Thousands take to streets to vent fury at Government

THOUSANDS of private and public sector workers will converge on Dublin this afternoon to express outrage at the Government’s handling of the economic crisis.

The 2pm protest may be the last step before the trade union movement begins mass strikes across all sectors.

Unions have organised today’s protest because they feel their members are bearing the brunt of economic recovery while groups like builders and bankers, who they feel created the crisis, are contributing nothing. In particular, the public service pension levy has angered workers in that sector, while those in the private sector are protesting at the Government’s failure to protect workers from rising unemployment.

Union leaders meet in Dublin on Tuesday to discuss the outcome of today’s protest and decide a course of action.

Branches of unions such as IMPACT organised buses to ferry their members to Dublin from all parts of the country. The march leaves Parnell Square at 2pm and is expected to move through the city to Merrion Square. Union leaders expect in excess of 100,000 people to attend today’s Dublin protest with the gardaí mobilising the largest crowd control operation since the Love Ulster march in February 2006.

The Garda Public Order Unit will be mobilised but is expected to remain on standby in the Parnell Square area. Last night gardaí were adamant that the risk of trouble was “low”.

Gardaí will be enforcing parking restrictions in the Parnell and Merrion Square areas from 7am. with O’Connell Street closed from 1.45pm.

A number of political groupings, including fringe republican organisations, will take part, raising concerns about the possibility of the event being hijacked when the crowd makes it way towards Dáil Éireann.

However, yesterday trade union spokespeople said the event will be well stewarded and although public anger levels were “very high”, they will be ensuring a peaceful protest.

Meanwhile, the Psychiatric Nurses’ Association has become the latest union to ballot its 6,500 members for industrial action over the public service pension levy. The union described the levy as a “crude, discriminatory and inequitable tax on public sector employment”.

“Perversely the levy may result in up to 800 nurses retiring prematurely at a cost to the Exchequer of €80 million in gratuities and €30m per annum in pensions, not to mention the devastating effects of such retirements on the mental health services,” the union said. “Our members are very angry. We believe the Government has been panicked into this unfair and penalising levy. We call on them to step back from the brink. Otherwise, more and more unions will be driven into a public service war. Government are missing a great opportunity to deliver the necessary savings by consensus in a society-wide recovery pact. Instead they are stoking the fires of strife and division.”