30 years ago today – Irish workers took a stand against oppression

Exactly thirty years ago today, Mary Manning, a 21-year-old shop worker at the Dunnes Stores outlet in Henry Street. Dublin, refused to check out two oranges from South Africa.

She had simply been following an instruction issued by her union IDATU (forerunner to Mandate) but it led to her suspension and sparked a strike which was to last for two-and-a-half years and lead ultimately to an import ban on Apartheid-era South African produce to the Republic.

The brave stance of Mary Manning, and of her co-workers who went out on strike in support of her, is a proud moment in the history of the Irish labour movement.

The Dunnes Stores workers’ actions raised awareness in Ireland and internationally of the oppressive Apartheid regime and there is no doubt that they played a part in the ending of that tyrannical administration.

At the time of the strike, many groups and individuals critised these workers and they experienced dreadful abuse almost daily on the picket line. History, however, has proven their stance correct. What’s important to remember though, is that their actions should not have been necessary in the first place.

The Irish government could have legislated to ban goods from South Africa, which could have saved those brave workers from having to picket their workplace for more than two and a half years.

Irish consumers could have decided they would not purchase goods that came from a country that openly discriminated, tortured and terrorized a proportion of the population, solely based on the colour of their skin.

Today we look back at the workers involved in the Anti-apartheid strike with pride and with admiration. Yet, also today, civilians living in Gaza and Palestine experience similar oppression.

In the past number of days hundreds of innocent civilians have been killed. These killings, including the targeting of four young children playing football on a beach, is something that we should not accept and something we should not support economically.

If one worker refuses to purchase goods from the occupied territories, it sends a small but powerful message. If all of us in Ireland and across the EU refuse to purchase these goods, it sends a much more powerful message.

We can also contact our politicians to voice our concern and disgust at what is currently taking place in Gaza and call on them to legislate and to pressure the Israeli government.

In thirty years time, when you look back on the crisis that is taking place in Gaza and Palestine, be sure that you’re on the right side of history, just like the Dunnes Stores Anti-apartheid strikers were.