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IRISH CONGRESS OF TRADE UNIONS

REPORT OF PROCEEDINGS

BIENNIAL DELEGATE CONFERENCE, 7-9 JULY 2015 TREACY’S WEST COUNTY HOTEL

ENNIS, CO CLARE

Tuesday 7 July, 2015 Morning Session Opening of Conference John Douglas, President of Congress Is Cllr James Breen in the hall? Is Cllr Pat Daly in the hall? One more call – Cllr James Breen and Cllr Pat Daly, are you in the hall, building? No. Ok, delegates, we are going to start conference so if you could all settle down, take your seats. I am going to call on Tommy Guilfoyle of the TEEU and the President of the Clare Trades Council to address Conference, Tommy. Tommy Guilfoyle, President of Clare Trades Council Just proves my point you can’t trust politicians - here we go. Good morning friends, brothers, sisters, comrades, fraternal guests. My name is Tommy Guilfoyle and as President of Clare of Trades Union, I would like to welcome you all to 2015 ICTU BDC ‘Living Wage Strong Economy’ here in Ennis, County Clare. The theme of this Conference is key to ensuring a better society for our members and all on the island of Ireland. If we can work together and implement the motions we pass over the next 3 days we will move our society in the direction of the aspirations of the 1916 Proclamation. An Island of equals whose State works for its citizens. In order to do this we must organise and politicise our members, organise so that we are at the forefront of workers’ rights and standing up against all social injustices. I must commend all the Unions who have been at the coal face of these struggles in recent years, zero low hour contracts, apprenticeship charges, water charges, marriage equality and privatisation. Politicise so we can elect a government that honours our demands. We need to question historic and current political allegiances. We need to question whose manifesto covers all our demands and choose allegiances wisely come the next general election. We will give our allegiance to the political party who can prove to us they will give us true collective bargaining, ban precarious employment stop fracking, unjust water charges and privatization. This is where our allegiances should lie. The Clare Council of Trade Unions will do all in its power to promote the theme of this year’s Conference. Since 1991 it has managed the Congress unemployment and information centre at Connolly House here in Ennis, supervised by Andrea Lynch. This hard working centre provides for

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our unemployed or employed and our most venerable. Our centre can grow with the theme of this conference. Please check us out on www.cioc.ie As a union activist and proud TEEU member, I have been a Shop Stewart, a Branch Officer, a Group of Unions Officer, a Worker Director and a fulltime employee employed by TEEU as a full time official. I genuinely appreciate and fully understand all the hard work you do and the commitment and sacrifices you make to fight the good fight. Please continue to fight this fight on behalf of the workers and people of this island and all around the world. Thank you for standing up against neo- liberalism and its continued attempts to pull the workers of this world back to slavery. I wish Conference every success, enjoy the craic agus ol. Fraternal solidarity and keep the faith. John Douglas, President of Congress I now call on Frank Vaughan of Congress to address housekeeping issues. Frank Vaughan, Congress Thank you President, Good morning delegates. I just want to get your attention for a couple of announcements. I gather some of you already this morning had an earlier than anticipated start to the fire alarm on one of the hotels you were in, so you are well-versed to one I am to announce now. But, just in the event of an alarm going off here or being called to evacuate the premises from the top of the hall here, you will see that you’ve got; we have got a number of exits. They are all very clearly marked. Behind me here, over to the right, and we have three further exists on the right and two more on the left down at the back of the hall. We have assembly points on this side over by the water towers, and at the front of the hotel over by the flag stands, in the event of any need to evacuate or leave the room in an orderly way. I have also been asked to announce that we will have a dedicated mini web site for the Conference which will have video clips, photographs and so on and just updates on the progress on motions and schedules and so on. Have we got the address up there? Somewhere - yes you have it. You can see the address there. Third thing is to ask people those of you with phones, devices, any noise making electronic gadget of any sort, if you can please put it on silent for the duration of Conference. We will encourage those of you who use Twitter to tweet prolifically if you wish and the hash tag is #BDC 15 so please use that in any tweets. And finally, just to let you know we have tremendous support from all the staff in the hotel. Here one of the things they will be doing this evening, at the end of Conference, is clearing up the hall and to let you know anything left on the ground, under your seats, or under the tables, will be cleared away. So you can otherwise leave your papers on the table or on the chairs, they will be left intact. Anything else will be cleared so just be wary of that and don’t leave your laptops on the ground. Other than that, I hope you all enjoy Conference, thank you very much. John Douglas, President Thank you Frank.

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Okay delegates, we’re going to move into the order of business, and the first order of business is the election of five Tellers. I’m proposing the following as Tellers; Brian Hewitt, UNITE; Stephen Lyons, IMPACT; Paul Mac Sweeney CPSU; Alanagh Rae, NIPSA; and Brian Nolan, TEEU. Is that agreed? Agreed. I’m moving on now to the election of five Scrutineers. I’m proposing the following as Scrutineers; Billy Hannigan, PSEU; Eamon Lawless, SIPTU; John Kelleher, AHCPS; Billy Sheehan, INTO; and Marion Geoghegan, IBOA. Is that agreed? Agreed. I now call on Mr. Jack McGinley, Chairperson of Standing Orders to present to Conference Standing Orders Reports No. 1 and No. 2. Jack McGinley Chairperson, Standing Orders Committee Delegate’s Standing Orders Report No 1 is on pages 38 and 39 of the agenda and can I bring the following to your attention at 1.1, the times of the various Conference sessions being today and tomorrow 9.30–5.00 and Thursday 9.30–2.30, unless the business of conference is concluded earlier. Conference will adjourn at 1pm on each day for lunch we will recommence at 2.30pm. No 2- the election of Officers and ordinary members of Congress and Executive Council and the Congress Standing Orders Committee. One nomination has been received for the position of President and Brian Campfield is therefore deemed elected. Two nominations have been received for the two Vice President positions and Sheila Nunan and Kevin Callinan are therefore deemed elected. One nomination has been received for the position of Treasurer and Joe O’ Flynn is therefore deemed elected. Standing Orders Committee notes that Congress has received 34 nominations for election to the ordinary members of the Congress Executive Council and there are 30 seats to be filled. The election of the ordinary members of the Executive Council will be conducted by using single transferable vote. The Congress constitution requires that this election must result in the election of at least eight women. In the event of the outcome of the election of the 30 ordinary members of the Executive Council results in less than eight women being elected then the following procedures shall apply. The last man to be elected among the 30 should be replaced by the last woman to be eliminated. In the event that this does not result in eight women being elected, then the second last man to be elected should be replaced by the second last woman to be eliminated and so on until a minimum requirement of 8 women members is met. The Standing Orders Committee notes that Congress has received two nominations for the position of the Congress Executive Council Local Reserve Panel for Trade Councils. Colm Cronin, from Cork Council of Trade Unions and Betty Tyrell-Collard from Dublin Council of Trade Unions and an election using the single transferable votes system will be held to fill

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this sea. Standing Orders Committee notes that Congress has received six nominations for the Congress Standing Orders Committee. An election to select the five members of the Standing Orders Committee and the substitute will be conducted using the single transferable system. Ballot papers, I am going to deal with that later in conference, but can I advise everybody to read it so they understand what’s expected. Motions and amendments the Standing Orders Committee has examined the motions and amendments submitted by affiliated organisation, Standing Orders Committee finds that all the motions and amendments on the final agenda are in order. Delegates to conference should note that Motion 12 proposes an amendment to the Congress constitution. Delegates are advised that because this motion proposes an amendment to Section 5, Finance, of the Congress Constitution, a simple majority is required for the motion to pass. The motion will be taken during the private session of conference in the afternoon of today; from 4pm. Delegates to conference should also note that Motion 15 is a composite motion standing in the names of four Unions; MANDATE, USDAW, GMB, and GSU. Each of the sponsoring motion unions will be entitled to have a delegate to speak for on the motion for 5 minutes. This motion is scheduled on Wednesday 8th of July during the morning session of the conference. Suspension of Standing Orders - in the interest of orderly and effective conduct of business the Standing Orders Committee draws the attention of delegates and affiliated organisation to the provisions of paragraph 12 of the Standing Orders as follows: A motion to suspend Standing Orders must be submitted in writing to the Chairperson by the proposer and seconder, who are delegates to conference. It must specify the Standing Order to be suspended and the period of suspension. It must state reasons of urgency and importance and if the suspension is sought for the purpose of giving consideration to a matter not on the agenda, the reason for not submitting such matter by way of motion and accordance with Standing Orders, a motion to suspend may not be adopted expect with a) with the permission of the Chairperson and b) with the consent of two thirds of the delegates voting on the motion. Conference session time periods have been allocated in the agenda for BDC for the consideration of specific topics as detailed in the Executive Council Report. Motions related to these topics will be taken during these time periods. If there is any time left over after completion specified business, Conference will proceed to deal with other business as appropriate. Motions have been grouped. Votes on motions will be taken as indicated as in a timetable of business. 6. 3 - delegates are asked especially note that there is a private session scheduled during BDC. During this session only accredited delegates will be admitted to the conference hall. The private session is scheduled to be held on Tuesday the 7th from 4pm to 5pm. Conference will break at 3.45 this afternoon for 15 minutes to facilitate participation in the session of Congress by accredited delegates only.

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Distribution of material at BDC - affiliates and delegates to BDC are reminded of the requirement to seek the permission of Standing Orders Committee in advance of the distribution of any material to delegates during the course of the BDC. Particular attention is drawn to the prohibition in the conference venue on the display of banners, posters, etc. 8. 1 - Standing Orders Committee Report Number 2 will contain a full list of guests, fraternal and committee speakers, and finally colleagues, affiliates and delegates to conference are reminded that guest speakers are attending conference at the invitation of Congress and therefore should be afforded the same respect as any speaker at the BDC. John Douglas, President of Congress Thank you Jack. Are there any speakers to Standing Orders Report No. 1 and No. 2? Indicating, could you come to the rostrum please? Just give your name and trade union or organisation please. Tom Hogan, Waterford Council of Trade Unions I want to raise an issue in relation to the motion that Waterford Council of Trade Unions have put down in respect of the water charges. There is an amendment after being put to that motion that effectively flushes the Waterford Council of Trade Unions motion down the toilet. The Waterford motion clearly states opposition to the imposition of water charges on the Irish people and the remainder takes up the issue of the amendment. The amendment that has been put forward is totally contrary to that, its an amendment that opens the door to charges for water, not only in this jurisdiction but also in the North of Ireland, on this whole island, if conference was to adopt that proposal that’s what the situation would be. Given what the situation is in the North of Ireland in the relation to water charges and the position that Unions have taken on that up there, and Congress, seems to me a contradiction. But, basically this motion was drawn up by the delegates of Waterford Trades Council representing their branches and their members and reflecting the activity of thousands of their members in the local community who have taken a very active part in opposition in the introduction of water charges. It didn’t just come out of the air, it’s based on people being active in their communities and active in their trade union movement to bring it here to conference for a debate. This amendment effetely rubbishes that motion, throws it in the bin and doesn’t allow a discussion on it and we are calling for the movers of the amendment to withdraw that. It could have been put forward as alternative motion. John Douglas, President of Congress Thank you Tom. There’s another speaker here, sorry. Paddy Mackell, Belfast Trades Council. President, guests, delegates, I’m supporting Waterford Trades Council in their reference back to the discussion around Motion 41 and the amendment. Conference the amendment to Motion 41 is not actually an amendment at all. It doesn’t seek to amend, supplement or to enhance the terms of this motion. It actually seeks to replace the motion with a different motion. It is the opposite of the motion.

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Motion 41 calls for the rejection of water charges, the current stance. The amendment actually seeks to endorse the imposition of water charges. If IMPACT wished to propose this stance, they are fully entitled to do so by submitting a motion on it. As they didn’t do so, it is not appropriate to submit an amendment which has of its purpose, to contradict the motion. Conference, the delegate from Waterford Trade Council touched on an important aspect of this given the terms of the amendment. In the North from 2006, at NICTU Biennial Conference in Newry in 2006, a motion was passed, the resolution which was that Congress opposes water charges in the North, and actually set up an ICTU led coalition against those water charges. Since 2007, we successfully fought against the imposition of water charges. We have changed the political parties’ views on the imposition of water charges, and now quite apart from the Alliance Party every other political party in the North says that they oppose water charges. In 2007, the cost of those water charge £350.00 per household per year, so for the last eight years, that imposition has not taken place because of the stance of this trade union movement bringing together other bodies through that coalition. We successfully fought and defeated that. So what we saying is that the Motion 41, which looked to me as if it was going to endorse that position right across Ireland, it has been undermined by the imposition of the amendment Motion 41 which would absolutely wreck the trade union movement in the North in terms of its opposition of water charges, absolutely wreck it. So, conference, please support the position adopted by Waterford Trades Council, reject that amendment and let Standing Orders go back and have a chat with some people behind the scenes and hopefully we will get that amendment withdrawn. Thank you very much. John Douglas, President of Congress Okay Paddy. Calling on the Chair of Standing Orders to respond. Jack McGinley, Chairperson, Standing Orders Committee Delegates, unofficially this morning we were made aware that there were concerns about the amendment to this motion. We had at that stage no official communication with anybody. However Standing Orders, in looking at the concerns that were addressed are asking Conference to allow time to mediate between the two parties, and to come back with a further report to Conference before this motion and the amendment are due to appear. They are not due to be debated on the Clár until Wednesday afternoon. We think there is sufficient time to have a conversation with both parties, and to see if we can come to a mutually agreeable solution. We are in the business of industrial relations that’s what we should be able to do. John Douglas, President Thanks Jack - is that agreed by Conference? Agreed - okay, thank you for those words of wisdom Jack. Jack McGinley, Chairperson Standing Orders Report Number 2 - I’ll be brief- Table 1 lists the speakers who have been invited to speak before Conference. 2.1, delegates are reminded that an extra item has been added and Joe O’ Flynn will address Conference on this matter, on the afternoon session of Wednesday,

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immediately after the vote on Motion 26. An extra fringe meeting has been added and that’s covered there. All the delegates who were submitted were in order. Please note and visit the display stands which are here, and notice the organisations which brought their exhibitions to the attention of delegates and visitors. Please note also the availability of WIFI at Conference, I move. John Douglas, President Congress Thank you Jack, I am now going to put Standing Orders Reports No 1 and No 2 to the floor -all agreed? Agreed - okay thanks Jack. I now call on the Vice-President, Brian Campfield. Brian Campfield, Vice President He has fallen on me to invite himself, as President, to address Conference, so I am asking John Douglas, President, to address Conference. President’s Address John Douglas, President of Congress You are very welcome to Clare, delegates – a beautiful part of the country. I hope you get some time to visit some of the surrounding areas around Clare. It is one of my favourite counties. I holidayed down here quite a lot. As we gather here today in Ennis, Co Clare, as the largest civil society organisation on the island of Ireland, we do so at a time of great uncertainty. Uncertainty about an economic and social recovery not only in Ireland but also across Europe, and particularly our thoughts and solidarity are with the people of Greece, who are being put through the financial ringer by their creditors. The potential long term damage to the social fabric of Greece is immense and was the case in Ireland, will penalise the most vulnerable, while the elite are allowed to continued their lifestyle unhindered. The governments of Europe, including the Irish sit idly by with smugness, which to say the least is inappropriate, if not downright offensive. The people of Greece have spoken. Listen to them. Lift the burden of this unsustainable debt. There needs to be a European Debt Conference at which the issue of debt and debt restructuring is considered from the social perspective of the European Union and peoples of Europe, rather than solely looking at it from the financial institutions of Europe and the ideologues of austerity. As trade unionists and internationalists we take no satisfaction from the distress of others either at home or abroad. Our watchword is solidarity with workers and the families of Greece, Spain, Portugal. Let us as an international trade union movement stand together for justice. I would like to ask delegates if you wouldn’t mind standing and giving a round of applause in a show of solidarity for the Greek people. [Applause] Justice for Greece.

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In the very near future our solidarity as an international trade union movement and an effective campaigning movement will again be called into action. The so-called Brit-ex Referendum in the UK must not be allowed to give the UK Tory Government an opportunity to attack social Europe, human rights and workers’ rights. The rest of Europe must stand firm in defending decency in the UK – failure to do calls into question the very rational for the existence of a European Union. If the Tory Government succeeds the European Union will become no more than a patchwork of opt-outs in which countries try and gain advantage over the neighbours. We must also continue to vigorously campaign against one sided international free trade agreements such as TTIP, which are in fact a charter for a race to the lowest common denominator in which labour standards and trade union rights are seen as blockages to ‘free trade’ and where international financers and global corporations can sue Sovereign states in secret corporate courts as part of the ISDS process. These secret courts and free trade agreements have little or nothing to do with free trade but all to do with protecting international capital and weakening labour. Turning back to Ireland, there appears some tenacious signs of a recovery in the Irish economy, at least in the Republic; I will turn to Northern Ireland later. The trade union movement must be vigilant that those forces that wreaked havoc on our economy and our society are not allowed to rebuild their same failed economic model again. We must ensure that the most vulnerable are prioritised in any recovery and that the unfair damage inflicted on the social wage is repaired, and that resources are prioritised to lift families out of poverty and homelessness, that decent living wage jobs are created and that all sectors of our economy make a fair and equitable contribution towards resourcing the recovery of our society. We cannot allow political parties to play loose and easy with our vision of a real fair sustainable social recovery by auction politics to secure votes. We must expose these politicians and self interest groups that would trade decency and a social wage for power and gain. A mature conversation is required among all the citizens of Ireland as we approach the centenary of 1916 as to what sort of economy and society we want and what are we prepared to pay for it. Self-interest must be set aside and the ‘I’m alright Jack’ attitude of appeasing sections of voters or union members must be set aside also. We must all ‘join the dots’ between decent public services in health, education, housing etc. and our social contributions as citizens of this island. Our public services on receiving theses resources must continue to deliver a world class service to those who resource the social wage, and must be willing and able to adapt to the changing needs of citizens and society. The broken social wage system we have at the moment forces tens of thousands of citizens to take out private provision in a market driven solely by the profit motive and this market

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only exists because of the inadequate manner in which we fund and deliver public services. This suits the ideology of many political parties hence they have a vested interest in starving public services of resources. The Trade Union movement is a resilient movement, we have withstood, as did our comrades across Europe, an orchestrated campaign to destroy and marginalise us. On this island of Ireland the Trade Union movement is stronger than ever I believe. We have rediscovered our activism and campaigning spirit, we have shaken off the shackles of top-down centralised bargaining. Our members are mobilising and winning, they have rediscovered collectivism and collective action where necessary. Our unions have retrained, refocused and redeployed tens of thousands of new union activists. We are stronger now and more capable of defending and winning for our members. We are cutting the teeth of a whole new generation of trade union leaders and community activists in struggles such as Greyhound, the Paris Bakery, the Rathigan Dispute, Dublin Bus, Connolly Shoes, Clerys, Vita Cortex, and Dunnes Stores. We are again working with and in local communities, forming alliances and as a result we have won the public narrative, in fact I believe we have changed the public narrative. Nothing proves this more than the Decency for Dunnes Stores Workers campaign. The public actually get it. A decent job and a decent living wage are basic human rights. The Irish public are now disposed to trade unions more than ever in the recent past because we are fighting for and standing up for real everyday issues which impact on them and their families, their communities, their work places. The public’s experience of previous corrupt regimes has been exposed, the public has outed the cheerleaders of big capital. They understand that a strong social movement such as the trade union movement is essential for a fairer society, for without one the financial wolves would have another field day. The demonization of the trade unions and workers has failed. Collectively our members and their communities have a central role in rebuilding this country from the ground up. We are not interested in a social dialogue which confines and constrains the legitimate role of our members. In what I believe was the biggest mass social mobilisation since the founding of the State, the Right2Water/Anti Water Charges Movement can give us an indication of just what can be achieved by people power, by communities, union members and trade unions working together towards a single objective. While the water charge movement did not, and does not have universal support within the trade union movement, it is true to say that the extensive concessions won by the campaign will be enjoyed by all trade unionists. And while it is understood and understandable that some unions, because of their particular membership base or indeed constitutions, cannot openly support the campaign, it is clear that union members across all unions are a central part of the Anti-Water Charges movement. I believe that if the trade union movement was totally absent from the Anti-Water Charges movement that it would have severely damaged the credibility of this movement. There are two motions on water charges on the agenda for decision this week and I am confident that as trade unionists we can have a respectful and reasoned debate in the knowledge that there are no enemies in this hall today, just comrades with different views and tactics – all striving for the same goal.

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In the two years since the Belfast Conference at which we set ourselves some very important objectives, some of these objectives we have achieved, others we continue to struggle for – a work in progress if you will. For example we have managed to win legislation on collective bargaining. Although far from perfect it can form a foundation on which to win and build on further. But delegates, legislation on collective bargaining alone will not do the heavy lifting for the trade union movement. We must recruit and organise, educate and agitate. Every union must work as part of a movement. We owe our very existence to the unselfish sacrifices of previous generations of trade unionists, dockers, builders, retail workers, public servants all of whom who put the self-interests of their own grade aside for a greater ideal of the trade union movement. No legislation will ever do this for us, so whether it is Fair Hotel or Fair Shop we must stand together in supporting each other, and supporting goods and services that are delivering and manufactured in employments which respect their workers and their workers’ rights, the others frankly do not deserve of our support. We also won the re-establishment of the Joint Labour Committees and the Registered Employment Agreements after they were struck down by the High Court on application by various employer groups. The Joint Labour Committees and the Registered Employment Agreements have the potential to set basic decency thresholds and standards in sectors of the economy where abuse and exploitation are rife, sectors such as hospitality, retail, cleaning, security and construction. But we are concerned to learn with the attitude of employers in these sectors; already we have seen employers in the retail sectors refuse to engage in the newly established JLC system, thereby vetoing the expressed wishes of Government. I am calling on the Irish Government to introduce immediate legislation to either compel employers in these sectors to engage or legislate to make it possible to proceed without them. I am also disappointed as President that during my term we have as yet not succeeded in removing FEMPI legislation. This legislation is an affront to good industrial relations and has no place in free collective bargaining. I also acknowledge the first step at pay restoration in the public service under the Lansdown Road Agreement, but I will refrain from further comment as I am aware that a number of unions are still consulting their members on same. Suffice to say that the objective of this trade union movement is full restoration of all pay and conditions and the removal of FEMPI. The other objective remaining as work in progress is the work of the Trade Union Commission, and to be honest, progress has been painfully slow. But there are a considerable number of unions working behind the scenes cooperating and sharing resources and sharing projects. The work of the Commission is as much a state of mind as a bricks and mortar project. The Commission has allowed the conversation to happen, with unions opening up to each other, to supporting our shared objectives. None so much as the Decency for Dunne’s Campaign. The level of support, shared resources, be it financial or staff was overwhelming to mine own union Mandate. There was no divide between public/private, higher/lower paid, or North and South. On behalf of my members in Dunne

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stores I would like to thank the trade union movement on this island for all your support. It did make a big, big difference. So the Commission’s work by its very nature is ongoing and it will bear fruit, we are changing, and we are changing to win. Turning now to Northern Ireland, and I know Bother Bunting will cover Northern Ireland more extensively during the week, so I will confine my remarks. I would like to commend first of all the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions for its ongoing campaign against the Tory Government’s austerity agenda and attacks on welfare. This campaign brought tens of thousands of trade unionists and their families onto the streets across Northern Ireland on the 13 March 2015. Northern Ireland is already the most deprived region in the UK and the welfare cuts being propose and the 20,000 public sector jobs loses being enforced by the Tory Government will, if unchallenged, plunge Northern Ireland into the dark ages, and to add insult to injury this Wednesday the Tory Government in its budget proposed another 12 Billion in cuts, mostly from welfare. The present budgetary impasse in Northern Ireland is a reflection of the seriousness of the situation. The trade union movement in Northern Ireland has led the way in opposition to the cuts and arguably has forced some political parties to shift and support our stance. While the Good Friday Agreement was essentially a political settlement between the parties which delivered the peace, it must also deliver on its commitments to the citizens of Northern Ireland for decent jobs, social services and a Bill of Rights. Not to do so will jeopardies the peace which all on this island hold so dearly. The British and Irish Governments need to recognise Northern Ireland as a region emerging from conflict, a region with special and unique requirements. Austerity policies are damaging to all communities in Ireland and the UK, but they are doubly damaging in an already fragile and poverty stricken region which is Northern Ireland. This is the reality the Irish and British Governments need to grasp, and the reality that all parties in Northern Ireland who have the real best interests of their communities at heart must accept. A united cross-community opposition platform to Tory austerity cuts is the best and only way of protecting all communities against poverty and discrimination in Northern Ireland. As we head into the Centenary of 1916 and the first reading on the streets of Dublin of the Proclamation of a Republic, which has at its core the socialist principles of equality, liberty and fraternity we must critically examine the Ireland of today in terms of these founding ideals. We must ask ourselves as one of the wealthiest nations in Europe, why are we also one of the most unequal? Do we still as a nation aspire to these core ideas principles of the Republic? And, if the answer is yes, then we need to know how falls the statistics on child poverty, on homelessness, on social housing, on income inequality? The attacks on single parents and under 26 year of welfare payments, on the way we treat migrant workers and asylum seekers in direct provision – all of these devalue our status as a Republic and are an indictment on this and previous governments.

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2016 also leads us into a possible election year both in the republic and the Northern Ireland Assembly Elections, during which we as trade unionists must grasp the nettle of political power with our membership bases. We must campaign for a government which advocates and implements the true principles and ideals of a Republic, we must campaign for a mass mobilisation akin to what we witnessed during the marriage equality referendum in order to secure the political ground which allows us to deliver the social agenda along with the industrial agenda. We must challenge our members, we must question party loyalties, we must set aside our own self-interest or the self-interests of our own members. Our vision can never be achieved by industrial agitation alone. No union can profess to be non-political. Each morning your members wait for a bus, or wait in A&E is a result of a political decision. In fact some unions who claim to be generally non-political are often the most political when it comes to protecting and advancing their own members’ interests. So therefore we must engage with our 750,000 members and their families so that they appreciate the great potential for change as yet unharnessed within the trade union movement. We must not abandon the future wellbeing of our members, their families and future generations. We must show real leadership, real vision, most of all our members must believe that they and they alone acting together can achieve this vision. In the words of James Connolly…. “For our demands most moderate are … We only want the earth.” Thank you. Brian Campfield, Vice President Could I call on Stevie Fitzpatrick to move a vote of thanks to the President? Stevie Fitzpatrick, CWU Thanks President and congratulations Brian. Good morning delegates, I have been given the honour and pleasure of proposing a vote of thanks to the President for his speech here this morning, and would like to thank the Executive Council and the General Secretary for giving me that honour. Myself and John have become great friends over the years and his speech reflects his actions. John has been President for the members and a President for communities. When he talks about solidarity, he lived the solidarity. He famously climbed over the back wall of the Paris Bakery to go and see a match. I don’t know whether that’s called abandonment of duty or not. He’s been demo whether it’s been Greyhound and of course with his trade union, MANDATE, has led the Dunne’s situation, which I believe will result in a change of legislation that will benefit workers both in and out of unions.

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John is a very honest broker; he’s passionate and he wears his heart on his sleeve as you have heard here today. I think in real terms his gift to us will be that he’s made trade unions accessibly to ordinary people and communities. He’s broken the barrier of us being up there and them being down there, and I think we should be all grateful for that. He is also quite innovating. At our own Conference recently, I asked him to do a vote of thanks to our union, and he had no paper with him, but he managed to find two pages in the back of Giddens Bible. I’m not so sure that’s what the original intention was, so anyway look I know people will have an opportunity to thank him at the end of Conference. Chairing the Conference is the hardest job you’ll ever have. You can do everything right Standing orders can do everything right and it only takes one delegate to mess it up. I am not inviting anybody to do that. And, John has chaired the Executive Council in a very inclusive way. Everybody felt happy; everybody felt they had a say. I am sure he’ll do that this week but he’ll need our assistance. So could I just ask you to join with me in a vote of thanks for the President’s speech and to wish him well for the rest of the Conference. Thank you very much Conference. Brian Campfield, Vice President Thanks Stevie, can I call on Patricia McKeown to second this. Patricia McKeown, UNISON Thank you delegates, Patricia McKeown UNISON and Executive Council. There is a reason why this movement in such great measure responded to the call in June, to support the Dunne’s Stores workers and responded from all parts of this island, and John has mentioned that in his Presidential Address. Real leadership, and real vision, and we responded because that’s what we’ve had from John over the past two years and in fact even before then. As Vice-President in 2013, John was with us all the way when we were opposing the G8 meeting in the North. He was with us at all of the major strikes and campaigns we’ve had both before and during his Presidency, and it was proper in response that we would come and support John during what has been a very difficult two years of that Presidency. He is also as a champion of the low-paid and managed to secure €20m for his members in his industry. In his Presidential address today, he has talked to us about the state of the island, the state of more than one nation internationally. He talked to us about the challenges facing us for the future and I think in his address he has set down a very clear set of challenges for this movement in the future. But he also has done something very important and Stevie has already referred to that. He has recaptured activism. He has caught the imagination of workers’ and their communities across the island, and in particular he has put the most disadvantaged right at the top of the agenda. So, I think as a movement we have to be very proud of what our President has done on our behalf over the last two years. It’s going to be a hard act to follow Brian, but I know you can rise to it. But for all of us what we have to do is to respond to the real challenge John has presented to us. It is a time for real leadership and real vision right across this island. This is a President who has embraced both

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jurisdictions and understood that the Irish Congress of Trade Unions is at its strongest when it recognises that it is an all-island movement. So, on behalf of all of us John, and for your Presidential address today, I say thank you. John Douglas, President Congress I would like to call and welcome Cllr James Breen, Cathaoirleach of Clare Council to address Conference. You are very welcome Cllr Breen. Cllr James Breen, Clare Council President, members of Executive Council, delegates it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to County Clare here today. I must apologise for being late coming but there was a slight break in communications and as you know in the trade union movement, a break in communications can cause a lot of problems. But having said that, there are 700 delegates or close here today, I believe, which is a marvellous boost to the town of Ennis. I know you are the biggest civil society organisation in Ireland and Northern Ireland, and you are both very welcome to the town of Ennis where you will have spent in excess of about €3m in our town and in our area. You are all very welcome to Clare and I hope you will get time to visit the many beautiful spots we have in County Clare. As a member of the trade union movement back in the Sixties, as a member of Irish Transport and General Workers Union, then a member of SIPTU, having severed as Shop Steward, and having served as Chairman of the trade union movement, I know exactly what the trade union movement is all about. And, I want to thank the trade union movement for the wonderful work you’ve done particularly for the under privileged in this society and this County and this island. As we know at the moment we are just coming out of a deep economic recession and the scourge of emigration has hit every town and every village in this country where there are areas that have been desecrated, where the young people - the brightest - and the most intelligent, and the most educated, were forced to leave this country. Is it because of bad management by Government? As a member of the Oireachtas myself for five years, I have thoughts on that but I am not going to express them here today. It is great to see such a gathering of people here today and I will encourage the trade union movement to strive for equality, equality of all people whether in the health service, the educational service, whether its people are unemployed, everyone in this country deserves a fair deal and deserve a fair standard of living. I look forward as Chairman of Clare County Council, a position I took over 10 days ago, to working with everybody to try and make out this country and our county a better place to live and work in. Again ladies and gentlemen you are very, very welcome to county Clare and I look forward to seeing you this evening at a civic reception. John Douglas, President I would like to call on the General Secretary, Patricia King, to introduce the Executive Council Report to Conference.

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Patricia King, General Secretary, Thank you President and I would like to join with all the other speakers in thanking you for your very thoughtful and insightful address. And, it’s always a scary moment when you hear all your best lines that you think you’ve written for your own are coming before you. But, anyway thank you very much John for that. I want also welcome all our fraternal guests here today and indeed those who haven’t quite arrived yet but will be over the coming days joining us. I think a warm welcome as well to former officials of Congress who have come to join us here at the Biennial Conference. I won’t name anybody in particular for fear of leaving somebody out but I want to extend to you a very warm welcome to Conference here in Ennis. And to all the delegates, and the observes, I hope you have an interesting and enjoyable Conference here. The theme of our Conference ‘Living Wage, Strong Economy’, and ‘Wage-Led Growth’, which as our President referred to, is a hugely relevant topic today for workers across this island and a considerable number of the motions refer and reflect that topic itself. So, it’s a privilege for me today, delegates, to introduce the report of the Executive Council to you. The report is structured, and has been the practise over the last few years, in eight sections which are related to the agenda of Conference and to the motions and we’ve tried to bring coherence between the structure of the agenda and the chapters of the report. I hope you’ll find it a good account of what has happened. A lot of work has been done and I hope it has been captured satisfactorily to you in the document itself. At this point President, I wish to pay tribute to my predecessor, David Begg, who worked so tirelessly on behalf of the trade union movement over many years. And, as you know, David retired from Congress on the 7th of March and he was truly a great ambassador for our movement and he was highly recognised not only here on this island but also on the international stage where he many, many times advocated on behalf of workers and the most vulnerable in our society at the highest possible levels. Indeed he continues to do so in his work in TASC and I can assure you he is missed in Congress and we wish him very well in his new role. So, that follows on nicely to alert you to the fact that we have a change in our normal practise in that Dr Tom Healy, Director of NERI will open the debate on the economy. And, on a personal level I want to thank and take this opportunity to thank Tom and all the colleagues in the NERI Institute for their strong support to me over the past number of months, thank you delegates. John Douglas, President Thank you very much Patricia. We are going to move on now to the section in the report called Principal Report Section 1, ‘Can Europe Avoid a Prolonged Slump’? We will now call on Mr Tom Healy from NERI to introduce the Economic Debate, and then we will be moving on to Motion 1 in the name of Executive Council. So is Tom Healy present? I see Tom yes.

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Tom Healy, Director NERI Good morning everybody and President, I would like to thank you, and the General Secretary and the Executive Council for allowing me a few minutes to introduce this debate, this important debate on the economy. The motions before us today concern not just the key areas of employment, pensions, public finance, wages, but it is also about the quality of life in our communities for individuals, families, for workers, for all those things that enable us to flourish as a community which GDP cannot adequately measure or track. A society is more than the sum of individuals or households, and a properly functioning economy is one where people not only have the right theoretically to employment, income, public services, but the practical right to participate in decision making on the production and distribution of goods and services that make those human rights real and meaningful. We are emerging from a lost decade of falling income, public services diminishing, and great uncertainty and instability in the economies of Ireland and Europe. Some progress is being made recently in relation to both employment and income for some households but far too many households still live in poverty and far too many children suffer from a lack of proper support and investment in early years. The trade union movement needs to continue its work of defending and advancing the interest of working people, all working people, not just those who happen to be members of trade unions at this time. The survival and future relevance of the trade union movement will depend on its capacity to demonstrate that it delivers economic and social progress for its members, but also that it can forge alliance with civil society for the promotion of social justice and equality. But that is not all - defending and advancing the interests of working people is only two wheels of the carriage. We need to acknowledge and talk about two other wheels and these relate to society, economy, and all the political arrangements that we envisage in ten, twenty, thirty years’ time. If we are not to fall into the trap of another boom in house price with wages and services struggling to catch up the rising population and the housing market under severe stress, we need a radical change in the direction, purpose and implementation of public policy. And, I am afraid that I don’t see much evidence that lessons really have been learned from the recent economic collapse and furthermore that the will and the understanding is there to effect a shift in public policy. However, it is easy to be critical and to say what is wrong. To outline, substantiate develop and argue for an alternative to political economy on the island of Ireland will require understanding, wisdom, tact, courage, perseverence, and leadership from the trade union movement. In other words, from us. Who else is going to do it? Who else is there to lead the debate in the public market place for ideas? Where else is the potential strength in the numbers and diversity in expertise and involvement in the real economy? What if we are the people we are waiting for to provide this leadership –intellectually, organisationally and in every other way to affect a fundamental shift in thinking and in behaviour. And what if this shift in thinking and behaviour will involve for us difficult, unpopular and hard to argue for policies? What if it means auguring for a reform of our taxation system so that overall level of taxes is adequate to provide services at a European level? Present yourself at a French hospital for a non-emergency treatment, the

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first question you will be asked is what is your social insurance number. Present yourself in a hospital for non-emergency treatment in this part of the world, the question will be are you public or private? IF you are private, what’s your private health insurance number? And, what if it means that arguing for limits to disposable income or pre-tax wages up to half a million euro to begin to reverse the growing economic inequality of recent decades? What if it means for us to argue for a threshold of decency where all workers have a living wage, not just in terms of pay per hour, but in terms of hours per week, and income per year and decent conditions of employment such are outlined in the Congress Charter for Work, North and South? And, what if it means we have to argue for a development of a strong indigenous exporting platform for enterprises North and South so that we wean ourselves gradually off an over-dependence on foreign direct investment for exports and for innovation? What if it means that we have to argue for an expanded and more dynamic State enterprise sector and more effective participation and partnership amongst various agencies in the world of research, higher education, private enterprise? What if it means establishing a proper State Development Bank as proposed in Motion 5 from the Irish Banking Officials Association, which we will be considering later this morning? And, what if it means we have to move towards a common consolidated corporate base in Europe where regions and countries can no longer free-ride and dump on others in a bid to attract investment, but, ultimately deprive citizens whether in Limerick, Limavaddy or Lesotho - the essential public services needed in a civilised society and for which corporations should pay their fair share of taxation? And, what if it means to move gradually towards a more European, never mind Scandinavian, level of employers’ social security contribution? What if it means arguing that workers are better if their growth in wages is balanced by a growth in the social wage, and what if it means that workers from the lowest paid to the highest paid contribute to a real and actually existing social insurance fund which will pay for health and lifelong learning and will protect our incomes when sick or pay pensions when we retire? I am going to quote Milton Friedman - probably the first time he’s been quoted at a Biennial Delegate Conference of this movement, ‘there is no free lunch’. And, the choice is ours as citizens whether we fund investment in children through education, health and communities services, paid for out of local or central taxation, or whether we move to off-load this responsibility to markets. The choice is ours whether we fund investment so desperately needed in homes for people in mental health services, in water, broadband, renewable energy, and other key services rather than through our reliance on the markets or in some cases even philanthropy. Citizens and workers deserve better. We deserve choice, responsibility and participation in the decisions that shape the future. And, the trade union movement can play a leading role if it wishes in shaping that public debate or can sit back and allow others to drive the debate, but in ways that are inimical to working people and to the interest of those who are voiceless, marginalised, and excluded. And, here I must mention the continuing decimation against the young unemployed because they are under 26 years of age, the treatment of lone-parents and the scandal of direct provision. We know that the debate on the direction of public policy in Ireland, UK, and Europe, has been hijacked by forces and ideologies that risk the peace, coherence and very survival of a

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democratic liberal and social market economy. These forces will not stop until most public assets have been put up for sale, until wages have been driven down and employment conditions restructured and flexabilised to the point of surrender and until spending and taxation have been reduced to pre World War 2 levels as a percentage of GDP. The Irish and British Governments lead the way in cutting back on the State and the share of public spending in GDP, or GNP. The rest of Europe is urged to follow this example. Following the historic events of recent days, we need to stand in solidarity with the people of Europe for a reversal in the disastrous policies of fiscal austerity, privatisation, and wage cutting. Rights of collective bargaining, defended by the Greek Government as part of their negotiations to which there has been very little attention given, we have heard only about VAT and Corporate Tax and such measures, but the right to collective bargaining has been a key red line issue for the New Greek Government. This needs to be strengthened and coordinated through a policy of investment and wage-led recovery across Europe and a strategic programme of investment in renewable energy needs to be central to European policy making. New hope and courage has been created as a result of resounding articulation of the democratic voice of the Greek people last Sunday, and we should be pressing home the message that public debt is not sustainable for the Greeks and it’s not sustainable for the Irish. A programme of write-down in debt as a rescheduling of debt is necessary at European level and even the IMF recognises that. Also, we need to focus much more on the problem of private household debt where many people and many small, medium size enterprises are crippled by unstainable levels of debt. The answer to the problem of debt whether public, corporate, or private, is investment growth and redistribution. The evidence shows that societies that promote equality can achieve high levels of growth and productivity. Looking back over the last few decades with the collapse of Communism, Euro Communism and pre the third way social democracy, it seems that a spectre is haunting Europe and it is a spectre informed not by worthy visions, ideals and shared values, but by narrow national self-interests, the interest of capital over labour and the supremacy of the market. Europe seems to be less and less democratic, less and less social and for that matter less and less liberal, and its modus operandi has become more that of fear, intimidation and a false pragmatism. I take some hope and inspiration from the poem of Liam MacUistin engraved on the walls of the Garden of Remembrance in Parnell Square Dublin, written in English, French and Irish. Maybe Dublin City Council could put up a Greek version of it, and it reads, in English, “The vision became a reality. Winter, became summer. Bondage became freedom and this we left to you as your inheritance. O generations of freedom remember us the generations of the vision”. And, I think sounds even better still in the language Liam MacUistin who wrote this poem “Rinneadh fírinne den aisling. Rinneadh samhradh den gheimhreadh. Rinneadh saoirse den daoirse agus d'fhágamar agaibhse mar oidhreacht í. A ghlúnta na saoirse cuimhnígí orainne, glúnta na haislinge”. Is sine glúnta na haislinge - we are the generation of that vision - let the debate begin.

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THE ECONOMY – STRONG AND FAIR GROWTH John Douglas, President Thank you Tom for that very insightful presentation - much food for thought. We are now going to move on to the motions. Motion 1: ‘The Economy’ in the name of the National Executive Council. I call on Jack O’ Connor to move Motion 1 on behalf of the National Executive Council Jack O’Connor, Vice-President SIPTU President, Delegates good morning, Jack O’Connor SIPTU moving Motion No. 1 in the name of the Executive Council. You might have noticed delegates that the Irish Times are currently running a series on precarious work, and in yesterday’s article it was entitled ‘precarious work- sections where the only permanent thing is in security’ and that article very helpfully included at the bottom, a table which demonstrated that we are now the economy in the OECD that is second only to the United States of America in terms of the proportion of our workforce which are statistically regarded as low pay. But there is only one thing that I might say that the article or the series possibly understates the scale of the problem, because precarious work is no longer restricted to certain categories of people on the periphery of the labour force. We have to understand precarious work for what it is. It is an essential characteristic of the ultra-liberal model that is now being installed not only in Ireland but all across Europe and indeed the world. A model, in which the idea of security and the guarantee of employment and all things we took for granted as a result of the new deal, becomes the exception rather than rule and precariousness becomes the rule. It is of course, delegates, a product of the dictatorship of the market which is now establishing itself in the aftermath of the greatest economic collapse since the Wall Street Crash of 1929, and it is as all dictatorships are, with the passage of time, accompanied by its own narrative. And in this case it’s a narrative which disguises misery by sugar-coating it as in terms of language like those which IBEC uses about ‘perpetual opportunity’ and so on. As though human beings have overnight forfeited one of their essential characteristic - the need for security for themselves and their families. They haven’t, as we all know of course, delegates, but what has happened in this State of ours and increasingly in the developed world, is that working people have lost the confidence to believe that they can win and our task in this movement, given the legacy that we are the custodians of, is to restore that belief that believe of working people that they can win, we can win and the essential things that we hold dear should be the things that everyone has as a guarantee. Only the trade union movement in the industrial arena can fulfil this role, delegates, but I put it to you seriously and honestly that if we are serious about the vow, this vow we are taking this morning, this vow that we will fight back, I put it to you what we are serious about that, it is a task which will challenge us to our very core. In terms of how we respond for example, to the challenge of productivity which for far too long we’ve left to the other side, productivity is far too important to leave to the other side because if we do they will disguise it by reference to their criteria, rather than criteria upon which working people and society depend. And in terms as well of the way we conduct the battle on the ground itself; not just in terms of the way we leave wages to the organising

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challenge; collective bargaining strategies to the organising agenda; but also and this is the real challenge for us as traditional institutions of working people, thee way in which we step up to the challenge of shifting millions of Euro over the next few years to support working people in the precarious economy, to build their confidence not just in us as institutions but in themselves as working men and women. And to do that in the knowledge that many, many thousands of them may never join our institutions. We have to move from institutionalism that has afflicted our work to the task for which our movement was established, the task of organising working men and women so that they may have their fair share in the fruits of their labour. That task is more important now Comrades, than it has been for many, many years and it is a task that is as doable as it always was if we have the courage to step up to the mark. I move the motion on behalf of the Executive Council Comrades. John Douglas, President Congress To second the motion, Sheila Nunan. Sheila Nunan, INTO Fair play to you! I’m going to bring it down a tone here, because I’m not even going to tryto follow that Jack! Colleagues, Sheila Nunan INTO. Colleagues, two years ago when we were in Belfast, the Irish economy was still in the AE Department of the bailout and the following December it was transferred to critical, and now deemed stable even if our stability is not guaranteed. But we are still here as Jack said, and a significant challenge faces us in ensuring that fairness lies in the heart of the policy debate in the post-bailout Ireland and beyond. It is a significant opportunity both for Ireland and the trade union movement to take that road less travelled in ensuring the policy drivers of equality are agreed and implemented and must involve fair and proper balance of income, taxation, and public services. And with very good reason. The evidence proves that equal societies do better on all measures and that equal societies produce stronger and more sustainable economies. And, surprisingly as Tom has alluded to, the team in the red who give out about the scourge of inequality have been joined by some very unusual advocates. It’s now official that the theory of comforting the already well-comforted and inflicting the already severely-afflicted is a drag on economic growth and that the historic mantra of the policy that taxing high worth individuals and supporting those in poverty was a recipe for stifling economic growth, has now been roundly contested. There is no trade-off between equity and inefficiency and it must be true colleagues because the OECD, the World Bank, the IMF, and other international research all agree on the need to reduce economic equality to safeguard economic prosperity. Now we are not that foolish to know that they have a vested interest in ensuring that the money they have lent out will have to be paid back to them so they do need to protect their loans. But our responsibility is to ensure that we do take that road less travelled in our campaign to ensure decent work, and decent public services. And success is important for us and we must give great credit to unions like John’s, our President, this morning for pushing the decent work agenda. He was right about the public response out there - it

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does speak to the decency of ordinary Irish people but it will not be sustained and we must work very hard to make sure that that campaign is kept to the forefront of the policy debate. The indignity of no work is only marginally diminished by precarious work and the legacy of low hours and zero hours and shabby treatment of workers will take huge efforts to eradicate. Everybody needs a pay rise and the vehicle of the Low Pay Commission can uplift a quarter of a million workers on low pay towards a living wage. But, decent work must be underpinned by decent workers’ rights and each and every one of us must maintain the push that the emerging structures will be a success and organising, as Jack says, must be central. And, we must commend the Cork Project that is doing some innovate work in bringing trade unions together in that area to work together collectively in both organising and campaigning. It’s a model I think we can all look at. On the decent public services front that Tom Healy spoke so well about, I do think we have referred already to a survey in the Irish Times this morning about precarious work. There was also a survey in the Irish Times, for those of you who read it, last week about Irish attitude to sex. I think we need to ask the Irish Times to do a survey about attitudes to tax, the social wage. Taxes are the price we pay for a civilised society. The collective Irish shoulders are sloped with the burden of socialised bank debt. Those of us working in the education sector are horrified that the annual payment of interest on our loans is equivalent to the entire education budget for all of the people involved in education. That is a scandal. We cannot have a social wage, improve our childcare, improve our education, improve our healthcare, while the invisible weaponry of EU socialising debt is working against our interest. We can do better when we are more equal but it has to be more than polemic and it has to be more than policy, and we have to address internally our organising and our campaigning structures. We have our firepower from NERI, we will get our education from the Workers College, we are working on our media strategy and we have to organise. Let us renew our efforts and make sure that we can fulfil the legacy of this great movement. Thank you colleagues. John Douglas, President Any speakers to Motion No. 1? Come up to the rostrum and give your name and organisation please. Mark Walsh, ASTI My name is Mark Walsh and I am with the ASTI Executive and I just wanted to take up the theme of vision verses reality because Tom Healy spoke well about the vision becoming a reality and I think that’s really important given these types of conventions, because often it’s not the case. We have in the motion talk about public services, and how we need a new vision for public services and we need to fight back. But then you think what is the reality? Well the reality is the Lansdowne Road Agreement which has just been negotiated by many unions here,

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and in the Lansdowne Road Agreement paragraph 3.2, it endorses the government’s public sector reform plan, which is essentially in the neo-liberal public sector reform plan. It says the government’s reform agenda includes, but is not limited to the public sector reform plan 2014–2016. Now, what does that say about public services? What’s the vision they have for public services which unions here seem to be prepared to endorse? They say that a new framework of competition for public services is what they want. The public service must transition away from the traditional block grant and moving instead to a new approach based on releasing funds in return for delivering specified outcomes, the business model. That’s in Lansdowne Road which is what people hear apparently, the ‘yes unions’ that want to sign up to. So you can have all your theory, you can have your vision, but if your reality and your practise and your actions goes in the opposite direction, I judge you more by your actions rather than your rhetoric. So please spare us, spare us talk of all this. If we were locked down for the next three years inside an agreement where we can’t organise, we can’t oppose things because they are all locked down in the agreement. And, then the second point we’re coming on to in Motion 2 in a minute is wage-led growth, the paltry restoration in the Lansdowne Road Agreement that’s supposed to lead to wage-led growth? Please! The Government yesterday, Howlin said he would have been liable for €2.2 billion. Instead what did we get - €500 million? That’s just not acceptable and I think if people are serious about their rhetoric here over the next coming days, they want to start outlining what are the actions they are prepared to take, what is the reality that they’re going to follow, and not be constantly caught up in rhetoric. Because I am sure two years down the line at the next BDC, it will be the same rhetoric, but the reality moves on with thes public sector agreements, thanks very much. John Douglas, President Thank you Mark. Any more speakers on Motion No 1? Seeing none, I’m going to move on to Motion 2, in the name of the PSEU and calling for a proposer of the motion. Tom Geraghty, PSEU Tom Geraghty, PSEU proposing Motion No 2. Just before I do that, on a point of fact, Section 3.2 of the Lansdowne Road Agreement does not commit unions to either division of so called reform or indeed to any specific policy on reform, it merely commits trade unions to engage with the Government. Sorry to so burst somebody’s rhetorical bubble. Colleagues, you can’t take over €28 billion out of an economy without there being consequences. You can’t reduce an economy by about one fifth without there being fairly dramatic consequences and we’ve witnessed those since 2009. We’ve witnessed a situation where even as we are coming out of a recession, it’s estimated that 25 percent of the workforce are either unemployed, or underemployed. We’ve witnessed again another lost generation to emigration. We have seen a rise in poverty, and we’ve seen a decimation of public services, and all of those are of course beyond unfortunate. But, the real tragedy is that as a society we appear to be intent to rush headlong back in to the policies that brought us there in the first place. How often do we hear in public discourse references to the tax burden, as if tax is simply a cost as opposed to the means by which we fund the vital

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public services? And what’s particularly tragic is that there is a viable proven alternative to a low-tax economy. Right across Northern Europe they had tried a completely different model, and not only is it socially fairer, economically it works considerably better. The most successful economies in the world are not low-tax economies, they are economies that tax on a reasonably high level, and fund public services, and they don’t just create a socially fair society, they create a very successful economy. And, that option is available to us as we are coming out of our recession and now is our opportunity to begin that process and it begins with wage-led growth. If you look at page 22 of the Executive Council’s Report, you will see there is a diagram that shows the extent in the fall in wages since 2009. So there is eminent scope at this point in our economic cycle, for us to get back to a situation where we can have pay increases that are significantly greater than inflation and that can match the rate of economic growth. Fairly conservative estimates are projecting that over the next few years and barring an unforeseen external catastrophe, our growth rate should average between 3 and 4 percent consistently over the next few years. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever why that money can’t be put back into the economy in the form of wage growth that matches that level of economic growth, and in perhaps in some cases surpasses it. We should, as a movement, set ourselves a target to take the quarter of a million people who earn less than the €11.45 per hour living wage - to take them out of that cycle of endless poverty, and we should do so not by giving employers tax breaks or indeed supplementing inadequate wages through tax cuts, we should do so engaging in a campaign to ensure that we have wage-led growth in our economy. If you look at the drop in wages that has occurred since 2009, it is possible to do that without interfering with international price competiveness. The other effect of increasing wages in that the fashion will be to increase the revenues that are available for our underfunded, inadequately-resourced public services. And if we want to build a society that is not just fair but is successful, that is something that needs to be done. So, the next politician that knocks on your door and promises tax cuts - send them running because it’s far too easy to promise people tax cuts if there are no consequences, and we’ve lived through the consequences of that failed economic model since 2009. We now have an opportunity to do something completely different, to do something that is mainstream across Northern Europe and that to avoid the temptation to view tax simply as a cost and to see it as opportunity to assist in the growth of our economy. And we can do that if we dedicate ourselves to the task of wage-led growth. Colleagues, I commend the motion to you. John Douglas, President Thank you Tom. Is there a seconder for Motion No 2 anyone? Formally seconded, great. Any speakers on Motion No 2? No speakers indicating so we move on to Motion 3 - The Economy and Society in the Republic and Northern Ireland. I call on UNITE to move Motion 3.

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If speakers who are going to talk on this motion want to come up to the front - either seconders or speakers - take seats in the front please to speed the Conference up a little bit, thank you. Bernard Daly UNITE Bernard Daly of UNITE trade union moving Motion 3. Mr President, colleagues, and comrades, Ireland North and South stands at a crossroads. In the Republic the economy and our people have had to endure the crash-landing of the economy as corporate and banking debts became unsustainable and were nationalised leaving society broke and on its knees. These debts, by the way, weren’t caused by the ordinary working people of Ireland, they were caused by the casino capitalists and their cronies in the political parties and their friends in the regulators. The painful austerity necessitated by the strict fiscal straightjacket enforced by the EU, resulted in a severe recession devastating our economy increasing poverty levels, income inequality, lowering workers’ pay and forcing a generation of our young people into emigration. The economy is only now starting to grow but it’s largely a jobless recovery with workers’ pay remaining depressed and unemployment kept low through continued emigration. Indeed we may be in a statistical recovery, but as I say for many workers the recession hasn’t ended and as has been pointed out by the President and earlier speakers we are now creating a labour market permeated with precarious employment and in-work depravation. Yet, to the mainstream, it’s as if nothing ever happened and nothing needs to change. Our government continues to pedal the same neo-liberal solutions, keep corporate tax low, and that includes employer’s social insurance, raise regressive taxes, privatise what remains of the public sector, and deregulate labour markets and remove so called red tape constricting business growth. Similarly in Northern Ireland following four years in which £1.5 billon has been cut from the budget supplied by Westminster, this year’s budget enforced even further cuts. This year they started to bite into public services in an unprecedented manner. But not content with enacting such swinging and damaging cuts to public services, the parties in the Northern Ireland Executive united in the demand for tax varying powers so they could too lower corporation taxes to the level there at in the Republic. All at the cost of approximately £400 million sterling, even deeper cuts to public services which are already at breaking point. This was the reward the parties got for agreeing the most brutal austerity budget in the history of Northern Ireland. The catalogue of cuts in this year’s budget is almost beyond belief. 20,000 public sector jobs, 1500 teachers and school staff, 200 bus and rail workers, 300 agricultural workers, 80 road services workers and the list goes on and on. 16,000 further education and 1100 university places to be lost. What price the skills and education of our future generations? And yet this is only the first year of many more cuts. Northern Ireland is only half way through austerity and even more devastating in terms of cuts if they lower the corporation taxes there because it will pressurise governments in Scotland, Wales, and England to lower their taxes to keep up. And so the race to the bottom continues.

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But it’s not all hopeless, 2015 was the year that people fought back, led for the most part by ordinary working class people, they rose against water charges, they struck against austerity, they protested, they gathered, they spoke, they marched and they sang. Conference, we demand a different type of economy, a different type of future. We proclaim a better world is possible, and we stand in solidarity with our colleagues in Syria, the Greek people and the downtrodden working people across Europe. We believe in an economy which is sustainable, an economy having a focus on growth in core productive sectors such as manufacturing, argi-food, renewable energy, and construction, an economy with a strong base in public services and world class infrastructure and services. Sorry, President, we demand an economy where workers have decent pensions, have job security, guaranteed hours to ensure they can plan to start families or invest in a home, have access to child care, an economy where workers have the freedom to join a union and enjoy collective bargaining with employers on the basis of equality. On that economy we can base a wealthy society, a society where everyone has the right to affordable and secure housing, where they have a public health system free at the point of delivery, where they have the security of a social welfare system to catch them when they fall, a society where you are equal regardless of class, faith, ethnicity or sexual orientation. Such a society can find its place in Europe, in a Europe of solidarity where no country is condemned to slavery under odious debt, a Europe where trade does not provide the grounds for businesses to avoid regulations or to sue governments who stand for their people, a Europe that welcomes the stranger. Comrades, a better world is possible but it must be underpinned by a strong robust and sustainable economy built on a solid productive base - an economy where wages are fair and there is no great divide between rich and poor. I move the motion. John Douglas, President I would just like to draw speakers’ attention to the traffic lights system - green means you’re ok, orange means it’s a warning, red means you’re out of time and flashing red really means you’re out of time, ok seconder - name and organisation please. Marie Casey, UNITE Mary Casey, Unite seconding Motion 3. Conference, I wish to second Motion 3 on the economy on behalf of Unite. Manufacturing is at the heart of our economy. A productive economic activity generates all the wealth in society and places the working class in the unique position where we have the power to transform society in a conscious manner. With our hands and heads workers create all human wealth. Outside our unions we are powerless to have a say on how that wealth that we produce is allocated. Today are told we will live in a post-industrial society. Northern Ireland - once a proud manufacturing base - is now a mere shadow of its old self. We have seen the decimation of whole sectors of industry – gone is ship building, textiles, linen industries; few of the engineering giants that once dominated the city, remain. Manufacturers who want to lay off workers must open

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their books to the workers if they are making big profits then they can’t justify laying off workers and they can’t tell us they can’t afford fair pay. Over the past two decades the Republic enjoyed a boom of investment but all too little was in the real economy, and all too much was in a make believe economy, designed to facilitate industrial scale tax avoidance giving the country global tax haven status. Precious little was done to build up local supply chains around the FDI corporate giants, so when times changed and even lower tax alternatives beckoned elsewhere, it was all too easy to up sticks and relocate. The industries which grew most were primarily those associated with facilitating industrial scale tax avoidance and when the cheques finally bounced they rebounded on the banks leaving the nation on its knees. And yet the lessons have not been learned. The Celtic Tiger period offered the resources with which to develop a balanced productive economy, making the most of our natural assets and strengths, yet no one in government wants to challenge that market. In the Republic, government hopes to return to a course of economic growth based on long-fingering the bank debt, facilitating tax avoidance and fiscal driven growth and complete reliance on FDI to create the needed employment to stem the massive emigration of our young people. Perhaps more disappointing is the complete and abject ideological bankruptcy of the Northern Ireland Executive parties. We seek to replicate the success of the Celtic Tiger era by chasing the rainbow of the foolish ‘race to the bottom’ on corporation taxes. But, conference, what investor would want to relocate production to a society which, because of austerity policies, cannot fill the potholes, educate or skill it’s youth or provide low cost energy? Conference, what is needed is an interventionist alternative. We must consider borrowing to invest in the infrastructure necessary for success, for electricity for water supply or a transport system. Such investment would multiply our growth and support a wage-led recovery. We see a central role for the public sector, for public enterprises. We have such innate wealth on this island, enough wind and wave energy to power the entirety of Western Europe. Both jurisdictions could win. Imagine if this capacity was in public ownership, with the profits benefiting world-class public services, the power sustaining electrically powered mass public transit system, a growing and sustainable manufacturing centre, we could show an example to the world and recover our manufacturing glory. Yet, administrations North and South seek competitive advantage in the race to the bottom foreign global tax haven status - all at the cost of even more brutal austerity. Conference, instead we need to be investing in our young people - their education and their skills. We need a revolution in the workplace, we need a Decent Work Act that will guarantee the right to collective bargaining and end precarious work conditions on low hour contracts. A living wage, a protection from vulture capitalists that can close down enterprises in hours and throw workers out into the street, without so as much as an explanation. Most of all, we need new strategies to reduce inequality. The Irish economy produces a higher level of inequality than any other European economy. High pay for senior managers, high profits for shareholders and low pay for workers. This risks create another

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boom and bust in our economy and another crisis in our public finances. Greater equality leads to better outcomes for workers, for business and society. We must overturn the neo-liberal consensus at the heart of the Dublin and Belfast administrations, and ensure that real steps are being taken to build an economy meeting the needs of our citizens. I urge you to support Motion 3 and commit ourselves to this task. John Douglas, President Congress Thank you very much. Obviously my words of warning fell on deaf ears in relation to the traffic lights system, so the two Unite delegates now - two penalty points each. Any speakers on the motion? Seeing none, I am going to call on the proposer of the next motion, Motion 4, in the name of Dublin Council of Trade Unions. Mick, I know you understand the traffic lights system, and my God you must have went through a red light did you? Mick O’Reilly, Dublin Council of Trade Unions I have never, President been disobedient in my life. I have to say to the delegates, I am very uplifted at the warmth of the amount of delegates who came over and expressed sympathy with me over my broken arm, and I have to say that it’s a great improvement because twenty years ago I came to this Conference with a broken arm and one of the delegates said to me as I walked in the door, it’s a pity it wasn’t your tongue. So I hope nobody repeats that. The Motion that the Trades Council has down is about a concept called political realignment, and political realignment is something that rarely happens. It happened in Ireland twice in the twentieth century; it happened in the great broad shift from the parliamentary party to Sinn Féin in 1918. It happened in the huge sweep that went to Eamon De Valera in 1932, and both of those things have been about the national question and also about social justice. And the Irish people, on both occasions, moved decisively for both. Now we have a situation that realignment also took place in Britain after the First World War, but realignment does not fall from the sky, nor does it come from prayer. Realignment comes from hard work and politics and if we want to wake up after the next election, or perhaps the election after that and listen to a news bulletin that says Ireland is not going to be ruled by a government of either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, I want to believe that the trade union movement has a role in bringing that situation about and changing the world. Because realignment requires us to commit ourselves to that objective, not supporting governments led by Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael. Of course we can’t tell the electorate what to do and whatever the outcome of an election we must deal with the elected government, that’s a given. But we can influence events. We can try bringing realignment and dialogue and that’s why I am very glad that many of the trade unions here are involved in the water charges campaign. The water charge campaign has the support of most of the trade unionists in the twenty-six counties and indeed in the six counties as well, in fact they have won it in the six counties. It a small symbolism of what can be done when you get involved in politics. But the water charges, in my opinion, is simply a message from ordinary people that they have had enough. The reason people are revolting over the water charges is because they can, and any weapon that comes to hand that they can use, they will use it

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and they are correct and we should be with them on that, and we are with them on that and that’s important. The question of political realignment requires the Congress Executive to get involved in nudging all the parties of the left to work together. That means convincing Social Democrats and left Republicans, Trotskyites, Communists on whatever to talk and have dialogue, and to put at the heart of any programme, trade union principles and values and to work to bring that about. And, it also means this sometimes we will have to face the fact that to get there we may at times have to have an even more right-wing government than the one we have now because what are the consequences of bringing about realignment on the left? We will be bringing it about on the right, and we have to face that fact - it’s not a pleasant fact - but we have to face it and there will be consequences for that, for the people we represent and they may suffer in a temporary sense as a result of that. But, it will be worthwhile if we can put together as an answer to the difficulties that we have and not just a question of we passed a motion on industrial democracy, we want good and better services, we want greater taxation and fairness at the heart of society, and guess what we did? We wrote a letter to the Minister and told him what our policy was, that’s not good enough. It hasn’t worked, it won’t work, and if this motion is passed I hope that everybody gets involved in the discussion to bring about realignment in Ireland and to look forward to the day we hear on the news, that Ireland has the first left-wing government in the twentieth century and it’s going to stand up for workers, it’s going to stand up and change the order of things, and it’s going to stand with the trade union movement. That will not fall from the sky - it has to be fought for, and you are the only people that can do that. I move the motion. John Douglas, President Congress Thank you Michael, is there a seconder for the motion of Dublin Trade Unions? Is the motion formally seconded; it’s formally seconded. Are there any speakers to the motion? Terry Kelleher CPSU Terry Kelleher from CPSU supporting the motion. Our opposition to neo–liberalism, Thatcherism verbally is unrivalled. But actually on the ground and particularly since 2008 the reality is, that our strategy and tactics are less clear. Outsourcing, privatisation, zero-hour contracts, austerity are gaining ground massively at a quickening pace. There is a serious war on the working class and the people of the world which we don’t have to be convinced of and not only are we losing it, we are being slaughtered. Through these struggles, however, and burdens, people are becoming active, and also seen the hypocracy of the capitalist system which burdens the working class in Ireland with €30 billion worth of austerity, while the top three hundred richest people in Ireland increase their wealth by €34 billion. The water charges struggle - the glorious movement that we’ve experienced - well some of us have experienced, has demonstrated the resources outside the trade union movement and within our ranks of the working class. The potential for struggle, the potential to stand-up hard against austerity, the challenges, not only the myths of the markets, the political system but everything, because people do not have any choice. The illusions of the Celtic Tiger politics, which demoralised activists, how it gathered pace in people and young people

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is shattered now. Neo–liberals have no roots now in the working class in Europe. It’s been shattered by the crisis by the reality of capitalism. People are looking beyond Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael and the Labour Party. All the polls are indicated on this island, that people inside and outside our ranks are looking for another alternative. The trade union movement has a responsibility to facilitate that. We need a new political vehicle that has been manifested in other countries, like Greece, and Spain, and Portugal. We have to live up to our responsibility and create such a thing that the Right2Water unions are campaigning for. To do anything else in my opinion is a denial of your responsibilities to the working class in Ireland. But such an organisation needs to be democratic, needs to involve all genuine forces; it needs to be based on class unity, so we need to have a debate that the people are advocating for Sinn Féin to be involved in that. What’s the repercussion for the trade union movement in the North, that we in the South advocate such a thing? These have to be teased out in reality; also they have to have a record on anti–austerity. There is no way the Labour Party should be involved in such a discussion in my opinion - it has no record whatsoever in opposing, quite the opposite. In the last two by-elections in Dublin, people looked beyond this. The last point I have to make is also we need to look at Sinn Féin’s role in Stormont in relation to anti-austerity; these may be hard questions but to build something new and genuine they need to be raised. We need to debate them and need to get them answered. Thank you . John Douglas, President Congress Any further speakers? Your name and organisation please. Padraig Mullholland NISPA Padraig Mulholland, speaking on behalf of NISPA, to give qualified support to the motion. President, comrades, first of all can I congratulate the Dublin Trades Council for bringing this motion forward because it is clearly an issue that needs to be debated out by our movement. We have to accept some of the realities of where we are today. Five to six years on from the beginning of the crisis, and by the way - not our crisis, not our recession - it is their crisis and their recession, but five or six years on, we have paid a terrible price in jobs, in destruction of education, in destruction of the health service, and in the destruction of the future of young people. That price continues to be paid and part of the reality is we are faced with a Tory government, re-elected in Westminster, we are faced with a Tory government in Stormont and we are faced with a Tory government in Dáil Éireann. All three are implementing austerity day after day, hammering the working class and hammering our members. And, if we are going to build a movement that can resist those attacks, if we are going to build a movement that really can change society, we need to begin a very serious debate from this Conference today and the Dublin Trades Council motion takes us a step in that direction. We need to build a movement that is militant and is prepared to use its industrial arm. We need as well to build a political movement but that political movement must have some characteristics if it is going to move forward successfully. First of all it needs to be a political alliance of those who are opposed to austerity, but when we say opposed to austerity it has

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to mean more than Conference speeches. It has to be opposition to austerity in real terms as well in the implementation of policy. You cannot oppose austerity from a Conference platform but then implement job cuts and cuts in education and cuts in the health service in the name of the Thatcher government or in the name of a Fine Gael government. Comrades, we need to build a political movement that does take account of the sensitivities of Northern Ireland, and let us be clear we cannot build a unified progressive left movement that is either green or orange. A progressive left movement cannot be based on sectarian division, it has to stand against sectarianism, and it has to build something different and build something that’s a real alternative. Comrades, we should not be building a movement based on green or orange, we should build it based on the colour of this movement and that is red. I think this motion takes us forward; this motion does take us forward. It is a welcome opportunity to open up a real discussion and to build our movement into the future please support the motion. John Douglas, President of Congress The mover of the motion has asked for a right to reply so Michael again, thanks Padraig. Michael O’ Reilly, UNITE I’ll be brief. I just want to make the point Sinn Féin are in government in Northern Ireland but Northern Ireland doesn’t really have a government - it has an Administration. But that’s different to the level of choices that the government has in the Republic and it is a different situation. And, I think it’s for the Northern Ireland Committee to tease out the implications of our motion and how it will apply in the unique circumstances of Northern Ireland. But in relation building unity of the left in the Republic, it’s quite clear to me what the components are. One of the delegates said that we shouldn’t allow the Labour Party to participate in it because of what they are doing in government. I wish, I wish, I wish they would participate in it and leave government and join us on the left. I am not opposed to the Labour Party and I don’t regard the Labour Party as necessarily and always to be there to prop up Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. I think it has a different future but we can’t demand them to do that - it has to find its way itself. But if it begins to find that way it should get a big welcome from people in this movement. And we shouldn’t be worried about a situation where we have a diverse rainbow of opposition to austerity. We should welcome the wider, the bigger, the deeper, and the more diverse the rainbow, the better chance of winning. So, I would say I would welcome environmentalist in to this movement who are green. I would welcome Republicans into it who talks about the whole question of equality and make that apply to economics. I would welcome Social Democrats. I would welcome Trotskyites, I would welcome Marxists, I would welcome Reformists - people who believe in Keynes, people who believe in change, people who believe in a different Ireland and lets have that debate. But before we start it, let’s not to be excluding people on the basis that they might be Republicans or they are not pure red, whatever that might be, or any of that such stuff. Sectarianism doesn’t just only exist in Northern Ireland - you can have sectarianism in your politics with the narrowness of your outlook. I don’t want, and the Dublin Council of Trade

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Unions doesn’t want, a broad based anti–austerity movement to exclude anybody. All those who joined with us in the struggle are welcome to help us shape it. John Douglas, President Congress Now moving on to Motion 5 on the agenda - Charter for Fair Banking in the name of the IBOA I would ask the mover to come to the rostrum, and any speakers on that motion to come to the chairs in front. Larry Broderick, General Secretary IBOA Colleagues, Larry Broderick, General Secretary IBOA The Finance Union moving Motion 5 looking for a Fair Charter for Banking. I talk to you colleagues from an industry that has bank workers faced with thousands of redundancies, arising from the mismanagement of the banking industry. I talk to you colleagues with individuals in our industry engaged in major change, involved in outsourcing, restructuring, a tax on pensions and terms and conditions of employment. And, I talk to you colleagues with bewilderment and astonishment that a banking enquiry is taking place as we speak. They only focus on what happened on the famous night in Merrion Street, the nightmare of Merrion Street, and the nightmare of this economy. But no attempt has been made to look at the lessons that have created the banking crisis that has been a major contributor to austerity in this economy. Bank workers today are facing the same problems that led to the crisis seven or eight years ago, imposition of major targets on bank workers on an ongoing basis. A focus by management, and by government who owns banks and the maximising their profitability. The outsourcing of work as an ongoing way to reduce costs, as a way to make differentiation in the banking industry going forward and no regard whatsoever to customers, to communities given the recent approach taken by government and by banks in the closures of branches. What is needed is a radical view and principles to radicalise the change in our industry. The removal from the focus on profit at the expense of our members, our customers. The realisation that actually the State owning a bank, should look and try to create better value rather than dispose of the banks as they are planning to do. And, also a very strong rejection of the proposal of outsourcing, and can I ask you delegates today to give your support for our colleagues in AIB, hundreds of them that are facing more outsourcing in the coming days because of again, management initiative. This is the time colleagues for us to take a view retrospectively of the problems, and as a trade union movement put together solutions to resolve those problems in the interest of staff, in the interest of customers and in the interest of trade unions. I ask you to support the motion. Thank you very much. John Douglas, President Congress Thank you Larry. Is there a seconder for that motion from the IBOA? Yes, there is thank you.

