PIcket Brings Work To A Halt At Collen Site In UCD.

by Max Tue Feb 21, 2006 11:47

Jees lads looks like there was more fuzz than stickies....

by The Digger Tue Feb 21, 2006 12:26

Is the picket in support of workers from the Belfield area getting preference for jobs on the site? Will this mean that students will be employed as brickies? The SWP are still unclear on their demands - the right of foreign workers to be employed in Ballybrack or on other Collen sites has not been mentioned in the campaign literature. Some of those involved in the campaign want all of the jobs reserved for Dubliners. At the Parnell Square Picket last week some of the crowd were roaring come out you culchies. SWP members present had megaphones but did nothing to counter this.

by Eagle Eyes Tue Feb 21, 2006 12:29

The placards say "Defend Union Rights". That seems clear enough.

by Greek Tue Feb 21, 2006 12:33

In the third picture are the police man-handling you on part of the college campus? (looks like it?)

Academic asylum now!

by Ucd head Tue Feb 21, 2006 12:35

In what was a serious act of repression by Collen and the Gardaí one picketer has been arrested at the UCD Collen site, they've been taken to the Donnybrook station.

Today over 60 Gardaí were at the site at dawn. there were 5 vans, 8 from the traffic corps and even the helicoptor was deployed. They had road blocks set up at the Fosters Ave entrance. Cops were very heavy handed at one point even grabbing a passer-by and escorting them past the picket!

It seems only subbies came to work and that the Collen employees stayed away.

It is highly important that the UCDSU respond to this. They need to mobilise to defend the pickets and also need to put serious pressure on the college authorities to pull the plug on Collen.

by UCD Picket Tue Feb 21, 2006 19:51

Sixty Gardaí were present in Belfield today. They outnumbered the protesters and were able to get the handful of cars into the site. Only two cars of scab workers got in. The other cars were management. So the site was effectively shut and no work was carried out.

The Gardaí were seriously overreacting at the protest today. Despite their numbers they still felt the need to throw in the sly punch or kick at protesters not even near the incoming car. The Gardaí were looking for an arrest all morning and they lifted a protestor before 9am for a trumped up charge. At one stage in the morning there was a minor traffic accident when a cyclist hit a car about 10-20 metres from the picket and not one Garda went to sort it out. It just shows you that the State are only there to protest the interests of big business.

Another lesson from today was that the union bureaucracy left the protesters out on a limb. The disgusting BATU bureaucrats should be fully mobilising thei
r members to keep effective pickets on the Collen sites. Three of their members are in jail. Collen should be shut down. And there should be solidarity stoppages in all other sites where there are BATU members. Anything less is disgusting and will result in a set-back for trade unionism.

Free the Ballybrack 3!
Union Rights on Collen Sites!
Drop all charges against Belfield protester!
Solidarity Action in other sites!
Reject 'partnership' and Reclaim BATU from the bureaucrats!

by anon Tue Feb 21, 2006 20:34

UCD SU promised to find out the pay conditions and union % etc for collen and subs on the site, did they do that too?

by Joey Tue Feb 21, 2006 21:04

is the picket on again tommorrow lads?whats the craic down there?

by Conor.J.McGowan - Irish Socialist Network Tue Feb 21, 2006 23:43

The picket continues tomorrow. The site has been closed down by the picket for 2 days now. There can be no doubt but that this is hitting Collen where it hurts.

