The: Trade Union

WORKERS AND THE BUREAUCRACY These two features of the conference are of course interrelated. The inability of the rank and file trade unionists to exercise control within the union is obviously connected with the bureaucracies ability and willingness to collaborate with the government and the employers. As we approach the inevitable negotiations for the third national wage agreement next September, the link between these two things will be of paramount importance for every worker worried about his declining standard of living.

Yet the general mass of workers do not readily associate the two things. They do not view the need to exert direct influence in the unions as complementing the struggle to defend their living standards. Thus on the one hand there is a tremendeous willingness on the part of the trade unionists to push the bureaucracy aside in their day to day struggle against management and the employers. in 1969, the last year before the strike weve began to decline, figures show thet ower . ere U = On hand, on specifically union issues, there exists a bewildering passivity, The Workers Union ot Ireland, the second largest union in the country examplifies this perfect. During the voting on the second national wage agreement it was revealed that a third of the membership was in bad standing, another third didn’t both to vote (on two occasions), and of the remainder just over half voted in favour of acceptance. This accurately reflects the degree of alienation among members throughout the trade union movement. It also indicates that trade unionist are cynical enough about the possibility of regaining control of their unions that they prefer to “ opt-out’ rather than fight for their democratic rights.

The contradictory response of the workers, we y Bureaucracy Union officials called to the plant, AmbraseO'Rourke (W.U.!.) and Matt Merrigan (Gen. Secretary A.T.G.W.U.} played a scurrilous role. A. O'Rourke was very abusive and obviously irritated by the initiative of the girls and directed lorries through the picket line. Merrigan was also abusive and physically intimidated the girls pushing them and shouting at them, ‘Get back to work’. However the girls, though young and inexperienced, were not to be intimidated by such tactics. Their reply was that they would remove:: the pickets ONLY WHEN the management had agreed to negotiate. The two officials, instead of taking this demand to the management on the girls behalf, took the girls to meet the personnel manager. They proceeded to present the demand to the personnel manager who naturally refused to concede. The only response of the two officials was — ‘‘There The girls were quite adamant and refused _to withdraw the pickets. A stalemate insued. So the only recourse left open to the bureaucrats was to call a meeting — something they are proficient at. The meeting however was not quite the walkover they_ Such struggles are by their nature localised and fragmented, THE UNITED IRISHMAN in out-lining a strategy for fighting the second national wage agreement was quite correct in saying that all actions against the agreement would have to be unofficial and could easily lead to defeat and demoralisation. In fact today many unofficial actions are being increasingly defeated, But the UNITED IRISHMAN drew absolutely wrong conclusions from this correct observation, |t advised workers not to oppose the agreement frontly but to use the clause on fringe benefits to uphold their living standards. Instead the correct conclusion should obviously have been to use the weaknesses of local fragmented and unofficial action to point out that such action needs a centralised organisation and leadership to be successful, In other words what is required is a specific rank and file organisation to co-ordinate and aid those struggles which ~e Offinia Movement is the only Left wing group capable of launching such a movement and are passing up a valuable opportunity to advance the socialist movement by not doing so, The second level at which the class struggle must be waged is at union organisational level i.e. for control of the unions. This struggle must consist of a campaign in the unions for a programme which would dissolve the material basis of the bureaucracies power and influence. Such a programme would include demands for the payment of trade union officials at the average industrial rate; election of every shop-steward and official each year subject to the right to recall at anytime; complete trade union independence of the state, no grants, no appointments, no joint boards etc. as key demands, Increasingly the formulation of a correct strategy for industrial struggle in the context of trade union-government-employer collaboration, and the elaboration of a programme of struggle against the trade union bureaucracy are becoming indespensible weapons in the class struggle in Ireland today.

expected. Large sections of the factory were quite angry at the situation and placed the responsibility on the officials shoulders, They threw accusation after accusation at the bureaucrats who were beginning to feel quite uneasy. A section of the male-workers who had supported the girls action, began to demand payment for loss of pay from the Trade Union, because of their refusals and neglect concerning the demands. During the last 18 months, there have been 22 unofficial strikes and the workers have never been satisfied once. The management have been quite successful in applying several different bonus-rates throughout the factory, which in reality has a divisive effect on the workers militancy. The militants want an interim equal bonus rate for all workers (i.e. one for the male workers and one for the female) and an entire new deal to be negotiated immediately.

The officials on the other hand stressed the necessity to negotiate a new productivity agreement as this would solve all disagreements etc. They posed it as if there was no other alternative. The militants are”

beginning to realise the many disadvantages contained in productivity deals and their. statements at this meeting were an unconscious reflection of their deep dissatisfaction. But the militants, CONTD. P11