Solidarity is only for the ordinary folk

Despite the fact that a 100 years has elapsed since 1916, I wonder did we ever really lose the yolk around our necks? True the Church as a force has been dramatically reduced.

However, many others have come along to take its place.

Among them is a government that is neither really accountable or responsible; a mandarin class who believe that they are the real rulers of this country, and not the citizens through democratically elected representatives; a golden circle in business who wish to take all of the cake and level only crumbs for the proverbial peasants; and the unions who appear to act hand in glove with politicians to share the jam and the cream.

How many of those folk suffered badly during the recession? Not a lot is the answer.

In the last week, editorial pieces addressed the issue of “solidarity”.

The issue being discussed was teachers’ demands, at their annual conferences, to eliminate the policy of two-tier salary levels so that all teachers with the same qualifications, experience and status would all be paid the same salary level.

It’s a reasonable and just request. The unions have even threatened to seek sanction for strike action should that be necessary.

One can only hope that this is not just a negotiating position to be discarded if the majority of teachers get an increase.

Most of us will recall that back in the bad old days of this most recent recession, Government introduced lower salary grades for new entrants into a whole range of public sector positions such as nurses and teachers.

At the time, it was considered a reasonable, if not welcome, response to the dire financial position we found ourselves in as a result of the failures of others in Government, the public sector, banking and business.

The column also accepted that for those on the lower tier salaries, be they gardaí, nurses or teachers, life is very difficult with the rental rates now being demanded and the need for many to live very long distances from where they work because of affordability issues.

The column went on to ask: “Would it be too much to hope that public sector workers enjoying a proportion of pre-crisis pay levels, might forego any pay rises until their junior colleagues have caught up with them. Or do they want to widen the gap further?”

It is a fair suggestion.

The issue is, do we do solidarity in Ireland or is it every person for him and herself?

It would be interesting if any of the teacher unions, or Siptu, or any of the other main unions, gave a positive answer to that question.

Most of us are very aware that the economy is still on its knees and we are borrowing heavily. Despite all of the large annual growth numbers there are health warnings.

However, we can well do without business group Ibec preaching to us about the state of the economy, costs and competitiveness.

On the one hand, their cheerleaders in Government have been supporting them telling us just how great the economy is doing but when we ask for a little they tell us that we must wait a little longer.

Perhaps it might first look to putting more balance onto the remuneration across the spectrum of employment rather than those who have it getting more and more of it.

The behaviour of the banks has not gone away.

Whilst they pay us a pittance in interest and charge us fees for losing our money they continue to have grandiose expectations.

Senior managers leave the banks and walk away with a king’s ransom.

We are asking teachers to suffer longer, to live 50 or 60 miles away from work and barely survive because of the state of the country’s economy.

Solidarity is demanded from ordinary folk.

USC and water charges must stay. Nothing is expected from some and that is exactly what they give.

Do we really have the right to expect people who are living hand to mouth to carry the country for those who are full and have plenty? In the past 100 years we have replaced the empire.

So much for having ownership of Ireland vested in the Irish people.