One of the key principles underpinning anarchist politics and philosophy is that of
self-organisation. And one of the key principles underpinning self-organisation is the
belief that it is by doing that people learn. ---- Very few people come to radical
politics through what they read or through ?education? in the traditional sense. It is
usually through becoming involved in a struggle that directly affects themselves and their
neighbours/work colleagues that most people come to see the power structures of society
and begin a process of analysis of how society operates and how it needs to change if the
needs of ordinary people are to be met. ---- It is for this reason that anarchists put a
great deal of our time into supporting and encouraging people who get involved in what
often appear to the wider world as rather small struggles. But sometimes ?small?
struggles have a much wider impact ? not just on those involved but on wider political
trends and moves towards change. Indeed for those directly involved, there is really no
such thing as a ?small? struggle. Any conflict in which someone stands up to a boss has
deep implications for one?s stress levels and one?s bank balance. And any conflict which
ends in even a partial victory has a deep and lasting effect on the morale and political
views of those directly involved. The corollary, of course, is also true. Any conflict
which ends in defeat can have a negative impact on both the morale and political views of
the protagonists.
We decided to chat to some of the participants in two of these ?smaller? struggles that
took place in Dublin in the late spring/early summer of 2014. One of these both lasted
longer and is better known than the other. The Paris Bakery occupation involved 25
migrant workers who occupied their former workplace for nearly 3 weeks when it was closed
down suddenly owing the workers ?158,000 in wages and entitlements between them.
Through the direct action of occupying the premises, through effective use of social media
and through innovative tactics such as picketing the home of one of the owners, these
workers and their supporters managed to highlight what has long been a glaring inequality
in the law ? the fact that if a company closes but is not wound up the staff have no
access to the state?s Insolvency Fund. Their case struck a chord with many people because
the sight of young migrant workers being exploited and left unpaid is nothing new in the
restaurant and catering industry. But the sight of those workers uniting and fighting
back is one that has almost disappeared from our view in recent times.
By standing together these workers forced the state (in the form of the Revenue
Commissioners) to take a court action to put the company into liquidation, thus allowing
them access to the state?s Insolvency Fund. They also once again highlighted the loophole
in the law (previously highlighted in the Vita Cortex occupation) that has left previous
groups of workers high and dry in similar circumstances. And hopefully brought the
closing of that loophole closer.
The second case involved a number of English language teachers at EF Language school who
were threatened with pay cuts, organised themselves, threatened a strike, organised a
lunchtime picket (which was cancelled because management had conceded before it) and
managed to extract a reversal of the pay cut within the short period of a couple of days.
What these two campaigns/issues had in common was the fact that the workers were mostly
young and in sectors that are for the most part unorganised and experience a lot of
precarious employment. What they also had in common was the fact that both sets of
workers were lucky in the contacts they made very early in their struggles ? in the
lessons those contacts brought with them from previous struggles and the advice they were
therefore able to give.
As is increasingly common, especially in private sector employments based mainly on
precarious labour, most of the workers in both these struggles were not unionised. In the
case of the Paris Bakery, one worker was a member of a union, and they approached the
Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland for advice and support. The EF Language teachers joined
the Independent Workers Union en masse at the onset of their dispute.
So what about the theory that it is from small acorns that large oak trees grow ? that
involvement in ?small? struggles has profound impacts on those involved, changes people?s
perspectives and ultimately has the potential to change the world!! We interviewed two
people directly involved in each of the struggles, and we?ll let them speak for themselves.
Paris Bakery
IAR: Please give a brief background to the way in which the occupation began ? how the
decision was made to occupy etc.
Eduard: Well the decision to occupy this place came up as the owner tried to get the
equipment out of the premises and close the restaurant without paying the workers for the
job they have done for over two months
Anissa: A few of us hadn?t been paid for 2-3 months. The reason it was so long was
because we were paid on a monthly basis and the wages had been accumulating from January
on. We were promised money on Monday 19th May and when we didn?t get the amount promised
we decided that we should all stand up together and ask for the money we were owed. We
talked about it on Tuesday for the next day. On Wednesday we were all in front of the
bakery at 9 am. We were told that morning that there was an electricity problem and at
around 9:45, when the problem was fixed, Steven Cunningham the operations manager opened
the shutter. But he straight away locked us out when he saw all of us gathered with Billy
Wall (general secretary of OPATSI ? Operative Plasterers and Allied Trades Society of
Ireland). On Friday 21st May we learned that the owner, Yannick Forel, was removing
assets from the premises. Immediately we went to the bakery accompanied by representatives
of the MRCI (Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland) and some trade union reps and we decided
that we were not going to move till we got paid.
