By Frank Connolly

A “silent coup” led by right wing polit-ical and business interests has beenunderway in Nicaragua over recentmonths, according to the country’sDeputy Foreign Minister, ValdrackJaentschke.

At a meeting with SIPTU representa-tives, including deputy general secre-tary, Ethel Buckley, on Monday 1stOctober, Senor Jaentschke explainedthat in April last a small group of polit-ical parties aligned with a “violent andaggressive sector of people to ignitepeople on the streets.

While the street protests were osten-sibly against pension reforms theywere soon transformed into a campaign to bring down the elected government backed by the main pri-vate sector business organisationswho were resisting its attempts tomake them pay more tax“This attempted, silent coup d’etattook us by surprise and involved mostmedia proprietors with seven out ofeleven television channels supportingthe anti-government campaign. We

did not prepare ourselves, in particu-lar, for a new actor which was socialmedia,” he said. Right wing political activists travelled to the US to condemn the Nicaraguan governmentand impede its access to internationalloans. They successfully lobbied extreme right Congressmen such asFlorida based, Marco Rubio, and BobMenendez who support trade andother sanctions against the small central American country, Jaentschke

SIPTU Global SolidarityNews

Issue 1 – Autumn/Winter 2018

If you are interested, join the network today by simply sendingyour name and place of work to globalsolidarity@siptu.ie

JOIN THE GLOBAL ACTIVIST SOLIDARITY NETWORK

Continued on page 2

Photo from left to right Nicaraguan Ambassador Guisell Morales-EchaverrySIPTU Deputy General Secretary Ethel Buckley and Deputy Foreign Minister Valdrack Jaentschke in Liberty Hall on1st October.

Welcome to the first edition of SIPTU GlobalSolidarity News (GSN). This newsletter aims tokeep members informed of the activities andcampaigns of the union’s Global SolidarityCommittee. The Committee is made up ofmembers who are active in promoting theobjective of economic and social justice acrossthe globe.

This involves highlighting the exploitationof workers, trade unionists and human rightsadvocates in many countries and campaigningon their behalf. It means providing practicaland political solidarity with working peoplewho are suffering various forms of oppressionacross the world, including those enduringeconomic exploitation and marginalisation ordiscrimination because of their gender or race.

The Global Solidarity Committee supportsthe Palestinian people under occupation byIsrael in Gaza, the west Bank and Jerusalem,as well as trade union and human rightsactivists living under constant threat inColombia while it has long establishedfriendship and solidarity ties with the people ofCuba.

As reported in this first edition of GSN,global warming and climate change threatennot just the long-term survival of the planetbut are already having a catastrophic impacton those living in, mainly poor, countries. TheGlobal Solidarity Committee supports theobjectives of the 2015 Paris Agreement onClimate Change and the need for a JustTransition to sustainable employment forthose working in industries reliant on fossilfuels.

By publishing GSN on a regular basisthrough the year, we hope that union membersand their families and friends learn of, and joinin, this important work of promoting social,economic and climate justice across an increasingly divided and volatile world.

Please read about the work of the SIPTUGlobal Solidarity Committee of your union andcontribute in any way you can to our activitiesand campaigns.

SIPTU Deputy General Secretary, Ethel Buckley

‘Silent coup’ in Nicaragua

2 S IPTU G loba l So l i da r i t y

By Frank Connolly

During a brief visit to Dublin in lateSeptember, the president of thePalestinian Authority, MahmoudAbbas, called on the Irish govern-ment to officially recognise the rightof his people to statehood. The recog-nition of the state of Palestine is setout as an objective in the Programmefor Government agreed by Fine Gaeland its Independent Alliance part-ners in 2016 but has yet to be imple-mented. Abbas reiterated that therecognition by the US administra-tion of Jerusalem as the capital of Is-rael and its decision last year tomove its embassy into the illegallyoccupied city meant it could nolonger act as an independent media-tor on behalf of the Palestinian peo-ple in negotiations for a two-statesolution to the long running conflict.

In response, the Minister for ForeignAffairs, Simon Coveney, accepted thatthe Irish government could implementthe commitment to recognise Palestineas a sovereign independent state giventhat Israel by its continuing expansionof illegal settlements in the west Bank

and Jerusalem as well as the ongoingand deadly siege of Gaza was effectively destroying any meaningfulnegotiations for a two-state solution.

Health officials in Gaza estimatethat 180 have been killed and 18,000wounded since the “March of Return’commenced earlier this year. Palestiniansseek to regain lands stolen and occupied

since 1948 by Israel and the prospectof a peaceful settlement to the conflictseems further away than ever.

During a visit to the West Bank andJerusalem in April, I witnessed thesteady expansion of the illegal settle-ments and the exploitation of Palestinians forced to work in

Call on Ireland to recognise

said. “These forces have been trying toroll back the social and economic im-provements achieved by Daniel Ortega,the former leader of the revolutionarySandinista movement, and his govern-ment over the past decade’ he said. Theopposition raised a call for regimechange alleging that Ortega was lead-ing a dictatorship similar to the brutalUS backed Somoza regime he helped tooverthrow in 1979.

