Unions must co-ordinate in global fashion

A LEADING American trade union leader yesterday warned that unions had to act in a co-ordinated global fashion if workers’ rights are to be successfully protected.

In a stark warning to SIPTU’s biennial conference in Cork, Services Employees Industrial Union (SEIU) vice-president Tom Woodruff said unions had to adapt to the reality of globalisation and the free market. “Companies which didn’t much exist 20 years ago now have over a million workers and are cutting wages and benefits. We can’t fight that if we don’t organise those workers and we can’t do it alone,” he said. “If we don’t change our labour movement it is not one that will work and survive and progress in the new economy. We can’t build our movements that are effective in one country alone anymore.”

Mr Woodruff said at present unions were simply not reacting to the development of a globalised world and as a result did not have enough strength and power to act effectively for workers.

“These companies are growing bigger than countries. They salute no flag other than their corporate logo. They pray to no God other than the almighty dollar. They don’t care about workers anywhere. They are driven to lower standards and the free flow of capital allows them to do that. We simply don’t have enough strength and power.

“We have to work together to organise these companies in countries all over the world and set basic standards about the right to have a free trade union,” he said. Commenting on the Irish Ferries plan to replace domestic jobs with cheaper foreign labour, Mr Woodruff said such abuses were the tip of the iceberg. “We all have to be concerned about declining union density all over the world.”