Irish Sugar Irish Steel Irish Life Eircom ACC Bank B&I ferries ICC Bank Cablelink TSB Bank Irish National Petroleum Company – what’s next?
as Irish Sugar turns sour, think of the 500,000 people who lost on Eircom or the sale of Irish Steel for £1 where all the debt was paid by the tax payer and we also got the massive clean up bill. If its broke fix it, if its not broke dont sell it. there is nothing wrong with the people of ireland owning state companies. Junior Cert Question: which political party in Ireland is pro demolition of state companies.
Meanwhile the race to the bottom continues…
We are told there are countless opportunities for people. But the real story for more people each day is one of fear for the future or lives turned upside down as profitable companies decide to relocate somewhere cheaper. More than 100 people a day are being laid off and the figures are on the increase.
A whole raft of other companies right throughout the country have either close down or in most cases have relocated since the start of this year. Cork and Sligo have also been particularly badly hit. CIMS call centre has gone from Mahon, GN ReSound has gone to China. In Sligo, Platter Foods closes down; Saehan Media and Tractech are both moving out.
In places like Dublin, if someone is laid off, most can find new jobs at the moment, but it’s often on worse pay and conditions. But a crisis is emerging in manufacturing industry and will hit all areas. 12,000 manufacturing jobs were lost last year. Redundancies in the first two months of this year were up 30% on the same time in 2005. Most new jobs are linked to the construction boom but inevitably that will end and things are likely to get harder.
Recently two economists said that “increased volatility of employment may be necessaryâ€? – in other words prepare to be laid-off, possibly hired somewhere else but then laid-off again, possibly in quick succession. They went on to say this “is undoubtedly costly for those individuals who lose their jobsâ€?. Is this the future for people in this day and age – casual jobs?
Increasingly the choice that capitalism is giving workers will be: either work for poverty wages or don’t work at all. The trade unions should fight re-locations and closures. These companies made billions off the backs of the workers and it is not acceptable having robbed people of that wealth, that they are allowed rob them of a decent future.[source www.socialistparty.net]