Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
UK TRADE UNIONIST Mick Lynch has told a crowd of workers and activists in Belfast that the “ultra right” is causing division during the cost-of-living crisis, and it should be resisted.
He also praised unions across Northern Ireland that had taken industrial action in recent months, and called for the trade union movement to begin in every town and county, saying that people were “ready for change”.
The general secretary of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) said he has received a “tremendous” welcome as he met and marched with activists and trade unions through Belfast.
Lynch rose to prominence last summer following a series of media interviews about a rail workers’ strike held in the UK in a long-running dispute over pay and conditions.
The trade union leader, whose father left Cork city in 1941 to travel to Britain to work, and whose mother is from Co Armagh, addressed a rally gathered at Belfast City Hall today.
Addressing trade union groups including Unison, Nipsa, Unite and the Northern Ireland Teachers Council, who have all taken industrial action in recent months, Lynch said that the values of the trade union movement “are back on the agenda”.
He said that nurses in Britain “are on the move” towards industrial action following on from strikes by nurses in Northern Ireland, which was met with applause.
“The trade unionists on this island are the salt of the earth, and they’ve kept the movement going through thick and thin, through all the struggles that you’ve had, the struggles for peace and justice and democracy.
“It’s been the trade unions that have kept our spirits alive, that have kept this movement going, bringing all of our people together, no matter what their heritage, no matter what their background, and we have to keep doing it.
“Because we know what’s being said: the ultra right are going to exploit division.
“They’re seeking to do it in the south, they’re seeking to do it up here.
“They’re seeking to do it in England.”
He said that “open Nazis are trying to divide our people one from another”, by “trying to blame some of the poorest people in the world for our problems over here”.
“We cannot allow that to happen,” he said.
He warned against authorities using global crises for denying workers better pay and conditions.
“They can dress it up wherever they want, they can blame it on the pandemic.
“They can blame it on the economy.
“Now they’re blaming it on a war in eastern Europe.
“What is to blame is capitalism, exploitation, the deliberate creation of poverty so that they can enrich themselves and we’ve got to stand up to that.”
As trade union members gathered in Writers’ Square ahead of the march through Belfast, Lynch was asked to pose for pictures and selfies with workers bearing various trade union banners.
He was given a small bust of the founder of the 1916 leader James Connolly, a book about the history of trade unions in Ireland and pinned a University and College Union badge given to him to his jacket.
As he began to address, he praised the prominence of women in Northern Ireland in the trade union movement, after the crowd was addressed by leaders including Unison’s Patricia McKeowan and Unite’s Susan Fitzgerald.
ICTU assistant general secretary Gerry Murphy said Lynch was addressing the May Day march as “every trade unionist across these islands, and many outside our movement, have been inspired and encouraged by the wisdom and clarity offered” by Lynch.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Not even close to being back to 2019 prices. And cynically they reduce the prices after we come out of the worst part of winter. Total BS.
@Daithí O’Gruagáin: So even when prices go down you whinge?
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: There you go again, if you’re not praising our Scrote population, you’re siding with the ESB who has been ripping us off for years, you really are a gullible tool.
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: We’re right to whinge, the ESB is 95% government-owned, the second oil and gas prices go up their prices go up, making a fortune, but when the prices go down, they throw whatever BS at us “transport costs, inflation, wholesale prices or whatever BS”
@Sean O’Dhubhghaill: yea…just cause you are happy with the crumbs from their table doesn’t mean everyone else is.
“But Cassidy also said that even with these new price cuts, Electric Ireland’s electricity prices remain “around 85% above where they were in 2020 before Covid… while its gas prices are still over double previous levels”.
Even with these reductions , people will still struggle to cope with the mental bills that drop through the letterbox, just trying to stay alive and no help with gas bills from the government.
@Eileen Kelly: Only about half of households in Ireland use gas powered central heating so it would be very difficult to devise a gas credit scheme that treats all households equally. Nearly 100% of households have an electricity connection though – this is why the government credits were applied only to electricity.