As protests continued on the streets,the government withdrew the pensiondecree and invited its opponents to dis-cuss alternatives. It also took police offthe streets for several weeks to avoidconfrontations and further violencewhich meant that road blocks erectedby the opposition prevented food, med-ical and other supplies from enteringlarge parts of the country.

The US and international media car-ried inaccurate reports of students and

others being killed by security forceswhen in fact the only one killed duringthe weeks of unrest was a police officer,according to the deputy foreign minis-ter.

“We were asked by the bishops tostand down in order to avoid a civilwar. The Sandinista base did standdown but then hundreds of them wereattacked with a number killed andburned on the streets. High profile Sandinista women, and their children,were targeted by right wing gangs, including some who had been torturedby the Somoza regime,” he claimed.

In July, he said, hundreds of barri-cades were lifted and transport andother services were restored but onlyafter some 100,000 jobs were lost intourism and services. Over 250 publicbuildings including schools, commu-nity and welfare centres were burned

out by protestors who included disaf-fected local youth as well as gang mem-bers imported from El Salvador andHonduras.

“The army was not deployed in orderto avoid further escalation and deathsand peace and stability was restored bySeptember. We have also managed tomaintain investment in health and so-cial programmes.” Jaenschke said.“However, there is a $500 million holein the budget and we are working withtrade union and community leaders totry and rebuild from this experience.”

He accused US backed interests ofseeking to overthrow the government,which was democratically elected in2016, and said that the Nicaraguanpeople need international solidarityand support to protect the gains madeby the Sandinistas during their termsin office over the past three decades.

Continued from page 1 - ‘Silent coup’ in Nicaragua

President Michael D. Higgins (centre) President Mahmoud Abbas and Sabina Higgins in Áras an Uachtaráin in September earlier this year. Photo: Maxwell Photography.

building, cleaning and extending thehomes of Israeli settlers. The humilia-tion suffered by Palestinian workersfortunate to get work papers as theyqueue in the early morning to toil onland which is rightfully theirs is com-pounded by the abuse they endurefrom the occupiers. Women workers,in particular, suffer regular physicaland sexual abuse by settlers as well asthe indignity of poor wages and lack ofemployment rights meted out by theiremployers.

The visit also involved meetings withtrade union leaders, human rights andwomen’s organisations in the WestBank who emphasised the importanceof the growing campaign for boycott,divestment and sanctions (BDS) on Israel. They claim also that the occupa-tion is imposing an apartheid systemon the Palestinian people while hold-ing the population of Gaza in what iswidely recognised as a vast open airprison where water, medicine andbasic food supplies are withheld by theoccupying Israeli forces.

During the visit, the then Lord Mayorof Dublin, Micheál McDonncha, metwith Adnan Al-Husseini the Pales-tinian minister with responsibility forJerusalem in a gesture of solidarity.His visit attracted controversy afterthe Israeli minister for strategic affairs

announced that he was preventing theDublin mayor from entering Palestinedue to a motion passed a day earlier byDublin City Council endorsing the BDScampaign and the expulsion of the Israeli ambassador to Ireland over thekilling of unarmed civilians in Gaza. Tothe widespread amusement of the em-battled Palestinians, McDonnchatweeted his presence from the westbank city of Ramallah after the ban-ning order was announced.

Within weeks, Senator Frances

Black, travelled to Gaza where she wit-nessed the horrific conditions in thecity and the camp along the barrier

erected by Israel on Palestinian landwhere dozens of people had died overpreceding weeks. She also visited theareas occupied by illegal Israeli settlersand witnessed how Palestinians aredenied access to the land they own andneed to produce food to survive.

On her return, she successfully pro-moted the Occupied Territories Billwhich makes it illegal for goods pro-duced in such areas across the worldfrom being sold in Ireland. The bill waspassed in the Seanad in July, with sup-

port from the opposition parties in-cluding Sinn Féin, Labour,Independent senators and Fianna Fáilfollowing an organised lobbying andpublic awareness campaign supportedby SIPTU, Congress and a number ofNGO’s. A further vote on the Bill is ex-pected in the Seanad in Novemberwhen if passed it will go to the Dáil forratification over the following weeksand months.

SIPTU members have committed topromoting fund raising activities fundraising activities on behalf of the chil-dren of Gaza following a visit by the di-rector of the Middle East Children’sAlliance (MECA), Mona Al Farra, toDerry in July where she addressed theglobal solidarity summer school ofCongress. A fund raising event andconcert will take place to promote theOccupied Territories Bill and to raisefunds for MECA on 22nd November inLiberty Hall.

3S IPTU G loba l So l i da r i t y

state of Palestine

Senator Frances Black with Palestinian farmers, Muna (left) and Fayez al-Taneeb from the WestBank outside Leinster House on Wednesday, 11th July 2018 when the historic Bill, which bansgoods made in illegally occupied territories, was passed in the Seanad.

