Trade unions have recognised the reunification of our island would be a great opportunity to benefit everyone who lives here
GEORGE Bernard Shaw wrote a play called ‘Heartbreak House’ after WWI expressing his dismay at England’s conviction that it could handle any crisis with ease – whereas in reality its imperial days were numbered.
The languid drawing-room setting was an allegory for a limp regime with a sense of entitlement, unsuspectingly delivering itself over to a new world order under the control of ignorant but active people.
‘Heartbreak House’ sounds an alarm bell. Naturally, its core message was ignored – often the fate of cautionary stories. But every once in a while warnings are heeded.
This week, members of the trade union movement showed they have been paying attention to lessons from history: recent history in the muddled aftermath of the Brexit vote where the Border question has been paramount, and early 20th-century history à propos the circumstances surrounding the foundation of Ireland’s two states. Specifically, they recognise the need to avoid repeating mistakes arising from the presumption that events can be left to take care of themselves.
A coalition of trade unions, along with officials from unions not currently aligned to the lobby, has banded into a new movement, Trade Unionists for a New and United Ireland (TUNUI). Its stated intention is to engage in the reunification debate on both sides of the Border, making the case that unity represents an opportunity to promote economic equality and social progress.
What’s exciting abut this initiative is its recognition that reunification is an opportunity to reimagine Ireland and reinvigorate the Constitution. In that sense, the wheel has come full circle in this Decade of Centenaries – and not in a way that was envisaged only three years ago when 1916’s 100th anniversary was marked a few months before the Brexit vote.
It is an interesting development to see the labour movement state its intention to be at the heart of the reunification debate. It seems particularly apt because of its close connection with James Connolly, who worked in both parts of this island for a more equal Ireland.
It’s Connolly we have to thank for that stirring call to “Irishmen and Irishwomen” in the 1916 Proclamation, where he insisted on specific mention of women.
Trade unionism has cross-Border reach and, more than most, has developed links with the unionist community through shared union membership. It is well placed to make the case that workers’ rights could be enhanced in a new and agreed version of Ireland.
On Monday, TUNUI launched its reunification initiative in Dublin at the Communication Workers’ Union (CWU), where speakers included CWU general secretary Steve Fitzpatrick and Mandate general secretary John Douglas.
On Tuesday, the alliance made a start on its pitch in Northern Ireland with an event in the symbolic setting of Belfast’s Linen Hall Library. That’s an institution closely associated with the United Irishmen – a non-sectarian alliance of Protestant, Catholic and Dissenter – through its former librarian and executed revolutionary Thomas Russell (subject of the poem ‘The Man From God Knows Where’).
Speakers included former senior Siptu official Michael Halpenny, and the question of how to pay for reunification was discussed.
Such debates are important to tease out nuances. For example, is there cross-cultural support for reunification? Has Brexit left moderate unionists inclined towards
It would be a win-win, in an all-Ireland framework, to relocate some multinationals to Belfast, which has plenty of office and living space
the Republic as a way of remaining in the EU? And how do nationalists who were contented with the status quo feel now their dual Irish-British citizenship is threatened?
We still hear a lot of lip service paid to reaching out to unionists but who is listening to what they want in the event of constitutional change?
Whenever a Border poll is mentioned, north or south – and it is on people’s lips increasingly – the question of affordability invariably is raised. There is a soft vote for unity in the Republic which dwindles at the prospect of higher taxes or reduced services to pay for it.
An annual subvention of £10bn (€11.6bn) from Westminster to keep the North afloat is often cited but this is not a net figure and takes no account of taxes collected there. Let’s have clarity.
At this point, I note the cost of rescuing the Irish banking system was €64bn, so money can be found when something is regarded as necessary.
It’s also evident Britain has little affection for the North and would gladly hand it over – a case could be made for guarantees from its exchequer to continue paying a subvention for a defined period. The European Union and Irish America could be tapped for contributions.
On the financial front, it’s not all a drain. Economies of scale and merged services could achieve savings – one health service, one education service and so on. Co-operation in the provision of public services could improve outcomes for all.
The North’s free health service is an asset most people living there would shudder to lose. But in other areas, from education to job opportunities, the Republic has much to offer. Social welfare is higher in the Republic than in the North, as are average wages.
Plus, two recent referendums on abortion reform and marriage equality have pushed the once clerical-dominated Republic ahead in terms of social progress.
In Dublin, of course, accommodation costs gobble up incomes and more social housing must be built. But it would be a win-win, in an all-Ireland framework, to relocate some of the multinationals to Belfast. Dublin is woefully short of office and living space, while Belfast has plenty of both within easy reach. Partition doesn’t work. Or to put it another way, removing partition could broaden opportunities.
This week, comedian Patrick Kielty wrote a piece for the ‘Guardian’ in which he described the DUP as the political wing of the Old Testament. He was on the money. Nevertheless, the DUP should also be courted, so let’s go easy on the mud pies. The party’s MPs are able negotiators, judging by the way they have handled Theresa May. Imagine having them in our camp.
Cicero said it was a mistake to compel others to think and live as we do. But there is no harm in seeking to persuade – in offering compelling arguments that encourage people to reconsider.
TUNUI is hosting a conference on April 27 at the CWU headquarters in Dublin. Its speakers will need to show how reunification could deliver benefits to Ireland in its entirety – just as the peace process was advantageous to both communities and both parts of the island. Unionist voices must be heard at the event.
And another thought: some unions have made their position clear but where do employers stand?