RAN KS Division of
Socialist Republic1983Trade unions and workers' strugglesEconomy, the EEC and EuropeTrade unions and workers' strugglesEconomy, the EEC and Europe
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While the struggle of the Ranks workers to save their jobs never reached the level where there was a serious possibility of success, the fight did not end in the disaster it seemed certain to be heading _ for in its last weeks. Despite the best efforts of the company to pit worker against worker, class solidarity won out.
In the initial stages it seemed that a strong campaign was possible to save the jobs. The mobilisation in support of the jailed ranks workers should have provided a springboard for a teal fight by Ranks employees for the Right to - Work. The Dail was picketed, the Limerick workers followed the example of their Dublin colleagues and occupied, the Bakers were canvassed for their support and asked not to take imported flour, various union branches and Trades Councils passed resolutions calling for the nationalisation of the Flour Milling Industry.
However, the initial enthusiasm died when it became obvious that the Transport Union leadership was unwilling to break EEC regulations and black imported flour, It is true that had the union broken EEC regulations it would be open to prosecution with the possible consequence of being financially crippled. However it is not this fear that shackled the union. There were plenty of unofficial ways the union could have promoted the blacking of flour imports. The fact of the matter is that the union is dominated by political tendencies that accept the rules of capitalism and will only work within its regulations.
Once it was clear that the union was going to do little to build a campaign capable of saving jobs, the Ranks workers were forced to think in terms of what they could salvage out of the situation. Decent redundancy payments became the main demand. Inevitably, this divided the workers. Some were willing to accept less than others. There would be more in it for the older workers etc. These are the sort of decisions that appear when the clear demand for jobs is dropped in favour of compensation.
This was the basic cause of the situation in Limerick where local Ranks workers found themselves in opposition to the Dublin work ers and some of their Lim- . erick colleagues. From the