Trade Unionists...?

dublin | worker & community struggles and protests | opinion/analysis

Monday January 08, 2007 17:53

by Hugh Murphy - Sacked by my union ex Belfast Docker

Whats the difference between union and employer

Arthur Rafferty and other dockers are dying of Asbestosis

Would all Trade Unionists especially those in Atgwu and Siptu reflect for a moment on the plight of Arthur Rafferty and the other Belfast Dockers who've contracted Asbestos because of their union.

Arthur and the others can lay the blame for their premature deaths at the door of corrupt union officials. They knew of the dangers of this deadly substance but ignored it to make more profit for the employers.

I can't find words vile enough to describe these contemptuous purveyors of death, who, while pretending to be good steadfast advocates of trade unionism hypocritically allowed and encouraged non-union men to be employed. While ensuring that members of ITGWU were always paid up members, {they ensured this by heavy fines.} Thus Arthur and the others condemned to death by the collaboration of their union, were at the time, fully paid up members of ITGWU..

Seeing that no-one from SIPTU or ICTU will meet Arthur, in a gesture of desperation he's asked to meet Mick O'Reilly of Atgwu. Maybe the leader of a union he never belonged to will be able to make the Trade Union Movement treat himself and the other dying Dockers with respect.

A while back David Begg of ICTU was complaining about the rights of workers in China. I wrote to him {again} and reminded him of the Belfast Dockers, and stated, Belfast is a lot closer than China.

To myself and others, who've been deprived of our livelihoods by ITGWU for wanting fair play for workers, ICTU was always a sick joke.
But we never though they'd stoop so low as to refuse to meet dying men who're being deprived of their lives - or to champion their rights.

Peter Mcloone, David Begg and all the other so-called trade unionists in ICTU are a disgrace to Larkin and Connolly's memory.
There's no difference between today's in the Partnership here in the South, and the collaboration which ITGWU entered into with the employers in the North.

This unholy alliance was called THE NORTHERN IRELAND FEDERATION OF EMPLOYERS AND IRISH TRANSPORT AND GENERAL WORKERS UNION JOINT DISCIPLINARY COMMITTEE.

Whatever happened to "An injury to one is the concern of all, etc, and One Big Union...? Ooops, sorry, now it's called One Big Employers Union - and uses Belfast as its template.

I am asking Trade Unionists to comment on this corruption and SIPTU and ICTU'S treatment of dying men.