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Colm Quinlan, UNITE President, delegates Colm Quinlan, Unite trade union happy to second the motion proposed by the IBOA. We have quite a considerable number of people working in the non-associated banks across the insurance industry, and through close collaboration with the IBOA over the past seven years, we have managed to filter and retain in the first instances a certain number of jobs there. We are now trying to get back some of the terms and conditions that we had, and most importantly try and return dignity to those employees in the financial sector. We can all remember the mother’s mantra, ‘wouldn’t it be great if you got a job in the bank’. Well that dates back a long time and there aren’t many saying it now. And, the thinking was job security, reasonable terms and conditions of employment and you had a pension. The reasons for that were that traditionally banks wanted to ensure that their staff had enough income, so they wouldn’t be tempted to dip into the accounts of the customers’ money as they were minding it. And, more importantly, were professional enough to engage with the customers who were deemed to be very important. Two things changed that - number one was technology, if you start to dip we will find you so we don’t need to treat you well any more, and the second big issue was the mantra that new business is more important than existing customers. So all bank resources were challenged towards giving loans to people who didn’t want them and very little resources were left to take care of existing customers. This motion is intended to deal with all of those aspects and we have no difficulty whatsoever in endorsing and standing by it. The mother’s promise or expectations of job security, reasonable terms of conditions and pensions were wiped out overnight in 2008. When we woke up the following morning, and not only was our job security undermined, our terms and conditions undermined, our pensions undermined, our nest eggs when we bought shares in the organisation on their encouragement undermined, we had to work for the baskets that caused the mess. So it has been a really difficult seven years for employee’s right across the financial sector, and I think this motion, when endorsed by Congress, will send a message from workers right across the country, that there is support in Congress for people who have suffered that fate. On the issue of strategic investment bank, we had one - we had the ICC. It was sold, it was privatised and it was taken over by a British bank. They stayed for ten years, learned the Irish habits, turned the bank into a casino and ran. When they got out we managed to save jobs through the establishment of a company called Certus who were to manage the outstanding loans in that organisation. It was to have a life of five years. Midstream it got a contract from NAMA to manage the liquidated books of IBRC of over €22 billion. Within nine months the vast majority of those assets had gone and that contract was lost. World record pace at disposal that nobody has investigated, and if you want to start to look under stones to see what happened in this country, that’s the period that should be looked at. Where at the time of the NAMA contract, 1,400 jobs were guaranteed in Certus, this time next year there will be none. Certus will be gone, the loans are gone. I don’t know where they went to, but it is something we need to start looking at.

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Anyway, in conclusion I am absolutely delighted on behalf of Unite trade union to second the motion proposed by IBOA and I commend it to the conference. John Douglas, President of Congress Thank you Colm. Any speakers to the motion? Seeing none, we will move on now. I am going to move for a vote on Motions 1, 2,3,4,5, and the adoption of Principle EC report reference Section 1. So, Motion 1, The Economy in the name of the National Executive Council all in favour, all against. Carried. Motion 2 Wage Led Growth in the name of the PESU, all in favour, all against. Carried. Motion 3 The Economy in Society in the Republic and Northern Ireland in the name of UNITE, all in favour, all against. Carried. Motion 4 Economic Development in the name of the Dublin Council of Trade Unions all in favour, all against. Carried. Motion 5 A Charter for Fair Banking in the name of the IBOA, all in favour, all against. Carried. I also put to the Conference, the adoption of Principle EC Report Reference Section 1, all in favour, all against, Section 1 of the Report is carried. Now it gives me great pleasure to call on Grahame Smith, fraternal speaker from the Scottish Trade Union Congress to address Conference, Grahame if you’re in the hall you’re very welcome, Céad Míle Fáilte. Grahame Smith, STUC Thank you very much indeed John. Delegates, it gives me tremendous pleasure to bring you the warmest greetings from the General Council and staff of the Scottish TUC. And, I would like to take this opportunity, if I may, to thank David Begg, and to offer your new General Secretary, Patricia, my best wishes in her new role. I had great pleasure in working with David during the last decade - one of the most challenging for the trade union movement in Ireland. In my experience, David always conducted himself with great dignity and humility, and I had the pleasure of witnessing his actions so to speak on a number of occasions, two in particular come to mind. The first was at the first ICTU Congress attended in Bundoran when David, with his vote of thanks to the Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, forensically but respectfully took apart the speech he had just made to Congress, much to the delight of the delegates, and a couple of hours later he did the exactly same thing to Martin McGuinness. The second occasion that it occurred, it was at the Northern Ireland Committee Conference a few years later, when David provided the best analysis I ever heard of the financial crisis.

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And, after he spoke I asked him for a copy of his speech, and rather bashfully pointed to one piece of paper with a few scribbled notes on it, and a copy of the Financial Times that he had quoted from. He delivered the speech completely off the cuff. I offer my best wishes to him in whatever he chooses to do in the future and, I very much look forward to working with you Patricia, in the period ahead. I had great pleasure in welcoming you to Scotland earlier this year, when you attended the Council of the Isles meeting, which the STUC hosted in Glasgow. Before that I had the benefit of your insight into the industrial relations situation here in the Republic, which helped inform an important piece of work we were involved in with the Scottish government, in advance of our Independence Referendum last year, when a vital role that unions played, not just in the workplace but across industrial sectors, and social partners with government employers and others in civil society. Of the relationships the STUC has with trade union centres across the world, the relationship we have with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions is the one we hold most dear, and I am in no doubt that a relationship will continue to flourish under your leadership of Congress. Congress, as a result of the recent UK general election, which saw the election of majority Tory government, and a remarkable success of the Scottish National Party in Scotland, who will have a profound impact on working people and their families in communities across the UK and beyond, and I for one am still trying to access all the implications. There are some things that we know for certain, and some of which will be confirmed tomorrow when the UK Chancellor presents his post-election budget. We have already been promised austerity writ large, with another £50 billion worth of ideological driven cuts. We have been promised £12 billion worth of welfare cuts, deliberately targeted at the most vulnerable, and as a thank you to those whose interest they truly served, a cut in inheritance tax which will line the pockets of the already rich and further increase any quality. The Tory’s attack on welfare and vilification of the poor says all that’s needs to be said about their ideological intent. Welfare was once a progressive concept based on the principles of collective solidarity, where citizens contributed collectively when they could, so they could to be protected when they couldn’t. It’s being turned into a dirty word. It’s no longer our right but begrudgingly offered with the implication that this is undeserved. During the recent election campaign, the Tories refused to say where they would make their £12 billion worth of welfare cuts. But, having pledged to protect pensioners’ benefits in order to win the grey vote, it is clear that these cuts will have to come from freezing or cutting housing benefits, and the benefits paid to the disabled and the unemployed and it’s likely that they will partially target young people and families on low incomes. Unemployed 18–21 year olds will be denied housing benefit forcing many of them on to the streets, and into destitution. The unemployment benefit will be replaced by a youth allowance, which ultimately will be conditional on undertaking daily community work - in other words work fair. Is it any wonder that when the state deems it acceptable to discriminate against young people and to treat them with disrespect? So many employers think it is acceptable to do likewise by offering only zero hours contracts, which fills their lives and futures with

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uncertainty or by showing them the zero respect by paying an 18 year less than a 22 year old for flipping burgers, serving food or stacking shelves in some supermarkets. The other area the UK government will look to for substantial cut in welfare are from the benefits paid to families on low incomes. It’s interesting that the justification that some of the Tory Party give for this is that the benefits paid to those in work encourage employers to pay low wages because they know they will be topped up by the taxpayer. Now there is of course some truth in this. It always angers me that the amount the taxpayer subsidies low paying employers many of them multi-national household names, it’s never part of the debate about who the real benefit scroungers are. I would find some of the Tory rhetoric much less cynical if at the same time they called for the minimum wage to be increased to at least the level of a living wage. Or even better, if they supported the right of unions to represent and negotiate and collectively bargain on behalf of the workers as the means of lifting them out of poverty. Instead you have the very same Tories lining up to attack us, to attack the facility time of union reps, to give employers the green light to use scab labour, to strike break and to introduce legislation that will effectively outlaw strike action. The Tories’ strike ballot plans are an outright attack on the fundamental democratic right of workers to withdraw their labour. They are a violation of ILO conventions and a front not just to workers’ rights, but to human rights, and civil liberties and they should be of concern not only to union members, but to anyone who values freedom and democracy and a legitimate right peaceful protest. No-one should be in any doubt about the effect they pose to the future of the British trade union movement, and no one should be in any doubt about our determination to resist them. It’s inevitable that if these proposals are implemented, they will bring unions in to conflict with the law. But, colleagues we would not be here today if our predecessors had not broken bad laws. Across the world civil and human rights have been won and protected only because people unite to break bad laws. And, if that is what it takes to ensure that unions in Britain can continue to represent their members, then so be it. The Tories talk about outlawing democratic strike action, and this is nothing to do with democracy, and I will not take lectures about democracy, or the need to respect to democratic legitimacy of Parliament, from a government elected on only 24percent. 24percent of those delegates with a vote, and only 10percent of those eligible to vote in Scotland, much less of course than the proposed thresholds that they wish to impose on strike balance. This is not about a democratic mandate; this is not a democratic mandate for attacking unions or for more austerity. What this is about is the naked self-interest of a privileged elite attempting to prevent any organised resistance to its ability and desire to wield its economic power and political power unchallenged. It’s the same ideology that underpins the policy of austerity being perused not just in Britain, but across Europe. We know that austerity makes no economic sense, and we know that it’s primary purpose is to entrench the economic and political power of that self-same

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elite. It is a policy increasingly pursued against the wishes of the people, and democratically elected government. It has become increasingly evident as the situation in Greece all too clearly illustrates, that the international financial institutions, and the EU establishment, are prepared to undertake wilful acts of extreme economic malevelence and social vandalism, in their attempts to crush opposition to austerity from ordinary working people and their elected governments. Greece is their currant target, but as you know better than most, the rim is far wider, and encompases all those who stand against austerity. The ideological obsession with austerity is a clear and present threat to the Northern Ireland Peace Process and it is insidiously undermining the principle that has bound the EU for the past half century, that a market economy must be balanced by social justice, equality, economic security, solidarity and democracy. As a UK government frantically lobbies EU government for reductions in employment, consumer and environmental protections as a price of the UK’s continued membership of the EU, it is more vital than ever that unions and other progressive forces stand together to demonstrate our collective solidarity. Democracy demands an effective and credible challenge to politicians in governments from outwith the established political structures. Democracy is about more than politicians in Parliament - it’s about people and it’s how we influence the decisions that affect our lives including those taken in the workplace. The trade union movement not only provides a legitimate and an effective voice for working people and their families and communities, it can and must be a leading partner in the coalition of opposition that would be necessary to challenge the democratic legitimacy of the technocrats and ideologues who seek to impose austerity against the will of the people. I very much look forward to campaigning together with you and not just in opposition to austerity, deregulation, privatisation and the attacks on workers’ rights in organised labour, but for our genuine credible alternative - based on taxation and a living wage, on quality jobs and decent public services, on fair benefits and stronger communities, on genuine democratic control of the economy and a strong and effective trade unions. Congress, thank you again for inviting me to address you and best wishes for the remainder of your Congress, thank you. John Douglas, President Thank you very much Grahame for those words of support and solidarity. Another speaker now - Padraig Malone, from the Congress Centres Network - is Padraig here? After the next speaker delegates I would ask you all to remain in your seats, we are going to do a short piece for about twenty minutes in memory of James Connolly, a Scottish and Irish Socialist Trade Unionist so it’s an interesting piece and it will be on the screen. There will also be some interactive role play, so it’s very interesting so stay in your seats, don’t be moving around after the next speaker please thank you.

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Padraig Malone, Congress Centres Network Thank you, Chairperson, delegates, your conference pack says that this speech will be given by a Margaret Fitzpatrick but unfortunately she is indisposed and as is patently obvious, I am not Margaret Fitzpatrick. Padraig Malone, I am the coordinator of the Limerick Resource Centre for the Unemployed which is one of the 26 Centres that make up the Congress Centres Network and on behalf of the Congress Centres Network, I would firstly like to say how pleased we are to be given the opportunity to address conference here today, and to express the hope that our few words will increase awareness among delegates as to the existence and the work of the Network. The Congress Centres came in to being in 1985, during another great economic recession and at a time when mass unemployment, and all its attended evils was once again afflicting Irish workers. Drawing on experiences in other countries, for example in the UK, and Germany the youth employment committee of Congress, took the initiative in beginning the process of establishing a Network of Centres for the Unemployed. This arose from the realisation that many workers on becoming unemployed, had deep feelings of being alone helpless and abandoned, and that it was incumbent on the Trade Union Movement to do something concreate to provide practical assistance for unemployed workers, many of them its own unemployed members. Working in tandem with local Trades Councils, Trade Union community activists, and with the active involvement of FAS, Congress was able to bring about the steady expansion of a Network of Centres throughout the late eighties and early nineties. While the number of Centres in existence have fluctuated over the years, with some falling by the wayside, the 26 that exist today are now well established features of the economic and social fabric of their local areas. The original purpose of the Centre was, and remains today, the provision of basic practical assistance for unemployed people, and the promotion of employment and social inclusion and indeed the remit has widened to a whole number of other categories of people who suffer social exclusion and social disadvantage. The most important services provided by the Centres are welfare rights information, adult education and training, and jobs seeking supports. There are up to 900 people employed in the Centres through the Community Employment Programme, the Job Initiative Scheme, and other State employment programmes. In recent years, the Centres have engaged in some 1.4 million client interactions. Collectively the Centres operate the budget of some €6 million in State funding, and in addiction raise further considerable amounts for the provision of services, other funding sources and active fundraising. The Centres, therefore, represent a considerable resource to the trade union movement, and to the communities that they serve. All this must surely be seen as a clear indication, if such is needed, of the continuing relevance of the Network. Over the years the Centres developed a heightened level of professionalism with the provision of an increasing number and range of accredited education and training courses. Most of the Centres have been recognised as FETAC providers, and despite some difficulties are striving to be part of the new QQI system that has superseded FETAC.

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Also, through the Trade Union Skillnets the Network is playing its part in the provision of education and training programmes for trade union members, and in a further diversification of its education and training activates in recent times, the Centres have become involved in training through DACT for people with disabilities, the Youth Guarantee for young people and the upskilling programme, Momentum. One of the first real challenges that face a person on becoming unemployed is attempting to navigate and make sense of the social welfare system, and to access the relevant payments. In this respect the Centres have been of inestimable assistance to countless thousands of people over the years through the provision of a free confidential and empathic welfare rights information services. This service continues today and is constantly adapting to the ever-changing area of welfare provision which is not always for the better. The Centres also provide practical jobs seeking supports, such as the preparation of CVs, assistance with interview skills, information on employment and training opportunities and access to communication facilities, simple things such as phone, fax and the internet but which can often be very distant for unemployed people. Crucial to all this work has been the development of a joint collaborate approach, with a wide range of state agencies and community organisations. Of critical importance is the relationship which has developed, firstly with FAS and in recent years with the Department of Social Protection, through the operation of employment programmes such as community employment and job initiatives. Indeed, in this respect one of the great selling points of the Centres has been the quality of the work experience they provide, which in turn has led to an outstanding record in terms of progression of their participants into employment and further education and training. None of this is to say that the Centres do not face some very serious challenges, as already alluded to; some have not survived to test the time and have had to close for a variety of reasons. Those that remain often find it is difficult to carry on in a continually difficult economic and funding environment. For some of them meeting basic costs such as rent and other vital resources is a constant struggle, and in this respect it should be realised that the Centres are maintained largely due to the determined efforts of voluntary boards of management, that are predominantly made up of current and retired trade union activists. Indeed, in a bit of research has been carried out by the Congress Official responsible for the Centres, Sylvia Ryan, and we have found that of one hundred and thirty seven board members of Centres, one hundred of them are either current or retired trade union activists, and that clearly shows how integrated the Centres are into the trade union movement. The Congress Centres Network is a valuable resource to the trade union movement, not only is it a window for the trade unions into the wider community, but it can also be of immense practical assistance to the movement through the provision of training courses and facilities, meeting rooms contact points and other such services. The Centres also of

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assistance to active involvement in campaigns, such has been recently in those around the Dunne’s Stores workers, and the Marriage Equality Referendum. In conclusion may I say the Centres have proved their worth over the years, and deserved to be recognised as an integral and important part of the wider trade unions structure as represented by Congress. For three decades and without great cost or being a major burden, they have provided assistance, support and solidarity to some of the most vulnerable in our society, in a manner that brings great credit to this trade union movement May I finally draw your attention to this magazine which has been produced by the Centres, and I think the actual work of producing the pages and the photographs carried out by the staff of our Letterkenny Centre, obviously with the assistance support of the other Centres. But this magazine will explain and give all the detail that you need, and even more about the Centres more collectively and each individual Centre. I would commend it to you and you can get it at the Centres stall out in the lobby. Go raibh maith agat and thank you for your attention. John Douglas, President Thank you Padraig for that very comprehensive report and every success in the work of the Centres into the future. The top table, we are going to vacate the top table and sit in the front row here for the moment. We are going to move into the Connolly piece now, but just before we do can delegates be aware that a Global Solidarity Fringe Meeting will take place at lunchtime in the room T1 on the ground floor and delegates also are aware at the end of the Connolly piece that Conference will adjourn until 2.30pm okay? Thank you. TRIBUTE TO JAMES CONNOLLY John Douglas, President Thank you delegates, I would like to thank the actresses from ANU and Fergus Whelan for the fantastic singing and presentation, the Conference now stands adjourns until 2.30pm thank you.

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Tuesday 7 July 2015 Afternoon Session

NORTHERN IRELAND – BUILDING THE PEACE John Douglas, President Can people start taking their seats please, the earlier we start, the earlier we finish. Come on and grab your seats. Brothers and sisters please take you seats. We are going to call conference to order. We are now closing the doors at the back of the hall; the conference is now in session. Brian Campfield, Vice President Ok, colleagues, can you quieten down. The President, John Douglas, is going to make a presentation to Grahame Smith from the Scottish TUC, so Grahame, do you want to come up to the stage – no dancing! John Douglas, President I have been instructed by the General Secretary to tell you that the presentation is made of locally sourced slate in the Clare area and it also has a quote from Connolly and the quote is “Without the power of the industrial union behind it, democracy can only enter the state as the victim enters the gullet of the serpent” James Connolly. I would now like to call on the Chair of Standing Orders Jack McGinley to advise delegates about a very important matter – the voting procedures for elections, so Jack, thanks. Jack McGinley, Chairman of Standing Orders Delegates, Liam Berney and Fergus Whelan, are around the hall exchanging credential stubs for voting cards during the Conference proceeding this afternoon from 2.30pm until 11am tomorrow morning. Each delegate must personally exchange his or her credential stub for a voting card. Ballot papers for the election of the Congress Executive Council and the Standing Orders Committee will be issued on Wednesday 8th July 2015, from 11am to 3pm. Each union will be asked to nominate a principle delegate, who in exchange for the voting cards, will collect the ballot papers from a polling station situated away from the main conference hall. On completion, the ballot papers should be returned to the sealed ballot boxes in the polling station by the individual delegates or by the principle delegate, in accordance with union practice, before 15.00hrs tomorrow afternoon, Wednesday 8th July 2015. The results of the election will be announced during the conference proceedings, during the morning of Thursday 9th July 2015. I would also like to say at this point that one candidate has been withdrawn from the 34 for the election of the incoming Executive Council, namely Louise O’Donnell, consequent on her nomination to the Labour Court - I move. John Douglas President of Congress Thank you Jack. Ok delegates, we are on Principle Report Section 5, Northern Ireland ‘Building the Peace’. I am calling on Peter Bunting, Assistant General Secretary to introduce the Northern Ireland Section ‘Building the Peace’ report. Also, there will be a PowerPoint presentation during Peter’s presentation. Thank you.

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Peter Bunting, Assistant General Secretary Chair, Minister, Comrades one again I have the privilege of introducing the Northern Ireland Section of the Executive Report. I wish that the news I bring was better, that I could be more optimistic for our society and the prosperity and security of the people we represent, that our communities were at ease with each other, and that our elected brothers were dedicated to the progressive betterment of all who live in Northern Ireland. I wish that I could tell you all here today that seventeen years after the signing of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, that the pledges made at that time by the politicians were honoured. And that Northern Ireland had not become a political football for parties in Stormont and for that matter in Dáil Éireann. When I last addressed this gathering two years ago in Belfast, I declared that the trade union movement was the opposition to the enforced consensus from Westminster. That consensus was that the economic deficit was the gravest crises we faced and that the only cure was austerity heaped upon austerity. The Tories have just been elected on a manifesto they had never dreamed of having the chance to impose on the country. It was a right-wing wish list, even far-right by European standards, and was designed to be their opening round in the event of negotiating a coalition administration. A noise everybody knows and nobody expected, they have a majority in the House of Commons and the backing of a rabid Tory press to do the following. To reshape employment law in Great Britain to ensure that it would be virtually impossible to go on strike and even then to open unions to unlimited claims by any passing complainant. To legalise scab labour by allowing agencies to supply strike breakers. To bankrupt unions by removing the check-off systems of union subs. To shrink facility time for union activities such as representing members and encouraging union learning and to make political campaigning by unions as difficult as possible thus attempting to silence us further. All of this building up to their ultimate goal – the removal of the United Kingdom from the European Union and its progressive labour legislation. They want to go even further, removing the UK from the European Convention on Human Rights, obliterating the Human Rights Act - a core component of the Good Friday Agreement. This only bolsters our determined campaign for a Northern Ireland Bill of Rights. On top of that, they wish to open the NHS and education provision to private operators, outsource public services to the preferred providers; Circle, Capita, A4e and cut taxes even more for the rich. But the major change is their ideological attacks on the marginalised and the working poor under the guise of welfare reform. Northern Ireland is currently being held ransom by the Tories and their Welfare Bill. Here are the real facts about welfare. I’m going to show a few slides, the first one you can note from the curve in economic terms on that particular slide is that the spend on welfare has been continuing progressively over a long period of time. But you should also note that there are no huge spikes in that curve and that the UK spends £200 billion per year on welfare. The next slide - I hope you can all read it - puts a lie to the fact that the Tories and those who wish to attack the marginalised are the main recipients of welfare. As you can see from that slide, 40% of all payments of welfare in the Unites Kingdom go to pensions - senior citizens, 14%, the next highest is for tax credits and 12% is for housing benefit. You will note that there is not a huge component of that welfare spend being paid out to those who are stigmatised by being apparently or allegedly ‘scroungers’ and people who don’t want to work. It is, I think, very instructive that you realise what’s happening here in the welfare attack on the working class and the marginalised. The next slide exposes that cruel lie that people who are on housing benefit are victims as well because you can look at that slide and note that housing benefit has seen a significant increase by

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over £20 billion in the last 10 years. Why do we have housing benefit? We have housing benefit because we have no social housing. We have housing benefit because the rich landlords put up the rent every year, upon year upon year, and that’s why we have £20 billion of spend. The next slide shows what we have termed ‘tax credits’. Now tax credits in the United Kingdom are the same as Family Income Support in the Republic of Ireland. And you will note the huge rise in that spend where we are now subsidising unscrupulous employers who won’t pay their employees a decent living wage. That particular part of welfare should be called employers’ welfare benefit and you will see a huge increase in that over the last numbers of years as well. And the interesting thing about it is that it can be exposed as a huge explosion of low pay right across the United Kingdom. But there is actually one slide which I have actually jumped over and what it does again I illustrate to you is that the number of recipients of tax credit has not changed in the last twenty years – it’s still 5 million people, sorry that’s the housing benefit, so that’s the interesting thing I think you should know about welfare. But let me come back to the tax credits because they were and they are a good idea, and tomorrow George Osborne in his July 8th budget will attempt to make the lives of the working poor worse because his intentions are to tax, tax credits. And, the problem is that the situation of low wages needs to be challenged. The State is subsiding starvation wages by employers and over valued rents through housing benefit. The figures are quite mind-boggling and occasionally emerge. Last week Tesco PLC held its annual shareholders meeting in London. There was a miner revolt at the £4.1 million remuneration packet for his new CEO, Dave Louis, but all went well and the City of London block vote carried the day as always. Part of the rebellion of some Tesco shareholders was Tesco low-low wages. There were the demands that Tesco pay the Living Wage and then this figure was revealed - £364 million. That is the amount that the UK taxpayer spent on tax credits for Tesco workers last year according to the campaign group Citizens UK. More one third of a billion pounds from the State every year to subsidise a company which had a stock market value of £14 billion before its recent difficulties caused by its incompetent and hugely overpaid management. In fact, Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s cost the UK taxpayer well over £700 million in subsidies for their low wages which helped them post profits of £3.8 billion between them. There are only two things that can improve the lot of underpaid and neither of them are cuts to tax credits or housing benefits. Those two things which we require to improve the lot of the underpaid are State action on a Living Wage and collective bargaining. Comrades, we have a fight on our hands and we can win this fight. Do not listen to the voice of self-despair who tell you that the odds are too high and that nothing has been or can be achieved. This movement has led the opposition and was vilified for doing so, has delayed and even stopped the worst plans of our opponents. If it was not for the Trade Union movement standing strong and united, Northern Ireland would be a far worst place for ordinary workers and their families. The entire neo-liberal fantasy embedded in the Stormont House Agreement would have rolled out. Welfare cuts for the disabled and working poor, assets sales of public land, privatisation of public utilities, mass redundancies across the public and private sector and a huge cut in cooperation tax for big business at the cost of further reductions in public services. All of the main parties were signed up until someone shouted ‘stop’. That someone was the collective voice of this movement travelling across Northern Ireland and speaking at over 30 public meeting and dozens of union branches, phoning into radio programs and making noise on Twitter, writing letters to local newspapers, and badgering elected politicians. We organised protest rallies and public meetings,

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highlighting the destructive impact of cuts on local communities affecting health, education, public transport, and other vital public services. There were other struggles too - some we lost -brave fights such as that to maintain the driving license agency in Coleraine. But, one outcome of these local campaigns in mid-Ulster on the north coast of Antrim, in South Down, in West Fermanagh, is the daily proof to people who are not members of our movement realising what a resource to the entire community a strong and active Trades Council is, and how important local trade union branches are to everyone in a town or a village, not only union members. Comrades, we stand with the victims of racist attacks in Belfast as we stand with the victims of power, be they Colombian and Bahraini trade unionist, South African miners or the children of Gaza. But, we are most of all the collective voice of our members. On March 13th this year, many took the ultimate step, a massive strike across all sectors, with thousands filling the centre of Belfast making clear to the political, media and business class, and the overseers in Dublin and London that was prescribed as the ideal future in the Stormont House talks was not in our name and not in our interest. That dispute is ongoing and will intensify in the Autumn. Almost every public sector union has a mandate for some form of industrial action up to and including strike action. We remain resolutely opposed to the economic and social cost of the Stormont House Agreement and will continue to oppose it regardless of fantasy budgets or backroom deals in Stormont. Stormont House did not address what it was supposed to deal with - the legacy of conflict, the trauma of the conflict, and the consequences of the conflict. In Northern Ireland we have the highest suicide rates in these islands - 70% higher than any other region of the United Kingdom. And, we also have the lowest paid workers right across the United Kingdom. At the beginning of the whole debacle last December we submitted to all parties and the three Governments, a paper which identified six reasons why Northern Ireland requires additional funding and not austerity. The six areas affected by what we call the troubled premiums are; mental health problems - one in six in Northern Ireland are affected, and most of those, by the way, are concentrated in areas allegedly called, or close to the peace lines. Poverty and depravation, which is persistent and intergenerational deepened by forty years of conflict. Security, the most expensive is policing the United Kingdom, because of the unaddressed blight of sectarianism which has led to decades of under-investment and is reproduced in part by the segregation in our education system, a multi-tiered complex which segregates at the age of four by faith, and class by eleven. Then there is the social cost - 80% of Protestant boys on free school meals, leave school without any usable qualifications. In all of these statistics and categories, Northern Ireland is placed among the worst in the United Kingdom. These are the crises that need to be address and Stormont House did not deliver. This month we will still have massive sectarian tensions and the real chance of sectarian violence, because there is no agreement on the causes and the consequences of the conflict from which we are still slowly emerging. Stormont House, welfare reform, transforming your care, a fantasy budget, a deficit crises. All of the above were portrayed as crucial for rebalancing the Northern Ireland economy. What a nonsense! It was left to the trade union movement to put forward the alternative. So, we produced 100,000 copies of a newspaper and sent it to workplaces, community centres and other public places. Following the General Secretary’s initiative on the ‘Congress Charter for Fair Conditions at Work’, we launched a Northern Ireland version last week.

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Two weeks ago a new concordant with the student movement an initiative by the ICTU Youth Committee in Northern Ireland and NUS, USI, the represented body of over two hundred thousand students in Northern Ireland, part of that agreement is to work together to deliver training for youth and student activist in organising on campuses, in workplaces, and in our communities. Three weeks ago we worked with Amnesty International and the Rainbow Project to deliver the largest demonstration ever in Northern Ireland for civil marriage equality for all of our citizens. These are the tasks we do promoting equality, decency, education, and the power of collective actions in workplaces and in our society. We have other allies, some in political parties, as well as our friends and members in every community and our comrades in the trade union movement in England, Wales and Scotland. We have our arguments fashioned by NERI and other hands and minds in our movement. We have to deepen our engagement with the membership of this movement, develop the next generation of activists, shop-stewards, health and safety officers, and union learning reps who will stand in the way of those who wish to drag our society backwards. Comrades, we will lead the resistance to the Tory plan to destroy that which makes our people strong and our society civilised. Every core value of this movement is an obstacle to the Tory plan. We stand for fairness, equality, prosperity, opportunity, and justice, the hallmarks of the Good Friday Agreement in words and in spirit. Our business is the unfinished business of 1998. Let us complete this tasks. I commend the support of conference. John Douglas, President Thank you very much Peter for that comprehensive report. I would now like to introduce and call on our guest speaker Jenifer McCann, Junior Minister OFM/DFM in Northern Ireland, Jennifer thank you. Jenifer McCann, Junior Minister OFM/DFM Can I just first of all start off by thanking John and Peter and the rest of the Congress for giving me the opportunity to come today to speak to you. I know that Martin McGuiness the Deputy First Minster, was supposed to be here, but unfortunately he could not be here. I suppose the agenda for this conference highlights the deep and divisive impact that austerity continues to have across these islands. The austerity agenda pursued by the British Government at Westminster a nod at the ? in Leinster House, offers nothing but misery to the people throughout Ireland. In the North in particular where we have already had £1.5 billion slashed from the Block Grant we are now faced with the prospect of even further cuts, in the region of £25 billion, in the time ahead. And, we are likely to learn of those further cuts tomorrow when the British Chancellor, George Osborne, delivers his budget. This attack on the most vulnerable in society and on public services is unnecessary, it’s unjust, and is totally unacceptable. These purposed cuts will impact on everyone in our society and not just on the unemployed. Their impact would be felt on public services, jobs, tax credits, benefits for those on low incomes, and by older members of our community also. In the 26 six counties the implications of austerity have been felt everywhere. Public services and welfare were cut, new taxes imposed, workers’ rights reduced, wages and hours cut. As a result we have had hardship, poverty and inequality increased. Young people have left these shores in their thousands in search of work elsewhere and that is what austerity looks like for people. It is not some alien concept talked about by economist; it is real lives of real people. And that is why Sinn Féin have been to the fore in opposing austerity right across this island and in Europe. And in the North where

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I am a Junior Minster in the Office of the First and Deputy First Minsters we have blocked the Welfare Bill and the cuts that the Tories demanded we impose on communities. Our position on austerity is clear, we remain totally opposed to Tory cuts agenda in principle and in practice. It is an anti-community agenda and it is an anti-democratic agenda. We have a mandate to oppose cuts and we intend to use it and we will not be part of any agenda of cuts imposed on our communities at the bidding of a cabinet of millionaires who have no mandate in the North. The Tory government and its supporters, within sections of its political unionism, together with the pro-austerity economists and elements of the right wing-media, continually tell us that we simply have to accept it and that there simply isn’t any more money. But they are wrong, there is always more money. It is a matter of how that money is spent and what governments do with it. The British government and the Unionist parties publicly claimed before the recent Westminster election, that they want to see 2% of Britain’s GDP being used on military expenditure. David Cameron has absolutely no problem spending £23 billion to replace the Trident nuclear submarines, while cutting the same amount from public expenditure so there is clearly money in the system. As the great stalwart of the left in Britain, the late Tony Benn said, ‘If they can find the money to kill people, they can find the money to help people’. The British government’s current economic and political strategy and ideology is in fact incompatible with the Good Friday Agreement and the process of democratic change that underpins the peace process itself. They also tell us there is no alternative to austerity and they are wrong about that also. The public here do not want austerity, they have made that very clear. Sinn Féin stood on a platform of anti-austerity and had success in recent elections and received half a million votes. The Tories by comparison failed to retain their deposits in the constituency in which they stood in the north. And it is not just Sinn Féin and the Labour movement in Ireland and in Britain that is saying austerity is wrong. Increasing numbers of eminent economist’s worldwide are articulating the view that austerity is a flawed economic strategy and there is a clear alternative to austerity and support for that alternative is growing. In Dublin tens of thousands of people have taken to the streets to protest against unfair and unnecessary water charges. In London up to 250,000 people recently took part in an anti-austerity protest addressed by my party colleague, Martin McGuiness, and a similar demonstration took place in Scotland at the same time. And, of course, the Scottish people have shown their total rejection of Tory austerity with their support of the SNP. And most recently the people of Greece have led the way in imposing austerity and set an example in their support for their democratically elected leaders in a face of attempts to impose that hardship from Europe. Closer to home there are many organisations and groups in our society who are opposed to austerity. Churches, community groups and of course the trade union movement continue to be at the coal face of the campaign and the task facing us today and now is to build a united and cohesive campaign, bringing together all strands of opposition to the cuts agenda so that we can speak with one clear voice against austerity. It has long been our position that we must use our collective strength to confront and confine this current Tory government and their disastrous agenda. We need to see an axis between the Irish labours Movement, and the Scottish, Welch, and English TUCs, and I want to acknowledge the ICTU’s efforts in beginning that process and for their constant support for the peace process.

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The alternative to austerity is investment and growth, equality, and prosperity. It is workable and sustainable finances for our political institutions and a fair recovery for all. The reckless adherence to austerity by the British government is threatening our chances of recovery. It is also threatening the future of the political institutions in the North and the huge progress that has being made over the last two decades of the Peace Process. In fact, the approach of the Tory Government at Westminster presents the biggest threat to the political institutions that we have seen to date. The determination of the British Government to stick to its Thatcherite policies in jeopardising the future of the power-sharing in institutions of the Good Friday Agreement. Those institutions are now at risk and the Tory government is gambling with the future of those institutions as part of their crusade against the vulnerable and against public services. Both the British and Irish governments have a responsibility to stand up for the Good Friday Agreement and the institutions it created. The Irish Government in particular as a co-guarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, must work to ensure the institutions have a workable and sustainable budget to deliver for all in our communities. People that we represent do not want to see the institutions collapse. They recognise the value of locally elected and accountable representatives working to improve the lives of all our citizens, and their view has to be heard and more importantly their view has to be listened to. The voice of those people, and of the trade union movement, and of the groups who opposed austerity must be heard by the British Government, and I would urge everyone in civic society, those in the business communities, the voluntary and the community sector, the churches and the trade union movement, to come together in a positive alliance to defend our communities from the cuts agenda and to stand up for public services and to defend the democratic political institutions. There is now an opportunity to challenge this disastrous agenda and we must seize it to create a fair and more equal society for all. And I just want to finish off by saying, I have been around talking to a number of different organisations, different individuals and different groups in civic society over this past period with other colleagues in the party, and I really have to say we more than ever need to get together and create that alliance going forward. I want to continue to work with people and to work with other progressive forces right across this island in the weeks and months ahead because really I can’t emphasise enough the risk to the political institutions at the current time. And, again, just to thank Peter and John, and everyone here for giving me this opportunity to address your conference today. Thank you. Brian Campfield, Vice President Thanks very much Jennifer for your contribution. I’m going to call on John Douglas, President, to make a presentation to the Junior Minster. John Douglas, President We are going to move on to the main agenda again and Motion 6 Peace Progress and Equality on behalf of the National Executive Council calling on Brian Campfield to propose the motion. Brian Campfield, Vice President President, Conference, Brian Campfield behalf of the Executive Council to propose Motion 6. To say that the Good Friday Agreement was really an historic compromise in 1998, following decades of violence, death and destruction, it was recognition that the problems with Northern Ireland would only be resolved through dialogue, through mutual respect, and building equality across all the communities. But we were also promised in Northern Ireland a peace dividend. We were promised economic improvement that would redress the injustice of unemployment, and social exclusion and deprivation, and despite in 1998 having the peace settlement, it has staggered from one crisis to another and has being threatened by various controversies relating to flags, decommissioning,

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symbols, marches, and a whole range of things. But who would have predicted that it was austerity that would pose the most deadly threat to the political institutions and to the peace process, because that’s the way in which it’s shaping up at the moment. This motion indicates a strong public sector, a social security system makes a critical contribution to equality. Public services are a major equaliser because they give everyone equal access to the important things in life; health, education, social services, protection from the vagaries of the market. But public services are under attack. Peter Bunting has given you details about what it means. Full details are in the Annual Report and what we are going to have on the 8th July, tomorrow is a further £12 billion of cuts of social security mainly targeted on those people who are in work and who receive tax credits. Another attack on our members and we have to respond. We have responded in the lead up to the 13th March strike, and we need to build for further action. But we need to build and increase the number of trade unions that have been involved in it and we need to build, as well, across both the public and the private sector. The interesting thing is that austerity as you can see from Greece has the potential of destroying the European Union. It has the potential of destroying, on a smaller scale, the Northern Ireland peace process. Conference, Northern Ireland is not a suffering country. Its neither fish, flesh, nor fowl. We are being told and treated as if we are a separate country, with all the powers of a soverign country. We are being told to balance the books, that our public sector is too big, that we need to increase the private sector and develop the private sector, and that we really need to get off our dependency on public services. But if you look across all other parts of the UK, it’s clear that Northern Ireland isn’t significantly out of kilter with those other deprived regions of the UK. They are very much like Northern Ireland. The Irish Government, this motion says, has a critical role to play in forcing the British Government to recognise that its austerity policies are likely to bring down the peace process, are likely to bring down the political institutions. I suppose there is another comparative analogy with the Greek situation in that they are saying to the Greek people, you have to take your medicine, you have to get on with it, and that smugness that President John Douglas referred to are Irish politicians saying that the Greek people have to get on with it because if we did it, they did it. And to some extent that has been the attitude of the Coalition Government in the Republic of Ireland to the negotiations that were taking place up in Belfast immediately prior to Christmas. Comments like you need a dose of austerity yourselves from some of the Minsters and absolutely no sympathy that Northern Ireland has an independent case for no austerity. But we were not arguing for special treatment. We know that there are areas in Britain as well that deserve much better treatment, and we recognise our responsibility to build an anti-austerity movement not only in Northern Ireland but right across Britain because this problem isn’t solvable within the context of Northern Ireland. We need to build in Northern Ireland and we need to take a stand against the cuts that are taking place in Northern Ireland, and like it or not, that is going to bring us into conflict in some shape or form with the Assembly because we think that the elements of the Good Friday Agreement, for instance the way in which £700 million is going to be invested in the rundown of public services, in around 20,000 redundancies for public servants, using reinvestments and a reform initiative to actually borrow money to reduce public services does not seem to us in the trade union movement as a sensible way forward. Neither do we accept the case for a reduction in corporation tax. Now we know that some people make the arguments that we are only seeking the power, that doesn’t mean to say that we are seeking a reduction in Corporation Tax, but unfortunately these things take on a momentum of their own and once the Assembly gets the power to reduce corporation tax, make no mistake about it there will be pressure built up which will be almost inescapable to reduce the rate of Corporation Tax. Instead of targeting funding and

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finances at developing business, developing research, developing investment and economic development, what they are in fact doing by a reduction in Corporation Tax is giving a free handout to business. They are under no obligation to do anything about it. In fact, the facts, even as developed by and produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers in a report a number of years ago, they did a survey of businesses and firms, particularly in relation to Foreign Direct Investment and the rate of Corporation Tax was 17th in the list of factors which companies found important whenever they were making decisions to invest – 17th, and yet we are told certainly by our business lobby in Northern Ireland, that it’s the only solution to Northern Ireland´s economic problems. Conference, we recognise that the major problem in relation to public expenditure, in relation to austerity, in relation to the threat to the political institutions and arrangements in Northern Ireland, in relation to the threat to the Peace Process lies with Westminster. But, unfortunately, we also recognise that elements of the Stormont House Agreement are totally unacceptable to us and that they were and are within the gift of our local politicians. Conference, I ask you to support this motion, to demonstrate that the trade union movement in the whole of this island is concerned about the political arrangements and stability in Northern Ireland and that we make a major point of putting pressure on both the British Government, but in particular the Irish government to ensure that it plays its role to safeguard peace in Northern Ireland and to safeguard the future prosperity of the people. I move the motion. John Douglas, President I would like to call on Patricia McKeown on behalf of the National Executive Council to second the motion please. Patricia McKeown, UNISON Thank you, President, delegates, Patricia McKeown, UNISON, seconding the motion on behalf of the Executive Council. We have 17 wasted years and if we had risen to the challenges, then a child born on the day we said ‘yes’ to the Good Friday Agreement would be living in a better world today. Instead we have 17 years of unstable Government. We have had seven of those years in constant suspensions of the Assembly. We have a Good Friday Agreement which was a complex proposition put to the people and more than 80% of us voted, and 72% said yes and that included majorities in the Nationalist, Republican and Unionist communities. And we are today in a worse position than we were 17 years ago. We are in a worse position in many respects for life expectancies for the poorest people, to premature death rates, to attacks on our public services, and attacks on our welfare system. But as Mick O’Reilly said this morning, that motion we carried needs to be nuanced for the North because it is not a simple situation of orange and green. Our Government is elected by us the people. It doesn’t function properly, and it doesn’t function properly for one primary reason. The largest party refuses to accept the Good Friday Agreement, and consequently dismisses all of the promises on equality and human rights, those promises which would have delivered to us today, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights. That party - the DUP - came into Government in 2007, post the St Andrews Agreement, and it said there is an agreement we accept but within the last few weeks our allies the CAJ, our Human Rights NGO has had to go to court to take judicial review for the failure of our Government to produce, as required by the St Andrews Agreement, an anti-poverty strategy. It has broken the law by not producing an anti-poverty strategy and we haven’t got one because it is resisted by the DUP.

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Four years ago the Irish Congress of Trade Unions mounted its campaign in the North against austerity. We in particular highlighted the dangers to our society of proposed welfare cuts. Three political parties in our Government agreed and came onside; Sein Féin, the SDLP and the Green Party. The other three parties in Government, with various degrees of dogmatic response, rejected it, the strongest rejection coming from the DUP. In another world that might be straightforward, left-right politics but it’s not another world, it’s where we live, in a complex situation with a difficult political set up and a government that can’t function properly unless real pressure is brought to bear. And where should that pressure come from? It should come from the co-signatures of the Good Friday Agreement; the Irish Government and the British Government. And what did they do last December? Well what did they do in 2007 indeed when both Governments changed - they walked away from us. They stopped exerting pressure to ensure that the commitments made to the people on equality and human rights were put into operation and instead we have the British Government deciding to impose austerity and using the fact of a political crises in the North to do that and that is only immoral, I think history will prove that that is one of the big mistakes of Irish history. The Irish Government backed the proposal to cut our welfare system and that is an outrage. We need the Irish Government to exert pressure on the British Government to make sure that the Good Friday Agreement and the St Andrew’s Agreement are both implemented and the rights of the future of the people we represent are protected in the way that we were promised that they would be protected. Peter has already outlined, as has Brian, the fact that our movement is resisting at every turn the attempt to deconstruct our welfare state and there is no doubt that is what the Tory Government wants to do. But there is also a part of our own Government that wants to do that, but that is not the view of the people who elect it. So in the complex situation we live in, we also as a movement, have to exert pressure on all of the parties that form our enforced coalition and I can tell you that in my own union members that vote DUP, union activists who vote DUP have been doing precisely that. Some of them are in our delegation with us today and they have been exerting pressure on the people they voted for, they are entitled to vote for them, but they are also entitled for the people they voted for to respect their wishes. And we know from all the polling done that everybody who votes for all of the political parties in the North - all the main parties who form the Government, the majority of the electorate 80%+have exactly the same message for our Government. We want equality and human rights. We want them protected and we want them now and unfortunately there are those who choose to divert the people’s attention away from the real issues. In another 24 hours or less, a UK Chancellor will produce a budget that is likely, if it goes ahead as predicted, to hit us with another £1bn worth of cuts immediately. It will plunge another 2,000 families in Northern Ireland into poverty, take £40 a week off another significant section of our working population and cause further chaos. And we, the movement, must make sure that we are not having our attention diverted again by the raising of sectarianism. There has been a refusal by our current Government to do an equality impact analysis of what will happen if those welfare cuts come in. They did a partial analysis but they left out something key - they didn’t analyse what the impact would be on the grounds of religious belief and our political opinion. They said they didn’t know. We said give us the addresses and we will tell you the answer to that, because the truth of the matter is that the patterns of discrimination in the North have not changed in 50 years and the areas of the greatest disadvantage are still the areas of greatest disadvantage, and the biggest hit will be on the poorest of the Catholic population and because we live in a place that refuses to accept equality and human rights at its core, we a have growing working class Protestant disadvantaged. We in the movement say we are not taking any more of that. We will continue to

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stand up and if that means that our Government falls because some people stand up and do the right thing, so be it we will continue to fight. John Douglas President Thank you Patricia. Motion 6, any speakers on motion 6? Yes. Janette Murdock, NIPSA Conference, Janette Murdock on behalf of NIPSA to offer qualified support for the motion, and the qualification comes really in the first line where it says Congress endorses the anti-austerity campaign. Conference, I am sorry to tell you but at this moment in time there is no anti-austerity campaign in the North. We had a great campaign up until the 13th March. Representatives put their reputation on the line. We promised our members it wouldn’t be another November the 30th when we would march everybody up to the top of the hill and that we would leave them there. We promised them that it would not be one day of action, that it would be a campaign, it would be sustained, we would fight and we would fight for their jobs, and our society. Unfortunately Conference, we took our foot of the pedal and in the mouth of a general election. To be honest Conference that’s unforgivable, and we need to look hard and study the mistake that was made there. But we can come back from it. We can build, and I would look to all the unions in the room to come together, to work out a campaign, a campaign that supports our members, supports our communities, where they are going to face the hits that are coming down the line at us. We need to make sure that we are totally behind our community and our members and that we take it forward in a wholehearted campaign to defend what we have and keep our society. Conference, please support the motion, but go out from here and take it forward and have a sustained campaign, thank you. John Douglas, President of Congress Thank you Janette. Paddy Mackel, NIPSA President, delegates, brothers and sisters, Paddy Mackel, Belfast Trades Council to speak in support of Motion No. 6. Comrades if Greece has a specific message for workers across Europe and for unions in every State and country it is this, your voice that is important. You can make a difference standing together workers are stronger. Fighting together we can take on the dirty, rotten, tax avoiding, tax evading, neo-liberal capitalist parasites and their politician supporters. There is an alternative and what we stand for is that alternative. When the Stormont House Agreement was published and the Stormont Castle Agreement was leaked, the trade union movement in the North came together to develop a strategy of opposition in particular to the financial and economic aspects of those agreements. Unions, Trades Councils, and the Belfast office of Congress organised dozens of public meeting in cities, towns, and villages. I would like to place on record from this platform our appreciation for the hard work and dedication of Peter Bunting throughout that period. Quite often union and Congress officials are dismissed simply as bureaucrats; let me tell you, Peter Bunting was out doing public meetings - two to three meetings every night, every week, from January to March, until that March 13th strike, that is to be commended, and it should be commended, on behalf of this movement. Comrades, it would be extremely misleading and factually wrong as Janette pointed out earlier to suggest that we have won any battle against austerity in the North - we haven’t. But what we have done is that we have given confidence to ordinary workers to stand up to take to the streets. We

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have rejuvenated the movement in some areas including in the community and voluntary sectors. We have provided a space for young trade unionist to again take part in this ageing movement. In many cases they have shown the vision to challenge complacency in some areas. Belfast Trades Council salutes those unions who took strike action on the 13th of March, and those same unions and others, who have also taken action short of strike action over the last number of months. But comrades more is obviously needed. If we are to defeat the Tories imposed austerity, welfare cuts and attacks on public services, if we were to defeat the Assembly imposed jobs cuts, and the fetish around corporate welfare in the form of Corporation Tax reduction for big business, if we are serious about taking on those anti-worker ideology driven social re-engineering experiments, we need to hold our nerve. We need to work across unions to encourage a coordinated and a sustained response. This needs to include further strikes and it needs to include other actions and protests. It needs to include engagement with political parties and also critically developing links and joint strategies with our brothers and sisters in the Welsh, Scottish and TUC. We need to force the Irish Government to deliver on their obligations as co-signatures, and co-guarantors of the Belfast Agreement. As with Podemos in Spain, and the Syriza led Government in Greece, and their powerful ‘Oxi’ referendum campaign have demonstrated that people and ordinary workers can make a difference when they have the courage to stand up for themselves. The people united will never be defeated. Support the Motion. John Douglas, President Any other speakers on Motion 6? SEeing none, we will move on to Motions 7 Opposition to Austerity in the name of NIPSA. If there is a seconder can they come up to the front row. Carmel Gates, NIPSA Sister and brothers, Carmel Gates, NIPSA to propose Motion 7. This motion has two very distinct parts which are very clearly interlinked. The first one is about opposition to austerity, and inequality and the second one is about building and maintaining the unity and the working class in Ireland so that we can complete that battle against austerity. And, I want to start as others have done by congratulating the workers of Greece, who twice this year has said no to austerity, first time by electing a left-wing Government for the second time in the referendum. And I think we should congratulate those workers who stood against essentially the whole of corporate Europe, who stood against the banks, who stood against bureaucrats, the European leaders, and said no. They stood against their own media who threaten them that the banks were going to run out of money, that jobs were going to go, shops were going to close, old people were going to starve, and they still said no. The reason they said no is that they had nowhere else to go. No was the only thing that they could do because they have no way further to fall, and I think we need to emulate, we need to congratulate and we need to applaud. They tell us that what Greece did is bad for Europe; the only Europe it is bad for is Europe of the 1%, the vulture capitalist, the banks, a Europe of greed. It’s good for the Europe of democracy. It’s good for the Europe of the 99%, and it is good for us. It doesn’t matter that the papers are now saying it is going to cost Ireland €1 billion because of what Greece did. We are international workers and we support each other and their struggle is our struggle. But I have to say that I think what Jennifer McCann said earlier that there is always more money, and we know that there is always more money, and if there isn’t more money, in the North of Ireland, then we are in trouble because we know that poverty fuelled sectarianism for the last 30/40 years and unless we build against austerity in the North we are going to face potentially that same nightmare of back to sectarianism. I think we have to learn from the past, and this movement has to learn from the past because this movement has been split in the past. It was split in the 40s when

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there was a division amongst British based and Irish based unions, but was partly a left-right split. But let´s be realistic it was a split along nationalist lines. Our movement was also nearly split in 1980s when people called for an Ulster TUC, and again it was clearly a sectarian division potentially grown within the movement. But we stood strong against it comrades, we stood proud and we stood for working class unity, and we fought back against the sectarians. Now in recent times there are those within our movement who say that we should align potentially with some of the political parties but working class unity it not just aspiration. In the North it’s a life and death issue, it is literally a life and death issue, and therefore when people say that we should align with one or other political party, if they say to us, well the DUP is basing itself on the working class and people like Sammy Wilson who is now pro-austerity used to be ´Red Sammy’. Or if they say well there are elements within the Ulster Unionist Party who see themselves as labour unionists. Or they say to us well there are those in Sinn Féin who are anti-austerity and therefore we must align ourselves with them and build alliances with them, I have to say comrades the peace in the North is too fragile for us to engage in politics that would bring us into alignment with organisations who are seen to be voted in by the one community or seen to represent one community. We need the political independence of the trade union movement in Ireland. We need the political independence of the trade union movement in the North and therefore I would urge every sensible trade unionist in this hall to all ensure the independence of the trade union movement. Build a movement that is ours, that is a class based movement, a movement that is built on the unity of the working class and do not allow ourselves to be aligned with any parties that workers North or South of the border will say is sectarian. Support the motion. Billy Lynn, NIPSA Brothers and sisters, Billy Lynn, NIPSA to second the motion and I’m not getting at any specific political party or political individual but it sickened me to death to hear some of our local politicians standing up and saying an end to austerity and they voted in the Assembly for pro-austerity measures. They voted in the Assembly to cut the public service pensions too so that all members will have to work longer, and pay more. Tthey have cut and voted - all the political parties, they have cut the compensation scheme in the public sector which means if you are made redundant the actual compensation is cut, particularly at a time whenever the DUP, and Sinn Féin have signed up to the Stormont House Agreement though it is a separate motion, where they have borrowed £700m from the Reform and Reinvestment Fund in order to cut 20,000 jobs. That’s pro-austerity, anti-austerity would be to borrow £700m to create 20,000 jobs and that is real anti-austerity. You know in my area in the public sector the cuts are real. They are happening now. They are happening at this minute. This year in my area 2,500 jobs will go out the door they will be away. Come September this year starting in September, over 800 jobs will go. That is not anti-austerity that is pro-austerity. But I agree with Carmel its essential that we maintain the unity of the trade union movement, and we maintain the unity of the working class not just in the North, but North and South and internationally, and we have to continue to oppose sectarianism because as you know in Northern Ireland everything becomes sectarianized, I was going to say even flags, but even foreign flags become sectarianized as we know. You can’t say you’re anti-austerity and then vote for pro-austerity. It’s an old saying you can’t ride two horses with the same bum - your either one or the other. What I’m going to say next I haven’t discussed with my General Secretary, but maybe we should take a leaf out of the book of Greece, maybe we should have a referendum, North and South on austerity, whether we’re for austerity or against austerity. For the ordinary people of Ireland, North and South to make that decision, and I know what that decision will be. It will be exactly the same decision as in Greece, it will be όχι, it will be No, it will be Níl, or if you come from Ballymoney it will be Ná.

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Deirdre McDonald, ASTI As I listen today to the various speakers, I found myself in total agreement with everything that was being said. And the real joy of this motion, as we are an all-island organisation, is that it refers to austerity in the North and South, East, West, as in whether you go to Spain or Greece or whatever. Austerity is austerity. But when do good words become mere rhetoric? I respectfully suggest fellow trade unionists, that when they are not followed up by action. Therefore, Congress I propose that now is the time for us to plan our action, to change our rhetoric into action. Talk is cheap. We have stood idly by while the Government policies have brought about growing inequity in our society. Corporate structures that will facilitate privatisation of our water infrastructure, huge increases in child poverty, while the government continues to give tax relief for property speculation after coming into office. And as trade unionists while governments fail to significantly improve the working conditions and rights of workers, workers that as time goes by will have to work for far longer than their retired peers. Please, let us stop the rhetoric, let us start the action. Actions speak louder than words. I ask Congress as the motion does, how are we going to bring about the changes that we want and when are we going to do it? Thank you. Tommy McGlone, INTO Delegates, whenever we think of austerity we don’t always think of it in the local sense. We tend to look elsewhere, to the likes of Greece or Spain and when we do, we see that sectarian divide that exists in the North. It is right that this motion asks that we should ensure that the trade union movement is not too closely identified with political movements, but really it is not us that uses these sectarian labels. They are not important to our values. What is important is that we take a principled stand against austerity, regardless. The austerity cuts to the education budget in Northern Ireland mean that schools face jobs cuts that will result in a loss of 800 teaching posts. We have already lost all the young signature project teachers and now with a loss of more teaching posts, schools face the prospect of overcrowded classrooms. The funding for Classroom Assistants and the support staff that is needed to help the most vulnerable pupils in our schools continues to be under threat. The finance needed to properly resource schools, and provides our teachers and children with the modern tools and equipment essential to learn and to keep up with our European neighbours is under threat. The resources needed to maintain the schools and keep them warm welcoming places for our children, along with the resources needed for special needs provision, breakfast clubs, extra-curricular after schools clubs, homework clubs, school meals and transport is under threat. However, from INTO’s point of view, campaigning and resisting the austerity agenda alone will not improve the prospects of our future generations. INTO calls on Congress to demand investment in education as the key economic driver essential to secure a better future for the children in schools today rather than the future they currently face. Education needs union involvement and leadership. This can’t come solely from the INTO. Congress must persuade and encourage all activists from the different teaching unions in the North to campaign in our schools and wider community. Only with their participation can we truly ensure that the fight against austerity is seen as cross community. When NI-ICTU called a day of action in March, the teachers and public service workers from the Falls Road and Sandy Row melded into one parade as they made their way to the rally at City Hall. These workers from different sides of Belfast were united in their opposition to austerity and continue to be united in their opposition to austerity because it is having a negative impact on their everyday lives. For their sake INTO is proud to support this motion.

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John Douglas, President Thank you, seeing that there are no speakers on Motion 7, we are moving on to Motion 8 in the name of the PCS Co-ordinated Action on Pay. Proposer and seconder from the PCS here can you move to the front. Barney Lawn, PCS Conference, Barney Lawn, PCS, moving Motion 8. I think it’s great that we have seen the whole gathering together and identifying, I think that there is action and I think action needed in the future. I know as part of our own union certainly PCS has been a front liner in taking on the Tory government. Yes we’ve paid our price, we’ve paid our dues but that didn’t mean that we sat back and didn’t continue the fight, and we will continue to do so. And, I think within this motion here what we are looking for is that we have the support and the wider concept of the trade union movement working as one. We all know with the outcome of the UK election, the Tory ideology has been very clear in its cuts, cuts and more cuts which they implement as quickly and as harshly as possible. I think tomorrow’s budget will bear fruit to that statement. The only real opposition to austerity is the trade union movement. We know this but they also know it. That is why they are trying to introduce new legislation to make strike action more difficult in general, and in some areas nearly impossible. The only way the trade union movement can defeat this austerity agenda, protect public services, welfare and terms and conditions is by working together in unity and fighting like we have never fought before. We need to commit ourselves to opposing the cuts, privatisation, anti-union legislation and further attacks on pay and pensions. Austerity is an ideological choice; it is not a fiscal necessity. We all know that is hasn’t worked to-date. The deficit was supposed to be eradicated, but it is still £90 bn. The deficit, Osborne said, would be 67.4% of GDP, now it’s actually 80.2%. Yes, the cuts and misery are very real for the majority of society; it’s all pain and no gain except of course for those at the top, the richest 1% or so have continued to do very well helped by Osborne cutting the 50% tax rate to 45%. Members’ take home pay has also been affected by increased pension contributions and their living standards driven down. Cuts to local services impacting on the widest of society, hiking VAT up to 20%, cuts to tax credits and other in-work benefits. In fact some public sector workers are 20% worse off a year following real term cuts and pay and pension increases. What’s the motivation? The public sector pay freeze and now the gap is about balancing the books on the backs of dedicated public servants and it’s about driving down wages to make public services more attractive for privatisation. That means joint co-ordinated industrial action with joint demands and a joint strategy. The Public sector pay gap is a public wide policy and it can only be defeated by us being united together in action in our demands and strategy. Congress support the motion, let’s work together to defeat the public sector pay gap and get a fair deal for our members. Thank you. Brian Campfield, Vice President Okay, thanks Barry. A seconder for that motion? Formally, okay. So we’re just going to proceed and try to get the rest of the motions in this section finished, so if people who are moving the motions could come up to the front. So if I could have the mover of Motion No. 9 in the name of NIPSA? You want to speak on this one? Go ahead.

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Lucia Collins, NIPSA Sisters and brothers, Lucia Collins NIPSA, here supporting and endorsing the PCS call out to unions for co-ordinated strategies on paying pensions. Comrades, this has been our continued fight and many times over the last few years we have risen to the challenge and we must avoid being left there again. We must avoid that happening again. Our democratic socialist principles make us as trade unionists never to give up, never to stop being positive that we are doing everything we can to rebuild the movement. The motion concentrates on getting an early message out to everyone in this Conference of what each one of us need to do, North, South, and UK wide. How many times do we talk about developing a strategy and not delivering? We had a strategy, and we delivered, we brought thousands out on March 13th and we tried to keep that momentum up so we could deliver again prior to the General Election. That did not happen but it doesn’t mean that we won’t rise to the occasion again. We have to be thankful for unions that keep bringing motions to platforms so that we can highlight the difficulties and develop policies, to continue to kick the message home. We must do that every time if that’s what needs to be done. Also, these policies endorsed by our members need to be implemented by all of the trade union leadership. I didn’t write my speech until I listened to the President’s address and I welcome that he is saying what all the union members on the ground are saying. He called for a joint united cross community opposition platform to Tory austerity cuts. But we must also recognise that these are Assembly in Northern Ireland and Tory austerity cuts that have adversely impacted on us and we cannot shy away from the fight back. To that speaker from Dublin Trades Council who said do not exclude certain sections who can work for a better future, who said that Northern Ireland is only an administration, I’d ask you why you would embrace austerity parties? What difference does that make when in Northern Ireland 77 MLAs voted to cut our pensions, diminish our compensation scheme and created an impact we are feeling more every day in our pockets. Every public sector union member is feeling this impact. For the civil service the reality of the Stormont House Agreement is now that they are coming for our jobs. This is a class issue. The Assembly, as previous speakers have said, will borrow £700bn to make 20,000 civil servants redundant, working class people and jobs that we will never get back. The next period will cause economic devastation that can only be opposed by a proper political fight back on the ground, out on the streets, in the communities and especially in the Trades Councils. NIPSA is mandated to take strike action, mandated to link up to willing unions so let’s endorse the PCS strategy and draw up a plan that all unions can be mandated. Let all the trade unions be responsible for developing a strategy, let’s start with a 24 hour general strike against their problem, their problem of a system built for nothing only the search for profit. Let’s build a strategy of a coalition of willing unions to match and beat the General Election of Tory and Assembly capitalists. Comrades please support the motion. John Douglas, President Ok, I am going to call on the mover of Motion 9, Stormont House Agreement NIPSA. Alison Miller, NIPSA Alison Millar on behalf of NIPSA to move Motion number 9. Conference, when NIPSA had for a long time warned of the devastating impact of the back-loading of the cuts contained within the four year comprehensive spending review it came as a shock to many to fully realise what this would mean for jobs and public services. When the 2015/16 budget was published it became a stark reality of what the implications for public services and public service jobs would be. It is a reality that if implemented, our public services will never be the same again. On top of this we have a situation

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whereby tomorrow George Osborne will deliver his 8th July budget, which will see further cuts to the Northern Ireland Block Grant and further devastating cuts to hard working families by cuts to working families tax credits, child tax credits, to somewhere to the tune of £12 billion. In addition it is expected that this budget will see further attacks on the sick, on the disabled and further attacks on employment support allowances, reducing it to the level of jobseekers allowance. Conference, we condemn the Northern Ireland Executive parties, for the financial elements of the Stormont House Agreement, which will ultimately see 20,OOO public sector Jobs lost, not just now but with future generations, and with it a future 6,000 to 10,000 Jobs loss from the private sector. This will devastate the public services, and will devastate the communities in which we live, who rely on the services delivered by many of our members. Conference the financial elements of the Stormont House Agreement are ludicrous, with the Northern Ireland Executive borrowing over £700 million over the next four years to effectively make public servants redundant. This will have to be repaid and in the end we will be poorer as a result with less public service that we all rely on, on our day to day lives disappearing. We have already witnessed street lighting not being replaced, grass cutting only being done once a year, school teachers and support staff being made redundant, and I could go on and on. Conference, there is onslaught on public services, public services jobs, and the Stormont House Agreement also seeks to press forward with the key sell-off of public services assets such as Translink, Belfast Harbour and Northern Ireland Water. It is vital if the politicians come after our public services, then we must go after them and seek to use all of the weapons at our disposal to defend our public services, and our public service jobs. Conference, we have witnessed already the impacts of creeping privatisation in many areas of our public services such as health. What does this actually mean in reality? The staff are generally paid less and have lesser terms and conditions and are poorer, with no pensions. It’s often claimed that the private sector can deliver public services better - what rubbish. Where is the evidence for this? They may deliver the services cheaper, although I would say that is highly questionable, but where they do they do this is at the expense of the workers delivering the service, who are often on minimum wages and low paid jobs. The private sector is therefore making a profit. They are not doing it because they believe in the public sector, they are seeking to make a fast buck off the back of the sick, the vulnerable, our children, our elderly and they must not be allowed to do it in our name. Conference, there is also the issue of Corporation Tax with many in the private sector and our political masters believing that this will somehow bring inward investment to Northern Ireland and grow the private sector. This is despite a growing bank of evidence, that the Corporation Tax will not grow the private sector, but will further deplete the public sector by somewhere between £300 million and £600 million, depending on who you listen to. However, if we look at this part of the sland of Ireland where is the evidence that the lower rate of corporation tax has created additional jobs or attracted one piece of Foreign Direct Investment? What it has created is many more plaques on the doors of empty offices and the UK is being used as a tax haven for unscrupulous companies. Conference, there is an onslaught on our public services which will need an effective and strong campaign to build our opposition. And while the public sector strikes involving five unions on the 13th March was an important day, it was only the start. Conference, I would call on ICTU to reinvigorate an effective public service defence campaign so that in the future years we will have a public service to be proud of, to hand over to our children, our grandchildren and future generations. Conference I move.

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Padraig Mulholland,NIPSA Seconding Motion 9. First of all I was just wondering is Jennifer still in the hall? No, that’s a pity. I was going to say Jennifer would you please stop implementing the cuts? Conference we need to be clear in this hall that not one of the fundamental issues affecting Northern Ireland, or this Island, has been resolved. The national question remains unresolved, sectarianism remains rife, and repression continues to haunt us daily in Northern Ireland. We are a society in a political crises. We are a society that’s being failed by the politicians and by the political institutions that tend towards reinforcing sectarianism rather than resolving it. And to then, comrades, and take that crisis and heap austerity on top of it is madness. To then heap on top of austerity some local grown additional austerity through a cut in Cooperation Tax is absolute madness. And when you apply madness to a political situation there is a price to be paid. That price comes in lost jobs, destruction of education services, no homes, a health crisis, services run into the ground and a collapse even of the private sector. But, comrades, on top of that price there is another one. It is a price of a future of violence and conflict because we should have no doubt about it, when the Tories and the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Dáil implement austerity in this island they threw fuel onto the fire of conflict, they add to the potential for conflict. They tell a generation there is no way out. They tell a generation there is no future and young people turn to old, tried and tested and failed methods. They try the bullet and the bomb again. So comrades we have to find an alternative. We have to present something else. What we have to say is build the peace, stop the cuts, give young people a future and fight back against austerity. Support the motion. John Douglas, President Thank you. Any more speakers. I would just ask all speakers to be conscious of the time so when the red light goes on, you’re finished. Mark Walsh, ASTI Thanks very much. Mark Walsh, ASI. I just wanted to speak on this because it reminds me very much of the figures that are very reminiscent of what happen in the South. If you think of what it said here in the motion that 20-30,000 public servants are due to be let go in Northern Ireland, or made redundant. The same figures actually happen in the South, 30,800 people, were gotten rid of from the public sector, 324,400 down to 289,600 that’s a reduction 10% in the public sector figures. Also the pay the bill, the so call pay bill, as if it is a bill given to somebody that they don’t like, for public sector workers has being reduced by 20% since 2009, from €17.5 billion in 2009, to €13.9 billion now. And the shocking fact is and I know, our Comrades from the North are appealing for support, but the shocking fact is that those reductions, 10% in numbers and 20% in pay have been achieved in the South with the cooperation of the Trade Unions within ICTU, with the cooperation of ICTU, not with the opposition with the cooperation and participation of ICTU unions. How? Through Croke Park 1, Haddington Road, and it rolls on now to the Lansdowne Road Agreement. That is what ICTU, and the unions within ICTU, are in favour of all these deals they are doing to the public sector. They are helping to cut pay and cut numbers. And I just want to say to delegates from the North, that if you are appealing to ICTU in the South, to help you, beware of what you’re asking for because you may be told to go in and negotiate some agreement with the Northern Ireland Executive to cut voluntarily rather than have imposed on you, to volunteer to cut it yourself. So just beware what you ask for. I clearly support people who want to fight back in the North, but just beware of asking ICTU for help. Thanks

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John Douglas, President Thanks Mark. Any more speakers on Motion 9? No more speakers. We’re going to move onto Motion 10 in the name of UNISON supporting the Northern Ireland Peace Process. Can the mover of that motion come to the podium? Denis Keating, UNISON The trade union movement has long supported the Peace Process in Northern Ireland and this motion is asking for support again at the critical time. I want to start with some positives. Northern Ireland has the highest trade union density in the UK. Our buses are public, our trains are public, and our water is public. There are no privatised support contracts in health and there is no privatisation in our education system. When we last took strike action on the 13th March, an online opinion poll run by a hostile newspaper recorded a result of 89% of the public supported the public services taking strike action. On Saturday 13th June 20,000 people marched through the streets of Belfast in support of equality and civil marriage. Whilst these are things to celebrate, they are clearly seen as a major threat by the Tory government and their allies in the DUP. So it came as no surprise then that the Stormont House Agreement, brokered in the mouth of Christmas last year, with explicit involvement of the British government, and the tactical support of the Irish government was used as an opportunity to impose structural adjustment upon us. Consequently 20,000 public service jobs are to be deleted. Financial penalties have been imposed on the Block Grant because half of our political parties support the trade union position in opposition to welfare cuts. Our entire political system again is on the brink. I want to take this opportunity to call for someone in authority in the Labour Party to call to account the current Shadow Secretary of State Ivan Lewis who is continually advocating that our party support the welfare cuts and public service cuts. He is a disgrace and should be disciplined by his own party. What we are seeking with this motion is not easy. 17 years on we still do not have a Bill of Rights, or an agreed process for dealing with the past and, we are still very much a society emerging from conflict. You tend not to hear resurgence of bombings and shootings, but their very much still with us. We could have hoped for a different Government to lobby on this motion, but we still have to confront the current British Government with a demand that lives up to its commitments under the international peace treaty and ceases to destabilise the Peace Process by viscously opposing austerity. Hope you can all support this motion. Thank you. John Douglas, President Is there a seconder for the motion? A seconder, thank you. Margaret McKee, UNISON Delegates, President Margaret McKee, UNISON seconding Motion 19 on the Peace Process. Over the past year my union, UNISON, has been part of mass protests against our dysfunctional Government, growing racism, racist violence, attacks on public services, welfares benefits and pay, and will continue to do so. Now we are witnessing that homophobic attacks are on the increase and the worst and most persistent violence is against women. However, the elephant in the room is sectarianism and sectarian violence. In our deeply divided society changeling prejudices, bigotry, and sectarianism, is at the core of what we have to do as a society if there is to be a genuine Peace Protest, and justice and equality, for future generations. This is precisely what our government has failed to do. This has been aided and abetted by the UK Government which in itself demonstrates a deep disrespect for equality and human rights and has

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now turned its attention to attacking the poor and the low paid. As trade unionist we continue to take to the streets to protest about a Government which will continually demonstrate its inability to agree on the core evils that divide us. There is no agreed legal definition of sectarianism in Northern Ireland and if we can’t define the oppression then we cannot properly challenge or eliminate it. Unison and our allies have sponsored an initiative to produce an agreed definition and press our Government to take it seriously. The trade union movement is at the forefront of the campaign for the unfinished business of the Good Friday Agreement to be completed. That includes a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland as promised. It requires a process for dealing with the past so we can move forward in the future and it requires institutional and systemic promotion of real equality of opportunity. Instead there has been an almost total roll back on these fundamental commitments in the Good Friday Agreement. The current UK Government has demonstrated that it cannot be trusted to fulfil its role as co-signatory of an international peace treaty with the Irish government. During the talks on the Stormont House Agreement the Irish Government also let us down by joining the Tory call and the Labour Party call for welfare reform to be part of the talks. It does seem that the poor, the low paid and the marginalised in this society are once again being scapegoated by the political process. Conference, I live in one of the most socially deprived areas in Europe, North Belfast, where unemployment, closure of schools, lack of social housing, poor mental health, and suicide is part of our everyday life. Drug barons and gangsters are sucking the life blood of our young people. This is the impact of cuts and poverty in my community. Northern Ireland needs investment in people and services not cuts. We need the commitment of the whole trade union movement in this island to work for equality, justice and peace for the people of the 6 counties. I second. John Douglas, President Thank you. Are there any other speakers on Motion 10? Maria Morgan, NIPSA President, Conference, Maria Morgan from NIPSA to support Motion 10 primarily because it’s in relation to the country that we all live in the North daily and the potential that we can see for what can happen coming into the weeks and the months ahead. I say that in particular in relation to the welfare cuts. Post-conflict, that’s the society that we are in. There are high levels of suicide; there are high levels of mental issues that are a legacy of the conflict from which we are emerging, and we can’t forget. That is one of the very proud reasons that I think this movement and particularly Northern Ireland have opposed very vigorously the welfare cuts coming from the Tories and coming out the Assembly. I just want to make a point as well about the borrowing in the Stormont House Agreement to make 20,000 public sector jobs redundant. That is one of central plans of the Stormont House Agreement, however, if we drill down into it and take for instance as example in the area that I represent - NISPA, Northern Ireland Civil Sector, 2,500 jobs are to go in one year, the 15/16 budget year. How they are getting rid of the workers in those jobs is to use a ranking system where the cheapest will go, and the cheapest are the people at the older end of the scale, but also the younger end of the scale, and that’s how you are going to find how they get rid of workers cheaply. But what that means is young people may take it because it’s voluntary, before it becomes compulsory, and they might take that redundancy and go now. But what it also means is they are jobs that we will never get back so young people coming out of school won’t have those public sector jobs to go into. Primarily the 2,500 in the civil service this year but fundamentally the 20,000 public sector jobs that will go over the next year or going in two years.

