This International Working Women’s Day the Trade Union Left Forum stands in solidarity with working women in Ireland and all women across the world suffering super exploitation and gender based violence. We salute the many tens of thousands of working women who are active in their trade union, community groups, social campaigns as well as bearing an unequal responsibility for rearing children and sustaining families. In particular we salute the women of occupied Palestine suffering the most horrendous and barbaric violence and genocide in Gaza and the West Bank at the hands of the zionist occupation army of the apartheid […]

Supreme Court unanimously upholds Unite’s right to strike Posted on March 6, 2024 by unitetheunion Unite reaction to historic court judgement ‘Historic’ judgement rejects employers’ injunction In a ‘landmark ruling’, the Supreme Court has today found that Unite was fully legally entitled to undertake strike action in a dispute with construction company Jones Engineering.  The strike action, which involved hundreds of mechanical workers employed by Jones Engineering, shut down construction work on Intel and Pfizer projects last year, in a dispute relating to travel time payments. Jones Engineering were initially successful in an application for an injunction, which placed extensive procedural hoops on Unite […]

Potential Trade Dispute The International Court of Justice (ICJ) has found it is “plausible” that Israel has committed acts that violate the Genocide Convention. Article 1 of the Genocide Convention, of which Ireland is a signatory, states: “The Contracting Parties confirm that genocide, whether committed in time of peace or in time of war, is a crime under international law which they undertake to prevent and to punish.” Therefore the Irish government and the people of Ireland have an obligation to prevent genocide from occurring in Israel. This genocide is only possible because of the economic power of Israel, resulting […]

In this paper we provide detailed evidence of the growing economic inequality in Ireland (South) in 2021. We do so firstly to vindicate the work of all those volunteers, modern day heroes, who assist our most vulnerable people and families on a daily basis. The research data we present is elevated above mere academic commentary by Six sections detailing the current lived experiences of experts in the field from Penny Dinners (Cork), the Muslim Sisters of Eire, Inner City Helping Homeless, the Traveller Visibility Group, SPARK (Single Parents for the Right’s of Kids) and Ber Grogan’s amazing ‘Basket Brigade’. But […]

As the murderous State of Israel intensifies the bloodshed of the Palestinian people, the World Federation of Trade Unions condemns the fierce attacks against civilians and the forthcoming attack in Rafah. After more than 4 months of genocidal attacks and forced evacuations to “safe areas” of the Gaza Strip, now the massacre is continued and intensified with the relentlessly bombing of Rafah, where 1.5 million civilians are crammed into a small piece of land. These inhumane actions are contributing to the worsening of the conditions experienced by the Palestinians, and are preventing access to the humanitarian aid necessary for survival. […]

The trade union movement has come together to create a national public relations campaign to promote the benefits of trade union membership.   The publicity campaign is aimed at raising awareness of trade unions particularly among young workers. The campaign launched formally on Valentine’s Day with the announcement of Union Week. which will take place between 29th April and 6th May 2024. Union Week will involve a week of activity highlighting the work and achievements of trade unions. It will be an opportunity to showcase the positive impact that trade unions have on workers’ lives and on broader society as […]

Joint Transport Union press release Bus and rail workers to conduct sixth one-day strike action on 1 February  A further three strike dates in February are planned in campaign to secure a cost-of-living pay increase More than 3,000 workers at Translink are to commence a further 24-hour stoppage tomorrow (Thursday 1 February) in the cost of living pay dispute. Members of the transport unions, Unite, GMB and SIPTU, will begin their sixth one day strike on a staggered basis from midnight. The strike will bring all bus and rail services across the  Six Counties to a standstill. The strikes are […]

Statement by the Council of Global Unions (CGU), 22 January 2024 The Council of Global Unions expressed unwavering support and solidarity with the unionists, civil and human rights defenders, and the people of Argentina struggling to defend democracy in the face of repressive measures proposed by the new Javier Milei administration. We fully support the Argentine 24 January general strike and call on affiliates to participate in solidarity actions in their countries. The new president of Argentina has put forward a raft of draconian, anti-democratic legislation that threatens decades of progress and hard-fought social protections. Trade unions around the word […]

Official figures show that between April 2022 and April 2023, real pay (adjusted for inflation) in the public sector fell by 7.2%. That decline came on the heels of real pay falling by more than 4% between April 2021 and April 2022, and two decades of no growth in public sector real pay. While there is much talk about an “Irish Sea border” because of post-Brexit trade arrangements, a sea border of sorts already exists when it comes to public sector earnings. Differences in public sector pay between the North and the UK are substantial and even greater over the […]

TULF stands in solidarity with the 15 trade unions representing 170,000 workers taking part in the Generalised Day of Strike Action across the 6 counties. The co-ordinated day of strikes is the most significant, militant action by the organised working class in the north for a generation. We call on the British Secretary of State for the 6 counties to immediately accede to the demands of the public sector unions. Over the past year the strike actions in pursuit of the unions’ demands have had unprecedented support from union members and the general public. Unfortunately, even though he has admitted […]