Incoming Speech by John Douglas, ICTU President 4 July 2013

Friday 5 July 2013

Comrades, it’s a great honour to be elected as your President and I want to thank all of you for placing your trust in me. I promise I will do my best to repay your faith in me.

I want to begin by thanking the outgoing President, Eugene McGlone. Eugene has brought tremendous energy and commitment to Congress and has helped to steer us through some difficult times over the last couple of years.

Thank you Eugene.

I also want to congratulate my fellow officers and those elected to the Executive Committee – I look forward to working with you over the next couple of years.

It’s also right that I thank the staff of Congress – in particular our General Secretary David Begg – for their tireless work on our behalf.

In addition, it’s only fair that I mention my own team in Mandate who have given me such tremendous support over the years.

At this point I also want to say that I intend to operate as President in an inclusive way.

I will listen to and take on board the viewpoints of all no matter how big or small your union is – I know this is important, as I came from a union with less than 5,000 members.

At this stage of the conference’s proceedings I know everyone’s thinking about ‘chilling out’.

We’ve had three days of debate and discussion – both formal and informal – so I’m not going to hold you for too long, but there are a few important things I want to leave you with as you begin your departure from here.

Our mission is to mobilise and campaign for a fairer, better society north and south and to do this we must reclaim the hearts and minds of workers and we must expose the agenda of the other side.

In the past we have allowed our enemies to divide us, but they have not conquered us and they never will!

We will unite in solidarity in exposing the type of society the neo-liberals propose, a society which:

a) Puts no value on public services other than to measure it in terms of payroll costs;

b) Which educates its children for emigration;

c) Which condemns 100,000 plus construction workers to an existence on the dole;

d) Where the pension savings of tens of thousands of private sector workers are allowed to go down the drain;

e) Which values saving bond holders, but reduces the availibility of special needs’ assistants/home helps to the most vulnerable citizens;

f) Where 26 million workers across Europe have no jobs, and are drowning in debt and in fear of losing their homes.

Irish people and trade unionists need to wake up and smell the coffee and we need to be the ones who are sounding the alarm clocks.

In some respects we are at war – we’re in a battle for the values and ideas that will shape the future of this island.

The trade union movement together with community groups and political activists must be in the frontline leading the fight back.

Our message is one of hope and a decent future for all.

This vision for the future will not be given to us, but rather we will have to win our own destiny.

However, this can only be achieved if we include our local activists in a coherent and consistent campaign – not just once-of days of action.

That is why it is critical that the trade union movement reorganises immediately.

That is why it is so important we adopted Motion 9 last Tuesday to pave the way forward.

It is clear also that the trade union movement must make a political impact if we are to win.

If we could mobilise 800,000 trade union members and their families to vote for progressive political parties, it is likely that we would not be facing austerity policies north and south.

What is also clear is that if we could mobilise the political muscle of the trade union movement, we would today already enjoy free collective bargaining and our public sector members would not have the Financial Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill 2013 (FEMPI) hanging over their heads.

On the FEMPI Bill 2013 let me be clear.

Free collective bargaining is a human right, and the FEMPI Bill 2013 is an ATTACK on that Right…… in that it imposes penalties on workers who exercise their free choice in collective bargaining.

This legislation must be repealed as a matter of urgency.

It has no place in the industrial relations’ arena and we must campaign to have it removed.

I also think that the tide has turned with regard to corporation tax across the world.

Multinationals who operate on this island must be made pay their fair share towards a recovery – a minimum social contribution, if you will.

It is not acceptable that they benefit from the investment we – particulary those on low and middle incomes who are just about getting by – have made in our education system, our health service and our infrastructure and then pay little or nothing back – remember some pay no tax at all – to maintain the quality of these services.

They have a social and corporate responsibility to the citizens of Ireland and the world and should be making a fair contribution.

I am sick of politicians north and south pandering and tipping the forelock to multinational abuse of the tax regime, while the same politicians cut services to the most vulnerable and criminalise ordinary workers who can’t pay service charges.

The present crisis presents the trade union movement not only with challenges but with a great opportunity.

We are still the biggest civil society organisation in Ireland; our challenge is to build on our strengths, refine our structures and to mobilise with a unity of purpose.

We have common cause.

But, this will require sacrifices, generosity and solidarity; we have but one chance and failure is not an option.

Our shared history and our class demands that we succeed.

Let us go forth from today, stronger, united and with purpose.

Thank you.