These Workers Got Organised And Now They're Winning Victories
While it is unlikely that you will see much coverage about it in the Irish Times or Sunday Independent, unionised workers are successfully pursuing improvements in their pay and conditions.
Special Needs Assistants (SNA’s) work in schools to provide learning supports to children with disabilities, a vital role that both parents and pupils value hugely. However, the SNA starting salary of €25,000 per annum gives an indication of how much the Twenty-six County government values these important workers.
Following an organising campaign over a number of years, 12,000 SNA’s became members of the Forsa trade union and negotiations have now secured an additional point at the top of their pay scale to reward those who dedicate much of their working lives to assisting special needs children.
After three years of campaigning, school secretaries have secured a significant victory. Now the fight moves to winning a similar victory for school caretakers
Also in the education sector, school secretaries, following a three year campaign by Forsa, involving protests and threats of industrial action, are almost certain to accept a proposal for a civil service pay scale giving improved terms and conditions.
Up until now, there have been a wide variety of pay rates in place for secretaries, many of them not much above minimum wage, with nine month contracts and the requirement to sign on for social welfare during summer months in place.
Without school secretaries, the education system would cease to function, yet their roles are clearly not valued by the Twenty-Six County government. School caretakers are in a similar position to the secretares and Forsa plan on pursuing improved conditions for them also on foot of the successes of the secretaries.
In the Community Sector, CE scheme supervisors are in the final stages of implementing a retirement gratuity and pension scheme that has been the subject of a campaign of industrial action stretching back to 2008, when the Labour Court recommended this be provided.
Community Employment workers protesting in 2019
CE schemes provide many services that fill the gaps in state provision, in areas such as in addiction response, meals on wheels, rehabilitation programmes, citizens information, supporting tenants rights and recycling initiatives, amongst others.
The fact that it has taken 14 years to get to this stage gives another indication as to the value that the Twenty-Six county governments place on workers who provide vital services. The Community Sector as a whole is currently pursuing a pay claim nationally. It will be interesting to see what exactly the response of those in power will be towards such workers, especially when they are suffering pay cuts in real terms due to inflation.
Whatever about community work and education, surely the protection of Ireland’s fisheries is valued by the government? Forsa members in the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority may well have thought so.
Castletownbere was one of six harbours where SFPA members have taken industrial action to protect their conditions of employment
But then in January they were forced to strike over the attempt by their employer to impose 47 operational changes with zero consultation. A campaign of non-cooperation with certain workplace task followed, until management finally agreed to attend the Labour Court to address union members concerns.
The pattern continues elsewhere. Frontline emergency workers have been much lauded for the last two years, so surely their work is valued by the powers that be?
Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear to be the case as union members in Dublin Fire Brigade have discovered during a long campaign to ensure that recruitment levels are sufficient to keep up with retirements.
This campaign was vindicated when dangerously low staffing levels over the Christmas period resulting in fire tenders and ambulances unmanned for periods of time.
Management eventually agreed to commence new recruitment competitions and training classes for those already on panels in the first six months of 2021, with union involvement guaranteed in agreeing safe levels of staffing in future.
So, when you hear government and bosses talking about front-line and other workers being highly valued, it is important to take a closer look to see if that value is matched by fair pay and decent conditions.
In many cases, workers are only able to achieve improved pay and conditions when they get organised and leave their employer no other option.
Aside from the specifics of any workplace victory, successful campaigns build confidence and solidarity amongst groups of workers, which encourages other workers to get involved in trade union activism.
There are on-going campaigns being organised by unions in both the public and private workplaces, many of which are successful, but they rarely make the headlines in the corporate or state media.
There is plenty of newsprint and airtime dedicated to business news and the property market, but very little about workers organising to improve their lives and those of their colleagues.
Éirígí commends all workers who get involved in workplace activism. It takes commitment, time, energy and sometimes bravery to get involved in workplace campaigns. In the New Republic that Éirígí is working to establish, trade union recognition would be compulsory, both to protect existing terms and conditions and to pursue improved ones when necessary.