Unions aren't to blame for crisis
Saturday November 07 2009
Reading yesterday's Irish Independent, one would be forgiven for believing that Jack O'Connor and the trade union movement caused our current economic crisis.
The job of any trade union official is to represent members who pay their salaries.
It is extremely unfair to blame them for acting on the instructions of a rank and file facing a second cut in pay. Ultimately, Jack O Connor and the union officials are doing their job on behalf of union members.
It is a terrible pity that other key figures did not do their job in recent years to avert the economic meltdown.
Chastising the union movement is another easy way of deflecting from the real injustice at play.
The consensus that everything was rosy in the garden has now been replaced with another equally dangerous consensus.
To add insult to injury, the same people who caused the problem are now dictating the solution.
Philomena Doherty
Bray, Co Wicklow
Irish Independent