@Kevin Collins: I do not know how to devise a scheme to treat all households equally but around 90% of homes use gas/oil/electricity to run their heating systems with the remainder using solid fuels/other. Surely as the government told us , a tax on profits of energy providers could be applied and returned to customers. Other fuel allowance schemes apply on the basis of income/age etc but for those who do not qualify then keeping warm is a struggle, should we do nothing to help those in this unenviable position. Keeping warm is a basic necessity and monstrous bills which keep coming are so stressful, energy poverty is a real and hidden issue. The society of SV de P said there was an increase of 135% in 2022 of people who were unable to heat their homes adequately, surely there is something that can be done to alleviate this hardship?
@Eileen Kelly: Also bringing in the decrease on 1st March, squeezing as much as they can out of people in the coldest months for gas customers.
Why were the allowed raise it so much in the first place?…don’t we have a regulator?…raised because of the war…hmmm….lowering and the war still on????
@Spartacus Ireland: hmmm maybe because the price of oil and gas are out of our control. We are not an oil producing country. If ships cannot get through the Red Sea & suez, you can expect a lot more price hikes
@David Glynn: If you look up the prices in the past which is very easy to find, you will find that a barrel of oil in 2018 was $71. Not much different from where it is today.
There has to be other things afoot, to cause these prices, maybe gouging.
As for regulators, they don’t work. If you go far enough back to find out how the electricity regulator was set up, you will find out that most of their regulations were devised with the help of the old ESB. They after all, were the only ones who knew how things worked.
@David Glynn: maybe you should check again about Ireland being an oil producing country. As far as I remember we have gas fields but the government leased the rights to Norway. I could be wrong but last time I checked it was like that.
@Donal Ronan: What has oil prices got to do with Gas and Electricity prices?!?!
@another one? what’s going on is the semi state sec: If the wind doesn’t blow, like today and the sun doesn’t shine which it is today. The only thing that generates electricity at the moment is fossil fuel or nuclear. We have a small turbine in Ardnacrusha. Nothing else.
@Donal Ronan: yeah, but what has OIL PRICES got to do with the price of gas and electricity being charged by our providers?!?! Excluding wind and sun generated electricity, natural gas is mostly used to generate our electricity. Gas isn’t derived from oil and only a tiny tiny bit of oil is used in electricity generation. Your referral to oil prices has nothing really to do with gas or electricity prices, bar maybe operating costs using petrol or diesel by the suppliers fleet of vehicles. But as for the actual generation of electricity and gas, oil prices have negligible bearing. I think you should be referring to the increase in wholesale gas prices which have caused suppliers prices to go up! It too has come down.
@Spartacus Ireland: A regulator! I love a bit of humour on a cold day.
Always late to pass on the savings just after the massive Christmas bills. Still not as good as others with discount offers (14%) others offering 20% (SSE) .. Bonkers.ie a great comparison site.
The ESB had an operating profit of €676 million (m) for the first six months of 2023, an increase of over €300m on the same period in 2022. Electric Ireland is a subsidiary of ESB Group, which is 95% owned by Irish Goverment and 5% by the employees.
@Temp Stuff: how much of those profits came from the Electric Ireland subsidiary?
@John Doe: doesn’t make a difference, the Irish government can influence energy prices for the public by affording to lower Electric Irelands prices creating a price war.
@John Doe: government can afford to create a price war for its citizens
Thats not even a drop in the ocean, prices should be back to before covid, wars and every other excuse was churned out for price increases. Also the prices need to be dropped by the end of this month at the latest when people need to use electricity more in the winter time….On a seperate note have the aliens managed to drop back the energy regulator or are they on the mother ship with the financial regulator after they went missing in 2006
@Tom Newell: You forgot to include the greed factor. The main reason for price rises over the last few years.
Why not straight away or end of January when increasing happens its within a week or 2
Ridiculous!, it’s baltic outside. Why not cut prices now.
@Dave Barrett: because it’s still winter and you will use more electricity to keep u house warm and they can make more money
@Ní neart go cur le chéile.: You gotta feel for those that were hoodwinked into getting het pumps.
The government are looking into it
@noel donohue: lessons learned?
Fleecing everybody for two years then give us 1% back?
Gee thanks ESB, The regulator, FFG and Electric Ireland, we’re super grateful!
