People Before Profit - United Left Alliance

Welcome to the People Before Profit newsletter

We plan to produce a regular series of bulletins to keep you informed of our activities and politics.

In the attached bulletin you will find articles on:

·                    The deepening economic crisis

·                    The closure of Dublin swimming pools

·                    Dispute at Otis

It is now clear that the government is determined to make working people, the unemployed and the poor pay for the crisis.

The need for a real political alternative and a real fightback has never been greater.

We encourage you to get involved with PBP.

We also want to hear your views and news on the effects of the cuts and resistance to them.

Please contact us at press@peoplebeforeprofit.ie

This bulletin can be downloaded from our website at www.peoplebeforeprofit.ie

Enjoy the read

PBPA Steering Committee

Our councillors have been busy

It’s just over a year ago since People Before Profit had five councillors elected in Dublin and Dun Laoghaire.

In that time they have been busy pushing PBP policies and opposing cuts in services.

They have led campaigns to keep libraries and swimming pools open and to maintain services for the homeless.

They have also supported important strikes including Thomas Cooke and Connolly Shoes.

They have got Dublin City Council to pass a motion saying the council will have no dealings with Veolia, which runs the Luas, because it goes along with Israeli policy in the West Bank.

They have been persistent critics of the establishment parties, including Labour and Fine Gael, who claim to oppose government policies but who implement cuts locally.

They have also worked to develop a real alternative to the establishment parties and meetings have been held with other Left and Independent councillors with the aim of closer co-operation.

At present our councillors are opposing the privatisation of the bin services in Dun Laoghaire and are campaigning to keep services for patients with Alzheimer’s and dementia open in Cherry Orchard Hospital.

Full details of all their activities are on our website. http://www.peoplebeforeprofit.ie/

Real alternative needed as economic crisis deepens

Brian Cowen wants us to stop giving him a hard time. He wants us to believe the economic crisis is over because in June we heard Ireland had technically emerged from recession: production of goods and services rose by 2.7% in the first three months of 2010.

But the detail tells a different story.

This rise was due to multinational activity. Exclude this and output fell by 0.5%.

In fact, the domestic economy has contracted for nine consecutive quarters, far longer than in any other Euro economy.

Exports rose as did multinational profits (by €2 billion) in the past year.

Yet we are told there is no money in the country and we must cut wages to increase competitiveness.

Export growth has brought no rise in employment as it has mainly taken place in capital intensive industries.

So the government strategy of exporting our way out of the crisis is not working and will be undermined by a further international recession.

The head of the US central bank recently said the outlook for the US, the destination for most European exports, was “unusually uncertain”.

Recent growth in output and profits has not reduced mass unemployment (444,000) and domestic consumer spending has collapsed as a result of falling incomes and cuts in government spending. Investment is also down by 30% in this past year.

Those who have wealth (in March the top 300 still had €50 billion between them) prefer to hoard their money or move it abroad rather than invest it here.

Yet the government refuses to introduce a wealth tax.

As a result, unemployment soared by over 100% since 2008 and it is now predicted that at least 120,000 will emigrate in 2010 and 2011.

The ESRI recently blamed Fianna Fail’s policies for the crisis:

“Under all scenarios it is clear that the economy has experienced a permanent major loss of output relative to what might have happened if more sensible policies had been pursued over the past decade and the full severity of the recession had been avoided.

“Output could end up 15 to 20 per cent below where it would have been without the crisis. Income per head is today back to where it was in 2000 and, even under our more optimistic scenario, it will be the middle of the coming decade before income per head will be backto its 2007 level.”ESRI July 2nd, 2010

Despite all this the government has done nothing to create jobs. Instead, their two priorities are:

First, save the banks. Rather than invest in jobs the government has put billions into Anglo Irish and the other banks.

The cost of bailouts and Nama could be €100 billion.

This was supposed to get credit flowing into the economy – which hasn’t happened. The banks remain in a precarious position as asset values fall.

And the rise in mortgage defaults means many people risk losing their homes.
Second, they want to appease international financiers by cutting spending to reduce the public debt – the biggest in the EU (which Nama will make worse).

They cut public spending by €4 billion in the last budget; they plan to cut a further €3 billion next year and €3 billion the year after.

They also want to tax the low paid but taxing the rich is out of the question. All this will depress consumer spending further and deepen the jobs crisis.

So far, the financiers have not been impressed; Ireland has to pay more interest on the money it borrows. This means more cuts.

And every billion we put into a bank (Anglo and Irish Nationwide will get €25 billion between them) means another billion in cuts for us.

This government is wedded to applying the same old free market approach that got us into the crisis in the first place.

They should invest in jobs with a major public works programme.

