145,000 union workers urged to vote no

The Government faces having to sell a yes vote on the EU fiscal treaty without trade union support after two more unions representing 100,000 workers recommended members vote no in the May 31 referendum.

Yesterday’s decision by Unite and the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union, alongside a similar rejection by Mandate on Sunday, means unions representing 145,000 workers have so far told their members to oppose the treaty.

Siptu, which represents a further 200,000 members, has said it will canvass for a no vote unless the Government introduces a major stimulus programme that would create “tens of thousands of jobs”.

The 35-member executive of the trade union umbrella organisation, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, meets tomorrow to decide its position on the treaty.

The executive members of the TEEU, which represents 40,000 craft workers, and Unite, which represents 60,000 members, is likely to join those from Mandate in urging ICTU to call for a rejection.

The TEEU said it was becoming increasingly obvious that austerity was not working and said to back the agreement would be to “condemn Irish working families to decades of financial servitude to the banks”.

Unite said a yes vote would weaken Europe by making austerity the legal default for governments.

If Siptu was to oppose the treaty, it would effectively end any chance of it being passed by the umbrella trade union organisation.

ICTU-affiliated unions represent 600,000 members in the Republic.

A Siptu rejection would mean unions representing more than half of those members would be opposed.

Enda Kenny yesterday urged people to back the treaty, describing it as an “insurance policy” for the country.

“Ireland is in a programme for the next two years and will remain so,” he said.

“Nothing in the treaty changes that. So the decision to be taken is do you want to guarantee your future by having an insurance policy in the event that, in some future time, Ireland might ever have to have regard to drawing money from the European Stability Mechanism.”

The Government insisted preparations for the referendum would not be affected by the outcome of the French presidential election.

François Hollande, who is expected to win the second round of the election in two weeks’ time, has pledged to seek changes to the treaty to ensure it contains a focus on growth.

However, Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney said: “Ireland will make its own decision for Ireland.”

He said Mr Hollande “seems to be backtracking from earlier statements during the campaign that he was going to renegotiate this treaty”.

He told the Six One News on RTÉ: “The treaty is the treaty, 25 member state governments have agreed it and if any government is to change that, they’ll have to convince the other 24 of that.”

Fianna Fáil said a likely victory by Mr Hollande could “raise the bar” for the yes campaign.