Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The 1913 Dublin strike and Lock-out is one of the most important and inspirational events in Irish history. Dublin in 1913 was a city of dire poverty. The rate of infant mortality was as high as Calcutta and almost a quarter of the inhabitants lived in city centre tenements and slums - 80% of families lived in just one room. Work, for those that could find it, was mostly casual, dangerous and paid starvation wages. There was no sick pay, no pay for overtime, no retirement pension, no redundancy pay, no dole, and an abundance of unskilled labourers to fill a job. It was in that environment that the Irish Transport and General Workers Union, ITGWU, recruited thousands of Dublin workers to fight for their right to a trade union and to a decent and dignified life that contained some hope of a better future.

Fearing the threat of a risen and politicised working class, and the affect that would have on their wealth and privileged lifestyle, the employers, led by William Martin Murphy, used brutal tactics to smash the ITGWU. The political establishment, the Catholic hierarchy and the State sided with the big employers. The might of the brutal British security apparatus was used against locked-out workers and their families. On the night that a warrant was issued for Big Jim Larkin's arrest, two workers, James Nolan and John Byrne, died as a result of injuries received at the hands of the Dublin Metropolitan Police, DMP, batons.

Dublin people are rightly proud of the spirit displayed in the face of starvation and State brutality. The events also left a strong awareness of the need for social solidarity and for working class communities to stand together and have leaders who would stand up for their rights and aspirations. Workers' conditions have obviously moved on since 1913 but change has only come through struggle, hard graft and tough negotiations. The centenary of the Lock-out is about remembrance, but it must also be about action and improving the quality of life for all citizens. It would be only the most naive fool who would not see through parties who support the current politics of austerity, and who pay lip service to Larkin and what happened in this city 100 years ago. The lesson and true legacy of 1913 is the determination of workers on this island and their communities to defend themselves against attacks on hard-won working and social conditions. One hundred years ago workers were being attacked in this city and it is still happening today. Workers and their families are facing new onslaughts, evictions, the threat of poverty and increasing job insecurity.

William Martin Murphy was not against all unions, but he was definitely against the unions that fought and politically agitated on behalf of their members, such as the ITGWU. Parallels could be drawn today, with unions that employers and the Government favour and reward, and those that they attack, and side-line from areas of influence and decision making. Ireland is unusual in terms of the lack of protection it offers for collective bargaining. There is no requirement to recognise a trade union in a workplace or to engage with it. It is 2013 and that must change. The programme for Government committed to "reform the current law on employees' right to engage in collective bargaining, so as to ensure compliance by the State with recent judgements of the European Court of Human Rights." No visible action has been taken nor has an independent inquiry requested by the International Labour Organisation, ILO, been established. Legislation must be enacted which requires employers to respect the right of workers to bargain collectively through their trade union.

In recent years we have also seen workers take on unscrupulous employers and achieve substantial victories in cases such as Vita Cortex, La Senza and Lagan Brick. Working conditions have improved in the past 100 years but we still have exploitation. We still have employees who work but do not receive overtime. Some workers in the construction industry have no access to employment or pensions. Citizens who work for half of their lives are being told there is no redundancy money. Self-employed people with small businesses, who paid their taxes and created employment, have been told they were on the wrong stamp and, apologetically, that there is nothing for them. That is the situation. We have moved on but, unfortunately, for many workers things have got worse. This week I heard of a case concerning an individual who started work at 14 years of age. When he applied for his pension he was told that the only stamps he has date from 1983, even though he is now in his 60s and he started work at 14 years of age. His union has information on his employment but the Department of Social Protection does not. That is a difficulty for many workers in the construction sector. In the year that is in it, we must change all of that.

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