Workers Solidarity Movement

Despite a concerted propaganda campaign waged by the mainstream media and the corrupt political class tens of thousands of public sector workers in Northern Ireland will be taking to the picket lines this Wednesday joining millions across the UK in the biggest single strike action since the 1926 general strike.

Did the idea of the so called 'Pensions Levy' come from some of the very Irish Congress of Trade Unions leadership who are supposed to negotiate on behalf of workers. This is one revelation that emerged on Saturday morning at a meeting of over 100 public sector trade unionists and two delegates from the Waterford Glass occupation. We were meeting in the Davenport hotel, Dublin to discuss a collective response to government attacks on workers and in particular the public sector pay cut. Most of those present were on branch committees or even national executives with a couple of branches delegating representatives to the meeting. The gathering could in that context be said to reflect the views of a large number of branches across the unions that organise public sector workers.

What we were witnessing was a clear demonstration of people power in action. The government was in a panic and was drastically hurtling to reverse the medical card decision. And when this meeting was followed up 24 hours later with a demonstration of 15,000 organised by the Senior Citizens Parliament and another 15,000-strong student demonstration against the re-introduction of 3^rd level fees it was obvious that politics in Ireland had changed drastically.

Major protest in Cork against the Government and attack on the elderly

Over 3,000 people – the old, the young and the grandchildren – marched through Cork city centre today in anger against the proposed cuts in Medical Cards for over the 70s.