Article from the Feb. 2005 issue of the Socialist
newspaper of the Socialist Party, Irish section of the CWI

WHAT WE STAND FOR

workers' rights

A guaranteed right to a job or training with decent wages and full workers' rights
For a minimum wage of Euro12 an hour tax free with no exemptions.
For a 35 hour week without loss of pay.
For a decent social welfare payment, linked to average earnings.
Free childcare for all.

For democratic trade unions to fight in the interests of their members on pay, conditions and job security.
Full time union officials should be regularly elected and receive the average wage of those they represent.
Scrap the anti-union laws. An end to "social partnership".

Free, quality education for all from primary to university, with a living grant.

For a massive public house building programme, funded by central government to eliminate the housing waiting lists.

No to privatisation, public private partnerships and private finance initiatives.
All publicly owned services and companies to be run under democratic working class control.

An end to discrimination on the grounds of race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, disability and to all forms of prejudice.
For the right to asylum and the scrapping of racist anti-asylum and immigration laws. For the right to work, with full protection, for immigrant workers.

Scrap the bin charges - no to double taxation in any form. Local authorities to receive proper funding from central government funds.

For major investment into a publicly owned recycling service to combat the waste crisis. No to waste incinerators.

Oppose the big business dominated European Union. No to the militarisation of Europe and to a European Army.
For solidarity of the European working class. For a socialist Europe.
No to imperialist wars. End the occupation of Iraq. For a socialist Iraq.

Build a real peace process based on uniting the working class communities, not on bringing discredited sectarian politicians together.
Joint trade union and community action to counter all forms of sectarianism.
An end to all activity by all paramilitaries, loyalist and republican. Complete demilitarisation.

Capitalism is the cause of poverty, inequality, environmental destruction and war. We need an international struggle against this system and its effects. The working class can build a socialist world in which the resources of the planet are used to satisfy the needs of the mass of the people not the thirst for profit of a tiny minority of super rich.
Take all major industry, banks and financial institutions into public ownership and place them under the democratic control and management of working class people.
For the working class to democratically plan the economy to provide for the needs of all, and to protect our environment.
For the building of a mass political party capable of uniting the working class in the struggle for socialism in Ireland.
For a socialist Ireland as part of a free and voluntary socialist federation of England and Wales, Scotland and Ireland.