While between 2 and 3 million struck in Britain, in the North of Ireland about
200,000 people took part in the Public Sector strike action on 30th
November. Schools and civil service offices were shut, as were job
centres and council services. Rail and bus services were non-existent.
Union members held marches, pickets, and rallies throughout the country
over the issue of pensions. The main rally took place in Belfast city
centre, where around 15,000 gathered and several thousands spread
over Craigavon, Omagh, Armagh, Ballymena, Derry and other towns.
While between 2 and 3 million struck in Britain, in the North of Ireland about
200,000 people took part in the Public Sector strike action on 30th
November. Schools and civil service offices were shut, as were job
centres and council services. Rail and bus services were non-existent.
Union members held marches, pickets, and rallies throughout the country
over the issue of pensions. The main rally took place in Belfast city
centre, where around 15,000 gathered and several thousands spread
over Craigavon, Omagh, Armagh, Ballymena, Derry and other towns.
Every public sector trade union, particularly UNISON, NIPSA, INTO and
Unite, was represented, as well as a number of RCN members who weren’t
on strike but took part in the demonstration. The scale of the strike
and of the demonstration was dramatic, with far greater numbers
participating in the demonstrations than on 26th March and October 5th. A
wide variety of political parties and groups were represented as well.
There was not a sign of sectarianism on this day of industrial
action. Catholic workers marched next to Protestant workers. In fact,
this was probably the most encouraging sign of the day: the feeling of
unity and sense that we are fighting a common enemy. It is clear that
there is no consensus about just precisely who or what this enemy is,
let alone what to do about it, but the important thing is that the
debate has started. Predictably, that debate in the media was dominated
by anti-union acolytes and “opinion makers”. Nevertheless, unions like
UNISON managed to make their voice heard in the media, and more
importantly, in the streets.
Peter Bunting, Assistant General Secretary of the Irish Congress of
Trade Unions, told a rally at Belfast City Hall that public sector
workers should be commended. He said they had made a sacrifice to help
everyone by striking on Wednesday:
"The real extremists in our society are those who evade and avoid
tax, those who have gambled billions with other peoples’ money to sate
their greed, and those politicians who have decreed that ordinary
people, private sector workers, public sector workers and the most
vulnerable of all – the unemployed, the sick, women and children, and
senior citizens – will pay for the criminal conduct of the pampered
elite".
People don’t go on strike for a whim. But when pushed with your back
against the wall, unless you take a stand you will suffer the
consequences. As Mark Serwotka, head of the PCS union, explained quite
eloquently on Newsnight the other day, it is the government that refuses
to engage in any meaningful negotiations, so what alternative do
working people have but to make use of the only weapon left to them?
Workers have been forced into this action in order to counter serious
threats to their terms and conditions of employment and the future of
vital public services. This is a clear message to the Tory and Liberal
Democrat Government in Westminster and the Assembly parties in the
North.
The trade unions must understand what is at stake. However
encouraging the industrial action was, this is about more than just
pensions. It is about jobs, wages and services. The cuts are not a
“choice” by some evil Tories in London, but they are a direct result of
an economic system that is now wreaking havoc all over the world by
asking for its pound of flesh. While the Celtic tiger in the 26 counties
has long been killed off and sacrificed on the altar of capitalist
henchmen, the crisis has well and truly landed in the North. After the
worldwide bailing out of the banks, private debt has been transformed
into public debt, with the ordinary working man and woman left to pick
up the tab.
A serious consideration in the North also is the role of Sinn Féin
who, while opposing the cuts publically, are presiding over massive cuts
in Stormont. As the INTO placards so eloquently put it:
- Stormont
- Taking
- Our
- Pensions
Now is the time to build on the mood of discontent and to widen the
struggle. A 24 hour general strike would be an important step forward
and action should be stepped up to involve both private and public
sector workers.
