From Derry to Sarajevo
The unemployed are on the march
by Conor McLoughlin
ATGWU Scheme Workers Branch
(in a personal capacity)
The unemployed and low paid are on the march. A
European March against Unemployment, Job Insecurity and Exclusion has
been called by a wide coalition of unions, unemployed and political
groups. Eleven separate legs of the march will arrive in the centre
of Amsterdam on the afternoon of June 14th, to coincide with a
European Union Inter-governmental Conference.
There are 20 million registered unemployed in the European Union,
5 million homeless and 50 million living below the poverty line. Over
30,000 of them are expected to converge for the final rally. They
will include a large number of anarchists from unions like the CGT in
Spain, SAC in Sweden, the USI in Italy and the French CNT-F. Groups
are marching from all over Europe, including the former Stalinist
states of Eastern Europe and some marchers are coming from Tangier in
Africa.
The march kicked off on April 14th with an enormous range of
activities. These have gone from wacky stunts, e.g. a pair of used
sneakers being offered to Jacques Santer to symbolise the fruitless
search for jobs, to more serious political activity like the
occupation of the job centre in the France town of Chambery to demand
facilities for local unemployed action groups.
The Irish leg of the march is being put together by the Irish
National Organisation of the Unemployed. Despite the slogan on their
newsletter: The unemployed speaking for ourselves, fighting for our
rights" this organisation is in no way a mass organisation of
unemployed workers. It is a federation of government and ICTU funded
centres.
We do not for a minute wish to knock the excellent advice and
services provided by these centres but these do not in any real way
contribute to a serious fight against unemployment.
None the less an Irish leg of the march has been put together by
them and it is hoped to send ten marchers to Europe. We will leave
Derry on June 1st and march through Belfast and Dundalk (2nd), Dublin
(3rd), Kilkenny (4th) and Cork (5th). Local Trades Councils have been
written to for money and (unfortunately) private business (the latter
coughed up a princely £2,000 between the whole lot of them). The
marchers will also meet the Lord Mayor of Dublin and President Mary
Robinson. Two members of the INOU executive will fly directly to
Amsterdam while the marchers nurse their corns and blisters.
The INOU at a recent "orientation meeting" informed marchers that
there had been occupations and direct action across Europe,
especially in France; but that this was "part of their culture".
Funnily enough it's not too long ago since it was part of Irish
culture too. In 1982 and 1983 a group of unemployed and union
activists organised the People's Marches for Decent Jobs. These
marchers joined pickets and supported factory occupations along their
route.
Their demands included a 35 hour week with no loss of pay,
occupation of jobs and plants threatened with closure, a decent
minimum wage, and investment in useful public works like schools and
housing to create well paid jobs. Needless to say they never met the
President (but they did get to meet lots of people who wanted to
fight redundancies and poverty).
We believe that the current march, though far from perfect, should
be supported by workers and the unemployed throughout Ireland. It
offers an opportunity to meet up with the more militant unemployed
organisations and radical trade unions marching from other European
countries. We all suffer from the demands of the rich to further cut
wages and social welfare. Together we can start a Europewide
resistance to the bosses' offensive.
You can help by writing to the INOU now and asking for a marcher
(as opposed to an INOU full- timer) to speak to your union branch or
community group; you can organise a collection; and, if the march is
passing through your town, turn out to show your support on the day.