IAR: What was your knowledge of trade unions in Ireland and/or Irish labour law before
the occupation began?
Eduard: I had no knowledge whatsoever about trade unions or the Migrant Rights Centre. I
guess we got lucky as one of my co-workers was a member of a trade union. That was how I
started to realise the advantage and the power they can bring to fight for the right cause.
Anissa: I have to say that I had no knowledge whatsoever about trade unions and even less
about the loophole in the Irish law. I didn?t know in the 6 years that I have worked in
Ireland that there were no laws to protect taxpayers like me.
IAR: Have you ever been involved in anything similar to this before? Were you involved in
any political campaign either here in Ireland Or in your home country?
Eduard: No, I have not. This was the first time I have ever been involved in such a
campaign, which until today it is hard to believe that we actually won the fight (well,
half of it).
Anissa: NO. Politics and I are like water and oil.
IAR: How did the occupation work in practice? How did the workers make decisions as to how
to proceed? What role did supporters have in relation to your decision making?
Eduard: The supporters were great, that?s how we were motivated to work through all the
difficulties and move ahead, to find solutions to get to our goal. We were getting a lot
of advice from the supporters which we analysed along with trade union and MRCI members.
Anissa: We mainly made decisions in groups. In the beginning it was like nobody knew how
to proceed to the next step. None of us had any experience in that sort of thing. Of
course sometimes there were tensions on certain matters, but I think respect for each
other was the fact that kept us going and made us stay united.
IAR: How did the cultural and language diversity of the group of workers impact on how you
were all able to work together in the occupation and make decisions?
Eduard: I believe that the cultural and language diversity that we have had nothing to do
with our common problem, and that?s why everyone forgot about their diversity and focused
on one thing - get the wages we have earned. As long as we all have the same interest,
the background does not matter.
Anissa: Well the language and cultural diversity didn?t really matter a lot here because
we all had a particular goal which was getting the money and staying strong. I think this
kind of answers the question about how we worked together and made decisions. We had a lot
of respect for each other.
IAR: What impact do you think being involved in this occupation has had on your views of
trade unions/political campaigning? Would you be more inclined to get involved in future
campaigns or lend your support to workers in similar circumstances?
Eduard: It had a direct impact on my views and I will certainly be willing to join
further similar campaigns to help others.
Anissa: The impact was huge. I just happen to see things from such a different point of
view. Now I want to be an active supporter to people in need and people fighting for the
right cause. You don?t know it but anybody can be hit someday. I know for a fact that I
will be involved again because I want to give my support back to other people. Last
Friday I was in front of a construction site in Abbey Street supporting some of the
workers to get better working conditions.
IAR: What impact did the supporters have on your ability to keep the occupation going?
Eduard: Our supporters kept us confident that we were actually doing the right thing, that
we were on the right track.
Anissa: We wouldn?t have reached that far without our supporters. Food, money, toiletries,
sleeping over, ideas etc.. Without them we wouldn?t have made it. Thinking about the
supporters still and what they did for us was just amazing. There?s so much to say about
them and a very special thanks goes to Deirdre O?Shea and Con.
IAR: Anything else you'd like to say?
Eduard: I would like to say my favourite quote ? ?BEING A MEMBER OF TRADE UNION, IT'S LIKE
HAVING A WEAPON IN YOUR POCKET?.
Anissa: Well, first thing Believe in yourself. Never give up no matter what, you have to
stand up for yourself and for your rights. Don?t be scared of doing so because trust me
you will be amazed to know how many people will come and support you in a bad situation.
Never let people treat you unfairly and it?s very important for all workers out there to
join a Union and know your rights and entitlements. And the most important thing - remain
united even when morale is low. ?United we stand, Divided we Fall?.
EF Language School
IAR: Please give a brief background to the way in which the dispute began
B: The dispute began after the management conducted individual meetings with all the
teaching staff on temporary contracts to inform us of wage cuts coming in in a couple of
weeks. We had also received an email the previous week to inform us that there would be
fewer working hours as student numbers were down. After everyone had been informed, we
spoke amongst ourselves and, along with a letter expressing our feelings of unhappiness,
requested a group meeting with the management. We also joined the Independent Workers
Union. After our request was denied, we took further action, issued strike notice and
planned a lunchtime protest.