Photo from left SIPTU Head of Communications, Frank Connolly, Graínne Kelly of Dublin CityCouncil, Palestinian minister for Jerusalem Affairs, Adnan Al-Husseini and then Lord Mayor ofDublin, Micheál Mac Donncha.

How often do you get to meet a real-life hero and someone whom you hadcampaigned for over 15 years to re-lease from a US prison? The visit on21st June to Liberty Hall of FernandoGonzalez Llort, a hero of the Revolu-tion, and one of the Cuban/Miami 5was such an event.

Fernando had a full list of engage-ments in the Oireachtas, and paid a

courtesy visit to the SIPTU National Ex-ecutive Council, where SIPTU GeneralSecretary, Joe O’ Flynn, welcomed him.Following that, he journeyed to pay avisit to the Lord Mayor, Micheál McDon-ncha.

Fernando and the Ambassador thenarrived back at Liberty Hall for an eventchaired by Maureen O’ Sullivan T.D. toa packed Connolly Room, where Fer-nando answered many questions froman assorted audience, and afterwards

stayed for the entertainment.Fernando has asked that we support

the 60th anniversary celebrations ofthe revolution next May and work onscoping out such a trip has alreadybegun.

Special new Ireland/Cuba Solidaritymedals have been minted and will be onsale at the SIPTU Divisional Confer-ences, including images of Che andFidel.

By Jack McGinley

During a recent visit to Dublin,Cuban Minister for Trade, Ana Tere-sita Gonzales, expressed her supportand solidarity for the governmentsof Venezuela and Nicaragua in faceof internal and external aggression.Addressing Irish solidarity cam-paigners with Cuba, including SIPTUmembers, at a reception in theCuban embassy on Saturday 29thSeptember, Gonzales said:

“We offer our total solidarity to theBolivarian government of PresidentNicolas Maduro which is facing ag-gression including elements of non-conventional war. Sanctions and otherexternal intervention do not help pro-vide a situation of stability inVenezuela which is so important to thestability of the region.

“President Maduro has tried to es-tablish dialogue with the political op-position but they have not allowed it tohappen. We are very concerned atcalls, including by the secretary gen-eral of the Organisation of American

States, for military intervention inVenezuela. Cuba believes the situationshould be resolved by Venezuelans.”

She said that the same applies to thesituation in Nicaragua where foreigninterference will make an alreadyvolatile situation worse.

Gonzales said that she hoped a newco-operation agreement between

Cuba and the European Union cansoon be ratified by the Irish parlia-ment. Among those who attended themeeting were Sinn Féin TD, SeanCrowe, Independent TD, ThomasPringle as well as trade unionists, soli-darity campaigners and other politicalrepresentatives.

Cuban trade minister visits Dublin

SIPTU Solidarity with Cuba Forum (SSWCF)

Cuban Ambassador Hugo Ramos meeting with members of SIPTU’s Global Solidarity Committee in Liberty Hall in May 2018.

4 S IPTU G loba l So l i da r i t y

Sadly, due to increased bureaucracyand the closing of the Raffa crossingat the border with Egypt, the GazaKids were not able to leave Gaza tovisit Ireland this summer. In 2013 agroup of activists travelled to Gazaand met various groups. One ofthese was the Al Helal footballclub. Following this visit, Gaza Ac-tion Ireland was born and one theirobjectives was to bring kids fromGaza to Ireland to play football.The purpose of the trip was to givethe kids a break from the appallingconditions in which they live, letthem have some fun, play football(which they love) and raise aware-ness of the conditions that chil-dren in Gaza endure because of theongoing siege.

Due to the worsening situation withover 2000 deaths and thousands of in-juries, including over 3000 childrenand the widespread destruction follow-ing the Israeli attacks on Gaza in 2014,GAI were unable to get the team outuntil 2016. Irish trade unionists playeda role in fundraising for the kids andentertaining them as they travelledaround Ireland in 2016 and 2017. Thisyear SIPTU Global Solidarity hadplanned to bring the kids to the Zoo fora day and to entertain them in thePark, including a kick around withmembers of the FAI. Unfortunately,they never made it. Next year, hope-fully.

By Mags O’BrienYoung footballers protest in Gaza against Israeli occupation in 2017.

Gaza Kids

Gaza kids with SIPTU members in Ireland in July 2017.

5S IPTU G loba l So l i da r i t y

If you are interested, join the network today by simply sendingyour name and place of work to globalsolidarity@siptu.ie

JOIN THE GLOBAL ACTIVIST SOLIDARITY NETWORK

Refugees and Asylum Seekers canpotentially play an important role inthe development of their host com-munities. In this connection, givingindividuals access to the labour mar-ket is crucial, as it helps to restore asense of self-worth, shore up humandignity, facilitate recovery fromtrauma and encourage financial in-dependence. Where refugees are al-lowed to work, we should assist,unionise and organise them, to bet-ter protect their working and em-ployment conditions and preventsocial dumping by ensuring that em-ployers are unable to erode their payand benefits. Refugees are particu-larly vulnerable because they areoften unaware of their rights andcan fall victim to unscrupulous em-ployers.