@Dave Grant: Electric Ireland is not our new best friend, this time last year they gave a 10% reduction on bills to business customers and refused to pass the reduction on to households. All the cheer leading by government ministers today but not a single piece of legislation ( as promised) to introduce taxes on profits of energy providers, I can hear silence on this issue.
We are still being ripped off
About time.
Is there any chance that Dunnes Stores would stop putting my instant coffee price up?…. They’ve doubled the price since Covid!!!
And with the government’s push on air to water heating systems, household electricity costs are through the roof..
@Dano Morrissey: and you think gas is cheaper? It’s cost me nearly 1 euro on hour to use the boiler
@Martin Mongan: They are supposed to be energy efficient!!! And they are not.. everything in my new house runs off a pump, except the kitchen tap.. we have to pay to pee in the toilet in our A3 enerrgy rated home.. How’s that for efficiency??
All electric bills should be coming down as our reliance on fossil fuels decrease until eventually the Irish people in Ireland get free electricity when the country becomes carbon neutral and even more eventually the Irish people get paid a percentage as we become a net exporter of electricity.
As payment for all the wind farms , solar farms etc
@Colm Molloy: Renewable sources of energy cost more, otherwise no one would be using fossil fuels. Without subsidies and favorable market rules, most renewable generation wouldn’t even exist.
Well done electric Ireland and a great help to all the families with an average of €12 on a electric bill…..huh!, what about the millions you made while pensioners were afraid to turn on the heating, a load of blah blah
gaza wiped, million displaced, no water, electricity, food, medicine, SILENCE!!..
10.000 children murdered..
100+ journalists killed, no outrage, I guess they are not journalist enough..
23.000+ butchered.. and continuing……!!! no videos images of the atrocities… 1000 dead, it’s a massacre..! what do you call 23.000+ kids women murdered???!!!
@Bass Boss: Free Gaza from Hamas
@Shane Kinsella (Kinsey): Why? Israeli terrorism was in existence long before the foundation of Hamas .
Nothing but a PR exercise by energy companies. We’re supposed to be grateful for the crumbs being offered, while prices are still 85% above what they should be. So much for the promise of cheap electricity from wind generators. In my opinion the biggest wind generator is E. Ryan himself
Ripped off again.
Let’s unsanitize that sentence shall we? Prices have risen because of the sanctions put on Russia, the EU decision not to buy gas from Russia anymore and the destruction of a Nordstream pipeline. A different approach (EU wide) could also have been considered, causing less problems for EU citizens.
Still 85% more expensive than 2020 fooling no one
This is post is the definition of gaslighting.
Electric Ireland are the worst provider to deal with. No genuine price reductions of any great scale and when you ask them which of their plans are better for your energy usage their response is & I quote “it’s not for us to advise you how to reduce your energy consumption” I thought the whole reason the greens and the government gave these companies carte blanche with supplying our energy was because they could do it in a more sustainable way for the user & the environment. On the contrary is the reality!
Why March when the summer is here why can’t it be done this week when needed
Are they still charging extra between 5 and 7 pm ?
@HisMastersAlibi: Yes. Because, just like the airlines at holiday time, 5pm and 7pm are peak times and ideal opportunity to screw the customers who have to use electricity between these hours.
Keep going
@Shane O Mac: dont stop now
And let’s not forget that wars bring suffering AND profiteering.
About Time! They have gouged us for long enough!!
Rocket and feather economics…
Great news!!! Considering the price hikes were allegedly on account of Russia -Ukraine war, supply issues, pipeline problems, blah blah blah … That surely means Electricity Ireland know something we don’t: end of all worldwide conflicts, problems starting on 1 March.
Yay!
Good news. Better down than up or maintained.
LOL
They are some jokers. A tiny decrease at the end of the winter having doubled prices even though wholesale prices have tumbled. They talk about hedging etc. and yet were making record profits. So how can that be anything other than using a war as an excuse to profiteer? Yet it’s being described in some media outlets as a ‘full scale price war’. Don’t make me laugh.
Everyone blames the Govt when the prices go up, but no one mentions them when they go down. One way responsibility eh.
have your say