Speech at a Community Garden Party Celebrating the Trade Union Movement
Áras an Uachtaráin, 30 June 2024
A cháirde,
Tá áthas orm féin agus mo bhean chéile Saidhbhín fháiltiú a fhearadh rómhaibh uilig chuig Áras an Uachtaráin, áit chónaithe Uachtaráin na hÉireann ó 1938.
[Sabina and I are most happy to welcome you all to Áras an Uachtaráin, the home of all Irish Presidents since 1938.]
The theme of today’s garden party is ‘Celebrating the Trade Union Movement’, a subject very close to Sabina and my hearts, and we are honoured to have present the President of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Justin McCamphill, the General-Secretary of Forsa, Kevin Callinan, the General-Secretary of SIPTU, Joe Cunningham, and so many friends from across the membership of all of the affiliated trade unions who are here with us today. You are all most welcome.
Today we invite you to join us in celebration of your work, and the work of those activists who have gone before you, organising, marching, fighting for workers’ rights, and standing in solidarity with colleagues, fellow citizens, and with people all over the world, in struggles against injustice, inequality and exclusion in the workplace.
We are meeting at a historic moment in the role of Trade Unions. Trade Unions, with a long and glorious history of fighting for and providing protection for workers, are now in a position of new circumstances. I believe there is an opportunity for unions to play a leadership-defining role in the coming years as we build the future of our economy and our society.
Rather than simply reacting to the agendas of others, Unions are now sitting down as equals with CEOs and with Government. The expertise which they are bringing to these discussions is being acknowledged and Unions have shown that they are skilful partners with the intellectual resources and analytical capacity that is more than equal of that in any other part of the economy.
With supporting institutions like the Nevin Institute, whose contribution has been recognised by the ESRI and NESC, this is not just a question of competence, but is coming from a position that is explicitly progressive in terms of equality in all its aspects.
At this defining moment, the challenge facing you all with our fullest support is, as representatives of workers in every sector of our society, to give continuing leadership in these new circumstances and to play a central role in defining the Ireland of the coming decades as one where all workers, and people from all backgrounds, can flourish.
In order to seize this opportunity, and to build the recruitment that is necessary, it is crucial that your engagement with the public is a proactive one seizing opportunities and helping to foster, for example, an expansion in economic literacy and rights-based thinking.
Contrary to what we may sometimes be led to believe, by a bogus assertion of excessive expertise there is no concept that is beyond comprehension by our citizens if it is explained effectively. It is vital that Trade Unions are to the forefront in building the progressive and emancipatory public education that is necessary to allow everyone across our society to advocate for their essential rights and to participate in the decision-making process.
To this end, I so welcome the ‘Better in a Trade Union’ campaign run by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions this year, culminating in a large number of grassroots events in workplaces, communities, schools and colleges across the island over the inaugural ‘Trade Union Week’ which coincided with May Day.
Initiatives like this are of such importance, aiming as they do to ensure that all working people are aware of the benefits of being part of a Trade Union, as well as the wider benefits to society, that flows from this, and the strength that being part of a collective, representing and negotiating as a group of employees rather than as individuals means for one’s development and fulfilment.
I particularly welcome the emphasis of the campaign on standing up for social justice on a human rights basis, including LGBTQ+ and women’s rights, as well as campaigning on issues such as housing and healthcare.
It is important to acknowledge that in order to achieve the change that is necessary in our society, there is a new form of economy required, one that must be sought, campaigned for, one which, for example, will combine economics with responsible ecology to achieve sustainability.
It must be recognised, too, that we must forge a recognition of what we have experienced in recent decades is a form of economy that has failed and which has left huge residues of inequality, environmental degradation, one which challenges our very survival.
In previous speeches, I have referred to the richer discourse that is now available thanks to scholarly contributions from, among others, Tim Jackson, Ian Gough, Anna Coote, Mariana Mazzucato, Sylvia Walby, Kate Raworth, Peadar Kirby, Mary Murphy and many others who advance ecologically sustainable and socially progressive alternatives to this destructive, failed model.
In addition to this new writing, there is also practical work taking place every day, including on the achievement of Just Transition, where Trade Union members are making such an important contribution. The importance of achieving a Just Transition – based on the principles of equality, participation, and protection of the marginalised – is ever more relevant and is in alignment with our obligations under the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, our blueprint for a sustainable, inclusive, shared future.
If we look at the history of the Trade Union movement, it is clear that what I am speaking of will not be a simple evolution, and that there will be those who will oppose this change, just as they have so many others over the decades.
One has only to look at how advocates for the attaining of any one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, or of the ending of the use of fossil fuels, are outnumbered by factors of hundreds to one by those vested interests who oppose them. Likewise, any analysis of the register of lobbyists in the European Union makes clear the strength of those mobilising to oppose the necessary changes.
That is why I again say how important it is to build education among the general public, to actively recruit, and to make that message ‘Better in a Trade Union’ clear to every worker. It is clear that this is something that young people want, with research carried out by academics in UCD finding that 67% of all workers aged between 16 and 24 want access to collective bargaining and a union.
I will also be among those who will welcome the transposition of the Adequate Minimum Wages European Directive, a directive hard-won by trade unionists in Ireland and across Europe, which requires Member States to initiate and promote policies and legislation that increase collective bargaining and coverage and to facilitate the right to exercise collective bargaining – a right denied to too many workers in Ireland.
These challenges are not new. There has always been a tension between those who sought security of property and those who sought meeting sufficiency for the needs of life.
