The Total Days Lost due to Industrial Stoppages, a CSO record, significantly increased last year.
The total days out last year was 44,015 compared to just 14,965 in 2013. The teachers strike at the end of last year having the most significant impact but also the Greyhound dispute and action in the manufacturing sector.
There is no doubt that union members, workers and communities are becoming more class conscious. Solidarity across communities and struggles is also on the up. Both the right2water campaign and opposition to water charges/meters as well as the upcoming Dunnes dispute have shown the increasing militancy of many on this island. The willingness of public sector workers in Northern Ireland to take on both their own establishment and the British establishment also provides inspiration and evidence of what clearly is a growing resistance to low pay, to privatisation, to austerity and to inequality more generally.
The TULF will continue to provide a space for radical trade unionists and community activists to mobilise and analyse for progress.
