1562 MIOWL PROGRESSIVE DaMOCRATS' IN ACTION. ( By an Irish Correspondent, )
The N.F.D,. of Ireland is conducting 4 campaign against the attempt of the Lemass Government “ impose a wage freeze on Irish workers. They have issued a leaflet from which the following passages are extracted :
TEMASS has struck again, Yet another attack on the living standard of the worker,Remombor 1947 ., he tried to bring in a weges stand—still order. Tho came man, in September 1961, tried to give a jail sentence of 5 years to anyone going on strike then. And he has struck again. This time it is a standstill on wages.Dortt bo codded by Lemass's plausible statements that they will not enforce the standstill, The White Paper instructions to State and semi-State bodies not to accede to wage increases has NOT been retracted Unemployment = at 70,000 — is ten thousand higher than last year, According to the Government's own report factories in nearly every city and town are closing or are to close, Workers are laid off at Shannon, Tuam, sligo, Avoca, Verholme dockyard, Cork, Men are out of work at Inchicore, Ringsend doskyards have closed and Liffey dockyards are about to close. Flour mills throughout the country are closed, Over a thousand in the motor assembly and ancillary industries will be out of work according to the reports of the Commission on Industrial Organisation, The same organisation reports — that over a thousand people will come to grief in the boot and shoe industry, They estimate that 2,000 will fall in the cotton and rayon industry and over 1,000 in the paper and paper board industry.
Support your trade union leaders in their action against the pay pause and press for further action, Form action committees and demand :— (1) That the Government publish immediately their plens to held, compensate and re-train those made redundant by the re-organisation of industry, (2) That the unemployment benefit rato be increased to help those newly disemployed and unable to cope with HePey rent and other commit ments entered into when in work, 3) That enough capital be spent to make enough jobs for all who want them,
‘3 Insure that the Government spend £100,000,000 on a capital investment ~ scheme to build primary schools 3 accept responsibility for building second— ary schools 3; embark on a scheme for major and other forms of road construct =-ion 3 a nation wide harbour reconstruction plan 3; increased housing drive to relieve many of our people from subhuman living ; grenter emphasis on afforestation expansion,
Forty years of native capitaliam has so dismally failed. It has created this crisis. It will continue to create more crises. Dr. Noel Browne and Deputy McQuillan have demanded that the Government scrap the wages standstijl order, They have called for the introduction of a law to fix prices and restrict profits and dividends, '
The Transport Workers Section of the Trade Union Committee of the NePeD. has issued a special leaflet on the Dublin Transport strike. This leaflet argues the strikers case in detail, explains the role of the Government and ends up +: Make no mistake it is to be a fight to a finish. Whoever loses now loses for good, There will be no “return" fight, especially since a section of the trade union leadership must help to sabotage the strike in order to justify their contempti%lo ‘betrayal and earn whatever thirty pieces of silver is coming to them when the dust dies down.
We ask the trade unionists to support the bus workers in this strike. We ask you to help the bus workers win their battle by writing to you TeDs Call on Sean Lemass to insist that Dr. Andrews withdraw the one-man buses and allow a besis for negotiation on pensions so as to create an atmosphere for ending the strike. Help the struggle with funds and workers.