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Finishing this President, we have a very volatile situation in the North. Tomorrow the Chancellor of the Exchequer will give us a further budget - £12 billion welfare cuts, £13 billion that will have to be found across departments and if that won’t set the touch light to conflict and the potential for young people in our society in the North and across these islands, feeling they are on the scrap heap with no alternative but to the old tried and tested and failed methods, then I don’t know what will. So please support the motion. John Douglas, President Thank you Maria. Seeing no more speakers on Motion 10, we are now moving….oh is there?. Sorry apologies. Paul Boylan, GMB Colleagues, Paul Boylan, GMB, at the end of the day it is ok to stand up here criticising the politicians and I am not here, it’s going to be an unpopular statement I’m going to make, but there is only so much certain politicians can do within the confines of financial difficulties that’s within the remit of organisations. While I totally support the motion, I have to say to you colleagues, there are a lot of politicians who support public services and Peter here will back me in saying the only way to make the difference is to join the GMB, so support the motion. John Douglas, President After that ad for the GMB we are going to move swiftly on to Motion 11. Can we have the mover for Motion 11? Can I have a mover for Motion 11 in the name of NASUWT, thank-you? Justin McCamphill, NASUWT Thank you, Justin McCamphill, NASUWT. Comrades, I bring this motion to you to highlight the continuing sectarian nature of education in Northern Ireland and how vested interests have manipulated the makeup of our Education Authority to exclude any representation from trade unions or anyone else from the community sector. Who are the vested interests that have carved out power in education in Northern Ireland? Two groups- the churches and the academic selection lobby. When the already imperfect legislation went before Stormont this body was to have twenty members, including four community representatives. Public advertisements have been placed and applications had been received including from many trade unionists, when the last minute amendment to the legislation has passed in Stormont, removing these places, and replacing them with representatives of the Irish medium sector, integrated sector, the controlled grammar schools and the voluntary grammar schools. And because controlled schools are controlled by the Trustees of the main Protestant Churches, an extra place of course has to be created for the Catholic Council for main town schools. This is a public body with no community representation, in effect trade unionist, teacher training collages, academics, and assessment bodies, the voluntary sector, parents, community groups, are permanently excluded from representation. Let me describe the current make-up of a total membership of 21 - one Chair, eight politicians, whoever heard of politicians making themselves a minority? Four persons nominated for the transfer of representatives Council. This is the politically correct way of Northern Ireland of saying four Protestants. Four persons nominated for Northern Ireland Commission for Catholic education. The politically correct way of saying there are the four Catholic Church places - one Irish medium - I fully support that, one integrated, again no issues there. One person representing the interests of the controlled grammar schools, this is our politically correct way of saying; this is the middle class Protestants. One person representing the interest of the voluntary grammar schools. This body is in

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reality a political lobby group whose sole purpose is to maintain academic selection and to entrench the middle class nature of the grammar school system. One the worst aspects of the grammar school sector having representation on the Education Authority is that the Education Authority has no remit over the grammar school sector, but the grammar school representative will be deciding on policy for every other type of school. These people fought to the bitter end to ensure that individual grammar schools would remain as individual employment authorities. They have ensured that they individually have the right to set terms and conditions for their non-teaching staff. The grammar sector with supportive right-wing politicians, have ensured that an all-encompassing education and school authorities did not get off the ground. They fought the battle to have the right to agree the terms and conditions for staff, and to ensure they had the right to continue with academic selection for allocating people places at their schools. I know not everyone here may have supported the establishment of ESA, but this is not the focus of this motion. This motion is about rejecting the sectarian carve up of the administration of education in the North. It is about rejecting the bizarre situation where the Churches have more representatives on the board of this Authority than the politicians who are meant to hold the board to account on behalf of us the public that voted for them, or not voted for them in some cases. It is about rejecting the idea that we need separate Catholic and Protestant bodies to run or schools. It is about accountability. It is fundamentally unfair that representatives of voluntary grammars will be able to influence decisions affecting every other school in Northern Ireland despite having ensured that they are not under control or influence of this body themselves. They cannot have it both ways. They should be a 100 percent in, or 100 percent out. It is about rejecting a body which entrenches class divisions by giving a voice to those groups who exist only to support academic selection. Vote for the motion thank you. John Douglas, President Thank you Justin. Is there a seconder for the motion? Thank you. Theresa Graham, NASUWT Seconding the motion. Colleagues, the education system in Northern Ireland is not entirely but is mostly divided on religious grounds. Poll after poll shows that most people are not happy with this situation. Integrated education in Northern Ireland has been put on the back burner and secular education has always been a non-starter. But it should not be like this. It is a reflection of the failure of our politicians in Northern Ireland that when an attempt was made to subsume the role of the body responsible for Catholic schools into our wider education and skills authority, the politicians ended up backing a system that not only retained that body but created a Protestant body for schools as well. The legislation setting up the Education Authority placed an onus on it to promote shared education. I believe that trade union and community representatives would have held the Education Authority to account on this issue. Let’s face it no one else on the Education Authority will have any interest in doing so. This is an issue that affects all of us on this island as we must make serious efforts to ensure the growth of integrated and shared education in Northern Ireland or we will set the prospect of genuine reconciliation back further with implications for the whole island. Promoting shared education should not be the preserve of some benevolent American philanthropist but should involve all involved in education. This is not essentially a debate about budget cuts, however, the Education Authority will be the means by which cuts to schools and essential services for young people will be delivered so we can fight these cuts together. I accept that the original Education and Skills Authority was not perfect but what we have now in the Education Authority is a body that is already badly in need of reform.

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We must send a message to our politicians that the message they have sent to the public through the creation of the Education Authority is that primarily education is a matter for Church and not a matter for State. The Northern Ireland Executive must go back to the drawing board and create a public body for education that reflects the public. Create a body that guarantees representation for workers, parents, and the wider community. Create a body to end division not entrench it. Create a body which ends academic selection not promote it. Create a body which ends the rights of individual schools to set their own terms and condition for workers and stop such schools from promoting such ideas within an educational authority, and hence to the Northern Ireland Executive where, unfortunately, there is always a wiliness amongst some politicians to listen to a Gospel that preaches lower pay and poor conditions as a good message. Colleagues, I urge you to vote for this motion. John Douglas, President Thank you very much. Are there any speakers to Motion 11? One speaker, thank you. Brian Booth, NIPSA Conference Brian Booth on behalf of NIPSA to seek remission of motion 11. Brothers and sisters the reason we seek remission is due to the second sentence in the motion which states Conference believes rejection of an all embracing Educational Skills Authority represents a sadly missed opportunity. My union does not believe that the formation of an Educational Skills Authority will resolve or create anything. Rather we believe the formation will lead to opportunity for the likes of Gavin Boyd, the Minster, and the employers to introduce widespread centralisation and become a vehicle to introduce further swinging cuts in services and jobs for our members. Just last week, last Friday there was announcement of hundreds of jobs losses in education in the North in schools. Conference, I would ask NASUWT to consider accepting remission and allow this motion to be kicked back to the Executive Committee, to take out only this one line and implement the terms of this motion. The removal of this line, this sentence, does not affect the terms of this motion in any way so, brothers and sisters don’t send the wrong signal to Gavin Boyd, the Minster, the employers. Conference, remit this motion. Thanks. John Douglas, President Is there a seconder for the motion? Gerry Murphy, INTO The establishment of the Education Authority in the North is as has been described in the motion, a matter of profound regret. The INTO had wanted to see the original that is a 2008 version of ESA establish the Education Skills Authority. Unfortunately, a failure to achieve agreement amongst the Executive parties of Stormont, on a proposal made that the creation of a single employment authority is possible. The real regret here is that the reality of 5 years of administrated paralyses that resulted from the political failure. Over these years INTO and our colleagues in the other unions representing workers in the education sector were subjected to endless prevarication on the part of the Department of Education, and employers who are unwilling to make decisions in advance of the creation in what we were led to believe to be a single Education Authority - an employer for all - EA is not that. And our members have suffered as a result. The Department has made shared education and a more inclusive future harder to realise by allowing the existing plethora of education employers continue to exist and indeed it has created a further advisory bodies for the controlled sector. My colleague explained the Northern code for controlled. These bodies, alongside a funding mechanism for schools based on pupils per school, places our schools and colleges in a position where they are

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forced to compete with each other for pupils at the backdrop of parental choice. All of this makes the achievement of inclusivity and a short future much more difficult to achieve than already. EA has a further weakness; trade union representation on the board of EA was summarily dispensed with by the Department of Education in order to allow political parties greater representation. We lost two seats allocated to us in the initial legislation as did the community sector. The result has been the absence of any trade union representative of the almost 50,000 employees in this sector on the board. Not only is this anti-democratic, but it falls someway short of the department’s stated position which is to work in partnership with the union. Like so much of our work as trade unionist in the North, our Administration of Stormont is only ever prepared to engage meaningfully, with the trade unions when the future of the political institutions themselves is under threat. Where this leaves us is at a crossroads, we have a decision to make. Do we accept the status quo of an EA that is already only months into its existence, displaying significant structural weakness? Firstly, the issue of the make-up of the board which has been dealt with, and secondly the fact that it has it has a corporate board, but in effect the daily running of the education sector remains in the hands of three regional directors of EA, whom the board have little or no say over. Really all EA appears to have achieved is to have inserted several more layers of bureaucracy, and reduce what was five educational boards to three. A triumph of resource management and planning conceived and executed by the disciples of Sir Humphrey. As trade unionist we must continue to challenge and highlight the factual bureaucratic nature of the EA. Our challenge must be accompanied with alternative proposals not only for how our education systems is to be administered, but more importantly, we must begin by forcing the political class in society in general to engage with us in a conversation as to what it is we want our education system to do. To reference Tom Healy from NERI this morning, we are the people who we have been waiting for, ok? For only when we agree what it is we want from our young people, for our young people, and the lifelong learning system can we move on to address the other key question such as how do you ensure that education is resourced sufficiently and what sort of administrative system is needed. What is clear is that the EA is not going to do any of this important work. INTO supports the motion. John Douglas, President I am giving the original movers of the motion an opportunity to reply and see will they agree to remit the motion which has been asked for. Justin McCamphill, NASUWT We will not be remitting the motion and my reason is mainly not getting into the debate with ESA or not ESA. As the speaker said the motion is with the education authority. We cannot pick out lines on every motion and say we agree or disagree. We could have as has been done in the past, put down an amendment. And I think that’s the way to go about it in the future, if you don’t like a motion, amend it. John Douglas, President Okay, I am going to put the motion to remit to conference. So all those in favour of remission, please show. All those against, defeated. Okay I now want to move on to the vote on Motions 6,7,8,9,10,11, and then going to call the Chair of Standing Orders because we’re running behind time, to address conference.

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Motion No. 6 in the name of the Executive Council, Peace Progress and Equality. All in favour? All against. Carried. Motion 7 in the name of NIPSA, Opposition to Austerity. All in favour? All against? Carried. Motion 8 Co-ordinated Industrial Action on Pay in the name of PCS. All in favour? All against? Carried. Motion 9 Stormont House Agreement in the name of NIPSA. All in favour? All against? Carried. Motion 10 Supporting the Northern Ireland Peace Process I the name of UNISON. All in favour? All against? Carried. Motion 11 The Establishment of the Education Authority in the name of the NASUWT. All in favour? All against? Carried. I’m now asking for adoption of Principle EC Report Reference Section 5; Building the Peace. All in favour? All against. Carried. I would now like to welcome fraternal speaker, Margaret Thomas, President of the Wales TUC. Actually Standing Orders need to speak first. Jack McGinley, Chair Standing Orders Delegates we have drifted in terms of time and can I ask your indulgence, and can I ask for retrospective approval to make the decisions that we have just made constitutional by the following? When the fraternal speaker has spoken that we will adjourn out and back in 10 minutes and that we extend this session to no later than 5.30pm to expedite the private session. I move. Agreed? Agreed. Margaret Thomas, President of Wales TUC Good afternoon President, friends. I am proud and privileged to be standing here as President of the Wales TUC and I send fraternal greeting from the Wales TUC and all our affiliates to you today and for the remainder of your Conference. In the wake of recession and the longest decline in living standards since the 1870s, we in Wales share your fight against austerity. Austerity which has seen ideological dogma trample over so many of the agreements and hard won trade union victories in many European nations and across the world. In fighting for better pay and treatment for everyone at work, I know that the Irish of Congress of Trade Unions is running positive and inclusive campaigns setting out what our international movement stands for and I have heard evidence of that today. Two strong examples in particular that stand out for us in Wales are the areas that you work on in relation to the Charter for Fairness at Work and the ICTU led conversation on what ethical work should look like. The voices that you’ve brought to the fore prove that our values are the values of ordinary people right across our society as well as those seeking work. It was heartening to see in your campaigns that young people in particular are demanding stable work with real protection and development opportunities. There’s nothing outdated in these principals and by asking a simple question you’ve shown how union organising and campaigning go to the heart of the hopes and fears of working people everywhere. Its work like this that I hope we in Wales can learn from when engaging non-members and young people alike, and why they are better off in a union.

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We have been working closely with your Northern Ireland committee in areas where we have made progress in Wales, specifically making the case for progressive procurement. With the Welsh budget hacked back on to Westminster Tory austerity, winning more training, apprenticeships, and jobs through Welsh Government contracts has been a major priority for us. I am pleased we’ve made concrete progress which is now spreading spending across Wales. And this includes stripping firms guilty of blacklisting from winning public contracts, banning bogus self-employment through the use of umbrella companies in construction; and new guidelines meaning that all contracts worth over a £1m must provide community benefits through local jobs and training. The real victory here in Wales is that those community benefits must mean jobs and training and not just a PR exercise to make a company look good without committing to providing real jobs. The Welsh Government has gained new powers from the EU to do a lot more to strengthen regulation, including the ability to place contracts with organisations that employe disabled and disadvantage people, and we will keep pushing to make sure that as much public purchasing as possible supports people into work, work that’s decent. And we are doing more to support young people. After the UK Government slashed the future jobs fund the Welsh Government introduced the EU funded Jobs Growth Wales Scheme which has provided six months work placements for over 15,000 young people, ensuring that those young people get the chance they need to get a start in working life, and have protected communities from council tax benefit, and the independent living allowance, from UK Government cuts too. And part of this process, our trade unions have made and played a massive role. For example, UNITE and GMB supported the Welsh Government in delivering wage subsidy support to former employ workers which has delivered over 220 jobs for disabled workers so brutally abandoned by the UK Minsters. Many of their policies are made possible because of our membership of the EU, and in Wales we need the EU, so we will be campaigning for these opportunities as well as protecting workers rights ahead of the UK referendum on EU membership, particularly as so many right-wing politicians and employers line up their attacks on basic labour standards. However, colleagues like you the biggest task we face in Wales is of course the job of protecting employment in our public services against such a bleak outlook in terms of current and future budgets. Since 2010 we have worked together with our Government to shield local Government from the scale and cuts seen across other parts of the United Kingdom, preventing thousands of job losses in that time. However, we know that we need a more radical approach to protect and support our members for the longer term as more cuts are due to come. This has driven our call for a One Wales devolved public sector, and we have been leading the way in making the case for a system that delivers redeployment and training across our public services to ensure our skills and experience of the workforce is protected and redundancies are avoided through better work place planning. This is an approach that’s built on solidarity and collectivism at a time when a very notion of a public services ethos in the UK is being put to its greatest test ever. After numerous stalls and false starts, including the threat of industrial action with individual employers, I am pleased to say the Welsh Government is taking up our call to create a statutory Public Services Staff Commission to oversee long term workforce planning where redeployment training and support is chosen over more costly redundancy programmes and attacks on conditions in work in the name of short-term cutbacks. We have also had success in fighting outsourcing by getting the two-tiered workforce code reissued for Wales after the UK Government abolished the measure to rapidly expand privatisation in

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England. As ever, the true test of all this is in the delivery. And we are in no doubt that we will have to monitor every step of this if it has to truly work for our members. Colleagues, there is probably never been a clearer example of how we differ from the privatisation agenda now rife in England than in our Welsh NHS. The UK Tories hate the fact that in Wales we have maintained a fully public NHS, through to its founding principles. So much so that they have levelled a media war on Wales to undermine it. UK Minsters, backed by their Tory supporting newspapers, have sunk deeper into the gutter to whip up fear about our most loved public service. David Cameron capped these cynical and baseless attacks, by describing the border between Wales and England as a line between life and death. Yes colleagues he said ‘live in England, die in Wales’. Wales TUC unions immediately issued a joint statement denouncing these attacks and our members made the movement proud by stepping up to the fight. In this battle for our services our movement shows the power we have when united and the platform we give to those who need us to win. Sarah Grinta a new UNISON rep bravely spoke out in our campaign. Sarah works as a medical secretary providing crucial communications between consultants and other NHS colleagues, but more crucially to families at critical times. The pride Sarah has in her service to the NHS is inspired by the intense care she received when she suffering from anorexia. And you can see Sara’s moving story on our YouTube channel were she describes how Tory attacks on the Welch NHS have damaged moral and even worse, damaged the trust some patience have in a service they receive. Sarah and thousands like her are proving that Nye Bevan was right, when he declared that the NHS will last as long as there are folk with the faith to fight for it, and comrades we will keep fighting. Fighting for our members and communities, and fighting against austerity. Our economy, like yours, is struggling so our campaign for industrial strategy is aimed at tackling the perennial problem of low pay just like you. Too many bosses are allowed to treat our economy as a sort of low wage haven, and too many right-wingers are keen on selling Wales that way. Our policies instead build on creating an alternative with better jobs, hardwired into our long term vision that include a new levy on employers to boost ‘in work’ training and meaningful apprentices. Friends, this is just a snap shot of the work that we are doing in Wales. Finally, as I finish I want to recommit the Cumery Wales TUC to work with the ICTU and the Council of the Isles and in particular with your North of Ireland Committee and the Scottish TUC in fighting this Tory UK Government’s welfare cuts and demanding an alternative to austerity. Thank you for inviting me to your Conference and I wish you well for the remainder of your Conference. Thank You. John Douglas, President Okay we’re going to break for ten minutes and strictly ten minutes as we’re running behind. The next session is Private Session so delegates only in the next session. Please be back in ten minutes.

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PRIVATE SESSION CONGRESS ORGANISATION John Douglas, President Okay delegates we’re seriously under pressure. We’ve had a Standing Orders Report already adopted by conference, so that 10 minutes is up, so we’ll now please move into the Private Session. I’m going to call on Joe O’Flynn, Treasurer to introduce the Private Session on Congress Organisation, under Section 7 of the Congress Report, and Appendices 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8. There will be a powerpoint presentation when Joe is speaking. Thank you Joe. Treasurer’s Report Joe O´Flynn, Treasurer President, General Secretary, Colleagues, it’s my pleasure to present these chapters of the Report on Organisation within the Congress Organisation. I realise the time of day, unfortunately is late and I am going to try do it a quickly as I possibly can, but I think it’s critically important in the Report of the Executive on the last two years that we recognise that while some people have reason to criticise Congress and the affiliates in some shape or form, it’s also critically important to recognise the volume of tremendous work that has been done by Congress as an umbrella body, along with the 48 affiliates that are associated with the Congress over the two years. To that end, before I commence,I want to commend the Report to you in its entirety in relation to reading the document and understanding the scope of the work and the activity which Congress has undertaken on behalf of all of our members in the last two years under review. The first item I want to touch on, President, very briefly is the affiliations and as you can see they were down from just under 800,000 members in 2011 to this year 770,000 - a fall of 26,830, and that figure is still slightly exaggerated – we are in private session so I can say that. A number of unions did answer the call when the recession hit, and when unions lost members as a result of job losses throughout many of the sectors of the economy, we made an appeal due to the financial pressures on Congress at the time that unions would continue to try and affiliate for the higher numbers that they had, and quite a number of unions did that, and we are very grateful to them, because they assisted us in terms of the financial position. In relation to the finances of Congress then, you’ll see there in 2013, we had an income of just over €4.5m, expenditure of just over again €4.5m, with a very small surplus of €34,000, and I say slight - it really is very borderline in terms income over expenditure. In 2014, last year, we had an improvement in relation to the income but it was primarily related to the fact that there was a small increase in relation to the affiliations fees, but the most of the increase related to project and grant income, but as you can see actually was pretty much matched in terms of the outgoings under the expenditure heading. And we came in at the end of the year with €51,000 of a surplus. Turning then to the ongoing challenges ,President, first of all I think we have to recognise that from a staff perspective, from a members’ perspective, that our premises both North and South of the border are not in the best shape for the engagement that is required. And with the incoming Executive, the General Secretary, new President and I as Treasurer, we are going to look at how we can improve the overall working situation and indeed the activity centres for our affiliates and members, both the North and South of the border and that’s a challenge because it will require some expenditure.

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Secondly, in relation to cuts in grants and project income, I think when you reflect back to when the crises hit us in 2008, we had an income of just short of €6.5m in Congress. And very quickly that position fell as you can see there to just under €4.8 million last year. And a huge amount of work had to be undertaken within Congress itself, with the support of the staff in relation to ensuring that we were able to live within the means available to us. In addition during that period we also had a challenge in relation to the pension scheme for the staff both North and South of the border and we had to address those issues by way of restructuring the schemes, and thankfully the schemes are now in reasonably good shape notwithstanding the fact that we have had, in conjunction with staff we had to make some changes. The other challenge of course is the membership decline which I referred to and we hope now that as the economy begins to improve somewhat in the South, at least, that might manifest itself in some additional membership, albeit that we are very conscience of the debate after lunch and it is very clearly demonstrated that North of the border we will be under enormous pressure in terms of numbers going forward. In relation to some of the positives Chair, I hope that when we come to discussing the motion on the Nevin Institute in a little while, that we have a positive outcome in relation to the funding. Just to explain very briefly. We put Nevin on a five year contract, a funding position which was supported by a number of affiliates but not all, and they are running on somewhere on just a little over €400,000 per annum. But we have people who obviously are excellent people, and in a very short period of time they have established themselves as a formidable body in relation to the alternative that we would like to see within our society from an economic point of view. And, it really is important that the very good people we have working in NERI actually can see a secure future and that is the reason why I think it’s important to put the footing of Nevin on a stable footing. In relation to costability in ICTU, I think it’s fair to say Chair, that during the period that when we had a huge reduction in income, a huge amount of work was done. It was led by Sally Anne Kinahan, Assistant General Secretary and in conjunction with the staff. And a lot of changes were introduced at staff level within Congress to get us to a point where we were able to live within the means available to us and I think it’s important to recognise that obviously with Patricia, as the new General Secretary, there is a renewed focus in relation to activities now and I think that is no harm in terms of relooking and revisiting all of the work that Congress undertakes on behalf of us as affiliates and indeed the membership. The other positive outcome Chair, and it is covered in the Report and I think it is important just to reflect for a moment on the 1913 Lock-Out Commemoration which was an excellent event and covered on pages 138 to 141 in your Report. All of you who were involved to some extent will recall that was a commemoration of that epic struggle back in 1913 and back in January 2014 when over 20,000 workers fought valiantly to protect the interest of the unions that they were with against the combined might of all most 400 employers in Dublin who tried to smash the union. The objects then and the objects still are the right to ensure that people are respected at work, have decent pay and conditions and that they have the right to collective bargaining. Now the truth of the matter in that commemoration, and one of the reasons why I think it was so successful, is that we did not dwell on the past. What we did was we connected the past with the issues of today. And we tried to ensure that the campaigns for fair pay and for collective bargaining were rooted in the commemoration activities and there were many. And just to highlight the Tapestry, many people have seen that now, that was a fantastic collaboration of trade unionists, communities, school students, prisoners, and different bodies, who didn’t actually have any connection with the trade union movement, but could see the relevance of the commemoration and they got involved in it.

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The other tremendous success was the Tenement experience and that ran for two months, and ANU Productions, which did the James Connolly piece before lunch, they were primarily involved in that. And again it was an outstanding success and resulting from it there is hope that we will have a permanent Tenement experience in Henrietta Street in the future to remind people of what life really was like back then and how the trade union movement played a huge roll in developing the society that we have today. The other thing that we did and I mention it because I think it’s important, is that we have comrades here from the UK, and we did have the food ship re-enactment and that was to recognise the fact that from the UK back then, there was enormous support financially for families who were effected by that struggle and we wanted to recognise that. It would be remiss of me President if I did not acknowledge the role that the Lord Mayor of Dublin then, Oisín Quinn, and in particular the President, Michael D Higgins and his wife Sabina, played in relation to the commemoration. The succession of events that he supported from start to finish, it was absolutely superb and we should be proud of that. President, I want to also thank the affiliates who financially supported and those who supported many different events. And I also want to put on record my two colleagues on the Committee who did huge work during that commemoration and that was Sally Anne Kinahan and Padraig Yates. I know Padraig is here and it was a joy to work with them and indeed many others who participated, but that was the Committee that oversaw it. Now I have referred to the Nevin Economic Research Institute and that is an initiative that we are supporting and we continue to support, and as I said earlier, I hope that we support the motion that is coming up shortly. The Youth Connect Project, I just want to again advise people that I think they should read up again on the Youth Connect program. I know that some union Executives have already invited Fiona Dunne to make a presentation on Youth Connect. It’s a fantastic programme, and every union should get a presentation on it because what it has done over the last four years of its existence, it has connected with thousands of students throughout the country in hundreds of schools, educating them in relation to the work off the trade unions, the history of trade unions and much more importantly the relevant of trade unions in today’s society and I want to commend the Youth Connect Programme to you and I commend the work Fiona and the many colleagues that are involved in that programme. I also want to refer to the Workers College - it’s a fantastic initiative. It has arisen out of the Commission Report and basically we are well advanced now to create the Workers College which will really be a structure for collaboration between all of the affiliates in the movement in relation to developing training capacity and education capacity to equip the movement, to equip the activists for the job at hand. There is a resource issue, I think we will have to address that but the role out of the Workers is going to be on an incremental basis starting in the autumn and hopefully, unions that are already providing courses, who have agreed to join together and provided high quality courses going forward, under the auspice of the Workers College. I think it’s a fantastic initiative and I think it will really serve the needs of the movement for the future. The other item there Chair is the campaigns and the Charter and I know that the General Secretary will be referring in particular to the Living Wage Campaign tomorrow morning, but I do want to touch on one other initiative which is very dear to my own heart which is the Cork Project. But that’s not the reason; it’s not the location actually. Effectively, this is an initiative that again was born out of the Commission and basically the Cork Project is a pilot for a Trade Union Centre. And, it’s to try to connect with members and workers, retired, unemployed, students, apprentices, in

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other words every person who can be served or who can serve the movement under one particular centre. We’ve had tremendous support from the Cork Council of Trade Unions and the Officers - I know Frank is here, Sharon is here, the President and Secretary and indeed Colm who is the Trades Council rep on the Executive. Since April 2014, when Sally Anne and I went down to the AGM of the Cork Council and we sold the concept to them, they have given us tremendous support and effectually what we now have is twenty unions who are now co-operating on a number of initiatives whereas before this project, some of them did not even know who each other was. In some cases even full-time officials working in the same area did not actually know or connect with each other. Now we have twenty unions operating very successfully over the last period of time. There are four initiatives which were rolling out the first are an organising initiative and a campaign which will involve multi union activity on a particular site. The second is in relation to media and skills training and we want to get to a point where, when there are issues affecting workers right throughout the length and breadth of the island, that it is not the ‘Chambers of Horrors’ that are the only ones that are rolled out as the spokespersons who are concerned about the interest of workers, but that we have people in the Trade Councils who are equipped with the media skills and the talent to actually go out and express the concerns and give the real reason why jobs are being lost or affected or otherwise. We also have a third level engagement. There are two other initiatives, one is to educate to organise, and the other is the capacity building for activists. And, just on that I want to say that we do intend to roll out a second pilot in relation to the Belfast Trades Council and very shortly we should be in a position to do that. Chair, I wanted to finish by acknowledging the support of a number of people as Treasure. First of all Pat Quinn who is the Finance Officer now in Congress and he has made my life very easy, and I want to acknowledge the tremendous work that Pat has done since he has joined Congress in the last couple of years. I want to acknowledge the support of Sally Anne Kinahan and Peter Bunting as the two Assistant General Secretaries who again have worked very closely with me. I want to put on record the support of Fiona Dunne in relation to the Cork Project. Without her direct assistance, it would not be at the point that we are at and I am very grateful for that. And lastly Chair, I want to acknowledge, I have spent twelve years as Treasurer working with David Begg and he was a magnificent General Secretary of Congress, a man of great intellect, great wisdom and great experience and also a man of great caring and compassion, and it was an absolute pleasure to work alongside a man like David for that period of time. And, finally Chair, if we are serious about meeting the many challenges that are confronting workers and their families, we need to ensure that we have the structures and the resources to develop the strategies and the campaigns that will make a real difference to workers in the future. I commend the Report to you. Go raibh maith agaibh. John Douglas, President Thank you Joe. Are there any speakers to the financial report the Treasurer just gave? No there are no speakers, I am going to ask that the Financial Report is adopted by Conference. All in favour? All against? Adopted. I have one speaker indicated that they want to speak on Section 7 of the Report in relation to the Workers College. I’d ask you to be brief if you don’t mind. Gerard.

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Gerard Craughwell, Peoples College General Secretary, Colleagues, President, thank you very much - it’s the People’s College I want to speak on. I am very much in support of the Workers’ College as well. The People’s College has been with us for 66 years. It was started to empower workers, to give them the tools to make better lives for themselves and their families. Under President, Jim Dorney it has moved to embark on a series of new areas including lecture series in spring 2014 which dealt with trade unions - a time of change. The Irish Revolution 1913 to 23 and it provides a number of serious short courses. It has some very interesting stuff coming up with respect to 1916 in the not too distance future. Enrolments will start in September. Now Congress has constantly supported the People’s College and indeed the affiliated trade unions have supported it. Can I say standing here before you today, without education and without access to education, I would still be living on whatever I could do with manual labour because that’s all I had before I went back to education and managed to get myself through a degree course and finally to finish up in the Teachers Union of Ireland. And I would say to you colleagues that the People’s College has so much to offer, we should support it and I would ask Congress to continue the support it as given and the affiliated unions to do the same. Thank you. John Douglas, President I’m going to move onto Motion 12 Funding of the Nevin Economic Research Institute on behalf of the National Executive Council, I am going to ask Shay Cody to move Motion 12 and also ask Shay whether moving the motion in supporting the amendment, accepting the amendment as proposed by SIPTU. Shay Cody, IMPACT Thanks President. I was lucky enough to be at a presentation last week by the Nevin Institute on a topic called ‘Who is on the Minimum Wage?’. If you stand back and think about it with all the economists who work for banks and stockbrokers and in third level institutions, isn’t that a really live subject that touches what the labour market is about and what the trade unionist movement is about, and feeds directly into the work of our representative on the Low Pay Commission. As Keynes said ‘the difficulty lies in not so much in developing new ideas, as escaping old ones’. And the first job of the Nevin Institute was to challenge and confront the idea of there being no alternative in early years of the crises. We should all recall the crushing Memorandum of Understanding imposed by the Troika in early 2011 with a very short period of adjustment to reach a GDP deficit of less than 3%. David Begg originally, and Nevin since then, said that was not achievable and they were found to be right as the period for that deficit adjustment was extended out within the timescale that we spoke of. Some balance was introduced with the creation of the Institute in the public discourse which was absolutely absent before we decided to fund it. Since then Nevin has assisted us in introducing its researching ideas into public discourse in areas such as the effects of indirect taxes on those with the lowest income. The percentage of the economy we spend on social protection, the living wage, the Northern Ireland economy which actually was not studies by anybody, and the All-Ireland economy. Nevin in a few short years has put itself on the map with rigorous academic standards, quality publications and a credible presence in the media. There are two reasons for this motion delegates. There is a need to give financial certainty to the Institute and mainstream its funding within the Congress, and in particular mainstreaming it into the Congress affiliation fee. Just by way of comparison to show the modest beginnings around this, and the Treasurer showed that the funding for Congress was €4.7 million last year. The German equivalent of the Nevin Institute – The Hans Broking Institute, in per capital terms, has an income itself of €4.7m, just to

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show the very modest beginnings around this. There is a second reason that we need to mainstream the funding and that is to protect the people who work for the Institute. They are entitled to know that there will be sufficient funding to pay their wages into the future, beyond the five year original timescale. They are workers, they are trade unionist and they are entitled to certainty about their future for the great work they are doing for us. This motion achieves that. The Executive is happy to accept the SIPTU amendment. It puts specifity on the additional fee; people know what they are signing up to as opposed to just leaving it to the Congress Executive. There will be a number of cases where the effect of this motion, if it’s adopted and in particular the amendment will actually reduce the existing contributions that certain affiliates are making, and I want to assure you that there is no difficulty at all with people keeping up the enhanced contributions into the future. Thank you very much. John Douglas, President Can I just ask Conference to formally second the motion as amended. Is that agreed? Agreed. Any speakers to the motion? Mike Jennings, IFUT Thank you Chair. Mike Jennings from the Irish Federation of University Teachers. And I will be very brief, but I just wanted to say publicly from the platform what I’ve been saying to everybody regarding NERI since its foundation, and that just what a fantastic job they have been doing on our behalf. Some of you are probably familiar with the Socialist playwright Bertolt Brecht, who said ‘a hungry man reaches for a book’. And the fact of the matter is if you listen to our debate this morning what we need is facts, statistics, educated opinion to back up all of the anger and frustration that was heard this morning. NERI is giving us that ammunition and it is extremely important that we are seen to support it. At the time when NERI was established, I had the honour as the General Sectary of a union which then had less than 2,000 members that our Executive voted to contribute €5,000 per annum for five years to the NERI Institute. So for those of you who might be thinking can you afford it, we got and we continue to get extremely good value for money for a small union for €5,000 and those who are in bigger unions you can well afford it too, believe me. Finally, there is one other aspect which Shay touched upon – we are going to have a debate on Wednesday and I will be speaking again on Wednesday and I apologise, I will give you prior notice so you can go to the picnic on Wednesday if you want to avoid hearing me again. I will be talking about precarious employment and what a huge issue this is. We have it within our power today and we are saying that the people who do magnificent work on our behalf in NERI do not deserve to live any longer in precarious employment. We want them to know they will work for this movement as long as they wish to work up to their retirement whenever their retirement they will be. Thank you very much. John Douglas, President Thank you. Just before I put the amended motion to the floor, just to bring it to delegate’s attention, on page 21, there is a typo in the motion. It shouldn’t read .75 c, in other words three quarters of a cent, it should read 75c just in case that will change anyone’s mind on how they vote, so that little dot shouldn’t be there. I am going to put the amendment to the floor. All in favour? All against? Carried. John Douglas, President Moving onto Motion 13 in the name of SIPTU 1916 Centenary, can I call the mover of the motion?

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Jack O´Connor, SIPTU President, delegates, it is right of course that we would commemorate the Centenary of 1916 and we will be doing so next year. It is important thought, delegates, that we recognise that there are different interpretations even within the working class itself on this Island as to the implications of 1916. And it is critical therefore that we in this movement inject the social class ingredient. Our responsibility is to draw the contrast between the island that is reflected in the aspirations of the Proclamation and the island that we have today. And that we continue with the egalitarian project that is implicit in it into the second century. But if we are to do so comrades, delegates, if we are to lead working people out to fight we have to arm them so that have a chance to win. I just want to say a word if I may about the strategy that some of us choses to follow against the background of the biggest economic collapse in the history of the State of the Republic of Ireland. It was a strategy I want to say that was based on a recognition that the odds against success in an open confrontation were far too great, and the reality is that in any war, and we all recognise that we are in a war, the reality is that when you recognise that you can’t storm the ramparts of the other side without resulting in the slaughter of your own side, you do the next best thing. And the next best thing is that you build whatever fortification you can, you organise your people behind them, you hold as much ground as you can, and you wait until circumstances change in the battlefield so that you can march out with some degree of confidence. We found ourselves in that situation in this movement against the collapse in 2008 in the Republic of Ireland in particular, where unlike the people in 1913 and unlike the people of 1916, and unlike the people of Greece last Sunday - we actually did have options. And we chose to adopt a rear-guard strategy, very deliberately, and we told our members that we were adopting a rear-guard strategy. The fortifications that we tried to build were the protocol in the private sector, the Croke Park agreement in public sector, which was followed by Croke Park 2 which was rejected in a ballot vote, and the Haddington Road Agreement. And yes to prevent the advent of a single party Fine Gael Government or one pending on a few right-wing independents which would have resulted in the destruction of a very great deal of what we achieved over two generations against the background of the situation where we had the highest budget deficit in all of Europe, higher even than that of Greece. The kind of things we set out to prevent the destruction of where our basic collective bargaining infrastructure, we set out to prevent the repeal of the laws that protected the lowest paid couple of hundred thousand workers in our state and served as the threshold of decency for pay and conditions across the economy. We set to prevent the dismantlement of the basic infrastructure of our entire Social Welfare system. We set out to prevent the outsourcing of tens of thousands of decently paid trade union jobs, Greyhound to the power of ten, or may be to the power of ten thousand. And we set out to prevent the sell-off our State companies at bargain basement prices. We set out to buy time comrades. But the Commission of Trade Union Organisation was what we thought would result in the capacity to build a possibility to fight on better terms. We saw us using the time through the Commission on Trade Union organisation to rearm the working class and working people so that we could march out to fight with some prospect of victory, when we were armed. Now the realty comrades is this and we have to say this in private session, the reality is that while the other side was busy reorganising the architecture of Ireland, we have to face the fact that we have accomplished virtually nothing in the context of the aspirations that was reflected in the Report which was adopted at Conference 2011 and the Report which was adopted again at Conference 2013, where everybody put up their hand, virtually everybody, except one or two delegates, who had the courage to say we couldn’t do it. And the reality is that while the other side were reorganising the architecture of the future, we were doing dam little or nothing to re-equip our

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class, our people to fight the battles they have to fight. It was described in terms of a debate about restructuring, actually it was a debate about capacity building and rearming our class. And so when we set out to celebrate the Centenary of 1916 next year, lets at least do the simple things that are embraced in that motion - the things that I thought were the easy things and let us over the next two years ensure that we have done those basics things, so that we have a chance when the time arrives that enough people in the leadership in our movement recognise the necessity of building a movement capable of equipping workers to fight the battles of the 21st Century that will still be there to do it. I move the motion comrades, thank you very much. John Douglas Is there a seconder for the motion? Formally seconded. Any speakers to the motion? No speakers. Calling the motion to the floor. All in favour? All against? Motion is carried. Just bear with us now for one second. I also want to put for adoption by Conference, the Principle EC Report, Reference Section No. 7, Appendices 1-8. All in favour? All against? That’s adopted. I also want to advise delegates that there is a fringe meeting on Palestine organised by the Trade Union Friends of Palestine which will take place in the Rainbow Room after the close of conference. Please support if you can. Also to remind delegates to be in the hall on time tomorrow Wednesday 8 July, and we are now adjourned until 9.30am. Anything you leave on the floor will be disposed of, so if you want to keep it, keep it on the table. Thank you.

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Wednesday 8th July 2015 Morning Session John Douglas, President of Congress Delegates, in the interest of time can delegates please take their seats. We are going to begin the Conference. Delegates I am now calling Conference to order so please take your seats. Good morning delegates, I would like to call the Chair of Standing Orders to address Conference. Jack McGinley, Chairperson, Standing Orders Committee Delegates, delegations who have not thus far exchanged their stubs should do so by 11 o’clock this morning. From 11am until 3pm you can exchange the cards for the ballot papers, in the De Valera Suite on the first floor. Liam Berney and his crew will be there for that and the ballot closes at 3 o’clock. Each union has already been asked to nominate a principle delegate, who in the exchange for voting cards will collect ballot papers from the polling station situated where I said in the De Valera suite. On completion, ballot papers should be returned to the sealed ballot box in the polling station, by the individual delegates or the principle delegate in according with union practise before 3pm. The results of the election will be announced tomorrow morning. Delegates, you will also have received the third report of Standing Orders, which contains Emergency Motion No 1, in the name of SIPTU in relation to Clerys, and Emergency Motion No 2, in relation to One Parent Family Payment Changes in the name of Mandate. It’s proposed to take a both of of these motions at ten minutes to one. It’s also proposed that each motion will be proposed by one speaker and will be formally seconded and then voted on. That’s the third report of Standing Orders. Thank you colleagues. John Douglas, President Standing Orders Report to the floor - is that agreed? Agreed. I would just to remind delegates it’s a very big room here, so when you are speaking can you speak in to the microphone, people at the back of the hall are finding it very difficult to hear, so can you speak in to the microphone thank you. Delegates, I now call on the General Secretary, Patricia King to introduce the Principle Report Reference Section 2: Living Wage, Strong Economy; Section 3: Creating Jobs, Achieving Growth; and Section 4: Progressive Workplace Rights. The General Secretary, thank you. Patricia King, General Secretary Thank you President and delegates. The theme of this Conference is Challenging Inequality through Wage Led Growth, which given the particular circumstances of the economies on this island over the past five to six years is very appropriate. Delegates, income inequality are a complex topic, and the solutions cannot be reduced to a single answer. We know that growing income disparities are part of a global trend and we know that for decades, this island of Ireland has been subjected to a neo–liberal economic system dominant in the English speaking world, the most prominent exponents which were the likes of Ragan and Thatcher, and we know the main policies of this dogma were to promote free trade, cut public spending, eliminate regulation, encourage wealth creators, and reduce the role of trade unions and collective bargaining. All of which have over those years caused considerable hardship and damage to the lives of workers and their families. You only have to consider the circumstances in Greece today, to appreciate how far they will go to pursue this dogma, without much regard to the depravation to be visited on the ordinary people of that country.

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Delegates, inequality isn’t the price to be paid for rising prosperity. Inequality makes rising prosperity possible, it is the engine driving this economic philosophy. What does a properly functioning economy mean? Well it means that citizens who need a home can access one affordably. Everyone who needs a healthcare system and healthcare can receive it through a universal system, rather than a dual system which is solely based on how much wealth you own. It’s the availability of quality childcare at reasonable rates, rather than the exorbitant sums currently required. And it is an economy where people are not afraid to grow old, but are assured of adequate income and care in their elder years. Creating decent jobs with decent incomes is essential to reducing economic inequality. We need major changes in economic and social policy North and South, to arrest the rise in income inequality. Let me just outline a few facts in relation to pay on this island. Alongside the troubles premium as we heard yesterday, Northern Ireland has the highest percentage of those earning low pay in the entire UK. The Low Pay Commission in the UK note that just under 10 per cent of workers earn the national minimum wage, and Oxfam estimate that 232,000 people in the region are living in absolute poverty. In the Republic TASC have highlighted that 50 per cent of all workers earn less than €28,000 per annum, and 2/3rds earn €35,000 or less. Nevin tell us that the adjusted Wage share of GDP in Ireland has declined from 54 percent in 1996, to 50 percent in 2014, the decline being more pronounced here than in other European countries. When we look at the indicators in relation to increased profits, most recent Revenue figures show 35.5 percent increase year on year in corporate tax receipts, notwithstanding the profit shifting policies exercised by some of these companies. Colleagues, the national minimum wage rate of €8.65 which applies to 70,000 workers, the majority of whom are women, leaves them unable to meet the minimum essential standard of living which the Vincentian Partnership and Nevin among others determine should be at €11.45 per hour for a living wage. Over a quarter of workers earn less than that living wage, well above the average in Europe and leaving us with about 345,000 people who can be regarded as the working poor. There are strong economic advantages to the implementations of a living wage which would create the virtuous circular effect, increasing domestic demand leading to higher tax revenue, growth and economic performance, which in turn would create employment and raise living standards. The employer response, while somewhat predicable, is pretty deplorable as set out in their submissions to the Low Pay Commission. I will summarise them as follows. They say there is no justification for an increase to the national minimum wage at this time, and this is despite the fact that several global companies who are recording large profits operate in the hospitality sector, and refuse to pay anything over the national minimum wage. They argue that the labour market remains weak, and any increase would prompt pay pressure across the economy and that national minimum wage is high by international standards. They believe that there is no cost of living imperative to raise the rate, and from their point of view the currency rate difference now is irrelevant, and they are completely dismissive of a living wage. This position strongly contrasts with the fact that according to the top world database, the top 1 per cent per cent of people in Ireland take more than 10 per cent per cent of all income, and while that’s lower than the UK and the US it is much higher than our neighbours across Europe. I think it’s also worth noting that the top 10 per cent per cent in Ireland receive 34 per cent per cent of all income today compared to 27 per cent in 1970s. On the matter of hours of work UK legislation currently provides for zero hours contracts, and in the South we have witnessed the widespread abuse of flexible hours contracts, in areas such as Education, Health, Hospitality, and Retail, where employers manipulate flexibilities and rosters, which means workers are left with no certainty of income or reliable hours of work patterns. Seamus Dooley was recently quoted in the Irish Times Survey, as saying atypical work has become

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typical. We need no better evidence than the Dunne’s Stores dispute, to demonstrate how low employers will stoop to drive their own profiteering agenda on the backs of workers, and we salute those Dunne’s Stores workers who were braver than we can imagine, some even losing their livelihood, some of those lost their livelihood as punishment for putting up a fight for fair treatment in their workplace. On the question of public procurement, several motions included in this section of the Conference agenda referred to the precarious and unstable forms of work currently applying in the construction sector. This movement has constantly campaigned to have effective procurement rules, which would ensure that public contracts were not used as a vehicle for a race to the bottom. Considerable work has been done on this over successive Public Service agreements, culminating in the very strong provisions set out in the Lansdowne Road proposals. However, the use of bogus self-employment methods in which seem to be supported by the Revenue Commissioners, need to be abolished immediately. In Northern Ireland one of the biggest challenges facing Public Sector workers as we heard in the debate yesterday, is the current proposition to down size the service by 20,000 people, and there is no indication that this will exclude compulsory redundancies, and have no doubt this proposition will have profound public procurement consequences and major implications for those workers. Delegates, we have spent a lot of time in this movement analysing the difficulties and the challenges that face workers, and while such analysis plays a useful role we can’t keep contemplating our position. We have to look beyond that picture and recognise that we in the trade union movement are the only group with the capacity to change the current order. That is why a short few months ago we decided to develop a Congress Charter for Fair Conditions at Work across our island, which outlines the topics I have referred to and also includes trade union representation and ethics at work. From the outset we have over recent weeks, targeted each Parliamentary member individually requesting them to sign up and support our campaign. Our team has held 125 face to face meetings with politicians North and South, and the results so far look like this. You can see therefore in the Republic of Ireland, Labour, Sinn Fein, Fianna Fail, and Fine Gael. And, if we go on we can see the technical group Renua, the Socialist Party, and Independents and others. And then if we look at the next slide we will see in Northern Ireland again three political parties and their views on it. And, then if we go on we will see all of the other political parties and their views. And what you immediately observe is, actually there is no fundamental difference within the left on the Congress principles for workers’ rights. And, how do we know that? We know it because we went out and we asked them to sign up to support our Charter and they did, all of them on the left. Congress has begun a national conversation on the fundamental rights of workers, it’s our intention to follow our Parliamentary engagements and arrange a similar process in Local Authorities, extend it to the NGOs, Faith groups, big business and their representatives. And the purpose of this work is that the trade union movement in Ireland is engaging all strands of our society in a debate on the necessities for decent work and fair employment conditions to deliver the consequent dilution of the forces of inequality. Delegates, our capacity to influence change in the current order, will, in my opinion, be greatly enhanced by the pending legislation currently progressing through the Oireachtas. And it is worth noting that we are the only country in Europe, and beyond who are embarking on this particular quest. The foresight and origin of this goes back, way back to 2001 and indeed when my own previous colleague, Jack O’Connor, was a President of Congress, with all the tenacity and energy he could muster, he manoeuvred this through various stages, included the Amendment of 2004 and the subsequently decimation by the Supreme Court in the Ryan Air case, and its forcible inclusion in the Programme for Government in 2009. And I know this because I shared most of that journey with him. Following the McGowan Judgement the restoration of the

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REAs and the introduction of the Sector Employment Orders position us to achieve decent rates of pay. Where we are substantially represented of a class, type or group of workers in a particular sector. That is something that has evaded us for many, many years, and now that we are on the cusp of this achievement it behoves every trade union representative to embrace the value of these mechanisms. Stop navel-gazing, stop inter-union squabbling, deliver the value of the trade union organisation to all workers suffering from the curse of inequality. Our job, colleagues, is to ensure that our legacy is not wasted but that we organise the unorganised, that is why we have to reshape our future faithful to the recommendations of the Trade Union Commission report, including the establishment of a Workers College, a Trade Union Centre in every town and the development of an effective centralised media platform. Our movement is built on the principle of solidarity; we are not one of fragmented insular interests. Teachers do care if restaurant workers are badly treated. Local authority and civil servant workers do care if retail workers are being exploited. Everyday healthcare workers and emergency personal go to work and care about people. The greatest friend inequality and those who perpetrate it have, is weak trade union organisation. They have tried hard to mediate a narrative of our weakness, but we know that we continue to be a powerful force across this island. Knowing that fact we should also recognise that we have the key to unlock the equality lever and the real people who run this country, North and South, the rich and the powerful they also know and that is why they work day and night by various means to obstruct our progress. What better example, delegates, could you have than the recent behaviour of the corporate thugs who call themselves directors in the Clerys episode? Those thugs connived in secret to preform company law gymnastics for the sole purpose of fleeing from their obligations to their workers who had given decades of loyal service. The American brothers ran back to the US with their pockets full of €19 million euro, and the new owners, fellow Irish citizens no less, await the largess from a property development in Dublin city centre which no doubt they will expect return in bucket loads to them. Meanwhile they abandoned their workers. They left them to salvage statutory redundancy payments through the insolvency fund which is funded by the taxpayers and suffered the indignity and disrespect that goes with that appalling behaviour. Minister Nash worked hard with us to engage this employer, and Congress requested and got a meeting with Minister Burton and that happened on Monday morning. What we asked him, actually demanded of him was, that he make the necessary amendments to the Employment Protection Act 1977, and provide that company directors who do not comply with the terms of that law should be disqualified from acting as directors for a considerable period. Delegates, we have an important job to do and although we have not achieved all that we need to, in terms of trade union representation, we have an increased legislative capacity to do it. My message to you is, let us go out to the building sites and organise together, let us build a strategy in sectors such as hospitality and finance, to maximise the value of our collective worker voice. Let all strands of this movement, regardless of profession, see it as a key role to convince unorganised workers, particularly young workers that the route to their economic progress lies in organised labour. Let us commit to assist in the innovation of Cork and soon to be launched Belfast organising projects, which will create a positive momentum in our organising strategy. Despite, delegates, the obstacles and challenges which the movement faces, we have a vision of a just and fair society which we inherited from our founders who fought so hard and made such sacrifices. Yesterday we remembered the greatest socialist the island ever had - James Connolly. He paid the ultimate price with his life compared to his our task is simple, so let’s go out and do it. Thanks very much.

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John Douglas, President Thank you Patricia. That certainly cleared the cobwebs away from last night I can tell you, fair play to you. I would like to call on the movers of motion 14 Low Pay/Inequality on behalf of the National Executive Council. I would like to call on Larry Broderick to propose that motion; there is an amendment to motion Larry and I presume that on behalf of the Executive Committee we will be accepting that, and the seconder then to that motion is Anne Speed on behalf of the National Executive Council, if Anne can just come up to the front please. Larry Broderick on behalf of Executive Council President, delegates, Larry Broderick, on behalf of the Executive Committee and accepting the amendment. It’s very difficult to follow our new General Secretary, Patricia King but in the context of this particular motion the essence of what this Conference is about today, is a clear message to government and employers that low pay and inequality is now outdated. Our responsibility as unions going forward, whether finance sector, the construction sector, and the public sector is a clear united message, and what this particular resolution tries to do, is set out an agenda to address the issues of low pay and inequality in our societies North and South. In the finance sector we talked yesterday about the thousands of jobs losses, about the increase in profitability and the abuse for staff and the abuse for costumers that is still going on. But it’s a low pay environment. Graduates now are expected to be in an employment in the financial services sectors, not with Honours Degrees, but Master’s Degrees, attempting to be introduced at very low pay. This particular avarice is now being seen right across our industry and the clear message from this particular Conference should be to unanimously endorse this recommendation, a clear message that inequality and low pay will not be tolerated anymore. I will ask you to support the resolution as amended, thank you colleagues. John Douglas, President Seconder for the motion please? Anne Speed, UNISON Anne Speed UNISON speaking in support of the motion on behalf of the Executive Council and I want to welcome and congratulate our colleagues in USDAW, for drawing attention to the particular experiences that women have in low pay. This motion actually lays out very clearly two essential ingredients for our challenge to low pay. It calls on us to deepen our discourse about the redistribution of wealth in Irish society, and it sets out a leading role for trade unions. It also talks about the responsibility of trade unions, as they only actor on the stage that can actually bring that redistribution of wealth to reality as an important organisation, and the need to strengthen our collective bargaining strategies, and organising strategies to deliver that. Some stats I just want to remind you of, in the republic of Ireland 1 in 5 workers are low paid. In the North as Patricia has said over 28 per cent earn less than £7.85. In the OECD about 16 per cent of jobs are low paid. These are startling statistics when we think about what is happening to our workers, and what is happening to our movement. Now some messages need to go out from this Conference, first of all to those who call themselves entrepreneurs, I want to say this there is no automatic or some people would say god given right, to set up a business that exists on poverty pay. That must be morally challenged and legally constrained. Secondly to employers, if the only way you

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can keep your business going is to rely on supplements from the public purse, working tax credits, or FIS family supplements, then we say you cannot and must not continue your business on the exploitation of working people. Thirdly what is no longer tolerable is the arrogance of retail empires, who think that they can continue to be retail empires paying workers poverty pay. Margaret Heffernan pay attention! And the unavailability of the Irish version of venture capitalism Ms Foley and her Natrium empire. It is not acceptable that would refuse to meet the elected leaders of the Irish people - make yourselves available today. This motion commits us to challenging the naked self-interest of these people and we will do so in alliance with all of those who share our values, who understand the need for social solidarity who embrace social justice support this motion. Thank you. John Douglas, President Just before I call for speakers to the motion, could I ask the Scrutineers Billy Halligan, Eamon Lawless, John Kelleher, Billy Sheehan, and Marian Geoghegan, to meet Liam Berney at the back of the hall now if you can please? And, also just to remind people there is still a lot of delegations who have not swapped their delegate cards for voting stubs, so after 11am it is to late and you have no vote, so you want to get moving. Okay any speakers on the motion? Amanda Thompson, USDAW Good morning President, good morning delegates, my name is Amanda Thompson from USDAW, I am moving the UADAW amendment on Low Pay and Inequality. USDAW fully supports the motion from the Executive Council. The motion identifies how government’s economic liberalisation agendas have led to greater inequality in society. USDAW’s amendment is assigned to build on the motion. We want to highlight how the economic crisis has impacted negatively on equality by pushing more and more women in to low pay, short hours and insecure work. We also want to emphasise the importance of the trade union movement reaching out and organising unorganised workers, who are at the sharp end of the austerity policies. Conference when I hear politicians telling us that the economy is on the mend, I wonder whether I am living in an alternative reality. I am no economist but I can see with my own eyes this so called recovery has not improved living standards, has not improved wages, and has not improved job security far from it. The number of jobs in the economy has grown, but they are overwhelmingly low paid, short hours and insecure. Women workers are not feeling the benefits of so-called economic recovery. Trying to make ends meet on low wages and on pay rises that have not kept pace in the cost of living, in Sectors ike retail were many members of my union USDAW work, the crisis in the economy is seeing more and more demands from employers for greater and greater flexibility. We have seen short hours, changing hours, anti-social hours, and we have seen the growth of zero hours contracts. Women workers have also had to juggle low paid insecure work, and caring for children and other family members, conference a third of all women workers are officially low paid. Progress on the gender pay gap has all but grounded to a halt. The real value of wages has fallen and low pay is bad for all of us. It hits members, effects families and is a drain on public finances. We all pay the price for the fact that so many employers fail to pay a decent wage, and fail to provide enough hours at the right time to meet worker’s needs. In Ireland both North and South we have one of the highest rates of low pay in a developed world, and the idea low paid jobs are a stepping stone to better paid work it is a myth. A recent report found that nearly three quarters of the low paid work force are still in those low paid jobs 10 years

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later. Many women workers have to take on more than one job to try and make ends meet, additional work that is also low paid and insecure. We want decent work, decent hours, and decent pay. Let’s not forget those women who for a wide range of reasons can’t work, women workers who need time out of the labour market to care for their families, and those women for reasons of disability, older age, or illness who cannot work. It is vital at a time of continued austerity and further shrinking of the welfare state, that the trade union movement reaches out to low paid unorganised workers, particularly unorganised women workers, who are paying a very high price for the problems in the economy and cuts in public service and austerity policies. We need urgently to sharpen our appeal on them. As a trade union movement, we need to develop campaigns that will reach out to unorganised workers, particularly women workers, workers who have suffered most under the austerity agenda. Conferences please support the amendment. John Douglas, President Thank you, any speakers to the motion as amended can you please come up, name and organisation and away you go. Ann Brown, UNISON Chair, Delegates, Ann Brown UNISON, supporting motion 14 on Low Pay/ Inequality and particularly supporting the position of women workers highlighted in the USDAW amendment. Throughout Ireland in work poverty and the gap between the rich and poor continues to grow, women at work and society are carrying the greatest burden and the worst impact. The growing gap is having a devastating impact on health, education, and quality of life and levels of child poverty. High costs of living and stagnate wages have hit those in the lowest wages the hardest. Poverty pay and high prices mean daily misery for workers and their families. The amendment from USDAW clearly demonstrates that it is low pay women workers who pay the heaviest price, been forced to make a choice between heating, eating, and struggling to afford the basic essentials is a breach of fundamental human rights. Targeting women workers in particular, for zero hour contracts and casualization is sex discrimination and a breach of equal pay. Meanwhile pay for those at the top is spiralling ever-upwards. The minimum wage is an important floor, but it is too low to address these issues and give workers a decent standard of living, this is why we are calling for a living wage. Human rights standards is about adequate income, which workers need in order to provide themselves and their families with the essentials of life. A living wage would boost incomes for low paid workers, who are more likely to spend their money in local shops and businesses and provide much needed fuel for struggling economies. We demand that government implement their legal and moral obligations on equality and human rights. Workers should not be expected to work for wages which condemn them and their families to a life of poverty. Our responsibility is to organise and bargain for decent work, decent contracts and against the scandal of low pay in both private and public sectors. The campaign for a living wage is one tool in the struggle. Please support the motion. John Douglas, President Any more speakers to the motion 14 as amended? Mark. Mark Walsh, ASTI Thanks very much Mark Walsh ASTI Executive. I obviously support the motion but I am just puzzled by a few things. We talked about challenging low pay, but over the past since 2009 or so, there has been a 20 per cent reduction in public sector pay with the cooperation of many of the unions voting

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for Croke Park 1, Haddington Road and now Lansdowne Road. So if you’re challenging low pay on the one hand, allegedly, and your voting in favour of a 20 per cent reduction in pay over the course of 5 or 6 years how does that add up, it’s totally contradictory? Even with Lansdowne Road and the paltry restoration that’s in Lansdowne Road, by 2018 people will still be way below what they were in 2008, 10 years on. I don’t see how that is challenging low pay, I don’t see how that’s supposed to lead to Wage Led Growth. 10 years later you’re still way down below what you were in 2008. Secondly Patricia talks about neo–liberalism, I mentioned this yesterday. It’s ok to talk about neo–liberalism, and then you go and vote for Lansdowne Road, which refers to the Public Sector Reform Plan which is all about neo–liberalising, and liberalising the public service and that’s going to lead to more out sourcing, something that we people here are allegedly supposed to against. You know you have to have some coherence between the theory and the reality, as I said yesterday, you can’t keep coming up here with all the theory and rhetoric against these kind of things and implementing on the ground, that’s just totally incoherent and it’s not going to work. Logically it’s not going to work. And the last thing I will say is, we talk about casualization and Dunne’s Stores has been mentioned, I was out on the Dunne’s Stores march, and we hear Gerard Nash saying that collective Bargaining has been achieved that Labour has delivered in government. Well the American Chamber of Commerce seems to have a different view. They say that voluntarist model in Ireland remains in place, in other words no compulsion on employers to recognise unions. How are we supposed to achieve greater pay, greater wage led growth, if we can’t force employers to recognise and deal with unions? I mean I am just astounded that people can come up here and constantly put this rhetoric out, and not think logically and seriously about these things and doing so they really let down workers at the end of the day. Everybody can cheer and people can celebrate slap each other on the back, but if you’re not coherent and if you’re not taking the actions that will lead to the change then it’s not going to work, and you’re going to have all this rhetoric but no delivery and that’s letting workers down and I don’t think that should happen. Thanks very much. John Douglas, President Congress, Any more speakers motion 14? Gerard Craughwell, TUI Good morning President thank you, good morning colleagues Gerard Craughwell Teachers Union of Ireland speaking in support of the motion. Colleagues over the last couple of weeks, we have heard so much about low pay and particularly about lone parents and low pay. I believe that there is an opportunity for us with this motion, to send a message out to a heartless and uncaring government. I have emails last week when I spoke on the issue of lone parents and low pay, and I was told I was supporting the Gymslip mums who wanted to live on welfare for the rest of their lives. The people that are most affected by the lone parent changes, are the working women the women who cannot get 19 hours, and the President of ICTU himself has put his own reputation on the line against the like of Dunne’s Stores. Tell me what lone parent who has 12 hours a week or 13 hours a week work inside in Dunne’s stores, can go in a say can you please increase my hours to 19 hours they can’t do that. So while I am supporting this motion, I want us because we have an opportunity here today to send a message out to the government, what you are doing to lone parents is totally and utterly unacceptable to the Teachers’ Union of Ireland. Thank you.

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John Douglas, President I have one more speaker indicating and then I will put the amended motion to the floor, your name and organisation. Freda Hughes, INMO Hi my name is Freda Hughes I am here with the INMO, but I am also speaking as a one parent family or single parents. Our government has proposed cuts to incentivize single parents to take on more paid work. How these proposals could be seen as an incentive is beyond me. At present half to two thirds of those living in emergency accommodation are one parent families. 69 per cent of one parent families currently experience social and economic deprivation. There are now fewer working lone parents than there were in 2012, when these measures were originally prescribed to address Ireland’s economics woes. Given that our government has begun to tentatively talk about economic recovery, why is it they feel we need to pursue cuts that are going to further compound the pressure and the threats of homelessness faced by us in one parent families? How is this seen as an incentive, especially when we look at the limits put on rent supplement in the last few years and the pressure that this has compounded? This is also possibly the most gendered cut that our government has yet proposed, given that the majority of one parent families are female led. This is also a cut that blatantly hurts, not incentives, the most vulnerable in society. Cuts are not the solution. Given that many lone parents work part-time and are employed in labour activation schemes, we need to radically overhaul how these schemes are operated. These must no longer be seen as subsistence but as real jobs decent living wage and full employment rights. I come from Joan Burton’s constituency, I come from Dublin 15 which is in the Fingal County Council area, it’s got a population of 100,000 people. One quarter of those people are under the age of25. A further 25 per cent are from ethnic minority back rounds, be they from migrant communities or travellers. It’s an area which has huge social and economic deprivation but also an area of huge affluence right next door. Eleven years ago is the last time I was here in Ennis. I was pregnant at the time, I was working as a teacher I assumed I would probably get married I would continue my career but life changes. Three years later my relationship ended, my teaching contract had ended and I was in a situation where how am I going to pay my €1,000+ rent per month on my own? I was offered a Post Hraduate and I took out a loan for it and my €1,000 a month rent. Before the Masters ended I realised I needed part-time work because there was no way I was able to survive on one parent family. I took a job in a Pobal scheme which is a scheme funded by the Department of Social Protection. It was a twenty hours a week job. I was a teacher I taught at secondary level and I have also taught at third level teaching social justice and media studies. As part of this job I was surprised I was asked to teach, produce radio documentaries and also to apply for huge and complexed funding for the organisation, and all for €8.65 per hour. I did it, because I had to do it. I applied for jobs constantly, but increasing rents and inaccessible childcare, coupled with loan repayments meant that life was a constant life balancing act. Then of course the rent supplement came in. I had to move from my house that I had lived in with my daughter for seven years, and I moved into a house that had been vacant for 5 years and was in a state of disrepair because it was the only way I could meet the €800 rent cap, it’s now gone up to €850 but that’s not a realistic rent amount for anybody living in Dublin who needs a two bedroomed house.

