The IRSP in Dublin today joined with workers in a demonstration at the offices of the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) organised by the Construction Workers Action Group (CWAG). This was to state our opposition against the recent court ruling which ruled that the SEO Rates of Pay for construction workers did not stand, and that contractors could drive down wages.
Construction workers, like all workers, have long been victims of exploitation. Construction workers face dangerous tasks, dangerous conditions, long hours and serious health risks, and provide a service to society of the utmost importance. Yet each year many workers still struggle to make ends meet. This is unlike the employers and corporate entities which carry millions away from the construction industry.
Despite this these corporations and employers who sit back and line their pockets from the labour of others are still unhappy with the meagre sum that workers obtain. They want to pay us the least amount of money for endless work. But, as the recent pandemic has demonstrated, they need us, we do not need them, society needs workers, it does not need parasites.
It is high time that the workers of Ireland took a stand, as we face attacks on rates of pay and conditions, and an oncoming economic crisis for which workers will be expected to carry the can. Workers standing together is the only way to remind these exploiters that we are where the power lies.