On the 27th June, the Governmentannounced new measures providingfor enhanced access to the labour mar-

ket for qualified protection applicantsin Ireland with the entry into force ofthe EU (recast) Reception ConditionsDirective. Under the Directive, asylumseekers will have access to the labourmarket nine months from the datewhen their protection application waslodged. However, the measures fall

short in providing the supports to as-sist asylum seekers fully access to thelabour market.

On the 14th of June, in line with ourglobal solidarity action with refugeesand asylum seekers, SIPTU’s LibertyHall theatre was host to the ‘Right toWork’ Campaign launch organised bythe Movement of Asylum Seekers Ire-land (MASI).

MASI has highlighted through theircampaign that even for those who doqualify for the right to work, there areinsurmountable obstacles being facedby asylum seekers. For instance, as anasylum seeker, it is almost impossibleto open a bank account as the State re-tains possession of a person’s passportwhile they are in the asylum process.How can a person in legal employmentget paid without a bank account? Sim-ply, they cannot and when faced withthis situation most employers will justhire someone else.

‘Right to Work’ for migrants

On 7th August 2018 Ivan Duque fromthe Democratic Centre Party was inaugurated as President ofColombia. Duque is a strong critic ofthe 2016 Columbian Peace Accord.He defeated the pro-peace processleft-wing candidate Gustavo Petro(Colombia Humana) by 53.98% to41.81%. Despite this defeat Petrosecured the largest numbers of votesever recorded for a left wingpresidential candidate in Colombia:over 8 million votes. This electionalso saw the first ever election of afemale Vice-President, Martha LuciaRamirez.

Notwithstanding the peace accord,Colombia still remains one of the mostdifficult and dangerous places in theworld to be an active trade unionist orhuman rights defender. Over the past20 years, approximately 3,000 tradeunionists have been murdered. Sincethe signing of the Columbian Peace Ac-

cord in 2016, murders of trade union-ists, social activists and peace defend-ers have steadily increased, with 63,117 and 121 people killed by right wingparamilitaries in the years 2015, 2016and 2017 respectively. Already in thefirst three months of 2018, 46 tradeunionists, social activists and peacedefenders have been murdered.

On 9th April a public meeting spon-sored by Justice for Columbia Irelandwas held in the ICTU Offices in Dublin.The speakers at the meeting wereKevin Callinan (Forsa & ICTU, VicePresident) and Eamonn Gilmore (Euro-pean Union Special Envoy for theColombian Peace Process). The speak-ers gave the audience an in-depthoverview of the situation in Colombia.One of the major issues raised byGilmore in his address was that thecurrent Trump administration doesnot have an equivalent Special Envoyfor the Colombian Peace Process fromthe US.

Despite the continuing murder oftrade unionists and other social ac-tivists the peace process needs to besupported internationally as ulti-mately it is the only viable vehicle tobring about a more stable and peacefulColumbia in the long term.

By Mick Dowling

Colombia - no end to attacks on tradeunionists and human rights activists

‘Right to Work’ campaign launch in Liberty Hall Theatre on 14th June 2018.

6 S IPTU G loba l So l i da r i t y

That Venezuela is in the grips of anunprecedented economic crisis is un-deniable. The recent decision by theBolivarian government of NicolasMaduro to essentially scrap the exist-ing currency and to institute a new‘sovereign bolivar’ amounts to a 97%devaluation. This is the penultimatestep before a dollarisation of theeconomy. The hyper-inflation haswrecked havoc on the economy andthe daily lives of ordinary Venezue-lans while emigration has increasedsignificantly and some food productsare in short supply.

What is less discernible, however,are the causes of the current state ofaffairs. International reporters univer-sally scoff or sneer at the attempts byMaduro’s government to continue toimplement what would be seen, by anyobjective standard, as a largely post-war European style social democraticprogramme: provision of basic healthcare for all, social housing, free educa-tion, subsidised food for the poor. For-mer international left-wing allies havedeserted Maduro’s government; thedays when Hugo Chavez was heraldedas the new Che have long since passed.While corruption, criminal activityand the utter failure to build an alter-native to an over reliant petro-econ-

omy are all legitimate criticisms to belevelled at the Bolivarian project, mysuspicion is that the economic tail-spin that Venezuela finds itself in hasmore to do with the difficulty in at-tempting to build socialism in onecountry.

Lest people forget, the CIA was be-hind the coup to oust Hugo Chavez in2002. The US has dictated the opposi-tion’s strategy in Venezuela over theintervening decades, culminating inadvising the opposition not to contest

the recent Presidential election earlierthis year, thus undermining the credi-bility of the results. The chief suspectbehind the recent attempt to assassi-nate President Maduro, Osman Del-gado Tabosky, resides in Florida.However, probably the most criticalmoment for US intervention was whenPresident Obama declared Venezuela anational security threat in March 2015,putting it in the same club then asNorth Korea, Iran and Syria. This essentially turned Venezuela into apariah state and its international isolation was complete. Despite thefalling revenues from oil reservessince 2008, hyper-inflation only beganto take root in the following year, fromearly 2016. Trump’s economic block-ade has served to tighten the economicnoose.

