on the G7 summit in Lyons. The INOU has been informed but not the unemployed. Is this because the INOU plan of action is to be clever negotiators rather than involving themselves or us in messy direct action. I will leave that up to the reader to decide.
The INOU over the last few years has successfully alienated a number of unemployed people and activists. They will only succeed in alienating more people if they continue on their plan and jump into bed with this Government who represent little else except greed to the thousands of us on the dole. Yours, etc., (Not a member of the INOU but a member of the long-term unemployed) Montague Street, Dublin 2.