The Reds in Nipsa

antrim | miscellaneous | news report Friday December 12, 2003 14:18 by White collar worker

The Reds Get out of their beds

Going around yesterdays strike offering solidarity and all that, I came across a union picket outside the CSA in Great Victoria Street in Belfast. Around thirty people where there although the law says only six are allowed. I was there earlier but walked past as the RTE news crew were there, don’t want the folk’s thinking I am a red. Outside the building we had Davy red Carlin on the mike ‘urging’ people not to go in and the few that did go in met each other around the corner and then huddled together as if in fear with eyes to the ground, then crept past, but not before a branch 8 rep had a ‘talk’ with them and handed leaflets. They were eventually joined by firemen and the red Carmel Gates of NIPSA who were there to ‘show solidarity. They talked of how the delivery vans like the post van did not cross their picket at branch 8, Later at the NIPSA rally Carmel red Gates spoke about that solidarity thing again and I was handed a large leaflet called uncivil worker, a paper for ‘rank and file’ civil servants which was handed out by branch 8 union people and was told how 95% of their 1200 branch did not go in. Outside also I got the time for change leaflet that seemed a very cheap leaflet in comparison to the uncivil worker.

So after showing my solidarity to ‘NIPSA’ workers I went home. Watching the news that night there were three speakers from the union side interviewed on either Ulster TV or the BBC prime time. One was the secretary of NIPSA then came a branch 8 and SWP union man and a few moments later another Branch 8 union man . Then today I opened the Ulster Newsletter and it pictured a union woman screaming holding a NIPSA sign and I remembered that she to was on the steps of Branch 8. So I went up then to pick the leading Nationalist paper the Irish news to see what was on offer there. I opened it up and saw a very large picture of about 20 union people including SWP union people. It was of once again branch 8 but with not all of their faces able to fit in, and in the very middle of the picture, the centre of pride, was Socialist worker. I am also listening to the radio at the minute and who is being interviewed, have a guess. Is this a NIPSA members dispute or have the reds eventually got out of their beds.