The strenght of the euro against sterling means that in theory your euro should buy you more goods from the UK than it did this time last year. Or in other words, goods imported from Britain should be cheaper.

Well if you shop in Tesco or one of the many British owned retail outlets which dominate Ireland’s shopping centres you won’t have noticed a drop in prices recently. This is because these multinationals are profiteering at your expense by not passing on the exchange rate savings. 

Inflation has hit 5% again and the majority of working class people are finding it harder to make ends meet. And it will get worse as the rising price of oil and food is set to continue. During the time of the latest “social partnership” agreement Towards 2016 inflation totaled 11.7%, yet the pay award was only 10% - therefore as predicted Towards 2016 delivered a pay cut to workers!

IBEC and the bosses are crying poverty and demanding that workers accept “modest” pay rises, below inflation – a pay cut. They claim this must happen if industry is to remain competitive. The truth is that big business want workers to accept low pay increases so that they can maintain their big profits as the economy heads towards recession. The intention of the bosses has been shown by the employers who have made the biggest profits the construction industry who are demanding a 30% wage cut for new employees and a one year pay freeze for the rest.

IBEC are also opposing calls from the unions for legislation to provide rights for agency workers and on union recognition. The employers want greater flexibility from workers – they want more agency employees so that they can get away without providing holiday pay, sick pay, pensions and security of employment.

During the years of the boom the government and the employers used “social partnership” to re-direct a greater share of the wealth in this country from workers to the rich. Now that hard times are impending they will use “social partnership” to make workers pay for their economic crisis.

Unemployment is shooting up as record numbers of workers are losing their jobs. ICTU have agreed to enter talks but a new “social partnership” deal will deliver another wage cut just like the last one. While the union leaders continue to embrace the employers and the government as their partners the health service crisis worsens by the day and the government has ditched their education promises. A new deal will be used by the employers to shackle the unions, to stop workers from defending their jobs and living standards. This is the obvious lesson of the last 21 years of “social partnership” deals – workers and employers cannot be partners.

Yet so-called left union leader Jimmy Kelly UNITE Irish Regional Secretary said at the special ICTU conference 17 April - “It is right that we should enter the talks but nobody should be under any illusion about how difficult they will be”, and he believes it is possible to have another “social partnership” deal if certain conditions are met!

“Social partnership” should be ditched once and for all, there shouldn’t be any talks with the bosses or the government. Instead the union leaders should begin a process of “talks” and consultation with their union members to discuss how the power of the trade unions and their 635,000 members can be utilised to defend jobs, public services and living standards.

A recent report by UNITE about the wages of private sector workers in the South challenges the lie propagated by employers and the government that Irish workers are paid too much in comparison to other EU countries.

According to the OECD wages in the private sector (industry and services) are 11% below the average EU wage. The latest figures (2005) show that the average wage for private sector workers in Denmark was €47,300, UK €43,000 and Ireland (South) only €29,000.

The report uses a number of statistical sources that show that the wages of private sector workers are trailing behind comparable EU countries. A US Department of Labor report gives labour costs per hour in US dollars and it states that the average labour cost for the EU15 countries is $27.52 per hour, yet in the South it is only $22.76 per hour, that is 17% less.

In terms of wealth per capita the South ranks second in the EU15. Yet if you compare the average wage for private sector workers with the other nine richest countries in the EU, Irish workers come last! 25% behind the average wage of the other countries and ?14,000 behind workers in the UK.

When you next hear an IBEC spokesperson mouthing off about how uncompetitive Irish workers are remember the reality – Irish living standards are one of the poorest in the EU15.

You can read the full report by clicking here.

IMPACT trade union balloted its 28,000 members in the health service for possible industrial action because of the detrimental effects the embargo on recruitment is causing in the health service.

The HSE introduced the recruitment embargo as a result of a big “budget overrun”. However the “budget overrun” was due to sick people getting refunds on prescription medicine through the Drug Payment Scheme and an increase in the number of patients being treated! Shock, horror, the health service was treating the ill and the government says its costing too much.

The governments’ agenda towards more private healthcare and more generalised privatisation is being paved by increased running down of the public health service.  While increasing some services, the HSE fails to properly resource them with sufficient staff or funding.  Yet HSE staff still manage to deliver a service under great pressure, yet the reward for their effort in treating more people is cutbacks, recruitment embargo and an attack on their working conditions.

IMPACT members in particular are scapegoated for problems in the HSE and it is claimed the HSE is overstaffed. However often no distinction is made by critics between a clerical & administrative grades and management grades when talking about over-staffing. 

16% of health staff are classified as “administration” and these Clerical / Admin grades staff clinics, support nursing and medical staff, are ward clerks, receptionists, secretaries, as well as a small number making up supplies, salaries, and personnel staff.  The 2003 Brennan report stated that “10 out of every 11 additional employees recruited since 1997 are engaged in duties of direct service to patients and the public.”

As a result of the embargo, some health professional posts have disappeared and waiting times are increasing, e.g. for just a psychological assessment, not even treatment, waiting times have increased to up to 14 months in Cork.  It is a lie that the embargo is not affecting patients.

IMPACT plan a campaign of lobbying politicians, possible public demonstrations, and various forms of industrial action, up to and including strike action.  If the ballot is passed, lobbying the very politicians pushing the privatisation agenda will be a fool’s errand.  Only a strong campaign of sustained pressure, including industrial action if necessary, will get the message across to the HSE and to one of the laziest parliaments in Europe that we deserve a decent health service and not cannon fodder for private medical care.”