Eamonn Maloney (Dublin South West, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the motion on this important centenary of the 1913 Lock-out. Deputy Higgins should be thanked. Any opportunity in our own Parliament to show respect for the people who changed history in this country for the working man and woman should be taken. We should pay homage to these people because homage they deserve. This is a very different island from the island 100 years ago when, apart from the poverty in this city, people had the arse out of their trousers and no socks or shoes, so we have come some distance.

For people like me, we have not come far enough. There is a lot of unfairness in this society. We should celebrate the Lock-out in a positive way. It is often said 1916 was our national revolution, which it was, and although some may say it failed, what it led to was not a failure. Likewise, for those like myself and others who were born into the labour movement, 1913 is the year for us to celebrate. The centenary can be remembered and honoured with pride because the men and women who put up the barricades and manned the pickets changed this country. It took a long time for them to do that because when we talk about the centenary of 1913, if we go back just 50 years, we get an indication of how slowly things change in this very conservative country. There was no equal pay for women and no sick pay, both of which were rights in Britain. There was no minimum age or holiday pay because workers did not get holidays. Some of us remember a time when our parents worked five and a half days per week back in the late 1960s.

Whether we are on the side of the labour movement or opposed to it, or somewhere in the middle, it should be borne in mind that none of these changes was given freely: they were wrenched either from the hands of the State or the employer classes. No one volunteered equal pay for women or to give holiday pay to workers. Look at what happened with the joint labour committees last year, when the whole thing was nearly scuttled. People talk about the limitations of this Parliament and the Labour Party but the committees are back in place and those in the worst industries and the lowest wages are being protected. That is a good thing.

The thrust of the motion is important, allowing us to pay homage to these people. I am proud to say the first trade union I joined was the Irish Transport and General Workers Union and, at a later stage, having been away and come back because of my job, I joined Jim Larkin's Workers' Union of Ireland, which since amalgamated with others to form one major union, which is good. It is the centenary of 1913 so let those of us who are part of that celebrate it with pride.

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