O’Flynn believes he has edge in bid for top job

The battle for the top job in SIPTU is under way. Political Reporter Mary Dundon talks to Joe O’Flynn, one of the three contenders

JOE O'FLYNN commands a panoramic view of Cork city from his office at the top of Connolly Hall.

The SIPTU regional south west secretary has come a long way since he first joined a union as an apprentice mechanic 28 years ago.

Back then O'Flynn never dreamed that one day he would be in charge of one of the largest regions in the country's biggest union.

And the possibility he would one day be a main contender for the SIPTU top job of general secretary was beyond his wildest dreams.

But by working his way up through the ranks and building up considerable negotiating and administrative skills, O'Flynn is now a serious contender for the top SIPTU post.

"I have a huge commitment to the job and I am passionate about defending workers.

"I have the ability to lead union and provide first class service," he said.

The other contenders for the top SIPTU job, Noel Dowling and Des Derwin, are based in Dublin, but the 44-year-old Corkman believes he has the edge over them.

"I am the only candidate with the experience of running a region and dealing with staff and these skills are very much part of the general secretary's job," O'Flynn said.

But he will also need strong negotiating skills to face some of the major challenges facing SIPTU if he gets the top job in October.

Among these challenges will be the new partnership deal and whether or not SIPTU decides to again sign up or go back to local bargaining.

O'Flynn does not accept claims that the last partnership deal, the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness (PPF), was not good for workers.

The tax breaks delivered real increases in take home pay for most workers but companies were not forced to share enough of their profits with employees, he said.

But if he gets the top SIPTU job, O'Flynn will take a tough stance in the new national agreement talks.

And if the Government and employers are not prepared to meet their three basic demands, O'Flynn said he would walk away from the table.

"We are prepared to go back to local bargaining if the talks do not give us a set of conditions we can recommend to our members. Despite the recent economic downturn, O'Flynn said there is still wealth in the country and a good level of growth.

And SIPTU will tell employers they cannot preach one thing to workers and trade unions and practice a different standard of living themselves.

"We see chief executives of major companies on massive wages, share options, and many perks.

"Workers will not stand idly by and accept this any more without getting proper wages and profit shares."

The second challenge facing the next SIPTU general secretary is rising job losses.

While he accepts we have very little control over multi-national companies, O'Flynn believes the Government and the IDA are not doing enough to protect our traditional industries.

"They believe the way to go is high tech, high spec and focus on third level graduate employment but not everyone has a third level degree and the IDA must cater for these workers," he said.

He believes the 220 jobs lost at Youghal Carpets last year could have been saved if the IDA had given the company the grant aid needed to tie it over a particularly difficult 12-month period.

O'Flynn believes there is an obligation on the State to work out a strategy to save traditional jobs nationwide.

"I don't take plant closures lightly. I fight tooth and nail to keep jobs because job loss means loss of livelihood, self esteem and has a huge impact on families."

Cork Enterprise Board is attempting to find jobs for over 1,000 workers who were made redundant in the region over the past year.

They have contacted all local industries to see if they could take on extra workers and commissioned a survey of all products they import to see if they could be produced locally.

"As a member of the board, I believe this is a strategy that could be adopted all over the country to take workers off the dole queues," O'Flynn said.

If he gets the top union job, O'Flynn said one of his key priorities will be to increase union membership by building up a strong network of shop stewards and recruiting new members.

His own track record in this regard is good. As branch secretary, O'Flynn managed to double the numbers in the Administrative Professional and Technical (APT) branch of the union from 751 to 1,587 over a six-year period.

Joe's wife Mary and his son Conor are very supportive of his bid for the top SIPTU post.

The punters say it is a clear-cut race between O'Flynn and Dowling, who is the national industrial secretary for SIPTU.

While Dowling has secured marginally more nominations from branches, O'Flynn points out there are more members in the branches all over the country who nominated him and they are the ones who will be voting.

It will be very much a case of history repeating itself if the Corkman gets enough votes nationwide to become general secretary.

The incumbent, John McDonnell, is also a Corkman and he was also SIPTU south west regional secretary before taking up the top post five years ago.

It remains to be seen if O'Flynn will swap his view of the Lee for a panoramic view of the Liffey from the top floor of Liberty Hall.