When an objective reflective analysis is written about this period inVenezuela’s proud history, this will beseen as largely a re-run of the strategies and tactics that resulted inthe destruction Allende’s administra-tion in Chile 1973. None of us can predict the future but if America issuccessful in bringing down Maduro’sgovernment, General Pinochet’s ghostwill no doubt be sure to approve of hissuccessor.

Venezuela in Crisis

7S IPTU G loba l So l i da r i t y

By Adrian Kane

President Maduro’s security team reacting to a sudden explosion during the president’s speech in Caracas in August.

On 12 December 2015, global leaderscommitted to the legally binding UNParis Agreement on Climate Changeto phase out fossil fuels and limitglobal warming to below 1.5 degreesCelsius. The term “Just Transition” inthe Preamble of the UN Paris Agree-ment recognises that “there are nojobs on a dead planet”.

The international trade union move-ment’s engagement on climate changeis based on the belief that trade unionshave a vital role to play in improvingthe quality of jobs, in protecting jobs inexisting workplaces and industries bydemanding sustainable industrialtransformation, organising workers innew decent jobs, emerging from envi-ronmentally sound investments andpolicies and fighting for the just tran-sition measures that will ensure weleave no one behind.

The “Just Transition” puts a rights

based approach at the heart of any cli-mate response. Climate policies-boththose aimed at reducing emissions orthose aimed at building resilience andadaptive capacity-must contribute tothe realisation of human rights. This is

a prerequisite for achieving the sus-tainability of climate polices: peoplewill always stand with measures thatimprove the overall equality of life andtheir chances to live with dignity onour planet. Having rights integrated inclimate policies is a condition for com-munities to contribute to broader so-cial progress. Respect for genderequality, workers and migrants rightsare fundamental for climate policies tosupport those who need them themost.

Despite the opportunities for jobs,there will be significant challenges formany workers and their communities.SIPTU is determined that no one willbe left behind.

SIPTU has produced a booklet formembers on the Just Transition, moreinformation can be found on this link:https://www.siptu.ie/media/publications/file_20561_en.pdf

The Green European Foundation,with the support of Green Founda-tion Ireland and in partnership withSIPTU and the Dublin Council ofTrade Unions, held an all-day Semi-nar on the 23rd June on the theme:Jobs in a Changing Climate.

The event addressed how ClimateChange will affect the livelihoods ofthousands of workers. The event heardfrom a range of workers: Duncan

Stewart (Chair of Green FoundationIreland), Jonathan Essex and PeterSims (Green House Think Tank UK).Adrian Kane (SIPTU PAC Divisional Or-ganiser), Sinéad Mercier (Researcher,Green Party) and Joseph Curtin (Insti-tute of International and European

Affairs, IIEA). Discussions highlightedthe need for a Just Transition and keyeconomic sectors that need to be prioritise in this strategy, particularly those affecting workers working in thepeat industry in the Midlands.

Activists attending 'Jobs in a Changing Climate' event, Liberty Hall, June 2018. Photo: Dan O’Neill

Jobs in a Changing Climate

8 S IPTU G loba l So l i da r i t y

No Jobs on a Dead Planet: What a Just Transition means for Workers

Climate Change

The shocking report on climatechange, published in early Octoberby the United Nations, has con-firmed that that its consequences arefar worse than previously believed.The report by the world’s leading cli-matologists on the Intergovernmen-tal Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)concluded that there is likely to be a1.5-degree increase in global warm-ing on pre-industrial levels by 2040.

Climate change takes us beyond ourstruggles for better conditions andpay, and asks us questions about own-ership. about who is profiting fromthese businesses, who is making thedecisions, where, and do we have anysay in it.

In a way, it’s the classic debate onshop/craft unionism versus industrialor political unionism. Except this time,instead of there being a revolutionarysocialist ideology pushing towards awider union activity, it is the limits ofour planet itself, and our place in it.

If policies in these areas are going toput our industries out of business, abattle for pay or terms and conditionsis of little benefit. If rising sea levels

are going to make the communitiesand housing of our workers unliveable,a battle for pay or terms and condi-tions is of little benefit.

Union workers have always contested how the elite has used science and statistics to justify their

political actions and oppression. Thereare whole schools of elitist economicsthat are built around breaking workerpower, degrading basic human rightsand working conditions, in the nameof free enterprise and “the great en-trepreneur”. Workers understandthat. Indeed, unions have been to theforefront in providing alternative re-search, alternative sources of informa-

tion on which tobase their or-ganising. Thegreatest of theseis Karl Marxwhose analysisof the function-ing of capitalistproduction re-mains a key toolfor every unionorganiser bat-tling for a shareof the just fruitsof a workerslabour.

