Industrial News
Benchmarking ATM... OUT OF ORDER

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The Socialist

IBEC and Fianna Fail are delighted that most public sector workers got no pay rise from benchmarking. And why wouldn’t they be, as they have been involved in a propaganda campaign spinning the lie that public sector workers are overpaid and have outrageously high pensions.

Tell that to the tens of thousands of clerical officers in the public service whose wages start at only €23,000 a year! Bertie Ahern’s €38,000 pay rise is more that 1.5 times what a clerical officer earns in a year!

For these low paid workers no pay rise will make it even more difficult for them and their families to make ends meet.

The ex-trade unionist Joe O’Toole infamously claimed that benchmarking would be like an ATM for public sector workers. But the benchmarking ATM is now out of order.

As the Socialist Party argued, benchmarking was never about improving the wages of public sector workers, it was established to bring “race-to-the-bottom” private sector working conditions into the public sector. Now that the economy is in decline and the wages of workers in the private sector are under attack, benchmarking is being used to keep public sector workers wages down.

Nurses suspended their campaign of industrial action last year because they were told by the government and the leaders of other unions that benchmarking would resolve their claim for higher pay. They have been kicked in the teeth as the benchmarking body wouldn’t even entertain their claim.

Now right-wing trade union leaders are placing all of their hopes on trying to get above inflation pay rises from the national wage talks. The benchmarking debacle is a warning for all workers - you can have no faith in a new “social partnership” deal delivering decent pay rises that will meet the major increases in the cost of living. Instead workers should reject “social partnership” and force the union leaders to campaign for real pay rises.

Industrial News
Argos workers strike - Scabs flown in to strikebreak

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Donal Griffin

In December, Argos workers held a one day strike at 18 Irish stores for a 90c an hour pay rise. Despite sales revenue of over €8bn, and profits up by 50% for the first six months of 2007, Argos increased the dividend it pays to shareholders by 18% rather then increase Argos worker’s wages from €9.07 to €9.90.

IBEC responded to the planned day of action by condemning it. Spokesman, Brendan McGinty, said that, “The planned industrial action…. is a flagrant breach of the national partnership agreement, Towards 2016, agreed with ICTU, to which Mandate is affiliated”.

Reports of intimidation by management left a sour taste. Workers were advised in many of the stores that, being members of a trade union would impact on them keeping their jobs. Argos flew over scabs from the UK to man the shops and keep them open. The rottenness of management is such that they would rather pay for flights, accommodation and overtime for scabs than pay workers a modest pay increase.

Incredibly, the leadership of ICTU didn’t make this a major issue, and it seems they didn’t utter a single word of protest at a multinational company flying in strike breakers! Was this because the Argos workers’ strike and dispute was outside of and in opposition to “social partnership”? If this is the reason, then it is a disgrace and just shows how rotten the leaders of ICTU have become.

Argos workers agreed to call off a second day of strike action  and have re-entered talks with management on their pay claim.

The Socialist spoke to Denise Downey, an Argos worker in Tallaght who was on the picket line in Liffey Valley.

She explained why she was on strike: “Because of the low wages we’re paid, we’re looking for an increase of 90 cent, when Argos had sales of €8.1 billion last year. I think Argos have their heels dug in, but hopefully we will make an impact through our strike action today. They’ve brought in English workers to run the stores while we’re out on the pickets. I think it’s a disgrace what they’re doing. I’m definitely prepared to come back out on strike if I need to.”