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I suppose then things got a little bit worse, I discovered I had a five pound tumour in my ovaries and Pobal funded jobs don’t pay sick leave, so I didn’t get any sick leave. I was expected back in work ten days after major surgery. I was cut, I am pretty small, I was cut from here to here right across. I was back in work ten days later. I could not walk. I had to get a lift to work, but anyway. And this was because my employer said that if I didn’t come back my job would have to be advertised because the Pobal funding would be cut. I wasn’t even earning enough to join a union at the time. Now I was very lucky, but before I get lucky I also found out I have been diagnosed with a chronic illness. I suffered in silence for 18 months because I couldn’t afford consultant fees on the wage I was on. My luck came in a while back, I was offered three jobs in one week. I took a job with the INMO which is great, great pay, great conditions and all the rest, but if I was still in my Pobal job and I am coming to an end here, my one parent family payment would have been cut last week leaving me to survive and rear my eleven year old daughter on €169 a week with €225 a month towards my rent, that’s not possible just not possible. But I am one of the lucky ones I have family support I have three Post Graduates. How would this work if I had a language barrier issue, if I had poor education record, if I had no family support if I literacy or mental health issues? This situation would give you mental health issues and health and stress related issues already. Our government has not undertaken any impact assessment or policy review to ensure protection of the most vulnerable in our society. There is no evidence to support the implementation of these cuts and thus these cuts should be scrapped. These cuts will not incentivise people to get more paid work. They will drive people further into poverty. Joan Burton has said people will be offered education and training resources instead of payment, but where is the childcare that was promised in 2012? When will we see more social housing? When will we see a rental cap brought in? If you want to genuinely incentivise one parent families to get back into work, we need to put in place these things that have been promised and we must pay those on labour activation schemes a decent living wage. I urge you to support this motion thank you. John Douglas, President Okay Conference I am going to put motion 14 as amended to the floor. All in favour? All against? Motion 14 as amended is carried. Now moving the Motion 15 - Zero Hour Contracts, Low Hour Contracts and Underemployment. It’s composite Motion in the name of MANDATE, USDAW, GSU, and GMB. I would like to call on the mover of the motion. Gerry Light, MANDATE Gerry Light Mandate trade union, moving composite Motion 15 on Zero Hour, Low Hour contracts, and Underemployment. I think that quite appropriately delegates we are after hearing the most comprehensive debate in the Conference thus far, and after the many very fine contributions it leaves you very little to say., but here goes. President, delegates as we slowly emerge from many years of economic recession much emphasis has recently been placed on the importance of work, in building sustainable economic and social prosperity into the future. The mantra of work must pay, which is commonly recited however we must ensure that we go beyond the rhetoric and insist that this aspiration becomes a reality, for the many thousands of current and indeed prospected workers who are not only entitled to it but also

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deserve it. There now exists the moral imperative on the state on employers alike, to create a fundamental shift in how we view the world of work, and ensure that ‘the jobs at any cost’ approach is not blindly pursed to the point of being counterproductive. Based on previous experiences, if left to their own devices far too many employers will ignore this call for a fairer and more decent workplace. You only have to listen to some of the utterances in recent times to fully realise the extent of the challenges which face workers particularly those who are caught in the exploitative low paid precarious employment. Little hope is offered to them by IBEC for example who strongly reject the concept of a living wage, along with strenuously arguing against any increase in the statutory minimum wage. The ISME approach seems to suggest that the state should step up its commitment to social transfers, in order to offset potential poverty traps associated with precarious low paid work. Of course the clear intent behind this suggestion is to primarily shift the principle responsibility from employers to pay a fair and decent wage. Frequently we here the call for wage restraint, based on a premise that to do otherwise might cause damage to our fragile economic recovery. Surely a more courageous and creative attitude must be demanded from employers? They cannot be allowed to continuously oppose the introduction and strengthening of statutory measures designed to protect vulnerable workers, whilst at the same time refuse to deal with unions who seek to represent the very same workers. Make no mistake about it the champions of the failed capitalist order have not gone away, as we have heard in numerous speeches, they have remerged in vulture-like, fashion hovering to swoop in a reckless fashion on any distressed loans they can find, resulting in devastation for many ordinary working families trying to keep a roof over their head, and indeed the Clery’s workers who were clearly deprived of their livelihoods in the pursuit of naked greed and profit. There is something particularly sick and inhumane about a system which allows those who initially caused such destructive social and economic mayhem, to be first in line to yet again profit from the sacrifices and humiliations of others. In the face of this determined resistance by large groups of employers, the state for its part must step up and set out a clear vision about the future of work, through creating appropriate legislative supports that promote recognition and the respect for the rights and illegitimate demands not only for low paid workers but indeed all workers. If nothing else one thing the years of austerity have shown us, is that any creditable fight back on behalf of workers which relies on individual disparate actions will not succeed in the face of vested powerful interest that largely control the means of communication, commerce and politics. As always the simple manifestation of the true power and potential of a collective approach starts first with union members in the workplace. Over recent years we in MANDATE have prioritised and driven the decent work agenda, ignoring the predictions of many who advocated a more cautious approach. Some even has the audacity of accusing us of being unpatriotic, selfish and reckless. Imagine the irony of that, when you consider that many of our accusers were the disciples of the failed extreme right wing economic model that landed us in the mess in the first place. Our motion calls for Congress to highlight the campaign, on the issues of zero hour, low hour contracts and underemployment. The call for action has already been heeded as we have seen in recent months, a clear willingness from the movement across the island in both the public and private sectors they have shown that willingness to get on board. Along with creditable issues at their core, successful campaigns also need brave and inspirational leaders to drive them forward. It clearly works best if such leaders come from the rank and file membership. One such campaign is the decency for Dunne’s workers campaign, and I want to use the opportunity again to thank you all for the support and encouragement given to the brave and

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courageous efforts of the 6,000 Mandate and SIPTU members, some of whom are present here today, and for no other reason than because they deserve it delegates, again I would ask you to show your appreciation for their efforts. However we must ensure that their efforts and indeed sacrifices were not in vain. The Dunne’s campaign must be used as a catalyst. Remember delegates, the Dunne’s fight for secure hours permanent contracts and full representation rights is your fight, it’s our fight. Let us together meet the challenges ahead with renewed determination and resolve, to create a more progressive society which prioritises fair and decent workplaces that in turn provide a better future for all workers and their dependents. I formally move Motion 15 thank you. John Douglas, President Thank you. Speakers on the motion? Michela Lafferty, USDAW President, delegates in recent years we have seen huge growth in the use of zero hours and low hour contracts. The Irish trade union movement is aware that underemployment is a massive issue for workers across both jurisdictions, and shamefully Ireland has one of the highest levels of underemployment across Europe and urgent action is needed to tackle the wide spread abuse of zero hours short hour contracts. Families in Ireland are being stretched to breaking point, with the rising costs of living and not knowing how much money is coming in week to week is incredibly stressful. With no guarantee of any work from one day to the next, zero and low hour contracts create a permanent level of uncertainty leaving many workers struggling week to week. Workers need certainty over hours and and income, in order to be able to provide a decent standard of living for themselves and their families. Every day in this movement and in our representations of members, we here businesses argue that these contracts give both employers and workers flexibility, but in reality they only serve to benefit the employer, and this so called flexibility is of little comfort to those workers who can’t get a mortgage or pay their rent. Fluctuating incomes play havoc with peoples benefit claims denying them much need income when the hours dry up. Unscrupulous employers have taken advantage of the fragile economic climate pressurising the employees to sign up to insecure and unfair contracts. Conference these forms of precarious employment do not offer the opportunity for workers to earn a living wage, and this is why we have a growing problem of in work poverty. With many workers in Ireland unable to get enough hours to lift themselves and their families out of poverty, working families are increasingly turning to food banks to make ends. The headline employment rate may have improved in recent months, but underemployment remains much higher than before the recession. We need to make sure people who want more work have access to the hours they need. Politicians must address the labour market failures which have resulted in poor quality and low hour jobs, and actually we need to challenge the perception that zero hours short hour contracts are good for business. It is clear employers are storing up problems for the future, because in the long run underemployment is bad for the economy, holding back the recovery and dragging down consumer spending. Conference make no mistake the rise of zero hours and short hour contracts is the latest attack on workers’ rights. These insecure contracts were once relatively rarer but now there common place across the Irish labour market. These contracts offer insecure work and exploit vulnerable workers. The labour movement needs to tackle this injustice. We are already putting pressure on employers to ensure decent minimum hours for our members, but more needs to be done to tackle this systematic abuse. Employers should face a legal requirement to provide employees with contracts

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that reflect the hours they normally work. USDAW along with the Northern Ireland Committee of the ICTU and other unions, have been lobbing the Northern Ireland Executive over zero hour contracts. The employment Minister on the Executive is due to table legislation covering what, if anything , they intend to do to tackle zero hour contracts. Conference whatever the outcome whatever the legislation proposed, the trade union movement campaign over zero hours and short hours contracts will continue, we want to see underemployment seriously tackled. We want to see the misuse and exploited use of zero hour contracts banned, we want to see workers on short hour contracts get the hours that they need; we want to see more rights for workers on these insecure contracts. Conferences please support the concept. Sean Mackell, GSU Colleagues Sean Mackell, the Guinness Staff Union, to jointly move the motion opposing zero hour’s contracts. Now the GSU is one of the smallest unions in Congress, we represent better paid staff in a wealthy company, but despite that our members a very conscious of low paid union members elsewere. We don’t have any staff on zero hours or restricted contracts, but our membership feel so strongly about the abuse of this kind of contract that we decided to put this motion before Congress. It’s without doubt, one of the most important issues that Congress will have to deal with this year and next. The previous motion talked about low pay, this motion is about no pay. We don’t believe there is any middle ground on this one, the abuse of staff who are hired on zero hours contracts is outrageous and has to be opposed. Of course there are many employers, surprise, surprise, who have jumped the support of their fellow colleagues, because they argue that they need flexibility to cut working hours and punish loyal staff who wanted to care for their families, by being paid a steady wage week in week out. For example the Minister for employment in Northern Ireland, Minister Farry recently told the BBC that he would not ban zero hour contracts in the North because employers needed the flexibility. The flexibility to destroy the lively hood of a loyal worker, by deciding that they only work fifteen hours this week and a different number of hours next week, and if they don’t like it they get rid of them because they are not being flexible enough. That’s shameful and has to be opposed by this movement of ours. Over the past ten years or so we have analysed neoliberalism to the nth degree. Personally I think a lot of the analysis was a waste of time. You don’t need to analyse why the other party continues to abuse you, you need to take action to make it stop and now is the time to mobilise this movement to do so. We have a new General Secretary, Patricia and I wish her well, there were times when I thought we would never have a woman leading us. I am sure there is a generation of men and women no longer with us who would be delighted that the glass ceiling has been shattered and about time too. Some people in our movement argue that we should look to the politicians to do the job that we are here today, but I would disagree it’s up to us to make change happen. For example it’s not that long ago that the Conditions of Employment Act in the Republic of Ireland, allowed the Minister for Industry to prohibit the employment of women in industry, and sadly some unions at the times supported that position as did the Labour Party in the Dáil and in Senate. Shame on them and shame on the Labour Party for what they are doing today. Praise to the Women Workers’ Union that made the charge against the legislation, and praise for Congress for taking up the challenge to oppose that rotten piece of legislation, and confine it the dustbin of history. That was then and this is now. The issue for thousands of workers is the right to a living wage and the right to security of employment. Start the fight back now and vote to support this motion. Thank you very much.

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David Kearney, GMB Good morning President, good morning delegates, David Kearney is my name of the GMB, and my name might be familiar to you, because it’s on the ballot paper for the Executive Council. Sorry about that President. On behalf of the GMB, I would like to thank you John very much for your kind invitation in June, to the delegates of the GMB Congress that came here for the first time since 1891. So we held our Congress in Dublin in June, and we had the privilege of attending the rally that John and MANDATE organised which was fantastic, and I thank you again. Congratulations John to you and the union for bringing this whole issue of zero hour contracts to the fore of our minds, and indeed to the nations minds and again it’s to be congratulated and thank you very much. Again Patricia on behalf of the GMB, we want to extend very warm congratulations to you and your appointment, and wish you well in your job a very challenging time for you to take over. The young workers network conducted a survey quite recently, on this whole issue zero hour contracts, they found eighty nine per cent of all people under thirty five years of age were under extreme pressure and finding it very difficult to make ends meet. Twenty one percent of the same group surveyed believe that their jobs could end at any time, and a further twenty percent of those surveyed were given less than one days’ notice of their hours of employment. There is nothing like something personal to focus pm and we have heard some excellent contributions in this whole area, and a couple of my friends and colleagues in the audience have been asking me why I have been going around with a big happy smiley head on me for the last two days, well I have just become a father after fourteen years of an eight week old girl. Her name is Scarlet and I have to say I want a better Ireland for her, I want a better Ireland for all our children and all our grandchildren. The time for talk is over. The time for action is now, the GMB have been campaigning for this on zero hours issues for quite some time now on the mainland UK, and we have a shared experience of our members both North and South on this island, and we look forward to our commitment and our involvement in this campaign to eradicate the surge, this new surge of the working class and I very much commend and support this motion. Thank you very much President. John Douglas, President I will just ask delegates please to be mindful of the time, or otherwise we are going to have to cut the time for speakers generally. It’s Standing Orders who have to do that, so just be mindful of the time. Joan Gaffney, President Mandate President of Mandate Trade Union. Mandate notes with alarm the growth of zero hour contracts within the Irish economy North and South. Zero hour contracts represent a precarious existence, the zero hour contract worker sitting at his home anxiously waiting for the phone to ring or more likely an incoming text message, has no more guarantees or safeguards than the casual worker of yester-year, who stood outside his place of employment hoping often in vain for a beacon that signalled a casual days work, often on breadline wages. The present equivalent may not have to brave the elements to await the call, but in reality their situation is little different now. We in MANDATE condemn the growth of low hour contracts, zero hour contract and other forms of precarious employment, which demands the maximum flexibility from a worker but only offers them minimum commitment from the employers. Mandate condemns the abuse of workers forced to accept low hours, flexible contacts of less than sixteen hours per week, and we have witnessed in retail the widespread use of fifteen hour contracts, flexible contracts and they are used by management to control and punish the workforce as recently as in Dunne’s Stores, where the use of

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those contracts to punish their employees that went on strike, and I have to say shame on Dunne’s for doing that. Those contracts control all aspects of life for the employee when they are expecting that call, other activities are not possible and to say nothing of the effect of self-esteem and self-confidence on the worker. Those forms of precarious employment do not offer the opportunity for employees to earn a living wage, and instead shift the burden of providing a living wage on to the state in a form of welfare payments. Thus Conference calls on the incoming Executive Council to launch a campaign for decent contracts, decent work and respect in the workplace. The campaign should inform public opinion of the true nature of those precarious contracts and mobilise all unions for the fight for decent work and a living wage. We must demand that the Northern Ireland Executive and the Irish government take action to tackle the widespread misuse of low hour contracts and zero hour contracts. We need to lobby for legislation that will ban the use of zero hour contracts were the employees are in practice working regular hours. Mandate believes that if we tackle low pay then as well as any exploitation of zero hour contracts and promoting living wage, we need to make sure that the workers have enough contracted hours to provide a decent living without having to depend on unguaranteed hours. ICTU must campaign and highlight the issue of short term contracts, and the general problem of unemployment alongside continuing to publicise and condemn the misuse of zero hour contracts. I hope you pass the motion, thank you. Derek Mullen, CPSU Thank you President, delegates, Derek Mullen CPSU, supporting motion No 15 on the agenda today. Zero hour contracts delegates are one of the great industrial battles of our time, and the struggle of Dunne’s Stores workers and others on precarious terms is a struggle indeed for the rights of all workers both private and public. This is why it is so important that I express our solidarity and support from CPSU, and public services workers to MANDATE and all other unions who were involved in this struggle it is one of the big struggles of our movement. Delegates one of the great lies of the economic crisis was the so called split between the public service workers and private sectors workers. The woes of workers in the private sector could be blamed on a bloated public sector, according to the propaganda of the right wing media and commentariat generally. It’s not so delegates. Shamefully there is no shortage of such commentary. What about the IBEC official I heard the other day who declared the goodness of zero hour contracts, for their flexibility and for their contribution to work life balance. Such rot, never mind that such workers live with such uncertainty. Delegates workers are entitled to the dignity of certainty at work, they are entitled to good terms and conditions of employment, they are entitled to a good living wage that pays the bills puts food on the table and does more. Therefore the Dunne’s battle is our battle as I said at the outset, one of the great battles of our time for our great trade union movement, I am proud to stand shoulder to shoulder and support the struggle for decency at work. Solidarity delegates from public sector workers to the private sector, lets stand together thank you support the motion. Suzanna Griffin, SIPTU Mr President, officers, delegates and friends, Suzanna Griffin from SIPTU speaking in favour of motion 15. Mr President in your opening address to Conference yesterday, you spoke most factually about how a decent job and a decent wage is a basic human right, how abuse and exploitation are rife in the working class and how austerity has been paralysed in our most vulnerable our children our poor our sick and our elderly. Evidence shows us that the most atrocious and destructive

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phenomenon of austerity is the zero hours contract. The horror story the reality of the detrimental casualization of work gleefully used by unscrupulous employers as a tool to control good workers. On one hand you have the glory of having a job, feeling valued, having some worth and making a contribution, and on the other hand you have no guarantee of how many hours you are going to work and you face a constant horrendous budgeting battle. Have made enough to cover the bills this week? Have you made enough to pay the rent pay the mortgage? Can I do a grocery shop? The light at the end of the tunnel is us colleagues, when workers organise unionise and collectively bargain we can achieve collective agreements that bring us some security. In my own union SIPTU we have successfully led a campaign which organised and supported Home Helps and Carers for example, and in Mandate you continue to secure bonded contracts for those in retail. To all of those who are in opposition to these draconian measures, I commend you in your endeavours and know we in SIPTU stand in solidarity with you. I personally am of the belief that you make things as simple as possible and you bring things right back to basics, so for me poverty pay is not ok. Colleagues please support this motion. Jimmy Kelly, UNITE Good morning Conference, Jimmy Kelly UNITE speaking in favour of motion 15 and speaking in support of the unions that have spoken earlier, and the campaigns that we have talked about in terms of defeating bosses on what’s contained in motion 15. Also adding our congratulations to Patricia taken up the task of leading our Congress for the next number of years and off to an rousing start this morning with Patricia’s speech. So the best of luck Patricia in your task. Also to say, and I have said to John a number of times, my own sister working in Dunne’s describes exactly what the other speakers have said. It’s used to keep you in your place, you are getting used to the full hours for a number of weeks, or for however long and then it’s bang, you are not permanent and you are only having fifteen hours next week. All the same bills all the same commitments all the same things that need to be done in terms of the family budget, but you only have fifteen hours wages. So it is used to undermine the union organisation that John and his union are driving in the fantastic campaign in Dunne’s, supported by all the unions across Congress. You know you take away the numbers who are underemployed and in insecure employment, and its way beyond the data that’s put forward to describe what’s happening in terms of unemployment and precarious work. And of course it’s not only at certain level that this happens, I have met our own members in Limerick University and the said ‘Jimmy by the way don’t be thinking that because we have certain degrees and we are in certain jobs in the university that we are excluded from precarious work’, they are absolutely stuck with the sort of low hour contracts. Right across Northern Ireland workers are under the same pressures with low hour contracts, but it’s through the campaigns that have been described by the previous speakers, it’s through the campaigns that all the unions are leading that’s going to result in change. When we had a strike against Rattigan Builders in Dublin, paid public money for a public contract on a school and would not pay decent proper wages to the workers on that construction site. It was a strike and kept continually on strike fighting those Rattigan the rats that where treating people badly that we got some kind of justice. We have got to force change that will not give public contracts to people to absolutely trample on workers’ rights and that’s what’s happening across this country, and it is true what other unions have said driving union member density, we have got to drive ourselves into a strength that we can look any employer in the eye we have as near a hundred per cent density as a is humanly possible, and when we threaten that we are determined to deliver the objectives of a campaign that we can

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deliver that and not faced with low density and having to compromise. So delegates support motion 15 thank you. John Douglas, President I just want to call on the final speaker before I put Motion 15 to the floor. Muireann Dalton, MANDATE My name is Muireann Dalton, I work for Dunne’s stores. I would firstly like to thank each and every one of you for the support you have shown the Decency for Dunne’s campaign. When this campaign started not many of us knew how much our union could do for us or the union movement, and we did not realise what we could do for ourselves. Mandate trade union came in they showed us how to defend ourselves, they told us what our rights were, whether Dunne’s recognised the union or not. They showed us how to stand up for ourselves, they gave us the courage to stand together, to get what we were entitled to - a decent wage a living wage so we organised we educated ourselves and we stood. But I want people to understand, the courage that this took from the Dunne’s workers and the courage any zero hour, low hour contract person will need to stand up. I have heard managers blackmail staff, I have heard managers say you were out sick last week so what do you want hours for, what are you complaining for? I have heard our manager saying if I give you more hours you work slower. When some of my colleagues were let go after the strike, I heard a manager say to staff you should be on your knees grateful that it was not more of you, and my blood began to boil, and then I remembered in my ear a saying a phrase from Jim Larkin rise up and be strong and I thought to myself we will rise up we will win this campaign. Because we are people who just want to work, we just want to earn a wage a decent wage a living wage, nobody in this country should be going out to work and coming home with less than social welfare payment. When we talk about a living wage, we are not talking about people wanting to have fancy holidays and cars; we are talking about putting food on the table, we are talking about your children’s education, we are talking about the normal everyday things. The abusive power by management does not only have a financial effect but an emotional effect on the staff. They undermine the staff, degrade the staff knocking self-confidence. I asked a manager one day ‘why do you speak to him like that?’ and he said to me ‘because I can’. I saw at first hand the victimisation of staff. I never thought Dunne’s would stoop so low. I never thought there was no law to protect us, because they work within a fraction of the law. It may be legal what they can do, but morally it is definitely wrong. I ask you to ask the politicians or if there are any politicians here today to change the law, that I never have to watch a colleague who’s worked a eleven months, passed their probation period, were told that they were good workers, walk out the door crying because there is a downturn in business and there is obviously no downturn in business in Dunne’s Stores. It just fathoms me as well how they could close the store in Gorey, because a judge told Margaret Heffernan to close the side entrance in a shopping mall, how she can go in there and close that store and let a hundred workers go home for five nights, without informing them their jobs were safe, without letting them know that they had a wage. If I don’t pay my bills I am brought to court, why she was not held in contempt to court for that action? That action was a smart action, there should be a fine, there should be something, she should have to suffer for making those hundred people go home and suffer. It was the same with the Clery’s workers, there should be something done they can’t get away with this. So finally I would like to say, I would like to thank Mandate for giving us the tools, the courage, the support every union has given us through this campaign and that you support us all the way to the

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end of this campaign, because we will win it, and you have proven to us as workers that we are not alone and that solidarity does work and the union movement does work. Thank you very much. John Douglas, President Thank you delegates. Just before we move on to Motion 16, I would like to recognise and offer fraternal greetings to Whitney Shahbaz the Executive member of the Columbian trade union Congress; you are very welcome to Ireland. There is a fringe meeting which Whitney will be speaking at 1 o’clock on the first floor in the Rainbow Room, lunch will be provided, and to listen to the plight the trade union movement and trade unions in Columbia. Moving on to Motion - 16, apologies Motion 15 to the floor ‘Zero hour Contracts Low Hour Contracts and Underemployment’ in the names of MANDATE, USDAW, GSU, and GBM. All in favour? All against? Motion 15 carried. Motion 16. Eoin Ronayne, CPSU I suppose before I start if there is any reason we are here in this hall, that last speaker says it all. That’s the only reason we are here. Let’s do the work that needs to be done, and I salute the Dunne’s workers. Colleagues our motion Motion 16 continues with the theme of BDC Wage Led Growth, but critically it asked Conference to mandate the incoming Executive to take a leadership role, in bringing about political realignment which is essential if we are to achieve our goals. Workers across this island as we have heard battered and bruised from carrying the burden, loaded in their shoulders by the political and business classes who have dominated society on both parts of this island since 1922. Never has a Labour movement been in a position to take leadership and to deliver on our proud aspirations and promises for the working people, but colleagues as the President said yesterday, working people are getting the new political narrative, and we must be ready to lead and influence that change, not by rhetoric at Conference’s like this alone, but by real and innovative action. And the workers are showing us the way, let us again salute the Dunne’s worker’s their Decency at Work Campaign has caught the mood of this country and its people, a people tired of being used and abused by the political and business elite. An elite who imposed austerity agenda devised to ensure that they evaded responsibility, and that they preserved themselves in poll position to crawl out of the economic wreckage unscathed. They have not gone away you know, and they are working tirelessly to build anew everyday where capital continues to dominate labour, neoliberalism in new clothes. It is critical that we take confidence from the actions and determination of the workers in Dunne’s, in Rattigan’s and the Paris bakery, in Clery’s, Dublin and Bus Eireann, and of course Greyhound. These are the actions of a people ready to rise from their knees, ready to unite ready to break out of the satchels clamped on ordinary working people since our states were formed. Let us continue as leaders to support and resource direct action whether public or private, central to these actions and indeed to the marriage equality victory - and what a victory that was - was the use of new forms of communication. Social media has proved to be an invaluable and inexpensive resource in organising and responding to events, central too in the year of an election is determined and persistent lobbing of politicians and would-be politicians sympathetic to our cause. And here I welcome as the General Secretary outlined this morning, efforts already made by Congress in this regard and you also take from my union a chance to pay tribute to our new woman General Secretary, breaking the glass ceiling, many years ago, maybe to many years ago, I sat beside Patricia out in RTE negotiating for the first time beside her and I realised at that point that it would be a very brave employer that would

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face that steely gaze, and I salute our new General Secretary. We must harness the potential for real political change, we must bring all our members and the workers outside of our movement together in common purpose to secure a pay raise for all. Let us pledge at this BDC to campaign together, demanding pay rises for workers across the island. The workers are ready and willing, let us do our job, let us lead the movement forward to challenge and to overturn the prevailing political reality. A practical and a straight forward action for Congress is to be an enabler, for a new political departure a new realignment to break with the past. We recognised that some affiliates are cautious about appearing to take political sides. We in the CPSU have no mandate to recommend or to reject any political party, but we do have a mandate to protect our members’ paying conditions. There is nothing stopping our union identifying what political organisations and politicians support and work for the interest of our members, and we will do that in advance of the next general election. Take the Lansdowne Road Agreement, and I must say on this point that whatever you say about the amount of money on the table, I am going to come to that, the reality is that the Lansdowne Road Agreement for the first time has delivered a national agreement, a flat rate pay mechanism which union our union and this movement has sought for many years and that is an achievement, a flat rate mechanism puts lower paid workers first. But I also accept the criticism that there is not much money on the table in that agreement, and the reality is the money was decided upon by the government of the day, and it is the government of the day that decided the envelope. This Fine Gael administration made a political decision in the Spring Statement, it said it would have €1.5 billion to distribute and it would be done on 50:50 basis between tax changes and public services. We, along with other trade unions believe at least a minimum of 2:1 in favour of public services, because after all public services took the hit when we were delivering the period of austerity. Colleagues, it surely follows, that any new alignment of politics will deliver a government that will recognise the need to invest in public services and to support a pay rise for all. As part to the right to water group we and other unions involved have devised policies which are in the interest of ordinary workers and their families. Congress can and must take up the leadership role, in leading forward our movement in advance of a general election, working with our affiliates to bring about a new political alignment on that election. Let our vision be a clarion call for workers and communities to vote for a better and fairer Ireland, by voting only for those who undertake to deliver on our policies. Let us rise to the challenge of the general election, let us work to put in place a government that stands by the worker. If the Greeks can do it, so can we. John Douglas, President Have we a seconder for the Motion? Tony Conlon, President CPSU Tony Conlon, President of CPSU, second the motion. My union is mainly a public services union representing the low to middle earners. Our members like all public sector workers have had to cope with the savage cuts and paying conditions, imposed by two different governments, led by parties of the right. We are very conscious of the impact of austerity on our colleagues in the private sector where jobs where slashed and conditions attacked, where zero and minimum contracts have been used to cut pay and threaten the rights of workers to be represented by their union. The CPSU has been proud to join the pickets and support the Dunne’s stores workers, the Clery’s workers, Greyhound, Bus Eireann and all other disputes. We know our struggle is the same struggle. We know only the employers win when public and private sectors fail to stand with each other.

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We call on the Irish Congress of Trade Union to lead our members forward, we urge Irish Congress of Trade Unions to harness the very clear mood among ordinary people for change. People have had their fill of austerity, but we must give them direction or risk the very politicians and business leaders who impose austerity leading them into more same austerity. We call on the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to coordinate the campaign to identity in advance of the general election, political parties and politicians who will support our policies which put the rights of ordinary people first. A political realignment will raise for the first in our history, a government which has the potential to finally live up to the principles enshrined in the 1916 proclamation. Colleagues please support Motion 16. John Douglas, President Just before I open the Motion for debate from the speakers, a notice for principle delegates, in the De Valera room ballot papers are there for collection from 11am onwards. So the De Valera room if you want to collect your ballot papers Principle Delegates. So speakers to the Motion? Terry Kelleher, CPSU This Motion is asking the trade union movement to go on the offensive. It’s basic slogan is ‘where is our recovery?’. This government, the Fine Gael/Labour government cannot have it both ways, propaganda in every newspaper on a daily basis of a recovery, yet it continual austerity agenda, cuts on the most vulnerable and workers’ rights in the work place. It offers practical ideas to be taken up to go beyond the general and talk about the pacific. It talks about addressing social media and our propaganda, the lack of confidence that is there that we do experience, about ‘can we take on the Dunne’s’ ‘can we take on the Clery’s management’, ‘can we take on the government?’ and that is one thing we need to do through the campaign. We need to have direction. For example should our movement pick a battle in the terms of the Dunne’s stores dispute and focus our energy and resources behind MANDATE, to take them on and send a lesson to other worker’s in similar situations? That is the discussion we need to have in our movement. This is one of the few motions on the table that mentions the word ‘strike’. It is something that seems to have gone out of favour, but is something that has been the most effective weapon in our history and something that we need to return too. We can’t win everything but we certainly have the resources as we talk about we are biggest civil organisation, would not really know it by our attitude on certain things. The OECD says twenty two percent of workers in Ireland are low paid, only one country in the developing world beats us - what’s that country? America - the country the leads the way in anti – trade unionism, zero hour contracts and assaults on worker’s rights. But there is hope brothers and sisters. The Water Charges movement - people need to look at it very carefully, hundreds of thousands on the streets. Tens of thousands coming to public meetings in every county. Thousands of people active, blocking water meters coming in, building boycotts, lobbing, putting pressure on the government, and it has forced back the government not only on the water charges, but at the start of this year they were able to implement compulsory health insurance the social media tax replace the TV licence. This movement that has sprung from the ground has demonstrated what the working class are capable of and what it wants to do, it wants to fight comrades and it wants to fight now. I will leave it at that. Mark Walsh, ASTI Mark Walsh ASTI Executive. I have two points to make but the first one is in relation to the Lansdowne Road, again you may not be surprised. The motion calls for strike action and things like that, but course you if you read it Lansdowne Road strike action is ruled out by Lansdowne Road.

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The parties agreed that strikes and other forms of industrial action by trade unions, employees, or employers are precluded in respect of matters covered by this agreement, so you can call for strike action but if signed up to Lansdowne Road, sorry. Now I do want to second what Terry Kelleher said because I do believe that the Right 2 Water, the CPSU and another unions mandated to signed up to the Right 2 Water campaign, do show a way to go for trade unions to get actively involved in campaigns and push the government back. I think that definitely has to be supported by other trade unions. A second thing we need to do and John Douglas referred to it in his speech, and he said that we have shaken off the shackles of top-down centralised bargaining in the private sector, and there have been gains because of the fact that they have shaken off top down centralised bargaining. I would argue that we need to shake off those same shackles in the public sector , to shake off the shackles of the top down collective bargaining of the likes of Croke Park one, Haddington Road, and Lansdowne Road agreement. Until we do shake off those shackles we are going to be shackled for the next three years at least. We won’t be able to take industrial action on many of the different issues and that will create damping effect on the overall trade union movement when the public sector is tied down with these agreements. So once again I call on people to be coherent and to make their actions match the rhetoric. Thank you. Louise O’ Reilly, SIPTU Brothers and sisters, I had not intended to speak but I will because I want to address one very simple point. During the currency of the last agreement our members in the Tyndall Institute were on strike. That strike was sanctioned by the woman sitting there, she is now the General Secretary of the ICTU. We have nothing to fear so long as our members back us. Strikes are not precluded. Our members are on strike, they have been on strike, they will be again, and I don’t want any delegates to walk out of here thinking that we have given up that right, we haven’t, this woman will make sure that we can deliver for our members. Go raibh maith agat. John Douglas, President Thank you, if there are no more speakers on Motion 16, I am going to move to Motion 17 Exploitation of Seafarers in the name of the RMT. Is there a proposer? Declan thanks. Declan Roche, RMT Morning President, delegates, Declan Roche moving Motion 17 – Exploitation of Seafarers. Conference remains deeply concerned at the impact on domestic Seafarers from ferry operators trading in the Irish Sea, who recruit crews from outside Ireland and the British Isles to work for hourly rates of pay, substantially below the Irish and the UK national wages of €8.65 and £6.50 per hour respectively. Conference notes that Polish Seafarers ratings employed by freight operators Sea Truck are paid £3.66 per hour to work under Bahaman and Isle of Man registered vessels, on the Heysham to Dublin, Liverpool to Dublin, and the Heysham to Warren Point routes. Estonian and Polish ratings are paid £5.55 per hour by Irish Ferries on the Dublin to Holyhead and Roslare to Pembroke routes, and rates of pay for Filipino, Portuguese, and Spanish ratings on the P&O vessels, sailing between Larne-Cairnryan and Dublin-Liverpool are as low as £3.65 per hour. Conference notes that this pay discrimination against Seafarers from EU and non–EU countries is a consequence of political failure to enforce employment law, particularly national minimum wage regulations. Conference also notes that the effect of this exploitation on major employers in the Irish Sea, particularly the largest employer of Irish Seafarers which is Stena Line, which is consistently undercut by low crewing practises of other operators.

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Conference agrees to support the campaign, to enforce and if necessary amend legislation in support of domestic sea ferrying skills, and urges governments of the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland to formulate a joint approach to eliminate exploitation of Seafarers in the Irish Sea, by creating a level commercial playing field based on minimum domestic employment and equality standards, which cannot be side-stepped to registering vessels under flags of convenience. Conference reiterates as viewed that Irish Seafarers suffer from the adverse effects of Globalisation long before the term existed, and believes that the shipping industry’s continued use of low cost crews is a discriminatory practise that undermines the rule of law and threatens the economic, social and strategic future of maritime skills in Ireland. The above rates of pay that have been mentioned, are not a living wage there not even minimum wage there a slave wage. I thank you for your time, please support this motion. John Douglas, President Congress, Is there a seconder for the Motion? Your name and organisation please. John Alfante, UNISON Good Morning Conference, delegates, Chair, President I am John Alfante from UNISON’s Black and Migrant Workers’ Group, supporting Motion 17 – Exploitation of Seafarers. I am also the Chairman of the Alliance of Filipino Communities in Northern Ireland. I met some Filipino Seafarer, they have invited me to go to their working place in the boat, where I saw how poor were their working and living conditions. But the big issue raised by them is their wages. They are only getting $500 US dollar monthly as per contract of their recruitment agency back home. Conference this is where the problem begins, in my own simply calculation $500 US dollar, if we multiply it by forty hours weekly and a hundred sixty hours for a month how much will they get per hour, its only 3.125 US dollar per hour, so it is less than $3 dollar per hour. Conference hoping that we can change this modern way of slavery in the twentieth century, I believe together we stand, divide us we fall, so we need your voice we need to support, support this Motion. John Douglas, President No more speakers indicating for the Motion, ok I am going to put Motions 16 and 17 to the floor. Motion 16 first Motion - Pay Rise for All in the name of the CPSU. All in favour? All against? Motion 16 carried. Motion 17 – Exploitation of Seafarers in the name of the RMT. All in favour? All against? Motion 17 carried. I would now like to call on Teresa Walsh of the Congress Youth Committee to address Conference. Teresa Walsh, INTO and Chair of Congress Youth President, General Secretary, delegates, distinguished guests, Executive Council Members, thank you for inviting me to speak here this morning. Today I want to speak to you about my vision for the Youth Committee, a vision that I hope we can all share. You might recall that two years ago I stood on this podium and spoke to you about young people, never giving up the opportunity to let the teacher within me shine I also gave you some homework. I asked you to organise to get young people involved in your respective trade unions, today I am happy to say we have made some progress in bringing younger people into our movement but there is still more to do. The young delegates in this room are the epitome of the practical inclusion that we need to achieve. The figures are sobering reading though. In 2009 an ESRI national workplace survey found that only four

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percent of employees aged fifteen to nineteen years, and sixteen percent of twenty to twenty five years were members of a union. We need to ask ourselves if we know how many young members there are in our trade unions. Do we as a movement know the concerns of our younger members, and importantly can we as Congress reflect those concerns in our messages at the negotiating table? Congress Youth will lead the charge to build on the progress we have made, but for this though we ask for your help. You don’t need me to tell you about the disproportionate impact of austerity measures over the last few years on the working and living conditions of young people. Young people have been hit, upon hit, upon hit. Just think of all the headlines we have seen. Precarious contracts, unpaid internships, the working poor, unacceptably high levels of youth unemployment, the tragedy of emigration, a recovery that has yet to make itself known to many young people. This is when the role of Congress for this my generation has never been more crucial. Young people are disillusioned with the movement. This is a challenge for Congress to address, and one were the Youth Committee will play its part. The potential for our future is immense, think what we can achieve, a positive progressive and dynamic trade union movement. A hundred years on is there any greater vindication of Connolly and Larkin’s vision, than a movement that espouses their values which is built on intergenerational solidarity. A movement that is ready to pass the baton on to the next, so that us young people can play our part to ensure that everyone has access to the same opportunities. We have unique strengths that no other body on this island has. We are the largest civil society organisation North and South, and we have the power to reach young people in all four corners of Ireland if we work together. Now we can do this in three effective ways. Number one we can ensure that not only are young people included, but that young people play an integral part in the life of our trade union movement. Secondly, we need to genuinely take the voices of young people into account and prioritise them, and thirdly we need to involve young people in decision making. My colleagues and I want to work with the Executive Council and our affiliates, to ensure that young people really are involved in trade union life at the negotiating table and in decision making. Now this means that we need to ask some real questions. Is the movement ready for this challenge? Is it fit for purpose? There are no two ways about it, we need to get serious about young people. We need to make sure as the flame has been burning bright for the past one hundred years, that it remains lit and brighter than before for the next one hundred. To do this we need to include young people, young people are the future of this movement, and we need to build young people’s trust in what we do. We need to convince young people that we can be their champion and that they have a place in our movement. This is our challenge, and this is a challenge that we can all address. Even in the past year alone we have seen the strength and the power of this movement when we work together. Already we have taken a proactive approach to deal with this challenge. My colleagues and I hope to meet with the Executive Council, so that together we may explore how the Executive Council can support our work. In addition as part of the Youth Committees plan for our term, we are developing a survey to gather the information we need on young people in our movement. Questions as simple as the number of young people who are active participants in each union. We will use this to identify young people’s views and their levels of participation in the trade union movement. The resulting recommendations from this research will provide a pathway for the further development of our movement and secure our future.

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I am asking you today, to work with us to distribute the survey to each of your unions to ensure that we get as many responses as possible, and perhaps one thing that we can all do, when we are debating motions during Congress and at each of our individual Conferences, is to take a moment to look at issues from a young person’s perspective our perspective, our perspective. Think of how we are taking young people’s issues on board, think of how we can show we are championing young people’s causes. We have the foundations in place, a Congress Charter for Fair Conditions at Work which calls for decent standards of pay and employment existing for all, including young people. We want to be at the centre of this campaign, leading this campaign and look forward to working with the General Secretary into the future on this and other initiatives. Young people needs are not entirely different from those of all workers, decent standards of pay, quality jobs, smooth transition from education to the labour market, and a commitment to European investment to create quality jobs for young people. Our Challenge is clear, our resolve is strong our commitment is unquestionable. Trust us, genuinely include us and speak to us. If we work together the prize is great, a movement that is so much more than a group of unions, a movement that espouses and champions the values that we all, young and more experienced hold so dear. Thank you. John Douglas, President Motion No 18 in the name of the OPATSI the Plasters Union is there a move for the motion here? Billy Wall, OPATSI Thank you Mr President, General Secretary, and before you say it I’ll say it - Billy Wall Plasters Union, you could not get a better name. He has hit me with that loads of times. It’s not the first time I heard it and I presume it won’t be the last time I hear it. Colleagues the motion which I want to talk about, relates all around the system of electronic relevant contracts tax. This works in the construction industry, meat industry, and the forestry industry. In the construction industry it allows for the exploitation of workers, and it allows employers to circumvent employment legislation. Every form of employment legislation is circumvented by these employers who work in the construction industry. It is not the main contractor that will do this, it is sub–contractors that will do this. I listened to Ann Speed earlier on when she said people coming in setting up a business on poverty pay and this is what this allows for. The ERCT system, the Revenue system allows for basically the eradication of the apprenticeship system in Ireland. Why would you send your child into a craft as an apprentice, when he is going to come out or she is going to come out, he or she will not be afforded even the minimum wage, because the minimum wage doesn’t apply. I have heard the Seafarers talking about €3.66; we have had situations where we have lads paid less than €5.00 per hour in the past. What suffers is quality of building. We have all seen the detrimental effect of Priory Hall, not once was one craft worker asked have you a National Craft Certificate, not once was that asked. It obviously doesn’t provide for decent jobs. The other side of all of this is, and I fundamentally believe this, is that this is a fraud. We have had a couple of parliamentary questions asked in the recent past, and it showed for the last seven years what the Revenue Commissioners gained from ERCT was €2.3 billion, but what they paid back out was €2.4 billion. Now I don’t know how that works. I don’t know how you can get €2.3 billion in yet give €2.4billion out. I don’t know how you can physically do that I don’t know, I could not do it anyway.

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I listened to Dave Kearney when he spoke about his child. I am after listening to the Chair of the Youth Committee, what are we passing on to our children? That is what we need to ask ourselves. What are we passing on? At the moment we are passing on nothing, absolutely nothing. We are passing on horrid, horrid terms and conditions, particularly in our industry the construction industry that’s what we are passing on. There are people in this room that suffer from ERCT not directly but indirectly, members of the TUI who train apprentices, there are four apprentice plasters in Ireland at the moment. There are six bricklayers, and there are about ten painters - where are we going? We have to stop this system, it just has to stop. I move the motion thank you. John Douglas, President Is there a seconder for the motion or is the motion formally seconded? Formally seconded, thank you delegates. Moving on, Motion 19 – Relevant Contracts Tax in the name of UCATT. Is there a proposer for the motion from UCATT? Ted Duff, UCATT Chairman, delegates, this motion is not about how much tax we pay, it is about the method that is used, as Billy Wall spoke of just now, and the Revenue’s ability to determine the correct status of the individual in the construction, meat processing, forestry and even telecommunications sector. False or bogus self–employment is a situation where a worker is officially classified as being self–employed, but has all the characteristics of an employee. It is now becoming wide spread on building sites, that the only way you will get a job is if you become bogus self-employed and use the Electronic Relevant Contracts Tax System. When you use this system of paying your tax, Revenue will automatically classify you as self–employed, and with that classification all other government departments accept it. The effect this has on the worker is that they are no longer deemed to be an employee, so one push of a button you no longer have the access to the employment rights machinery of the state, you have no right to redundancy pay, no right to holiday pay, you have no right to take a case for unfair dismissal, you have no right to be a member of an occupational pension system, you have no right to collective bargaining on wages or hours of work and you have no right to minimum wage. Minimum wage is an entitlement for employees, and only employees have the right to pursue a claim under the employment legislation. Workers or bogus self–employed do not have that right because most employment legislation refers to employees. Revenue determines whether you are a PAYE worker, and can avail of the legislation or you are a self–employed worker and have no protection under the acts. Bogus self–employed also work long hours, it is common for them to work ten hour shifts six days a week. This false self–employed are no masters of their own time, they work to the conditions of the principle contractors time, and time off for bad weather, sickness, caring for sick children and visits to doctors etc, are all at their own expense. They take all the down sides of self–employment and none of the up sides of self–employment. Together with the lack of employment rights it is amongst the bogus self–employed that will find the most vulnerable and exploited. Being bogus self–employed in the construction industry also means you don’t pay PRSI and that is a straight loss to the state. Now maybe state takes a view that won’t

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have to pay unemployment benefit when you are unemployed, or any benefits that would normally be accrued to the employees. There is a code of practice for determining the status of individuals working in the construction sector, but is not adhered to by the principle contractors. You can have two hundred workers on a building site, employed by one contractor and all can be deemed self–employed sub–contractors. All they have to do is apply online. To-date Revenue have not carried out checks on the status of the workers, you can imagine this happening in a factory. Revenue will not answer any questions in relation to the amount of tax raised by taxing so called self–employed in the construction industry in this manner. They will not say how much the state foregoes in PRSI payments. The corruption of the construction economy by bogus self–employment has a profound impact on the training needs of the industry. Bogus self–employment has drastically restricted the opportunities for apprenticeships, because the link between direct employment and principle contractors has been broken. The current system in the construction industry is clearly not sustainable, it does not operate in the interest of the industries’ work force, or in the long term interest of the employers. We are calling on the government, to investigate this method of tax collection and the adverse effect it has on building workers and their families. We call on Revenue to introduce a proper, robust and accountable policing method, for determining the employment status of the individual in the construction sector. We also call on the government to amend all employment legislation that refers to ‘employees’, who are now becoming few and far between in the construction sector and change it to ‘worker’. I move this motion. John Douglas, President Is there a seconder for the motion, or is it formally seconded? Formally seconded agreed ok. Any speakers to the motion. Seing none we will move on to the next motion. Motion 20 - in the name of EQUITY - Inequality in the Arts, is there a mover? Louis Rolston, Equity Chair, General Secretary, delegates. I am Louis Rolston Northern Ireland Counsellor for Equity. If Northern Ireland is a part of the island with particular difficulties, the cultural industries are part of an all-Ireland industry where many of the things you are facing, cuts, casualization, job insecurities, precariousness; we have had to deal with for decades. A straw poll recently of many of our colleagues, showed they earn an average of £4000 a year. In such an environment is essential that access to work is clear transparent and equitable, the terrors of the casting couch, the old boys network, cronyism and nepotism should not be a part of any twenty first century work environment. Inclusive casting, ensuring equal opportunities to all sections of our industry, irrespective of gender, sexuality, minority, ethnic background or disability should be insisted upon. We need to lobby governments North and South, and the ICTU has a vital role to play in assisting equity in Northern Ireland, and Irish equity SIPTU in the Republic, to get the message across it where government investment involved, inequality will not be tolerated. Please support the motion thank you. John Douglas, President Congress Is there a seconder for this motion or is it formally seconded?

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Karen O ’Loughlin, SIPTU Good morning Karen O’ Loughlin SIPTU and Irish Equity seconding this motion. For preforming artists from minority groups, for women and for performers with disability the problems they face in accessing work, are greatly enhanced by the absences are clearly articulated cultural policies, within which the importance of equality and freedom of access might be properly recognised and respected. For those who access state funding and manage the arts, they have a responsibility to create a just and inclusive environment, which allows all performers to flourish and realise their possibilities. Historically in the areas of gender, race, disability and sexuality, the performing arts have used its formidable emotional and political force, to break down stigma and to destroy the inherited forms of domination and oppression. The capacity to continue this however has become greatly diminished, by the fact that funding cuts around forty percent, the annual budget of the majority of cultural institutions along with a reduction in funding for arts cultural and film, by some €16 million by 2011 and 2014 have underlined a vulnerable place the arts are often relegated to in our society. It is regrettable that this reduction in funding has occurred, despite the over whelming evidence from independence sources of the economic benefits that flow from the creative sector. Funding for the arts is sometimes still perceived as being the nature of a grant support, rather than being the investment in the infrastructure of social life, of joy and cohesion that it really is. Having the choice to make art that relates to an identity can often depend on your living circumstances and other basic human rights, including how you define yourself. Historically in Ireland such choices have not been within an easy reach for many disabled or marginalised people, such experiences have subject to indifference and hostility, which is evidence by the systematic institutionalisation of children, women and disabled people over the years. It is important for marginalised and disabled performers, to articulate their realties of our shared history and to express their dignity through artistic and cultural means. This is significant to both how society treats and recognises their rights, but also to have society come to value these experiences and realities. Over the last ten years there has been no statically significant increase in the participation of minority ethnic people in the arts; there has been no increase in participation levels for people with disabilities, and there has been a decrease in the proportion of females within the artistic workforce over the same period. Equality and full respect for diversity within the preforming arts currently remains an aspiration, but with the leadership of represented bodies such as Congress, it is an aspiration that can be realised. However if we are to recognise the true value of our artistic and cultural sector, we must regard cultural policy as a contribution to an essential part of our national infrastructure, as based in the national practice and imagination that allows us to better understand ourselves and all of our peoples. Thank you please supports the motion. Seamus Dooley, NUJ President, Delegates, Seamus Dooley, NUJ, moving Motion 21. While the motion is entitled Rights of Freelance Workers this motion seeks to address the wider issue within the media industry in Ireland, and seeks commission on the future of the media. If it seems familiar to you it is because we have been proposing it at every conference for the last ten years. We seek such a commission because, because concentration of ownership directly influences the media landscape and influences the news we receive, and the news we do not receive every day of the week. There is a real public interest in media ownership, even if at times my members appear to be the members you love to hate. Media practitioners are among the most precarious workers in Ireland. As Secretary of the NUJ I represent staff and freelance journalist including reporters photographers, editorial production workers and videographers. SIPTU, and ourselves represent

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media workers in one of the most exploitative industries in this country. The Competition Authority, that vestage of the Progressive Democrats, targeted atypical workers, specifically members of Equity, because by virtue of price fixing, by setting rates for freelance workers, they were threating the very foundations of the Irish economy. There was a risk that if Jane Bushel continue to publish these guys, that the IMF would arrive. All the time while they were shooting the fish in the barrel within the financial sector, sharks were circulating, ignored by those charged with compliance. While I welcome the commitment of Congress to seek international remedies, including the intervention of the ILO, I resent deeply the failure of the government to meet specific commitments secured by Congress in ‘Towards 2016’. The exploitation of media workers is a feature of the media landscape. We should not be surprised that media owners who treat their workers with such contempt, all too frequently treat their listeners and their readers with contempt, and we should equally not be surprised at the cowardice of successive governments when it comes to tackling media ownership. That cowardice is reflected in the appalling failure of the government to tackle the interests and concentration of media ownership in Ireland. The refusal of the government to countenance whatsoever and retrospective measure to break the stranglehold on media ownership by a few powerful groups and individuals, and the insistence that the existing consecration of ownership has no material impact on the guidelines currently published, undermines completely the value of the process undertaken by the government. The emphasis within the guidelines is welcome, but quite frankly it is too little too late, and it is once again a reflection of the policy of jam yesterday, jam tomorrow, but never jam today. The emphasis within the guidelines is all very fine, but positive language alone is inadequate without some legislative measures to break the stranglehold on a few individuals and companies which have ownership in Ireland at the moment. If we have learned anything within the last few weeks, it is that government must have the courage to defend the rights of freedom of expression and to face down vested interests. In a market where INM titles account for over forty percent of all national newspapers sales, and just three groups own twenty three of our thirty two radio stations, it is not good enough to propose new guidelines for the future while ignoring the present. All that does is to copper-fasten the status quo leaving Irish media markets among the most concentrated in the OACD. We need an in dependent commission to examine all aspects of media ownership control, we need politicians to realise that media ownership and control is an issue of fundamental importance of democracy, and we need trade unionists to realise that the issue of media ownership and influence is about much more than being pissed off with an interview by Cathal McCoille on Morning Ireland. It is worth noting that in 1973, the National Union of Journalist made representation to the then Minister for Industry and Commerce Justin Keating, seeking urgent government intervention to curb the growth of a dominant media monopoly. Keating’s response was that Tony O’Reilly is a rich and powerful man and a very dangerous enemy indeed delegates. Delegates, little has changed. Thank you. Brian Campfield, Vice President Delegates, just before the seconder proceeds, just to advise you that the President and the General Secretary have gone to welcome the Tánaiste Joan Burton to the conference as she will be shortly addressing us. I would ask you, I know some of you would have some significant disagreements, but I would ask you to show the respect that all guest of Congress deserve that this conference. Go ahead now seconder. Gerry Curran, NUJ

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Colleagues, Comrades, I am seconding the motion. As you know my union represents many journalists who are well paid, well regarded and well looked after by their employers, and who are doing quite well for themselves. A lot of this is so and comes about from being in a good trade union, being good at their jobs in dedicated journalism, but most importantly for being loyal to other workers and colleagues, all this allows their position to be so. But technology has made us all believe and made lots of people believe, that we are all journalists and photographers now, and the changes in how news is produced has been manipulated by the greed of the media board rooms. They claim the state of the industry is precarious. Their actions in attacking employment rights has ensured precarity is now the default position for new entrants to our industry. Zero hours is the least of the worries for many of our members, many have zero pay contracts, quaintly called internships and in a few cases Jobbridge, but zero pay none the less. Many more are on short term and rolling contracts, but are gaining succour from HR hags patting them on the heads and being told to ‘think positive, think positive about your future’. We have one news group who have broken the cardinal rule of any employment relationship, they have actually failed to pay wages when they were due, as they still traded profitably and were fitting out fancy new offices, ‘sorry can we pay you half now, and the rest next week’, is not reassuring that the market is good when left to its own devices. That’s happing this month in Dublin in the Gazette Group newspapers. This is not helped by people from other professions, providing cut price content and images to media as fulltime professionals are let go. These hobbyists are not real reporters or photographers but their hobbyism is very effective at making some of my members have less. These people are being greedy or ‘scabby’ as we called it while I was growing up. To the retired Garda who takes pics and sells to news stories cheaply I say, ‘we acknowledge you worked in a high stressed job for thirty years in danger that’s why we all pay you a good pension to keep you well, not to allow you to undercut junior workers for the next twenty years’. To the school teacher who is filling maths reports we say, ’we acknowledge you do a vital stressful job. The eleven weeks break in the summer we gladly pay you for so you can re-charge your batteries, not use the summer to make young reporters poor or unemployed’. To the priests who file copy or pictures for free or cheap, all I can say is ‘F*** off Father God will pay your pension’. Stop robbing my members work. To the TD’s and Senators who write columns in newspapers every week ‘you are limiting others who rely on that space to earn a living. You are taking, if not the money, you are taking the opportunity of my members, all while we pay you to be a fulltime legislator not to be taking the work of other Trade Unionists’. But what we need here is for those already in employment or good pensions to stop being so being so grabby or scabby. Hobbyism needs to be replaced with solidarity. Seamus has described the tedium of working towards the right to collectively bargain for precarious freelance media workers, but what is the point of succeeding there if other workers already paid union wages are working second and third jobs for yellow pack rates? Thank you, support the motion. Karen O’Loughlin SIPTU Karen O’Loughlin, SIPTU supporting the motion from the NUJ. I am not going to traverse the ground already travelled by the speakers but I just want to make a couple of points. The first one is that there is a very significant increased dependence on casual and freelance workers in the general broadcasting sector. These are workers who have absolutely no say in the nature of their relationship with their paymasters because the only way they can get the work is to take the job of

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either on a casual or a freelance which is on a self-employed basis. This is bogus self-employment and it is an insidious practice designed in the very same way that zero hour contracts are designed to keep workers vulnerable, to prevent them from accruing employment rights and to keep them out of the trade unions. It is designed to ensure that their vulnerability ensures that they would be forever servant without having the capacity to assert them collectively. The impact of the decision that was made by what was then the Competition Authority on the exclusion of certain categories of freelance workers from collective bargaining is very successfully preventing those workers from organising themselves effectively to negotiate on their pay and conditions. The continued obstinacy and persistence of this organisation in holding the line even in the face of the recent Dutch judgement and the position articulated by ILO in recognising that workers are workers regardless of how you are engaged remains unacceptable and needs again to be challenged. In supporting this motion delegates we ask the Conference to welcome this call for a Commission on the Future of Media in Ireland and in particular to ensure that any such commission will look closely at this growing practice of bogus self-employment in the sector and to press again, with vigour, for the long awaited and promised legislation to deal with this competition issue. Thank you. Brian Campfield, Vice President Okay, no other speakers then can we move onto Motion 22 in the name of the CWU? Ian McArdle, CWU President, General Secretary, fellow delegates, Ian McArdle from the Communication Worker’s Union proposing motion 22. Colleagues this is a reasonably straightforward motion, I am just going to say a few brief words in relation to it. Essentially this motion boils down to two things, harnessing the purchasing power of trade unions and our members to best effect, and ensuring that the people we use in terms of suppliers, service providers, that they meet the minimum standards of decent employment and union representation. And in truth colleagues this is not a new concept we have seen with Mandate’s Fair Shop initiative, which urged us to spend our money wisely in unionised shops and given where we are today we have seen the success of SIPTU’s Fair Hotels Campaign. I suppose inspired really by those initiatives we under took a review internally in my own trade union, to see what suppliers and service providers we were using and were they unionised and surprisingly, what was right under our noses, represented a number of organising opportunities for our union, one of which led to a collective agreement being signed and a pay rise being secured for those workers. More recently however a number of our members who worked for a business partner and supplier to many trade unions in this room contacted us looking for representation. We approached the company to begin discussions with them in relation to those trade unions members and our advances were rebuffed. We were told that they were a decent employer and they did not need the intervention of a trade union. Now we suggested they might give consideration to the fact that they do a lot of business with trade unions but they felt that they were happy enough to go about their business in their own way. We were taken aback and that’s really what inspired the motion and perhaps it’s a coincidence but when the motion was submitted to Congress we got a phone call from the company asking to meet us again where they had softened their position somewhat and we hope that these discussions will lead to some sort of an agreement being reached.

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But colleagues with the idea of Fair Shop and Fair Hotels, these are really very good outward looking initiatives, but what this motion calls for is a more inward looking approach to our own suppliers and service providers, be it facilities management, security, contract cleaning, print and stationary, mobile phones or insurance service providers. As someone who is proud to call him an organiser I think we all know it is an increasingly hostile environment for trade unions to do their organising work, and it would be remiss of us not to use any in every leverage we have in terms of organising workers. It would be a dereliction of our duty to unorganised workers not to exploit any sphere of influence, any pressure point we have in terms of the service providers and suppliers that we use to help organise those workers. Please support the motion. Brian Campfield, Vice President Is there a seconder for the motion? Martina O´Connell, CWU President, colleagues, Martina O’Connell CWU seconding motion 22. Colleagues as trade unionists we all have responsibility to offer to all our members a full range of trade union friendly companies in which to do their business. According to the financial report delivered yesterday by Joe O’Flynn we have lost around 26,000 members in recent years and this is despite reported growth in employment, and while we commend initiatives such as Fair Hotels and Fair Shops etc we need to ensure that our members employed in these sectors, and indeed with any other service provider we use, have full trade union entitlements and we also need to ensure that we are fully and properly organised and are growing our membership. As the largest civil society organisation on this Island we should fully utilise our collective muscle to influence our affiliates to use suppliers, business providers etc who are fully unionised and motion 22 will assist us in doing just that. Thank you. Colm Cronin, Cork Council of Trade Unions Delegates it is morally wrong for any union to use a non-union provider where there is a union one available. We cannot continue to argue for decent pay and conditions and continue to support non-union companies. It is imperative that we here today send out a message that we will not support a non-union company where there is a union one available. We in the trade union movement are protectors of workers. We should not continue to use our resources and our member’s resources to line the pockets of hostile employers who ignore the rights of workers. I ask you to support this motion. John Douglas, President Okay delegates I’m going to put Motions No. 18 from OPATSI to the floor. All in favour? All against? Motion 18 carried. Motion No. 19 in the name of UCATT. All in favour? All against? Motion 19 carried. Motion No. 20 in the name of Equity. All in favour? All against? Motion 20 carried. Motion No. 21 in the name of the NUJ. All in favour? All against? Motion 21 carried. Motion No. 22 in the name of the CWU. All in favour? All against? Motion 22 carried. I will leave Motion 23 until after the Tánaiste addresses conference. So on behalf of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions I would like to welcome An Tánaiste Joan Burton to address conference.

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An Tánaiste, Joan Burton Thank you very much John for the invitation to speak here today. It is a great pleasure to address you as the first woman leader of the Labour Party and it is a particular pleasure to be here with Patricia King as the first woman General Secretary of Congress. I see a lot of other women listed as prominent speakers on the agenda so I don’t know whether it is girl power, but here is to the women. The conference is meeting at a time when Ireland is emerging from its greatest economic crisis of recent times. At the same time the European Union is facing arguably its most difficult set of economic challenges and indeed social challenges, and I want to say a few words about both topics today. The battle to vindicate the economic rights of working people and the central role of social democracy in achieving that. Next year we celebrate the 100th Anniversary of the Rising and we as a country will both look forward and look back. The 1916 Proclamation addressed to Irish men and Irish woman envisaged a republic of equal rights, equal opportunities and prosperity for all and that particular section of the proclamation was penned by James Connolly himself. Our recent economic crisis challenged that vision but we are beginning to come out on the right side. Ireland is in a recovery now. It is a rapid recovery for some and we are perfectly placed to deliver a decade of strong growth, of good jobs and of opportunity. Peoples’ economic rights are just as central as their social rights to living a full life and that’s the right to the best education we can provide, the right to a job with decent pay and conditions, the right to an affordable and secure home, the right to healthcare based on need and not on your pocket or your purse, and the right to security of income in retirement. So as we look ahead from 2016 our challenge is to secure the economic rights of people at work. Crucially we have the opportunity to achieve that. I have always said I want a social recovery alongside our economic recovery. The economic recovery is built on sustainable foundations and importantly is jobs led. There are now more than 100,000 additional people at work and unemployment have fallen by over a third. Most of the jobs are fulltime and many of them are well paid, high tech with high levels of qualification. Considering where we were when the Labour Party came into government in 2011 it is significant progress but I want to make it clear it is not enough. I am ambitious for more just as you are ambitious for more. One of the first things I did as Minister for Social Protection upon entering office was to restore the National Minimum Wage and in the last budget as soon as the resources were available we reduced taxes for low and middle earners to begin the process of restoring and improving living standards. But there is more to do. Some employers are engaged in a relentless drive for competitiveness in a globalised market. In many cases they have to. As a result workers face demands for more flexibility and their conditions of employment can be under threat. The threat of a race to the bottom is all too real and increasingly workers are facing this threat in workplaces where trade unions are discouraged, or simply ignored, or prevented. I believe very strongly that government cannot simply stand aside and allow the race to the bottom to happen without restraint. I believe in a mixed economy. I believe in free trade but I also believe that government has a duty to intervene to ensure that people’s living standards and working conditions are protected and improved. That usually extends to international bodies as well. In fact the most effective way to secure such protections is through binding international arrangements. I believe it is the duty of government to set standards, to set out what is acceptable and what is not, to ensure that the voice of workers is heard. That is why when I became leader of the Labour party I specifically appointed Jed Nash as Minister of State in cabinet with particular responsibility for this area.

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Last week the Industrial Relations Bill was passed by this Dáil and it will become the law of the land shortly, and I want to thank the many people here at the top table, but particularly in the hall that have campaigned over the decades for these kind of reforms to be brought through Dáil Eireann. The Bill largely reinstates Registered Employment Agreements (REAs), it also provides for Sectorial Agreements. Many of those who will be covered by the legislation work in exposed or low paid sectors of the economy. The Bill provides us with an important tool to protect their conditions of employment. The Bill also provides for collective bargaining which is a cherished ambition of the trade union movement and it establishes for the first time that workers in non-unionised workplaces are entitled to work with trade unions if they want to. It also provides that they will have recourse to the industrial relations machinery in order to establish norms in conditions of work and this is a hugely important step. A strong trade union movement helps raise living standards. It’s that simple and that is why Labour made collective bargaining central to the programme for government and we are now delivering on it. The International Labour Organisation the ILO, has said that uniquely among countries that faced an economic crisis Ireland enhanced workers’ rights where others reduced them. But we do have to be vigilant. Predator capitalism can deprive people of their livelihood in an instant as happened at Clery’s. I don’t believe it is right that the owners can act as they did while leaving workers in the lurch, and the state. Everybody here was paying their taxes and paying their PRSI leaving the state facing the redundancy bill. We have better things to do with Social Protection money than bail out the Clerys owners. So given that the effect of the owner’s actions is to place its private obligations to pay redundancy onto the state just let me say this, I am going to use every legal avenue to vindicate the state and tax payer’s rights in this regard. And you know the insolvency fund will secure the redundancy payments for workers, that’s what those workers are entitled to and I want to thank SIPTU for making Liberty Hall available to the department to allow us to go in and to meet the workers and also to facilitate the liquidation arrangements, because that was very practical help in a situation where even the premises wasn’t available to do the normal contact that the Department of Social Protection would do in this kind of difficult situation of a big closure. A wage led recovery has a vital role to play in raising living standards. Congress is already playing its part in fighting for this and I want to say unambiguously that I want to see wage increases, negotiated wage increases, this year and next, in all the sectors of the economy where employers can afford to pay more, and as you all know many employers who have been doing this last year, are doing it again this year and planning for future years. Government will play its part in increasing take home pay. In the forthcoming budget we will continue to reduce taxes on low and middle income workers. In addition my colleague, Brendan Howlin, has reached agreement with the Public Sector unions to start the process of reversing pay cuts. I know that some of your member unions have yet to vote on the proposals. I sincerely hope that the proposals will be agreed and people will vote ‘yes’. But not everyone in Leinster house believes that the restoration of public service pay is a political or an economic priority. There are some who are actively hostile to any such idea. As Labour leader I take the view that properly resourced public services are a vital ingredient of a decent society and pay levels have to reflect this within the bounds of what can be afforded. Those services ranging from good quality schools, health care facilities, and public parks; to roads and other essential infrastructure, these are vital to peoples quality of life. So when building a recovery dividend obviously it is about issues like peoples pay, about the impact of taxation, about the reform of USC. But it is also about the schools your children use, the hospitals your parents go to, it’s about the public transportation systems that we use, it’s about the support for apprenticeships and for employment and for opportunity for everybody, and that is why making a modern budget is so

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complex, it is the capital programme which we will be launching in a couple of months’ time to commit our taxes to building better infrastructure for our country. It is about the investment into public services including the Lansdowne Road Agreement, if that should be agreed, and I hope it will, and it is also about the forthcoming budget and the fiscal space to continue the reform of the USC to lift more people on low incomes out of USC, and to achieve that in a way that does not endanger the recovery but actually adds to the growth potential for Ireland for jobs and for investment. This month we will also see the first report of the Low Pay Commission. I hope and expect that it will recommend an increase in the Minimum Wage, and I just want to say any potential anomaly in the PRSI system arising from the Commission’s recommendations will be addressed at the appropriate time in the budget. The Minimum Wage is of course the minimum value which we put on work. It is a protection against exploitation but it not a guarantee of fair wages, nor is it a guarantee of adequate wages, and for that reason I have been proud to sign the Living Wage Initiative and the Congress Pledge in relation to that. In the first instance a Living Wage should operate as a voluntary benchmark that has happened successfully in some major cities, but what we are looking for is a new consensus both at national and at European level of what constitutes a wage that is enough to provide for a decent standard of living. In support of this view I will, like the devil, quote scripture for my own purposes and in this instance the Gospel according to the IMF and the OECD. Research from both this august bodies has found that if the income share of the top 20% in the county increases economic growth actually declines over the medium term. In stark contrast an increase in the income share of the bottom 20% will fuel higher growth. So a living wage is in everybody’s interest even if that is not sufficiently clear to everybody right now. For some time now policy across the Western world has been determined by a fear that redistribution would damage growth. I welcome the evidence that now challenges that belief and I think we need to think long and hard about the measures needed to reverse the trend both here and at home, and no less importantly through common European action. Which brings me to Europe’s challenges. Greece is top of the agenda of course, these are challenging times for those of us who value the role of collective European action in confronting the after-effects of the long recession, we and many other European countries have endured. I want to see a deal that can bring an end to Greece’s very real humanitarian crisis. I want to see a deal that will put Greece on the road to economic recovery and more importantly the Greek people. Above all I want to see Greece remaining an active member of the Euro Zone and for all members to resist complacency about the potential effects of Greece being left or forced to exit. So let us be clear this is going to be a long and difficult road. The Greek government will have to play its part. The demonization on both sides must stop because it risks undermining the European Project, and let us not forget how important the European project is. It is the continuing battle to vindicate workers economic rights. The EU is going to be central in that battle, because the plain truth is that there are global forces in finance and international capital that require collective action by nation states to secure proper regulation. I can mention a few; energy security, climate change, migration and terrorism stand out as other challenges that individual states cannot handle on their own. That is the modern reality. Let us not forget that while Ireland had to fight for, and ultimately win, concessions that reduced our debt burden by tens of billions of Euro, we did so at the negotiation table. Member states ultimately rode in behind us just as the ECB bond buying programme of this year has given breathing space to the European economy as a whole. That collective agreed way forward has been the basis of which we have built and are building a recovery that now offers us immense opportunity, and I want precisely the same for Greece, no more or no less.

