The Irish Times - Monday, February 16, 2009

Mixed turnout from union members at weekend protests

FIONA GARTLAND, KATHRYN HAYES and OLIVIA KELLEHER

THE STATE’S largest public service union said it was pleased with the protests against the pension levy outside the constituency offices of Government TDs at the weekend. Turnout was mixed, with just a handful of protesters at some locations and hundreds at others. Impact said its members were happy they had spoken to their local TDs face to face.

There was a big turnout in Limerick, where about 200 members of the union gathered outside the constituency office of Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea on Saturday.

Union members from the HSE and workers from Limerick city and county councils, North Tipperary Council Council and Clare County Council spoke at the gathering, along with representatives from Limerick Institute of Technology.

At Mr O’Dea’s office in Farranshone Andy Pike of Impact described the proposed levy as unbalanced and unfair and said it was “loaded against ordinary workers and families”.

“If you believe what you read, you should be ashamed to come to work in any council, hospital or public sector employment because they have consistently blamed the public sector for the recession,” he said.

HSE worker Geraldine McCarthy who is vice-president of Impact mid-west said the levy was “really another form of tax”.

She said she did not have a problem paying tax at 48 per cent some years ago, because it was a tax on everyone in employment, including the “big CEOs with the millions that we can only aspire to win in the lotto. Where is the tax reform that those with the big earnings are paying”?

Mr O’Dea said the Government was willing to talk to the unions but added that the fundamentals of the pension levy would remain the same. Mr O’Dea said he accepted the public’s right to protest.

A planned protest by public service employees outside the office of Tánaiste and Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan in Donegal town was called off after she promised a face-to-face meeting with local members of Impact next week.

In Cork, Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin was greeted by just eight protesters when he arrived at his clinic at the Orchard Bar in Ballinlough on Saturday.

The Impact members, who declined to be named, admitted to being disappointed at the turnout. However, they insisted a number of members had registered their protest by phone, e-mail or letter.

In Dublin, dozens of protesters turned up outside the constituency headquarters of Dublin Central Fianna Fáil TDs Bertie Ahern and Cyprian Brady in Drumcondra.

Meanwhile, about 300 people attended an informal cross-union meeting in the capital and they called for a one-day strike to highlight opposition to the levy.

Joe Duffy of the Irish Nurses’ Organisation, said a strike was needed; not to make a point, but to win.

“Every time we hear a trade union leader saying we all have to share the pain, we should be saying no we don’t, we didn’t cause the crisis, the people that caused the crisis have to take the pain,” he said.

A spokesman for Impact said the union would now be concentrating on securing the support of members for next weekend’s Ictu protest against the levy.