Now that the noise has temporarily abated in the controversy over Ryanair’s demand to be given control of the biggest hangar at Dublin Airport, perhaps we can step back and put the whole episode into perspective. And what an extraordinary story it reveals about the economic, social and political relations in Ireland at this point in time.
The Chief Executive of a private corporation (Ryanair), renowned for his contempt for all things public, demands to be handed over a major publicly owned facility at the State’s main airport. He demands that the government instruct that facility’s managers to break a contract and dump out another private company (Aer Lingus) currently in possession, so that his company can move in. In support of this extraordinary arrogance, there lines up half the political establishment, including the Labour Party, most of the media and some trade union leaders.
Mr. O’Leary’s justification is that Ryanair will provide 200 aircraft maintenance jobs at Dublin Airport, taking up where another private multinational, SR Technics, left off one year ago.
Once Michael O’Leary took up his bullhorn a week and a half ago, much of the media, but especially Independent Newspapers, became his unofficial mouthpiece. Every utterance of his was prominently reported. He was lionised as the saviour of north Dublin and friend of the working class in desperate need of jobs.
All this begs a number of questions. Where was the clamour one year ago when Herr Kessler, Chief Executive of SR Technics, flew in from Switzerland and kindly gave 15 minutes of his time to the company’s workforce to tell them that he was dumping them all on the dole, as the company felt it could make more profits by moving its operations out of Ireland?
Here was a crucial facility employing 1,150 highly skilled workers, with enough work on the order books for another three years. It was initially set up as a State company which became highly successful. Then Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats, in keeping with their right wing economic policies, privatised it in 1998, handing it over to the tender mercies of multinational corporations with inevitable consequences.
When the latest company to get its hands on this crucial facility announced the ultimate economic and social vandalism of closure, it was greeted with polite regret. No blaring headlines about economic and social treachery and the untrammelled right of big business to wreck livelihoods, communities and even vital national assets as they jockey for profits in the capitalist market place. The demand that it should be immediately renationalised, thus saving all the jobs, was ignored as this was totally counter to the free market worship promoted by the press and right wing politicians alike.
The next question is why the rules of so called free market competition can be suddenly thrown to the wind to suit one big capitalist? In the brave neo-liberal world championed loudly by none other than Michael O’Leary himself, it is supposed to be the survival of the fittest by their own action. And, if in the race for profit, some other company gets to the prey first, well, tough on everybody else. But suddenly the leader of the pack is demanding that the rules are changed for him. The agencies of the State which he claims to loathe are to be instructed to do his bidding.
By supporting his ultimatum that he must have Hangar 6 or nothing, the media, political parties and unions are merely giving Michael O’Leary cover to walk away from Dublin Airport, having had a week of almost wholly uncritical publicity. The reality is that if he was really serious about providing jobs in Dublin or elsewhere in Ireland, he would readily avail of the very generous hangar space offered to him in Dublin and Shannon, not to mention the offer that the State would provide him with his very own custom built hangar.
The truth is that Irish workers and communities should put no more faith in Ryanair to provide crucially needed jobs than in any other multinational corporation. Ryanair has walked away from communities just as ruthlessly as SR Technics when it thought it was in its interest to do so.
The fact is that there is a crucial need for aircraft maintenance facilities in this State. There is still a pool of highly qualified workers to service that facility. Bringing their skills and the existing need together should not be left to the whims of private capitalists but, in the same way as Team was developed, the State should step in and do it. But this time bring the workers to the heart of its management to create a top class facility doing excellent work and with appropriate pay and good working conditions.
CHECK OUT OTHER RELATED ARTICLES:
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