Joe travelled back from the European Parliament plenary session in Strasbourg yesterday to join the public sectors workers’ pickets and show his solidarity with their strike. Here he gives his reactions.
On the picket lines in Blanchardstown and Dublin City Centre many strikers reported to me a high level of support registered by the general public for the stand they have taken today. This response was completely at odds with what the right wing media had prepared them for with their campaign of vilification against public sector workers.
The defiance of these workers and the support they have enjoyed from the wider public will come as a bitter blow to this government. Nevertheless they will seek to press on with their cutback agenda. All the workers I have spoken to today, spanning the health service, local authorities and the civil service; front line and administrative support; low and middle income; were reconciled to the need for further extended action on 3 December and beyond if necessary.
A huge drawback however is the public position being taken by the union leaders, in particular IMPACT, who are publicly trading away the legitimate allowances and premia won by workers through the decades while giving scant attention to the reserves of untapped unearned wealth in this country which, if properly taxed, would more than breach the exchequer deficit. I urge all workers to stay the course and not be sold short.
For more photos from the picket lines check out Joe’s Facebook photo album here.
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