But, workersand most tradeunions are nota n t i - s c i e n c e .We understandthe value of ob-jective analysis.We uphold thetenets of the sci-

entific method. So when 95% of theworlds highlighted this issue, anddemonstrated the impact of humanactivity on global temperatures, andcalled for urgent action, we, like othershave taken note.

In the 2015 Paris Agreement, coun-

tries of the worlds came together andmade commitments. We may criti-

cise the enforceability of some of thesecommitments, nonetheless they are asign of growing global mobilisation.Since then, climate sceptics, far rightagitators and assorted demagogues,have attempted to derail this globalconsensus. It is not working. The ma-jority of the countries are on track andon board.

The challenge for workers facing climate change is the challenge to beagain political unions. To stand in solidarity with their fellow unionmembers whose jobs are facing extinc-tion, to demand political action to address this in a fair way. The ‘JustTransition’idea drafted by tradeunions is an attempt to deal with theimpact that changes in production willhave on workers.

We need truly motivated and demo-cratic unions if we are to embrace thechallenge of climate change.

We need agile, nimble unions, ableto see beyond the front of their noses.We should not shirk away from unionmembers demanding cross union soli-darity, and demanding the unionbosses take a more aggressive line inchallenging climate change. Indeed,union leaders also should be able tochallenge their own members, if it isthe members who are shying awayfrom a more solidarity approach. Ourcivil servants follow. Our ministers fol-low. Very cautiously. Look at the evi-dence. Climate action is a key uniondemand.

Climate action is a key union demand9S IPTU G loba l So l i da r i t y

Sinéad Mercier and Yvonne O’Callaghan outside the Department ofEnvironment, Community and Local Government. Photo: Paddy Cole

By Gearóid Fitzgibbon

Climate Change

A delegation from SIPTU’s GlobalSolidarity Committee attended the10th annual ICTU Global SolidaritySummer School which took place inDerry in late July to discuss “Buildingour Power-Organising for Global Sol-idarity”. Over 80 trade union dele-gates from across the island,gathered to discuss the movementsglobal solidarity work and to hearfrom a range of national and inter-national speakers.

Emily Paulin of the OrganisingAcademy of the International TradeUnion Confederation (ITUC), discussedhow trade unions have come a longway in “Building our Power” since thelast ITUC Congress in 2014.

There was a focus on Asylum seekersat the school, including the recent decision by the Irish Government togrant access to the labour market forpeople after nine months. Delegatesheard from Lucky Khambule, Movement of Asylum Seekers in

Ireland (MASI) and Michael O’ Neill, head of legal at IHREC.

There was also a Rohingya Photo-graphic Display at the Summer Schoolpresented by Haikal, a representativeof the Rohingya Community in Ireland.

Finally, delegates heard about the

humanitarian situation in Gaza fromDr. Mona El-Farra, Director of Gaza

Projects of the Middle East Childrens’ Alliance (MECA). This was followed by a discussion on work beingundertaken by the Irish trade unionmovement and further proposals for sol-idarity action with the Palestinian people.

Building our Power - Organising for Global Solidarity

SIPTU delegation with Dr. Mona El-Farra (centre) at ICTU Global Solidarity Summer School in July 2018.

“Across a wet and miserable Septem-ber weekend in 2016, SIPTU mem-bers formed part of an ICTUdelegation that visited the illegalsettlement of Calais. Few places inEurope could match the bleak land-scape that awaited us. A disusedchemical dump had become home totens of thousands of dispossessedpeople. They had fled war andfamine, intolerance and often cer-tain death. They had reached Europeand eventually the narrow channelof water that once divided mainlandEurope from Britain. There was atunnel that bridged the silk roads ofcommerce, but there would be nobridge for the Citizens of Nowhere,only the indifference of a Europethat further brutalised the victims ofwar as though the act of survival wasa war crime. We witnessed the singlegreatest tragedy of our time, theabandonment of the refugees, thebetrayal of innocence, the hell thatwas “the Jungle.”

Yet even as we faced our worse fears,the shame of capitalism, even as wesaw the commodification of despera-tion, we also learned of hope andstrength. Men and women who re-tained a humanity in the face of mar-ket value morality. We also met thevolunteers, dedicated nurses, doctors,teachers and every day workers who

understood that global solidarityknows no borders, and celebrated di-versity. In Calais we learned again thatthere is only one fragile earth and onefragile race of humans. We were theinheritors and all we asked for wasglobal solidarity.”

By Brian Condra

ICTU Global Solidarity Delegation to Refugee Camp in Calais September 2018.

Looking back to Calais

10 S IPTU G loba l So l i da r i t y

Workers and union leaders wereamongst the hundreds of others whohad been detained in police custodysince 15th September followingprotests in Istanbul about workingconditions at the construction site ofa new airport. The mass arrests tookplace when workers went on striketo protest against the unsafe and in-humane conditions on the construc-tion site of the third Istanbulairport.

