This is make or break for a lot of unions / rep-bodies. If they fold on this there will be revolt for sure.

I hope you were on the bus…he certainly was not !!

Michael
Why do you hope David was on a bus? Is he not entitled to be in a car or on a bike or a motorbike or in a truck etc? Is the Trade Union Movement insisting we all travel by bus?

Howlin picked him up.
They went peasant shooting in the country.

Little Jim : I nearly got a fit laughing ?
Did the peasants shoot back?

No yapping, and vote one in? sorry but our great country has banned the use of the term ” ordinary joe soap” not PC dear Rose, you could face jail time for that,

Unions aren’t finished. Finally, union members have woken up to the fact that their unions don’t represent them how they should and there is likely to be a change coming but they certainly aren’t finished.

Unions aren’t finished, the same way politics isn’t finished..
We just need a far better calibre of people leading, people who will take personal pain for the wider good of all that they represent.

Yawn

Awwhh. You tired from pounding pavements?

@the heathen

laughing my liathroidi off……………………nice one

LOL! Nearly had a pee haemorrage myself……

These Union Organisers are mere leeches on the backs of workers and now trying to show they’re worth their high salaries by making inflammatory remarks against the “bosses”. They clearly wouldn’t qualify for a real job if it jumped up and bit them!

Go tell a Syrian or a North Korean that a public sector pay deal is fascist and watch their reaction.

No “deal” here David. Just cuts upon cuts for ordinary people and the services they require.

“Awwhh. You tired from pounding pavements?”

roflmao……..that has to be the comment of the year…………..great laugh

“Go tell a Syrian or a North Korean that a public sector pay deal is fascist and watch their reaction.”

What deal david, the one your party just broke?

What does it say about your dear leader when you have to keep mentioning north korea in comparison? Is “Enda Kenny 2016: Not as bad as Kim Jong Un” Fine Gaels official election slogan now??

You can’t just pin that statement on FG every party in this sad country of ours is guilty of doing that.

I note that John murphy isn’t here………

he must be too busy saving the country……………..

Thank you David Higgins for that enlightening and artful insight. Once again you have used a perfectly appropriate analogy that the little people can relate to. Thank you so much.

Said

no one

EVER.

Werejamin, are you seriously implying that a government cannot comment on a serious issue such as this because trades unionists are about to vote ? Change your tablets.

I think if you check a dictionary, “subversion” and “comment” are completely unrelated definitions

I hope he is not pounding the pavements since Leo Varadkar has come out and admitted that we cant afford to repair them, or the minor roads or any other bits of our infrastructure that our Oligarchs don’t need when gadding about the place crapping on us.

@pat-Good man. Always here to tell us what the problems are. Country needs more people like you, Pat. We don’t have enough whingers telling us how it’s not right that we are where we are. We need more people like you, Pat…people incapable of thinking back all of two years, incapable of putting blame at the feet of those actually responsible, opting instead to blame those who are trying to fix it and failing to recognise the progress that has been made. If only there were more like you, Pat. You’re an inspiration.

@ David Higgins.
I only hope your aspirations get you as far as being on a ballot paper one day.. Then when you get fu*k all votes due to your arrogant pompous attitude we can all revel while thinking.
Told you so.

Kevin, just wondering – how long will it be before it becomes FG’s responsibility to clean up the mess? Is there any chance we could withhold their salaries until that point? (because I thought that was what the last election was all about)

@censored- it became their responsibility 2 years ago. But the blame will forever be Fianna Fáil. So far they’ve reduced the interest rate we pay, extended repayment schedules, reduced the overall cost of repayment, they’ve reduced Ireland’s cost of borrowing on the open financial markets, succeeded on getting us back onto the financial markets , restored our reputation, made Ireland one of the few economies in growth in the EU, stabilised unemployment and by the end of this year will have restored our economic sovereignty and sent the Troika packing. Now you won’t acknowledge that, of course but its not my fault you’re blinkered, nor is it my fault that you live in a land of make believe where the enormous problems this Government inherited could be waved away by a magic wand. What can I say? You just need to grow up and stop believing in fairytales.

So you admit that FG election promises were fairytales?

(like your other points)

@censored- blinded, blinkered & unable to contradict me. What a shock. Funny. Most people are embarrassed by ignorance. Not proud.

Reduced the overall cost to the country??? How is turning a €27 billion illegal debt which this government turned into a €68billion sovereign debt, reducing the overall cost???? Please please explain.

Cannot touch the farmers? Government supports to ag were axed in the 2008 budget. The only money we get now is from the eu. And that is justified as they are limiting our production to its 1983 level. Leave the farmers alone when we aren’t on the nations pay bill.

What? you are joking now, come on.

Jim – maybe you should wait for those stories to come up or submit a column yourself?

I don’t think there are many who are fed up with union bashing, let’s be honest….

Oh No, Tony, I will wait in the corner and wait until bloody permission to speak has been granted, Can I comment on the clergy or is that taboo, maybe HRH, or is that to bloody PC.. Maybe I should do a column myself, Oh the state censor would not allow it, you may have the entity of Kerry with the Father and Son protesting. What a bloody country. Enjoy

Well done Jim, you’ve quoted me verbatim there…

Kelly did not close the glass. Supporting royal doultan and the like closed the glass factory. You sound like a 1990 scab.

The unions destroyed Waterford Crystal hand in glove with the inept management.

I’m glad you brought that up. It’s kind-of interesting to reflect on it at the present time.

No they didn’t. Far from it infact. They gave all they could, redeployment, redundancy, blowers and cutters giving up their crafts, shift patterns, accepting technology, lower wages, absorbing the closure of dungarvan into kilbarry. The union struggled for years to keep kilbarry open, it was still viable on the day the receiver shut the gate, it was infact propping up the whole wedgewood group till the day it closed. The company bleed kilbarry dry to fix the fatally holed wedgewood group. Know what your talking about the next time

How do you know I don’t know what I’m talking about? The fact is that the weak management in Waterford kowtowed to the unions for years. They didn’t do what they were supposed to do – lead the company to a viable future. Waterford should be one of the great success stories on this island. Instead it was bled dry. In your own words the unions “accepted” technology. Wow! That’s the way to compete alright.

Accepted technology along with getting rid of the craft. Everything was made on blowing machines, accepting technology while not saving the craft. Blowers and cutters redeployed onto machines off the blowing platform and cutting benches. Lower wages, shift patterns. It’s not just about modernisation, there is a human factor

@Kevin, I never said who is to blame but I seem to have touched a nerve!
Varadkar is one of my favourites actually because he is one of very few that calls it as he sees it. That’s what I’m inclined to do myself. Anyone that does’nt like it can put back on their rose-tinted glasses and pretend it will all sort itself out if we would just be good little drones and wait for the second coming…..

In the bloody pits, not many helicopters in Galway this year, must be all the farmers kids going to Uni free, but again, we could state the action has been noted???

Well said. But the turkeys just keep voting for Christmas.