Sir, – The defence by ICTU’s Peter Rigney (“Nothing striking in union funding of political parties”, Opinion & Analysis, July 16th) of the right of trade unions to political action and affiliation to a political party stands to reason.
Mr Rigney explains how the process of trade union political support compares favourably with the more covert support of business for traditionally conservative parties.
The question not addressed is whether, in both Britain and Ireland, trade unions might not be better off supporting or helping to generate parties other than the Labour parties given their conversion to, or close alliance with, conservative and austerity policies. Many trade unionists have answered this individually since March 2011 by cancelling their political contributions to Labour.
Just before reading Mr Rigney’s article, I read Arthur Beesley’s report on Minister for Transport Leo Varadkar’s plan to privatise some bus routes, a few days after it was reported that a Siptu ballot in Dublin Bus had returned a 94 per cent result in favour of strike action in defence of pay and conditions (Home News, July 16th).
Mr Rigney rightly gives as one of the aims of trade unionism “to liberate working people from the dehumanising and commodifying effects of markets on a wider society”.
Could privatisation of unionised public transport at Dublin Bus and Bus Éireann be that “bridge too far” that might lead to a concerted rebellion in unions affiliated to the Labour Party against any form of official support for any component of this Government? – Yours, etc,
DES DERWIN,
Comyn Place,
Drumcondra, Dublin 9.