Local Election Season

vicwatson

"Wexford town has always been strongly Labour. In the wider district Labour got 34% and Hynes, who is ex Labour, got 7%. It's a town proud of its trade union roots"


And maybe why large companies have sidestepped it as a place to do business in the past. Mud sticks.

McLoughlin

vicwatson wrote: »

"Wexford town has always been strongly Labour. In the wider district Labour got 34% and Hynes, who is ex Labour, got 7%. It's a town proud of its trade union roots"


And maybe why large companies have sidestepped it as a place to do business in the past. Mud sticks.

That is what happened in New Ross in the past (allegedly) and a little bit in Waterford I think Trade Unions cause problems over little things which led to companies just packing up and leaving.

man98

vicwatson wrote: »

"Wexford town has always been strongly Labour. In the wider district Labour got 34% and Hynes, who is ex Labour, got 7%. It's a town proud of its trade union roots"


And maybe why large companies have sidestepped it as a place to do business in the past. Mud sticks.

I'm not looking for an argument on trade unions, I'm merely stating it's true. Very few other places have the same left vote that Wexford does in Ireland and it's well reflected on the council.

Marhay70

If it wasn't for trade unions I shudder to think of what sort of working conditions we would have.
Granted there are some examples of extreme behaviour which can be hard to justify (usually in the Public Service) but those of us who started our working lives in the 1950s and 60s remember what is was like to be constantly dependent on the whims of an employer who had no loyalty or compassion for the workers.
Today's reality of the zero hours contract which successive FF/FG governments have refused to tackle on a realistic basis is an example of what life could be like for the working class before the advent of the trade unions.

Eggs For Dinner

There was a time when trade unions were badly needed and did some service to the working population. However, IMO, that time has passed and any grievances can now be addressed under current Irish & EU legislation. These days, trade unions cause unnecessary disruption every so often to justify their existence

McLoughlin

Sure look at how the union made the workers in Dunnes Stores go out on strike just so the union could get more people to sign up to union fees.

As for the local elections we now have a by election to look froward to
Will the heir apparent Gorgeous George risk going for run for Labour ?
Who will Sinn Fein run given golden boy Mythen poor performance ?
Will Wallace have one of his I4C comrades run ?

Marhay70

Eggs For Dinner wrote: »

There was a time when trade unions were badly needed and did some service to the working population. However, IMO, that time has passed and any grievances can now be addressed under current Irish & EU legislation. These days, trade unions cause unnecessary disruption every so often to justify their existence

And where do you think this legislation came from? Tory politicians either in Ireland or across the EU, have never acted in the spirit of altruism, it's an alien concept to them. Labour laws have been enacted almost in their entirety, as a result of lobbying by the trade union movement or associated political movements.
Take a look around you today at the result of the Tory policies of FG/FF and ask yourself just who has benefited from the "boom" years?

Nokia6230i

McLoughlin wrote: »

Sure look at how the union made the workers in Dunnes Stores go out on strike just so the union could get more people to sign up to union fees.

As for the local elections we now have a by election to look froward to
Will the heir apparent Gorgeous George risk going for run for Labour ?
Who will Sinn Fein run given golden boy Mythen poor performance ?
Will Wallace have one of his I4C comrades run ?

Cllr. Malcolm Byrne FF is a sure fire bet to win a seat; he polled 69,166 and 80,000 and something overall and has a serious fire lit under him now locally to go forward.

Only one thing'll scupper him; any meatheads from 2006/2007 in the party locally having influence on selection night.

Duffryman

Wouldn't say Malcolm is a surefire thing. In a by-election, Gorgeous George would probably get 90% or more of what would be the Howlin vote in a General Election.

While there's no way two Labour candidates from the same town would be elected under normal circumstances in a GE, we're in unchartered waters with a by-election. Last by-election in Wexford was in 1945, when Brendan Corish got in for the first time, after the death of his father. Not much there to use as a form guide.....

McLoughlin

Duffryman wrote: »

Wouldn't say Malcolm is a surefire thing. In a by-election, Gorgeous George would probably get 90% or more of what would be the Howlin vote in a General Election.

While there's no way two Labour candidates from the same town would be elected under normal circumstances in a GE, we're in unchartered waters with a by-election. Last by-election in Wexford was in 1945, when Brendan Corish got in for the first time, after the death of his father. Not much there to use as a form guide.....

Labour could get a by-election seat but would most likely loose it at the next General election

Oh and Verona Murphy, president of the Irish Road Haulage Association, is running for Fine Gael in next election so I guess that means the by election.

Eggs For Dinner

Marhay70 wrote: »

And where do you think this legislation came from? Tory politicians either in Ireland or across the EU, have never acted in the spirit of altruism, it's an alien concept to them. Labour laws have been enacted almost in their entirety, as a result of lobbying by the trade union movement or associated political movements.
Take a look around you today at the result of the Tory policies of FG/FF and ask yourself just who has benefited from the "boom" years?

