Hello everyone
Hello everyone. The public sector unions have decided to suspend their strike action which was due to take place on Wednesday the 21st of October. On Wednesday of this week, over 300,000 public sector workers took to the picket lines right across the country. And now the public services committee of the Irish Congress and trade unions have decided to suspend the strike action. Now this is because they've agreed to work out a pathway for negotiations.
Here we go. A suspension of the strike action. That's the biggest leverage that the trade unions have and they've essentially seated it straight away to produce a framework for our pathway for negotiation. So there's no agreement on the table yet. So here we go. This is fascinating, isn't it? But it's not really surprising when you consider the typical reaction of the compromised union leadership in Ireland. Now this negotiation team is being chaired by Kevin Foley. He is the chairman of the.
Workplace relations commission and they claim it's independent but this is a state institution part of the apparatus of the state. He was previously head of the labor court and he is going to meet with Owen Rei of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions who's the head of the ICTU and also with Una Bley who's the secretary general of the department of climate and infrastructure. Now they're going to then agree some form of framework and a pathway to be brought forward to the.
Workplace relations commission. So in other words, the can would be kicked down the road as these strikes have been suspended without any as I said pathway for proper agreement on what takes place in terms of so many workers who are struggling right across Ireland, public and private sector workers. Many are struggling with the housing disaster, the impacts of the cost of living disaster and more and more people are looking at leaving Ireland because of what's taking place. So what took place.
Over the last 24 hours? Mihon Martin has been speaking in the last couple of days about Kevin Kalan who is the chair of the public services committee that's a part of IKU that's pushing forward these agree this agreement and negotiation process and he said he had to welcome this position surprising isn't it he also said Mihan Martin said he wants to move forward and Jack Chambers said he welcomed the announcement and it gives time and space to move towards positive.
Framework work and its successor pay deal
Framework work and its successor pay deal. So here we go. The unions as I said who were completely compromised. I spoke on many videos about the industrial relations act and the fact that they have to ask the government in advance or give pro notice to the government in advance of strike action and in turn to the whole myth of social partnership. Chinese are very highly paid and only because of the fuel protesters last year and the ordinary.
“Chinese are very highly paid and only because of the fuel protesters last year and the ordinary”
Workers having enough of what's taken place in terms of many ordinary workers within the public service unions pushing forward with this agenda. they would have still sat on their hands and really making so much of the unions basically irrelevant because they're not being led by ordinary working people facing the struggles that ordinary working people face. As I said, many of these are actually very highly paid and they move into nice state board positions when they move forward from their uh.
Positions as head of the unions. And it was interesting to see the union statement yesterday because 19 unions who are affiliated to the ICTU the public services um committee Kevin Cannon who's the chair of that committee and the head of fors as well and he said that Mihal Martin had come out of a meeting of the European Council in Brussels syndicate his commitment to the process that has developed. Now, this is interesting, isn't it? He's after.
Putting his cap down straight away to Miho Martin to say he came out of a meeting to phone Kevin Conland and he thought this was uh great, wasn't it? Uh what you know this is just the battle of the eyelids of Mihal Martin and uh they come running and he also said there was a desire for Mihal Martin to reach a public service agreement quickly and to end the current dispute. Well, if he did, the offer would have been well on.
The table, well in advance of even bad balloting the workers for a strike action in the first instance when that pay agreement lapsed in June of this year. And much the same as I said, people workers of all are suffering right across society and so many self-employed people are struggling in our society. Small businesses are closing as well. So it's really incumbent on ordinary workers to say we've had enough and stand up for our basic rights and everybody should take.
To the streets about what's taking place in our society. We've no agency over what's taking place. We've been driven into the abyss by the current political establishment who don't serve the interests of the ordinary person here in Ireland. And uh we need to stand up um now and be counted about what's taking place and not be led alone by these people who just capitulate with a batting of the eyelids of Mih Martin and uh come running and.
Suspend strike action without actually asking their members
Suspend strike action without actually asking their members. So uh like to know what people think about what's taking place. It's very important in terms of context of Irish society. But is it just a public relations stunt and more grandstanding by these highly elected uh or so-called elected officials, highly overpaid officials of these uh the trade union movement in Ireland. Thanks so much for the support for my videos in Dublin this morning. Talk to you all soon. Bye-bye.