by Dave - SWP Tue Feb 21, 2006 23:55

'Local Labour' has never been a demand of the campaign. The original picket in Laurel avenue was called by local building workers and BATU members because the sub conttractors on the sight said they were taking on neither locals nor union members. In Ballybrack, as Collen and the subbies well know, a large proportion of builders, including some veteran militants, are members of BATU. Locals and union members means the same thing to Collen in this context. The men were demanding that Collen consider locals for a proportion of the vacancies arising. They were also demanding that Collen abide by the legally binding agreement, the registered agreement for the construction industry, which states that sub-contractors 'must employ appropriate grades of trade union labour. None of the employees on the laurel avenue site were union members.
The Ballybrack three and their supporters were not asking for anybody to be sacked. They were not commenting on or arguing with anybody elses right to work. They were merely defending their own right to work. They were also demanding that the local community benefit from developmements taking place in their area. There was an agreement in place in Dun laoghire Rathdown that a proportion of local labour be taken on for public contracts. Similiar agreements are in place in Ballymun and South Dublin.This is no more xenophobic than the zapatistas demanding that idigenous people gain from, and have some control over, development in the chiapas.
Incidentally all of the subbies and there employees on the Laurel Avenue site, except one, were Irish.
Clearly the protest has escalated with the Jailing of Billy, Keith and Andrew. It has now moved on to other Collen sites, three of which are now shut down. The forces of the state are being used in full to crush the protest.
The issues at the forefront now are Trade Union Rights and the right to protest. We obviously live in an upside down world If men can be jailed for demanding that laws be adhered to while those that are flagrantly breaking the law are protected by rows and rows of police and the court system.
Collen is a notorious enemy of trade unions. In 2002 they had 17 builders arrested for picketing them over the C45 issue.
On the picket in UCD we are appealing to foreign workers to support the workers and not the bosses. In most cases they are not crossing the picket. Obviously, as in many campaigns, we need to guard against racism. Its not unusual for people to blame those less fortunate than themselves for their problems, particularly in defeat. But racism takes a knock when workers' struggles are victorious.
And I think the vast bulk of those involved in the protests understand that as one speaker on the march in Dun laoghoire put it last saturday migrant worker are 'guests in our country who are being exploited and used to divide the working people against themselves'.
Win or lose for the Ballybrack three we are going to have to pressurise the unions to recruit massively amongst migrant workers.

by Cian - SP Wed Feb 22, 2006 00:47 ComradeCian at eircom dot net Limerick 085-7077919

Free the BATU brickies!
PICKET ALL COLLEN SITES - SHUT THEM DOWN!

Socialist Party leaflet - Available as a PDF http://www.socialistparty.net/pdf/pdfs/free_the_brickies(17-02-06).pdf

Building workers need to make a swift militant response to the challenge thrown down by Collen Construction Ltd and the High Court. BATU members should take on Collen with the same tactics they employed in the past of solidarity action to shut down all Collen sites to force them to lift the High Court injunction and free BATU members - Andrew Clarke, Keith Kelly, and William McClurg.

During the "hey days" of the Celtic Tiger construction workers and in particular BATU members fought for direct employment and for decent wages. The militant tactics employed by BATU members were very successful and played a major role in pushing large numbers of subcontractors off the sites and in getting building workers significant pay increases. This same approach can defeat Collen and send a message to all construction companies and sub-contractors that their campaign to drive down wages and weaken the unions won’t be accepted.

The Socialist Party believes that BATU activists and members need to take hold of and organise this dispute by establishing an organising committee to co-ordinate action to force Collen Construction to lift the High Court injunction. Collen sites at the Municipal Gallery Parnell Square and UCD (Forsters Ave entrance) as well as the site in Ballybrack should be picketed and shut down until the three BATU members are freed from jail.

Militant campaign to force employers back

Construction companies and sub-contractors are trying to take back the gains made by building workers. They are using non-union and migrant labour and are trying to push down the wages of all building workers. The super-exploitation of migrant workers was exposed and defeated at GAMA by a campaign of militant struggle by the Turkish workers with the support of Joe Higgins TD and the Socialist Party. The Socialist Party calls on the construction unions to launch a militant campaign to recruit nonunion Irish and migrant building workers into the unions and to fight to maintain the wage rates and conditions of all building workers.

The jailing of the three BATU bricklayers is the latest in a number of serious attacks on fundamental trade union rights. Witness the strike at Irish Ferries also Dunnes have sacked a shop steward Joanne Delaney for wearing a union badge and now the trade unionists have been jailed for campaigning for jobs.

United Trade Union response needed

There must be a united response from the trade union movement. BATU should be supported by all of the construction unions, in particular SIPTU and also the ICTU. BATU should demand that ICTU immediately impose an all-out picket on all Collen Construction sites. ICTU and some union leaders will say they can’t do this because it is against the law. Anti trade union legislation is being used to assist the bosses in attacking jobs and conditions. They are there to try to prevent union action. These laws must be broken by the trade unions if workers rights are to be defended. The courts would be powerless to enforce their anti-union laws if they were faced down by the might of a united trade union movement.