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In terms of a wider longer term European renewal that places economic and social rights for people at its centre, I think a shift in approach is badly needed. It was Henry Forde who once said ‘if an employer does not share prosperity with those who make him prosperous then pretty soon there will be not prosperity to share’. The EU needs to recognise this and put a mix of policies on the table to enhance workers’ skills, increase their incomes and improve their purchasing power. Progress on this front would be a massive step in vindicating people’s economic rights and in improving their standard of living, and that is the challenge that is ahead of us in the next decade at home and abroad. As Tánaiste and Labour leader I want to see a decade of progress in Ireland that delivers on the Social Democratic vision at the heart of the Labour and trade union movement throughout our history, and I don’t want to see a situation where either children or communities are left out and we are told that some children are not necessarily going to achieve as much as other children because the parents are not well off or they are not involved in work. I mean we have in this country a very very good social welfare system which we all consent to contribute to, to build, to provide particularly for security when people retire through the state retirement pension, which is limited, but which is very solid and strong. The actual Social Insurance Fund is now almost back in balance and these issues are important, but it is also important that we don’t accept that an 18 year old can end up leaving school and end up going on Social Welfare for maybe four or five years. We need to get that young person into an apprenticeship, into training, into work experience. We have to do that because the Social Welfare system is there to support and help people, but it is also like a trampoline; it is there to catch you when you need the help, but it’s also there to help you to spring back up again and to be able to live your life independently and help you with that, and that’s been consistently the vision in Ireland of Labour and of the trade union movement, that work and being in work is important to people’s lives and peoples’ participation in our society. That includes for instance, people with a disability. Connolly said, and I will finish on this, ‘Ireland means nothing to me without its people’ and to be honest I think the trade union movement has lived up to Connolly’s commitment not just to a territory, which we love, but actually also to the people whom we are responsible for ourselves but we are all responsible for each other in solidarity as people in the trade union movement would say. Thank you. John Douglas, President Thank you Tánaiste. I would now like to call on the General Secretary Patricia King to respond to the Tánaiste. Thank you. Patricia King, General Secretary Thank you President, thank you Tánaiste. I was just thinking, which worried me a little bit, similarly to yourself, you made opening comments about the gender balance, actually in the trade union movement I think we are showing signs that it is beginning to work, because we have attending our conference Sharon Burrow, who is the General Secretary of the ITUC, and Bernadette Ségol, General Secretary from the ETUC, and Francis O’Grady, General Secretary of the TUC. And of course here ourselves we have Sheila Nunan, General Secretary of the INTO, Patricia McKeown from UNISON and Avril Hall-Callaghan among others in Northern Ireland. So I think the gender balance piece is beginning to work and long may that continue. I just want to Tánaiste join with the President and the conference hall in welcoming you and thanking you for taking the time out of, what must be, a very busy schedule given the political time and so on where we are at to come along, and I know delegates wanted to eagerly listen to your address. I suppose the purpose of taking the opportunity to respond to you is that on the one hand we have had so far in the conference quite a considered debate on a number of key issues that concern trade union members. The trade union movement in this Congress doesn’t speak entirely

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with one voice, which is quite right, but it certainly definitively shares common principals. Normally as well when we are making our comments we have to be somewhat rooted in reality which doesn’t always happen but we try hard to root our comments based on the reality and one of the realities of course for yourself is that you are a minority party in a government with another party which is quite right wing in terms of how it does its business and this is the background which you face. But I think we need to take the opportunity to set out for you some of the major concerns that this movement has debated in this Congress and I think it is only right that we would take the opportunity to do it. You mentioned in your speech that of course the collective bargaining legislation and that took a long time, and yourself and indeed predecessors were involved with us in terms of trying to get that piece. As we mentioned earlier in our debate it is a complex piece of legislation and the trade union movement will have to work hard to make it, and to develop it and to return for workers exactly the pieces that are in it, and that could be positive. But one of the things obviously concerns us greatly is I suppose the weakness in terms of trade union access, a lot of which was dealt with by the Supreme Court in the Ryan Air case and which we have to find ways and means to deal with that in the future. A very key point of the debate here Tánaiste has been the issue of precarious work and this is a very growing phenomenon right across the economy North and South. In this debate we have identified that effectively these are tools used by precarious work in various forms and it goes right across education health, hospitality and retail, but it is a tool used by employers to manipulate and to effectively get their own way. We heard Muireann here from Dunnes Stores, this morning I think said it in a very direct way and you didn’t have to really find any other clarification of it. They use it to effectively bully workers to do what they want to do, how they want to do it, when they want to do it all to maximise their profit and they key piece of it is they don’t care about the workers they are doing it to. And that precarious work piece I understand Minister Nash has commissioned a review through Limerick University for low hours and contracts and so on. Now I am hoping that the Government will use that review, which we hope will come out in September, I am hoping Tánaiste that the outcome of that review will be used to make the necessary amendment to the legislation and particularly the Organisation of Working Time Act, where these employers will not be able to legally do that again. We need the banded hour’s contract. We need the roster piece put in and we need to ensure that when an employer behaves like that, up front they are breaking the law, so therefore we amend the law to make sure that that never happens again. You draw attention in your contribution Tánaiste in relation to this issue about the living wage and I thank you for and indeed all of the Labour party members in Leinster House, they all signed our Congress Charter for a Living Wage which outlines the living wage as the first piece in the five propositions we have for fair working conditions. As we said at our conference earlier, all of the parties of the left have signed up to the Congress Charter, so there isn’t a division in the left in relation to it. But I just want to acknowledge that Gerry Light and myself were appointed onto the Low Pay Commission, and of course when you are appointed to such a Commission, I only learned afterwards, maybe I would have done something different and Gerry might have as well, but this word we are sworn to ‘secrecy’ then, and I have to say that is not my forte, but anyway we were sworn to secrecy when we go on to it, and here we are and we are two Low Pay Commissions. One of the things, and I don’t think Gerry would disagree with me on this, we went on to it and we thought we would just go in and make your arguments, and the next thing there was this vicious assault, all set out in the employer submissions, and this is not breaking the secrecy code now, and out they came with all of this stuff, and it is ‘give them nothing’. Actually there were side interactions which were out on the street which I can tell you about, they were suggesting actually that the provisions for lowering the Minimum Wage were not strong enough. That’s the background

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now, and the reason I am bringing that to your attention is that we are not allowed to say anything much, the report will go to the government, but I don’t think anybody should be under any illusion, this is difficult stuff and the trade unions will stand up and will not forget where they came from in relation to dealing with this. I just want to make everybody aware of that. And Tánaiste, our commitment to equality, fairness and social justice is the cornerstone of our movement and that is why we played such a vital role in the Civil Marriage Equality Campaign. Congress has always been and has a long history of supporting the LGBT rights, and we are proud of the work of our group The Trade Unionist for Civil Marriage and Equality, and we acknowledge your part, and indeed your predecessors part in changing the Constitution which has changed the lives of thousands of people in Ireland. We are also very proud of the trade unions in Northern Ireland who are to the fore in demanding that marriage equality happens in Northern Ireland as well. Now Tánaiste, I think that sense of fairness and decency which formed the YES vote has been reflected also in support by the public generally for those workers who were really treated badly by unscrupulous employers, and the public has responded so spontaneously to that disgraceful treatment of, as you mentioned, the workers in Cleary’s and the contemptuous behaviour of Mrs Heffernan in Dunne’s Stores towards her workers. I think it is in that context of fairness that people here in this conference have debated and brought it up and raised it, and it is only appropriate that I would say it to you, it’s in that context of fairness that people have such difficulty taking on board, for instance, cuts to loan parents and the consequent hardship, and it is hard to reconcile that Tánaiste when you see one of the wealthiest citizens in the land, who yields massive power and influence, and he doesn’t even pay a penny tax to the state and he receives a banking write down. Now I know Tánaiste that you have said you are reviewing that allowance and it is not a simple issue, it is a complex matter and I hope that when you are in the course of that review that you will take that on board. Another matter that you mentioned in your contribution was the issue of pension and there has been in this movement a growing disquiet about this matter of the extension of the age pension age without any option for a worker to continue in work. That has left a big void for people. That has had serious implications, quite apart that it has very gender imbalance as well by a virtue of a previous, long before we had anything to do with anything there were rules and regulations in relation to women and their entitlements and so on, all of which were somewhat dealt with in the equality legislation, but that legacy still remains there. And apart from that people not having an option to continue in work is a really bad space for workers, it hasn’t been dealt with sufficiently and we would ask you that you would positively review that. I am glad Tánaiste that you raise this matter in your contribution about young people because we know that today the challenges young people face are often those that we could never even imagined that they would face, and despite the top quality of our education system and there an awful lot of people who are involved in delivering that education service, and there are other professional who are involved in the delivery of services to young people, but they know that sometimes it goes wrong and when it goes wrong it is horrendous. I know that myself in my own family fairly recently and I can tell that hurt never ends. It strikes me, that we have to revamp our policies to get into a place where as you rightly say we have a pathway that just doesn’t allow people fall through it. I am always and have been particularly allergic to Jobbridge, I have to say that is just me. I do think that both Ministers Quinn and O’Sullivan were right to pursue the apprenticeship scheme. A good solid apprenticeship scheme that gives dual learning on the job and in the classroom like the Danes do it, like the Finnish do, like the Germans do it. Not every kid wants to go through Third Level. No every one of them can, but most parents when they look at their new child

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say that child has talent and we will do our best to best realise that talent, and every one of the parents want that child to do their best. Actually I am on the Apprenticeship Council, as you know, and Eamonn Devoy is with me on it , and one of the very enlightening things that is happening is the level of talent that is out there and the level of will among providers and employers who actually want to do something to develop this in the correct way. Now there is a proposal going to the government to put in resources for any extension of certain apprenticeships way outside the construction industry, including the construction industry, but outside the construction industry, and I would ask you Tánaiste to put in some level of energy into asking the government. Not everybody needs to become a NEET. Every one of them should have the opportunity to develop themselves to their maximum potential, and I do feel passionately about that and I would really ask that when that report goes to government it would receive the necessary resources. Finally Tánaiste, since 2009 we have had no structured dialog as you know either with government or with private sector employers, and over the past four years there have been positive decisions and I saw Jimmy Kelly spoke to you earlier in relation to the Waterford Glass pension. There have been some positive decisions but there have also been very highly controversial decisions as you well know. And over that time, notwithstanding all of that, I want to acknowledge that we have had access to you and your colleagues at the cabinet table from the five from the Labour Party, and I do particularly want to acknowledge the work of Minister Nash because we worked quite closely with him. So we know Tánaiste that a fair society cannot and will not be achieved without the direct influence of the trade union movement and we look forward to realignment as was called for yesterday in this conference of the political order North and South that places equality at its heart. Once again may I thank you for coming along making your contribution and I look forward to working with you as you continue in office. Thank you very much indeed. Brian Campfield, Vice President There’s no right to reply, so I’m going to call on the President John Douglas to make a presentation to the Tánaiste. John Douglas, President Okay conference we’re going to return to the main agenda. Motion 23 Employer Approaches which Remove Employees for Post in the name of Prospect Trade Union. Do I have a proposer from Prospect? Thank you. Philip O’Rawe, Prospect Conference, delegates, Philip O’Rawe, Prospect Trade Union. I’m glad that the RTE mike has ben taken away from the rostrum here. This motion is flagging up new and imaginative ways in which employers are removing people from their jobs. Our union is finding that this is increasingly common and it is quite ironic because quite often employers are trying to review staff numbers as we know in the interest of the holy grail of efficiency etc, but they don’t want to pay people redundancy packages and the irony here of course is that as unions we in a lot of cases have negotiated very good redundancy packages that protect members and give them some buffer in terms of finding new work. But employers don’t want to pay that money because it is not efficient in their view to be paying people to leave employment. So this unfortunately for the employer a bit difficult to get rid of people if you don’t want to pay them to leave but as we know employers are very innovative, imaginative and so on so they now resort to various other ways of trying to get people out. A lot of us know who have performance management systems in our workplaces, the dangers and the issues that they will cause, and how often they can be abused to get people out essentially by undermining them and reducing their self-esteem and belief in themselves through incessant abuse

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of the performance system. That one has actually become a bit tired and unions have got quite good at fighting back on that, but employers, innovative and imaginative as they always are looking for new approaches. So examples that we are seeing in our union include made up requirements for licences to practice. In other words you cannot continue to do your job unless you get this so called licence, which is just a thing made up by the employer to try to ensure that not everybody gets a licence and therefore some people will be left high and dry. We also have requirements in some workplaces for people every so often have to apply for their own job in order to retain that post. If they don’t get a successful pass in that or whatever assessment process that involves, essentially they can be left high dry. Now they are not redundant because the employer doesn’t want to pay redundancy money but they are kind of left just sitting in a corner, almost sometime literally. This is hugely damaging to good employer relationships in the workplace. Another issue that we see is quite often employers trying to basically ensure that only certain selected and favoured people pass these assessments so that known trouble-makers in the workplace or people who speak up against senior management can be isolated. This is all very concerning for all of us who are basically starting to see these practices. So it is not easy necessarily for employers to dismiss the people who fail these various assessments and are put out of their posts, but after a certain amount of time and wearing down of the individuals and generally making them feeling miserable in the workplace, employers can actually potentially get people to resign from their job with not cost essentially to the employer. So this is quite sinister, we are seeing it certainly in organisations in the private sector that we cover and what we would like in the motion is that affiliates should share experiences and try and gather good practice and tactics and so on for responding to such sinister employer developments, and we believe Congress is in a position to facilitate that in terms of linking up affiliates who are starting to see these practices and hopefully then we can support each other and try and protect our members from evermore innovate, imaginative and sinister approaches by employers in terms of attacking our members’ job security. So please support. John Douglas, President Is there a seconder for the motion? Formally seconded. Any speakers to the motion? Seeing none I’m going to put Motion No. 23 to the floor. All in favour? All against? Motion is carried. Delegates if you could just bear with us for a few moments, I know its been a long morning for most of you, we will have a speaker now, Claire Mahon from the Congress Disability Committee. Then we will take two Emergency Motions which have been submitted at 12.50pm and then conference will adjourn until 2.30pm. So, we’re nearly there, so hang in there for another few minutes. Claire, thank you. Claire Mahon, INMO President of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation but I am chair of the ICTU Disability Committee in the South, and I am speaking on behalf of the Committees of the North and the South. Firstly, and I know Patricia had to leave the room, we would like to record our welcome to Patricia in her new post and we would like to request her support for our work and hope that we will meet with her in the near future. Colleagues, we are delighted to have the opportunity to address Congress today and speak on behalf of those with disabilities. It provides us an opportunity to create an awareness of the Committee but it also gives us an opportunity to remind everyone that the trade union movement has a responsibility to speak for those with a disability whether they are in a workplace or not.

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Mechanisms need to be put in place to ensure that the voices of people with disabilities are heard around the tables of the ICTU Executive and of the Executive Councils of all of our trade unions. The austerity agenda has impacted greatly on the most vulnerable in our society. If you have a disability you are more likely to be disadvantaged, you are more likely to be unemployed and regrettably you are more likely to be forgotten. We know from our experiences that disabled persons are amongst the most affective by the cuts to welfare benefits. We know it is, as a society that we need to be proactive in protecting and supporting our colleagues and our fellow citizens with disabilities. There are many examples as to how this can be done both here on the Island of Ireland and in other jurisdictions. There are many innovative programmes underway. One such example from the trade union perspective both in Northern Ireland and here in the South is the training of trade union members and officials to be Disability Champions. Disability champions help to increase our understanding of the difficulties experienced by those with disability in our workplaces. Given rising levels of stress and mental ill health in all of our workplaces and affecting all people, it is more important than ever that Disability Champions are supported to carry out the role and we urge all unions to support the existing Champions that are out there and continue to identify new champions to be trained. We know that disability modules have been developed and will form part of the Workers College offering further educational opportunities to trade union members. We urge Congress to ensure the promotion of those educational opportunities to members and to employees. It is essential that there is a focus on capability rather than disability and a need to grow the participation rates of people with disabilities in our workplaces. Issues such as lack of and cuts to mobility allowances, access to public transport, access to meaningful employment, we are not even talking about precarious we are talking about meaningful employment. Hate crime against persons with disability need to be high on our agendas. Indeed we look forward to working with the National Disability Authority in the South on these and many other issues affecting those with a disability and we eagerly await the launch of the long awaited comprehensive strategy on employment of people with disability. Whilst our colleagues in Northern Ireland are delighted to be playing a role in the development of the new employability strategy with their Department of Employment and Learning. Together with disability organisations they have been lobbying in the Northern Ireland Executive to fully implement the disability strategy of Northern Ireland. We are currently exploring the establishment of a Council of the Isles type meeting for members with disabilities in order to share initiatives and exchange information. We have an up and coming seminar in October of this year which will be held in Waterford on the 15th and 16th of October. Its title is Decent Work for People with Disabilities - Where to Next? Here we hope to bring together interested groups and hear first-hand the experiences of both employers and employees with disabilities. And I have to say one of our own employees in the INMO will be addressing our seminar and I have to say he brightens our workplace every day and I think more employments need to actually look at this initiative. We are also pleased that the Minister Aódain O’Riordaín has confirmed his attendance at the event. Now colleagues according to the latest estimates there are approximately one billion people with disabilities worldwide. Over 800 million of them are of working age. However across the world and here on this Island people with disabilities still face discrimination especially when it comes to access equal job opportunities. We must all work to promote an inclusive approach to employment by focussing on the person’s competencies, talents and skills for a specific job. As I said before it is about capabilities and supporting our fellow citizens to achieve their potential. It would be remiss of me to finish my address here without paying tribute to an individual who has given outstanding service to the trade union movement and the cause of disabled persons everywhere on the Island of

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Ireland. Bernie McCraig has been Chair of the ICTU Disability Committee in Northern Ireland for many years. This year she has told us that she intends to retire from her work as a trade union activist and step down from her committee. In Bernie’s years as Chair she has driven the work of the community with tireless determination, commitment and with a great deal of grace. She has represented the committee on many working groups with NGO’s and Government departments and has brought a clear trade union focus to every table. She has championed and developed the Disability Champion Network and has close links with our Disability Committee here in the South, and regularly travels to Dublin to meetings with us. She shares information and she guides us and I am sure that we will continue to draw on here expertise into the future but on behalf of the our Committee and I am sure each and every activist in the room we would like to thank Bernie for her very hard work. Thank you. Brian Campfield, Vice President I call on the President to make a presentation. John Douglas, President We are now going to move onto two Emergency Motions. Emergency Motion No. 1 in the name of SIPTU, in relation to Clery’s. Motion number one in the name of SIPTU in relation to the Clery’s situation. As per the standing orders agreement previously there will be one speaker. The motions will be formally adopted and then they will be voted on. Teresa Hannick, SIPTU Chair, delegates, Teresa Hannick, SITPU. There probably isn’t one person in this room or even in this country that isn’t aware of what happened to the Clery’s workers on the evening of Friday 12th June. We all know about the brutal treatment they received from their employer on that night. I am sure most of you would have heard John, our SIPTU shop steward with 43 years’ service in Clery’s outside of the back door as he described what happened that night. Indeed it would have been hard not to have been moved as he struggled to articulate the shock, the despair, the dilemma and the humiliation as he described what happened. How the workers were called to a meeting expecting to be told who their new owner was, how they were told on the big stairs in Clery’s by a liquidator that the store had ceased trading and their jobs were gone. During that meeting a private security team were brought in, they changed the locks and they corralled the workers so they could not walk through the store. They were told they had to leave immediately and each and every one of them was escorted out of the premises. Naturally there was widespread condemnation and disgust about what happened that night and indeed over the weekend it grew because it emerged that Gordon Brothers, the previous American owners, has flew the coup with €90 million of profit, a profit they would not have to pay any tax on in this jurisdiction because it was American money. The new owners Natrium utilised every piece of legislation available to abdicate any moral responsibility to those workers. It has even emerged that this sale took place between the hours of midnight and 1:15 am on Friday 12th June. The preparation for the application for the insolvency obviously took weeks to prepare, so it was well planned in advanced and we now know by the arrogance of Natrium that they were all set up to make as much money as possible and avoid any responsibility to these workers. They have demonstrated a total lack of respect and arrogance to these workers by their actions that night and they continue to do so. They have refused to even acknowledge that these workers exist. They have refused to meet us or the workers and indeed they are dictating to Minister Nash when they will meet him and what they will discuss.

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Now unfortunately this arrogance by employers and how they treat workers is nothing new to us. Every one of us, it’s becoming more and more common every day, we are all aware of what happened in Vita Cortex, Connolly Shoes, The Paris Bakery and as Muireann so eloquently articulated what happens to Dunnes workers. Indeed some of our activists in Clery’s took part in the Decency for Dunnes march six days beforehand and they would not have expected that there current employer to behave like that. We also see this arrogance from employers especially when looking at the hotel industry, the restaurant sector, the retail sector and their complete refusal to co-operate with the Oireachtas policy and legislation in relation to JLC’s. Our motion is calling for immediate legislation that inserts a social responsibility clause in the Insolvency Act and the Companies Act to ensure that the rights and interests of workers are defended by the courts in an insolvency and liquidation application, because what happened at 4pm on the 12th June in the High Court was nobody ever thought of any of those workers. The John’s of this world that has 43 years’ service. The Pauline’s of this world with 38 years’ service. Lilly who was had 48 years’ service. We also need more robust employment protection legislation. This need to happen to protect workers in this kind of situation and also to ensure that for once and for all there is a real punitive sanction against any employer or venture capitalist who decides to make money out of people like us. What we have discovered is that there is no deterrent for anybody. They can come in and do what they want because it was very difficult as a trade union official representing those workers and they are workers who have years and years of trade union membership and they have been activists and they are trade unionists, and to actually say to them what Natrium did is within the law and there was nothing we could do for them. Now those workers are aware the horse has bolted for them and they are committed to campaign for change in legislation. They know any change in legislation will not matter to where they are, it will not improve their situation. Pauline is a worker there and she is an activist with 38 years’ service. She started working in Clery’s when she was 18. And we spent years we had a good relationship with the Guiney’s, we had a half decent relationship with Gordon Brothers, but we all know in the retail sector it’s hard to get jobs that are decent and where the employer at least recognises and deals with you, we did that to protect for future works for future generations. Yet on the 12th June, Pauline would say ‘I was humiliated by employers, I was let down by the employment protection legislation, it’s not there for me’. They are committed, all of those workers, to campaigning for this. They want to make sure that there is no more Johns, no more Paulines, no more Dunnes’ workers treated like they don’t matter and somebody can make a quick buck on this. Delegates we are asking you to support this motion. John Douglas, President Can I take the Emergency Motion in the name of SIPTU? Formally seconded from the floor, agreed? Agreed. I’m going to put Emergency Motion Number One to the floor, all in favour? All against? The motion is carried. I’m now calling on the speaker of Emergency Motion No. 2, One parent family payment in the name of Mandate Trade Union. Again, one speaker, formally seconded, and then I’ll put it the floor. Aileen Morrisey, Mandate Good afternoon, President, Delegates and Guests. Aileen Morrissey, formally proposing Emergency Motion Numbers two. The main rationale put forward for cuts to the one parent family payment scheme is to incentivise loan parents to seek more hours at work. However as we in MANDATE Trade Union know only too

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well from our experience in Dunnes Stores and other precarious employments in Ireland, workers have no legal right to avail of more hours at work. They may seek but they may not find. They too, like the Tánaiste, are ambitious for more. Even where workers are desperate for extra hours to top up their incomes, in the majority of cases workers are denied these extra hours by their employer. Just to give you, yet again, another real example Dunnes Stores workers are on fifteen hour contracts. We have heard from Muíreann here today who told us how their hours are used as a method of control over them. Imagine yourself going to a Dunne’s Stores manager in Muíreann’s shop or similar stores and saying ‘please sir can I have some more?’. MANDATE Trade Union carried out a recent survey of Dunne’s Stores workers and more than one thousand four hundred of them, union members and non-union members, participated. Eighty-five per cent of these workers said there hours were being used as a method of control over them. If you make a complaint against your manager or if you raise a grievance, if you join a trade union or if you go on strike, as many of them did on the 2nd April, you can have your hours cut to the bare minimum of fifteen. The employer can also spread these hours out over five days - five over seven days - meaning the worker cannot access social welfare or family income supplement or FIS. This is the level of power employers, not only in Dunne’s Stores, have over hours at work and clearly shows the lack of power that workers have in seeking and securing more hours. To say cuts to the Lone Parents Allowance is an incentive to work more hours ignores the real truth based upon fact. Facts like in Ireland we have the second highest level of under underemployment workers in the EU fifteen meaning workers want more hours but they just can’t access or secure them. Almost one hundred and forty-seven thousand workers put themselves into this category. Many of these workers are lone parents. In 2008 only 0.4 percent of the total workforce said they were underemployed, shockingly that figure is now at more than 7 percent. Furthermore the industries that lone parents are largely employed in like retail, hospitality, cleaning, hotels, restaurants and others are in the main all low paid industries. Many of those workers earn the minimum wage or close to it. The absence of affordable childcare makes it very difficult for families to survive, even if they have the ability to seek of and avail of more hours at work. The recent cuts to the One Parent Family Payment Scheme cannot be seen as an incentive to work more hours when a worker has absolutely no legal right to seek or avail of those hours. They don’t even have the realistic chance of accessing more hours. Employers have a dis-proportionate level of control over these hours and we know how they abuse that power frequently with cynical intent. We must also remember that 98 percent of reciprocates of the One Parent Family payment are women. Lone parents are among the poorest in our society. The cuts to the One Parent Payment Scheme will cause enormous hardship for some of the most vulnerable and already impoverished families in the country. The absence of affordable childcare and the absence of legislation enabling workers to seek more hours, these cuts must be seen for what they are - an attack on the living standards of lone parents and we have an obligation to resist these cuts. This conference notes that lone parents are among the poorest in society with 65 percent deprivation rate, according to the most recent EU report. I am therefore formally proposing this motion and I call on Congress to immediately commence a campaign for the restoration of the One Parent Family Payment Scheme. Please support this motion. John Douglas, President Motion formally seconded, agreed? Agreed. I’m putting Emergency Motion No. 2 to the floor. All in favour? All against? Carried.

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Just winding up in relation to some housekeeping issues. When you return in the afternoon at 2.30pm promptly there will be a YouthConnect Award Videos on the screen, it’s a very interesting project which has engaged tens of thousands of young people in schools right across Ireland on the Trade Union Movement and Social Justice Movement as well. Secondly just to remind you again there are two fringe events now, one organised by NERI in the Tea Rooms next door, and another by the Columbian Support Group in the Rainbow Room on the first floor. There’s free lunch at both of them so you can feed yourselves twice. But there’s no such thing as a free lunch because in the Columbia Group fringe they’re selling the report of a delegation of Parliamentarians from Ireland, Northern Ireland, the UK and Trade Unionists from those jurisdictions who visited Columbia. They are €5 and it’s a very interesting report. Columbia is one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a Trade Unionist, so I’d like you to support both fringe events if you can. So enjoy your lunch, free or otherwise and I’ll see you back here at 2.30pm.

Wednesday 8th of July – Afternoon Session Brian Campfield, Vice President Colleagues, Fergus Whelan, Industrial Officer is going to introduce the Report on Social Protection and Living Standards, Section 6. Fergus Whelan, Congress Industrial Officer Okay delegates, this section deals with the case for social investment, the threat posed by the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, changes to the social welfare pensions, and the Congress response to those changes and the case for decent childcare. But, first I want to say a few words about the castastrohy that has overtaken our Defined Benefit Pension system. Members of funded pension schemes have paid a £100 million in regulation fees over the last twenty years yet our Defined Benefit system lies in ruins. The active membership is down to one 137,000, from a peak of 270,000. And, of the schemes that are still going, 90 percent of them are closed to new members and almost all of them will pay benefits and entitlements much less than our members actually earned and paid for. Very few schemes now have provisions for increases to pensions and payments. This means that for your average Defined Benefit pensioner today, their pension will have devalued by 50 percent over the next twenty years and that’s just with low levels of inflation. Now Defined Benefit schemes have suffered all over the world but we are of the view that the loss is suffered by Irish workers in our Defined Benefits schemes has been much greater than anywhere else. And yet, the Regulator continues to apply the same old ineffective and pointless rules as if nothing of consequence can be learned from this debacle. The recent changes in the makeup of the Pension are Authority and indeed the new Interdepartmental Group on Universal Pensions, the makeup of it suggests that a well pensioned elite who don’t suffer when things go wrong with funded pensions schemes will have all the say in pension policy going forward, and the people who that have no say are the people, the workers, who actually own the money in these pension funds and are the people that stand to lose when things go wrong. Our Pension Regulator will continue to behave as if the system is ok and there is no real problem. Our members should fear that when this Interdepartmental Group report, what they will try to deliver, is a pension system were the workers carry the risk, take the losses, the pension

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companies take the profits, the pension elite and the politicians take the decisions and the Trustees take the blame. One of the meanest cuts of all the mean cuts that happened to us over the last while was what happened in relation to qualification for the old age pension. With the stroke of a pen a decision was made that people who had less than 29 annual contributions that their pension would be cut by €1,500 per annum and obviously that’s for life. Now when that outrageous cut was first suggested, Congress pointed out that this was an anti-woman thing that this was something that was going to fall on women and how right we were, because in the first year in its operation 66 percent men qualified for the full old age pension and only 36 percent of women qualified for it. And just to put that another way 200 men suffered a cut of €1,500 per annum, were as 563 women suffered a cut and that’s just in its first year of operation. And you can be sure as this thing goes on and on that per portion will remain the same and the anti-woman worker aspect to this thing will become clearer as time goes on. As you know the state pension age rose to 66 in 2014, will rise to 67 in 2021, and 68 in 2028. Now there was no political debate about this there was no cost benefit analysis, there was no discussion with employers in unions about the issues the General Secretary raised with the Tánaiste today. What do we do with people when they reach the age of 65 and their thrown on the scrap heap and they won’t have a pension for another three years? And some people, depending on your age, some people will lose by that decision they will lose €36,000, now this isn’t €36,000 of a hand out that their losing. These people and their employer would have paid huge amounts of PRSI over their whole career for these pensions, so these pensions are not a hand out, these pensions were something earned and paid for. And now they have affected they been stolen and the people who made decision, that is the senior civil servants and the veteran Politicians, it does not affect them at all. They won’t be working until they’re 68 or they won’t be waiting till they’re 68 for their pensions - they get their big fat non-PRSI pensions up front at an age much earlier than 68. I was stunned when the Tánaiste told us today that the PRSI system was imbalanced because all the information that I had was up to now that was far from the case, and in fact the justification for the cuts that I have just talked about were ‘look the PRSI system is in bits, we just can’t afford it’. Well I will just ask you delegates to cast your mind back to the OPATSI delegate and the UCATT delegate what they told you this morning because the Revenue Commissioners themselves have designed an ECT system which is basically a massive system to defraud the State of PRSI in the construction industries, and the construction employers and the bogus sub-contractors are using that system for a massive, massive PRSI fraud that is actually being aided and abated, if not facilitated by the State. Finally delegates I intended to say something about childcare and particularly that savage cut on lone worker parents. But after the cogent testimony of Freda Hughes from the INMO this morning there is nothing I could say that would add to it, except it would recommend Tom Healy from the NERI has been blogging on the labour activation element of that, and I would strongly recommend that you consult that Blog. Thank you delegates. Brian Campfield, Vice President Thank you Fergus for that. Could I ask Peter Rigney come up and say a few words, and make a presentation to Michael O’Halloran, who up until recently was the Chair of the Retired Workers’ Committee, and I think in a previous life he was the Congress Training Officer. Peter Rigney, Congress Industrial Officer Thanks Brian. Delegates, my job here today is to say a brief few words about the career of service to the labour and trade union movement of Michael O’Halloran. Most of you who know him will know

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him as Chair of the Retired Workers’ Committee, which he played a very active role in up to recently. He was also was active in FERPA the European Association of Pensioners run under the auspice of the ETUC. But there is a lot more to Michael O´Halloran as I hope to say in the few minutes that I have available to me. And one of the themes that will run through this is the issue of apprenticeship and the other is political service. Apprenticeship for two reasons - though Michael served his time as a baker in the Dublin Bakery School, and, much later he was honoured by being made an honorary fellow of the Dublin Institute of Technology, into which that school has been subsumed. The other thing is that Michael served his trade union apprenticeship under the hand of the late John Swift, General Secretary of the Bakers’ Union - passionate enthusiast of the worker education, and a President of this Congress. John Swift was a conscientious objector in World War One, but he put himself in the line of danger and actually was a stretcher bearer on the Western Front and he was the person who brought Michael O´Halloran into the trade union movement. Michael was appointed Training Officer of Congress in 1969, and he attended his first Annual Delegate Conference in 1970. Among his major achievements as Training Officer was the piloting and then the mass-usage of paid time off for release for Shop Stuart training. And, there are plenty of people in this room who started off in their trade union lives in careers, be it full-timers or be it lay activist, in that structure of Shop Stuart training. Michael has also given a lifetime of political service to the people of Dublin and served on Dublin Corporation for many years. I still find it difficult to call it Dublin City Council. And was in the year of 1984/1985, the first Citizen - Lord Mayor of the city. It therefore, it gives me great pleasure to present Michael with this token of the esteem of his colleagues of Congress and of the delegates for his service over many years to the trade union movement. Michael, if you come up here. One is a plaque of slate for Connelly, and the other is a laptop to replace the one you wore out in the service of the Retired Workers’ Committee. Thank you Michael. Michael O’Halloran Thank you Peter, and thanks everybody. Brian Campfield, Vice President Thanks Peter, thanks Michael. We’re going to ask one of our guest speakers Sharan Burrow, who is the General Secretary of the ITUC. Sharan you’re very welcome. Sharan Burrow, General Secretary, ITUC Thank you, John, Patricia, I want to talk to you about your campaign which is a recognition that austerity has failed and that unions and workers are fighting back. But I want to do it in the global context, so let me say first of all say congratulations John and Patricia. Congratulations to the trade union men and women of Ireland for standing up against low pay and exploitative working conditions. My maiden name is Murphy so the infinity I feel with the ICTU is born of generations of shared family history. Delegates, inequality is now recognised even by the arbutus of austerity as an economic risk, sadly not because of the plight of people as their actions reinforced by the scandalous way they are treating the people in Greece but, nevertheless, a recognition of economic, risk we can use that. Your fight is critical for Irish workers and their families but it also inspiring our global fight to build the power of workers and to attain corporate power.

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When David Cameron today said he would champion a living wage of £9 by 2020, that’s a target that he would endorse as a living wage but he has clearly never tried to live on it. Let me introduce you to the global workforce and the scope of our collective fight. There are around 2.9 billion workers in the global workforce, only 60% of workers have a job in the formal economy and more than half of their work is precarious. Then there are 40 percent of our brothers and sisters struggling in the informal economy, with no minimum wage, no social protection, indeed no labour rights, no legislative rights that cover them in any way, shape or form, and these numbers are increasing. The informal economy is eating away at decent workers and you can see that right here in Ireland because it’s not just a developing economy syndrome. Then of course there are 30 million of our people enslaved in forced labour of modern day slavery. And of course, delegates, the wage share of national wealth keeps falling in almost all nations over the last thirty years, while CEO pay in countries like the US has risen by 90 times that of a typical worker since 1980. And safety of course is just not a priority for too many workers. But then 75 percent of the world’s population have no or inadequate social protection. The social protection flaw consists of just a few percentage points of GDP, that what it would cost just a few percentage points of GDP, for those essential public services, pensions, unemployment benefit, child protection, education and health. And yet 75 percent of our brothers or sisters have no such guarantees. Indeed, we know that social protection, and you have just heard about the pensions here, is a fundamental basis of reducing inequality. It’s about social cohesion and it is actually a basic floor of demand. But when we see workers’ taxes being used for everything but the public services and the support for which we pay the taxes in the first place, but we also see Governments champion tax evasion of corporations, then we have a problem and it’s a problem that you will stand up for, alongside the rest of the workers of the world. So we know that inequality is a matter of political choice nationally and internationally and it’s fuelled by the dominant modal of global trade. The biggest companies in the world depend on supply chains that are built on a model of exploitative wages, unsafe and insecure work. When our corporations can’t pay $177 a month in Cambodia, or $250 in Jakarta, or $120 in Bangladesh, something is very wrong - it’s called corporate greed. When you meet a textile worker like Rena as I did three weeks ago in the Philippines, and she tells me when I ask her what she wants most from her company, she doesn’t say ‘;wages’ even though she can’t live on the wages she has, she doesn’t say ‘stop the guards escorting me to the toilet and treating me as someone less than human’. She doesn’t say ‘I want decent food and a lunch hour that I can actually touch’. What she says is ‘I want an end to forced overtime, I want to be able to tell my 12 year old son who I am worried about in terms of his safety, that I can cook him a meal at night or indeed I can say goodnight to him when I don’t know if I’m going to be home by 10, 12, 2, 4, in the morning’ - that’s not decent work. And, of course, when men gathering seafood for many of our tables are enslaved in boats in the Indonesian waters without living quarters and sanitation for months on end, there is no hope for them of decent work without us. And you know the story of slavery that we are fighting in Qatar and the deep corruption of FIFA and all the construction and service companies, our companies making profits from the shame of the World Cup in a slave state - we will not give up on slavery. Delegates, I’m privileged to meet the workers who are the producers of the world’s wealth all around the world. But many of them get to share little or none of it and worse, many of them are invisible with no voice. I get angry with them on your behalf, I cry with them. They are courageous men and women. They are our brothers and indeed our working family. A brother this morning sighted the American Chamber of Commerce as champions of the voluntarist model of collective bargaining - in fact can I tell you the American Chamber of Commerce is our number one enemy. They are evil and they are insidious everywhere. They are not content to drive an anti-union culture in the US. They are everywhere treating Governments with capital flight if they raise minimum

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wages or strengthen labour rights. If Governments are cowards, and they are, then only we can stand up to their zero hour contracts and their low pay vision of a perfect world for corporate profits. And, you are doing just that - you are showing the way to defeat them. To the Dunne’s workers and all the other disputes here- you have global solidarity for your struggle. And of course it is these American companies demanding the ISDS Disputes mechanism within the TTIP, the right to demand taxpayer dollars to prop up their claims for potentially loss profits - imagine that. Now that’s socialism but it’s actually socialising corporate greed. So, in Asia we have started the fight back. We have launched the campaign to end corporate greed and we will extend this campaign through the supply chains in Latin America and Asia in 2016. The World Day for Decent Work in October 7th this year will be dedicated to campaigns for safe and secure work for minimum living wages and social protection under the umbrella slogan of ‘End Corporate Greed’. The ITUC Global Index details the worst places in world for workers to work. And let me tell you it’s pretty shocking when in almost 60 percent of countries, certain types of workers are excluded from their fundamental labour rights, 70 percent of countries have workers with no right to strike including many public sector workers in developed economies. And, indeed two thirds of countries deny workers collective bargaining rights. More than half of the countries in the survey are denied workers excess to the rule of law. And, we know from the figures that shockingly unionists arrested and murdered are on the increase, including in European countries like Spain where workers face jail for striking against austerity, or indeed migrant workers risk their lives for the right to work. The shocking reality is that while the Gulf States are the worst region in the world, it is Europe, yes actually Europe, that represents the greatest decline in respect for workers’ rights and entitlements - it’s called austerity. There is some shifts, however, the G7 put supply chains on the agenda for the first time and recognised the reasonability of their global companies to respect fundamental labour rights and ensure due diligence through the supply chains. We have also put it on the G20 Agenda and there will be an ILO discussion at the Conference next year in 2016. The trust in corporations is broken. Indeed we polled countries just before the G7 meeting and in countries in developing economies like France, Germany, UK ,USA, more than 55 percent of workers said companies couldn’t be trusted to look after workers and that tougher laws were needed. It’s not surprising that 80 percent of workers in countries like Indonesia, Philippines, and Turkey believe most employers prioritise profits over safety, and indeed 78 percent want a decent minimum wage, a wage on which they can live. So the break down in trust with corporations puts the onus back on to Governments to ensure the rule of law. This year the World’s leaders will endorse a sustainable development goals and full employment and decent work with universal social protection essential to those goals. I ask you to watch the position of your own Government to see that they stand up for just that. Now I can’t leave you without a word on climate for the destruction of lives and livelihoods is staring us in the face. We have a simple message as trade unions ‘there are no jobs on a dead planet’ and 90 percent of respondents to the ITUC pole show that their citizens are way ahead of their Government. When 90 percent of people in countries with more than 50 percent of GDP just a month ago say they want to see leaders take Action to prevent climate change, and a total 79 percent want action in the next twelve months or less. It makes a joke of the targets put forward by our Government to the Paris agreement discussions very-very obvious.

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Government ambition is too low, and no country has a national plan, not one country has a national plan, no industry has a collective agreement with unions for the transition that is imperative. Indeed the planning for Just Transition means no worker is left behind. So the challenge of decarbonisation is a task for all of us. Jobs have already been lost and workers and their communities have a right to know what their Governments and their employers plans are to decarbonise, to protect and grow jobs in a clean economy. I hope we will see some of you at our union summit, our climate summit in Paris in September with stories of what could be done in our workplaces. Finally let me congratulate you, and indeed share your joy in the inspirational Referendum on Marriage Equality. Your pride in this act of solidarity and respect for the love of that individuals have for each other and their families is so well deserved and I’m so proud to wear your badge. And just as you celebrated this amazing act of democratic power, of the power you will celebrate also the victory of the fundamental social justice that you will fight for a living wage and decent working conditions represents. Patricia, your leadership as the first woman Secretary, this will be grand, you will lead the fight with all union leaders and indeed most importantly, union members and their families in their work places, organising for workplace justice. Together we can actually, within and across nations, build the power of workers that will end cooperate greed . We must and we will - Solidarity. Peter Bunting, Assistant General Secretary Brian is going to make presentation to Sharan for her great work for the trade union movement on the international front. Brian Campfield, Vice President Okay, Theresa Dwyer of the Congress Women’s Committee Theresa Dwyer, ICTU Women’s Committee Good afternoon. Theresa Dwyer from the ICTU Women’s Committee. Before I start I just want to add the voice of the Women’s committee to the well wishes to Patricia King in her position as General Secretary of Congress and I think you’ll all agree that her contributions earlier today were a great defence of workers’ rights, and I have no doubt that the Tánaiste got the message loud and clear. So what I just want to do is take a few minutes about the work on the Women’s committee bought North and South. In the South at the moment were finalising our programme of work for the current term of office and we have broken this down to three key areas; women organising for decent work which includes collective bargaining, pensions, family leaves, affordable childcare, and flexible working; women in society which includes women in decision making and violence against women; and women in trade unions which includes an audit of women in trade unions including delegations to union Conferences. We have been guided by motions from previous BDCs and by the Women’s Conference in 2014 as well as data and analysis from the ETUC. We also intend to conduct a survey of women workers across the country to identify issues that are a priority for working women. Now the Women’s Committee are meeting next week and we will be prioritising items under those three key areas. A major focus for the Northern Ireland Women’s Committee has been campaigning against austerity and the impact of welfare reform.

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Northern Ireland is the highest percentage of people around 28 percent earning below the living and as we know women are the most likely to be in the low paid vulnerable jobs on zero hours and low hour contracts. The Northern Ireland Women’s Committee continues to contribute to the policy debate in Northern Ireland responding to consultations including those on childcare, shared parental leave, and flexible working, as well as taking an active and robust roll in the development of the gender equality strategy for Northern Ireland. These issues will form part of our discussion with our colleague’s trade unions at the Council of the Isles which takes place in Glasgow later this year. I just want to talk little bit about data from Europe. At the of last month the European Institute on Gender Equality launched the Gender Equality Index 2015 which is a body of work which assessed the current situation in member states in six core areas; work, money, knowledge, time, power, and health. The startling results from that data is that the index measured gender equality from one which is the lowest, up to hundred which would be full equality. The average score is just about fifty it’s actually at 52.9 which means that in terms of gender equality were only half way there right across Europe, so it’s quite startling and it’s hard to believe that in 2015 were only at that stage. Having said that, Ireland has shown some improvement scoring above the EU average in most areas but still below the EU average in power and decision making but we are still only half way there. Now at the Biennial Delegate Conference in 2013 we passed a motion put forward by the Executive Council were conference reaffirmed our commitment to create a fairer, better and more equal society. We agreed that within the trade union movement we would develop impact assessments of our own actions in policy making and the bargaining table with employers and in our negotiations with Government to ensure that we are genuinely contributing to the elimination of discrimination and the promotion of equal opportunity. A motion passed at the Women’s Conference 2014 called for equality proofing of all collective agreements in advanced of their implementation. We need to start doing that delegates at the bargaining table because if we don’t all we will ever really be half way there, so that’s not a place we want to be. We are a progressive trade union movement and I must say I’m very much hearten by the Congress Charter for Fair Conditions at Work, I think that’s a very important piece of work because any organisation that signs up to this was also pledging to eliminate discrimination in the work place. And on a final note I would like to congratulate Esther Lynch on her appointment as Confederal Secretary with the ETUC, and wish her well in her post. Esther has been good friend to the ICTU Women’s Committee over the years and we hope to continue our association with her at European level. Thank you very much. Brian Campfield, Vice President The President is going to make a presentation to Theresa Dwyer, on behalf of Congress. Okay we’re going to move on with the motions and we have Ethel Buckley moving Motion 24 on behalf of the Executive Council Ethel Buckley, Executive Council Ethel Buckley moving motion number 24 on behalf of the Executive Council and confirming that the Executive Council accepts the amendment put forward by the Union of Shop Distributive and Allied Workers. So far Delegates 2015 has been a good year for equality, but this year actually has the potential to be a great year for trade union relevance in the fight for equality and social justice on our Island. But it is only going to be that if we sieze some opportunities that are up ahead of us and if we work together tactically across our unions to rebuild our movement.

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So on both sides of the Island trade unions members and their families and communities have stood up this year and said Yes to Equality and said it with pride. In Belfast last month at the City Hall the ICTU lead a demonstration of some 20,000 people saying Yes to Equality and the demand of that demonstration of course is parity with the rest of Ireland and the UK in allowing civil Marriage for same sex couples. The New York Times hailed the decision by the people in the Republic to change the Constitution as a social revolution, a social revolution that puts Ireland ‘at the vanguard of social change’. So delegates just think about that for a second, ‘Ireland at the vanguard of social change’, the same Ireland where religious doctrine has enslaved people really in fear and shame for hundreds of years, that same Ireland is now considered at the vanguard of social change is really something extraordinary, and something quite sudden I would say. As a member of the Executive Council I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the Executive Council on the decision, the very early decision, to support a Yes vote in the Civil Marriage Referendum actually, but the Executive Council did more than that, we didn’t just call for a Yes vote, what the Executive Council did was to set up a campaigning body trade unionist for Civil Marriage Equality. I have the great honour with Seamus Dooley from the National Union of Journalist and David Joyce from Congress, to be a Co-convener of trade unionist for Civil Marriage Equality. I do think it’s appropriate to especially acknowledge the leadership shown by the President on the issue of Civil Marriage and by the incoming General Secretary who from day one, in fact maybe on her first day in the job I think represented Congress at the actual launch of the campaign. So the Irish Congress of trade unions can be justifiably proud I think of the role we played in winning the Yes vote. But the fight of course for the LGBT workers’ rights is not over, that fight needs to continue, and the immediate priorities that are right up a head of us are to achieve Civil Marriage Equality in both jurisdictions, and in the Republic of Ireland to Read the Statute Book of the odious Section 37.1 of the Employment Equality Act that’s allows for the Discrimination of LGBT workers, it needs to go. So a lot has been said about the Civil Marriage Referendum and its right and proper that it should be, but I have something very particular that I want to say about it and this it’s, that as trade unionist and as progressives and as organisers we should make it an absolute priority to understand and indeed to model the successful tactics and strategies employed by LGBT activists. If you think about it a minority community, in fact a community that was much maligned, much discriminated against was able to achieve seismic social change in our country in 25years. Up until 1993 homosexuality was a criminal offence in this country, and what the LGBT community led by their activist manages to achieve in 25 years is really seismic if you think about it. And daunting and strange and disconcerting it is to conjure this up now, but some of us in the hall today will be most likely Delegates at the ICTU Conference in 25 years’ time in 2040, yeah some of us will. I’ll probably be stuck here. The point I’m making is there are people in this room, of which I’m one, who will still be active in this movement in 25 years’ time and if the LGTB community could achieve that kind of change in 25 years then I think it would be really smart of us to go and ask them how they did that. I would say some of the things they would say to us are about things like messaging and narrative, things like not using arcane language when you’re trying to communicate with people and win them over to a value system. We also have a lot to learn from them building coalitions and coalescing with other civil society organisation and indeed in the use of social media and new digital media. So let’s go and ask them those questions there is a lot to learn. So the Irish people get equality, I think we know that now in 2015, the value it they get it. And for the trade union movement that should give us the confidence actually that has been somewhat lacking in our movement I think. I would argue that we haven’t been sufficiently vigorous in our own campaigning around our own equality agenda for workers. Too often the equality agenda is a sideline issue in the trade union movement. Sometimes equality is dropped off the agenda

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altogether, if a bread-and-butter so called issue of the day seems to be more important. So I think if there is anything to learn from so called Social Revolution of 2015 it is that people value equality in this country and that we have a lot to learn from our brothers and sisters in other civil society organisations about how we campaign for the future. Thanks very much Delegates. Maria Morgan, NIPSA Colleagues, Maria Morgan, to second motion 24 with the amendment, on behalf of the Executive Council. I want to touch on some of the issues that are dealt with in the South, I just want to touch on some of the issues that were dealing with in terms of equality and the barriers for equality in the North. The Stormont House Agreement which was agreed by the main parties at the Northern Ireland Assembly will cut, as you know, 20,000 public sector jobs. And that’s at a time when child poverty levels in Northern Ireland are amongst the highest across all of the regions. Food banks are opening all across our towns and villages, and that is the type of society we now live in Northern Ireland and I know it’s a replica in the South. Osborn today has just announce that he is going to cut Corporation Tax for his capitalist friends and at the same time, he is going freeze benefits for the rest of us. This is a class issue because on the one hand, you have those being looked after and on the other hand, you have those who continue shoulder the burden. That’s not acceptable and we need to keep saying that. Women are going to be disproportionately impacted by the savage cuts and multiple deprivation exists. These cuts will cause further economic devastation and will deepen the inequality that already exists across our communities. The motion calls for the Northern Ireland Executive to equality impact the cuts across online protected categories and the Committee on the Administration of Justice in the North has just won a legal challenge against the fact that the Northern Ireland Executive have failed to adopt a strategy to tackle poverty, social inclusion, and deprivation, which is required by a law that was passed in 2006 in the St. Andrews Agreement. They have ignored it. Conference, the corner stone of our movement is equality and we deplore the attempts in the North to introduce a conscience clause - a clause that will directly discriminate against our sisters and brothers in the LGBT community, and in my view that is criminal. It is criminal to try to drive through social policy that is driven by religious doctrine and it is unacceptable. Comrades, we will follow your victory on Equal Marriage in the North. Ethel mentioned on the 13th of June in Northern Ireland what was started and what will remain as a massive campaign, because Northern Ireland needs to learn from the strategy that you adopted. We need to tap into our activists in the LGBT community to do that. We want to follow your lead and we want to follow your victory because we will fight, and we will get Equal Marriage in the North of Ireland. Comrades, we demand that the Northern Ireland Assembly starts to act on the behalf of its electorate, we demand that the Sexual Orientation Strategy, the Gender Equality Strategy, the Racial Equality Strategy, the Disability Strategy, and now the Anti-Poverty Strategy - that are all sitting on the shelf doing nothing will be now implemented. It’s time for Northern Ireland to move out of the Dark Ages. Conference, North and South, we need to sit up and demand and make more demands, and I think one of the things we need to do is a political strategy going forward. We need keep the eye on the

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fact that the parties are moving into an election in the North in May 16, and an election in the South. We need to put them on notice of what our demands are for our society in Northern Ireland and across this Island. We demand that the Good Friday Agreement and the Charter of Rights in the Republic Ireland are immediately brought forward. Please support the motion. John Douglas, President We have quite a number of speakers lined up to speak on this motion, it’s a very important motion so I would just ask the speakers in as much as possible to stay out of the ‘red zone’, and there’s a lot of talking going on which is effecting people’s enjoyment of conference because they can’t hear, so if you could just be a bit respectful to speakers, they’ve put a lot of work into making their speeches, so thank you very much. Deirdre O’ Connor, INTO Deirdre O’Connor from INTO and speaking specifically to a section of this motion which refers to the need for an adequately resourced, comprehensive employment strategy for people with disabilities. Because I suppose reflecting on what Ethel has just said about the huge progress that has been made for LGBT People, I think people with disabilities would look onto that and would see that the progress that they’re making is at a much slower rate. Because it remains the case that if you are a person with a disability, you’re half as likely to have a job as a person without a disability. And there are all kinds of reasons for that. It’s about levels of expectation, levels of education, levels of health and fear about loss of benefits - the perception of a benefits trap, that if you’re in low paid work, you’re going to lose those benefits that are so vital to you. And then there are other issues that you would think are simple issues. Like transport issues - how people with disabilities can access work. An adequately resourced employment strategy has been on the cards for quite some time. And in fact, the date for publication of the strategy was given in the Action Plan for Jobs in the fourth quarter of 2014. Unfortunately, that target was not met. The strategy, we believe, is now with the Cabinet, but I think a strong message should go out from the Conference today that we need the immediate publication of an adequately resourced comprehensive employment strategy for people with disabilities. Please support the motion. Seamus Dooley, NUJ President, Conference, it is said by those who believe in such things that pride is the greatest or worst of all of the seven deadly sins. If that be the case, this room is full of sinners; and we are entitled to pride because this movement has been to the vanguard since its foundation for the promotion of equality. And when in 1981, Congress published Guidelines on Equality for Lesbian and Gay Men in the Workplace, I was shut out by law and I was locked in the closet, as so many other people were. We were deemed to be criminals, and today it is right that we celebrate, and that we take time. We don’t often have time to celebrate the contribution of this movement. We remember the contribution of David Joyce, Esther Lynch, John Carmichael, Patricia O’ Donavan, and all of the activists, North and South, who carried the flame at times when it was very difficult. And I remembered all of those, and many more last month when I walked arm and arm with a drag queen and Peter Bunting down the streets of Belfast. And I thought, ‘haven’t things changed?’, and they have changed. My own union in order to protect its political virginity does not actually take part in political referenda. And so I took four week’s holidays to spend it in office in Clarendon Street - it was the best holiday of my life. I think we need now, to look beyond the rainbow, we certainly need to look above the border, and we need to see what support and solidarity we can give to our LGBT brothers and sisters in Northern Ireland. Well we also need to look beyond the borders of this island, because internationally, gay men and women are still being murdered because of their sexuality. We must also, in celebrating, remember that if

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we are Republic of equals, we must ensure that in every aspect of our social and economic policies that the values that informed our campaign are translated, because you cannot stand for equality for LGBT people while attacking single parents. You cannot stand for equality in one area, while ignoring inequalities in the rest. Finally I want to say, as a member of the Steering Committee of the Yes Equality Campaign, we could not have done it without the Trade Union Movement, we could not have done it without your support, we could not have done it without the support the trade union groups who opened their doors, who welcomed people from Letterkenny to Kerry to Longford, we could not have done it without the bus ads from IMPACT, without the SIPTU phone banks, without all of that massive campaign. For many young people involved in our campaign, that was their first introduction to the trade union movement and the launch of the Trade Unions for Civil Marriage Equality, their first event ever as a trade union movement. That was an experience and we will build on that. Thank you for your support. Marjorie Trimble, UNISON Chair, delegates, Marjorie Trimble, UNISON, supporting Motion 24. Changes to the welfare system are already having significant impact – a negative impact, on people with a disability in Northern Ireland. The changes include those to the DLA, personal independent payments, universal credit - including housing element, social fund and changes to employment support allowance. These changes risk people with disabilities becoming less independent, at greater risk of been excluded from our communities. Many people with a disability are already trapped in poverty, and tend to be furthest from the Labour market. Governments are ignoring the social barriers and discrimination which many people with disabilities face every day. Today, Mr Osborne delivers his budget with further cuts to the welfare system which will impact on the most vulnerable in our society, including those with a disability. I chair my union’s disability group and many of us started our working our lives with no disability, but life changes, and it will change for many workers too. An attack on the rights of people with disabilities is an attack on us all. Support the motion, support equality and help turn it into real action. Mary Van Gelder, SIPTU Hello Delegates, my name is Mary Van Gelder from Malawi, but now Ireland is my home. I’m a SIPTU Shop Steward in a contract cleaning company, and also a member of a national equality committee in SIPTU. I support this motion. Talking about migrant workers in Ireland, many of us are not aware of our rights and entitlements. We need the unions to advise and support us, we need trade union movements to make us welcome in trade unions. Accept that we have different cultures and our differences make trade unions stronger. Please support this motion, Thank you. Laura McDaid UNISON President, delegates, Laura McDaid, UNISON, supporting Motion 24 and speaking for the first time. I was privileged to get on a bus last month and go to Dublin to support Dunne’s workers. I wasn’t the only young worker on the bus, but there could have been many more of us. This motion is about equality - that means it’s about the sections of our society most likely to face discrimination. I belong to at least three of those groups. I am a young woman worker, I want to concentrate on the young bit. Over the past 5 years in the North we have been hit with £4 billion in cuts. It’s not hard to guess who have been hit the hardest, women and young people. My generation has been squeezed; cuts to education, student debts, no jobs, welfare cuts. Many young people don’t know what a union is, that’s not their fault. But one thing we do understand is activism. So if unions are to be seen as relevant, then we need a lot more action in our movement, that’s what movement means - not spending your life in committees for the sake of it. I mean real participation. It’s not about unions

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being trendy, it’s about the real involvement of a whole new generation. That means making space for us, it means reaching out to young people, talking about rights, it means listening to us and it means change, I saw the ages of most of the Dunne’s Stores strikers. They are young. They take strike action. They stand up for their rights. They prove it’s not impossible to recruit the young, we just need to take it seriously - genuinely challenging discrimination. I support the motion. Fidelma Carolan, UNISON Fidelma Carolan, UNISON and lesbian lost in the North since 1989, but if anyone has a satnav. First of all I would like to thank every one of you for voting Yes. It wasn’t just the Yes vote that made all the difference, it was about creating the space for us to tell our stories – that was one thing I noticed when I was following the debate down here - the number of people who were empowered and given a voice to tell their story, as 70 year old Lesbian, gay or bi or trans person, or as a 17 year old Lesbian, Gay, or bi or trans person. That made all the difference, that we were not just lesbian, gay, or Bi or Trans, LGBT. We were real people with real experiences and some of those experiences were incredibly harrowing, particularly, but not exclusively, to those who came out later in life, and maybe for some, they came out late in life for the very first time this year because of the space that you created. And the voices of the grandparents and the parents and the sons and daughters and the nieces and nephews and cousins and the next door neighbours, they were all heard in a part of this debate. And again, that’s what changed the narrative, that’s what creative a new narrative. It was not about us wanting our rights, something better to be better than anybody else. It was about us our humanity been accepted by the society that we live in. In the North we have a huge challenge around getting marriage equality. It won’t come through the politics, it will come through a legal case. But one of the dialogues that has been happening in the South - they talk about the people ignored the Catholic Church, they ignored the Church Leaders and in the North, there is very much ‘Church versus Gay’ kind of debate going on. And for many of my friends, who I would identify as Gay Christians, that’s very negative because for them it’s about the Church changing their ways and acknowledging their existence and their humanity and their right to follow their faith and have that faith respected. And I think there was something of that in South and it was very gratifying to see, and I think that will be a key element of that in a debate in the North. Not just the North, I’ve seen it Australia and other countries where similar debates are happening. So thank you for voting Yes, thank you for creating change. It will make a huge difference to people you will never meet. Thank You. Lorraine Clyde, UNISON Good afternoon, delegates, President, my name is Lorraine Clyde, UNISON. I’m also a first time speaker. I’m supporting Motion 24, on Equality and the USDAW amendment. I welcome the emphasis on women. Today, the UK Chancellor announced a further £12 billion in welfare cuts and £30 billion in austerity cuts over the next 3 years. In Northern Ireland, these austerity cuts plus the Executive’s plan for Corporation Tax reduction will take further a £1 billion out of public spending and our economy. It is very clear who will continue to be most affected. It will be our low paid women workers. Their families, they stand to lose a further £40 a week. The reduction in the benefits cap will also throw another 2,000 households in the North into further poverty. The broadest backs should bear the hardest burden. Governments, North and South should show the same fervour to pursue the tax cheats as it used to pursue those with a right to benefits. We should not have to go to court to make Government in the North produce an anti-poverty strategy. We need to use our power to force Government, North and South, to step up on equality and human rights. Women suffer multiple discrimination, we refuse to be attacked on all sides.

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Our demand for equality has never been more important. This movement can make a real difference. We can organise women workers as a priority. We can target the most exploited. We can ensure that women’s rights, freedom from exploitation and equal pay are at the top of the bargaining agenda. We need to do all this now. I support this motion. Ann Browne, UNISON Conference, Ann Browne, UNISON speaking in support of the equality section. My niece Sharon recently got engaged to the love of her life, Rachel. I don’t see them as gay or lesbian, just a couple in love. They are currently planning their wedding and there is great excitement with talk about dresses, bridesmaids and honeymoon. As a family we are looking forward to welcoming Rachel into ours, however, the venue is proving to be a bit of a problem, as it’s not legal for them to get married anywhere in Northern Ireland, let alone Belfast. Conference, it is legal for them to marry in Bangor in Wales, but not Bangor in Northern Ireland. They can get hitched in Newcastle upon Tyne, but not Newcastle Co. Down. They can wed in Dromore West Co. Sligo, but not up the road in Dromore Co. Tyrone. So they have decided to get married in Europe, where at least they are guaranteed the weather, but not all their family and friends, as many couldn’t afford to travel. I married my husband Danny in Belfast 43 years ago. Sharon´s Mum and Dad also had their wedding in Belfast and I would like for her to be able to do the same. I think the South of Ireland are very lucky to get the legislation passed for same sex marriage and I hope we can get the same laws in the North of Ireland. Sean Carabini, PSEU Sean Carabini, PSEU. There is an awful lot of different facets with this motion, an awful lot of wording elements to it; I would like to speak to two elements of it, in relation to childcare and in relation to the family leave that it discusses. I don’t know if anybody here remembers Stellan Hermansson who used to be the ICTU Global Solidarity Officer, and Stellan had to move back to Sweden four years ago, and one of the reasons Stellan moved back was because of the cost of living, of being a parent in Ireland. So we actually invited Stellan to write a guest piece in our review magazine to discuss the differences between equality, between the cost in Ireland and Sweden. It was really interesting he noted that in Ireland he had to pay half of his post-tax earnings on crèche fees, about €1,000 month, you add on to that the high price of childcare costs, the fact that parental leave and things like are unpaid in this country. When he went back to Sweden, he found it a completely different experience, his childcare fees were reduced to €75 a month, that was the first difference. The second difference was that he discovered a parental leave system that actually paid you, it was a 16 month system that had elements of pay built in, and not only that, it was weighted in such a way that it appealed to both mothers and fathers. In other words, there are countries in Europe that have found ways to figure out what the equality barriers are to participating in society itsself and what to do about it. Sweden is one example of what they have done on that. Everything that we have discussed here in the last couple of days, I suppose all focuses around about how we navigate the relationship between our economy and our society, and we are a society, we are not an economy and too often we forget that. Stellan noted that when he went back to Sweden that he paid more on tax for it and indeed, were going to have that conversation here if we want to look at these equality measures. But at the end of the day when it comes to budgetary considerations, we should all remember that budget is not a financial document, it’s probably the most social document that we have in this country. It’s a list of or social priorities. So, everything in this motion is achievable and I do commend it to Conference and I have been trying to find a message, a message that maybe might help people to have a conversation about these matters you know in the canteen, our at the bus stop or something like that. And Stellan, had this

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nice simple little line in the article he wrote for us, he simply said, “We pay higher taxes in Sweden than Ireland, but in the end as a parent, I have more money left in my wallet.” Thank you very much. Sally Maguire, ASTI President, colleagues, Sally Maguire, ASTI. I would just like to draw your attention to three issues that pertain particularly but not exclusively to workers in the education sector. The first issue is that of newly qualified teachers’ pay scales. At the moment, we have three pay scales in the teaching sector. We have those who were employed up to 2011; we have those who were employed in 2011, and those who were employed from 2012. Not alone is it impossible for newly qualified teachers to get a fulltime job when they are starting off, and certainly teachers are no strangers to the low hour’s contracts when they are starting off. It is happening all over the place, but on top of that, when they finally do get employment they are working on a pay scale that is significantly less than the rest of us. So please don’t ask me to continue to be in the situation where I’m in one classroom teaching one subject to one group of kids, and my colleague is in the next classroom, teaching the same subject to a similar group of kids, but that person is on a much lower scale of pay than I am. Where is the equality in that? And the result of that is collegiality is lost in staff rooms, same as it would be in any place of employment in the same situation. We are losing the best of our young graduates to emigration, and most importantly of all, our students are suffering because the quality of the services is deeply impacted by something like that. There is no continuity of teachers; there is a huge turnover of teachers, and therefore the students are suffering. The second issue I would just like to concur with earlier speakers, in calling on Congress to continue to support the repeal of section 37.1. The teachers’ unions has been particularly to the fore in highlighting this issue and it was brought home to me very much this year, in the year of the marriage equality referendum, within weeks of that euphoria and let’s face it we all know the euphoria was very little about marriage and all about equality. And a few weeks after that, at pride, the second level teachers unions had 7 representatives in that parade, 3 LGBT, and 4 straight, now admittedly that the 3 LGBT was a 300 percent increase on other years, but at the same time why is that happening? Because teachers, and the same in the health sector, teachers and workers in the health sector are fearful of not being employed, of not being promoted, because of the section 37.1. Finally, I want to address issue of students with disabilities, special needs, and with mental health issues. I have been working with students with special needs for a long time, and one thing I constantly see is the parents with a child with special needs spend their entire lives fighting the system. Now that is wrong, that is not equal. There is also a huge increase of mental health issues amongst students and there is no joined-up thinking about this. Now I really appreciate the extra SNA jobs that came out yesterday and I congratulate our colleagues in IMPACT and in other unions that helped to gain those jobs. But there is no joined up thinking about it if you think of a class room maybe a Spanish class of third years, 15 year olds hormones raging. 30 kids in the room, 1 teacher in the room, maybe 1 SNA if you’re lucky in the room. Those 30 kids they have different abilities, some will have language issues, some will have gender issues, some will have mental health issues, some will have physical disabilities, some will have learning disabilities, some will have autism, and many other things. Now, where the equality here - is it fair on the teacher, who has had no training in any of those things except her subject or his subject which is Spanish. Has had no training in dealing with all the different issues. The SNA who has had very little training, so let’s be honest about this and get the SNA properly trained if they are going to be there and if they are going to do a good job. I would ask you to remember these three groups when you’re supporting this motion. Thank you.

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Nuala O’ Toole, USDAW President, delegates, Nuala O’Toole, USDAW supporting proposition 24. The motion from the Executive Council highlights the growing inequality and instability in Ireland, North and South. The Executive Council proposes an alternative model based on social investment, a model that would tackle inequality and discrimination. USDAW supports the movement and believes this is a key priority for the movement. In putting forward our amendment, USDAW wants to make the point that strengthening workers’ rights must be at the heart of our strategy for equality in the workplace, especially when it comes to delivering a fair deal for women workers, who often have to balance work with caring responsibilities. In supporting the proposition, I would like to talk from experience about the difficulties women workers face in the retail sector, the sector my union USDAW organises. Retail remains the biggest private sector employer in Ireland, and women make up the majority of the retail work force. USDAW is a trade union where over half the membership is female. Recession and austerity have had a damaging impact on women’s equality in the work place, and we want to ensure that equality and women’s equality is put back on the agenda. As a rep I spend a lot of my time supporting women who are trying to balance work with their caring responsibilities and things have become more difficult in recent years. Members are under pressure to change their hours to meet the demands of the business. If you can’t comply with these changes then it can mean having your hours of work cut. There are fewer staff on the shop floor and this isn’t just in my company. Cuts to staffing budgets are industry-wide and those cuts are taking their toll on women workers in particularly. Women workers already trying to balance work commitments with caring for children, grandchildren, and relatives, are being asked to be more flexible, they are being ask to work weekends, to work late, to work early, or both. They are not refusing their new hours simply because they like their old hours better, or because they are resistant to change, or they don’t understand the ‘needs of the business’. Women workers often simply can’t fit the new hours around their childcare or other caring responsibilities. And let me be clear these are not additional hours, these are the same hours spread out differently, this is causing a great deal of distress and women are faced with losing hours, and in some cases losing their jobs if they don’t agree. There is an example of a single parent with no family around her for support and she has been told she has to work weekends, or she could lose those hours all together. To pay for formal childcare costs more than she will earn, so where does that leave her? And it is not only existing staff who are been put under pressure. New starters are being given shorter hour’s maximum flexibility contracts there expected to chop and change on a weekly daily basis. It’s not possible to plan ahead. These are difficult times to work in retail and USDAW wants to ensure that we are supporting our workers, we want to make sure we’re ensuring managers are mindful of indirect discrimination in every single discussion they have with members about changing hours. The only way to have stronger employer rights with workers is start to see more equality in the work place. Thank you! Adam Murray, Belfast Trades Council I’m also a first time speaker but the novelty has sort of worn off at this point! As someone from Belfast, I would like to thank ICTU, and everyone who has work before I was around to work with this Tripartite Agreement between ICTU, Amnesty and the LGBT community. It’s been a massive change actually, and I think it was Ethel who moved the motion and asked that we would love to talk to the LGBT community about how you achieve so many things in such a short – well a long enough space of time actually. But I would love too actually have that conversation with you, I work for a charity called Cara Friend it’s a charity for LGBT people in the North, and I tell you, the big, big, protest for marriage equality that was held with ICTU, Amnesty and LGBT community did have an effect. I would like to just give you interesting piece of information, I hope a good piece of information, that a delegation from my charity that I work for met with members of the DUP, and

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they met with 6 DUP MLAs, who are open and interested in looking to getting a free vote. The DUP, with about 38 MLAs I think in the North is whipped to vote No, and a lot of them don’t want to, and delegations from my charity that I work for, I was not allowed to go, that was because I have problems with the DUP, but they met with them, and there are 6 of them who met with them and there are 3 more, said if this first meeting goes well, we will come to the second meeting. The meeting did go well, and hopefully at the next meeting we will have 9 out of 38 DUP MLAs, and I am sure there will be others as well. Because if we treat all Political Parties and all organisations and movements as monoliths we won’t get anywhere. There are people in these political parties and you can say that they are sectarian, you can say that they are right wing, you can say everything, but we have achieved something and why was that achieved? Because channels of communication were kept open and respectful dialog has been a continuance, and I think it was that ICTU, and Amnesty, and the LGBT community protest that made those members of the DUP, say right, now is the time we have to actually start talking serious. They are saying they can’t come out and vote for marriage equality, but they do want to talk about getting that whip taken off them so that they can get a free vote. I had a whole load of stuff here I’m not going to say, so I want to say Thank you very much, and we’ll keep doing what we’re doing. Mark Walsh, ASTI Mark Walsh, ASIT Executive, I just want to follow up on two points that were made very well by Sally McGuire on first of all the whole marriage equality campaign. It has been a huge leap forward but the question is what are the next steps? Getting rid of Section 37/1 is the next step and then getting marriage equality in the North as well is another crucial step in making sure that our rights are respected across the Island. Secondly, I wanted to refer to the issue of new entrant pay, now new entrants are down €6,000 annually because their allowances have been removed, and Sally referred to the different salary scales there is €6,000 less every year, which over 25 years that’s a €150,000. Now I have a question and I want to ask, why was there no push for pay parity in the recent negations on Lansdowne Road? My union and the TUI are against Lansdowne Road but I want to ask the INTO in particular, why did you not push for pay parity for new entrant teachers? Thank you. John Douglas, President Delegates, delegates can you speak to the motion please! Thank you. Okay, there are no more speakers showing on Motion 24. Motion 24, as amended is going to be put to the Conference. All in favour? All against? Motion 24 is carried. I now call on the Chair of Standing Orders to make a report. We ran hopelessly overtime and we’re going to have to take some action to get us back on track again, so thank you Standing Orders. Jack McGinley, Chairperson Standing Orders Delegates, Standing Orders had an impromptu session in recent minutes to look at the situation because of the drift this afternoon. Standing Orders will advise that the Clár showed that at 3.45pm we were to move to the Public Services Section of the Report. Following the vote on Motion 24, we are advising that the two speakers from the Retired Members Section should be heard, and that that should be followed by Motions 32-41 and the amendment, to completion. Motions 25-31 shall be taken tomorrow morning following the conclusion of Motions 42-46 and two more Emergency Motions which will appear in Standing Orders Report No. 4 in the morning. Standing Orders is also advising that in order to complete the business by the scheduled time of 2.30pm tomorrow afternoon, it will be necessary to curtail speaking to 3 minutes for Proposer, 2 minutes for Seconders, 2 minutes for any other speakers, and one speaker per union. I move.

