Free the BATU brickies!
PICKET ALL COLLEN SITES - SHUT THEM DOWN!

Socialist Party leaflet - Available as a PDF here

Building workers need to make a swift militant response to the challenge thrown down by Collen Construction Ltd and the High Court. BATU members should take on Collen with the same tactics they employed in the past of solidarity action to shut down all Collen sites to force them to lift the High Court injunction and free BATU members - Andrew Clarke, Keith Kelly, and William McClurg.

During the "hey days" of the Celtic Tiger construction workers and in particular BATU members fought for direct employment and for decent wages. The militant tactics employed by BATU members were very successful and played a major role in pushing large numbers of subcontractors off the sites and in getting building workers significant pay increases. This same approach can defeat Collen and send a message to all construction companies and sub-contractors that their campaign to drive down wages and weaken the unions won’t be accepted.

The Socialist Party believes that BATU activists and members need to take hold of and organise this dispute by establishing an organising committee to co-ordinate action to force Collen Construction to lift the High Court injunction. Collen sites at the Municipal Gallery Parnell Square and UCD (Forsters Ave entrance) as well as the site in Ballybrack should be picketed and shut down until the three BATU members are freed from jail.

Militant campaign to force employers back

Construction companies and sub-contractors are trying to take back the gains made by building workers. They are using non-union and migrant labour and are trying to push down the wages of all building workers. The super-exploitation of migrant workers was exposed and defeated at GAMA by a campaign of militant struggle by the Turkish workers with the support of Joe Higgins TD and the Socialist Party. The Socialist Party calls on the construction unions to launch a militant campaign to recruit nonunion Irish and migrant building workers into the unions and to fight to maintain the wage rates and conditions of all building workers.

The jailing of the three BATU bricklayers is the latest in a number of serious attacks on fundamental trade union rights. Witness the strike at Irish Ferries also Dunnes have sacked a shop steward Joanne Delaney for wearing a union badge and now the trade unionists have been jailed for campaigning for jobs.

United Trade Union response needed

There must be a united response from the trade union movement. BATU should be supported by all of the construction unions, in particular SIPTU and also the ICTU. BATU should demand that ICTU immediately impose an all-out picket on all Collen Construction sites. ICTU and some union leaders will say they can’t do this because it is against the law. Anti trade union legislation is being used to assist the bosses in attacking jobs and conditions. They are there to try to prevent union action. These laws must be broken by the trade unions if workers rights are to be defended. The courts would be powerless to enforce their anti-union laws if they were faced down by the might of a united trade union movement.

This dispute centres on a Collen Construction site where they are building houses for Dun Laoghraire / Rathdown County Council. This is another example (like GAMA) of big construction companies being given state contracts and being allowed by the government and local authorities to break the law and union/construction industry agreements.

Oppose Social Partnership

"Social partnership" is a con that’s been used for the last 19 years to increase the profits of big business and stop workers struggling for decent pay and conditions. The Socialist Party is opposed to "social partnership" and believes that trade union activists and members need to get organised to reclaim and transform our unions. We need fighting democratic unions that are prepared to struggle against the "race to the bottom", to protect the wages and conditions of all workers, Irish and migrant. If you are interested in finding out more about how you can get involved in campaigning to transform our unions then contact the Socialist Party.

We demand:

- BATU members should establish an organising committee to co-ordinate the struggle to free the three jailed bricklayers.

- Pickets to be placed on all Collen Construction sites – shut them down until the High Court injunction is lifted and the three workers are freed.

- For a campaign of action to force the replacement of the sub-contractors with trade union labour

- For a united campaign by all construction unions to recruit non-union Irish and migrant building workers. Fight the "race to the bottom".