This dispute centres on a Collen Construction site where they are building houses for Dun Laoghraire / Rathdown County Council. This is another example (like GAMA) of big construction companies being given state contracts and being allowed by the government and local authorities to break the law and union/construction industry agreements.

Oppose Social Partnership

"Social partnership" is a con that’s been used for the last 19 years to increase the profits of big business and stop workers struggling for decent pay and conditions. The Socialist Party is opposed to "social partnership" and believes that trade union activists and members need to get organised to reclaim and transform our unions. We need fighting democratic unions that are prepared to struggle against the "race to the bottom", to protect the wages and conditions of all workers, Irish and migrant. If you are interested in finding out more about how you can get involved in campaigning to transform our unions then contact the Socialist Party.

We demand:

- BATU members should establish an organising committee to co-ordinate the struggle to free the three jailed bricklayers.

- Pickets to be placed on all Collen Construction sites – shut them down until the High Court injunction is lifted and the three workers are freed.

- For a campaign of action to force the replacement of the sub-contractors with trade union labour

- For a united campaign by all construction unions to recruit non-union Irish and migrant building workers. Fight the "race to the bottom".

by picket Wed Feb 22, 2006 13:52

It astounds me how some elements in BATU (ie the right-wingers) are having a go at people that are supporting the workers. So what if there are political groups supporting you? Welcome them! You don't have to agree on all their political programme. I was in UCD last week and this week each morning. The young people there really did a good job in supporting the picket and with building workers put it up to the coppers on the front line with the scabs. Support from outside BATU should be welcomed not sneered at. If this dispute is lost it will not be due to "trots" it will be due to the lack of fight from the right-wingers in the union. "old hand ex-BATU" should F**k off. I didn't see him on any picket.

by UCD SU member Wed Feb 22, 2006 16:21

Garda action against "peaceful and good humoured" protest
Garda action against "peaceful and good humoured" protest
This morning the Gardaí attacked the protest against the jailing of the 3 bricklayers from Ballybrack and for Union rights on Collen building sites.

An Evening Herald photographer was "shoved and struck" by a Garda, "many others fell and were pushed to the ground". One picture in the newspaper shows a protester on the ground being kicked by Gardaí and hit with a placard.

In one attack on protesters a female Garda fell over. The protesters prevented Gardaí from walking over her and injuring her further. In another incident (shown on front page of Evening Herald) a building worker was placed in a head-lock and repeatedly struck by Gardaí including a senior officer (number E14). Other protesters shouted "calm down, clam down" as these Gardaí attacked the man. Knowing they were caught on camera and witnessed by protesters, including a member of South Dublin County Council, the building worker was not arrested and released from the van.

When asked of about the Garda actions Inspector Michael Cleary stated to the Evening Herald "It is necessary..."

All quotes from the Evening Herald (National edition) 22 February 2006.

by Michael R. Wed Feb 22, 2006 16:57

Thanks for that UCD SU member. Delighted these disgraceful actions have been caught by the mainstream media. Hope all protestors (and the female Garada!) are okay. Just yet another example of the gaping need for a police ombudsman which is finally going to be put in place. This will only serve to give publicity and heighten the campaign. Well done to all involved!

by sorry Wed Feb 22, 2006 17:13

Sorry, but this is the evening herald we're talking about here. I read the same article, but it didn't seem like to me that it was portraying it in a very positive light (?) Maybe that's just my own prejudices towards the Evening Herald, I could be wrong.

by Supporter Wed Feb 22, 2006 17:52

You've got to get some cameras and take some pics to show us readers what's going on. You'll get more support too with good photos. Remember, a picture paints a thousand words.

by Gateway Wed Feb 22, 2006 20:01

We can all see those Gardai in the Herald, people must know who they are. If you know the names, stations etc of these Gardai people should publish them here. they should be accountable for their actions.

by righteous pragmatist Wed Feb 22, 2006 20:05

ok ye got your pictures in the paper and a young woman doing an honest day's work got hospitalised.
Happy now?

by picketer Wed Feb 22, 2006 20:32

"Honest days work"!

