CONFERENCE TO RECLAIM OUR UNIONS

Grass Roots Unite conference
RECLAIM THE TRADE UNIONS
Fight the Government Cuts
Conference Saturday June 20th 2-6pm
Unite Hall, Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1
SESSIONS ON:

Fighting pay cuts;
Stopping cuts in services – health, education, social welfare;
Action on unemployment and defending pensions;
How we can make bankers and speculators pays for the crisi

Grassroots Unite: Get Out on the Streets and protest- Stop the bail out of the Banks

Visit

http://grassrootsunite.wordpress.com

Get Out on the Streets and protest
Stop the bail out of the BanksOppose Levies on PAYE Workers

A Public Works Programme to create Jobs

Assemble 16th May, 2.30pm

Central Bank, Dame St., Dublin

* The bail-out of the banks costs €24 billion.
* That money should be spent on a public works programme.
* We should create a good state bank that provides credit rather than paying for the bad debts of the bankers and speculators.
* We should stop this government attacking PAYE workers though levies.
* Levies and wage cuts only reduce what workers can buy and so make the economic crisis worse.

On May 16th, trade unions from all over Europe will march in support of a European Trade Union Congress call to ‘Fight the Crisis – Put People First’. We should join them on the streets of Dublin and make our voices heard.

Organised by Grassroots Unite, a forum initiated by SIPTU’s education branch.

Next Meeting of Teachers United

The next meeting of Teachers United will take place on Wedndesday 6 May 2009 at 8.15pm in the Teachers Club, Parnell Square, Dublin 1.
The main agenda item will be discussion on participation in the upcoming ‘No Bail Out for the Bankers’ march on 16 May, called by Grassroots Unite
All welcome.

Teachers United has a email discussion group- to join contact: teachersutd@googlegroups.com

ICTU Day Deferred but Teacher Unions still hold mandate

Despite the decision by ICTU to put strike action ‘on hold’ and with a budget on the horizon and further cuts expected, the INTO, ASTI & TUI still hold a mandate from members to take strike action, which can be used.

CPSU members continue to fight the pension levy with up to 13,000 members of the Civil Public and Services Union (CPSU) placing pickets on all Government departments and agencies on Thursday last.

All the three teacher unions, INTO, TUI & ASTI meet in the next fortnight for their annual conference.

Teacher Unions vote for strike action

Teachers have voted to take industrial action, which may include a strike, over education cuts and the pension levy.

The ballot involved 60,000 members of the Association of Secondary Teachers, the Irish National Teachers Organisation and the Teachers Union of Ireland.

The ballot results were as follows: INTO Yes: 79% No: 21%, ASTI:Yes:  60%, No: 40% TUI: Yes: 69%, No: 31%

Teachers United meet this Monday 9th March, @ 8pm, Teachers Club to discuss the result of the vote.
All welcome

Vote ‘YES’ for action to abolish the pension levy

Confronting the myths
All public sector workers contribute 6.5% of salary to their pension . Our pensions are not free, we pay for them throughout our working lives.

In addition to this 6.5% contribution, the 2nd Benchmarking Report in 2008 resulted in 300,000 public servants and 100,000 retired public servants receiving a pay award of 0%. This report stated “A discount of up to 12.5% was applied because of pension entitlement”.

A Public Service retiree on a pension of €500 per week after 40 year’s service does not get the State Pension of €230 per week. Thus the real additional benefit of our pension after working for 40 years, is €270 per week, NOT €500.

A teacher on full pension will receive half their salary at retirement plus a lump sum. This was referred to by Turlough O’Sullivan of the employers organisation IBEC as a “Rolls Royce pension”. In reality it is a modest income to see you through what can be a very expensive time of your life.

We must reject this levy and protect our pension rights. Tinkering around with it is not acceptable. This is a fundamental attack on our entitlements that has to be totally resisted.

Pensions are not a luxury, they are a necessity for all workers
In any decent society, all workers should be guaranteed a proper income on which to live when they finish their working lives. Instead of establishing a state supported scheme in the private sector when this country enjoyed levels of wealth previously unheard of, this government introduced tax reliefs on private pensions which according to pension research groups benefited 20% of the highest earners while the bottom 20pc received virtually nothing. This is the story of the Celtic Tiger. The rich got richer.

Allowing attacks on pension rights in the public sector to be railroaded through does nothing to benefit private sector workers or the 900,000 workers who have no pension coverage of their own.
We need to defend proper defined benefit pension schemes where they exist and demand decent pensions for all workers as a basic and fundamental right.

Sharing the pain, not the wealth!

At the height of the Celtic Tiger our spending on education as a proportion of GDP languished at the bottom of the OECD table. We had among the highest class sizes in Europe and an infrastructure that was dilapidated and unsuitable for delivering a modern curriculum. Education did not see enough of the wealth generated by the Celtic Tiger.

Now that the economic crisis has arrived our already underfunded education system is being decimated and our children are being attacked in a particularly vicious way. The increases in class sizes, the removal of financial support to some of the most needy students and the withdrawal of language support teachers along with attacks on special needs students have illustrated clearly that it does not matter how vulnerable you are, no one is off limits when it comes to letting the rich off the hook in this recession.

The idea that the National Pension Reserve Fund is being raided and a corporate welfare package of €7 billion is being handed over to the banks is despicable while our public services, needed now more than ever as more people lose their jobs every day, are torn asunder. The CEOs of the banks are still allowed to claim their massive salaries, and receive golden handshakes and huge pensions if they fall on their swords, while our newly nationalised Anglo Irish Bank continues with its corporate entertainment at our expense. Meanwhile generous tax shelters and low corporation tax rates continue to pamper corporations, while thousands of Ireland’s richest are tax exiles. It is unjust, unfair and outrageous.

Why we need to take action
We have got to lay down a marker now to say very clearly that we will not be made to pay for the recklessness of the bankers, the property developers, the politicians and business elite
120,000 workers from the public and private sector marched through Dublin last week. Thousands of low paid civil servants have already taken one day strike action. This government’s satisfaction level is at rock bottom. People know that what is going on is unfair and wrong. We need to fight now to protect our wages, our pensions and our public services.

Vote YES
Scrap the pension levy, defend pension rights!

Teachers United hold second picket on Anglo Irish Bank

Around 30 teachers from across the three teacher unions took part in the picket outside Anglo Irish Bank today. A number of teachers attempted to stage a sit-in at the bank during the picket.

 

Up to 120,000 march against cuts & the pension levy

Watch Waterford Crystal Workers march up O’Connell Street here

Video of Teachers United Protest at Anglo Irish Bank

Teachers United on RTE’s Prime Time

Click here to watch RTE Prime Time Report on Education Cuts  & Pension Levy. Report features members of Teachers United and the protest at Anglo Irish Bank.

Reminder that there is a second Anglo Irish Bank Protest on Monday 23rd February at 4.30pm. All welcome