Elect union officials – IMPACT general secretary appointed to €170k+ job!

Peter McLoone, the disgraced General Secretary of IMPACT will retire from his position in May.  McLoone’s replacement, chosen by IMPACT’s central executive committee, is Shay Cody.

Peter McLoone, the disgraced General Secretary of IMPACT will retire from his position in May.  McLoone’s replacement, chosen by IMPACT’s central executive committee, is Shay Cody.

As Shay Cody has served as the Deputy General Secretary since 1997, this would indicate that it will be “business as usual” in the leadership of IMPACT. Shay Cody’s wage as general secretary is over €170,000 a year!

The selection process for this senior trade union position gives a clear indication of what is wrong at the heart of the trade union movement. There is a fundamental democratic deficit in this process, where people are appointed to powerful positions within the union with no input whatsoever from the membership.

To address this issue, members of the Dublin City Branch put forward motions to their AGM calling for the election of IMPACT full time officials. However the motions were ruled out of order as they supposedly contravene the union rules.
It is completely undemocratic that members of a trade union cannot discuss and debate the processes involved in the appointment of their employees, or discuss and debate the wages they are paid.

The Socialist Party believes that trade union full time officials should be elected, subject to recall by the membership and paid the average wage of the members they represent. This is essential if trade union officials are to be democratically accountable. Full time officials must also have lifestyles comparable to the workers they are representing. Clearly it is impossible for a trade union official on over €170,000 to have any real understanding of the problems facing low and middle income IMPACT members.

Members of IMPACT who want real change within their union should come together to organise an opposition to the pro-social partnership and ineffectual leadership that dominates the union and campaign to get the union rules changed to make the full time officials accountable.

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No Compromises – SCRAP the pension levy

By Denis Keane, CPSU Executive member (personal capacity)

FOLLOWING ON from our demonstration of 4,000 people outside Dail Eireann on the 18 February, CPSU members took part in a one-day strike on 26 February. This protest and one day strike were in reaction to the pay cuts (pension levy) being imposed by the government.

The strike had the overwhelming support of other public servants. Even though they were threatened with disciplinary action, many public servants refused to pass the picket and in some cases joined our picket lines with their home made placards. On the day there was almost universal agreement amongst all grades that our unions needed to take co-ordinated and united action against the pension levy.