Following the ballot on Haddington Road by ASTI members, a meeting is being called to consider setting up a new secondary teachers union. The meeting is called by some members of ASTI Fightback, (an activist group within the ASTI), in reaction to anger and frustration felt at the imposition of a third ballot and the ongoing machinations of the union leadership.

Every effort by workers and MANDATE to force sweatshop owner of Arcadia Group Philip Green meet workers' demands should be supported.

Socialist Party TD Joe Higgins and MEP Paul Murphy support the strike action being taken by SIPTU, NBRU and TSSA Dublin Bus workers.

The Haddington Road agreement is a capitulation by the right wing union leaders to the government’s and the Troika’s austerity agenda.

It really is an extraordinary situation. You have a national public transport company – Bus Eireann. It is in the ownership of the State. It provides a really essential service in linking up our cities, towns and rural villages and delivering thousands of children to schools every day. It ventures into parts of Ireland where no private bus company would go because it is not profitable. But now the Government declares that the company will crash unless it cannibalises €5 million from the wages of its drivers and ancillary staff.

The resounding rejection of Croke Park II by public sector workers presented an important opportunity for working class people to challenge and defeat the austerity agenda.

Following on from his previous statement of support for the striking Bus Eireann workers and his subsequent visits to the picket lines in Broadstone and Busaras Joe Higgins TD has today submitted a request to the Ceann Comhairle for a topical issue debate to be held in the Dáil tomorrow on the dispute:

The workers at Bus Eireann face an annual loss of income of €3,000 to €4,000 if the company are successful in imposing the cuts in pay premia and conditions. This is simply unaffordable and the workers have clearly been left with no alternative but to take this stand.

The striking down by the Supreme Court of the REAs will be seen by employers and sub contractors as a signal for a savage attack on the wages and conditions of workers. The trade union movement should immediately declare that any such attacks will be met by all out action and must now go on the offensive to ensure that wages and conditions provided for by the REAs remain intact.

The resounding rejection of Croke Park II by public sector workers presents an important opportunity for working class people to challenge and defeat the austerity agenda.