Like I said, there was a time unions were necessary, I just believe they are now obsolete. There is great mobility in the labour force these days, if you don't like your conditions, move. I used to be in a union, but haven't been for over 20 years. I let my work speak for itself and my employer rewards me accordingly. IMO, unions reward the lazy or incompetent at the expense of others.

Marhay70

Eggs For Dinner wrote: »

Like I said, there was a time unions were necessary, I just believe they are now obsolete. There is great mobility in the labour force these days, if you don't like your conditions, move. I used to be in a union, but haven't been for over 20 years. I let my work speak for itself and my employer rewards me accordingly. IMO, unions reward the lazy or incompetent at the expense of others.

I will not dispute that there are good employers, always have been but it's the exception that proves the rule and you would seem to have happened on one of the good ones.
As the old saying goes " be careful what you wish for" and in the absence of trade unions it would bet it would not be long before the likes of FF/FG would start chipping away at the legislation in place to protect employees, it is, after all, just legislation and what can be enacted by one government can be repealed by another. Look at PRSI. When that was enacted it was an advancement in social care that rivalled the provisions of the NHS in the UK; where is it today?
The fact that most of the industrial disputes we have today occur in the Public Service is easily explained, the Public Service is a bad employer in every sense of the word. I once worked for C.I.E and it was an experience I would not like to repeat. From the very beginning there was a perceptible sense of conflict, of us and them. There was no interaction at any level between workers and management, problems that could have been solved by such interaction were instead allowed to fester until they came to a head and all of a sudden there was a dispute. This is common in the Public Service and almost unheard of elsewhere and leads to bad attitudes on both sides.
In summary, I would conclude the perception that Trade Unions are no longer necessary is possible only because they they do exist and have existed.

average_runner

Marhay70 wrote: »

I will not dispute that there are good employers, always have been but it's the exception that proves the rule and you would seem to have happened on one of the good ones.
As the old saying goes " be careful what you wish for" and in the absence of trade unions it would bet it would not be long before the likes of FF/FG would start chipping away at the legislation in place to protect employees, it is, after all, just legislation and what can be enacted by one government can be repealed by another. Look at PRSI. When that was enacted it was an advancement in social care that rivalled the provisions of the NHS in the UK; where is it today?
The fact that most of the industrial disputes we have today occur in the Public Service is easily explained, the Public Service is a bad employer in every sense of the word. I once worked for C.I.E and it was an experience I would not like to repeat. From the very beginning there was a perceptible sense of conflict, of us and them. There was no interaction at any level between workers and management, problems that could have been solved by such interaction were instead allowed to fester until they came to a head and all of a sudden there was a dispute. This is common in the Public Service and almost unheard of elsewhere and leads to bad attitudes on both sides.
In summary, I would conclude the perception that Trade Unions are no longer necessary is possible only because they they do exist and have existed.

If we got rid of the unions we would have a better health care system, education system and public transport services


Unions protect their staff, correct, but sometimes staff need to be fired or just made redundant when not needed anymore.

Not many unions in the IT industry and look how well it is doing

Eggs For Dinner

You say I have happened one 'one of the good ones' as if that would be in the minority. I believe the majority are good. I'm not surprised you have experienced atmospheres of conflict if you've worked in unionised workplaces. Good to see employers standing up to some of the muppetry that goes on

vicwatson

Now why doesn't this surprise me

WEXFORD COUNCILLORS ACCUSED OF EXCHANGING MONEY TO SECURE POSITIONS

https://www.southeastradio.ie/2019/06/wexford-councillors-accused-of-exchanging-money-to-secure-positions/

gmurphy70

vicwatson wrote: »

Now why doesn't this surprise me

WEXFORD COUNCILLORS ACCUSED OF EXCHANGING MONEY TO SECURE POSITIONS

https://www.southeastradio.ie/2019/06/wexford-councillors-accused-of-exchanging-money-to-secure-positions/

Shocking stuff, yet people would vote for him in the By-Election.... Labour are a sham and definitely don't have the best interests of workers with Wexford a blackspot for jobs. These so called politicians are in for their own gain.

McLoughlin

Its the Shinners and local leftie loonies ****-stirring because Tom Forde's Shinner politics wasn't wanted in the new Wexford LEA pact there is nothing wrong with the situation. Staples got offer a non paying job the others felt this was wrong so they decided to pay him a wage.

Duffryman

Yeah, personally I see nothing wrong with the arrangement. Six of them in an agreement, but only five years’ worth of a paid position to share around, so the five who’d serve in that position each agreed to give a portion of that allowance to the person who’d miss out.

Basically just a matter of personal choice as to what to do with their allowance for their year as Mayor. It’s not all that much different in principle from how Keith Doyle in Enniscorthy decided to give his Chairman’s allowance to the Sports Hub there, instead of keeping it for himself.

Seanachai

gmurphy70 wrote: »

Shocking stuff, yet people would vote for him in the By-Election.... Labour are a sham and definitely don't have the best interests of workers with Wexford a blackspot for jobs. These so called politicians are in for their own gain.

Labour used to be strong in rural Wexford\South Carlow, even in rural areas. I was surprised to learn that my grandfather from Co Wex was a Labour man and so was my mother until they threw their lot in with the austerity program.