There have been 42 deaths alreadyat the construction site where mi-grant workers from countries such asNepal are working together with thou-sands of Turkish workers. The labourcamps where workers are housed aresubstandard with poor food and bed-bugs in the sleeping quarters. Some ofthe workers have not been paid formore than six months. Instead of ad-dressing the urgent and legitimate de-mands of the workers, thegendarmerie has backed the construc-tion companies and cracked down onthe protest. The leader of the Confed-eration of Progressive Labour Unions(DISK) has not been permitted to meetthe workers without a special permitfrom the governor.

Thousands of gendarmerie and po-lice officers intervened to break up theprotest by construction workers in Is-tanbul on 14th September. Rather than

stifle legitimate peaceful protest withlistening to the complaints of workersand ensure they have a safe and digni-fied place of work, workers were metwith water cannons, tear gas and de-tentions.

More than 500 workers were de-tained by police. The majority of thosedetained were picked up after mid-night on 15th September during a po-lice raid on their dormitories whilethey were sleeping.

Forty-three of the detainees includ-ing four members of the construction

workers trade union (Insaat-Sen) werebrought to Istanbul’s GaziosmanpasaCourt House on 18th September in theafternoon. The prosecution asked thecourt to remand 28 in prison custodyand to conditionally release 15 workers

while the inves-tigation againstthem continues.

The order byan Istanbulcourt to remand24 constructionworkers andunion leaders inprison pendingtrial is a blatantattempt by theauthorities tosilence legiti-mate protest.

The workersand union lead-ers detained inprison custodyare accused ofpreventing pub-

lic servants from carrying out theirwork, forcing or threatening others tostop or suspend work, damaging pub-lic property and participating in theprotest with weapons. However, no ev-idence to substantiate these chargeswas presented at the court hearing.

By Yvonne O’Callaghan

Turkey continues to stifle legitimate protest

11S IPTU G loba l So l i da r i t y

Arrest of construction worker during strike in Istanbul in September 2018. Photo: AFP/Getty Images

In a wide-ranging speech to the In-ternational Labour Organisation inJune, President Michael D Higginspraised the organisations “noble ori-gins, its new challenges, and its po-tential global role as catalyst.” Hesaid that there was a need “to placethe ILO at the centre of our efforts tocreate a new global architecture forsustaining peace”.

He added that this was essential if“we are to accomplish the goals of thatmost remarkable declaration of sharedglobal solidarity, the 2030 Agenda forSustainable Development, to which wecommitted ourselves in New York twoand half years ago”.

The president also acknowledged therole of trade unions and women in theNorthern Ireland peace process stating“that our peace could not have beenachieved, nor could it have been sus-tained, without the persistent andcourageous activism of civic organisa-

tions campaigning for more equal andpeaceful society. The trade unionmovement, on an all-Ireland basis hasbeen the greatest, most consistent,most courageous opponent of sectari-anism. Many of those campaignsagainst sectarianism for the welfare ofcitizens and workers were led by thewomen of Ireland, North and South.Their campaigns demonstrate thatgender equality can never be simplyresidual to peacebuilding – it must beplaced at its very heart”.

President Higgins ended by statingthat “peace does not simply rest oncommon markets….but upon a globalsolidarity…dedicated to the realisationof social justice and equality for all ourpeoples.”

The speech was well received with aSwedish delegate suggesting that itwas the best delivered at the ILO sinceone by Olaf Palme in the 1980s!

By David Joyce

President Michael D Higgins addressingthe International Labour Conference, Geneva June 2018.

President Higgins at the ILO

The ITUC Global Rights Index 2018ranks 142 countries against 97 in-ternationally recognised indica-tors to assess where workers’rights are best protected in lawand in practice.

The three global trends for work-ers’ rights identified in the 2018Global Rights Index are shrinkingdemocratic space, unchecked cor-porate influence and the impor-tance of legislation. The number of

countries with arbitrary arrestsand detention of workers increasedfrom 44 in 2017 to 59 in 2018, andfreedom of speech was constrainedin 54 countries.

The report ranks the ten worstcountries for workers’ rights in2018 as Algeria, Bangladesh, Cam-bodia, Colombia, Egypt, Guatemala,Kazakhstan, the Philippines, SaudiArabia and Turkey.

In Europe, 58% of countries vio-

lated collective bargaining rights,and three quarters of countries vi-olated the right to strike. The reportshows that globally more countriesare excluding workers from labourlaw – from migrant workers, publicsector employees to workers inplatform businesses, with 65% ofcountries excluding whole cate-gories of workers from labour law.

International Trade Union Global Rights Index 2018: Democratic space shrinks andunchecked corporate greed on the rise

12 S IPTU G loba l So l i da r i t y

Over the last year, Fair Trade Irelandhas championed a change in policywithin the Fairtrade System to pri-oritise the introduction of a LivingWage for workers and a living in-come for famers. Fairtrade is a globalmovement which addresses the in-justices of conventional trade bysupporting smallholder farmers andworkers to secure better terms oftrade. There are over 1.4 millionfarmers and workers spread acrossmore than 70 countries in the worldparticipating in Fairtrade.

