Trade unions at the crossroads [IrishTimes]
- Published: 26 January 2010
TRADE UNIONS are at a crossroads. Out of the partnership process for the first time in over two decades, they are faced with unprecedented public hostility over industrial action in the public sector. Against a backdrop where the proportion of workers who are union members has been falling for the past 30 years, the movement now faces inevitable questions over its influence and relevancy into the future.
A debate is going on with the trade union movement about its role and relevance in Irish society in today’s changed circumstances. The participation of unions in partnership played a crucial part in bringing about the most sustained period of economic growth on this island. Yet, there is a feeling within the movement, as Carl O’Brien’s two-part series in this newspaper illustrates, that it has been deeply damaged by the experience.
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