Two years into the novel coronavirus pandemic and the end seems further away than ever. At the same time it is clearer than ever that the capitalist economic system is hampering our ability both to live with the virus and to mitigate its worst effects. Decades of government policy have […]
Author: Raymond Ó Dubhghaill
Where to now for union organising and bargaining?
This article will update readers on a couple of interesting and important developments for unionised workers in both the South and the North of Ireland. Two position papers have been published in the last couple of months on union recognition, collective bargaining, and the right to organise, and one piece […]
Green shoots
As we leave behind 2021 and the continuing pandemic, some green shoots have appeared on the industrial front. Workers at Dunne’s Stores represented by Mandate have received a 10 per cent pay increase, which could only have been dreamed about a couple of years ago. Unite had significant victories, securing […]
Covid and mask-ulinity
The impact of capitalism on women has been discussed in these pages previously, as has the increased risks that women face, both on a personal and a social level, during times of crisis. Women face increased risk of violence from intimate partners during large sports events, are disproportionately affected by […]
A victory against fascism – India
One of the largest and longest mass mobilisations the world has ever seen has forced the right-wing government of the Indian People’s Party (BJP) to repeal the three agriculture laws, and forced the prime minister, Narendra Modi, to apologise to the nation. It is evident that the apology is only […]
Land of the Ever Young
■ Jenny Farrell (editor), Land of the Ever Young: An Anthology of Writing for Children by Working People from Contemporary Ireland (Culture Matters, 2021; €12) If the cultural mainstream is an expression of the ruling ideas in a society, and therefore the ideas of the ruling class, then children’s literature […]
Rogha Ghabriel
Sleachta as saothar Ghabriel Rosenstock Extracts from the works of Gabriel Rosenstock Zuckerberg Zuckerberg Zuckerberg! Sliabh siúcra. An ordaíonn do shloinne dhuit an tseirbhe a fholú orainn? Ní searbh a bhí na déagóirí sin sular tháinís-se, tú féin is do chomlachtsa, Instagram, a d’fhág suaite faoina gcolainn féin iad. Mark, […]
EU court is not an upholder of democracy
The decision of the EU Court of Justice on 27 October ordering Poland to pay the EU Commission a daily penalty of €1 million for failing to comply with an order of the court in July was welcomed by the slavishly pro-EU Irish media as a victory for “democracy” and […]
Are there two faces to consumerism?
My ten-year-old granddaughter announced to me recently that she was going on her first shopping trip with her mother. Apparently it was a counterbalance to a trip her younger brother had to Manchester to see Man U (as those in the know call them). I enquired, playfully, what type of […]
Environmental Degradation | A matter of life or death
Up to 2017, 8,300 million tonnes of virgin plastics have been produced, exceeding the quantity of almost all other human-made materials. The production of plastics, and petrochemicals in general, like the testing of nuclear weapons, represents a qualitative shift in human relations with the earth. It has resulted in the […]
Glasgow COPOUT
Statement by the Communist Party of Ireland
Health Service | Reaping the bitter fruit
As increased “lockdown” measures by the Government are on the horizon again, it appears that the extent of the bourgeois state’s ingenuity as regards battling the novel-coronavirus pandemic remains to repeat the same failed tactic over and over again: more vaccines and restrictions, no capital investment, no infrastructure, no sickness […]
Sinn Féin | Unsettling the equilibrium but not breaking the mould
Governments are not formed on the basis of opinion polls. Nevertheless it would be unwise to discard their findings, especially when a consistent trend is emerging. With this in mind, it is difficult to deny that Sinn Féin is gaining ground and establishing a strong, some might argue unassailable, position. […]
Public Health | Cuba shows the way
We have two health services in Ireland, and both are on the verge of collapse. Since Covid exposed their existing inadequacies, very little capacity has been added to either service in preparation for the next wave. We should have been building and training staff for several new hospitals. In fact […]
Nuclear energy is not “clean”
The leaders of the world gathered their propaganda machine last month to discuss what lies to tell the working class about how they will combat climate change. Britain was among those at the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (nicknamed COP26) in October and November. With a history […]
Standing up to Poppy Day
The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 witnessed the signing of the armistice, bringing an end to the First World War, which later resulted in unconditional surrender by Germany. The day is now celebrated as Poppy Day in Britain, Canada and Australia and as […]