Article from the March 2006 issue of the Socialist
newspaper of the Socialist Party, Irish section of the CWI

Companies move East for Profit

Unions must fight job cuts

By Kevin McLoughlin
"There are a lot of people working in the factory who have big mortgages and new cars. It will be a huge blow to the town if the factory eventually upped sticks and left to go to eastern Europe or the far east. We were told that the results and figures would have to improve, otherwise there could be implications for the future of the plant." - a worker at the Procter and Gamble plant in Nenagh on the recent news that 75 workers were being laid off and 500 will remain, for now.

We are told there are countless opportunities for people. But the real story for more people each day is one of fear for the future or lives turned upside down as profitable companies decide to relocate somewhere cheaper. More than 100 people a day are being laid off and the figures are on the increase.

In Donegal, Magee laid-off 60 workers, moving Irish clothes manufacture to Turkey and Morocco. Fruit of the Loom laid-off 170 workers, leaving 200. A few years ago there were 3,000 jobs. Last September, Hospira closed to go to Costa Rica with a loss of 500 jobs. The official unemployment rate in Donegal is just under 20% - nearly five times the national average. People have roots and commitments like families and mortgages, but then suddenly find they are possibly facing poverty conditions or face having to move away from their homes for work.

A whole raft of other companies right throughout the country have either close down or in most cases have relocated since the start of this year. Cork and Sligo have also been particularly badly hit. CIMS call centre has gone from Mahon, GN ReSound has gone to China. In Sligo, Platter Foods closes down; Saehan Media and Tractech are both moving out.

The management at Japanese owned NEC spoke of their "corporate heartbreak" when they announced it was closing with the loss of 350 jobs in Meath. But the plant made a profit of e4.61 million last year! They don't care, they want to move to Singapore where labour costs will be halved. It's not a case of foreign bosses not caring, Irish bosses are also moving out and the trend is likely to continue.

In places like Dublin, if someone is laid off, most can find new jobs at the moment, but it's often on worse pay and conditions. But a crisis is emerging in manufacturing industry and will hit all areas. 12,000 manufacturing jobs were lost last year. Redundancies in the first two months of this year were up 30% on the same time in 2005. Most new jobs are linked to the construction boom but inevitably that will end and things are likely to get harder.

Recently two economists said that "increased volatility of employment may be necessary" - in other words prepare to be laid-off, possibly hired somewhere else but then laid-off again, possibly in quick succession. They went on to say this "is undoubtedly costly for those individuals who lose their jobs". Is this the future for people in this day and age - casual jobs?

Increasingly the choice that capitalism is giving workers will be: either work for poverty wages or don't work at all. The trade unions should fight re-locations and closures. These companies made billions off the backs of the workers and it is not acceptable having robbed people of that wealth, that they are allowed rob them of a decent future.