A: All of the teachers were sent an email to invite us to meetings with our bosses. We
were called in one by one to be told our pay was going to be cut by 10% or 15% depending
on our current rate. We were told that this was because of a fall in business from
Venezuela. We all decided not to accept the pay cut and then the process of resisting it
began.
IAR: What was your knowledge of trade unions in Ireland and/or Irish labour law before the
dispute began?
B: I didn't have much knowledge before the dispute so it was very much a learning
experience for me. Thankfully, some of the other teachers had better knowledge and we
also got a lot of useful help and information from our union.
A: I didn't have much knowledge of trade unions in Ireland. Most of what I knew about
Irish labour law was from friends advising me when I'd had a previous dispute with this
company over bank holiday pay.
IAR: Were you ever involved in anything similar to this before? Were you involved in any
political campaign either here in Ireland or in any other country?
B: No, I've never been involved in anything like this before.
A: I've been involved in a number of political campaigns. Last year I was active in the
'Justice for Cleaners' campaign in University of London where I was a student.
IAR: How did the struggle develop in practice? How did the workers make decisions as to
how to proceed? What role did union officials or supporters have in relation to your
decision making?
B: All the teachers kept in constant contact during the dispute. We had a text group,
emails and we also had daily meetings at lunch and break times. We made decisions as a
group and made sure that everyone was happy with whatever decisions we made before
proceeding with them. Our union representative helped a lot too and attended one of the
group meetings (after management agreed to meet us as a group) in an advisory capacity.
As the school refused to recognise our union he was not allowed to take an active role in
the meeting.
A: Every action was done collectively. Every communication from us to management was in
the form of a letter signed by all of us. Our first act was to refuse to do any more
meetings alone and to call for a meeting between management and all of the teachers.
Management continued to respond to our (numerous) letters with individual emails and asked
us to communicate by sending an email from one person. We responded with a jointly signed
letter to say that would not be possible. The union officials made it very clear from the
beginning and throughout the process that decision making was in our hands and that they
were there to help us to carry out our own decisions. They emphasised the importance of
all of us being on the same page.
IAR: What impact do you think being involved in this struggle has had on your views of
trade unions/political campaigning?
B: I would definitely have more knowledge about trade unions and how to go about
organising people and meetings now than before. I would also be more inclined to support
people who are in trade disputes and pay more attention to them in the news as I
understand more about them now. As for my political views, they haven't changed much. A
group was set up to help with people in similar situation, like the students whose schools
closed down but I am not sure that a whole lot was done to help them.
A: This struggle made me believe more in the power of trade unions and realise how
essential it is to be a member of a union.
IAR: Would you be more inclined to get involved in future campaigns or lend your support
to workers in similar circumstances?
B: Yes, I would.
A: Yes.
IAR: What impact did support from outside your own workforce have on your ability to keep
the struggle going?
B: We could see that lots of people were supporting us, through our Facebook group and by
organising the protest. Although the protest was cancelled, many people had planned to
support us. It was good to know we had support.
A: I don't know about for other staff, but for me the support from outside helped keep me
going and believe in us when it was getting tough. It was also important to us to feel
like we could mobilise a big enough crowd to protest if we needed to.
IAR: Anything else you'd like to say?
B: Hope that's ok!
A: I had hoped that we would build on our success and unionise more teachers and maybe
even start a campaign against zero hours contracts - which would be a campaign very
grounded in the experiences of workers. At the time of our struggle my colleagues were
all saying they were well up for that. Since then I've tried a number of times to get
people to meet and talk about it, and eventually just set a time for a meeting but no one
came. This has been bothering me for a while because I really felt a responsibility to
build on the momentum we had and thought it was a perfect situation to build a workers?
struggle, so I really think I've failed there.
Also during the struggle I really tried to make the organising horizontal and make it a
team effort that was democratic and transparent and empowering people through involvement.
But that wasn't really what transpired.
When I lived in London last year most of my activism was in the Justice for Cleaners / 3
cosas campaigns at my university. That was my only experience organising in a workers?
struggle. I think that one of the things that made that successful was that all of the
cleaners were from Latin American countries that had had left wing leadership that they
all felt they benefited from, and most of them were activists outside of this campaign,
and before they'd arrived in the UK.
So basically I don't feel that what I learned was that, if capital pushes labour to a
critical point then the workers have the capacity to self organise and respond and win,
and will be politicised and want to build on that (which had been my previous view). But
I did learn about the real power of collective organising and that's a message I'd like to
spread.
WSM - Irish Anarchist Review #10 by Gregor Kerr
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