This year marks the 100th anniversary of the publication of the Reports of the Commission on Agriculture of 1924. The minority report – written by Thomas Johnson and Michael Duffy, both of whom served at different points in time as President of the Irish Trades Union Congress – highlighted the value of tillage in creating jobs and eliminating food dependency, while providing a produce which could primarily be sold locally rather than for export.
In what was a socially based proposal for its time, they proposed a form of farming that could foster strong local communities, creating both sustainable jobs and ensuring a dependable local food supply which could benefit farmers and agricultural labourers alike. However their proposal was rejected by supporters of the Majority Report, who favoured what was seen as the unstoppable march of the cattle economy.
As we all recognise, the battle for Trade Unions differs in different circumstances. It is to the credit of Irish Trade Unions that, for decades, you have supported Trade Unions in extreme circumstances across the globe. I think, for example, of when trade unionists were being murdered in Colombia or Chile.
We must never forget, too, the Dunnes Stores workers who played such an important role in opposing apartheid in South Africa. On every occasion that I have spoken to someone in South Africa, they have mentioned those brave workers. When I attended the funeral of Nelson Mandela, it was such an honour to see them in attendance following an invitation which they received in recognition of their action from the ANC.
I myself have been a proud trade unionist since my teens and all through my adult life. Indeed, I was the founder, in 1969, of the teaching section of the Workers’ Union of Ireland, which later became part of SIPTU.
As I reflect on the Trade Union movement during my lifetime, I am struck by how clearly certain aspects of it have retained a special place in my memories. The image I recover is of banners, bands, marches, speeches in the public space – great speeches – which people would debate on the way home, some of the phrases of which they would make their own. This is a subject which I describe in my poem “Of Saturdays Made Holy”, which I recited recently at the recent Robert Tressell festival in Liberty Hall.
The Trade Union tradition is a proud tradition. One thinks of how it makes its way into the hearts of those who were struggling for freedom in their different ways. There are so many songs on the theme of “I’m off to join the union”. Many early trade union organisers, such as labour activists like Swedish-American Joe Hill, realised the importance of culture, of time spent together, of music shared, of songs in whose rendering workers competed for excellence. This is true of the docks, of the mines, of the factories. It is part of the symbolic life of a collective that shared values of universalism. It is the very antithesis of extreme individualism.
This was a powerful tradition from which Civil Rights movements, the Anti-Apartheid movement, and Equal Rights movements could call on for support. It is important that on all parts of this island we acknowledge the role of the Trade Union movement from its beginnings down to our times in opposing sectarianism.
We must always remember that a union’s best strength is its members’ support for each other. The Trade Union movement on this island is a united Trade Union movement, committed against racism at home and abroad, and this is a huge strength.
That Trade Unions are giving leadership in taking the opportunity to provide that strong voice in support of universalism, in support of a strong welfare state, an argument that is evidence-based and has ample empirical basis, is so welcome.
The Trade Union movement is strongest when it is a movement that knows no borders. We have reasons to be hopeful – for example, in South America we see unionisation levels rising and unions playing key roles in promoting social dialogue on issues such as ensuring a just transition, precarious jobs, and the elimination of gender-based violence in the workplace.
We must ensure that the unionisation of Africa becomes a reality and that improved social dialogue on key issues of employment and social protection is encouraged. In Africa, the Trade Union movement must stand with women who are refused ownership of land and forced to lease the plots of land which they do have for low wages, as well as with small holders who are being asked to enrol as factory workers on small wages for export.
In terms of international capital, there is a huge cleavage opening up between those advocating for the new system which we require, and those in favour of renovation of a failed system who are not acknowledging that the economic growth they speak of comes from acquisitions and mergers rather than an increase in value.
Globally, as we discuss the future of the United Nations and the multilateral institutions, we may be on the verge of seeing one of the first real confrontations between what is called ‘the South’ and those refusing to reform the international system. Debt is a crippling issue confronting every country in Africa and at the UN in September we need to have an honest debate on what is required if we are to have effective multilateral institutions which can surface human need.
Mar fhocal scoir, today as we celebrate all the great battles that trade unions have won and look to the future with great hope, let us all affirm our commitment to playing our part in the creation of a society that removes the obstacles standing between so many of our people and their full participation.
As you continue to stand in solidarity with the most vulnerable, lowest paid and least protected workers in society, may you continue to defend their rights just as the founders of the Trade Union movement did more than a century ago.
So much is possible, and can be made possible, through our collective action. For so many around the world, the battle for decent work and all it entails continues to be one of the defining struggles of our times, one that can be genuinely inclusive, emancipatory and joyful for all who participate in the cause.
But of course today is a day for celebration, your day off, a day to enjoy yourselves and there is nobody more welcome to the home of the President of Ireland than your good selves.
May I take this opportunity to thank all those who make today’s garden party so enjoyable, including the singers and entertainers – John Walsh, Carndonagh Brass Band, Fleadh Cheoil, Siofra Ní Mhóráin, Aongus MacAmhlaigh, The After 8’s, Lauren Ann, Bricknasty and The Ratzingers.
May I also thank most warmly today’s MC John Kelly for his consummate chairing of proceedings, the first-aiders, the St. John of God’s volunteers, the Gardaí and all of the staff here at the Áras and the OPW who have worked tirelessly to make today so memorable. May I also thank Philip Sweeney and the Arcana team for ensuring that the sound quality has been impeccable at this and all other garden parties.
Sabina and I want to thank you all for your important activism. We hope that you enjoy this garden party here with us and wish you good health and every good fortune for your future endeavours.
Go raibh míle maith agaibh go léir. Bain taitneamh as an lá is gúim gach rath oraibh don todhchaí.
ENDS