The members of the Fairtrade Inter-national have now adopted a newstrategic ambition to enable the intro-duction of Living Wages for all work-ers, specifically in banana plantationsby 2020. Every day, hundreds of thou-sands of people go to work growingand harvesting the bananas that maketheir way to markets all around theworld. Although bananas are the mostpopular fruit in western countries,worth €9 billion in exports worldwide,banana farmers and plantation work-ers only see about one to three percentof this value in their incomes

This new Wage Improvement ap-proach puts Fairtrade at the forefrontof global wage efforts. It gives Fair-trade a unique point of differentiationwith other schemes. More importantly,it sends a message to workers and con-sumers that Fairtrade means businesswhen it comes to improving wages inagriculture. It recognizes that LivingWage benchmarks are a decency floorand not a ceiling

In the Ivory Coast, a survey was un-dertaken which revealed that 58% ofhouseholds are below the extremepoverty line with the average household having an annual income of$2707. Only 44% of households achievethe Living Wage. As 74% of household

incomes comes from cocoa sales,thus the importance of Fairtradebringing a living wage to workers inthe cocoa industry will raise house-holds out of extreme poverty.

SIPTU’s Yvonne O’ Callaghan, thecurrent Chair of Fairtrade Ireland said.“It is incumbent on us as trade unionsto bring awareness to workers that asconsumers they have the power to

change peoples lives. By simply makinga change in our weekly shopping bypurchasing fair trade products such aschocolate, coffee, tea or bananas, wecan contribute to achieving a LivingWage for workers. This will have furtherimpacts on local communities partici-pating in Fairtrade, by decreasingpoverty and gender inequality and gen-erate the resources for these communi-ties to come together to meet thechallenges of climate change. No matterhow hard your job may get some times,at least most of us are able to afford ourfood and basic needs. It's not always thecase for coffee farmers, many of whomlive below the poverty line.”

If you like SIPTU want to becomea Fairtrade Workplace and feelproud about where you work.Find out if your office is eligibleto apply:https://www.fairtrade.ie/get-involved/fairtrade-at-work

Bringing a Living Wage to theHeart of Fairtrade

www.fairtrade.ie

Fairtradethe power is inyour handsFairtrade empowers 1.4m small-scale farmers and workers in the developing world to trade their way out of poverty and build a more sustainable future.

Look out for Fairtrade products when you are shopping, and add Fairtrade bananas, coffee, tea, chocolate to your shopping basket. Why not make your workplace Fairtrade. To find out more contact info@fairtrade.ie

13S IPTU G loba l So l i da r i t y

Fairtradethe power is inyour handsFairtrade empowers 1.4m small-scale farmers and workers in the developing world to trade their way out of poverty and build a more sustainable future.

L

14 S IPTU G loba l So l i da r i t y

Coalition 2030, a coalition of over 100civil society organisations in Ireland was established to keep thepressure on Ireland to deliver on Sustainable Development Goals set bythe United Nations. Members of thecoalition come from sectors as diverseas youth organisations, academics,domestic NGOs, trade unions, and international humanitarian and development agencies.

The diverse membership are unitedin the belief that the 17 Sustainable Development Goals that were agreed

as the ‘Agenda 2030’ back in 2015 arecentral to the achievement of funda-mental rights in Ireland and interna-tionally.

The 17 goals cover issues such ashunger, poverty, gender equality, decent work, climate change, lifeunder the oceans, and sustainablecities.

They therefore touch on key social, political, economic and environmental issues that encompassthe biggest challenges – not just forcountries in the global south, but athome in Ireland too. For example, thegoals have as much to say about decenthousing and labour rights as they do about tackling hunger and malnutrition.

Equality is a fundamental principlein Agenda 2030. The agreement com-mitted the international communityto ‘Leave no-one behind’ and to ‘putthose furthest behind first’ as theypursue the 17 goals.

Members of Coalition 2030 are call-ing on Ireland, which played a key rolein the negotiation of the agreement in2015, to show leadership by deliveringon all of its promises under the goals.Earlier this year Coalition 2030 pro-duced a report to assess what, if any,progress is being made. The report

highlights a significant lack ofprogress, in particular the weaknessesin Ireland’s National ImplementationPlan; its poor performance in meetingcommitments on official developmentassistance (ODA); its continuing facili-tation of international tax abuse; andextremely worrying trends in green-house gas emissions. The report con-cludes with key recommendations to getback on track under each of the 17 Goals.To get more involved or to find out morevisit https://www.ireland2030.org/.SIPTU is a member of Coalition 2030.

By Niamh Garvey, Head of Policy and Advocacy, Trocaire

Creating Solidarity with the Sustainable Development Goals

Coalition 2030 members mark the third anniversary of the sustainable goals in Dublin in September 2018.

UNIONS SAY NO TO RACISM AND XENOPHOBIA

3 S IPTU G loba l So l i da r i t y

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globalsolidarity@siptu.ie