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17 September 1998 Edition

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Workers in struggle

No to workfare



     
The end result of the government's new `Employment Action Plan' will be to force people into low paid jobs
``My aim is to provide a new start for young people and bring them into the world of work''. This was the promise from Enterprise and Employment minister Mary Harney last week to the under 25s who are long term unemployed. Harney was speaking on the first day of the Fianna Fáil/Progressive Democrats Action Plan on Employment.

Next week members of the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed (INOU) from all over the 26 Counties will protest outside the Department of Enterprise and Employment showing their oppositon to the plan.

Also opposed to the plan are the Scheme Workers Alliance. Their chairperson, Martin Walsh, believes that ``the end result of the government's new `Employment Action Plan' will be to force people into low paid jobs''.

Under Harney's new plan 400 under 25s will be interviewed by a Fás team of 500 placement officers. People called to interview will be offered four options. They are: training, a job, a community employment scheme, or employment experience. If any of these options are turned down the person could be deprived of the dole.

Mary Harney counters this view, saying that ``I find it hard to understand that anyone would interpret a job offer as a threat rather than an opportunity''.

However, there is still no assurances that unemployed people who refuse the four options will not be cut off the dole. The INOU wants voluntary, quality-based intervention. A spokesperson for the INOU told An Phoblacht that they believed the minister's figures didn't add up. There are 33,000 long-term unemployed people under the age of 25. Harney has ``ring fenced'' 7,500 Fás training places. The INOU question what will happen to the other 25,500 unemployed young people as last year Fás was notified of only 5,000 jobs vacanies.

Another major inconsistency in Harney's appraoch is the problem of educational resources. Many of the unemployed have been deprived of access to proper educational resources. The UN Poverty Report last week highlighted the massive literacy problems in the 26 Counties.

Many of the job opportunities in the 26 Counties involve a need for third level qualifications yet Harney's Employment Action Plan does not specify how this very obvious skills gap will be overcome.

Next week you have your chance to oppose Harney's flawed plan, support the unemployed and say ``No to workfare''.


Aer Lingus set for sell off



     
Why is it wrong for state-owned companies to dominate their domestic markets but it is perfectly acceptable for private transnational companies to dominate global ones?
Isn't it funny how different words can mean the same thing, especially when it comes to business. Take for example the Dublin Government and their future plans for Aer Lingus. They want a strategic alliance, an international partner for the airline.

In plain words Aer Lingus is to be sold off to a foreign company. The state-owned airline is set for a dual process of stock market flotation and partial sell-off to an international airline.

This has to happen because the company is deemed too small to compete in international markets. Already this year TEAM Aer Lingus has been sold to a Danish airline maintenance company. Now Aer Lingus itself is to go under the hammer.

Last week Aer Lingus management delivered a Strategic Alliance Report to the Dublin Government. Now the cabinet have given the go ahead to Aer Lingus management to seek ``their strategic alliance partner''.

Double Standards


The forthcoming sell-off of Aer Lingus highlights the double standards at work in global markets. Aer Lingus has to be privatised partially because it is deemed wrong for airlines to be state-owned, especially those operating in the European Union. The second axiom at work is that global airline markets have to be liberalised and deregulated.

The strategic report inadvertently exposes what a sham such deregulation is. It concludes that the international aviation market is set to be dominated by four or five global groupings. Why is it wrong for state-owned companies to dominate their domestic markets but it is perfectly acceptable for private transnational companies to dominate global ones?

Full Disclosure


SIPTU, who represent substantial numbers of workers at Aer Lingus said that it wanted ``full disclosure of information and participation with Aer Lingus in arriving at a decision on any future partnership''.

The union stressed that ``the decision cannot be made solely on business criteria''. They wanted maximising employment, working conditions and the interests of the travelling public also taken into account.

However, when you read the Aer Lingus management's strategic alliance report you find that there is little mention of the implications for employees. It says in one small section of the 43-page report that ``direct employment would be protected and enhanced as Aer Lingus continues to achieve profitability and growth''.

Concern over BA


Aer Lingus pilots have also raised their concerns about the proposed ``alliance''. One of the issues they highlight is the prospect of an alliance that includes British Airways,.because of the company's industrial relations record. Last year BA management used every method possible to break workers' resolve at the company when implementing their own cost reduction plans.

Aer Lingus management has been stressing their partnership approach to the proposed sell-off of the company. Time will tell if there are perhaps two meanings to what a partnership approach really means and whether the workers really will have a say in the future of the company. It is clear that the Irish people who actually own the company have no say in its future.

An Phoblacht
44 Parnell Sq.
Dublin 1
Ireland