Partisan • Patriotic • Internationalist
Organised Workers have had enough! The Communist Party of Ireland welcomes the clear mandate from public sector workers for industrial action over pay and conditions in the public sector. Unions across the public sector have been returning massive ballot results in favour of industrial action demonstrating that public sector workers […]
UK consumer price inflation, the relevant measure for the North’s economy, was at 2.6% in June, down from 2.8% in May. Food inflation was just 1.7%, below the rates experienced during the 2022–2024 inflationary spike. The inflation rate has fallen, but the general price level remains roughly 30% above where […]
The Irish people are broadly ‘left-wing’ when we look at support for typically social-democratic or socialist positions on things like collective bargaining, housing, healthcare, neutrality and transport. Yet combinations of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael continue to be elected and form Governments who actively deliver against these popular positions time […]
The previous public sector pay deal, Public Service Agreement, delivered 10.25% pay increases over effectively 3 years in 7 phased payments plus a local bargaining payment of 1% to be agreed by the sectors within the public service. This final element, meant to provide for local bargaining to resolve specific […]
Recent reports on the Irish economy show that Modified Domestic Demand, a better estimate of economic activity than Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in Ireland because it strips out some of the distortions caused by foreign multinational activity, rose by 0.3% between Q4 2025 and Q1 2026, spurred by personal spending […]
The Government’s Summer Economic Statement sets Budget parameters for 2027: an €8.5 billion package, involving €7 billion above the 2026 expenditure ceiling and €1.5 billion of tax measures. The €1.5bn announced for tax measures likely signals changes to income-tax bands, thereby preventing what is known as ‘fiscal drag’ – when […]
We are witnessing a full-court press of business lobbying against workers’ rights – specifically, for the focus of this article, but against so-called ‘gold-plated’ regulations more generally. Pay Transparency is meant to be legislated for and in place from June by the Government in Dublin. However, they have now said […]
Ireland is experiencing an inflationary slowdown. Forecasts point to growth falling from expectations of near 3% to now 1.6% for 2026. Higher energy prices, alongside the decline in last year’s exports surge, feed that dynamic. Inflation is likely to register at least 3.3% in 2026. There are already signs of […]
It is not uncommon to hear dismissal of trade unions among leftists: too conservative, don’t mobilise enough, too eager to make deals with employers and so on. The issue for Communists is not whether these criticisms are true; it is rather that they miss the point. Unions reflect a market […]
Marx wrote the passage below pointing unions forward, away from narrow sectional interests and towards playing a role within the great push towards socialism underway at the time. In addition to their original tasks, the trade unions must now learn how to act consciously as focal points for organising the […]
SIPTU presents itself as the largest force for organised labour in Ireland. Its scale is cited as proof of strength, of presence, of the collective weight of workers. Yet for many members, especially those in small and medium workplaces, the reality of SIPTU representation is starkly different. Instead of strength, […]
Trade union density in the 26 Counties stands at a stark 22%, with collective bargaining coverage at around 34%. This is a catastrophic decline from the peak of approximately 60% density in the 1980s. Yet, this bleak picture obscures a crucial reality: there is a massive representation gap between actual […]
The trade union movement (TUM) in Ireland is at a crossroads, with union density declining consistently and dramatically for years. It is now hovering around 25%. The age profile is rapidly increasing. The average age of a union member is 48 with 12% union density for under-30s. With these demographic […]
Comrade Gearóid Ó Machail, SIPTU NIDC Workplace Representative and National Executive Committee member of the Communist Party of Ireland, succeeded in having the below resolution passed at the recent NIC-ICTU Biennial Delegates Conference in the Guildhall, Derry. MOTION: This motion calls on ICTU to lead an active campaign to highlight […]
One of Australia’s biggest and most radical construction workers’ unions is on the defensive after being taken under state administration by the ruling Australian Labour Party (ALP). 270 elected leaders of the CMFEU (Construction, Forestry and Maritime Employees Union) have been removed under this administration, barring union leaders from undertaking […]
After a seven-month wait for a Programme of (Mis)Government, the Executive produced vague promises on health and housing, with no specific targets. While easy to criticize the administrative class for incompetence, they are constrained by limited autonomy over fiscal matters, while facing challenges that demand significant investment. A key issue, […]