Ireland 2005 - Workers as Animals

national | anti-war / imperialism | opinion/analysis

Monday November 07, 2005 20:08

by Ciarán

Dump them when you can be bothered to look after them

Latvian workers greviously abused at the weekend in Skerries, Co. Dublin.

If Gama wasn't bad enough; if Irish Ferries still leaves you unconvinced of the darkness at the heart of Irish business, today's news from Skerries, Co. Dublin should leave you in no doubt.

In brief, 15 Latvian workers were left on Colt Island off the coast of Skerries, by their employer, to collect shellfish. When their employer was due to pick them up at the end of their days work he/she found out the boat meant to collect them wasn't working.

What happened next? Well I'll give the IBEC/ISME/FF/PD/SFA fantasy version of events first. Our esteemed employer spent hours frantically trying to arrange for some other boat to go and collect the Latvian workers. As a good "entrepreneur" and model citizen, he/she knew that as we need migrant workers to do the shitty jobs no one else wants he/she would have make sure they were looked after and collected safely and returned home.

Eh, no. That didn't, of course, happen. Instead he/she merely said, I paraphrase, "you're on your own boys and girls, I'll pick you when I get round to it, enjoy your night on the Island".

So he/she left 15 men and women exposed to the elements on a barren rock a half a mile from the coast with treacherous currents between the island the shore. He/she left them with no food, no shelter, no water, no protective clothing, no nothing.

There is no greater example of the callousness, ruthlessness, racism, and absolute disregard for human life, than what happened to these workers.

For Will Goodbody of RTE's "6-1 News" this matter raised important "water safety issue" (!!!!!!!!!!). This phrase succinctly encapsulates the dominant viewpoint of "Official Ireland" towards migrant workers, and, arguably, all other workers.

What happened in Skerries is eloquent testimony of the moral abyss within which Irish capitalism operates. Lets hope that people cop themselves on and realise that a major society wide battle is coming and that workers absolutely have to win it. If they don't, the Dickensian disregard for human life and dignity, which occured in Skerries at the weekend, will mutate from the exception to the norm.