‘SIPTU GRASSROOTS UNITE’ is to hold a protest march in the centre of Dublin today calling for the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to “arise from the dead”.
The group will march to the ICTU headquarters in Parnell Square from the Garden of Remembrance today at 2pm and will feature speeches calling for Irish unions to “help the Irish people in their fight against the continuing austerity policies of this Government”.
The SIPTU Grassroots group say that the leadership of the union have become disconnected from the wider membership and lack transparency.
The march is being organised through Facebook where Alan Lawes of the group says that they firmly believe in trade unionism but that the leadership within the labour movement have ‘abandoned their Irish members’:
When thousands marched on the streets against the property tax, both SIPTU and ICTU stayed silent. It seems once there is a Labour Government in power, SITPU and ICTU will sit on their hands and role over to all austerity measures and play dead.
United Left Allinace TD Clare Daly has appealed for people to attend the protest and to “bring a white flag if you can to symbolize ICTU’s surrender”.
Last month SIPTU members voted to accept the Haddington Road Agreement by 76 per cent to 24 per cent.
Over the past number of weeks a number other unions including the Public Service Executive Union, The Irish Medical Organisation and the Civil Public Service Union have also voted to accept the Government pay deal.
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