They should take over the banking system and run it democratically to meet social and environmental needs.

We say tax the rich: they should pay for the crisis they created – not workers, the unemployed and the poor.

We demand a new direction that puts people before profit. A first step is to ensure the widest opposition to the forthcoming budget.

People Before Profit has produced its own Economic Programme which is under revision. You can read it on our website http://www.peoplebeforeprofit.ie/

PBP Steering Committee

Dublin city manager John Tierney announced late last year that three council swimming pools would close on January 1st, 2010

These are in Crumlin, Sean McDermott Street and Coolock – all disadvantaged working class areas.

People Before Profit Cllr Joan Collins responded immediately by calling a meeting of residents, schools and local groups who use the pool.

At an angry meeting the SOS campaign (Save Our Swimming pool) was set up. A large daytime protest was held in Crumlin village, along with protests at council meetings.

The campaign then linked up with similar campaigns in the north city and Coolock.

 A motion to reverse the pool closure policy was passed at the city council.

Responding to the pressure, Mr Tierney first postponed the closure until August, and has now said the pools will remain open until next year and their funding will be discussed in the estimates for 2011.

There is no doubt that this closure of pools in working class areas, in a year when Dublin is supposed to be the EU sports capital, would have gone through without the opposition of PBP councillors Joan Collins and Brid Smith and other independent and left councillors.

Their approach – mobilising the local community, the schools and other groups who use the pools and using ‘people power’ to put pressure on the council officials and other political parties – is making a real difference.

If you want to get involved in this campaign, contact Cllr Joan Collins, Cllr Brid Smith or SOS at 087 2535193.

Pat Dunne, Walkinstown

Right to work campaign

After an exciting and successful run of protests at the Dáil before the summer, the Right To Work Campaign will hit the streets once more to protest against this rotten government.

The campaign is organising a protest festival on August the 28th which will culminate in live bands, music and Brazilian DJs.

We want as many workers and unemployed as possible out on the day to voice their anger and make sure, as we can’t afford to go abroad, we have our festival on the streets of Dublin.

In order to facilitate the best protest we can possibly organise we’re having a fundraiser on a Saturday night, August 7th, in the Teachers Club Parnell Square.

The fundraiser kicks off at 7.30pm and we have some great bands playing.

For more information, check out the Right To Work Campaign on Facebook. http://www.facebook.com

James O’Toole

Offering a real alternative at the next general election

It is now clear that many people have had enough of Fianna Fail and the Greens. It is also clear that while many are turning to Labour and Sinn Féin they are likely to be disappointed.

Labour will pursue that same path of financial rectitude as the current government and – worse – it will do it in coalition with Fine Gael.

On the other hand, Sinn Féin, who said at the last election that they were ready for government, indicate a willingness for coalition with Fianna Fáil.

For some time PBP has been involved in talks with a number of left organisations and independents with the aim of offering a united anti-capitalist slate at the next election.

In recent months there have been positive meetings with our comrades in the Socialist Party and we are hopeful that we will enter the next election offering a united front in opposition to the establishment parties.

Local councillors back Otis workers

Workers at Otis Lifts have scored a partial victory and ended their month-long strike. Members of the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) forced the company to reduce compulsory redundancies from six to one, and increase voluntary redundancies from five to 11.

In seeking 17 redundancies, Otis had refused to use the “last in, first out” principle. The strike succeeded in defending this principle by not allowing the company to pick and choose who it wanted to get rid of.

In solidarity with the sacked workers, Cllr Brid Smith put an emergency motion to the South Central Area Committee in July and received support from most councillors present.

The motion called on the city council not to allow the use of strike-breaking labour in any council buildings where Otis serviced the elevators. It further called on Otis to apply the Labour Court recommendation and end the dispute.

Two Labour Party councillors, Eric Byrne and Michael Conaghan, tried to have the motion ruled out of order on the basis that councillors cannot interfere with the decisions of companies with which the council has contracts, or who they employ to carry out the work.

But as Brid Smith pointed out, all city council contracts have a “moral” clause that insists on respect for workers’ rights. Cllr Byrne proposed an amendment to delete the call against the use of strike-breaking labour (better known as “scabs”) but retaining the call on Otis to implement the Labour Court recommendation.

His amendment was voted down and the People Before Profit motion was passed by 5 votes to 2.

Interestingly, the Labour councillors voted in different ways, with the more senior councillors Byrne and Conaghan voting against and the new councillors, Rebecca Moynihan and Henry Upton, voting for the People Before Profit motion.

Good on them.

The TEEU is to be congratulated for its stand in defence of trade union principles. This type of behaviour from employers is likely to continue – so solidarity with and among workers will be vital in the coming years.

Cllr Brid Smith