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John Douglas, President I’m now putting that Standing Orders Report to the floor. All in favour? All against? Carried. From where I’m sitting it’s well carried (some noise in the hall). I’m now going to call on Margaret Galloway and Margaret Browne on behalf of the Retired Workers’ to address conference, thank you. ….it was passed it’s too late, it was passed by the delegates at Conference. It was overwhelmingly passed by the delegates at conference. They are the rules. Margaret Browne, Retired Workers’ Committee ROI President, General Secretary, delegates, I would like to add my voice to the congratulations to Patricia. I happen to be one of the lucky ones, having worked with her on so many occasions over the years I hope will continue to do so, Patricia. The Executive Council established a Review Group on the Status of the Retired Workers in the Trade Union Movement. The purpose of this body was to give a higher profile within Congress and within unions, to the needs of Retired Workers, especially in regard to pensions, health care and general solidarity between those at work and those who are retired. It also examined ways and means of providing for greater involvement of retired members in their unions, including where necessary the establishment of special structures. The review body established was conscious of the skills and knowledge that retired workers have acquired from a life time of work and trade union activities. There is a longstanding, but outmoded notion that workers should retain their membership only until the end of their working lives. When they retire from the workplace, their Trade Union activity should cease. There are good reasons why this notion does not feature in contemporary trade union thinking. Firstly, the current generation of older people is healthier, more active and more socially engaged than earlier generations. Secondly, these veterans of many disputes, struggles and campaigns have shown time and time again, that by effective communication, agitation and organisation, they can make a positive contribution to the trade union movement. When I was listening to Ethel Buckley when she was talking about continuing on until she is, I don’t know what age…I never thought that I would still be standing here having been involved in the trade union movement for 40 years. The age of austerity has shown that older people are not immune from neo-liberal attacks on living standards and entitlements. The doctrine of legitimate expectation, long regarded as the main protection of pensioners and pensions in payment, is exposed as scant protection for entitlements earned and paid for over a working lifetime. Pensioners no longer believe their pension to be secure; rather they see them as increasingly under threat. Older people have never been in so much need of trade union participation and representation. Taking into consideration the motions adopted on issues related to retired Members and the experience of the trade union centres affiliated to the European Trade Union Confederation, Conference agreed to establish this review body. I acknowledge the input of Joe O´Flynn, Chair of the Sub Committee and Fergus Whelan from ICTU. They have done Trojan and tremendous work. There is now a report published on the status of retired members, which was supported by the Executive Council. The recommendations are contained in the report, which has been circulated to all delegates. Furthermore, a sub-group was established earlier this year by the Retired Workers in the Republic, to examine the seriousness of the pension issues in the Republic of Ireland. Pensions may not be high on the priority list of the delegates here today, but pensions will important to you in the future. What has happened to our pensions could happen to yours, so it is extremely important to include pensions in the present

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negotiations, and also for private pensions it is important that the Trade Unions keep this issue to the fore in negotiations, and not just in negotiations, but also at the Pensions Trustee Meetings. According to the politicians, the economy has embarked on a gradual recovery with a growth of 4 percent last year, and similar progress expected this year. There is no doubt that the quality of life of our senior citizens has been seriously undermined, and their sense of security diminished. In the Budget Submission which was prepared by the Retired Workers Committee in the Republic ‘Justice and Equality for Older People’ the synopsis of the submission has 18 issues, that as a Committee we have requested be considered by the Minister in the forthcoming Budget. You may think 18 issues is a lot but our attitude is, ‘if you don’t as, you won’t get’. In fact, last Friday we met with Joan Burton, Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection and it was a very successful and fruitful meeting. Retired workers believe they should be able to influence negotiations within their Trade Unions to protect their standard of living. The exclusion of retired members from collective bargaining debars unions from utilising industrial relations procedures to achieve this end. With proper consultation structures within respective Unions, it should be possible for unions to effectively represent the interest of the retired members. On behalf of the Retired Workers’ Committees, North and South, I commend the Executive Council for taking on board suggestions and recommendations put forward by the members. To Patricia King, General Secretary and the Executive Council, we appreciate your efforts and support - it has given added urgency to creating organisational structures to strengthen representation and advocacy in the absence of collective bargaining and social bargaining. It is possible for unions to effectively represent the interests of retired members. We need your backing, and request that you lend your support and to take on board the views expressed in regard to Retired Workers, and I would finally say that you will be that soldier one day! President, also if you would just allow me, on behalf of the Retired Workers’ Committee I would like to take this opportunity to acknowledge most sincerely the 23 years of service that Michael O´Halloran devoted to the Committee - Michael´s hard work, dedication and commitment over the years is greatly appreciated. Michael, I wish you well in your retirement. You are a hard act to follow. Margaret Galloway, Retired Workers’ Committee NI Good afternoon President, General Secretary, Delegates, and guests. Instead of rejoicing in one of the great success stories of modern times, that is that we are all living longer and tired of the fact that the media and public commentators seem intent on referring to the cost of funding pensions and pensioners. Mention is seldom made of the £46 billion which older people contributed to the economy. Put in simple terms for every pound spent on pensioners the government gets a return of £1.50. Although the myth is that pensioners have been spared the cuts it must be remembered that they were the first hit when Mrs Thatcher’s government broke the link between pensions and earnings. More recently the move from RPI, to CPI, as a means of upgrading pensions was one of the first moves in this austerity program. Existing pensioners will not benefit from the much trumpeted new single tier pension and in fact not all pensioners will get the full amount, with women being the most disadvantage. Is it any wonder giving the adverse publicity perpetuated in the media that younger people begin to believe that older people are taking an unfair slice of the ever diminishing cake? However it serves no purpose to compare one section of the community with another. All generations need to realise that we are all suffering under the heel of this government. With each benefit cut which is announced another section of the community is devastated, be it the disabled with a threat to their benefits, children by the redefining of child poverty, or low paid working people by benefit caps.

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UK Chancellor, George Osborne, is today expected to announce or may have already announced, a further £25 billion in cuts, £12 billion of which will come from benefits. Some have tried to put a wedge between young and old, but the truth is the ones that have escaped austerity are the ones with money. Young and old and all ages in between must stand together to defend public services and where better to make a difference but in our own unions? With the cuts to facility time for working trade unionist, retired workers can help by taking on some of the duties which can be delegated. We are here and we are willing to help. If we choose not to work together we may find ourselves in the situation described by Pastor Niemöller when he said ‘when they came for me there was no one left to speak’. Thank you. John Douglas, President We’re now on the session 15.45 Public Services. I’d like to call Liam Berney, Industrial Officer to introduce the Report on Public Services, Principle Report Section 4 ‘Progressive Workplace Rights’. Liam Berney, Industrial Officer Thank you very much President, colleagues. I know conference is under severe time pressure, I will be very brief. I would wanted to use this opportunity to draw your attention to some of the highlights referred to in Section 4 of the Executive Council Report. Later in the year the Workplace Relations Commission will be formally established when the Minister commences the legislation. This is a significant development and will see all of the first instance workplace dispute resolution bodies brought together in a single institution. Alongside this consolidation, the role of the Labour Court will be expanded and the Court will assume responsibility for the work that was previously done by the Employment Appeals Tribunal. Congress has welcomed these reforms and we believe they can be of real benefit to members. It is a challenging time for those working in these institutions I referred to. Section 4 of the Executive Council Report demonstrates the enormous amount of work undertaken by those staff working in the industrial relations institutions of the State, and I think it is appropriate and right that I take this opportunity to thank all of the staff of these institutions, who do such vital work on all of our behalf every day of the week. Colleagues, the establishment of the Workplace Relations Commission and the reforms also pose a number of challenges for our movement, and we need to be vigilant to work to ensure that the relative informality that has characterised the approach of the LRC and the Labour Court continues to be part of the culture of the Workplace Relations Commission and the expanded Labour Court. Section 4 of the Executive Council Report also illustrates that there has been a significant increase in the incidence of days lost to industrial disputes. This could be as a result of workers seeking to improve their conditions of employment, as we slowly begin to see an improvement in the bargaining position of workers. It is also, however, a reminder that in the last two years we have seen workers determined to fight to protect their conditions of employment. Workers in Greyhound and in Dublin Bus have had to resort to strike action in defence of their conditions of employment. If there is a lesson we have learned from the last two years, is that where the private sector get involved in the delivery of public services, it is nearly inevitable that they will eventually seek to drive down conditions of employment of those workers delivering those services. I’m pleased to say that the recently negotiated Lansdowne Road Agreement has improved procedures relating to the outsourcing of public service work. It is also important Delegates to note that before the next BDC, the government of the Republic of Ireland will be required to transpose into law two new public procurement directives and we need to work to ensure that we use the opportunity to lobby for the best possible outcome. There is little doubt that if we continue to see an improvement in the economic conditions, workers will be seeking a share of any increased wealth. We will see workers and unions making claims for

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improved conditions of employment across the economy. Congress, for our part, will work through the Private Sector Committee to promote a co-ordinated approach to wage bargaining across the economy and in industrial sectors where appropriate. As the report of the Trade Union Commission pointed out, there is no reason why unions in the retail and distribution sector of the economy, for example, should not coordinate wage bargaining. Colleagues, when we come together again for BDC in 2017, legislation will have been enacted to strengthen the capacity of the trade unions to achieve collectively bargained outcomes for their members to provide for the making of sectorial and enterprise-based legally binding collective agreements. If these two welcome developments come to pass and they continue to coincide with a renewed economic recovery it means that unions have a decent prospect of improving the conditions of employment of workers. However, as we all know, ultimately the key to success lies in our capacity to continue to grow our membership and organise workers. The new General Secretary of Congress has identified organising as a key priority area for Congress in the coming period. Unions continue to dedicate more and more resources to the task of organising workers and we in Congress intend to be as much assistance as possible in this endeavour. Finally colleagues the General Secretary in her remarks to Conference yesterday made reference to our campaign to win support for the Congress Charter for Fair Conditions of Employment amongst members of the Oireachtas, and members of the assembly in Northern Ireland. I have personally been involved in some of this work and from the interaction it is very clear to me that the vast majority of the people we have spoken to continue to regard the trade union movement as a force to be reckoned with. Let’s use the next two years to prove them correct. John Douglas, President Now delegates it gives me great pleasure to introduce Frances O’Grady, General Secretary of the TUC, and ask Frances to address conference. Thank you Frances. Frances O´Grady, Guest Speaker, General Secretary, TUC Thank you very much President, thank you very much General Secretary, and brothers and sisters. It’s great to bring greetings on behalf of the TUC General Council, and our 6 million members. I have to say I have been following some of the debate earlier on this morning and it seems there is very hot issue in both our countries about how you get more people into work, in particular groups, like single parents into work. So I have got a confession to make, I brought up my children as a single parent, and believe you me, benefit cuts activated me but not entirely in the way the politicians planed. Anyway I do want to start by giving my warm congratulations to Patricia, as the first women General Secretary Patricia has already made history. But she is a formable champion for trade unionism, for the right to organise, and the right to bargain collectively. Now I have read somewhere that Patricia was described as a ‘straight talking woman of action’, and let’s face it delegates, the way things are going there will be no shortage of demand for those talents in leading the trade union movement. But I also want to pay tribute to Patricia’s predecessor, a good friend David Begg. David led this Congress with real distinction for a term of 14 years, or as our colleagues in the prison services would describe it, a 14 year stretch, and he has earned enormous respect not just in this country, but around Europe too, representing the trade union through one of the most volatile periods in modern Irish history, with great intelligence and great skill, and I am delighted that he will continue to lead that battle of ideas through the think tank that he now chairs. So thank you Patricia, thank you David, and thank you all for everything you have done, and for everything that as delegates you continue to do within the trade union family - not just representing your members at work, but

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building a fairer, more compassionate country leading that fight for justice and equality, not just at work, but in society too. I have to say I thought it was absolutely wonderful news last month when the people of Ireland voted so decisively to approve equal rights in marriage. I think Irish unions should take credit, should share credit, and take great pride in that victory. I recognise of course as we have already heard that campaign is far from over, and I hope that everyone here will join us in sending a message of solidarity to those LGBT people North of the border still being denied those rights. To them we say, ‘your struggle is our struggle’ and we will not rest until everyone in every part of this island enjoys the right to choose who to love; and if they so choose, then to marry too. Now, Congress, working people across many countries maybe divide by borders, but of course we face many of the challenges, austerity and privatisation, insecurity and inequality, benefits cuts for the poor, tax cuts for the rich. In Britain, the election of the majority Conservative government means that trade unions face the coldest political climate that we have faced since the days of Margaret Thatcher. Now David Cameron likes to say he is a one nation Conservative, but his government’s programme is profoundly divisive and tells quite a different story. As you know all too well £12 billion pounds hacked from the welfare budget, public services flogged off to the highest bidder, and attacks on our labour rights and our civil liberties. Whereas here in Ireland, you’re working with the Government to extend collective bargaining in Britain we have got our work cut out defending what we have got. The new government’s priority wasn’t how to tackle our poor record on investment, or productivity, it wasn’t how to tackle tax dodgers or wrongdoing by the banks. No, its first major announcement was its intention to ban the right strike by the back door, giving employers the right to use agency labour to break strikes, making it easier for the state to spy on union organisers by criminalising pickets, and imposing new ballot thresholds that frankly David Cameron would not dream of imposing on the forthcoming Referendum on membership of the European Union, let alone the election of politicians to their own House of Common seats. It’s no exaggeration to say we face the most Draconian, the most right wing assault on trade union rights anywhere in Western Europe. But delegates I can promise you this, we are not going to roll over, we are not going to give up without a fight. Now of course, I recognise that this side of the Irish Sea is not exactly a trade union land of milk and honey either, despite welcome signs of recovery, Irish workers are still being hit by those shock waves of that financial crash. IMF imposed austerity has sucked €30 Billion out of the economy since the crash, with huge job cuts and service cuts and in the public sector. Young people, too many of them, still packing their suitcases to seek a better life on a scale not seen decades. And there is still a long way to go before real wages catch up to where they should be. And in my book, in Northern Ireland the consequences of Westminster of austerity are even more alarming, threating not just jobs and welfare, but the very peace delivered by the Good Friday Agreement. I believe that this government’s ideological obsession with austerity frankly is playing with fire, and I will do everything in my power to support Patricia and this Congress in trying to get them to change course. But regardless of where they live, or the passport we hold, I’ve always believed that what most working people want from life is really pretty simple; we want a decent job, we want fair pay, we want a good home, and we want enough time to spend with the people that we love. But today we know that there are more than 5 million, workers in Britain, and a fifth of Irish workers, earning less than the living wage. Last year the TUC organised a big campaign under the banner ‘Britain Needs A Pay Rise’ and it seems self-evident to me that Irish, Spanish, Greek, and German workers need a pay rise too. But workers around the European Union are on the sharp end of a global shift

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in wealth and power between capital and labour. From the crisis in Greece to that scandal of TTIP and other trade agreements rigged to benefit big corporations, we are witnessing the consequences, the bargain that’s held Europe together for decades. A dynamic single market balanced by a strong social framework and workers’ rights is under severe strain. Instead of a Europe fit for workers, there are those who want to see it as ones fit for the likes of Michael O´Leary, which if his planes are anything to go by, it means a big squeeze on us and massive extra hidden costs. I hope that the Referendum on the results in Greece that we heard Sunday/Monday, Greece the very cradle of democracy will give that elite pause for thought. It should serve as a reminder that it is not business moguls, international bankers, or EU bureaucrats who have the rights to determine Europe’s destiny. It is the people of Europe - the citizens who must have that power. Now soon, British citizens will go to the polls once again, this time for an ‘In/Out Referendum’ on our membership of the EU. David Cameron said he wants to stay in, but only if he can secure reforms on his terms. Now the Prime Minster is being remarkably vague about what those terms are, so I have been following him around Europe in a bid to find out. In fact he could be forgiven for thinking that I am stalking him, which I am, anyway. I think we have now discovered the answer. It’s not published, it’s not out there, but we are very clear that this is also about the social chapter. That’s rights to paid holidays, the right to be consulted in redundancy, maternity, paternity, parental leave, health and safety, protection for agencies workers, paid holidays everything that we hold dea - the very social glue that holds Europe together. Now, you may be aware that some Conservatives in Britain have taken to calling themselves the Workers Party, it has a different meaning I think here, they say that they’re the party for blue collar workers, in fact the Prime Minster even claimed that the Conservative party is the trade union for hard workers, which presumably leaves the TUC organising the lazy ones, I don’t know. But I’ve got a message for Mr Cameron, ‘you won’t win votes in the Referendum by worsening workers’ rights’. TUC polling shows very clear that stripping Europe of social dimension would only make a British exit more likely - a result that would do great damage to jobs and investment. But if the EU is reduced to nothing more than a market, if it just becomes a vehicle for privatising our services, removing our rights, and boosting cooperate profits, then popular support for the European ideal will wither on the vine. So now in my book, now is not the time to trash the European model but the time to refresh it, and renew it, and that is our job to do. Our first priority must be to develop a practical plan for Europe to deliver fair growth, real green investment, and decent jobs in the places that need the most. What the Irish President Michael D Higgins, has rightly called ‘an ethical economy’, rather than a race to bottom that saddles family with debt with need to return to the economic common sense of wages-led growth, putting money in workers pockets stimulating demands supporting the decent businesses in local economies. Delegates, our second priority must be to protect and enhance our public services, good schools, hospitals, Councils, emergency services, decent care for our children, the elderly, and the Disabled, a strong welfare state. These are the hallmarks of any civilised society. And let me tell you this, when they ask us ‘well how can you afford it?’, let us demand back fair taxes - that’s how we will pay for it. Conference, I believe our third first priority must be to rebuild our movement, and sometimes the sad truth is we cannot win alone through the power of our argument. Sometimes, we need to use the argument of our power. In Britain we have manage to halt the decline in our membership and we have begun to recruit more members in the private sector. And we are planning a major new initiative to reach the new generation of young workers. Workers like those at the Ritzy Cinema in

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South London, who last summer, took 13 days strike action in their campaign for a living wage. Backed by their union they won the support of the public, they ran musical pickets lines - I was on the drums - Facebook campaigns and they shamed that company into awarding a magnificent 26 percent pay rise! Now too often young people are on the front line of austerity of zero hours, high rents, and lousy pay. But I believe that this is a generation with a lot of courage and little to lose. Imagine what we could if the trade union movement was seen as the national champion of the hopes and dreams of young workers? So brothers and sisters in Ireland, in Britain elsewhere, young people are the future of our movement and we need show that we are right by their side, helping them to organise, championing their cause and giving them hope for the future. I will finish on this, I’ve always believed that trade union movement’s journey has never been an easy one, the battle for justice is long and hard, and of course we will face setbacks along the way. Without doubt we all know we have got our work cut out, but I believe if we stay through to our values, of justice, of equality, basic solidarity of working people looking after each other, if we stick together, if we organise together, then together we will surely win. Thank you. Brian Campfield, Vice President Okay conference, before I move onto Motion 32, the President is going to make another presentation (presentation to Frances O’Grady). John Douglas, President Okay now moving onto Motion 32 Privatisation on behalf of the Executive Council being moved by Alison Millar. Alison Millar on behalf of the Executive Council Moving motion no. 32. Conference the threat and scourge of privatisation of public services have been with us now for many years. However currently the focus of governments both North and South, are renewed in their vigour to privatise key public utilities including Health and Education. In the past week we have witness the private healthcare provider 3fivetwo announce its first private hospital here in Sligo. In Belfast the same 3fivetwo are investing £2.5 million extension to its healthcare facility in South Belfast. In addition the PFI hospital in Enniskillen has an element of private facilities within that hospital. However Conference, what you must be aware of is the millions of pounds and euros which is being paid from the public purse to the private health care sector, for the treatment and operations, profiteering off the backs of the sick and vulnerable. Recently a former health minister in the North told me he did not care whether the service was provided by the private sector, or the public sector, as long as it was provided. He argued vehemently with me that if it remained free at the point of delivery it did not matter. He didn’t get it, at what cost to the public purse or the individuals in the private sector who are forced to work on poverty wages, with poorer terms and conditions? In education we have the creeping threat of privatisation, and some school services and this is something ICTU will have to guard against with the establishment of the Education Authority in the North, and the push for delivering more with less. Conference, against this backdrop we have the ongoing threat of the privatisation of the water supply infrastructure in the Republic. It is vital that water must remain as a public service and the infrastructure that supplies it to homes and business. It cannot be allowed to become subject to the vagaries and profiteering of the private sector.

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Conference we call on the Executive Council to campaign vigorously for a Constitutional Amendment, to ensure that the water supply in the Republic remains in public ownership. In late 2015 and early 2016 there was a major successful dispute in Northern Ireland Water involving three unions NIPSA, GMB, and UNITE, and while this issue was not about the issue of privatisation it certainly highlighted that issue with many in the media and other commentators. Unfortunately Conference, we now know, that despite the objections to the disposal of the Irish Governments the remaining 25 percent shareholding in Aer Lingus that this has gone ahead. It is a very serious concern that the government failed to achieve any guarantees on possible job losses and outsourcing an Aer Lingus depute, despite some progress on the connectivity and slot retention. In an announcing the €350 million sale of the state shareholding, the Transport Minister said it was the best deal on offer. It was not the best deal on offer for the 50 workers and their families who are likely to lose their jobs in the coming year. Conference whether it be water infrastructure supply, the sale of key public utilities and services such as Aer Lingus, our health service, our education service, Translink, Belfast Harbour etc, ICTU must build effective and robust campaigns with ignite, not just trade union activist, it must unite and ignite the 750,0000 members we represent, their families, it must ignite the communities in which we live to ensure we will win the many battles that lie ahead in the ongoing fight against privatisation of public services. Conference I move. John Douglas, President Thank you Alison. Is there a seconder for the motion? Eileen Mageen, TUI Supporting the motion. There are many threats posed by the privatisation agenda, with just a few of them listed in this particular motion, my focus as one of the members of the TUI is going to be on the education aspect. Our view is education as a human right; it’s a transformative catalyst, often the only such catalyst which is needed to lift many of our citizens out of poverty and our view is that it is the responsibility of government to support a quality publicly funded education system. But with that responsibility for government there comes a responsibility for us, and that is our responsibility as trade unionist to apply extreme pressure to ensure that the government don’t shirk from that responsibility because governments all over the world currently are coming under extreme pressure from other sources to undermine that publicly funded education system. One source of those threats is from the Trans Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership or TTIP, I’m not going to say too much on that because I think there is an emergence motion coming up on that, and there is a couple of motions coming up tomorrow about it. But you should be aware that, that particular agreement may allow foreign investors to sue a national government, if that investor feels that government policy, or the regulatory framework pertaining to a particular matter prevents that investor from entering a market, or from making even more money than they do currently. Sadly that’s the huge cost of defending such an action against that investor would be absolutely prohibited to such an extent that most governments not just in this part of the world, but globally will shy away from even running a risk from such a case. So what kind of effect will this have on policy, well it will have the effect of forcing publicly funded Education systems into smaller and smaller spaces with less and less regulation so privatisation and light touch regulation - where have we come across that before?

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Many privatisation and outsourcing opportunities are dressed up as reforms and the push for these are often from the EU, or powerful lobbying groups generously funded frequently for profit vested interest groups, are the main driving force. But unfortunately they are not the only driving force, some of these come closer to home, for example new policy directions from national funding bodies in the South, bodies such as Solas or the Higher Education Authority, purposed releasing public funds to private competitors, to allow them to provide further education and training programmes, and this adversely impacts our members already delivering in this particular sector, so that is another area of attack. Finally I was disappointed to see that there is even a reference to outsourcing within the Lansdowne Road proposals, which gives the whole concept creditability, and I appreciate that there are mechanisms in there to prevent wide spread abuse, and we have to hope that they are effective, because according to Section 4.2.3, we can’t take strike action on anything that is mentioned in the Lansdowne Road proposals. We are specifically precluded from taking strike action on any matter covered by that Agreement, and that includes outsourcing. So finally if we fight privatisation in education, in Health care and of course in key infrastructural areas, and I think we have to be very careful about allowing seepage into our own movement, of acceptance of these key values because we see it coming up in things like the Lansdowne Road proposals in a way that we should not be blind to. Thank you. I urge you to support the motion. Derek Mullen, CPSU Derek Mullen, CPSU, supporting this important motion from the Executive Council, in particular our shared concern in the hall today is to protect our water supply structure in Ireland, in public ownership for generations into the future, that is so important to us. Outsourcing and privatisation, Delegates is a neoliberal led scourge that we must continually oppose and indeed take that opposition into further action to protect public utility and services. And that’s no idle threat colleagues, and from the CPSU perspective we are committed to fighting any further outsourcing of public services that our members deliver. And we will take appropriate actions where necessary despite what the Lansdowne Road Agreement may say. None of us can point to a good example of privatisation and we have seen the worst of it delegates, particularly in the decimation of Eircom and that is something we don’t want to see with Aer lingus. In the Civil Service, we have seen multi-millions transferring to mainly non-unionised IT consultancies, in an ongoing replacement of good public services jobs. In the Revenue Commissioners, we have seen €5.8 million being paid to an outsourcing company for local property tax call centre support, shockingly, bizarrely, a company that has very unusual tax behaviour in this state. Where would you get it delegates? It must stop and it must stop immediately. In terms of the Lansdowne Road Agreement, I have to say we do welcome the strengthened provisions in that agreement in respect of outsourcing in the public services and I would particularly commend the roll SIPTU and Gene Mealy in particular played in the negotiations on that aspect of it. We have our own conference recently delegates to address the outsourcing threats. Ethel Buckley, SIPTU, spoke of the brave battle in Greyhound, Pablo Sanchez, from EPSU, spoke with some optimism about that long word he used a ‘remunicupulisation’ of services across some countries in Europe. But the big message from our Conference was that privatisation and outsourcing is bad for unionised workers, leads to a race to the bottom in these companies that are champions of privatisation and unchallenged, delegates will lead to a decimation of our public services, delegates please support the motion. Thank you.

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Paddy Kavanagh, TEEU Good evening conference, Paddy Kavanagh from the TEEU speaking in support of the motion. I notice the earlier speakers have mentioned the bigger ticket items like Aer lingus, Irish water, so I will just concentrate on one small thing, and that what’s happening with public services, privatisation by a thousand cuts, drip by drip. And this is driven by a right wing ideology, driven from the top by the government, by their private sector advisers and financiers. These lobbyist have untold power. How did they do it in the last number of years? They did it a recruitment moratorium, they used everything at their disposal, the recession was a godsend for them, another example is budgets, they manipulate budget, they are reducing the daily expenditure of budgets in hospitals and Local Authorities and they upping the capital expenditure budget, so you can outsource easier and you can’t take on people inside. But if we are to resist it we must organise as unions, and organise our workers from the very top, from this forum, right down to the people on the shop floor. Because on the shop floor you will have circumstances where there will be some unions that were there stronger than others, and in that position, come along those stronger unions to protect the weaker ones who are going to be targeted and are going to be outsourced. And if we are going to have a campaign it must be, and this is important, it must be organised it must be resourced and it must be sustained because by God their campaigns are organised and sustained. And I would just like to finish on thing about the Haddington Road Agreement and people’s concerns about can we fight our cause. With the start of Irish Water they want to outsource it completely straight away and its was industrial action by the TEEU and SIPTU that brought them to the table, and gave security of tenure to people working in water services. So we can do it, don’t be worrying about that. Thank You. Support the motion please. Shay Cody, IMPACT President, Delegates, Shay Cody from IMPACT. I hadn’t actually intended speaking on this motion, but I just want to correct a misrepresentation that was put before you around the outsourcing provisions in the new Lansdowne Road Agreement and the position of the trade unions. We have strengthened the protections by working together, craft unions, SIPTU and the mainstream public services unions have now excluded totally unit labour costs in any comparison that would be on the table around outsourcing, and I am not aware of any such agreement anywhere else in Europe. We also have a clause which is the same as every industrial relations agreement I have ever signed, that says that as long as the parties are adhering to the agreement there won’t be either a lockout or a dispute. However, the important words are ‘adhering to the agreement’, and let not allow it to be represented here that if the other side do not adhere to the agreement on outsourcing and privatisation that somehow or other we are prevented from responding. We are not and let’s not hear from this rostrum people misrepresenting the agreement that we all negotiated. (cheering). Liam Doran, INMO President and Delegates, I hadn’t planned either to speak to this motion, but I think, look there is a lot has been spoken about the Agreement and so on that is currently being debated and our members will ultimately decide. But I think from an INMO point of view, the Irish Nurse and Midwives’ Organisation, it would be unfair if I did not go on record saying that the outsourcing provision that is now proposed is a damn sight better that we had before, and it is better than any other agreement that I have read in terms of stopping this privatisation.

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For a moment I just want to focus on privatisation of health because I know there are far better people in the room about other areas, but I have to tell you this delegates, once you privatise healthcare, once you introduce one iota of the word ‘profit’ into healthcare, we are all losers, full stop, we are all losers. So the incoming Executive Council of ICTU, and so on, I fully, and the lads around the table are always hearing me go on about this, there has been privatisation by stealth for healthcare. Care of the older person in Ireland is now 80 percent by privatisation ok? Now as the Retired Workers Committee speaker said earlier on, we are all going to be there, and I am telling you every place that has gone there before is rushing to come back. Quality suffers, standards suffers, staffing suffers, pay suffers, workers suffer and users of the service suffer. So don’t let anyone kid themselves, privatisation is bad for the community, it’s bad for society when it comes to healthcare, and we have got to move mountains to protect our public health service that is universally accessible, universally free and whether I am the judge, or whether I am the porter, or the nurse, or teacher it is the same for all of us, because all of us have that right to healthcare. Once you privatise it you take that right and that has absolutely got to be opposed by us. No-one benefits from it, and when you squeeze the public health services you allow, they giving tax breaks to create nursing homes and so on, and then they pay the minimum wage in those nursing homes, and you introduce even such a thing as diet for the elderly person is secondary in those nursing homes, you have to understand it is killing us, it is going to kill us all if we don’t fight this rush to privatise our healthcare system. So you’ve got to move on this please. Thank you support the motion. John Douglas, President Okay, I’m going to put Motion 32 in the name of the Executive Council on Privatisation to the floor. All in favour please show? All against? Motion 32 carried. Now moving on to Motion 33 Privatisation of Public Transport in the name of the TSSA. Is the a mover from the TSSA? There is. Gerry Kennedy, TSSA, National Executive Officer Chair, Conference, Gerry Kennedy TSSA National Executive Officer. I am going to be very brief and it will be on the motion itself. The eloquence that every other delegate has put across with regards to privatisation, I’m going to talk about public transport. The National Transport Agency under the direction of this government is pushing for a 10 percent privatisation of Bus Eireann and Dublin Bus. This is going to let the privateers in to run our public transport systems, if we allow that to happen we are fools. We have to fight this and stop it now. This is a despicable betrayal of the good workers in this company. If this goes to privatisation we have seen what Greyhound have done, we lose pension rights, we lose better working conditions, it is a race to the bottom. So we need to stop that. This has to be stopped now. I listened to the Tánaiste this morning and she turned around and said that Labour will protect pensions, they will protect the workers, they will protect the infrastructure, but they will protect public transport, and I am quoting her. She said that this morning. So fair play to you Joan. Put your money where your mouth is, and let’s see what happens. We call on Congress, to get a meeting with the junior part of the current standing government and force them to come out publicly and say that they will fight for people’s rights, people’s work, people’s pensions and let’s stand and fight for public transport and the rest of the public sector. Conference I move.

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John Douglas, President Thank you. Is there a seconder for the motion? Michael Robinson, NISPA Thanks President, Conference, Michael Robinson from NISPA to support this motion. A few months ago Private Eye Magazine mention that there was one area of the United Kingdom that had kept a regulated public transport system, it was Northern Ireland, we are very proud of it. The Department for Regional Development that is responsible for transport have a consultation document which describes better that I could why we have kept it. This document was for limited transport that might augment the Translink services by private contractors, and it’s by permit, and they say the main reasons why a regulated public transport system is being retained are, and they deal with addressing social need, an integrated transport systems, continuity of service, and value for money. On addressing social need the Department said that in most jurisdictions public transport requires public subsidy in order to ensure that services are provided on routes that would not otherwise be economically viable. This ensures that services are provided to people on low incomes and others in social need who do not have access to transport. They talk about the cross-subsidy that is enabled by having a monopoly by the bus companies and the benefits of that. They say in addition some operators receive payments of subsidy for running uneconomical, but socially necessary services. Retaining the regulated system prevents cherry-picking of existing profitable routes, and ensures the network socially necessary services can be retained whilst minimising the amount of subsidy that has to be paid for public funds. They talk about the benefits of an integrated transport systems between the contracting authority and transport operators, how that’s works, bus to train, joining all that up. They talk about continuity of service all of these things will be compromised by the proposals that have just been spoken of. They talk about by retaining control of access to the market it should be possible to specified service requirements and package services in the most sustainable way. On best value the say unregulated competition may lead to a wasteful use of resources as operators compete for passengers sometimes in ways that are unsuitable or unsustainable in the longer term and which often lead to a consolidation and a reduction in the number of operators and ultimately to local private sector monopolies in particular areas. That has been the experience in Britain. It has not worked. Don’t let it come to our Island. Thank you. Owen Reidy, SIPTU Delegates, Owen Reidy, SIPTU speaking on the TSSA motion on bus transport privatisation. We in our union SIPTU, have been working for a long time with TSSA, and other transport unions. We have campaigned, we have lobby, we’ve struck and we have tried to articulated a different analysis for public transport, particularly the bus market, one that is properly resourced, publicly owned and is one that is for the common and social good. One that prioritises value for money for the tax payer, puts the bus user first, and one that also respects its workers through recognising free collective bargaining. We are very concerned that the NTA’s plans will potentially unravel that. But despite our continued opposition to privatisation in the last number weeks we in SIPTU, reached a settlement of sorts on this issue with the Transport Authority, the Department of Transport and both bus companies, and we did so after two days of strike action with another four planned. There has been a lot of talk about strike as a weapon at this Conference, and the fear that some people have in using it. Well I can assure you that the workers in Dublin Bus, and Bus Éireann have never been found wanting on that front, and won’t be in the future. But they are of the view, as are we, that merely saying ‘privatisation is bad’ will not make it go away. Merely having a catchy slogan, unless you have a strategy to deal with the consequences of that privatisation, because we in this movement know if we lose as much as we win, and unfortunately we have too many pyric defeats as opposed to victories sometimes.

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So I think we need to be clear and honest. Just by saying something is wrong does not change government policy, and we need to know and accept that having an industrial strategy on bus privatisation on its own is insufficient. We need to be able to connect and mobilise with bus users, many of whom are not our members and we need to make sure that they no longer accept the current narrative, that the workers’ interest is narrow and is in competition with their own interest. Sadly we have to remember that the population in this country voted for Fine Gael, a party that wanted to privatise 100 percent of the routes. So we can kick the smaller party in government if we wish, it doesn’t change the reality, and the reality is that bus workers needed to secure an agreement, to secure their futures and whilst I will support this motion whole-heartily we need to focus more in the future on how we can bring the wider community with us, because if we don’t do that, we will continue to fight privatisation with one hand tied behind our back. Thank you. John Douglas, President Seeing no more speakers on Motion 33, Privatisation of Public Transport, I’m going to put Motion 33 to the floor. All in favour? All against? Motion 33 is carried. Motion 34, Health Inequalities and Access IMO. Do we have a mover? And any other speakes and seconders if you could come up for the front. Steve Tweed Irish Medical Organisation Steve Tweed, IMO moving Motion 34. President, conference, Ireland has significant levels of health inequalities which are not being addressed by political parties or elected public representatives. Addressing public and social inequalities is important but is also a long term undertaking. However improving the health of all citizens will reap longterm dividends by ensuring a healthier population and with less need for expensive health intervention and social economic supports. Health inequalities go to the heart of public health in Ireland. Those carrying out unskilled or manual work in this country die younger and suffer more illness than those working in managerial or professional professions. Heart attack, stroke, Diabetes, all wide spread diseases with chronic implications are far more prevalent amongst those who are least in our society. Treatment must follow patient need, with supply being focus on the social economic groups and geographical areas that require it most. A wide range of factors such as poverty, inequalities, social exclusion, education, transport, access to healthcare and stress, all impact on an individual’s health and sense of wellbeing. The launch of Healthy Ireland in 2013, a national framework for action to improve the health and wellbeing of the people of Ireland over the next decade provides for new arrangements that aim to facilitate cooperation between the health sector and other areas of government and public services. Such arrangements however will only be successful if they are implemented and resourced adequately. To this end we call on all parties and elected public representative to adopt a health and all policies approach to ensure that all policy decisions across all government departments are subject to health impact assessment. We have heard from several speakers today and indeed yesterday about the mental health services in Ireland. Mental health services are underfunded and under-resourced across the Island of Ireland especially in the provision of child and adolescent mental health services. Annual promises of more investment never appear on the ground. One in four of us will suffer a mental health illness and

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urgent action is needed to transform mental illness healthcare in Ireland into array of services that will adequately transform mental health care and treat mental illness. Conference mental health needs to be threated on a par with physical health, and to achieve this there has to be a focus on providing a number of key areas. Investment and evidence based programmes to reduce stigma and raise awareness about mental health issues and suicide prevention, and Peter Bunting gave some stark figures on suicide levels in his address yesterday. Access to public funded counselling and psychotherapy service and GP referral and investment and development of community and specialist mental health teams. And finally, universal health insurance verses universal health care debate. The IMO is committed to universal health care system that aims to secure access to adequate health care for all when it is needed. Universal health insurance is a funding mechanism that commercialises healthcare, elevating profit driven insurance companies to positions of even greater control in the provision of Irish healthcare. In such a regime costs becomes impossible to control as private providers ensure value for clients to increase turnover and market share, and at the same time restrict access in order to contain costs. By contrast universal healthcare as appose to universal health insurance as a policy goal that facilitates health services are free at the point of access providing equal choice and quality care for all. A fundamental right to quality health services and strong public health should exist for everyone regardless of their means or status in society. This is, and always should be, a central goal of the trade union movement in Ireland, I ask you to support this motion. John Douglas, President Is there a seconder for the motion or formally seconded? Formally seconded. Any speakers? Again please be conscious of the red light, it’s not having much effect on anybody, but how and ever! Phil Ní Sheagdha, INMO Colleagues, delegates speaking in favour of the motion, Phil Ní Sheagdha, INMO. Colleagues this motion is very important considering our health service is now basically run on a yearly basis depending on the political whim of the Minster in power on the day. We don’t have service plans beyond a year, we don’t have work force planning, its practically absence, we have seen a loss of over 5,000 nursing post since the moratorium came in, which led directly to the closure of beds and the reduction of services. It makes absolutely no sense that our funding of our public health service has reduced beyond our 2007 levels. We are now in the OECD figures, we are at a level far below all other countries. So the rhetoric that the payments and public money being paid into health is a waste of time, which has actually gained some strength, we have to contradict that, we have to contradict it because universal access to healthcare will be no use if the service is not there, and it has to be there in the public service, and it has to be there for those who need it and not dependant on whether or not they can afford private health insurance. I urge you to support the motion. Archie Thomson, UNISON Chair, conference, I wish to bring to Conference’s notice an attempted case of health inequality which took place in the North in the beginning of this year. In June 2014, I was diagnosed with severe health problems and was put on a waiting list with a wait time of 5 to 8 months for surgery. In January 2015, I received a letter telling me I had been taken off the list and put on to another list, with the wait time of 12 months for an out patience appointment and a further 12 months for surgery. The letter they sent, they sent to the wrong person because I will not accept something like that. I worked for 43 years in the health service I know how the system works.

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I immediately contacted BBC and subsequently appeared from 6.30am to 10.30pm on both BBC News, Radio and on TV. As a result of this questions were asked at Stormont of the then Minster of Health and eventually we got a written answer back, saying that there had been an error made by an agency worker and he apologised and I had been reinstated to where I should have been. Further questions were then asked by three of the four MLA´S from mid-Ulster and the silence from the DUP MLA was deafening. We then found out that the beds in Musgrave Park where all the Orthopaedic surgery in the North takes place and were being used for the overflow from the Royal Victoria as two wards had been closed there as a cost saving measure. The two wards could not be reopened again because this would have been a major chronic critical incident and the Trust would have been fined. We then found out that I was not the only one involved in this error, in fact there were 167 patients who had received this, all of whom believe it or not were over the age of 65. To me this was totally disgusting. As we stand here today the last of the 167 patients will have their surgery by the end of August. And whether it was a quirk of faith or not I don’t know, I had my hip replaced on the 1st of April, April Fools Day. And closing Mr. President could I just thank my own union for their support, and Peter and the staff of ICTU in Belfast for their support during my recovery. John Douglas, President Any more speakers to this motion? Kevin Mc Adam, UNITE Just supporting the INMO motion, I think it is very important that we understand the health service, whether its North or South, depends on the workers that provide that healthcare and it is very important that they are recognised in that. In doing this and in talking about the motion it’s most important that we understand where it is coming from. We have to appreciate the aspect of inequality, it’s not about the health service and how it is delivered across the piece, it’s about a very important aspect of the health service. Everybody, and some acute people in the health service will say to me, we can cure everybody’s ills, because the ability is there and if the funding is there, then we can do it, and that the physical aspect. What is not measured, and why they don’t like doing it, is that preventative care, the biggest part of health care is the preventive bit, but not measuring when people don’t get sick, doesn’t come on their radar and doesn’t have a cost. And it’s that very point that says that’s what we need to be doing with our health service. Stop people getting sick, stop communities falling into depravation, and stop all of that, that will allow all of the specialist health care to be delivered. That’s what we really need to do. I support the motion. John Douglas, President No more speakers on Motion 34, I’m going to put the motion to the floor, Health Inequalities and Access in the name of the INMO. All in favour? All against? Motion carried. Moving onto Motion 35, Universal Health Services- An Essential Social Good in the name of the INMO. Have we a mover? Claire Mahon, INMO Delegates, President, please note the word Universal Health Service at the top. A number of motions already debated throughout Conference have referred to the importance of maintaining our public services, such as Health and Education, as all of us would agree that access is vital to us, to our families, to our friends and society in general. It assists us in developing and maintaining a strong economy. However in relation to our public health service the facts are that we have seen 6 years of successive unmanaged uncontrolled and deeply damaging cuts, resulting in the closer of

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some services and the curtailment of others, and intolerable pressures upon workers and patients in all areas of our health systems. It is hard to measure the negative impact on families and communities but I am sure many of you will have seen or experienced personally the impact of these cuts if you have found yourself or a loved one in an overcrowded emergence department or waiting on an ever-lengthening waiting list for a procedure, or even seeking specialist services in your own home. This service contraction was further exacerbated by a recruitment embargo which left this country short of nurses, midwives, doctors and other highly skilled and educated professionals. This year we have seen a slight increase in the health funding and relaxation of the recruitment ban, however these small positive steps are failing completely to correct the mistakes of the past 6 years and the pressure on the health service has never been greater with overcrowding at record levels. Throughout this time, I think we can all be honest, to say that the trade union movement was not as vocal as it could have been in highlighting this unmanaged contraction. This motion, if adopted, gives clear direction to the incoming Executive Council to initiate a number of actions all designed to make the restoration of our public health service a critical issue in the next General Election and beyond. We are seeking support for a properly funded single tier public health service funded through a progressive equitable taxation system. We are seeking an end to the rush to privatise and outsource our existing services; profit has no place in health-care. We are asking from all political parties, and for Congress to seek from political parties absolute clarity as to what their health policies will be into the future so that we know them before we have to vote in an election. Fellow delegates a public health service benefits everyone particularly those least able to speak for themselves. These people are our families and our friends and if workers’ solidarity is to mean anything it must mean that Congress is assertive, visible and demanding about restoring the benefit to everyone of our public health service and this campaign must begin today and I call on you to support this motion. Thank you. John Douglas, President Is there a seconder for this motion? Formally seconded, thank you. Speakers? Anne Speed, UNISON Sorry I want to formally second it, but very happy to come and speak in support of our colleagues in the INMO. I want to say congratulations to our colleagues, for their marvellous campaign outside the hospitals of this State fighting for extra staff on the wards. Congratulations and it inspired our Nurses in UNISON, in Northern Ireland. I also want to say a big welcome to Breda Hughes from the Royal college of Midwives. That union for the first time in its history I think of 135 years took industrial action, we are delighted to see them here, welcome onboard. There is much we identify with, those of us who are working to defend the public health service in Northern Ireland, our colleagues in the INMO have emphasised extensive work loads, contraction of services, cuts in budgets, but you have called for a strategy which relies on public awareness campaigns, challenges to political parties, intervening in election campaigns. And you have also highlighted the importance of seeing health as a universal human right, and I was delighted to see the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission actually do a special investigation into the Accident

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and Emergency units in our Hospitals in Northern Ireland, and the evidences that they took and there conclusion were very damming of what is happening at this time. So, I also chair the Health Committee of Northern Ireland Congress and along with my colleague Claire Ronald who is here with us today from the CSP we are working to bring a new focus on health as an issue for all trade unionist and we had a special Conference, where we invited in the private sector unions to say defence of the health service, resistance to privatisation is a challenge and a struggle for all of us, and we want all of our colleagues in the private sector unions to get on board. So I want to strongly endorse this motion, because I think it’s one that will have us all traveling in the same direction as the united movement. Thank you colleagues. Taryn Traynor, UNITE Supporting this motion. The motion refers to our two tiered health system, resulting in those who can afford to pay access and healthcare quicker than those who can’t. The same applies to women in Ireland who want to access abortion. Women with money have abortions, and those without have babies. That’s another inequality with in our health service. This motion also refers to the UN Covenant on Social Economic and Cultural Rights whose committee met recently to review Ireland’s compliance with the Covenant that is ratified. In relation to health the Committee noted the following concerns. 1) Ireland’s overall deteriorating healthcare services affected by budget cuts in public health and its impact on the disadvantaged and the marginalised. 2) The poor health state of travellers in Roma. 3) They were concerned with the State parties highly restricted legislation on abortion and the risk to health of a pregnant women. But before we can reform legislation on abortion we still need to repeal the 8th Amendment. And lastly they were concerned with the lack of funding and the inadequate frame work for mental health. Now the health service needs improved resourcing for bought staff and patients and this improvement isn’t going to come from the private sector. This is a sector which does not respect staff or patients, it exploits them. Now never mind the private sector we have just had the results from the UK budget there where they have announced that they are going to cap pay, at 1 percent for the healthcare workers for the next 4 years, that’s caped at 1 percent each year. So not only do the private sector not respect them, we also have a government that does respect them. Support the motion. Sally Corr, SIPTU In support of motion 35. Good afternoon, President, Delegates, SIPTU is more than happy to endorse this motion ensuring access to a public health service that is free at the point of use. Since I started working in the health service, over 20 years ago the system has been crying out for fundamental reform and the abolishment of a two tier health system. The respective Minsters for Health has being speaking with fork tongues of a health service that they would deliver on - one that would be fit for purpose. Each one has failed miserably in the task. SIPTU will continue to campaign for a universal healthcare system free at the point of use, regardless of ability to pay and will hold respective governments accountable for delivering this basic mark of a civilised society. Thank you, Delegates. Eric Young, IMO I support this motion. The IMO, wholeheartily supports this motion as representatives of those who have delayed entry to our health system, we have a responsibility to support it. The HSE Have Your Say Employment Engagement Survey revealed the extent to which our public health services have been stretched and the level to which moral among health workers has deteriorated. The survey revealed that HSE staff have little confidence or trust in the ability of senior management to lead the

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HSE. More than two thirds of medical and dental staff are experiencing high levels of stress and a quarter are working eleven or more hours a week. Only a third of these employees feel they received training that helps them to do their jobs properly and just one in ten believes that their equipment and resources adequately provide for patients. Tellingly a third of HSE employees would not recommend treatment in a HSE centre, to their family or friends. At our AGM, in April the IMO Launch a 20/20 vision for health. This policy position supports the objective this motion which centres on delivering a single tier world class health service, where patience need, not income, determines the level and standard of patience-care. A real and sustained investment in our health services and its healthcare workers, to ensure that patients do not fall through the cracks in an overcrowded and under-resourced conditions. The funding of a universal healthcare system that does not rely on profit driven insurance companies to determine care pathways, but is supported in a manner that is fair and equitable to all, and genuine public support for the removal of social economic disparities in our health system thus improvement outcomes for all. We support this motion. Pat Lawler, NISPA In support of the motion. I think in fairness this motion could not have come at a more relevant time as we see savage attacks on our public services, an attempt to roll back the welfare service provision that is an integral part of our healthcare provision. And there is absolutely no doubt that North and South we have seen attacks on our health service that is now being left open to be the fertile ground for exploitation and plunder for big profits. This is clearly now the purpose of the private sector within our health service. This motion has two very positive demands, one is to start an information campaign and the other is to engage with the political parties. Key demands that should be part of the beginning of any campaign but in reality, what I would say is that we are slightly limited in the relation to this motion. Unfortunately irrespective of what public declarations from the political parties that come out and pose themselves as anti austerity, the reality is these very political parties one and all, both North and South, fully support privatisation and the break-up of our health service in some form or another. Experience and history has shown, mainstream capitalist parties do nothing against their own interest without pressure. This pressure comes from people like you, this pressure comes from our communities and our workplaces and the workers that we work with, hand in hand. What I would say Conference, is that very clear, is that this is the beginning of a debate, that we have to begin now in our workplaces and our communities. We need to start to bring this debate out in to our communities and build that campaign and link up with those communities and those workplaces that will fight for our health services and a universal healthcare provision. If those political parties refuse to accept the demands then we need to make it very clear to them that they will pay the price in the general election coming this year, possibly this year in this country, and also in the local elections next year in the North. Please support the motion. John Douglas, President There are no more speakers on Motion 35. I’m going to put Motion 35 in the name of the INMO to the floor. All in favour? All against? Motion carried. Moving onto Motion 36, FEMPI and Pay & Conditions of the Public Sector Workers in the name of the ASTI. Can we have a mover thank you? Diarmaid De Paor, ASTI

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Colleagues, Diarmaid de Paor, ASTI. In proposing this, Motion 36, I do so, as a representative of a union that suffered the effects of FEMPI legislation in the most specific and in a most painful manner, and in particular we were effect by section 2(b) of the legislation, the section that allowed the Minster to unilaterally change terms and conditions of employees in the public sector. As some of you are probably aware the ASTI was the last of the public sector unions to sign up to Haddington Road and when our members finely voted to accept the HRA, it was in a context of threats, threats from the Government to further cut pay, and to impose redundancies on Teachers if we did not agree to the deal. Colleagues, the Government were able to make these threats, because of this pernicious legislation FEMPI. Teachers were to be made redundant in a situation where there was a perfectly well functional redeployment scheme, and where there where jobs for them to be redeployed into. However under FEMPI, normal procedures for dealing with issues such as redundancies, elements of pay and other working conditions have been set aside. Industrial relations have been moved from the normal arenas, of negotiation and acceptance or if necessary dispute, and transfer to the floor of the house in Dáil Éireann. In short the ASTI members were bullied into submission by the tactics of the government who had unilaterally ripped up the rule book and replaced it with the draconian act which has no place in a democracy. If it is wrong for an employer to unilaterally impose and change working conditions, it is doubly wrong when that employer is the government who is supposed to represent the people who are tearing up the agreements on. It is to be welcomed that the recently enacted Workplace Relations Act includes the Repeal of section 2(b) and it’s to be hoped that there is to be no slipup, between now the Act’s schedule commencement in the Autumn. FEMPI was never even necessary. If the Government needed money to support itself, and it did, the correct way to do that is not to single out one section of the community, in this case public sector workers and impose sanctions on them. The correct way is through reform of the tax system so that people who can pay tax pay tax including wealth taxes. If FEMPI was ever right or necessary, which obviously it wasn’t, we are now told the emergency is over. The FEMPI act should go, it should go now and it should never return. I urge you to support the motion. Thank you. John Douglas, President of Congress The motion is formally seconded. Agreed. I’m now calling on speakers on the motion. From now on all motions are going to be formally seconded, and we are calling on speakers. So, one speaker per union. Kieran Christy, ASTI Kieran Christy, ASTI. Apologies I thought I was seconding the motion. Let’s get a bit of prospective here. FEMPI is not and was not the introduction of dictatorship in this country, let’s not get carried away. However because it involved measures and powers that are not normally associated with developed democracies, it becomes uncomfortably close, and the sooner we are rid of it the better. I was one of those FEMPI’s, I’m a teacher and my pay was unilaterally cut and my working conditions were deteriorated, my hours were increased without consent or without agreement. And it was particularly regrettably that the lead Minster for the legislation, Minster Howlin, and the one who applied to both ASTI members, Minster Quinn were both Labour Party Minsters, I think you can draw your own conclusion from that. But I will say this, that if they had applied the same level of ruthlessness to the bankers and the architects to the crash we might be a lot more forgiving. The truth is that FEMPI is a mechanism that fundamentally undermines the foundations that underpin collective bargaining in any modern industrial relations framework. It represented, on the

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government’s part in my view, a failure to believe in their own capacity to engage with the trade unions in this country. It was effectually a vote of no confidence by themselves, in themselves, to engage with public sector unions and achieve an equitable settlement based on trust and confidence. It was the classic gun to the head. It’s an affront to trade unionism and I think we should all work and must all work to ensure this sorry chapter in the history of industrial relations in this country is consigned to the dustbin of history. Thank you. Deirdre McDonald, ASTI Now FEMPI… John Douglas, President Sorry Deirdre, which union are you from? Deirdre McDonald ASTI John Douglas, President Sorry Deirdre, one speaker per union. We’ve passed Standing Orders Report saying one speaker per union. You’ve already had a mover from the ASTI and one speaker from the ASTI. This section is going on until it finishes, and that could be 8.30pm tonight. So I’m asking delegates and speakers to abide by the Standing Orders Report that was passed, so you’ve already had two speakers. Thank you Deirdre, I appreciate it. Deirdre McDonald, ASTI I just think it’s a shame that workers aren’t being allowed to speak. John Douglas, President Everybody is being allowed to speak. We’re trying to share the limited speaking time amongst all unions and all delegates. Next union please. Daniel Coppperthwaite, CPSU Colleagues, this is my first ICTU Conference so bear with me if I appear a bit nervous. I hadn’t initially intended on speaking today, but after hearing the speech this morning about youth involvement I felt the need to stand up and have my voice heard. Some would say that I am one of the lucky ones in the room to be still in the twenties age bracket, however thanks to Croke Park 1, and Croke Park 2, and to Haddington Road, and the draconian FEMPI legislation I am now on less wages than when I started working the public services. I find myself thinking when, if ever, I will find myself on enough wages to be able to actually leave the family home and get a mortgage? Of course I have the option as we all do of leaving the country for pastures new and there are a lot of people of various ages had to do to merely to survive, and it was at this point I stop and thought to myself, no, why should I let any government regardless of party push me out of this country, in order to earn a living? I will stay and I will fight for what I believe is a right. We should have a nation of equality and most of all a fair days work for a fair days pay. Thank you. I would ask you to support this motion. Thank you. Paddy Kavanagh, TEEU This FEMPI, sort of sticks here to call it legislation, it’s more like financial fascism. This action by the Minster was shameful and actually more worthy than some of the regimes in the under developed world, than a developed nation like Ireland. Regards to the motion itself, I know what the motionsays, it demands the repeal of FEMPI, that we here demand it. We should do more than that,

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we should organise to ensure it happens. We are no longer in a state of financial emergence so now it is time for this shameful ‘legislation’ just to be torn-up, keeping it on the books is an affront to democracies, and an affront to public servants, and an affront to free collective bargaining, and an afront to this movement. Thank you. John Douglas, President Any further speakers on the motion? No further speakers, I’m going to put Motion 36 to the floor. All in favour of motion 36? All against? Motion 36 is carried. Now moving to Motion 37- Precarious and Casualised Work in the name of the TUI. Colum Kelly, TUI In submitting the motion the TUI are keenly aware that although it appears under the public services section on the agenda, the issue of casualisation and precarious work is commonplace in many private sector employments, particularly in the retail sector. We also understand that there is a perception that Public Servants, Teachers and Lectures in comparison to many private sectors employees are doing ok. That perception is wrong. We have an increasingly casualised workforce. The aim of management is to secure flexibility in deploying staff, more staff and fewer hours are easier to deploy, they claim, than fewer staff and greater hours. We have also seen evidence of casualised work being used punitively, or in order to exert unreasonably levels of control of staff. Treating them mean to keep them keen. The TUI, has been campaigning for several years now for an end to casualization. Previously in education, permanence travelled hand in hand with fulltime work. The introduction of the Fixed Term Work Act 2003 has regrettably not had its intended effect, rather it has had the unintended consequence in our sector of encouraging employers not to offer permanent initial contracts. They also fracture full jobs in fragments and too many of our members become permanent part-time employees with hours rather than jobs. Our part-time workers have, since they began to proliferate under the past decade, experienced too many comprises in both pay and the basic entitlements of public sector workers. They have been employed in scraps of jobs, a third of a job, or a half of a job, and so on. In being employed as such they have received entitlements as such, a third of their pay while on Maternity Leave, a third of their salary during periods of Annual Leave, a third of a working week. This is not necessarily meant that such workers have been available for other work. In many instances there work has been schedule in such way that to make it impossible to secure any other source of income. These workers do not have a third of lives or one third of a family or one third of a mortgage. They have the pressures, financial and familial as any other person but they have neither the income nor the capacity to earn the income commensurate with the expense of their lives. This too must be considered as part of any definition of a Living wage. The problem is the assumption by employers be they State run or private, that the universal human right that the standard of living adequate for one’s health and wellbeing is a secondary concern to that flexibility. The TUI note that the Department of Education’s so-called tutor grade, the wholly undefined and spurious construct attempts to justify and excuse poorly paid and undervalued work. Employers can’t be trusted not to abuse the notion of flexibility. Tutors in our membership have no job security. They’re informed there may be work, but there may not. The TUI, and SIPTU, engaged with the Department of Education further to the provision of the Haddington Road Agreement and the issue of the tutor grade, in particular the refusal of the Department to implement the Fixture in Work Act for this cohort and issue Contracts of Indefinite Duration to the grade. Even in the confines of our LRC, the Department has with none of the shame that should be evident refused to offer any more than a minimal obligation on their part to some of our longest serving employees. We will guarantee them a 100 hours work per year, maybe three hours per week, we might need

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them for 20 hours next week, or we might not need them at all, but we need them to be flexible. Our Banks aren’t flexible, we can’t say we will pay a little of our mortgage now, and more when we make more money. Colleagues please support this motion, and please assert this basic principle, we are entitled to employment that will provide for us and our families and employment that will guarantee that provision. Thank you. John Douglas, President The motion is formally seconded. Gerry Quinn,TUI I just want to follow on from Colm’s analysis of the problem because first of all you analyse the problem, you describe the problem, and then as trade unionist we decide on an action plan. What do we do? How do we solve the problem? How do we address problem? How do we ensure that people in this case have a decent job and fair pay and on that note I want to on behalf of TUI, to acknowledge the militancy and the intelligence of the leadership of those in the Dunne’s workers dispute who took to the picket lines, organised rallies and protested, for decent jobs and fair play, well done to you. I am proud on behalf of TUI, to say that we stood with you on the picket lines and if there are further picket lines further rallies, we will encourage our members to do so again because worker co-operation, trade union co-operation is one of the key elements in any strategy to take on employers who are attacking workers in more than one union. And on that note the recent year long dispute against the Department of Education and Skills organised and implemented by TUI, in cooperation with the ASTI, has been a tremendous and a resounding success, subject to ratification one way or another by their own members in September. But thus far we have been successful, and the lesson is, that if you have common cause with another trade union that you can combine with that trade union in order to maximise your strength. The synergy that comes from that is absolutely essential. I notice the light so I will actually summarise the rest of it. I am addressing the later part of the motion. There is a whole list of actions and what we are saying through this motion is that ICTU should coordinate those unions that are affected by this problem by the scourge of casualisation to create that synergy to take on the government and to take the employers or those employers who are responsible for this and to take advantage of the window of opportunity between now and the General Election. Thank you, delegates. Mike Jennings, IFUT It’s almost 5.40pm. I really appreciated you staying back to hear me and I promise I will be as brief as I can. I want to dedicate my remarks by the way to members of an organisation called Third level Workplace Watch, which is a grassroots organisation made up of union members and unemployed people who have been victims of casualisation and victims of precarious work in higher Education. They do tremendous work and they meet in their own time, and they come together to support each other. I dedicate everything in this speech and in this debate to activists such as that who are the future and the hope of our trade union movement. Could I just say a number of statistics that might surprise you, there was a survey done in the United Kingdom about a year ago and it found that that the sector that was most likely to use zero hour contracts, in fact the sector that had twice as many zero hour contracts as the next sector, was not retail, it wasn’t transport, it was Higher Education, Universities to be precise.

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Michael D Higgins, the President, said recently launching his Ethics Initiative that nowadays when academics want to research precarious work they don’t have to do fieldwork anymore they just have to look out the door of their office and they can see all the precarious workers. The reality is in this country, in this University system we have approximately 4,000 or 5,000 researchers, almost 100 percent of them are on temporary contracts. IFUT has taken cases on behalf of researchers who have been on temporary contracts for 14 and 15 years, it’s an absolute disgrace. The university College Dublin has declared that there is no longer any such career as a researcher, that every researcher is only a trainee and they are calling them trainees because it give them the legal ability to continue temporary work beyond 4 years. Finally it is not just the exploited workers within the system. Our children’s education has been damaged, people are not being paid to prepare lectures, they’re not being paid to do research, they´re not being paid to look after disadvantaged students with difficulties. It is in the interest of our educational system, not just the employees within this system that we campaign vigorously. I’m sorry I went into the red light. I had hoped I wouldn’t. Thank you very much for your time. Breda Walsh, UNITE I work in Trinity College and what he has just said, I see everyday of the week. I hasten to add, I’m not academic, and I don’t have to research precarious work. But I am not only here as a trade unionist and public servant, I am here as a parent of two, soon to be in the workplace. So you pay for your kids’ education, you pay a fortune you all know. If they go to third level you pay more. If they do PHD, if they do a Masters, you pay an awful lot more. And then they want them to work precariously, for 50 yoyos a week on top of your dole if you can’t get a job and you’re a graduate. I don’t think so. That’s it, I hadn’t planned on speaking, so thank you. Louise O´Reilly, SIPTU Brothers and Sisters, Louise O´Reilly, SIPTU, speaking in support of motion 37. When I read the motion, I was reminded of a conversation that I had with my now late grandmother. I was working part-time in Superquinn. I was in my first year in college, and she said to me ‘Louise, would they not take you on permanent in Superquinn and you could give up that auld college, is there any chance they will take you on?. Because delegates, she knew and her generation knew the value of a decent job and decent contract. We cannot lose sight of the fact that our members, trade union members, are assisting in the casualisation, we have to stop it we must stand with those workers who are being casualised on a daily bases, we cannot pull the ladder up and say I’m alright Jack, that won’t work our legacy cannot be precarious work, our legacy must be decent jobs, decent contracts, decent work. Thank you. Noelle Moran, ASTI I am very happy to be up and speaking on the TUI motion and it has been a great experience working closely with TUI and I hope that will extend here with respect to casualisation that affects an awful lot of unions here. I’m the executive representative on the non-permanent Teachers Committee within our own unions, so I feel very strongly with this issue. Since the Fixed Term Work Act came in 2003, what seemingly has become the norm in teaching, and this probably extends to other workplaces as well as the hours culture, it is not unusual at the moment for somebody to go for example on a career break, and that no attempt is made to replace that teacher, by you know a full-hours contract. Its broken down and they might advertise for 11 hours for this, and 5 hours for that and so on. That is not good enough and it is something that our unions and Congress need to take on.

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I am sure that there must be a common thread with a lot of unions. Sometimes I feel when I am at conventions with my own union, we are very familiar with our own space not as familiar obviously with what’s going on in other unions and I just wonder if it is the Executive Council’s business or if it’s a case of setting up sub-committee of unions here to deal with the actual issue of casualisation and to look for action and to see where we can actually go with it. We have it at our on convention year after year, that we are complaining about this but not enough is happening. I just wanted to ask also, that the Lansdowne Road Agreement, being on the table are proposals as I am calling them because some of us hasn’t voted on it yet. The Haddington Road Agreement, there is a provision in the Haddington Road Agreement, which as we all understand was a sectorial agreement that we would get a panel within secondary teaching for people who were part time for a couple of years and want to access permanent jobs, that has not been delivered upon. And I have grave issue and serious objection to the fact that were now balloting on a new deal when there was a provision of the past deal that has not been delivered upon, and I wonder is that the same for other unions and if so, I did ask this at a meeting recently I just wonder is that an issue, I can’t understand for the life of me why we are going in to another pay deal when we committed we gave our side and the other side did not deliver. That panel is not there for secondary teachers and that is not on. And lastly before I finish I would just like to say that it is my first time coming to this Congress Conference, and I am delighted to be here this week. But as a newbie I have no idea what the Standing Orders are and I just wonder a) if I could get a copy or b) if we could set a precedent, for when Delegates coming to something like this, that the Standing Orders are sent to us so that we know how things work. I hear Standing Orders referred to up here and I genuinely actually don’t have the information needed, so I would like to request that it comes out to everybody in advance of something like this. Thank you. John Douglas, President Standing Orders were circulated to all. Noelle Moran, ASTI My apologies if the Standing Orders are in here already, but my understanding of the Standing Orders is the actual rules. Am I correct that we don’t have the Standing Orders, that we have the Report? John Douglas, President The Standing Orders Reports are circulated. Yes. Delegate, point please. Point taken. Anymore speakers to the motion? No more speakers to the motion I’m going to put it to the floor. Motion 37 Prescarious and Casualised Work in the name of TUI. All in favour? All against? Motion carried. Motion 38, Class Sizes in the name of the INTO. Emma Dineen INTO, President, Colleagues, proposing Motion 38. We call on all parties to commit to proper resourcing of primary education in the term of the next government. Primary education needs three things; smaller classes, a fair funding formula and proper support for its leaders and teachers. Investment that makes sure primary school children achieve their full potential in every area of the curriculum and especially in the key areas of literacy and numeracy and ICT and science will have benefits later on. Those resources will prevent societal problems that should be address in Primary School. Investment in primary education is not just underpinned by Economic arguments however, but by societal equality arguments as well. Remember the primary school class room is where every

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citizen, from every background gets their first chance at education and each child only gets one chance at education. In our disadvantage areas huge work is being put in by schools not only to raise the equality of access, but also to provide stable supportive environments for children from difficult homes situations. Primary teachers have always been ambitious for primary education and their pupils. Government needs to match teachers’ ambition and shake of its own poverty of ambition for primary education and stop treating our children like second class citizens. In terms of class size every day 530,000 Irish children are in the largest class sizes in this Eurozone. 85 percent of them are in classes greater than the European average of 21. In this county of Clare alone over 25 percent of the 13,500 children, are in classes of over 30. This is a disgrace. In a class of 30 the weak struggling child and the bright strong pupil suffer in equal measure. It is just not physically possible to give each child the attention and support they deserve. More than ever 2015 children need time, time is a new poverty. Teachers will give it if the numbers are there. Overcrowded classrooms also mean that classroom management takes precedence over teaching. Now I will not have time to go into all the other areas but school funding is one of the main issues at the moment, because no matter how much investment we plough in further up in the system, it will never solve the problems that were sown by sort changing down on the start of the system. What happens in the meantime? Cost goes up, capitation goes down. There is no point putting in the computers and whiteboards if you cannot have the technical support later on to keep them going. Colleagues, in all our schools a good ship needs a good captain. We have good captains in our school leaders but the ships are sinking fast under the torrent of work, with fewer sailors at the them. We have voluntary Boards of Management who do not get training and support, there is an on-going freeze on posts of responsibility, and there are less people to do more work. It’s time to get middle management back into our schools, and more over its time to properly resource secretarial and care taking facilities in our schools. Schools should have access to both, not be scraping for part- time hours for caretakers and a secretary. And this is on top of teaching Principals that have another job to do as well. If we have the best trained and most product teaching workforce in Europe as they tell us we have, and then it’s time to treat them like other qualified graduates are treated. In an era where wellbeing is the latest buzz word government needs to show that it cares by investing in our young citizens and in our hardworking teachers. I urge you to support the Motion. Thank you. John Douglas, President Formally seconded, agreed? Agreed. Any speakes to the motion? Noelle Moran, ASTI I’m going to keep this extremely short because I was up on the last motion as well. The class size, I think this is an excellent motion, reading it my only disappointment and the irony of it all was the Standing Orders a few minutes ago, but the reason I was going to ask this anyhow is that, I personally don’t know the date that amendments are accepted, and I understand that there not taken at the Congress, or at the Convention here, but I would hope that wherever we go with this motion that we might broaden that to include secondary education, where it’s just as relevant that the pupil teacher ratio and the provision of adequate resources for CPD, the payment of ICT grants to upgrade computers. So well done INTO, and I’m sorry I did not know the Standing Orders or submit an amendment earlier, but I would like that we would move forward and support secondary education of those same kids with this motion on class size. Thank you.

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John Douglas, President Any more speakers to the motion? Okay, I’m going to put Motion 38 Class Sizes in the name of the INTO to the floor. All in favour? All against? Motion Carried. Unfortunately because of the time-overrun there was to be a fringe meeting in relation to TTIP, that so-called ‘free trade agreement’ which is very important as it could have huge consequences for workers’ terms of conditions and employment. We’re going to have to cancel it unfortunately, and run on with the order of business so, just to let you know in case anybody was hoping to attend. Motion 39, Corruption and Tendering for Public Services in the name of UNISON. Thomas Mahaffy, UNISON President, Delegates, moving Motion 39 on Corruption and Tendering for Public Services. As European elites push the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership model TTIP to open up state services for global competition, it isn’t a surprise that new EU procurement regulations fall into line with this approach. Most Member States including the Republic are considering the new regulations, so is Scotland. England, Wales and Northern Ireland where landed with full implementation by the Downing Street Cabinet Office. As a movement we know that outsourcing and privatisation are morally corrupt. They damage the delivery of services and the public interest. They damage workers by driving down terms and conditions. They create inequality, discrimination and violations of human rights. They also promote financial corruption. There is nothing human rights violators such as G4S, or CIRCO like better than an exclusive deal without competition. This is what is being promoted by the new EU Regulations. They are called innovation partnerships which sounds like something positive, as they initially focus on innovation, research and development, but in reality they promote private monopoly for private gain. Once such a partnership is entered into by a public body the private partner can them provide services without having to use the public procurement system. Once the deal is done there is no way back. The public sector is left to cover up the rip-off. Local providers will be squeezed again. The public sector will be overwhelmed. Again and again the private sharks go bust leaving the public sector and the workers high and dry. The work should go back in house but instead some favourite, some company can now be brought in without competition and without the voice of trade unions. ICTU, needs to ensure that the so-called consideration stage by government addresses these issues. We should work with other trade unions Congresses to mount a sustained challenge to the UK Cabinet Office approach. The Northern Ireland Executive needs to be given a wake-up call that Devolution means using its influence in Europe on issues such as these. Influence also needs to be brought on the ETUC to ensure that the mechanics for TTIP implementation such as innovation partnerships are stopped before they start. Please support the Motion. John Douglas, President Thank you that motion is formally seconded, agreed? Agreed. I’m putting Motion 39 to the floor now. All in favour? All against? Motion 39 carried. Now moving onto Motion 40, Referendum on Water Supply and Treatment in the name of the CWU. Can I have a proposer please?

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Steve Fitzpatrick, CWU Thank you President. Moving Motion 40 in the name of the Communication Workers’ Union. It’s probably a relatively straightforward and short motion and one would think that we would not have any problems with it. I am not going to go into the diatribe about the shambles that is Irish Water, I think we know what a disaster it is, it’s a disaster that keeps giving, every day there is another little disaster added on to it. But the key piece here for us is the ownership of Irish Water. We have seen what’s happen with some of our natural resources, the key resource for human life is water and we don’t believe that the present government will keep Irish Water in public ownership. It’s interesting, at the moment the groups that support a referendum to protect your water are the Seanad, Sinn Féin, the parties of the left, many of the Independents, Fianna Fáil, and the ICTU Executive and hopefully this Conference. So who opposes it? The Government opposes it, my information is that the Labour Party would support it but they’re in government and that’s their excuse for everything else that they have done. But definitely we have a situation where the biggest party in the country, possibly the people who will be running the country after the next election if we don’t get our act together, will privatise Irish Water. The Taoiseach has said, and it’s a kind of half a quote, that there is no need for any government to hold a referendum because you would want to be bonkers to privatise Irish Water. The only thing he left out was ‘this year’, or ‘before this Election’. Water is the new gold, all over the world, water reserves has been bought up, all over the world it’s being horded. People are being starved of water, people are dying of thirst. In California there is no water, it’s all been sold in bottles. So, the idea is we need to enshrine it in a referendum as soon as possible because we don’t trust them, and if you don’t know why we don’t trust them you need to go and see a shrink anyway. The long term intention is to privatise, your Executive Council has recognised that and ask you to support this motion and to work with us to ensure we understand who stands with us on Irish Water before the next election. Thank you Comrades. John Douglas, President Okay Motion 40 I take it that it’s formally seconded? Agreed. I’m now calling for speakers on the motion. Tom Geraghty, PSEU In support of this Motion, I will be exceptionally brief because time is moving on. While there are disagreements in this room about how we should fund the supply of water, there is surely no disagreement amongst anybody in this room about the principle that water is a necessary human right and that therefore it should remain in public ownership. And if we are to guarantee that it remains in public ownership we have to guarantee in our Constitution that no government, irrespective of its particular concerns at any giving time will be tempted to privatise it, so I urge you to support the Motion. Tiernan Millar, NIPSA Conference, I want to quote to you a wee bit from the Ragged Trousered Philanthropist. Poverty is not caused by men and women getting married. It’s not caused by machinery; it’s not caused by over production. It’s not caused by drink or laziness; it’s not caused by over population. It’s caused by private monopoly and that is the present system. They have monopolised everything that is possible to monopolise, they have got the whole earth, the minerals in the earth and the streams that water the earth. The only reason they have not yet monopolised daylight in the air is because it is not possible to do it.

