Message brought loud and clear to heart of "Cowen Country"!

By: A Contributor

Today felt like the start of something, that the ordinary worker’s of this country, are not going to stand idly by while their wages are slashed and the services they provide are skinned to the bone. The spirit of the day can be summed up by the Industrial Worker’s of the World when they say “an injury to one is an injury to all”

I am referring, of course, to the 4,000 strong demonstration (of which I was a part) in Tullamore today, organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions as part of their “Get Up, Stand Up” campaign. While there was some of the usual drivel from some “Champagne Socialists” in IMPACT and SIPTU about continuing so-called “Social Partnership”, there was also a militant section who know that the Government and Bosses are not our partners, that it our taxes and TV license fees that keep public broadcasters on the unnecessary wage of €900,000 per annum, while ordinary workers survive on peanuts, and that this is not acceptable!

This has always been how Capitalism has divided and conquered, by convincing the people in our society that they can reach one of the few places at “the top” by scrambling over their colleagues and other workers. This is an illusion and rather than continue doing this, ordinary people need to realise that we should not be trying to rise above our friends, neighbours and colleagues, but to level the playing field so that all advance together.

I personally believe the way forward now lies in the continuation of this campaign and in strike action taking place on the 24th November, and to borrow from the Socialist Party, that this strike should be turned into a 24-hour General Strike by getting unionised private sector workers to join in a demonstration of solidarity.

Viva la Revolution!