Race To The Top, Not The Bottom - Support Living Wage Campaign

by Chris Murray - The Unmanageables Wed Jul 12, 2006 16:44

"A Race to the Top " - of what?

In what context is this issue to be read into and fought for- within the context of
local or national government.

1. Local Government Bill - has bureaucratised the councils.

Not allowed for a directly elected mayor, instead agreed groupings of councillors operate
on a power-sharing rota system.

The State has allowed for the appointment of the city manager, who has no electoral mandate, who can if estimates are not agreed bring about the abolition of the councils.

Endemic corruption in relation to planning lobbies ensures that the issue of citizen/community voice
is not heard.

The wage increases are budgeted by the councils and paid for by the annual estimates.
A labour lord mayor cast the vote which led to the imprisonmnent of anti-bin charge
campaigners, including a socialist TD.

2. National Government AKA- The State introduced the Local Government Bill, thus imposing
a bureaucratic non-mandated city manager on the capital, who had the right to abolish a
democratically elected and mandated council.

Service charges and estimates , as part of that Bill led to the imprisonment of several
anti-waste charge campaigners including Joe Higgins TD.

The PPP structure is farcical and allows for unions to work within a super-structure
along with IBEC and the State to the ongoing benefit of the elitist few, who pay the
lobbies to land grab in Meath and Dublin.

So in what context will Labour be fighting for a race to the top. a local gov or national
gov one?

Issues not addressed by the opposition in 9 years include the Local Government bill.
The Housing Bill (miscellaneous provisions)
The insertion of Fitgerald as city manager (alomg with bureaucratic powers)
The issue of directly elected mayors.
The PPP structure.
The voting on estimates.
The deal between Quinn and Ahern re speaking rights in Dail Eireann.
The SIB.
ABP.

Context in the statement "a Race to the Top" needs clarification- specifically within the
CONTEXT of local government and how a wage bill will increase and how the local government/council will foot the bill- does it involve an incease in estimates: bin-charges,
introduction of water rates.

The statement is not clear.

by Neil Ward - Labour Youth Wed Jul 12, 2006 17:56 085 713 4159

Just to address a couple of things that have been raised:

Firstly, the Living Wage campaign is being kick-started by a motion brought to council by Cllr. Eric Byrne. All council staff are already earning more than €10 oper hour, so this will not affect the wage bill. The Living Wage will impact contracted staff, many of whom are on minimum wage (or less in some reported instances) - an amount that clearly amounts to a poverty wage in Dublin.

Secondly, Labour Youth are currently speaking to Union leaders, to determine whether this campaign can be rolled out to Irish campuses, as has successfully been done in the US.

For some good info on Living Wage, you could have a look at wikipedia, which will explain it better than I ever could...

by Chris Murray - The Unmanageables Wed Jul 12, 2006 21:46

The Political issues that lead to the race to the bottom, (there was a protest in Dublin)
have not been addressed by the political parties in opposition.

Fine words were said on the day.

Are Labour youth and labour (senior) involving themselves in the workers rights issues of migrant workers , such as the new Irish Ferries workers, the Gama workers, the unions who are going to be affected by the State Sell off of Aer Lingus (which looks like a big job for the unions)

Are Labour youth/ Labour senior interested in taking a political stance on the problems that lead to cost of living increases and democratic defecit.

I didn't find enough on wiki to answer the question originally asked-

Considering the sell off of Aer Lingus which the unions have stated they will oppose , will Labour stand in solidarity with the unions or with the centre -right party who they hope to accomplish coalition with-

it is not simply n issue of wage increase but an issue of taking a political stand aginst
the forms generated by the state that create these problems- i.e structures such as the PPP. does Lab youth/senior have a political stand on the PPP?

curious.

by Chris Murray - The Unmanageables Thu Jul 13, 2006 13:35

Distinguishable from the right in Ireland?

The defecit in opposition and a stated desire to deal with FF/PD government in terms
by going into pre-coalition with an avowed right wing, anti-union, pro-NATO party
would suggest that the centre is getting crowded.

This happened in Britain too. New Labour are a party of war and neo-liberal fiduciary policy
they are anti civil liberties, largely white and male, christian.

The Labour Party used identify with the Unions, anti-war and anti-federalist.

PS. There is a man dying outside the Dail who claims that a Labour Party TD altered evidence
that was part of a civil case. It is reported on Indymedia. His Name is Peter Preston.
That TD has refused to speak to the man.

The context, therefore that we read "Race to the Top" in has to be read in the direction that the
Labour Party envisages itself, be it in 'opposition' or in the context of its political development.
which is determined by advocacy to a pre-election pact with the Fine Gael Party.

by The Reader Thu Jul 13, 2006 16:01

Chris, how about you engage with the substance rather than just trot out your anti-Labour arguments on yet another thread? Comments are for peer review, not for bitching about the Preston case. There are plenty of other articles for that. Are you going to post the same comments every time you see the word labour?

by Chris Murray - The Unmanageables Thu Jul 13, 2006 16:35

Labour (new Irish Labour) has a responsibility to its voters:

They have refused to answer why they have not provided effective opposition in this state during the nine years that FF have been in power.

Peter Preston has made a public statement accusing a Labour Party TD of a criminal act, this Td has not responed to Mr Preston, nor to my knowledge has he met with the family, to discuss the situation with them.

Labour has moved into the centre and have a pre-election pact with a right wing political party.

Has the New Irish Labour party made a statement on the sale of Aer Lingus, given that
it was a grass roots union party in a previous incarnation?

The Labour Party have not addressed legislation which directly erodes citizen's rights, including
The Statutory Rape laws, the Local Government Bill { which employed a state appointed flunkey into a bureaucratic position, with the power to abolish our councils if the annual estimates were not agreed}

They voted against SIB to my knowledge- but their future partner in coalition, FG (with the exception of Michael Ring (Mayo) voted for that further erosion of rights in relation to planning.

Apart from the PD's , in the Dail, Labour has the biggest female Td ratio, but not one of them was
on the floor during the Rape Law debates. The Labour Party women have an effective voice, do they intend to use it to question the all party committee on the constitutional crisis caused by the
Rape law/section 5 which Mr Howlin called an absurdity, whilst not impeding its passage through the Dail?

These are relevant questions and should be answered, as to Labour bashing, I enjoy a bit of PD bashing too-