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Conference it is not possible to monopolised air but it is certainly possible to monopolise water. Water is not a commodity to be bought or sold, water is a human right. Conference, what happen to only our rivers run free? What happen to we declare the right of the people of Ireland to the ownership of Ireland and to the unfettered control of Irish destinies be souvenir and indivisible? I will tell you what happen to it. The International Monarchy Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank’s attempt to make the Irish Republic a wholly owned subsidiary of Troika PLC, and how easily they were aided and abetted by the Labour Party and Fíanna Gael. Labour’s 2011 General Election Manifesto read Labour does not favour water charges which does not address the immediate needs of those who currently receive intermittent or poor water supplies. Labour will continue to invest in the water services programme as part of the Capital Budget focusing on minimising treated water loss or leakage. Well for a party that supposedly doesn’t favour water charges they have certainty put a lot of effort into prosecuting, deomonising and criminalising dissenting voices. Within the last year Ireland has joined a list of countries and it includes North Korea, Iran, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, countries that arrest and imprison peaceful protesters. Irish Water is here to stay. It should remain a public sector organisation not for the collection of the Water Tax but for the maintenance and the delivery of world class water and sewage system, free to all residents at the point of use. The same remains in the North and the reason that it is free in the North is not a gift from our politicians, it’s because we stood together and with one voice and we said we will not pay. If you think that cosying up with Sein Féin is going to save you from austerity or privatisation ask Magherafelt District Council what Sein Féin did to stop the privatisation of water services. Sein Féin is the biggest party Belfast City Council. (time, time delegate please). I’m sorry Joan Burton got a platform. I’ll get a platform. Ask Sein Féin Education Minister John O’Dowd what part of their anti-austerity programme is served by lifting millions out of the Education budget to fund redundancies. Conference support this Motion. John Douglas, President Again I would just ask all speakers, in the interest of giving everybody a fair share of time, could you just try and stay within the red right as much as possible. I always give a little bit of lee-way, but try to stay within the red light. People have had a good share of the time so far. Thank you. Richie Browne, UNITE Speaking in favour of Motion 40 and asking delegates to support Motion 40. I suppose the aim and the intent of Motion 40 is very simple. It’s to give Constitutional protection to retaining our water services in public ownership. But I think it’s important to point out, this motion does nothing for the retention of water services in public ownership in Northern Ireland, and yet water and water services and the provision of water in Northern Ireland remains in public ownership and I strongly believe the reason for that, as the last speaker has alluded to, is because we opposed the imposition and the introduction of water charges. The formal policy of NICICTU is to oppose water charges in Northern Ireland and because of the very, very successful NICICTU Congress-led campaign to oppose water charges in the North that’s why I strongly believe they remain in public ownership and we haven’t had water charges imposed in Northern Ireland, and I believe in the absence of a Constitutional protection that the best way to ensure that water and the provision of water in the South remains in public ownership is to oppose water charges. Thanks Delegates. Deirdre Quinlan, CPSU Supporting Motion 40. For the past two days we have spoken about the struggle we as workers have had to endure, such as our brothers and sisters in Clerys, without notice loss their jobs, and our

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brothers and sisters in Dunnes who from week to week are unsure how many hours they are given, and our brothers and sisters in the public service who have seen their pay slashed and changes to their terms and conditions. It’s quiet clear we are struggling to make ends meet. But we have a government who are so far removed from the ordinary person, when they believe they can add another charge to us, not only an additional charge but a charge that we are already paying through general taxation, but more importantly a government who want to charge us to use our own natural resource. To charge us without any provision to maintain or repair the infrastructure already placed, bar adding that cost to us as well. I’m not a customer of Irish Water, well not yet anyway, but this isn’t through protest. I’m a rural dweller and I’m part of a group scheme so I actually have to pay for my water. So why am I supporting the right to water? Well the answer is very simple, if we except these charges and recognise Irish Water we are then in acceptance of the inevitable privatisation of water in this country. This is something I do not wish to bequeath to my child and future generations to come and I am sure it is something you don’t want to do either. I would like to commend the work carried out so far by the five trade unions who have come together as Right2Water, those unions are UNITE, MANDATE, OPASTI, CWU, and my own union CPSU. They have focused on the widespread anger among citizens at how ordinary people have been made to carried the burden of the damage caused to this country and it’s economy by property speculators, top tier bankers, centre right politicians and the pursuit of the policies of austerity. The next step we require is a Referendum to protect our water, however we also require a Referendum which will include other essential resources and services in public ownership to ensure that they cannot be privatised in the future to facilitate private sector speculation and gain at the expense of the welfare of the Irish Citizen. Please support this Motion. John Douglas, President If there are no more speakers on Motion No 40 Referendum on Water Supply and Treatment in the name of CWU, I will now put that Motion to the floor. All in favour? All against? Motion 40 is carried. I’m now moving on to Motion 41 Water Charges and Public Ownership, and before I do can I just ask the Tellers to be in place as I may need your services at the end of this? Motion 41 Water Charges and Public Ownership in the name of Waterford Council of Trade Unions. Can I have a proposer for the motion please? Brendan Ogle, UNITE Our motion has become very simple. It’s just a sentence or so now in terms of the Waterford Council of Trade Unions is calling on Conference to reject the imposition of water charges on the Irish people. We have already called for the Constitutional Amendment etc. I also want to say that there is an amendment to this motion which we are rejecting and I am going to just speak a little bit on why we are rejecting that and why we are calling on conference to oppose the motion. On October 11th 2014 will be remember as a historic day, a day that saw the emergence of a mass - movement against water charges and austerity after 6 years of planed poverty by two administrations. Whole communities came out in their tens of thousands. On the day over a 100,000 people came onto the streets to say ‘no way, we won’t pay’. That was the main chant and slogan on that day. Three more national demonstrations followed again bringing the numbers up to around 400,000 people that participated, and that excludes the tens of thousands of people who took part in protests in their own areas and local demonstrations, the thousands that came to

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meetings, the thousands of people that stood out against meters being put outside their front doors because they see that €539 million the official figure has been put into hole in the ground and they don’t see any future for those meters because they have no intention of paying. That history in the making knocked on the door of Irish Congress of Trade Unions, the largest civil society organisation in this country, unfortunately we found a house divided. It’s with great credit to the five Right2Water unions who stood with the people, that the creditability and the ability of the trade union movement to resist further poverty measures, like water charges was not totally shattered in the eyes of the people. Huge numbers of ordinary people are opposed to the charge to Irish Water, to privatisation of the vital natural resource, to the bonuses and the incompetence. Despite intimidation, bullying and arrests people continued to insist on the abolition of water charges. The massive climb down by the government only highlighted the strength and impact of the revolt. Despite claims to be listening the government chose to ignore the key demands of abolish water charges. Their concessions are seen by many people for what it is, bait to trap people into paying for something for which they already pay. Public services paid from central taxation are fair and progressive and do not depend on the individual’s ability to pay, many of course who can’t. WCTU calls on the Conference to oppose on the introduction of these charges, protect this fair and egalitarian method of financing water and sanitation services through central taxation, the envy of those in Europe fighting privatisation of water. This movement cannot and must not stand by while our class that has risen up against this unfair disposition. If organised labour is not with the risen communities, and that’s what it is, we’re talking about hundreds of thousands of people. We spoke about austerity, we spoke analysing it, how we react to, how we can take on issues, but if we are not prepared to stand with the people when the rise up, it’s all hot air at the end of the day if that’s the case. Last week again more anti-working class legislation went through the Dáil,to include provision for the eviction of tenants, our people, attachment orders through court appearances on our people, a lean on people’s homes that don’t pay their charges, our people. This has been introduced to further bully and intimidate people. This will prove useless in the face of a mass boycott that is underway. As we speak hundreds of thousands of people, many of them our members, are refusing to pay. Organised and unorganised workers, and young people in particular, will judge the trade union movement by what is does to support them in this struggle. To preserve the idea of a shared contribution to the provision of water and sanitation services through central taxation and to ensure our water never falls into the hands of the private speculators. After six years of poverty inflicted on a lot of people, the pain that went with that was suicide, mass emigration, mass unemployment, mental health problems, relationship breakdown, that exploded on the 11th October and people had risen up that they have taken enough. If we don’t link arms and march with them, but not marching in the opposite the direction, that amendment is putting us marching in the opposite direction and I will leave the movers of the amendment to explain to the people in the North of Ireland how it affects them. Thank you. John Douglas, President We have a lot of speakers, so I’m going to take one from that side, and one from that side and see if we can get through them okay? Dave Moran, Mandate President, Conference I’m opposing the amendment from IMPACT and supporting the original Motion 41, from Waterford.

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Well technically they may have stayed within the Rules. I believe the insertion of the amendment is to say the least mischievous in the extreme. Motion 41, originally as set out rejects the imposition of water charges on the Irish people and that is the clear sentiment in the motion. The amendment as presented completely changes both the spirit and intention of the motion, and I believe it should be either withdrawn or defeated. One of the main flaws of the amendment is the call for an increased allowance. Its fails to recognise one of the government’s primary reasons for bringing in water charges, they want to remove water from the government’s balance sheets – clear. In order to that the must ensure that more than 50 percent of the cost for providing water are paid for direct end user charges. If that’s the case, and at the current levels of investment, which isn’t enough and that’s €1.2 billion, and as I said it is usually underfunded, at least €600 million will have to come from commercial water charges and from the domestic water charges. If every household gets an allowance that is sufficient for daily usage of which the UN Resolution on Water as a Human Right says that should be 36,500 litres that’s necessary just to survive, then the government will still have to raise approximately €600 million. So every single litre of water above the allowance will be charged at, I believe, an extortionate rate. Even if everybody reduced their usage to the level of 36,500 litres the government would still have to raise that €600 million. That means they will have to do either one of two things. Reduce the allowance or increase the charges on those who use more than that allowance. And who is going to bear the brunt of that? The people who spend more time in their homes; that’s the low paid part-time precarious workers, like the Dunne’s Stores workers who you showed a lot of support here for today, it’s the unemployed, it’s the pensioners and those with disabilities. The people who won’t reach their allowances are the households with two fulltime working adults who spend less time in their homes. So again we will have a situation where the poorest in our society are disproportionately disadvantage. Last year at Mandate’s Biennial Delegate Conference our 300 Shop Stewart’s from the retail sector voted unanimously to oppose these water charges. That’s because they know they will be the ultimate victims of this policy. If IMPACT had felt so strongly about this issue, they like all other unions could have submitted their own motion on the issue. Support the motion 41 and reject the amendment. John Douglas, President Can I just remind speakers that we’re dealing with the original motion, the proposers of the amendment have not moved the amendment yet, so could you just confine your remarks at this stage to the original motion. Next speaker? I will move be moving the amendment, but I had to propose the motion first, and speakers to the motion, there has been one speaker to the motion. Is that the only speaker to the motion? If that’s the case then I will now move onto moving the amendment. I’m not calling on the proposer of the amendment to move the amendment. Eamon Donnelly, IMPACT Thanks a lot Chair. Eamon Donnelly from IMPACT Trade Unoin moving the amendment, and let’s just all agree that the amendment was within the rules of this conference and the one motion that we chose was on homelessness will get its airing when this come up, just to point that out to people. This is an complex argument Delegates, it’s not a simple straight forward ‘were against it’, and that’s why different unions have different positions, and no affiliate union has tabled the motion to restrict

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those unions campaigning against water chargers. We are all in favour of a Referendum to protect water services against privatisation and it is important that we can unite around this proposal, provides a genuine safeguard against any attempted future privatisation, and complements the EU, right to water campaign which is pursue the European citizens’ initiative to protect water and sanitation services as a human right, and to secure it against any privatisation at EU level. IMPACT has fully supported that campaign since 2012. What our amendment seeks is to maintain existing agreed ICTU policy on water in the South which has no implications for our campaign in Northern Ireland. The ICTU position seeks to increase the free allowance in order that every household’s domestic water needs are met and that the liability to pay occurs only when normal use is exceeded by waste, leakage or filling swimming pools, that is the current ICTU policy. Hundreds of thousands people in group water schemes have been paying water charges in this country for decades so let’s acknowledge that this is not a recent imposition as the original motion implies. IMPACT’s own position, which it is bound by, was adopted following a one and a half hour debate at our main Conference last year. We might not have liked the idea of the establishment of Irish water, in fact we didn’t, so just let me tell you a little bit about that, because the original plan was to do the deal with 1,700 staff and outsource and privatise as much as possible. The trade unions involved reversed that and secured 12 year service level agreements to keep 3,920 local authority workers providing water services for the next 12 years, 3,920 jobs! In addition there are 530+ staff in Irish water, which is a unionised employment. We have reasonability to these workers and that’s just one of the reasons why we have sought this amendment. If water costs were to be returned to the national balance sheet, it would seriously compromise any room for improvement in Social Welfare, and other areas of state spending that we have discussed over the last two days. In conclusion delegates, I repeat that this amendment is simply designed to retain the existing Congress position on a free allowance for normal domestic use, and to secure a Constitutional Amendment to retain public ownership of the water supply, it does not seek to silence those unions in the Right2Water Campaign. It does however seek to continue the recognition that all affiliates do not share that view. Thank you. John Douglas, President Formally seconded. Brendan Ogle, UNITE President, delegates, comerades. I speak in favour of the motion and in opposition to the amendment on behalf of the UNITE trade union, and on behalf I believe of the hundreds of thousands of citizens who have mobilised an opposition to these domestic water chargers in the last 12 months. The first thing to say comrades is I and you already pay for your water. This is not about whether we pay for water or not, of course we pay for water. This is about how we pay for our water. We currently pay for our water through progressive general taxation. It is through paying for our water through progressive general taxation that the Republic of Ireland is the only country in the European Union with zero water poverty. We are the only country in the European Union with zero water poverty because paying for it through progressive general taxation is the most effective way to give example to water as a human right and a necessary need for life. Water must be free at a point of use, but nobody thinks water is free. Water needs to paid for by tax and if we need to expand the tax base to pay for our water, then I am looking forward to the amendments and the motions and the future Conferences that seek to expand the tax base by addressing Corporation tax, Capital Tax,

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Wealth Tax, and Employers PRSI tax. I pay my tax and I pay for my water. We support further and increased investment in our water services and we support more jobs, better paid jobs and better terms and conditions for those who provide our water and sanitation services, and anybody that suggests otherwise is deliberately misrepresenting the hundreds of thousands of people who demand the abolition of these chargers. In the last few weeks the five Right2Water unions have published a detailed fiscal strategy which doesn’t pretend water doesn’t have to be paid for, which puts up there how will we create a new tax base, an equable tax base, a fair tax base; when it’s not the same people paying the same taxes over and over again, covering up for capital, covering up for the wealth, and covering up for tax cheats, and avoiders. Final points on the amendment, this Conference passed Motion No. 7, Opposition to Austerity, this is an austerity tax, this is austerity tax on workers, and you cannot pass a motion opposing austerity, and then pass a motion, I submit to you Comrades, seeking to impose a water tax on your members. This is a privatisation agenda. Thank you. John Douglas, President I said I’d give everybody a little bit of leeway on both sides of the argument, as much as we can. Next speaker. Paddy Mackell, Belfast Trades Councils Supporting the rejection of the Amendment to Motion 41. I would ask you to look at the words in the Amendment, not what people think it says, not what people want it to say, but actually what it does say, and that’s why we are opposed to it. If this Amendment is passed, it would turn on its head the formal position of Congress in the North. Since the 2006 NICICTU BDC, it has been policy to oppose separate water charges, support a non-payment campaign and oppose a privatisation of water. Passing this amendment would dismiss our efforts over the last 8 years. Without ICTU’s continuing opposition water charges will be imposed in the North make no mistake about that. When we took that brave decision in 2006, and embarked on a campaign of opposition to separate water charges and supporting non-payment we were alone. No political party supported our stance. We were openly attacked in the media and in public meetings but we remained resolute. But by the 2007 Assemble Elections the political parties had moved over to our position. Since then whenever there are any mumblings about introducing chargers we crank it up again, they back down again. Congress opposition has ensured that workers, the low paid, pensioners, and the vulnerable have not had water chargers imposed, all of this hard work will be lost if this amendment is passed as Congress would then have a position of support for water chargers across Ireland and including the North. That would be wrong, that would be shameful. Of course there are differences in the two jurisdictions about how we deliver and about how we already pay for water and the impact of those chargers on the workers. Of course unions democratically have reached independent decisions on the Right2Water Campaign. I assure you however that it is beyond doubt that once Congress in the North took this decision to oppose those water charges and support non-payment the establishment was shaken. They took notice and they changed their position, forced by the Labour movement and forced by workers power. The biggest civic society organisation in this country has power and when it exercises that power it can force change. Sometimes this movement choses to set aside its own sectorial and sectional interests for the common good. Sometimes those who don’t have a big voice need a big movement to make sure

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that that voice is heard. Sometimes you just have to do the right thing. Conference, please reject the amendment and make brave decision on the motion. Jack O´Connor, SIPTU Presdient, Delegates. I’m speaking in support of the amendment. I want to ask the Waterford Council of Trade Unions to reconsider the issue and to accept the amendment. The amendment means what the movers of the amendment meant it to mean, that’s what it means. And it does not mean that by endorsing this amendment we in this Congress support water charges. It means nothing of the kind Comrades, unless for some reason we chose to interpreter it as such. What it is about Comrades, is actually how to bring about their removal not indorsing them. Because if the government or any government were to remove water charges in the morning it would mean that they would have to find between €500 million and €600 million which is currently available for expenditure on public services, and we passed a series of motions calling for further expenditure on public services just now. It would mean that would not be available to them. There are almost 4,000 workers employed in the water service. The law, the law protects their employment which is on the basis of collectively bargained terms. Many of them are organised in SIPTU I accept. When their representatives came to me and asked me if these charges are abolished in the morning can you guarantee us that, that Law, that protection will still stand, and I could not Comrades, and neither could any other person in this hall. Now if we increased the allowance, if we force them to increase the allowance so as to ensure that everyone gets the amount of water they we need to meet their domestic needs without having to incur cost, it will open the way for the next government, three, four or five years down the road to re-designate Irish Water from its current states as a commercial semi state. It would mean that this government and the next government would have that €500 million or €600 million every year until then, and once re-designated to a non commercial semi state then it could provide the water in the way that the movers want the water free of charge. (shouting in hall) John Douglas, President Hold on for a second, we gave the other speakers in the debate a little bit of leeway, so just give this man a little bit of leeway please. (applause) Jack O’Connor, SIPTU And that would mean that the campaign which has been led by the Right2Water unions would result in success. That would mean the real abolition of water chargers without penalties being paid by people who depend on public services, and without resulting in the Greyhound-isation of 4,000 jobs. That would be a win for the campaign that has been led by Right2Water unions, it would be a win for the Irish people, it would be a win for 4,000 workers, and it would be a win for the trade union movement. Thank you Comrades. John Douglas, President Sorry Terry just before you start. There’s no point in shouting up the hall at me right? Like it or lump it I’m the President for another couple of hours. I’m trying to hold order in the meeting, I’m trying to be fair to everybody. I’ve given a little bit of leeway to both sides in this debate. There are a lot of strongly held feelings in this. People deserve to be heard and without shouting abuse down the hall. So let people speak and make your mind up then which way you want to vote. Terry. Terry Kelleher, CPSU Thanks John. The CPSU is supporting the motion and opposing the amendment. But we do respect that SIPTU and IMPACT have a role to play in developing strategies to protect the workers and trade

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union rights, but we believe that not supporting the campaign against the water chargers is not the opposite to protecting workers, actually they go hand in hand and I will explain why. And by the way it’s not the first time there was a mass non-payment campaign. In the 90’s in Dublin, the Dublin working class defeated water chargers, nobody lost their job. There wasn’t any deficiency in funding, actually push back the agenda, that’s the lesson of history by the way, don’t be nodding your heads, that’s reality, it pushed back privatisation. What are water charges apart from an austerity tax? It is the first step towards privatisation, it is the commoditisation of water which is worldwide phenomenon. It’s not about funding a service, it’s not about conservation, it is a bailout tax based on an austerity policy. We need to learn the lessons from the bin charges campaign. The introduction of bin charges was the beginning of the privatisation which has happened now inside that service, and basically the Mr Bin Company verses SIPTU Dispute and Greyhound Dispute actually reinforces why we should oppose charges because it’s the beginning of a process, not the ending of a process in relation to this. To oppose these chargers is to oppose the process towards privatisation and any concessions that SIPTU and IMPACT have got, and they have got concessions, only slows that process down. But this maybe academic because there is a massive boycott campaign going on and Mr Enda Kenny won’t give us the figures of who has paid. What does that mean? It means it’s working. It may be academic what we are debating here, but I say one thing what does 1994 mean? What do the bin charges lessons mean? Stopping and challenging privatisation and saving public sector jobs starts with stopping the charges coming in. Thank you. Billy Lynn, NIPSA Brothers and Sisters, I’m urging support for the motion and opposition to the amendment, and I wish that those speakers who have spoken in support of the amendment would read the amendment because what the amendment does to the original motion, it takes out the call to reject the imposition of water chargers, that is what this movement should be about, to reject imposition of the water chargers. I have real fears for this movement on this Island, if this Amendment is carried. It will be sow divisions between unions in the South and in the North. It will sell the trade union movement in Northern Ireland down the swanny, down the river and it will sell the people in Southern Ireland down the swanny as well. This motion, the amendment if carried, will give the green lights to those in Northern Ireland who want not just to introduce water chargers but want to actually to privatise the asset which is Northern Ireland water. In 2006, at the NICICTU Delegate Conference, they passed a motion of complete opposition to water charges in the North and privatisation of water. What we are doing today we said in 2006 we are not paying, we are still not paying, and we won’t pay. Support the motion and oppose amendment. Mark Walsh, ASTI I’m supporting the motion, and opposing the amendment as previous speakers just before me. I think Jack O’Connor’s example of Greyhound is extremely instructive because as Terry said that’s what will happen. We had good public sector Council jobs that were privatised and ultimately gotten rid of through Greyhound, that’s what happen3ed. That’s what that process leads to. That’s pretty clear. Secondly the ICTU position seems to be that you don’t oppose the household charge, you don’t oppose the property tax, and you don’t oppose the water charges, because you believe in the government widening the tax space, and that this disbelief is then turned around to say that at least if they widen the tax space they won’t come after us in terms of other cuts. I think that is a terrible

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way to think of it ok. We talked about the working class earlier on today and people talked about supporting the working class. The working class are rising up at the moment and only five unions here are actually supporting that. I think all of the unions here should instantly join the Right2Water Campaign. But we must go further because as other speakers have said the key tactic here is non- payment, because once you introduce charges you turn water into a commodity that can be bought and sold on the market and that is the very aim on introducing charges, is to turn it into a commodity that down the line it can be sold off privatised and we will be paying the €1,000 a year or whatever it is going to be. So this is a really serious issue, we would want to put our money where our mouth is as I have I be saying during this Conference. Support the working class when they are rising up, support them and if you don’t do that, it really says whose side you are on. Whose side are you on? Are you in favour of supporting the working class, standing up fighting back against this government or are you in favour of supporting the Labour Party and Fianna Gael and I think it is very disappointing to see that some unions might in that category today. Support this motion and oppose the Amendment. Thank you. Jerry King, President of IMPACT Trade Union I am an ICTU virgin , it’s my first time at the ICTU Conference. I really do pick them, but I couldn’t go without saying why our union put in the amendment. (from the audience – IMPACT have already had a speaker) John Douglas President Hold on Jerry. We’ve allowed the mover of the motion and then one speaker from that union. They’ve moved the amendment and now this is the speaker from IMPACT, so let the man speak. Jerry King, IMPACT I take it President my time starts now and I will be done in two minutes. I am one of the 465,000 people who have been paying water charges as part of a rural group scheme since 1985 when I built my house. We also pay sewerage as well, and there are 465,000, logically many of them are members of Congress and members of the trade union movement as well. Does that mean that I think there should not be anti-water campaigners? Does it mean that I hold anything against them? No, in a lot of instances I admire them and what they stand for but we are talking today about a particular motion and in this case the amendment to it. Thousands of Congress members across several unions are working in water provision and they have to be protected. They have to be protected against outsourcing which was unanimously agreed today in the motions and outsourcing. They also have to be protected against privatisation. It maybe my first time here today but I see many people that I saw marching in 1979 and 1981 when I was at school in support of broadening the tax space. We are all PAYE workers, our tax is deducted at source. The problem in this country for many years has been the huge amount of people who pay too little or did not pay their fair share of tax. When did we start to change against broadening the tax base? We pay our taxes. IMPACT trade union debated this last year in 2014 at our Conference, and we had a bittering and divisive debate about it and we explored it fully. We fully support a Referendum but at the end of our debate we decided the priority here is that there will never be privatisation of Irish Water, that’s where the fight is that’s where battle is and let everybody that spoke unite on that. So I am asking you Delegates, I know all about being against things. I lost a vote on an Executive once by 22/1 and I still ended up as President, but I am going to win this one today because I am asking you to support

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the amendment and it does not stop anybody aampaigning North or South against water charges. Thank you. John Douglas, President Okay delegates. I think we’ve had a fairly open and frank discussion in relation to the amendment and indeed the original motion. As the Tellers are in place, you’ll be asked to hold up your delegate card when you vote either ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ or abstaining. We’re obviously taking the amendment first. Please note we are taking the amendment first. Is everybody ready to vote yes? I’m now taking a vote on the Amendment to Motion 41. Those supporting the amendment please raise your hand. When the Tellers have finished the count can you please come up to the Chair of Standing Orders with your result. Okay, all those against the amendment please raise your hands and keep them up until they’re counted. Was there anybody who wanted to abstain from voting, please put your hands up. The result, there were four absentions. For the Amendment – 194 votes. Against the Amendment – 203 votes. The Amendment falls. Now we have to take the vote on the motion. We are now putting the unamended original motion in the name of the Waterford Council of Trade Unions Motion 41 to the floor. All in favour of the original motion? We have to do a count again so please keep your hands up, if Tellers could be in place please. Hold on, take your hands down please. How about this then - I’m going to call in the first instance for people voting against the original motion and then we might have a clear view. All those against Motion 41 just raise your hands. Tellers there might not be a need to count doing it this way. All those in favour of Motion 41? The motion is carried (cheers). I’d like to thank the Tellers, than, you very much. Before we all rush off just finally I need to put Executive Council Report Section 2: Living Wage, Strong Economy, Section 3: Creating Jobs, Achieving Growth: Section 4: Progressive Workplace Rights. All those in favour of adopting those sections of the Report say ‘aye’. Aye! Good luck and have a good night. Thanks, I’m worn out.

Thursday 9th July 2017 Morning Session John Douglas, President Delegates, I’m calling conference to order, please take your seats. We have to get through a lot of business. We’re planning on running until about 7.30pm this evening so you’d want to sit down and move it on (laughter). I’d like to call on Jack McGinley to advise delegates of the next Standing Orders Report and some housekeeping issues.

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Jack McGinley, Chair Standing Orders Delegate’s, Standing Orders have circulated Emergency Motions 3 and 4 which will be taken immediately after Motion 46, and as with Emergency Motions 1 and 2 the proposer will be given five minutes. So in relation to Motion 3 it’s UNISON and in relation to Motion it’s the TEEU. The motions will be formerly seconded and put to a vote. This poster has been put out on all the chairs. Following a short video we are going to take a group photograph and the photographer has asked that people hold it below the face and that we fill the void at the front here and this is going to be used as an act of international solidarity. I move. Brian Campfield, Vice President Jack stay where you are there, John is going to make a presentation to you. I’m sure there’s some reason for it, but anyway… (applause). John Douglas, President We are now going to have a short film to introduce a political prisoner, a trade unionist who is being held in Columbia, Huber Ballesteros. He is in Bogata prison. The film was smuggled out and contains a message to the Irish Trade Unions so I would ask everyone to look at the video. We are joined on the top table by Mariella who is from Justice for Columbia and by Whitney who is from the Council of Trade Unions in Columbia. Thank you very much delegates. [Film] John Douglas, President Delegates that was Huber Ballesteros who is still in prison. That short clip was smuggled out. Columbia, as you all know is the most dangerous country in the world to be a trade unionist. There is a systematic state regime which is working on the extermination of the trade union movement. Thousands of trade unionist have been killed and assassinated every year. We are at this stage trying to help the peace process. There is a peace process. It is somewhat stalled at the moment but nonetheless our campaign must continue to help trade unionist and civil society in Columbia to continue to shine a light into the darkest recess of state oppression in Columbia. We are going to have a bit of a photo opportunity but before we do again it is about what is practical and what is not practical. The photo opportunity is brilliant because these type of campaigns nationally and internationally have saved hundreds of lives already, but in terms of the Justice for Columbia group actually it has been one of the most effective campaigning human rights groups in the world. It’s run on a shoe string. I will be writing, as President of the ICTU, to all delegate unions, to all affiliated unions seeking financial support for the Justice for Columbia organisation. I would like to think that we can support the ongoing work of Justice for Columbia, that we continue to support trade unionist and civil society in Columbia in their struggle for justice, for freedom, for trade union rights and for workers’ rights. So I know there are a lot of calls and a lot of unions and a very difficult time for funds and resources but if you can do something it would be very much appreciated. So hopefully within the next couple of weeks your Executive Committees will be meeting in September there will be a call to fund this ongoing campaign and if you unions and your Executive Committees could respond positively it would be very much appreciated. You are helping the international trade union movement, you are helping to shine a light into the darkest recess of state oppression and to stop the extermination of trade unionism and workers power in Columbia. Thank you very much.

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You all have a poster of Huber on your chairs, so if everyone could move up to the front underneath the first pillar here as we want to get a sense of the amount of people here, so please move up the front and hold your poster up. Thank you very much. Brian Campfield, Vice President Before we move on John is going to make a presentation to Whitney from the Columbian Trade Union Council. John Douglas, President Delegates on behalf of the Irish Trade Union Movement and all you delegates I would like to make a presentation to Whitney Chávez. Mariela Kohon Justice for Columbia translating on behalf of Whitney, Invited to say a few words. It is marvellous that in a country so far away from our own that we find so much warmth and so much solidarity. Our brother Huber Ballesteros has committed a grave crime, and that is to fight for the rights of children, of women, of workers and of the poor. Thank you for supporting us in our fight for his freedom and for the rights for all in Columbia. Thank you. John Douglas, President Delegates, I would like to invite Billy Hannigan, Chair of Scrutineers to announce the results of the election for the Executive Council Ordinary seats and Local Panels. Billy Hannigan, Chair of Scrutineers Thank you President, and I suppose only the Irish Congress of Trade Unions could ask somebody to follow something so important with the results of elections but anyway. The first result I am going to give you is the result of the Local Reserve Panel election. There were 530 votes cast. One vote was spoilt so the valid poll was 529. Cronin C secured 334 votes on the first count and was elected. Tyrell Collard secured 195 so we declared Cronin elected. I will now do the results of the Standing Order election. Each vote was given a value of a 1,000 for the ease of transfers. The total poll was 521,000. The total valid poll was 521,000 with 5 seats. The quota was 86,834 and what I will give you is the first count outcome for each individual and the count on which they were elected or eliminated. Dolan A – 116,000 elected first counts Gaffney J – 75,000 elected fourth count. Gilfoyle P - 44,000 elected without reaching the quota Keating D – 118,000 elected on the first count. Martin C – 40,000 eliminated and thus become the first substitute McGinley J – 128,000 elected on the first count The final election is for the election of the Executive Council for 30 seats. There were 520,000 valid votes and the quota was 16,775 and as with the Standing Orders Committee, I will give you the first counted outcome and the count elected or eliminated. Broderick L – 17,000 elected on the first count Browne R – 17,000 elected on the first count Buckley E – 17,000 elected on the first count Cody S – 17,000 elected on the first county De Paor Diarmaid – 16, 00 elected without reaching the quota Devoy E – 17,000 elected on the first count Dooley S – 18,000 elected on first count

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Doran L – 17,000 elected first count Douglas J – 16,000 elected fourth count Fitzpatrick S – 17,000 elected first count Geraghty T – 18,000 elected first counts Hall A - 17,000 elected first count Huston L – 6,000 eliminated fifth count Jennings M – 12,000 elected without reaching the quota Kearney D – 13,000 eliminated on the ninth count Kelly J – 17,000 elected first count Levis M – 17,000 elected first count Light G – 4,000 eliminated fourth count McGowan J - 17,000 elected first count McGarrigle J – 17,000 elected first count McKeown P – 17,000 elected first count Mealy G – 17,000 elected first count Millar A – 18,000 elected first count Moore J - 17,000 elected first county Morgan M – 17,000 elected first count Morrissey A – 16,000 elected fourth count. Ní Sheaghdha P – 16,000 elected fourth count O’Connor D – 14,000 elected without reaching the quota O’Connor J – 17,000 elected on the first count Rowan C – 16,000 elected on the second count Ronayne E – 17,000 elected on the first count Speed A – 16,000 elected on the first count Ward N – 15,000 elected without reaching the quota Could I just thank my fellow Scrutineers for their work and especially thank Liam and Fergus, from the Congress Staff, for their assistance and advice. Liam will be circulating the results over the coming weeks to everybody. Thank you very much. John Douglas, President Okay delegates congratulations to those elected onto the various panels and commiserations to those who were not successful this time. I have now the great honour of calling on Bernadette Ségol, General Secretary of the ETUC to address conference. Bernadette Ségol, General Secretary, ETUC President and Delegates, dear friends, first of all a very good morning to all of you. I am very honoured to address you once more for the third and for the last time as ETUC General Secretary at your Biennial Delegate Conference. In this difficult period Irish working people have borne the brunt of massive and unfair austerity policies but you have been strong. You have been resilient. The Irish trade union movement has, as always, faced and moved forward. I would wish today to repeat to ICTU, to each and every one of you the deep respect, the admiration of the whole European Trade Union movement. And you have been well led. I would like again to thank David Begg for his uncompromising pro-European stand, for his solidarity as well as for his thoughtful contribution to our Executive Committee and the help he has given me personally. I know David isn’t in the room but I am sure that this message will reach him one way or another. The storms over Europe of course have not abated. The last years, the last weeks have been a tragedy for the Greek people. They have gone from bad to worse and for them

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the tragedy continues. But friends and delegates the ‘no’ in the Referendum means NO! It means NO more of unbearable austerity. It means enough; it means Stop, Schluß and basta. Our members in Greece the Confederation of Trade Unions in Greece and the workers, they want to stay in the Eurozone and they want to stay in the European Union and we support them. Politicians must recognise the failure of their policies and the damage it did to people. We stick with our members, we stick with the Greek people and a sensible solution must be found which puts the interest of people first. The ETUC always say that austerity was no solution for growth or for lowering the debt and we have proposed concrete solutions. We have a proposal for a Social Compact for Europe and we have a proposal for a big investment plan in Europe which will be the only thing to be able to trigger growth, employment and reducing the debt. But the reality is that workers conditions are the only adjustment factor under current policy and the adjustment is through the low road, the austerity, misery path. On top of the austerity agenda we face the deregulation agenda which in fact results from it. We are told that better regulation is the solution to our economic ills. But Instead of making EU legislation more effective this better regulation which is known as REFIT is erecting new barriers to proper legislative procedures. And this brings me from REFIT to TTIP, and I must say friends that after all these years I still have difficulties of navigating through the ‘alphabetti spaghetti’ that constitutes Brussels speak. If you want I can give you the French translation but I don’t think you are really interested are you? So let me go to TTIP a few words on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership with the United States and I know you are particularly concerned about it. This is not essentially a trade deal. We would have few problems with it if it were. The ETUC supports trade that is fair, creates decent jobs and is integrated into active labour market policies that help reconvert to better jobs. But much of the TTIP agenda is about standards. It’s about bringing European and American standards more closely aligned to facilitate trade. We don’t mind the avoidance of duplication if it is the objective. We don’t mind a common approach, for instance wear seat belts in cars should be anchored though even on that I understand that there are differences because Americans usually come in larger sizes that Europeans. The fact is that regulations do not come out of thin air. They have a purpose and that purpose is to protect our citizens. We are absolutely clear that European standards are not lowered but improved. Decisions about setting them must be conducted through democratic procedures not by obscure committees or unelected regulators, and standard setting must not be frozen, must not be chilled in the kind of consultative arrangements that American companies are clamouring for. The kind of arrangements that remind us of REFIT. The ETUC has set its redlines. First strong and enforceable labour standards including but not limited to ILO fundamental conventions. We think that health and safety for example should be included too. We also want the text to make clear that US should ratify the many Conventions it hasn’t ratified yet, but that in any event they should all be fully implemented everywhere and for everyone in the United States. Now the Commission will, next week, be tabling its opening proposal. We have pressed our opposition but the thing will go on and on and in the next weeks, the next months we will to come back to them during the negotiation with our demands. The second imperative is to guarantee the

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exclusion of public services, public services understood in the wider sense from market opening. This should be ensured through a positive list that leaves no ambiguity as to what is on the table. And third there should be no ISDS another of the ‘alphabetti spaghetti’. Investors they dispute the settlement mechanism, the beleaguered ISDS, which is the way your General Secretary succinctly put it the other day ‘an afferent to democracy’ that gives to foreign investors special privileges to sue governments. And that is a no go area, that even the Commissioner Malmström described as ‘toxic’ although she still wants to reform it, and we say it cannot be reformed. There are alternatives to protect investors without discrimination and these alternatives should be considered carefully. At the same time investors have a responsibilies to their workers, to the people we represent to the consumers and to the environment and these should be made clear in TTIP. Some people are excusing us to be motivated by anti-American sentiments in taking a strong stand on this. We are not. The fact that we are working closely with our Sisters and Brothers from the AFLCIO who share our views. Recently in fact, yesterday, the European Parliament voted on a report. This report is positive on labour rights and public services, but unfortunately it loudly ignores public concerns about the special legal treatment for foreign investors. The vote keeps alive and big business, and big business only hopes for special privileges. So the battle is not over the negotiations will continue. I would like to thank Congress for your help in lobbying members of the European Parliament you will have to continue doing that because one day, the day will come when the Parliament will have to vote yes or no for TTIP. Let me also mention another agreement, a trade agreement CETA, it is the agreement with Canada. The provision for labour standards in CETA are not backed by sanction if they are breeched, it doesn’t fully guarantee protection for our public services and it includes ISDS. CETA could also serve as a Trojan horse for the 80 percent of American companies operating in Europe that have Canadian bases from which they could launch ISDS cases and this is why we oppose CETA. President, friends in an increasingly interconnected world of globalised value chain, the battle for standard setting is crucial, and however Europe can improve, and it can, we are still the envy of the world in this respect at least. We must fight hard and together to maintain European standards and to social model in particular. And this is now facing another insidious treat. As you know the government if you are British neighbour is seeking to renegotiate its terms of engagement with Europe. Although David Camron, is being evasive about exactly what he wants, it is clear that with regulation and in particular the labour market is a target. I of course warmly welcome the joint statement that you agreed with the TUC warning that attempts to undermine and weaken workers protection will be opposed by your two organisations and indeed by the whole European Trade Union movement. But the threat is not just to British workers. If Cameron succeeds I can well imagine others trying to follow suit and an unravelling of the rights we have fought so hard to gain over the years. It seems that the recent European Council, the British government conceded that there could be no Treaty change before the Referendum takes place, but that they wand a legally binding guarantee that changes will be implemented in the following years. Of course any Treaty change will, in particular in your country necessitate a Referendum and I need not tell you what that could lead to. This is a point that I expect my successor will be raising with you if events go down that route. We are adamant that any change in the Treaties such include a social progress protocol that ensures that fundamental rights cannot be trumped by economic freedoms. This approach is backed at least by the Swedish government. I think that European citizens are much more likely to vote for this than for Cameron’s anti-worker, anti-social approach.

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And colleagues I earlier paid tribute to David Begg and I now turn to his successor. Patricia, I know and I am absolutely sure that you will be a great leader in our European Trade Union community and I from my heart wish you all the best for the future. The ETUC Congress in Paris in September will be electing a new team and I hope and I expect your own Esther Lynch will be elected as an ETUC Confederal Secretary, I don’t know if Esther is in the room. This will be the first time that an Irish Representative will be part of the elected Secretariat. This will be another sign of the high esteem in which the Irish Congress is held. All of you will contribute, as our own Congress motto puts it, to a fair society, quality jobs and workers’ rights for Europe. I wish you a good forward looking Congress and I thank you very much. John Douglas, President Okay delegates before we go on to the next order of business I would like to acknowledge the presence of the Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland, and his wife also, if we could give them a round of applause. I would now like to call on David Joyce, the Equality Development Officer of Congress to introduce the report on Global International issues (Principle EC Report Reference Section 8: International). David Joyce, Congress Thank you President, good morning Delegates. I guess this is the part of the agenda where we begin to focus beyond our own borders to international issues, but in fact of course we have been talking about some of them already during the past few days, and that’s both in terms of developments at EU and International level may impact upon us here in Ireland and working with our colleagues in the ETUC and the ITUC to try to influence them and to mitigate some of the worse aspects of them. But also the struggles of our brothers and sisters around the world and how we can act in solidarity with them. Is a source of great pride to me personally and I know to most people in the room that we take our place in the international trade union movement and the international community so seriously as is evidenced by the number of meetings that have taken place around the conference in the past two days on issues such as TTIP, the issues which Bernadette has so eloquently covered and I won’t try and repeat here now on Palestine and the Post 2015 Sustainable Development Goals, on Columbia as we have already seen this morning and the passionate discussions that have taken place throughout this week, and I’m sure will continue this morning in the international session. These and other issues such as business and human rights will be covered by the way, in more details perhaps at our Global Solidarity Summer School in Cork on the 28th and 29th August in UCC, the details of which are on our website and I would encourage as many as possible to attend next month in Cork. Colleagues I was struck yesterday by something Patricia McKeown said during the Justice for Columbia fringe that was held at lunchtime and she was speaking about the Congress involvement along with politicians from all sides both in Northern Ireland and here in the Republic and their involvement in helping in the Columbian peace process that is ongoing. Patricia spoke about how it has changed the perception of trade unions and some politicians who perhaps didn’t have a very positive view of the trade union movement for whatever reason, and that they had actually come to view the trade union movement, because of their involvement in the Columbian peace process as a movement they can trust and a movement they took seriously. So colleague’s international work and international solidarity is not only one of our founding values but it is also something that is good for us as a movement.

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I want to, before I finish, drawing your attention to two initiatives around Palestine. One is emerging from the fantastic conference organised by SIPTU earlier this year in Liberty Hall on Palestine and parallel discussions with a number of different groups working on Palestine. Congress in now one of the founding members of a platform for Palestine, the name of which has yet to be agreed, who are coming together in advance of the General Election to be held in the Republic of Ireland around a common agenda to include the banning of settlement goods from the EU, the arms trade and seeking a review of the Ireland Military Export Licencing system and the Department of the Defence public procurement of Israeli defence and products, and also around the formal recognition of the State of Palestine by the Irish Government. And then finally I want to introduce to you our campaign on Israeli settlement goods. I will show you a film in a moment which summarises it, but you will see out on the Congress stand these leaflets now available for people to take and there is a page on our website ictu.ie/Palestine where you can see this video that we are about to show and some of the materials. But before we show it I just want to pay tribute to outgoing President, John Douglas, and his engagement with international issues over his period of time. He promised towards the beginning that he was going to get some action on Palestine so I know he has worked very hard to get where we are today, not only on Palestine but we have seen his commitment to Columbia. He has also been involved behind the scenes with a well know Irish retailer in terms of their response to the terrible tragedy which happened in the Rana Plaza over two years ago and to try and ensure that nothing like that will ever happen again. I just want to pay tribute to John and I want to say that I know that Brian Campfield, the incoming President, shares that passion and commitment and of course will carry that on over the next few years so thank you very much and you can show the film now Dee. [A short video clip is shown to introduce the Congress ‘Standing Up for Palestine’ Campaign] John Doulgas, President Thank you delegates for your attention. I’m sure we will all get involved in the Campaign. It has been a long time in the planning stage and now we are in the implementation stage and I’m sure all unions will support the plight of the Palestinian people. I would now like to call on Afif Emile Safieh , Palestinian Diplomat to address conference. Afif Emile Safieh, Guest Speaker Mr President, brothers and sisters it is a great privilege to be with you this morning and I would like to begin by expressing Palestinian political gratitude to Irish society. Irish public opinion was among the first in the world and truly the first in Europe to listen, understand and sympathise with our cry for freedom out of captivity and bondage. To that I would like to express our gratitude. As you probably know, we the Palestinians, for endless decades were denied our legitimate share of sympathy, support and solidarity simply because we were the victims of the victims of European history which blurred perceptions. Israel, Mr President, was supposed to be an answer to what is called the ‘Jewish Question’. As a result today, we the Palestinians stand in front of you as a question still awaiting a satisfactory, convenient, equitable answers. And we have become unreasonably reasonable as the maps of your excellent video showed we are unreasonably reasonable accepting 22% of what originally was our legitimate homeland. Ladies and gentleman I don’t belong to the optimistic school of thought that promises victory and salvation to the oppressed. I believe alas history is the cemetary of oppressed people who remained oppressed until they vanished into historical oblivion. Today the political challenge, the moral dilemma in the Middle East is the following. We either today have one people too many, we the Palestinians, or we have a State which is missing and needs to be created. I believe brothers and

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sisterss that the international community gave its answers through multitudes of Resolutions that, no there is not one people too many, there is a State which is missing, but I have news for you. History is still undecided, the verdict of history is still being awaited and I would like to invoke and appeal to you please help history make the right choice. How is this situation today seen through Palestinian eyes? Alas The Nakba, the Catastrophe, is not a frozen moment that has happened some time in 1948. Alas for us the Palestinians, the Nakba Catastrophe is still up to today an ongoing process. Today seen through Palestinian eyes successive Israeli governments have one constant policy, they want as much of our geography as possible with as little of our demography as possible. That was the constant policy inflicted on us on a daily basis. Ladies and gentleman today also 22 years after what was called the Peace Process one has to admit that the years of theoretical peace making were not years when we witnessed Israeli withdrawal but were years that we witnessed expansion of the occupation through the elastic unlimited growth of the illegal settlements. Today Israel is still in total control of 62 percent of the West Bank where Palestinians have no access and no control at all. Today also we admit the following reality. If there is diplomatic impasse for the last three to four years it not because of Arab rejection of Israeli existence but the impasse, the deadlock today is because of Israeli rejection of Arab acceptance because they don’t want to comply with the territorial prerequisites. I said we were unreasonably reasonable, this applies in the Arab world. The entire regional Arab state system since 2002 adopted in an Arab Summit held in Beirut, what was called the Arab Peace Plan which I summarise in one sentence on the territorial level ‘if Israel withdraws out of its ’67 expansion, we the Arabs are ready to recognise its pre ’67 existence’. So today the deadlock is no more due to an Arab rejection of Israel, but to an Israeli rejection of Arab acceptance because they believe they can afford it, because they don’t want to comply with the territorial prerequisites. Brothers and sisters we applauded the birth of what was called the Quartet which is a diplomatic construction made of the USA , Russia, the European Union and the UN to represent everyone else. We applauded the birth of the diplomatic machine and each time the American administration exasperated with Israeli excesses promised us pressure, it turns out that the only remaining super power in our international system has the political weight of Luxembourg, or even worst Liechtenstein. You know journalistic commentators have often used this phrase saying by saying ‘oh this time Netanyahu has shot himself in the foot’, but it seems to me, today in front of you, that Natanyahu seems to have many more than two feet to shoot at because he keeps getting away with it. I for one believe as a political realist and a diplomatic practitioner that if there were a political will, what was occupied in ‘67 in six days can also be withdrawn from and evacuated from in six days, so that the Israelis can rest on the seventh and we can engage in the fascinating journey of nation building. I believe today Europe has a role, the international community has a role, because I think we all agree in this room, that in matters of peace and war the international will should prevail on a national whim. It’s not up to the Israelis to decide whether they want to withdraw or not and if they want to withdraw of how much withdrawal they want or not. When Sadam Hussain occupied Kuwait, the international community sent an unequivocal message ‘withdraw’. They didn’t say to the Iraqi government or people conduct a referendum to see if you are willing, and how much. Now the answer was to say it’s because Kuwait has oil, well I have news for you, we too happen to have oil…..olive oil. I’ve worked mainly in the European arena and I kept telling Europeans after I have told my Norwegian interlocuteurs years ago when there was the Oslo back channel. I said to my Norwegian friends jokingly that if the Oslo channel has not yet put Palestine fully on the map it has put Norway on the map, and I believe everybody will admit today that Norway played, then, a

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role far bigger than its demographic weight and its geographic size, and I kept telling my friends, my European interlocuteurs, Europe even today in 2015 is still an actor in search of a role and we in the Middle East, Mr. President and Mrs Secretary General, we have a role in search for an actor. If we could merge the role in search of an actor and an actor in search of a role I believe we would all live less unhappily ever after. I will take more of your time because I know how much business you have to conduct. On behalf of the Palestinian people I wish you a successful conference and I know that you will be working hard to help the birth of a Palestinian State, independent, democratic and sovereign. I know that you have many challenges here domestically that you have to cope with. We wish you success, we wish you happiness and I am so happy that you have manifested on so many occasions throughout decades your concern about peace and justice because there is no peace without a minimum degree of human justice. And as I told you in our case in the Middle East history is still undecided and I invite you to help history make the right choice. With your permission I would like also to kiss Patricia…can I? [Big cheers]. John Douglas President Thank you very much Afif for that rousing speech and you can be sure the Irish Trade Union Movement is full of actors, but anyway let’s move on. I would like to call on Mags O’Brien to address conference. Mags, on behalf of the Congress Global Solidarity Committee. Mags O´Brien, Congress Global Solidarity Committee Thank you, and I’m going to complain to Standing Orders about asking me to follow Afif on that one. Brothers and Sisters, we all know that trade unions are about more than issues in the workplace. Solidarity has always been a core principal of this movement and the unions in Congress have a proud tradition of solidarity with workers worldwide recognising that an injury to one is the concern of all. Our Global Solidarity Committee was recognised by the last BDC as a full sub-committee of Congress and it built on work already undertaken in many areas. We decided that we would try to concentrate on specific areas for the term of this Global Solidarity group rather that the easier task of taking on the world as per Michael D. Our main areas are currently solidarity on Palestine and Columbia and on specific aid projects, but other issues are also actioned as they arise, for instance we organised an event to protest against the working conditions and the deaths of migrant workers in Qatar at the Ireland Scotland match calling on FIFA for fair play and we are actively promoting such issues on Facebook and Twitter. The Clean Clothes Campaign is another initiative that attempts to influence multinationals to ethically source goods. On Palestine, those of us who travelled there in 2007 were forever affected by the plight of the people in the West Bank and in Gaza. It is a year exactly this week since the last offensive on Gaza and despite the wanton and deliberate destruction of buildings and infrastructure virtually nothing has happened to repair the damage. Worse though was the psychological damage that has been done by the bombing and the deaths of so many defenceless, trapped people. I was in Gaza in 2013 and saw the destruction then and the devastation, and the last offensive was much worse. Congress has launched this morning, as you know, the materials on boycotting illegal Israeli settlement goods but we must do more and indeed some unions such as the CWU and MANDATE have published articles, and has been mentioned SIPTU had a conference on BDS and unions have

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also supported individual initiatives. We hope that other unions will take this up too. Some of the unions in Northern Ireland are already working to influence changes in decisions on public tendering. Congress’s recent gathering of the solidarity groups to look at areas of common interest is to be welcomed as an initiative for future solidarity work. BDS proved to be vital in South Africa but the situation in Palestine is worse as evidence by the maps that we looked at earlier and the recent SADACA and ICTU-sponsored maps that were published. Palestine cannot wait while we deliberate, the people cannot take another offensive and that land grab continues apace. On Columbia the fringe which took place yesterday set out in stark detail the horror of deaths and abuse of human rights in Columbia and I commend the Congress Report on Columbia to you all. Apart from the courageous work of Justice for Columbia in highlighting issues and educating trade unions on the situation some individuals such as Anne Pigot have personally taken up initiatives regarding support for imprisoned trade unionists with some success. On aid the Vice Chair Joan has been working on the training on SNA Assistants in Dar es Salaam and such is the kind of initiatives that people in Global Solidarity get involved in. Work also continues apace on things such as the second National Plan on Labour Exploitation and as you saw on Tuesday the fringe on Sustainable Development Goals. A lot of behind the scenes work and much tribute is due to David Joyce for that behind the scenes work. I would urge any of you who wish to join the Congress work on these and other initiatives to come to the Global Solidarity Summer School or to send enthusiasts there. We have a duty to widen and deepen the work being carried out in many areas. At times there are issues that overlap and cause concern but we must address them. Human rights has to be to the fore as we move to commemorate 1916 we must remember that James Connolly brought an end to national perspective to the cause of labour. We fail his memory if we do not do likewise. Please deepen and widen the Global Solidarity movement. Thank you. John Douglas, President Mags could you come back to the stage so I could make a presentation on behalf of Congress to you? Now I want to open that section of the Report to any speakers? Then we will be moving swiftly onto Motion 42, Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) on behalf of the Executive Council will be proposed by Alison Millar. There’s a speaker to the report, thank you. Patrica McKeown, UNISON Delegates, is speaking to this section of the Report and in particular the section on Palestine. We are lucky to have people with the courage of Mags O’Brien and her ilk in this movement and we are lucky that many of our affiliates have moved ahead in support of the Palestinian people with genuine effort to boycott divestment and sanctions, and we are so very lucky as acknowledged by the Ambassador, that the people of this Island North and South responded as they did to the third incursion on Gaza. All of that death, all of that destruction still undealt with. People are dying today and we have a responsibility. I am a member of the Executive Council, I am equally culpable with the rest of the Executive Council for not having done as much as we should have done since we became the first Congress in the western world in 2007 to adopt our BDS Policy in support of the Palestinian people. We reaffirmed

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it in 2009. We reaffirmed it in 2011 and there was a great deal of angst in this room last night as we adopted a policy, but unless policies are implemented we need not have too much to worry about in terms of angst. This policy is not being implemented in the way we should as a Congress. We have guests here today from the ETUC, we have the ITUC, we are affiliated to both. Where are our motions promulgating the Irish Congress of Trade Unions policy in those international bodies and where is our real policy on Boycott Divestment and Sanctions? We had an excellent fringe meeting on Tuesday night. We had Omar Barghouti address us by a link. It is the 10th Anniversary. As he said you do not label stolen goods ‘stolen’ and then say don’t buy them. You do ban them, and we have a Congress policy that we need to live up to in respect of the full boycott - economic, cultural and sporting in all regards. The people of Ireland have just put pressure on a Feis that was about take place in Israel and it was cancelled on Tuesday. It works. John Douglas, President Any more speakers to report? Two showing. Go ahead. Peter Collins, UCU also Trade Union Friends of Palestine I want to echo what Mags said and also what Patricia said, we need implement the full BDS Policy of 2007. Stolen goods, buy stolen goods - how can you tell if it is Settlement goods because what they do is they label them ‘Made in Israel’. There is no way on this earth you are going to seek out which are Settlement goods or which is Israel ‘proper’ if you want to call it that. Omar Barghott, in the link the other day said that full BDS is the only way to bring peace and justice to Palestinian. As well as that you can see that the Israel’s are badly hit by BDS all over world. What they are doing now with their friends in America is making it illegal to have BDS because they are equating that with Anti- Semitisms, and Hillary Clinton said the other day, when she becomes President she will make that law. So the Israelis are being really rattled by full BDS not by not the partial blacking of settlement goods. So what we need to do is implement fully the 2007 policy. I can tell you that every time a union raises its head and wants full BDS policy it is cut off. Our union UCU year-on-year votes on for full BDS on an academic boycott of Israel. Our General Secretary steps forward and said we have legal advice that our funds will be sequestered. Law-fare for what they are using against us, I call on our Executive, and I call on all Branches, all regents of ICTU to go for full BDS. Thank you. Paddy Mackle, Belfast Trades Council Just to say a few words, because most of it has been covered actually. In 2007 Belfast Trades Council, along with Derry Trades Council, proposed a motion, supporting the BDS Campaign and also supporting a Boycott against Israel’s goods. It was a straightforward motion, it was passed it was reiterated on a number of occasions on which Patricia has referred to. And although the video was a wonderful video it actually does not do what it is supposed to do. Our motion was clear, this movement was clear on what we wanted. And why do we procrastinate? Palestinians are still dying every day. Their homes are being wrecked. Their land has been taken from them. More settlements are being put up. When we procrastinate the eyes of the world are on us and every other nation that shrug their shoulders and say Palestinian lives are not the same as our lives, that is a disgrace. Support BDS boycott is really good until these changes. Freda Hughes, INMO I was previously Chairperson of the Ireland Palestinian Solidarity Campaign, one of the biggest Palestinian Solidarity organisation in this country, and the organisation that leads out in the campaign for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions.

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First of all we would like to welcome, as we did the motion eight years ago, for full Boycott Divestment and Sanctions, but this boycott of Settlement produce is a step in the right direction. It is a concrete step, a step which we have been asking the people of Ireland and indeed the International community to take for years and years now. Just to give a little background, the call for Boycott Divestment and Sanctions came from the Palestinian Civil Society in 2005. it is a peaceful and effective tactic that all of us as individual can carry out, whether that be a boycott of Settlement produce or whether that be a full boycott of Israeli produce, is a tactic that you can use your people power, you can make a change with your hands, your feet and your pocket. It’s a very simple thing. Do not buy Israeli produce. If that is too big a step to begin with, do not buy Settlement produce. These Settlements are illegal. They are illegal under international law. It is not our opinion that they are immorally wrong, they are illegal and there is absolutely no question mark over that. As our speakers said there can be no peace without justice, and that is very true. What the Boycott does is it levels the playing field. There is no parity in this conflict. In fact to call it a conflict is almost wrong it is not a conflict of equals. Israel is the fourth biggest military power in the world. It is the biggest recipient of American aid in the world - why is that it’s a develop country it’s one of the technical leading lights in the world so why is it in receipt of so much aid? It is in receipt of more aid from America than all other countries put together. Think about that, why is that? What we need to do is level the playing field. We have got a small and oppressed Palestinian people up against a big and powerful country with the backing of the international community. We need to level that playing field and the way that we can do that when our governments refuse to act is by boycotting and encouraging companies to divest from there holding in Israel and lobbying our governments. And again we can do this at local level, we can lobby our Councillor’s, we can lobby our local TDs, we can write to our MEPs, and ask them to enforce the terms of the Euro Mediterranean Agreement. Israel has preferential trade with Europe and Israel is in breach of Article 2 of that Agreement, which enforces that it respect human rights and international law. There is a list longer than bought my arms of its breaches of international law and its absolute denial of humans rights to Palestinian people. There is absolutely no reason why we should not support this campaign of Boycott Divestment and Sanctions but the campaign for boycott of Settlement goods, as Mags and others have said, is essential and is a concrete step in the right direction. These goods should not allowed to be sold in this country. Support the Boycott. John Douglas, President Thank you speakers. I’m now going to move onto Motion 42 in the name of the Executive Council, and I’m going to call in IMPACT to move that motion. Thanks Kevin. Kevin Callinan, Executive Council Conference, Kevin Callinan speaking on behalf of the Executive Council proposing motion 42. Delegates, we intend to begin discussions on an issue like this with the statement acknowledging that trade unions are not against free trade, and free trade agreements and in one sense we are not, but each of the free trade agreements that are currently being proposed have as a common characteristic this spectre of ISDS. It’s not just the proposed TTIP between the EU and the US, or the CETA between the EU and Canada, or the plurilateral trade and services agreements. It’s a whole suite of these trade agreements around the world. The collapse of the Doha round of talks on global free trade has created an added urgency on the part of states to conclude these agreements. ISDS or Investor State Dispute Settlement is the common feature. What it is, is an instrument of public international law as we have heard earlier,

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that grants an investor the right to use disputes settlement proceedings against a foreign government. So the private corporation can sue for loss or for potential loss in private courts with final binding outcomes. Take this example for El Salvador highlighted by the ITUC. An Australian company with a Canadian subsidiary was mining in El Salvador. El Salvador has a huge multi-faceted water problem. Pollution was reported and an application for a further mining licence was denied. The company in order to avail of the ISDS provision in the US Central America Free Trade Agreement established a company in Navada and is suing the El Salvador government for a total of $301m US Dollars. That is the kind of process that is involved. It is fundamentally anti-democratic and it removes sovereign control. Of course TTIP, as Bernadette has told us this morning, is not about tariffs, ostensibly it’s about removing or harmonising regulatory standards, but it raises the prospect of regulatory chill and a fear on the part of governments to legislate because of potential legal action. But that is not the extent of it. There is the threat of further liberalisation of public services. There is the threat to labour rights posed by the absence of ILO commitments and effective enforcement mechanisms. Remember that the US has not signed up to a number of important ILO Conventions and indeed in 24 States the right to work legislation is interfering with our capacity to organise and to bargain. There are other areas too, consumer and public health protection, care for the environment, animal welfare, food safety and environmentally sustainable agricultural practices, access to information and labelling, financial market regulation, data protection, I could go on delegates. But I think we can take heart delegates from one thing. In the last two years there is a gathering pace on this issue. People are becoming aware of its importance and significance and importantly from our point there is an opportunity here, here and internationally to spread the message, to build a coalition with other civil society groupings, to influence the political determination of these matters and to place ourselves at the centre of the concerns of citizens. I move. Brian Campfield, Vice-President Is that formally seconded? Formally seconded. Can I call now on Belfast Trades Council to move the Amendment? I think it’s safe to say that the Executive Council don’t have a problem with the Amendment. Paddy Mackel, Belfast Trades Council President, delegates, brothers and sisters, Paddy Mackel, to move the amendment to Motion 42. Conference, TTIP as you know is the biggest economic threat ordinary workers in Europe have faced since the Industrial Revolution. TTIP is not about job creation, it’s not about sustainable growth for citizens or better wages, or better conditions or better health care, or better education or housing, or better provision of clean water. Nor is it about enabling multi-nationals and corporations to make an honest buck so that they can reinvest that profit in the socially sustainable job creation initiatives. It is quite simply and shockingly primarily about removing controls and restrictions, removing regulations, removing scrutiny and challenge facilities. In fact removing anything which could stand in the way of a community ever increasing profits for shareholders through the expectation of workers, the environment and the natural resources of our world. The driver for those big business interests who are influencing these TTIP negotiations is quite straight forward it is this; profit trumps everything. Profit trumps workers’ rights, profit trumps concerns over climate change, and profit trumps the right of sovereign states to adopt domestic legislation on behalf of their citizens. Just in case that wasn’t bad enough the ISDS process provides a further opportunity for secret deliberations with corporate lawyers in disputes which are binding

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on both parties. That is undemocratic, unjustifiable and we already know through experiences elsewhere national governments and by extension ordinary workers usually loose out. Take Egypt for example, a government decision to increase the national minimum wage was taken to secret dispute court by corporations who argued that this interfered with their right to maximise and increase their profits. Or Philip Morris, challenging plain packaging on cigarettes as they couldn’t advertise their brand and increase their profits. Or Tova, a small country who were forced to settle a case against their government as they couldn’t afford the cost of the challenge or the penalties that would be imposed if they lost that case. There is also ample evidence to directly challenge the claim that TTIP would result in the creation of tens of thousands of jobs. If anything it is more likely to lead to significant displacement of workers, driving down of wages and the removal of decent pensions and conditions. Comrades TTIP is vehicle which multi-nationals will used to run roughshod over workers’ rights, collective bargaining arrangements and the sovereignty of nation states. It is for these reasons that the Trades Council has put forward this motion and ask you to support it. It is also the motion that is supported by the TUC in Britain and also by War on Want. Congress we need to make the position clear in these negotiations and the people who are involved in those European discussions that our position is clear, we reject TTIP. There isn’t a nice way of putting this. TTIP is not good for workers. We should reject it. That is what the amendment is about. Thank you very much. Brian Campfield, Vice-President Okay conference, can we have a seconder for the amendment? Okay formally seconded. Can I have speakers please? Ruaidhri Sandair, NIPSA In support of the Amendment to Motion 42 from Belfast Trades Council. Conference we do indeed to adapt the position of outright opposition to TTIP and the reasons for this are very clear. It seeks to attack some of the very things we hold dear; workers’ rights, also food safety laws, regulations on the use of caustic chemicals, digital privacy laws and even new banking regulations introduced after 2008 crash. It aims to create new markets, open up services in government contracts to competition from transnational corporations. Conference so what will outworkings be? Job losses. Companies will start to source goods and services from US States where labour standards and trade union rights are non-existent. US workers under the North American Free Trade Agreement have already lost a million jobs. Collective bargaining will be deemed a barrier to trade but where half US States have anti trade union laws and business will be moved to where wages and workers’ rights are lost. On food safety, US food producers don’t have the same restrictions. In fact 90 percent of their cows are full of steroids to promote growth, and the poultry is treated with Chlorine. Public services, health, education, and water, could all be up for grabs with US companies chomping at the bit to get their hands on these. So Conference, there is also a prospect of an Investor State Dispute Settlement which you have heard about. Yesterday in the EU Parliament a watered down version of this was put forward in an agreement with some Social Democrats and Conservatives. We are calling Conference to organise a European Day of Action against TTIP, on Saturday 10th October and as John Holloway says it is a charter for deregulation and attacking jobs and an end to democracy. Please support the motion.

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Ed Byrne, ASTI In support of the motion, Ireland is a country that loves the economic orthodoxy of any particular time. Because of this we suffer a catastrophic decade in the 1950s when over 400,000 people left these shores never to return. The problem was economic policy of protectionism, import substitution, a policy that made Ireland inefficient; no work, no jobs, no economic growth. The 1960s issued in a more enlightened time and Ireland found the benefits of trade. It applied for membership of trade block known as EEC, and settle back into a new orthodoxy. This adherence to the economic orthodoxy has led to another lost decade in the 1980 and to much more recent recession brought about by the blind fate in the market this Friedmanite orthodoxy so loved by Regan and Thatcher sowed the seeds for the collapse for Leyman Brothers and right through to our own collapsing banking crises. This brings me to my idea to why I am against TTIP and its accompanying enforcer ISDS. Once more we seem to be sailing on the good ship orthodoxy on a trade trajectory. But sometimes we must question critically, trade it would bring about interference in public goods such as education and health. Investor State Dispute Settlements would allow private investors in public services, this is rife with danger. One has only to see the plethora of private English language Schools that have gone to the wall in recent months, leaving students without classes, workers without wages and Ireland embarrassed internationally. Multinational cooperation under TTIP would be free to use the ISDS mechanism to sue sovereign nations for perceive loss of earnings. This has already happened as one of the speakers alluded to by Philp Morris, who sued the Uruguayan government for putting health warnings on cigarette packages. This is undoubtedly the new orthodoxy and Ireland loves orthodoxy so for that reason I say to Congress support the motion. Thank you. Brian Campfield, Vice-President Okay can I put the Amendment to Motion 42 to Conference? Those in favour of the Amendmenet? Those against? The Amendment is carried. Can I put Motion 42, as amended, to Conference. Those in favour? Those against? The motion is carried. Can I call on the mover of Motion 43 from the ASTI? Ed Byrne, ASTI Hi again. I believe the previous Motion was much stronger than the motion just looking for a carve-out for Public Services, and for that reason I spoke to the last motion and I believe it is the better motion, and therefore I withdraw our motion. Thank you. Brian Campfield, Vice-President Okay thank you very much delegate for that. Can I move onto Motion 44, Seamus Dooley on behalf of the Executive Council to move it? Seamus Dooley, Executive Council President, Delegates it seems de rigour to quote Connolly at the beginning of speeches at this conference, and I am moving this motion on behalf of the Executive Council I’m reminded of his quote ‘Our demands most modest are we only want the earth’. This motions speaks about saving the earth. There is a sense in which climate change motions are adopted without much thought, an obligatory nod at the end of conference in the direction of a subject which in truth is all too often relegated to the lowest order in terms of the priorities of our movement and of the political establishment. However as Sharon Burrows reminded us yesterday there are no jobs on a dead

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planet. This is a priority for the trade union movement. Climate change is a fundamental importance; it is literally a matter of life and death and can no longer be treated as a peripheral issue either by the international trade union movement or by national and international agencies. In moving Motion 44 I wish to draw particular attention to the emphasis placed on the role of individual affiliates and workers in creating a greater awareness of climate change at local level in the work place and in the home. A reduction in the emission of greenhouse gases is essential to the transition to a low carbon society. And all of us as individuals can play our part. Achieving that objective, that transition, is a shared objective with employers, and we must encourage unions to enter into negotiations with employers on this subject. Small steps at local level are important and all of us can help but we need national and international policies and without those policies the earth is doomed. Since the adoption of Agenda 21 in 1932 the UN has been moving in the right direction but slowly, very slowly. What we need is sustainable policies, policies which operate at national level and which also recognise that climate change is not some fluffy subject but is of direct relevance and that in particular it is not just about saving the earth but making the earth a better place to live, a better place to work and part of that is the issue of trade union recognition and part of that is placing employment rights and the rights of men and women to decent living standards as part of an overall policy and climate change, and that is why Congress sees this as an important issue and that is why I ask you to support Motion 44. Thank you. Brian Campfield, Vice-President The motion has been formally seconded. Any speakers? No, so I will put Motion 44 to Conference. Those in favour? Those against? That motion is carried. Moving onto Motion 45 and I’m calling Belfast Trades Council to move Motion 45. Paddy Mackel, Belfast Trades Council President, Delegates, Guests, Paddy Mackel, Belfast Trades Council, to move Motion 45. The motion in front of you is fairly straightforward, It’s fairly self-explanatory and better people than me have made comments in recent times about this type of issue and what we need to do, a duty on us all. Michael D made some comments recently and despite the fact that since about the age of 12 I have been a committed Atheist and a recovering Catholic I fully support the words of Pope Francis recently when he called on the world to do something about this, there was a duty to do something and stand up about this. And it is absolutely the case. There are of course always some people who deny it, we still have our own deniers of climate change. In the North we have the wonderful Sammy Wilson who denies it, and as part of that Creationist movement where they think the earth is 6,347 years old and the bible doesn’t mention dinosaurs because God played a trick on us and hid them for us to discover them as a bit of a joke. And these people believe it and are in positions of power and that is the issue. I know it is funny, it is daft, they are in a position of power and that’s what makes this difficult because there are people who don’t want to do anything about it because a) their religious beliefs or b) because this will interfere with their profit margins. So it is a serious call, what we are asking for in the Belfast Trades Council is the bottom of the first column there. It calls on ICTU to establish an ecological matters advisory committee along the same lines of some of the other committees that Congress already has, so we can sit down and debate this issue in a serious way because it actually means it requires us to restructure how we think about

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economic development and how we think of economic growth, because there are issues that we are doing which effect the climate and will kill this planet if we don’t stop so please support the motion. Thank you. Brian Campfield, Vice-President Can I have a seconder for that motion? Formally seconded. Speakers to the motion? None, so we’ll vote on that motion along with the next one. So can we move along to Motion 46 and I’m calling Fermanagh Trades Council. John Martin, Fermanagh Trades Council Moving Motions 46. President, Conference one year ago the small and picturesque village of Belcoo with no more that 500 of a population of men women and children awoke to find a disused quarry had been fenced off overnight. Within an enclosure lined with razor wire and guarded by armoured security and attack Alsatian dogs. The Frackers had arrived. That community organised mass meetings, organised a 24/7 picket on the site and layed siege, well of course up in the North we’re good at sieges! The wider community in Fermanagh and Leitrim, rallied behind the village and attendance at the Solidarity camp established grew. After a month of the siege and protest involving the local farming community also the Environment Minister Martin Naughton buckled and demanded an environmental impact assessment before the test drill could proceed. The strength of the cross-community supporters forced the DUP’s Arlene Foster to do a u-turn and terminate the licence to drill. The trade union movement, both in Fermanagh and nationally played a positive role in supporting this community in their struggle. But this situation should never have arisen. Fracking is a poisonous industry. Report after peer-reviewed report has provided evidence of the dreadful impact this extreme technology has on local water supplies, atmosphere and local health. Even when it doesn’t result in mass fish kills or water pollution, fracking has been shown to result in an increase in serious health risks, hormone disruption and cancers. And for what? Fracking is an attempt to squeeze the last from the reserves of gas and oil blind to the reality that we can never burn even a proportion of that carbon in the crust of this earth without runaway global warming. When there are practical alternatives such as wind and wave energy there is no need to cover the villages like Belcoo in a patchwork of rigs and wells. Please support the motion. Brian Campfield, Vice-President Okay can we have a seconder for Motion 46? Formally seconded. Thank you. Speakers? Archie Thompson, UNISON Conference, speaking in support of the motion from Fermanagh Trades Council. I would ask conference to take following research into account. Fracking procedures produces massive volumes of toxic and radioactive waste. The disposal of this waste is causing earthquakes and putting drinking water at risk. Fracking pumps hazardous pollutants into the air. Over a hundred chemicals are used in the process. Fracking wells release large amounts of Methane gas which contributes greatly to global warming. There is a huge health and safety issue with people’s homes where water wells become contaminated with methane and other flammable gases. In 2013 more than 7,500 accidents relating to fracking occurred, negatively impacting water quality in rivers, streams and shallow aquafers. In 2012 the State of Vermont became the first state in the USA to ban hydraulic fracking and on December 17th 2014 New York became the second State to ban fracking, and recently planning permission has been refused in Lancashire. Conference please support the motion.

