New trade union formed

Report byTommy McKearney

The recently formed Independent Workers Union emerged last year from one of Ireland’s 19th Century craft unions, the Cork Operative Butchers Society (COBS). As the name of the older body implies, COBS was locally based and catered largely for one group of workers. By the mid 1990’s, however, it began an association with the much larger AT&GWU, acting effectively as its Cork branch. The new relationship gave the Cork union a much greater capacity while affording the larger union a welcome outlet in the Munster capital.

Things began to turn sour for the Cork branch after the London based leadership of the AT&GWU suspended two of its full-time Irish organisers Mick O’Reilly and Eugene McGlone. Although not directly involved in the suspension, the Cork branch viewed the dismissals as grossly unjustified and re-established themselves as an independent union once more. Faced with the economic realities of life as a small craft union and recognising their limited impact as a local body, the membership decided to re-organise as a general workers union and do so on a national basis.
With a current membership of approximately 500, located mainly in branches in Cork, Dublin and Galway but with a scattering of workers across the Republic, the IWU is still a small trade union. However, following its decision to alter its makeup last year, the union has had to lodge its changed set of rules with the Registrar of Friendly Societies and await formal ratification of the submitted alterations. This is a slow, time consuming process that is currently inhibiting the IWU from launching a full-blown recruitment drive. Nevertheless, experienced trade unionists unaffiliated to the new organisation are of the opinion that there could be substantial interest in such a call. Northerners will be interested to learn that the steering committee of the union intends to open its membership to workers living and employed in the 6-Counties.

The new union takes a fiercely independent line and at its launch opted not to affiliate to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU). The decision was made because of the Congress determination to remain fixed within the process of national wage agreements and what the members of the IWU saw as the Congress willingness to tolerate the developing corporatism that is contemporary Irish society. Moreover, on a number of crucial matters such as the Mastricht and Nice treaties, they argued that the ICTU took its lead from Government rather than from the workplace.

This reluctance to challenge the prevailing consensus is identified as one of the major weaknesses of trade unionism in Ireland today. The new union is strongly opposed to national pay agreements but sees this as only one aspect of the overall emasculation of organised labour in the country. They take the view that promotion of the concept of partnership has misled the labour movement’s spokespersons into believing that they have more influence than they actually have. The IWU refers to when some ICTU affiliated unions organised marches last year demanding improvements to statutory redundancy pay as proof of the absence of real influence. Why, they ask, should they have had to demonstrate if they were part of a genuine happy partnership? Moreover, this delusion causes the Congress leadership to ignore areas of traditional interest in order to preserve harmony with the social partners. Recent anti-war demonstrations near to Shannon airport for example drew very little support from the union hierarchy.

One of the strongest criticisms that the Independent Workers Union make of the larger trade unions is their lack of enthusiasm for actively promoting meaningful democracy and involving workers in managing their own unions. IWU officials are firm advocates of a more rigorous and therefore transparent form of democracy within trade unionism in Ireland and insist for example that current British labour legislation on union ballots (introduced oddly enough by Margaret Thatcher) would greatly assist the promotion of grass roots participation in and indeed leadership of the unions. IWU officials mention the recent election for leadership of SIPTU when two of the principal candidates for the position claimed that there had been unfair and irregular practice during the balloting. To illustrate the point, they tell of the balloting in one large factory where the resident union representative walked around the floor with an open cardboard box, watching members as they cast their ballot, collecting the votes cast and thereafter taking the ‘ballot box’ home with him.

To counteract this situation, the IWU advocates an activists’ union where the membership has a guaranteed input in decision-making. The union has made a major effort to collect union dues via a direct debit or annual subscription system in order to avoid the compromising situation arising from collecting weekly dues from the management of an enterprise that employs union labour.

Refreshingly, members are also encouraged to get involved in a range of issues beyond the workplace. Housing for example, is identified as one of the key areas requiring attention. The union recently asked the builder’s union (BATU) to carry out an interesting piece of research in this field and it was discovered that, excluding the cost of a site and the agents’ profits, the real cost of building a three bedroom house with properly paid union labour is approximately Euro 100,000. This is much less than the average price paid in any part of the Republic for a house. There is a need to develop grass roots campaigns around issues such as this. If the IWU takes an initiative on housing it can only gain support from the thousands of people struggling to find homes.

Another area being examined by the union executive is that of the media. They have already established a media working group with its own section within the union structure. This group is actively examining media outlets available to the union in particular and working people in general. The union leadership hopes that ultimately they will be in a position to avail of modern technology in order to place the case of labour before the general public. The plan might be described as ambitious but there is no obvious reason why a committed group of working people could not run their own newspapers or broadcasting systems.

Other trade unions claim to endorse many of the practices and policies espoused by the IWU but there is a weary cynicism surrounding their claims. Workers and particularly unemployed workers have grown disenchanted over the years as trade unions appear to become more and more a part of the governing system. As many of the debilitating symptoms of corporatism become increasingly obvious, there is obviously a need for a new and different form of trade union. Whether the IWU is capable of assuming that role or acting as a catalyst in the process remains to be seen. However, with a new union starting on a fresh and democratic basis, there is the hope. It is also necessary to remember that with this organisation starting with a clean sheet, much depends on the outlook, application and determination of its members.

FOURTHWRITE, PO BOX 31, Belfast BT127EE