Report of march against CE cuts, Dublin, 10th May 2002.

national | miscellaneous | news report Monday May 13, 2002 20:48 by Aq.

Great community march against cuts in Community Employment jobs.

To have two really good marches in Dublin in so many days (add a police riot in the same week) is surely a sign of the times. On Friday 10th May a march in protest against the cuts in CE jobs proceeded from Parnell Square in Dublin to the Dail.

The reduction in Community Employment scheme jobs will throw many who have suitability, availability, disability or educational difficulties on to the low-paid jobs market. These CE jobs, once a device to reduce the unemployment numbers, have become, in the age of so-called ‘full employment’, jobs in the ‘social economy’ for many disadvantaged people, such as the long-term unemployed and single parents. It appears that for some neo-liberals CE workers are now 'bouches inutiles'; they don’t like this waste of a potential labour pool.

The march was organised at two days notice, following a meeting of representatives (scheme Supervisors mainly, it seems, interestingly enough) from various schemes and centres on the previous Wednesday. Which makes the turn out all the better. Approximately 900 marched. It was counted, exaggerators in parts of the left wing press please note. The bulk of the march was solid working class, with contingents bussed in from various districts – the community area is obviously better organised and more alive than the trade union sphere, comparing this march to the May Day trade union parade. Though it must be said that on a specific and concrete issue, as the CE cuts is, the trade unions (or the local union representatives) can get the numbers out too – for instance the Aer Lingus march last year.

The marchers, with women in the majority, were good humoured and spirited throughout.

The march ended up at the statue to the Shelbourne Hotel side of Leinster House – not a bad venue for a small rally, with the reservation below. Haven’t seen it used much before.

There was a long line of speakers from all parties except FF, FG and the PDs. A further meeting (of scheme Supervisors!) was called for the following day at 1.00 in the Red Cow. The intention is apparently to have a properly organised national demonstration in the near future. Fair play to the Supervisors, and they are unionised too (IMPACT, banner present and speaker, and SIPTU), but shouldn’t the CE workers be running the campaign from now on? Some of the centre and scheme Supervisors are under the ICTU whip (e.g. verboten to join the Pillar walk out from the PPF session). Some of the Supervisors can be, er, a little difficult.

As this was the day after the day the streets really were reclaimed in Dublin, it is interesting to consider the approach of the Gardai to policing it, and to see if there was evidence of the Gardai changing their ways. Yes and No. Of course this, the CE march, was a different type of event to the more ‘political’ outing of rebellious youth on the previous Monday. The organisers were a ‘respectable’ body that stewarded the event closely and had obviously liased with the Gardai. The organiser’s inexperience may have been taken advantage of.

The Garda presence was polite but quite firm. The Garda numbers were way up on that expected for this type of peaceable ‘settled’ body, with a thin but definite line of Gardai and Garda motorcycles along the outside of the march. There seemed to be more than the normal number of Garda brass there. But what amazed us old hands was that, given the day after the day that was in it, the Gardai imposed a MORE restrictive arrangement for the marching than I have seen before. I.e. they – very courteously but firmly – kept the march to a derisory and humiliating SINGLE lane of the road and kept the traffic flowing on the remaining lanes. This seems to have been worked out with the stewards beforehand, as they were policing it too and would not be swayed by concerned walkers.

There was a time when marches took up the road, full stop. In recent years, to take Parnell Square-O’Connell Street as an example, even smaller marches have been confined most of the time to two of the three lanes with a lane free for traffic. This had come to be the expected norm. On Friday it was reversed, the traffic zoomed by on two lanes while this important march was hemmed into a skinny single lane.

When I said to a Garda directing us – politely but firmly – behind the white line, that this was not enough room for a march, she replied that we could spread ourselves out lengthwise if we needed more room!

Of course all this could be quite accidental. It may be that a timid body was corralled. It may have happened before. It may be that the Garda have taken a general decision in the recent past to reduce all these troublesome demonstrations that are disrupting the gridlock, to a single lane. In which case, Heuston, we have a problem. But on the day after the day that was in it, when we had overwhelmingly REASSERTED our right to the streets, to be hemmed into LESS space than ever was particularly galling. One wondered if the Gardai had decided to – politely but firmly - counterattack, not with a heavy hand but by going on the offensive by reducing marches by a lane.

Again it may have been the inexperience of this march, but when we got to the Dail it seemed that we were cheated of a meeting outside parliament for a sideshow out of sight. Also the Gardai were quite determined to keep us off the Kildare Street street altogether - though those asked to step back on the path seemed to be on the road more by accident than design. One Garda said, asking people to get off the two feet of road they were taking up, that – I love this – there were people at the nearby bus stop waiting for a bus. Maybe the message about public transport is getting through to the state.