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Jane Scott, NIPSA Good morning, President, Conference, Guests, Comerades. I’m speaking in support of the motion. Why is fracking so bad? Well surely it’s just the release of natural sources. Well, I disagree and so do the researchers in this field. They have already uncovered that there are communities in Australia who have already suffered from the symptoms associated with exposure to these dangerous chemicals released by fracking, and a growing body of research points to much more serious longer term impacts such as birth defects and cancers. Do we not have enough ailments in this country without bringing on more? In addition to the highly toxic chemicals used in the drilling muds and the fracking fluids, the drilling and fracking process mobilises dangerous chemicals. Radioactive substances naturally occur in shale and coal which may contaminate the soil and the ground water and leak into the atmosphere with detrimental serious consequences for public health and the climate, as I have just said previously the results in Australia have shown this. Shale gas and Coal Bed Methane known as CBM are not the answer to Ireland North or South’s energy challenges. Apart from being linked to the water contamination, air pollution, earth tremors, climate change and health problems, fracking is not likely to do not bring down the energy prices, nor will it create sustainable jobs. We need a campaign for sustainable energy and the creation of sustainable jobs and employment in the long term as at the moment there is no long term, by the governments North and South in this need of ours. We need to base our energy requirements on the people’s needs not the corporate greed. We need a campaign for investment in ways and means to store all our renewable energy, not invest in the pollution of our environment and damage to our countryside and more avoidable health risks. The promotion of energy sources which provide long term sustainable jobs is a win-win campaign outcome. Conference, Brothers and Sisters we need to stand together united to argue for the nationalisation of the energy industry to put an end to the perpetual corporate pressure to frack and to free up the resources necessary to bring down peoples’ fuel bills and move to sustainable plan of energy generation. Brothers and Sisters I ask you to support this motion. Brian Campfield, Vice-President I think that’s all the speakers. Can I put Motion 44 to conference? Those in favour? Those against? Motion 44 is carried. Can I put Motion 45 to Conference? All in favour? All against? Motion 45 is carried. Motion 46 to Conference. All those in favour? All those against? Motion 46 is carried. We’re going to move on shortly to the two Emergency Motions, and then after those we will move back to the motions which we didn’t cover yesterday, I think that’s Motion 25 onwards. Could I just say that the winner of the Halligan Insurance Draw for the iPad Mini is Imelda Wall from CWU. And the winner of the Hotel Solutions Draw is Mary Curtain from the NUJ Broadcasting Branch. Could I have UNISON to move Emergency Motion number 3? I think this will be formally seconded and I don’t think there will be any speakers.

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Flora Al Fanta, UNISON Moving Emergency Motion No. 3 calling for an end to Direct Provision. Conference people who come to claim asylum in the South of Ireland are put in what looks like, and must feel like detention centres. This means that they are living, eating, sleeping in a centre where they have to share accommodation. Sometimes bedrooms rooms with access to nearly no other financial support. A third of the people in there are children and some have lived in a centre for 11 years. This is known as Direct Probation system. It has been going on for the last 15 years. It has been repeatedly criticised at United Nations level. There has been a growing campaign from the people stuck in these centres themselves as well as from NGO’s and campaigning groups. We feel it is long overdue for the union movement as a whole to back their struggle. Last week the government set up a working group, published a report with a huge list of recommendations on how to improve the system, but the current system does not need improvement. The current system needs to be scrapped. It needs to be scrapped and replaced with a proper process that will respect human rights standards and respect the dignity and humanity of the people seeking refuge. Yes, the recommendation will improve the situation for some of the people in the Direct Probations system, but it is still falling way short of recognition, recognising that the current system is unacceptable and degrading. The current system is an outrage. It is a system that is both humiliating and deeply disempowering for those who live within it. Conference we need to have a united voice that calls for the immediate closure of the centres and a complete revision of the system. Please support. Thank you. Brian Campfield, Vice-President Okay, happy to have somebody formally second that? Formally seconded. Can I put Emergency Motion No. 3 to Conference then? Those in favour? Those against? The motion is carried. Can I ask the TEEU to come an move Emergency Motion No. 4? Frank Keoghan, TEEU The reason the TEEU put this Emergency Motion is that various aspects of regulatory convergence have emerged from the 9th round of talks. The 10th round, by the way, is next week so it is accelerating. Before that we were depending on leaks but now we have a very clear idea of how regulatory convergence will work, and we feel that it is just as dangerous and insidious as ISDS and one of our fears, because we believe that TTIP should be scrapped, it unreformable, one of our greatest fears is that the emphasis of ISDS is such at the moment that we lose sight of regulatory convergence. Can I just say a few things about how it is intended to operate? It is a three step procedure. It applies to regulations and laws, not just regulations, and of course this agreement as Bernadette Ségol and others have pointed out, is about regulation, not about trade, is only an average 3 percent tariff between Europe and the US and that is practically insignificant. 85 percent of the imputed gains from TTIP will come from removal of regulations, and of course many of these regulations are what privileges or something that we have fought for for years, and we need to defend them. The first step is mutual recognition and mutual recognition will allow, I’ll take the example of food or chemicals, a US product that meets US standards to be allowed into EU automatically even if it doesn’t meet EU standards, so of course its vice versa as well, so alongside food that would reach EU

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standards we will have food for example that reaches American standards, so a mutual recognition is the first thing. The next the pressure groups and the lobby groups who will be pushing for harmonisation and there are facilities within the regulatory co-operation board that has been established for constant consultation, and I will get to that towards the end. So harmonisation means that of course the standards would become the same, and guess what, they are hardly going to go up when the chemical lobbies and the food lobbies are calling the shots. They are going to go down, and then the on-going process of regulatory co-operation which will see a secret committee essentially composed of regulators, the main people on the committees will be representatives of the European Commission and the office of Information on Regulatory Affairs in the USA, plus representatives of industry such as we heard the other day the US Chamber of Commerce, and this co-operation will co-write legislation and establish a permanent dialog to work towards harmonisation of standards long after TTIP has been signed. Now what this suggests without going any further into it is that ISDS to some extent will become redundant, because the multi-nationals and the big corporations will be able to influence the shape of legislation before it is actually enacted, and regulatory chill will certainly be operating within this context. The idea of the regulatory co-operation board as put forward by the EU, it will have what I call early lobbying, it’s actually early warning where information on any planned act, that means a legislative act or a regulation, will be given to the participants one year at least in advance. So they will have plenty of time to lobby, plenty of time to think up counter-proposals etc. But not only that, within that structure the corporations of the able to propose new laws, it’s as blunt as that, or changes to laws that are already in existence. All of this taking place behind closed doors, there will certainly be no trade unions there, there will certainly be no environmentalists, there will certainly be no NGO’s so you can see that over a period of years we will lose complete control of standards in food, chemicals, things like collective bargaining for example will come under attack as a barrier to trade behind the border barriers as they are called. So this regularity convergence or regularity cooperation is going to go on day after day. I am not trying to diminish the importance of ISDS, but ISDS will be an occasional event and we believe that eventually ISDS will not be necessary simple because regularity cooperation, regularity donvergence will be doing the job anyway. And they won’t have to take the governments to court they will be co-governing us. I say redouble your efforts in the fight against TTIP and CETA, don’t forget CETA, the Canadian one as equally as insidious. Redouble your efforts, it is one of the most important, if not the most important struggle that we can engage in at this moment in time. Thank you. Brian Campfield, Vice President Okay can we have a seconder for that motion formally? Formally seconded. I’m putting Emergency Motion No. 4 to conference. Those in favour? Those against? That motion is adopted. Just before we move onto the next motion, I did omit to put to you the Principle EC Report Section 8 on International Affairs. Can I just put that to Conference for adoption. Those in favour? Those against? That section of the Report is adopted. We’re now moving on to Motion 25 in the name of IMPACT.

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Joe O´Connor, IMPACT Moving Motion 25. ‘Most of my life I have been homeless, it has become a way of life to be honest with you. I am not to pushed on getting indoors. Sometimes I miss the television and I miss the comforts, but a lot of the time I just park myself off in a sleeping bag. It has become a way of life it really has. Anyone who is homeless has other problems. There is something going on. It could be drugs it could be drink, it could be maybe just a bad upbringing or family kicking you out. It could be mental health issues, it could be a lot of stuff. But I think every person should be giving a chance’. These ,words of Jonathan Corry, a 43 year old man shortly before he passed away on a Dublin Street last December. Delegates, Jonathan Corry’s observation is sadly true. A great deal of long-term homelessness is related to other problems in a person’s life. However we are in the grip of the homeless crises in this country which has seen 970 children recorded as homeless in April, which went up to 1,034 in May, and the current figure is now 1,122. This figure includes 303 single parent families. In 2014, 40 people on average a month became homeless; this year that average monthly figure is 65. The root of the problem is a shortage of suitable housing. That shortage is driving up the cost of rent, and as it climbs it’s pushing families into homelessness. For those families relying on Rent Supplement most of the available rental property in Ireland exceeds the current Rent Supplement cap, for example the limit is currently set at €975 per month in Dublin for a family with two children. But the average rents are €1,325. Looking at towns such as Athlone and Portlaoise the number of available rental properties within the limit is zero. This week we learned that the continued provision of emergence housing is at risk in Dublin as the funding allocated at Dublin City Council to provide the service is short by €18.5m. The National Economic and Social Council have said that one quarter to one third of people throughout the country will struggle to achieve home ownership or affordable rental tenancies. How long can we tolerate this as a society? Government intervention in a chaotic private rental market is absolutely necessary. Have we not learned as a nation that reliance on a turbulent and dysfunctional property market in providing quality social housing and affordable rental prices is destined for failure? We need to draw a clear distinction between rent freezes which no longer retain economic creditability across Europe, and tenancy rent controls where any increases are linked to the CPI, inflation or caped at a percentage above the average of market rent. These operate successfully in many countries such as Demark, Belgium and Switzerland which in different ways offer a degree of contractual certainty and security of tenure, which hard pressed Irish tenants desperately need to prevent many more becoming homeless. In Germany the Mietspiegel Policy has led to led to increases less than 5 percent between 2012 while unregulated prices in France doubled during this period. Conference the Environment Minster signalled in February that measures to bring about rent certainty were on the way. Announcing the regulation of the rental market on some unspecified future date is insanity as may lead many landlords to take affirmative action through further rent increases. Any suggestion that we are powerless to intervene in the rental market to protect the most vulnerable in our society is defeatist and unacceptable. Rent regulation can and will work if coupled with public investment in supply. Every week that we defer decisive action will push more and more families into homelessness. The crisis in now and solutions are needed now. Citizens have a fundamental human right to not just a roof or mere shelter but a home. We must act immediately to ensure this aspiration becomes a reality for current and future generations of working people. I move this motion to conference.

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Brian Campfield, Vice-President Conference I appreciate the red light can put people off but people should really be prepared for these things, and time their contributions and speeches. I know people have to adjust them downwards and that. Could we have that motion seconded formally? Formally seconded. Alison Millar, NIPSA Conference the lack of social housing North and South is a real issue particularly for the thousands of individuals as has been explained and their families who themselves find themselves homeless. The issue of homelessness is not something abstract. Its real and it can happen to anyone and anyone in this hall. I recall just a few years ago the Simon Community and the Council for Homeless ran a campaign which stated ‘do you realise that most families are just 3 pay cheques away from being homeless?’. Think about it if you lost your job tomorrow how long would it be before you would find yourself not being able to pay your rent or your mortgage? Conference as the main union representing workers in the Northern Ireland Housing Executive we have been leading the campaign since January 2011 when the Social Housing Development Minister announced a review of the Housing Executive and the provision of social housing in Northern Ireland which effectively be the demise of the largest social housing provider of 88,000 properties in the North. The Social Housing Reform Programme in Northern Ireland which is looking to deal with the housing crisis with over 26,000 in housing stress has a major flaw. It is largely predicated on handing over the provision of social housing to housing association movement with the state then abdicating their responsibility for funding of the provision of social housing for the most vulnerable in our society. To date we have witnessed in the North two groups of properties being handed over to the housing associations. The first without any procurement process and NIPSA objected and raised this directly with the Northern Ireland Audit office which led to a review of the stock transfer process. Some two years later we now have a revised state-based model in place which will seek to move whole estates into the ownership of housing associations irrespective of condition. Conference NIPSA fully appreciates that housing associations have a specific role in meeting niche areas of need. What is not acceptable is that housing associations are being pedalled as the only way to provide public housing in the future who will borrow money from the financial institutions and in turn they will be required to service these debts through rent increases. Conference please support the motion. Cormac O’Dhalaigh CWU Mr. Chairman, I’m speaking in support of Motion 25, and commending the union for putting it on the agenda in the first place as I think it would be kind of shameful if we went home from this week without have debated what I believe is probably the biggest social issue and the most damaging issue that could affect the Irish population for the next few years. I will give an example. You see statistics in homelessness, you see a 1,000 children homeless in Dublin, 3,000 people growing every week and people say ‘that’s awful’ but we really are not doing enough about it. I would have been probably one of the people who said ‘that is desperate’ but I will give an example of an experience I had. A while ago I was going to a meeting that was being held in the fourth floor of a hotel in the

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Liberties in Dublin. A hotel that is no longer a hotel, it’s now almost a hostage place for families that are homeless. Four floors, the lift was broken so I had to walk up to the fourth floor. On every single floor the children’s playgrounds were the corridors, you couldn’t walk up or down the corridors for kids playing. It was absolutely horrible stuff and the smell because people have resorted to cooking in the hotel rooms that they are staying in, and I was unfortunate to see it but was also fortunate to see it because when you actually see it happening what you read in the paper and what you hear about isn’t quite the same. It’s absolutely disgraceful. I went about two weeks after being in that hotel I went to see the Tenement Experience in Henrietta Street and actually it was no different. It was a hundred years on but there was absolutely no difference. Families were crammed in on top of each other. You have ridiculous situations where they have to check out on Fridays and check back in an hour later just to keep the stats the way they are. To me the simple cure for homelessness is to build bloody houses and I am not a mathematician and I think that is the simple solution, and I think the call should go out from here today to force the government that in the short term to get off their arses. The promises that were made after Jonathan Corry died have not been fulfilled. Build bloody houses. Thank you very much. Brian Campfield, Vice President If there are no other speakers on this motion at this stage I’ll call Wexford Trades Council to move Motion 26 and then we’ll move it on to a presentation by Joe O’Flynn to the Retired Members. Joe Thomas, Wexford Council of Trade Unions Mr Chairman, the motion we put forward is to try and change the Minister of the Environment Phil Hogan’s set up with our partnerships and county development boards. Under these partnerships, the partnerships that exist now, have now been taken over by the Department of the Environment and the County Councils. I can only speak for Wexford at present but in Wexford because of the cutbacks we had to lay off workers in the partnerships but the Department of the Environment would not take any responsibility for the workers. Committees have to try and find the redundancy money and look after them. The government are paying redundancy money to speculators in Clery’s. Now all we want Congress to do is to set up a forum to try and get changes made in these. If in the coming years when the projects were put out to tender hundreds of people are going to lose their jobs because private companies will not employ the people that are there at present and they won’t be under any obligation to recognise unions, so if we set up a forum and get the Minister now, get him to change the rules under which they are made. Another thing is that the local Community Development Committee which is replacing the County Development Boards are not under any obligation to have a trade union member on it. In Wexford Congress have no trade union member, no representation from the trade unions at all. So all we want to do is ask Congress to set up a committee and let us go and look into these and get them changed before everyone loses their job and the people that are being looked after by these partnerships will have nothing. It’s mainly older people and there’s childcare and different things set up, they are all going to change so if Congress could. I would like to move this motions please. Brian Campfield, Vice-President Do we have a seconder for that Motion? Formally seconded. Speakers? Gene Meely, SIPTU I’m just broadening a note slightly in relation to the community and voluntary sector. And in supporting the motion delegates should be aware that workers in the community and voluntary

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sector, while not afforded protections of the various national agreements suffered dis-proportionately in relation to their terms and conditions of employment. These workers, delegates are the cornerstone of support for the disadvantaged and the marginalising of society. They operate in a working environment where the sponsoring employer is not in a position to conclusively deal with the real issues relating to their terms and conditions of employment. Government departments as the funder of various projects absolve themselves from responsibility by claiming that they are not the employer. So they are in limbo most of the time and this situation is untenable and deplorable. A process of dialog has been established during discussions in relation to the Lansdowne Road proposals. It is the intention to proceed with this dialog however workers in the community and voluntary sector would welcome the support of this conference and I urge you to support the motion. Thank you very much. Brian Campfield, Vice-President Okay I’m going to put Motion 25 and Motion 26 to Conference. Those in favour of Motion 25? Those against? Motion 25 is carried. Those in favour of Motion 26? Those against? Motion 26 is carried. Can I call on Joe O’Flynn the Treasurer to speak on Motion 8 of the 2013 Biennial Delegate Conference on Retired Workers? Joe O´Flynn, Treasurer Chair, Delegates, good morning. I wanted to address the Report and can I draw your attention, it’s in your packs, and this was the Report on the Status of Retired Members in the Trade Union Movement and it arises from Motion 8 at the BDC Conference 2013 in Belfast. And arising from that Motion chair a Review Committee was established and I was asked as Treasure to chair that Review Committee. Margaret Browne, when she addressed Conference yesterday on behalf of the Retired Workers’ Committee she addressed some of the background in relation to the work of the Committee, Chair so I don’t intend to repeat that. Instead what I want to do is refer to the recommendations in the Report and there were 8 Recommendations in all. You will see that 4 of them are on that first slide Chair, first of all I want to deal with Recommendation 3. I think all of the Recommendations speak for themselves but Recommendation 3 from the Committee did not enjoy the support of Executive when it was consider earlier this year. And instead what the Executive agreed was that we should open and develop a line of communication for Retired Workers with the various committees and that was agreed to by the Executive and it now features as a part of the Recommendations instead of Recommendation 3. Secondly chair, I want to refer to Recommendation 4 and that was actually considered twice by Executive back in February and then again April. And Recommendation 4 has been accepted by the Executive and is for adoption. But I just want to cover a little bit of the background on it why there was some discussion on it. First of all I think it’s important that you understand the remit of the Committee, was to look at the status of retirement workers and not of any other group associated with Congress. During the discussion at the Executive, it was raised that other groups are not represented on the Congress Executive and consideration should be given to those groups as well. I have to say that in particular I think there was a lot of air time given to representation of the Youth Committee in relation to their issues, and indeed trying to make as inclusive as possible the work of the Executive as we go forward. I would like to think the incoming Executive might revisit that in the context of trying to be

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as inclusive as possible, Chair. So in relation to Recommendation 4, the Recommendation is that there should be a Retired Workers Observer on the Executive Council and that has been agreed by the Executive. There is four other Recommendations Chair, they are set out there and I don’t intend to go through them as I said it was pretty obvious. I want to thank the Chairs of both the North & South Retired Workers’ Committee, I also want to thank the officers of both Committees who worked very hard with me in relation to securing what is a fairly detailed report. I think it sets out the issues that are of genuine concern to hundreds of thousands of Retired Workers North & South of the border and their issues which obviously are as pertinent to them as they are indeed to us as active trade unionists still at work. I also want to acknowledge the work of Fergus Whelan and John O’Farrell both North & South in relation to the work of the Committee, Chair. I just want to conclude on Monday evening here I addressed the Congress Organisation including Finance and as you know we were caught for time, and in fairness to the President he called me on it. I actually had intended to recognise in my comments on Monday evening the support and the accommodation that I have got from John Douglas as President in relation to my work as Treasurer and I want acknowledge that here this morning, even though John is not here just at the moment. And I also had I had the time I would have welcomed Patricia King, as General Secretary and to wish her every success in the years ahead. And I think we were very well serve yesterday we were shown an example of the just how effective Patricia I think will be in identifying issues of concern to all workers, well done Patricia on that. And I just want to say Chair that I am looking forward to working with you as the incoming President, and Kevin and Sheila as the Vice-Presidents and indeed the rest of the Executive in the work that I think is critical. The last thing I want to say chair as an Officer of Congress is this, is that while there might be differences in relation to strategies and some issues here, that we should recognise that the enemy is not in this room. Collectively whether it’s with the workers that are still at work, whether it’s the Retired Workers or whether it’s the young people who we are trying to attract into this movement we should very clearly send out the signal that solidarity and respect for one another is critical if we are to succeed on behalf of workers and their families. I commend the Report to you go raibh maith agaibh. John Douglas, President Sorry I’ve just had a request here from a delegate who is going to propose a motion on behalf of Fermanagh Trades Council, Motion 31, I apologise I could have called it but I had to leave. So if you want to know we’ve been ordered to move that motion now just to move a little bit ahead. Is that okay? Motion 31 Older People’s Contribution to the Community in the name of Fermanagh Trades Council. Is that agreed? Agreed. I see a delegate coming from the back of the hall. Apologies delegate, I would have moved it before now but I was out of the hall, apologies. John Martin, Fermanagh Trades Council Moving Motion 31, and many thanks to Conference for giving me the opportunity say something this time. The United Nations Principles for Older People were adapted by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1991, to help what needs to be achieved to ensure the continued and enhanced inclusion of older people in society. There are 18 Principles with a group under five themes; independence, participation, care, self-fulfilment, and dignity. We in the trade unions need to ensure that programmes best meet the needs of older people working with governments pm on this Island to tackle the challenges facing older people.

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Much of the focus in the media, newspapers and television, and I have to say much of it is coming from purposed driven leaks from the governments both here and across the water, to demonise the burden of costs to society of older people living too long, whether in care, whether in respect of pensions, healthcare, welfare payments, or social care. Older people are often seen as being a drain on society’s resources instead of being viewed as an asset to society. This is unfair, misguided and an inaccurate perception. It is also a harmful one that underestimates older people’s positive role in society. It undermines older people’s confidence, esteem and self believe. Often in our society there is a misconception that ageing is entirely a negative process, a period of deterioration, rather the development. Many older people live active lives and contribute to community life in different ways as friends, good neighbours, and carer for family members, grandparents, volunteers etc., who can draw on their life experience. Now that I am an older person I want to make one observation and it’s from a man that met up with MP´S over in Westminster during a lobby, Bill Carson and he said that if you can find the money to declare war, why you can you not find the money to declare war on poverty. Please support the motion.Thank you. John Douglas, President Thank you John. The motion is formally seconded. Agreed. Any speakers to the motion? Hugh Rafferty, UNITE Retired members North and South, have been very involved in all the demonstrations North and South against all the things that are happening to our community. We in Northern Ireland are involved because of our experience and knowledge and experience inside the union are at the forefront and a driving force of the biggest community group in Northern Ireland, namely Each Sector Platform. They have 46 community groups involved in it. So with that great strength we are able to have access to our MLAs in Stormont to our MPs in Westminster and to other influential people. There we are able to fight for better conditions, a better pension, and a better environment for our retired members. But we can only do this with the support that we have from our unions and I would like to thank my own union especially and Jimmy Kelly who has given us great support in this. Otherwise we would have found it difficult to carry on our fight. Remember delegates that you will be retired members someday, some sooner than others but you will all be retired members, so what our fight is today is your fight, and what our victory will be will be your victory so support the motion. Rhona McEleney PSEU and ICTU Women’s Committee This motion asked us to support the dignity of older persons in order that their rights are respected and they are valued in our society. I work with older people through Age Action and every one of us knows someone who has been left on a trolley in a corridor in hospitals on a regular basis where there is no respect for their dignity and when they are at their most vulnerable. Many older people are carers for their partner, some suffering from dementia or other ailments. They are keeping loved ones at home without very much support and where is the respect and the support that they deserve? The Universal Declaration of Human Rights says that we are all born free and equal in dignity and rights. This respect in dignity should not diminish as we get older. It should if anything expand in recognition of the contribution of our elders to our society. We are those older people of the future. Please support this motion in order that Ireland can be internationally recognised as a country that respects its elders. We have led the way internationally in May 2015 this year when through our

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Referendum we showed respect and dignity for those of our LGBT friends. Let us lead the way in making our country a place of respect and dignity for our elders. Thank you, support the motion. Nicola Richardson, UNISON President, Delegates, supporting motion and speaking for the first time. Delegates, I believe that as a young woman I have a valuable contribution to make to society. I also believe that I will have a valuable contribution to make when I am 90. One thing we do in our union is to make sure that our youth groups work along with retired members. We are the apprentices to life; they are the experts. I think that this is a really important motion. The dignity and the rights of older people must be promoted and secured. Politicians in particular need to pay attention, because a lot of older people vote in greater numbers than anyone else. I am standing here to support our retired members. Support the motion and stand with me. Thank you. John Douglas, President There are no other speakers on Motion 31, I’m now going to call the movers of Motion 27 in the name of the Executive Council on Pensions. Moved by Tom Geraghty? Tom Geraghty, Executive Council I don’t know whether to be glad about the fact that I just came back into the hall. I wasn’t aware I was moving this. Tom Geraghty apparently moving Motion 27 on behalf of the Executive Council. Desperately trying to read it to see what it says! John Douglas, President It’s about pensions Tom! Tom Geraghty, Executive Council It’s about pensions the President tells me. Listen I’m not going to stand up here and try to make a speech about something that I haven’t read. So I’ll formally move the motion. Thank you. John Douglas, President Can I take it as formally seconded? Yes. Formally seconded. Speakers on Motion 27? Mark Walsh, ASTI Unlike Tom I actually have read the motion. Mark Walsh, ASTI and if people read more of the documents that are put our in our name I think we’d be in a lot better place. John Douglas, President Ah now Mark, come on! Mark Walsh, ASTI Anyway sorry I don’t want to waste time. Motion 27 refers specifically to the elongation of the period before the entitlement to a pension, and this refers to the increase in the retirement age up to 68, right? And that’s the first thing I want to refer to, because how did this happen? We’ve been talking a lot, we’re trying to talk about defending pensions, but what happened was, the 16 of June 2011, a Bill was brought through the Dáil to raise the pension age to 66 in 2014, 67 in 2021, and 68 in 2028, okay? The government voted 91 to 30 in favour of that, Labour and Fine Gael, and there was no opposition from the Trade Union Movement. So we talk about defending pensions, but there was no opposition. Then we move on to 2012, and all through 2012, Brendan Howlin was pushing the new Public Sector single scheme through the Dáil, and it came into being in 2013 in January. What he said was, ‘I can’t say the unions have supported this, because they haven’t supported it. But it hasn’t been resisted by the public sector unions.’ And that’s Brendan Howlin on

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breakingnews.ie on 3rd January 2013. That says, and confirms that this trade union movement did not resist the new public sector pension scheme, which is going to be devastating for new entrant teachers in particular, and other new entrant workers to the public sector. So I ask people here – how can we talk about defending pensions, and even how can we talk about the Labour Party being good for people in government, when these massive attacks on pensions have happened under Labour’s watch? How can we defend that? How can we support that? Why didn’t we resist it? And are we going to resist it in the future? Again, because it just doesn’t add up. And the motion refers to the private sector as well. You don’t succeed in defending private sector pensions by attacking public sector pensions. I’d ask people to support the motion and bear the Labour Party in mind with what they’re doing. Pat Crowe, INTO I think this is the most important motion that we have in this entire conference, I must say. The bit I want to speak to is part three, about commissioning research on the contribution levels needed for a national second-tier pension for all workers in both the public and the private sectors. Before you decide how much money you need to pay into a pension, you have to decide what sort of pension you’re going to pay into. There are basically two different models that you can choose between, and we need to keep this in mind when we’re commissioning the research. There’s the ‘Funded Model’, and if you listened to Fergus Whelan yesterday, you can see what a disaster that has been – putting money into a fund which gets invested, which leaks away through fees and charges and doesn’t deliver a decent pension for workers at the end of it. There’s the ‘Pay As You Go Model,’ which is how the state pension is provided, and how public sector occupational pensions are provided too, and that’s a lot cheaper to provide pensions. It’s much more efficient. There are things that the private sector does better than the public sector, and I’m happy to say that, as a public servant. Pensions is not one of them. We have to look at the public pension system and say, ‘that’s the model that we need to establish for all workers, to give access to everybody.’ We’ve got to look also at the tax system, and how we spend the tax money on pensions that we currently spend. Because we currently spend between €2bn and €3bn a year on private pension provision, because every contribution made to a private pension are by public servants, is tax deductible. How does this work? Now, I’m Deputy Principal of the school in which I teach, so I earn enough to pay Income Tax at 40 percent The SNA who works with me doesn’t earn as much, so she pays Income Tax at 20 percent. The woman who cleans the classroom in the evening doesn’t earn enough to pay tax at all, so she’s not in the tax net. If I contribute €1,000 to my pension, the state gives me back €400. If the SNA gives €1,000 to her pension, she gets €200 back. If the woman who cleans the classroom can somehow scrape together €1,000 to put to a pension, which she can’t access in the first place, how much would she get back? Nothing at all. Now that’s not just unfair, it is utterly indefensible, and it has to be changed. I say that as somebody who is a personal beneficiary of the system. We’ve got to move the tax subsidy away from the money going in and use it at the end. There’s a completely different way of doing this. Dr Shane Whelan, who teaches Actuarial Science at UCD has proposed an entirely alternative plan, whereby you would open an account for every worker in the country, in the post office, money would be put in during the course of the worker’s life, by them and by their employer. You would abolish tax relief from contributions completely. At the end of their working life, when they reach 65, not 68, you would then simply divide the amount accumulated by 15, and that would give them the pension that they would be paid for retirement. It would be uprated in line with wages, not CPI. It’s a much, much better system. This is the sort of thing that we need to be looking and proposing, because the rift between private sector workers

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and public sector workers and pensions might be something that The Sunday Independent exploits, but it’s not something that The Sunday Independent invented, because there is a certain truth to it. Private Sector workers do look with justifiable envy at the pension condition of public servants. The way to equalise this up is not to drag the public servants down, which is what The Sunday Independent would like, but to provide access to people in the private sector to the same type of pension security that people like me enjoy. It can be done. Before I leave the podium, there’s one final thing I want to do. It’s entirely separate. We had a sort of an unusual thing yesterday, where a delegate from one union called out another union on their commitment to new entrants, which is the INTO. As the last speaker from INTO here, I would like to point out a couple of things that are relevant to HRA, particularly. It’s true to say that there were three pay scales for teachers. There was one for people who started before 2010, a worse one for people who started in 2011, and a third one, that was worse again, for people who started in 2012. There aren’t three anymore. There are two. As a result of HRA, we negotiated improved pay scales for both 2011 and 2012 entrants. Using HRA, we managed to abolish the 2011 scale – it’ not there anymore. The people on that scale have been moved onto the original pay scale. It’s not finished business; they are still one or two incremental points behind where they would have been. We’re awaiting the result from an equality case that we took, which may finally put that part of the jigsaw together. Then, we will move on to getting the equalisation for 2012 people. I don’t want anyone in this hall to leave here today thinking that the INTO is less than fully committed to our new entrants, and we have progress made, and the money back in people’s pockets, to show it. Thank you. John Douglas, President Moving onto Motion 28 in the name of the TEEU, Defence of Pensions and Living Standards, to be moved by the TEEU. Thank you. Eamonn Devoy, TEEU Good morning delegates. Eamon Devoy TEEU, moving motion 28. Not only did I read it, I wrote it and I am saying that because I have to apologise because there was exclusion in the motion and that’s about the temporary Pension Levy. It was suggested to me that we amend our own motion and decided that might be a bit embarrassing so I am just mentioning it now as one of the important issues that’s left and not detailed in the motion, something that needs urgent attention. That levy is another stealth tax on pensioners. It’s been passed on to the pensioners and it is something that was supposed to be temporary, but it is no longer temporary, and it something that we have to do away with and we have to do away with it now. Can I just digress for one moment to say I personally thank John for his stewardship over the last two years and congratulated Brian and Patricia. But there is somebody not on the platform that I want to single out for a particular mention and that’s Ester Lynch. I think we owe a great deal of gratitude to Esther for all the hard work that she has done. She was particularly helpful to the TEEU through all our difficulties over the Registered Employment Agreements in the High Court and the Supreme Court, and without her I don’t know where we would have been because she was there at the forefront of it all, and she did an excellent job. I know she is going to work for the trade union in Europe and she keeps promising she is only a phone call away, but I know when you get into a situation like that your skills are needed elsewhere, so we do want to wish her all the best. Back to the motion just briefly I am not going to make a speech about it because three hours would not do it justice, never mind three minutes. The Chairman of the Ennis Trades Council in opening

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the Conference said, getting motions passed at Conference is one thing, getting the resolution implemented thereafter after is another. I just want to say that we are in the fortunate situation in relation to this motion, that at the last Executive Council meeting it was decided to set up a subcommittee of the Executive Council to give this urgent attention, so I’m delighted to say it’s work in progress at this stage and the TEEU welcomes the initiative. I suppose the best thing to say about it is ‘better late than never’. Thank you very much delegates. John Douglas, President Is it agreed that the Motion is formally seconded? Agreed. Speakers? Seeing none, I’m going to move onto Motion No. 29 Pensions in Retirement in name of UNITE trade union. Can I have the mover from UNITE please? Brenda Irvine, UNITE the Union Moving Motion 29 on behalf of UNITE the Union. Delegates, we have heard much at Conference about a Living Wage. I am here to call for a Living Pension. A long term campaign has been conducted at National and International level to undermine workers’ rights for public rights in retirement. The same campaign of undermining pension rights is being waged bought North and South just as it is in Britain and the rest of Europe. The justification for this is so-called demographic change, that is the fact that there is thankfully an increasing number of working class people living longer. The powers that be argue that the burden of looking after our older people is unsustainable. The cost would be too great and the level of taxes that would have to be paid would cripple our economies. But Conference we need to see through this lie and look at the bigger picture. While employers pull out of the DB pensions schemes, pushing workers to higher contributions through DC schemes but just in case the State attempts to recoup some of the higher costs of ensuring decent pensions, capital is campaigning for tax cuts on a smaller state. Once again we see capital trying to push social costs onto the rests of society. Employers and capital want to be freed of providing what in the past a vital component of employees’ working conditions and benefits, all to ensure that they can make even more profits. If they succeed public pensions will be either unaffordable or of pure quality. The impact of this is to push more and more workers to go into the private sector for their retirement income. This has the effect of leaving behind many if not most workers who can’t afford to save or afford the high costs of private pensions. It also provides another revenue stream for finance capital. Their aim is to win always. The alternative heralded by this motion offers a way for government to resolve this challenge through an increase in the basic payment. But this would still leave most workers still needing a private pension to bring them up to an income that reflects their working income. Universal coverage at the appropriate level can only be achieved when all employees and employers make an equal contribution. This is a standard model on the European continent. Under this system benefits are paid on the same principle as DB scheme, based on contributions and accrual. In short the state pension system should be transformed into a standard occupational scheme except now it is a social insurance or national insurance contribution based on DB scheme. Such a new scheme would have to be phased in over the long term. It could not be delivered immediately, but it is the only realistic alternative to the pension crises. I urge you to support Motion 29. John Douglas, President Motion 29 is formally moved. Agreed? Agreed. Any speakers to Motion 29? Two indicating.

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Hugh Rafferty, UNITE the Union At present pensions offered North and South will not reduce the 42 percent of fuel poverty in Northern Ireland. It will not compensate for the cuts already suffered in the Republic. They will not reduce the effects of austerity both North and South; they will not reduce the poverty related debts on those 55+ North and South. Pensioners who are in a tragic situation of having to decide between heating and eating and die of malnutrition or hyperthermia. What is needed is a proper state pension linked with a living wage. A proper second tier social insurance based pension to which employees, employers and state contribute, a pension which is guaranteed adequate and does not depend on vagaries of the market. Countries worse off have better pension provisions than we have. Of the 26 richest countries in the world, Britain pays the 25th lowest pension and they are sixth richest country in the world, what does that tell you? What pensioners want is a better standard of living, a better quality of life in the twilight of their years. Protecting peoples’ living standards and retirement should be a hallmark of society and is essential to ensuring a growing and prosperous economy. So I ask you to support the motion. Thank you. Deirdre Mc Donald, ASTI A society and indeed a government should be judged by the way it deals with its most vulnerable including pensioners. My colleague in the ASTI and in the INTO dealt with the inequity for new entrants to the public sector, so I will deal with how the present people who are in receipt of pensions are being dealt with. Under the Financial Emergencies Measures in the Public Interest legislation, how does it deal with pensioners and how is it equable? We spent a lot of time yesterday speaking about equality well here is one great injustice. Under this odious FEMI legislation, people earning over €65,000 are considered to be high earners and treated as such. However pensioners on over €32,500 are considered high earners. Now even the most numerically challenged here can see that €32,500 does not come anywhere near €65,000. This is not equable treatment. And Monday or Tuesday, our Minister for Finance, Minister Noonan tells us that he does not need another bailout no he doesn’t because he will continue to mug pensioners, lone parents and the like. So that’s why we don’t need a new bailout. Finally on Tuesday I asked you here ‘when do good words become mere rhetoric?’. If we look at what the trade union movement did when all this odious legislation and inequity towards pensioners being dealt with? The dog that never barked and certainly was not going to bite, and perhaps maybe even roll over and let the government have a tickle of its tummy. What I say to you delegates is that you judge by actions, and it’s time for us to take sustained strategic and continual action. Thank you. Jimmy Kelly, UNITE the Union Thanks President and Conference can I just avail of this section of the agenda to express sincere thanks in the pension case in Waterford Crystal. A fantastic victory for workers, a fantastic victory for this movement. Most of you will know the background so I am not going to go into the detail. We had the double insolvency, Waterford Crystal, and Republic of Ireland not having the EU Directive for protection protection. You don’t get out of the starting blocks on these without being in a union, so it is absolutely what we stand for in this Conference that collective organisation that can bring justice for workers. I want to give sincere thanks, because I don’t believe in begrudging thanks, so it is absolutely sincere thanks first of all to our own Congress and our own movement because we got nothing but support from everybody in every union in every affiliated union within Congress. Specifically we had first of all, you can imagine the massive costs of the legal side of running a case like this, we had SIPTU, and I want to thank Jack O’Connor, the President; Joe O’Flynn,

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the Treasurer and the SIPTU Executive. Within literally hours of a request that there was a need for financial assistance to continue the legal situation SIPTU stepped into that breech and made a substantial contribution towards that. Sincere thanks for doing that. When we went through the case in Europe, won on all seven counts in Europe and then back to the High Courts here in Ireland, we needed for the High Court to move in a speedy direction but to embrace all the issues involved it had the input of David Begg, and the input from David Begg was absolutely crucial. He was able to get the LRC on board through Kieran Mulvey but also had a route into politics at the very top which was beneficial in us being able to put our case so David Begg made and absolutely substantial contribution to that victory. The contribution from David has been followed up to date by Patricia King, absolutely on board and in support. There was an absolute key point where Joan Burton, the Tánaiste intervened in this case and when people do the right thing, when people do the decent thing and do well we should say well done. I conveyed that personally to the Tánaiste yesterday because it was an absolutely crucial intervention. So those are just to mention some of the people along the way and some of the unions along the way. Congress itself has been absolutely supportive and vital in delivering this success and I think it is really something that Congress can be proud of, our movement can be proud of, it shows why workers will not get justice without being in a union so thanks again. Malcom Moran, SIPTU In relation to the old age contributory pension many of you would be aware that because of the changes that have been made it is more difficult to get a full pension. What a lot of people are not aware of is that when you get older and you lose your job and go on a FAS course you get a ‘J stamp or a ‘J’ credit which doesn’t count for zilch, it doesn’t count towards your pension, some people will tell you it does but it does not count. What I would like everybody to do is send in an email to at least ten people telling them to tell anyone they know that on a FAS course that there “J” stamp doesn’t count for their pension and to try to do something about it. Thank you. John Douglas, President Seeing no more speakers I’m going to move to Motion No. 30 in the name of the Executive Council and the Treasurer Joe O’Flynn is going to move on behalf of the Executive Council. Joe O’Flynn, Executive Council Colleagues Joe O’Flynn, SIPTU and Congress Treasurer. I am proposing Motion 30 which recognises the demographic change and the significant challenges that it will bring to our society. We have to recognise that we have an aging population because thankfully people are living a lot longer than ever before. Unfortunately many workers are facing disadvantage however as we have to recognise that we require a greater share of GDP to fund pensions, to fund adequate and proper health care, elder care and residential care and also to provide security in our communities for older people. Unfortunately quite a number of workers who are retiring do not have and occupational pension and indeed some that do have occupational pensions it is not adequate. We have to recognise that pensions have been eroded over the last number of years in particular and as a Congress we are going to have to adopt a two pronged approach to secure retired workers a financial security in their retirement, 1) is an adequate occupational pension scheme and 2) Supported by an adequate state pension as well.

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Colleagues what this motion requires if for us to engage with retired workers to communicate with them on the issues that are of concern to them. One of the things that I just want to bring to your attention is as a result of a survey that we did as part of the Cork Project we surveyed workers who were members of a trade union and workers who are not members of a trade union, and what was very evident was that the people who were covered by occupational pension schemes in the private sector in particular, were those who were trade union members and who were supported by trade unions, other than the bosses who were well capable of looking after themselves. So we have to send out a very strong signal here that it is only by very strong trade union co-ordination and action that workers will actually be able to secure financial security and proper care in their retirement years and are entitled to that and for that reason I want to commend Motion 30 to conference. Go raibh maith agaibh. John Douglas, President Thank you Joe. Formally seconded. Agreed? Any speakers to Motion No. 30? One speaker thank you. Padraig Mulholland, NIPSA Conference delegates speaking on behalf of NIPSA to support the motion. Conference the previous motions have outlined the position very well Pensions is clearly one of the areas where we have suffered and the living standard of retired people is one of the areas that we have suffered considerable damage over the period of austerity. There is no question that we have a hit on that area and I think it is something we now need to address in a very roundabout fashion and see if we can regain ground. I want to refer back to a speech that was made on Tuesday evening and I think it was a very telling speech, and to me I thought it was very honest and it outlined something of the reality of the position of the trade union movement over the last period of time. If I understand the speaker correctly what they were saying was essentially that there union and the wider union movement had decided to retrench and defend as best it could the gains that have been made over previous years. I think whether you agree with that strategy or not it has been the reality during the period of austerity. We have retrenched and we have tried to defend what we have had and we have not been on the offensive. I think now when we are faced with a situation where governments are saying the economy is on an upturn, both in the North and the South, that’s what we hear repeatedly that the economy is on an upturn, things are getting better, I think at this stage we have to consider do we go from a position of retrenching and defence to a position of offensive and going on the attack again? Should we not be developing a shopping list of our own demands that we fight for going into the future, and I cannot think off any better demand that the one that is in this motion and just to quote the end of the motion. ‘Conference asserts that it is the right of every work to expect to spend their retirement years in financial security and with all their health, and care needs provided for, and calls for the government to act now to ensure this’. I couldn’t agree more. I think though what we have to commit ourselves to is that we will act to force the government to act, because they won’t do it any other way. Support the motion, thank you. John Douglas President Any speakers? No further speakers. I am going to move Motions 25 Housing Provision and Homeless from IMPACT. All in favour? All against? Motion 25 is carried. Motion 26 Community Sector in the name of Wexford Council of Trade Unions. All in favour? All against? Motion 26 is carried.

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Motion 27 Pensions in the name of the Executive Council, and apologies to Tom, I didn’t mean to put him on the spot. All in favour? All against? Motion 27 is carried. Motion 28 Defense of Pension Living Standards in the name of TEEU. All in favour? All against? Motion 28 is carried. Motion 29 Pensions in Retirement in the name of UNITE. All in favour? All against? Motion 29 is carried. Motion 30 in the name of the Executive Council, Retired Workers. All in favour? All against? Motion 30 is carried. Motion 31 in the name of Fermanagh Trades Council, Older People’s Contribution to the Community. All in favour? All against? Motion 31 is carried. You’ll be glad that’s almost all of the official business of Conference completed, so thank you very much for your time and patience delegates. Sorry, Section 6 of the Report has to be adopted. I’m putting that to the floor. Section 6 adopted? Agreed, thank you very much. Brian Campfield, Vice President Okay delegates we’ve come to the Closing Ceremonies and we would ask Frank Vaughan firstly to make one housekeeping announcement. Frank Vaughan, Congress Thank you President. Delegates I just want let you know that we have had fifteen students participating in a training and development course organised under the auspice of the new Workers College and delivered in conjunction with University College Cork and the students have just been receiving their results from UCC this morning by text messages from UCC this morning and by logging on to portals and all the rest of it, and I just want to conference to congratulate the astonishing results that these students have got. We got several first and many are here delegates in the hall so I think it is a tremendous achievement, it’s an arduous course and it’s giving us a cohort of new tutors for the trade union movement and trade union education so I just wanted to offer congratulations for the great work that they have accomplished. Brian Campfield, Vice-President Can I call on Larry Broderick to move a motion of thanks to the outgoing President, John Douglas? Larry Broderick, FSU I can assure you colleagues this will not take forever. It gives me great pleasure and indeed a privilege to move the vote of thanks to our outgoing President John Douglas. John has led the movement over the last two years with conviction and with passion and has been an acolyte for all of us on the trade union movement. He took over office at a time when the trade union movement, our members and the wider society had been assaulted by austerity over many years and questions were being asked what the trade union response was? He has showed to be a credible champion setting out values in pursuit of the very fundamentals of what trade unions are about. He has built and re-built self-esteem within the movement and he has put in place structures not just trade unions and members and workers generally, but the public at large have supported

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the trade union in many initiatives over the last number of years. He has proved to be leader of integrity, a leader of passion and a strategic leader. As President of Conference he has put in place, through his chairmanship of the Executive Committee, a consensus approach and what you have seen delegates is not an easy thing to do within the trade union movement. He has been very focussed in terms of being a hands-on President and whether that has been about sitting in with workers in the Paris Bakery, whether it has been supporting workers in the Greyhound dispute on the picket line, supporting Bank workers being maligned and attacked on an on-going basis, supporting colleagues in Northern Ireland in their public sector dispute, and supporting colleagues in the Public Sector through difficult times. John has been out there as a leader, as a supporter and giving a vision of what trade unionism is about. His leadership I suppose is also best personified by the stance taking by MANDATE to take on Irelands biggest employer, Dunnes’ Stores and to support workers for the right of a decent working pay and conditions of employment, and not only in doing that he united the trade union movement around that issue, an issue like precarious work whether it be in teaching, whether it be in other areas of our industries to identify the roots of what trade unionism is about and to that John we are extremely grateful. Of course John is a unique individual. He is renounced to those who know him personally as the Peter Pan of the trade union movement and shares the same barber as Vincent Browne because as the rest of us get older and greyer he gets older and darker, and I am assured that there is no bottle involved in that. For those that know him he is a remarkable singer, so much so that when he closes his eyes in many public bars over the last two year and gives a rendition of the famous Old Triangle, when he opens his eyes he has actually cleared the bar before the song has ended. But on a serious note he has a strong commitment to the trade union movement and in giving thanks we must also recognise that this could not happen without the support of his President John Gaffney about the support of Aisling and Gerry and the MANDATE Trade Union movement and I want to thank them as well for supporting him in doing a fine job on behalf of the Executive Committee. Also at times like this we forget, all of us, that we can’t participate without the support of partners, spouses and family and I particularly want to thank Patricia who is a very long standing member of IBOA the Finance Union in giving the support to John and indeed his three children and grandchild, to thank them for giving us the opportunity to have him as leader for the last two years. Colleagues the evaluation of any leader in when you try to measure you look at the state of an organisation when you start and you reflect on it when you leave, and I think John you can take great pride and indeed satisfaction that this trade union is greater because of your involvement, this trade union has actually gone back to its roots, and that this trade union is beginning to re-emerge as a very clear challenge in a society that is changing but there is an awful lot of work to be so can I just thank you for the manner in which you chaired the meeting. There is a lesson on traffic lights before you go home. Can I thank you also for the manner in which you chaired and led the Executive Council Committee over the last two years and can I just thank you personally for being a valued friend and someone that we will all look up to in the future. Thank you very much indeed.

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Alison Millar, NIPSA First of all again it’s a privilege to the second vote of thanks in relation to John and his role as President, this was my first two years on the Executive Council and John certainly you helped me guide my way through the first few meeting and made me feel very welcome. As we all know John is a passionate trade unionist and he had been all of his life, he learned lots of that about trade unions from his father knee I understand speaks very dearly of his father’s role and his role in the trade union movement and how proud his father would be that he could carry out such good work for all the worker of Ireland, and I would want to add my thanks to that. In 1994 John spear-headed the amalgamation of two unions to form Mandate which is led to this being bigger and stronger union and delivering more for its members. Ithink right across the Island of Ireland certainly John and leading a dispute on the Dunne’s workers and on other disputes is that certainly the role of Mandate has being lifted, in that uncertainly it’s very difficult I would know for you being President of Congress, and also trying to lead such as major dispute, but you have the support of every union in this hall in relation to that dispute. People in this hall will also know that to John it doesn’t matter whether Presidents or politicians that you can speak to all of those, any high profile person but where you find your leveller is that you are a man of the people and you speak to members with the same respect whether it is an ordinary member of a trade union, whether it is trying to get a non-member to join or whether it’s with high profile people such as politicians and Presidents. But you do have your own style in doing that and you’re a brilliant networker and I think lots of people in the hall would know what that means. Certainly as I have got to know you, you have never left the ordinary man or worker behind and certainly in the Paris Bakery I understand you even took to sleeping on the floor in that dispute. In your opening address to conference you also mentioned your love of Ennis and I think part of that love was your love of fishing. I’m not quite sure how you get time for much of the fishing over the last two years but I understand that when you go for a week’s fishing 40 percent of the time might be fishing and the rest is casting your net, socialising with friends and certainly having been once or twice in John’s company, John you also know how to socialise well and you usually the last man standing. And maybe a few things that I didn’t know about John in coming here this week, I understand from some of his colleagues is that he is very good at something although ultimately you are getting a bit old for it, I think some of your colleagues are telling me and that’s the art of break dancing so I understand but haven’t witnessed this so maybe we should see some break dancing before the end of conference. In addition to that is also John appears to like dressing up a bit too and recently at a staff party I understand he dressed up in a banana costume and again maybe we will have some of that at a different event. Also in relation to other bits and pieces his colleagues have told me is that I’m not quite sure if this is your own suit, your own tie, your own shoes that you are wearing here today but sometimes I’m told her forgets those and his colleagues in the office, particularly the male colleagues often recognise when he is on the TV, that’s my shirt, that’s my tie, that’s my shoes so hopefully John will return all of those things to you at some stage. Also that he has a particular affinity for glasses and if he loses his own glasses he may pick up some others particularly the Penny’s ones with the bright rims around them so we have all seen a different side of John perhaps if you didn’t see it this week but maybe John we will all give the delegates those Penny’s lights with the lights around then we might notice this a bit more and make conference chairing much better. To that John I want to thank you very much certainly for making my first two years on the Executive Council very easy to get into the flow of things and wish you well for the future.

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John Douglas President It was a Fair Trade Banana uniform I was wearing. As Larry said now I can go back to the real roots, I won’t have to keep dying my hair. I was the last man standing this morning as well. It’s a great county Clare, a fantastic county, when you go to bed it’s still bright and you get up in the morning it’s still bright. I’m obviously missing some bit in between but I was told that I sang the Old Triangle in the one pub at three different tables which is starting to come back to me a little bit at this stage. But genuinely it has been a great honour and thank you for mentioning my father and my mother both shop stewards in the FWI now SIPTU, activistsand that is where my trade unionism comes from, from the heart and from the home. We are all comrades here, we have had a very good conference, we’ve had some differences of opinion but ultimately we are all part of the same movement. We are all struggling fighting for a better and fairer Ireland and a fairer society for older members and for the most vulnerable in Irish Society so I know that we leave here today stronger and better. I know that the Trade Union movement is the only civil society organisation capable of making Ireland a better and fairer society and we all have a responsibility, we are standing on the shoulders of giants, James Connolly, Jim Larkin, Michael O’Lehane and various other leaders and we have a responsibility to make sure this movement remains the strongest civil society organisation in this country and we pass it on to future generations and we continue the campaign and fight for justice in society. I would also like to thank all the Congress staff not only for the conference and the organisation of conference but for their diligence, for their professionalism over the last two years working with me, it couldn’t have been easy, I was asked for speeches when I had them written on bits of paper in my pocket, asked for text when I hadn’t got it but they managed me very well, they looked after me very well, I didn’t get into too much trouble, not that I can remember anyway or certainly it hasn’t come back to haunt me yet and that’s down to the professionalism of the team in the Irish Congress of Trade Union. Thank you all of the staff in the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. I would like to also pay tribute to David Begg. I worked with David as President for most of my term. I found him to be a sonsummate professional, his analysis of the austerity policy from the very beginning when it wasn’t popular to say it, he was out there saying that austerity wouldn’t work, why it wouldn’t work, he was berated in the press, he was berated by the so called pundits but he kept at it and to this day he has been proved right and we know he is right, thank you David. I know he is not here but would like to give him a round of applause. I have also worked with Patricia King for a short period of time as the new incoming General Secretary I wish you Patricia every success. I know you will do a fantastic job, you a formidable leader of the trade union movement in your own union SIPTU. You have always been a champion of worker’s rights particularly low paid workers and the most vulnerable. You have always been there to fight the fight be it on the picket line or the negotiation table or on the media so I wish you every success Patricia from one Wicklow man to a Wicklow woman, fantastic. I would also like to thank my own Union, my executive committee, the staff in my union, the officials, the support staff, everybody in my own union, the members for giving me the space and time to act as President for the last two years because without someone else picking up the pieces it wouldn’t be possible to do that so we have a good team and just Larry its Aileen not Aisling, Aileen Morrissey, and thank you to my union for giving me that space.

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Two years ago in Belfast we had a large number of objectives and I had a couple of personal objectives in relation to the trade union movement and what I would like to achieve in my two years as President and I genuinely apologise for the things that I haven’t achieved, it wasn’t for the lack of trying, I tried my best but it just wasn’t possible in the time frame to achieve a lot of stuff. We have made some great achievements and I think sometimes we criticise ourselves too harshly but we are the biggest critics of ourselves sometimes and I think we need to trumpet our own successes, the success of the trade union movement in vocalising the damage that austerity policies are doing to communities in Belfast, in Bray, in Cork, in Wicklow, in Galway, we have been out there since the very start, we have been championing the most vulnerable in our society and we will continue to do so. I think we should congratulate ourselves and continue on that road. Finally I suppose I would like to call on the new incoming President, Brian Campfield, from NIPSA. Brian, also, is a lifelong trade unionist and campaigner. He is at the forefront of the anti-austerity fightback in Northern Ireland. His own union is a campaigning union and a fighting union and the things that we haven’t achieved is work in progress and I’m sure that Brian will push them over the line so I would like to welcome your new President Brian Campfield. Brian Campfield, Incoming President Thank you very much John for those kind words and I have to begin by endorsing everything both Larry Broderick and Alison Millar said in respect of John and clearly John has been a magnificent leader of the trade union movement in Ireland, and I would just like to express my appreciation. I want to continue over the next few years the work with John and the newly elected Executive Council and also the new General Secretary, Patricia King, because what we are in the business of is advancing and protecting the interest of trade union members, their families and working class communities generally in this country. Now there is probably an expectation that the incoming President will make some profound comments and layout their stall for the next couple of years. I hope I’m not going to disappoint you because what I’m going to do is maybe is to make some observations and I hope they will be of some use to us all over the next couple of years. The last few days here in Ennis we have adopted a whole range of policies which in my view provide the platform for moving forward for the trade union movement in Ireland and to enable us to ensure that we play a more central and influential role in the future of this country both North and South, but I think it is important that we don’t look at all the resolutions that we have carried as separate matters and what we need to do is knit those together and build a coherent alternative, a coherent alternative narrative which we need to convince people in this country is a feasible and preferable one to what we have. Just using some of the discussions during the conference, I’m going to mention three motions in particular because I want to comment on some elements of them. I’m not saying they were the best motions or the worst motions but they are motions which I think are of interest and some of the questions that they raise. The first one really is the motion on the INMO on the subject of a public health service linked to a progressive equitable taxation system. Now I think that’s a motion on principals it can be read across all of public services, an equitable progressive taxation system which funds public services which are the great equaliser in our society. What we need to look and consider is how we advance that argument for a firm progressive taxation system and ensure that’s a central element, not only of the trade union movement’s policies and positions but also of all those political interests that are out there in society because we need to ensure that our alternative narrative, our alternative social and economic vision catches the imagination of people. I mentioned to you, some of you might have read a book by the Guardian Columnist Owen Jones, a book called the establishment and some of you already know about the existence of the Mont Pelerin Society founded in 1847 with a group of

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40 intellectuals as they would be called, academics, journalists, economists and this was shortly after the aftermath of the second world war. They concluded that the new social democracy and the socialism that emerged from those ruins posed a threat to what they called the central values of civilisation. It’s unbelievable and one of the comments they made in one of their tracks or policy statements was over large stretches of the earth’s surface the essential conditions of human dignity and freedom have already disappeared and that this was fostered by a decline in belief in private property and the competitive market. Now back then these people were isolated outsiders, people didn’t regard them as being in the mainstream but the fact is that those ideas that they pursued and developed back then are now the mainstream. Theirs is the ordinary common sense and what they have truly done is contributed to counter revolutions where what we consider to be common sense and mainstream and reasonable and non-extreme is in fact the opposite, and these ideas still dominate our academic institutions, they dominate our Universities and they have colonised the media and much of society. What they say is public ownership of the most productive economic activities in public services is portrayed as nonsense, a naive view, out of touch with human nature or economic realities, and privatising public service is pragmatic, its natural, its normal in other words its common sense. This minority extremist view is now the new normal it has been since the early 1970’s when it was adopted by Regan and Thatcher. Now we have a responsibility of thinking in the trade union movement, not just in Ireland but across the world to play central role in reversing this reactionary orthodoxy. Too often we stagger from election to election, we stagger from budget to budget trying to ensure understandably that our own sectorial interests are promoted and defended. We argue about the next government, what the levels of taxation should be and who we will support. But conference I think we need a longer term vision and it has been spoken about and not just a longer term vision but also a longer term strategy which knits together the various policies that we have so that we have a coherent message not only to our own members but to the population at large. This is not going to take one or two years. It may take 5 – 10 years but we need to start considering how we move our narrative into the mainstream. In essence what I am saying is we need to shift the centre of gravity of our social and political culture decisively to the left. And that takes me to the SIPTU Motion on 1916 and in that motion they referred a number of the tools which we will need to use in order to achieve that. NERI, we have seen the work of NERI over the last four years, the impact it has had, the way in which they are able to challenge the right wing, the reactionary economists in our society and it has given the trade union movement a tremendous boost, and we took in a decision this week to consolidate the work of NERI into Congress finances, which should create some relief for the people who are employed by NERI, but it will also give us some assurance that we have this capacity in the future to counter the arguments which are not in the interest of our members. The Workers College, getting off the ground I suppose, but it will provide us with an opportunity to overhaul trade union education and to equip all our members not just the representatives, but all our members and all our Executive Members with a more fundamental understanding about the nature of our social system and what the alternative is to that. But just as privatisation colleagues has become the new common sense and public ownership regarded as a dogmatism I’m not sure how many times the word has been mentioned during the conference, James Connolly has been mentioned, James Larkin has been mentioned. James Connolly has been quoted but nobody ever mentions, or seldom mentions the word socialism as the alternative to what ails our society today. We are almost afraid to mention the word in case there is some ridicule over being juvenile or infantile or childish. What we need in the trade union

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movement is to reclaim this idea, to reclaim this philosophy and put it in the mainstream as the only viable alternative to this system. The development of the media platform which is also contained in the motion to compliment the work of NERI and also the YouthConnect idea, I think there are critical elements about how we progress this alternative strategy. You can imagine in some of the education things, the material that we would have, the way in which the Clerys’ Workers were treated, the way Dunnes’ Stores treats its employees, all that material is there for us to get into the classroom, to get into the education system, to expose the nature of the system that we live in and to expose these rotten employers. But I think we are also going to need to extend our engagement not just within the trade union movement but also in the wider society. I think we will need to develop structured and organised engagement with local communities, I know we are doing some of this already but progressive academics with religious organisations, with consumer protection groups and all those who claim they stand for a fair and just society. We already have the beginning of an analysis of the groups in society which are suffering. We saw some of the figures earlier in relation to the unemployed, those in receipt of benefits, those in receipt of low wages and what we need to do is make our cause theirs and their cause ours. Much has been said about the readiness of the population to sympathise with the victims of the system and the blatant injustices that take place and we need to ensure that we take full advantage of all those incidents and episodes which expose this system. Now that takes me to the third motion and that is the last motion I’m going to refer to and that is the Dublin Trades Council one which talked about political alliances and things like, and I know people have different views on this. I would suggest that there is something more important than solely focussing on formal electoral positions in anticipation of elections. There are people in different political parties here and in none, and there are people here in the Labour party, Sinn Fein and Socialist party and a range of different organisations Fine Gael, Fine Fail and there are people here from the SDLP and probably some of the unionist parties if the truth be told. They identify with those parties. I don’t want to intervene retrospectively in the debate but taking the liberty and the opportunity that is presented to me here I think things are never as black and white as they seem. They are never as orange and green as they seem and they are not even different shades of red as they seem. Litmus test politics isn’t the way forward, not that I think it is an unproductive approach which we are trying to progress to shift the social, cultural and political centre as I said to the left and we need to try and embrace as many different interests of those people who are subscribed to a new and fairer society. Take our example of our campaign against TTIP. We don’t insist that those who we work with subscribe to everything we agree with. When we are seeking support for progressive legislative change to protect workers’ rights we don’t exclude those that support us and we welcome all those who declare and work for a health service delivered within the public sector and we work with anybody who is opposed to the privatisation of public services. I know people will have different views on this. I’m, just expressing mine as I have the platform. I want to make a comment about Joan Burton. It’s not a negative comment, she did quote James Connolly, and she quoted him on this phrase ‘Ireland without our people means nothing to me’. The first thing sprung to my mind was an alternative quote from Connolly and this isn’t the exact words paraphrased when he says ‘if you remove the English and hoist the green flag over Dublin Castle England will still rule you through its bankers, its financiers and its capitalists’. You might want to

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substitute international bankers and financiers, some people might even want to substitute the International Monitory Fund, the ECB whatever for England, but that is the position and you know if you are looking at Connolly, then I think we need to understand the nature of finance capital and the system generally. I know the European Union is a sacred cow for some people. I know there is a strong identification by the Irish Trade union movement with the European Union Project, and I know that there is a big argument that’s made particularly by continental Social Democratic and even some continental Communist parties that the European Union Project is about bulwark against another war and I think those arguments have to be appreciated so they do. But when I look around some of age of some of the delegates here including myself, many of us was involved back in the 70s and campaigning against both UK and Ireland’s entry to the European Union. Now I am not making any proposals in that kind, but we need to have an adult discussion about this, about how the European Union has developed I mean it was a common market back then. I mean Frances O’ Grady in her excellent contribution, very interesting words that she said. She said the European Union must not just be available for privatisation and liberalisation, it must also be a social protection dimension to it. But there is no doubt that is becoming, unless we can prevent it, it is becoming a vehicle through Directives, it is becoming vehicle for privatisation and liberalisation. And all I am saying some of you might have seen the film or read the book, ‘We Need to Talk about Kevin?’ All I’m saying is we need to talk about Europe - just a conversation really. Conference, I don’t want to delay any longer, even if there was a red light here I’m sure John would allow me to continue on my merry way. I just want to finish of not by quoting an Irish man or anyone from these islands. But it’s something that everyone should think of and it applies to all of us. It’s a Nobel literature winner, Portuguese left wing activist Jose Saramago who died a couple of years ago, and he said something which brings us back to reality. I thought it was quite a profound statement, he says and you can laugh at it if you like, he said ‘don’t let you political convictions interfere with your ability to think rationally’. I know reality is difficult and our job is to change that realty and I will finish, why not, by quoting Karl Marks, who said ‘philosophers have only interpreted the world, the point is to change it’. We know that, that’s our job and that’s what we need to be getting on with. Thank you. Patricia King, General Secretary Thank you, President. I won’t detain you long at all. I just want to thank our hosts here in the West County Hotel, the Manager and all the Staff who looked after us in the last number of days and in fact we had lots of interaction in the lead up to Congress and I think everything worked out very well and we thank the staff very much for all their assistance and help. In terms of the Conference arrangements, the Chairman of the Standing Orders Committee and his team have always done an excellent job and the Scrutineer team led by Billy Hannigan as well, together with the Tellers who did a very efficient job last night, so thank you to the Tellers and thank you to Billy and his team, and for their assistance in having the Conference run so smoothly. I want to congratulate Brian, our incoming President. Brian as everybody knows is a formidable and high calibre representative of the Trade Union movement and has been Vice President for the last number of years. I got to know him over those two years. I wish Brian well in his term of office and I know that we are all looking forward to working with you. I also want thank Joe, our Treasurer from my previous life I know only too well I might add that Joe is very good at minding the money. So I hope that we can continue to work together on this. Joe as you know is heavily involved with the development of the Congress Project in Cork and indeed will

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be involved in the development of the Belfast one as we referred to earlier in the week, so I want to thank Joe and I look forward to working with Joe in the next couple of years. I also want to thank my colleagues in Congress, who have work so hard to make this event happen. Eileen Sweeny who coordinates the team, Natalie Fox, Deirdre Mannion, Fiona Dunne, Sylvia Ryan, Pat Quinn, Peter Rigney, David Joyce, Fergus Whelan, Liam Berney, Frank Vaughan, Gillian Belch, Clare Moore who joined us from the Northern Ireland Office, and all you as a team contributed so positively to the running of the event. I won’t forget either our colleagues back in headquarter in our Belfast office who are minding the shop in the last number of days and I want to thank them all for their assistance and for their forbearance for the last couple of months since I took up the new role. I also want to include Dr Tom Healy and our team in Nevin who have been of great support and help. I think this Conference also marks the last one for Peter Bunting, Assistant General Secretary, and I say this probably because with Peter you never know, actually it is sort of my fault that he has agreed to stay on to support me for little while, and I think that there will be I’m sure plenty of occasions when we can say a lot more. I just want to thank Peter for his personal support to me. And I know Peter over a good number of years and I know that he has played a crucial role and an important role for ICTU in Northern Ireland over the years. He has a good few months yet to attend to his business in Congress, I just want to say thank you Peter. Finally to our outgoing President John, I know a lot has been said already and I just want to mention a few things as John has said we are fellow Wicklow people and that does not often happen to Wicklow people, I don’t know what it is about us, we don’t do too well on football pitches or hurling pitches or any of those other places, but we make our marks in some places. John and I were born and reared within a few miles of one another, and I’ll say no more than to say that that means that we understand one another. John, I think, has brought huge energy and drive to the Presidency, and represented Congress at many important events, here and abroad. He still holds the same passion and commitment to achieving fundamental trade union rights, particularly the rights of access, as he did at the earliest stages of his career. As most of us know, John is a sociable fellow, and he enjoys life. I just want to mention on a personal basis, I know John well and John is a very decent and caring man, and nobody knows that better than I do. It’s often that we say a lot of things about people in terms of their profession and everything else, and sometimes we miss out on that. He has been extraordinarily helpful to me in the recent transition to the new post, and I want to thank him sincerely for doing that. Finally, delegates, I want to thank you sincerely for your courtesy to me over the last number of days. I guarantee you that there is nobody in this room more relieved than I am that it’s half past one on Thursday 9th July. I want to thank you for your courtesy to me, and I also want to thank you for your active participation in the conference. It is that participation, and all of the other pieces from the team who put it together, and from the staff here in the hotel, I think all of that made it a successful conference. Thank you very much indeed. Presentations made to Peter Bunting, Assistant General Secretary, and John Douglas, Outgoing President. John Douglas, Outgoing President Delegates you are free to go, safe home, safe travelling and thank you for your courtesy.