Are you serious? the cops are essentially acting as private security thugs for Collen. They are using thuggery to smash a protest against an anti union anti worker compnay.

Collen have a string of convictions for unsafe building practices. they refuse to emply union members. Their buildings are badly built (the site in Ballybrack is already having problems with bad foundations and the brickwork in UCD is visably poor!). Collen do not pay pension contributions and many of their foreign wokrers are being paid below the €16 per hour legal registered rate.

How can you call coppers defending this company and beating up protesters and 'honest days work'?!!

in any case the young Gaurd pictured in the Herald today was not assaulted by protesters. I was there and I saw what happened. She was in a second line of cops, she lost her footing and fell. It was other Gardai eager to throw punches and kicks at builders that caused her injuries. In fact it was the protesters that calmed things down and prevented further injury to her.

by One-Eye Thu Feb 23, 2006 14:01

Catch yerselves on here folks! There was no brutality. More handbags really. One wee 'Asbo' got over excited and got nicked. Then he had the temerity to wriggle out of the headlock placed on him by the Sgt. Sgt then loses the head and hits young fella a sly dig. Was challenged by picketers about it but denied it. Came back to deny it again and was told it had been witnessed and photographed by the boy from the Herald. Hey presto! Asbo immediately released. Most brickies and guards were chatting and havin the craic with each other - in between scrums marking the arrival of scabs. It resembled a pantomime much more than a battlefield.

by One-Eye Thu Feb 23, 2006 14:06

Elsewhere on this site there are a rake of pictures of last weeks march to the Joy. Funnily none of these pictures show either the large Sinn Fein banner or numerous SF placards that were on the march. Funny that...

by Two-Eye Thu Feb 23, 2006 15:24

"One-Eye" may be an appropriate name as he's probably only looking through one-eye on Wednesday!

Yes, some Gardaí were not brutes. They held protesters back and did not add sly digs and kicks. But most were aggressive and were looking for an excuse to attack protesters. I remember when I was not even near an incoming vehicle and two Gardaí were hyped up on aggression and were pushing me and another onto the road even though we caused no obstruction. I particularly remember Garda E177 as a hothead brute. Garda E177 will have to watch himself if he continues that attitude in his Garda career as someday he'll meet his match.

The person attacked by the Sargent E14 was not an "asbo". 'One-eye' could even be a Garda for having that attitude towards members of the public. I think that E14 realised how wrong he was. As soon as he assualted and punched the protester he was photographed. He was told to "calm down" by witnesses and continued his aggression. Afterwards he was told all was caught on camera. All was witnessed, including being witnessed by an elected public rep. It was great seeing E14 scared. He was so scared he released the protester.

by Hardhat - BATU Thu Feb 23, 2006 18:33

You have One eye wrong , " L'il Asbo" is the nickname some brickies have given to the protester involved, he's a young bricklayer that we know .Don't be so touchy for jaysus sake!

by protester Sat Feb 25, 2006 21:46

i was protesting in ucd with the rest of me work mates for our future jobs and rights. i think its disgraceful that all these students jumped on the band wagon. they were the ones who caused the aggression. i remember one tall lad with short trousers standing back but shouting "get stuck in lads, get them". the swp were the same, a disgrace. this was wrong and the nerd should have stayed in class! keep away in future. its good to see our workmates out!!!!

by One-Eye Tue Feb 28, 2006 14:00

I've been called some things in my time but a Guard? By the way the person remonstrating with Sgt E14, and who embarrassed him into released Asbo WAS ME. And another thing, I can guarantee you that the young brickie involved is called worse things than asbo every day before breakfast time - and thats just by his mates! If you'd spent some time grafting on Sites instead of protesting at them you would know builders have to have a thick skin and be able to take some stick. And pl- eeeeease dont try and tell me you are a hard-hat. No builder would EVER use a phrase like 'hateful brute' - not unless he was takin the piss

by One-Eye Tue Feb 28, 2006 14:03

sorry that phrase 'hateful brute' should read 'hothead brute' - which funny enough describes most of my workmates