Working Class biggest winners on Lisbon

national | eu | opinion/analysis Tuesday June 17, 2008 16:53 by Zapata

Working Class voted overwhelmingly against the Lisbon treaty.

In the ballot boxes of the most hardcore working class communities the vote reached up to 80 and 90% NO. This was reflected in the map of constituencies throughout the country and how they voted.

Why did we vote so strongly against and what are the implcations?

We've been hammered by rising food and fuel prices, the health service is in a crisis induced by a freemarket agenda of health care for profit pushed by the government. We know that this is because the government is operating for the rich and not for the workers.

No doubt the economic issues affect us most. The FF/PD government who are so anti immigrant when it comes to africans, asians,arabs etc quickly embraced the prospect of cheap labour from Eastern Europe when they were told by the capitalist class that it was needed. Competition for jobs here has meant a fall in wages in real terms for most workers in trades and labouring. People are angry about this, the whole Irish Ferries dispute demonstrated this could be directed against the bosses and government. Some unions realised the implications and have been working hard to direct the blame at the government and bosses and not at workers from the east of Europe. Last thursday gave us the chance to voice our opinion on the European project of low wages and rising prices.

The democratic instincts of the working class were also in play. We are not stupid and realised we were being sold a pig in a poke, with the EU taking more power to itself and removing power as far from the people a spossible.

The implications for Workers Rights well articulated in the campaign by the TEEU, UNITE and SIPTUs demand of a legislated for right to collective bargaining all help highlight these issues. The left were not wanting in this area also consatntly beating this drum. The fact that the IFA got their demand and SIPTU were told fuck off was a salutary lesson on who the government cares about.

Militarisation played a lesser role in my opinion, but was there.

Of course some of our class voted for negative or silly reasons both ways, but that should not take from the fact that this was the best class concious vote in a long long time. And the labour party were on the wrong side!!!