As I have only ten minutes, I will speak as quickly as I can. This Government must be judged on their record. The Coalition came into office more than three years ago and since then more than 50,000 people have become unemployed. Since this time last year an extra 12,000 people have become unemployed. No effort by the national handlers and no PR job can disguise this appalling failure on the part of a Government who promised to make unemployment their urgent priority. Indeed, there is much to suggest that the real picture is far worse and has been camouflaged by increasing emigration and various training programmes of doubtful value which are keeping people off the unemployment register.
Many of those without work are now facing their fourth or fifth successive Christmas on the dole, their financial problems are becoming very acute, and many are in extreme poverty. The recent upsurge in the activities of moneylenders can be attributed to the totally inadequate level of financial assistance for the long term unemployed which can mean as little as £78 a week to feed, clothe, house and care for a family of four. How can a single unemployed person live on £32 a week? What kind of life is possible on incomes like that? What kind of freedom do these people have? Can they be said to be free in this so called free society?
What has shocked people most is not simply the increase in the numbers out of work but the appalling indifference of the Government to the plight of those who have been thrown out of work through no fault of their own. Large numbers of unemployed are an enormous burden on the Exchequer and the taxpayer and are costing up to £1,500 million per annum, or possibly even more.
Politicians as well as some economists have tended to suggest that unemployment can be resolved only when the country puts its fiscal affairs in order. However, the burden on the economy arising from unemployment is now so great that the economy cannot be put right until those on the dole queues are put back into productive work.
The Government have devoted enormous time, energy and effort to the New Ireland Forum and following on that to the negotiations on the Anglo-Irish agreement. Why cannot they now devote some of this time, energy and commitment to an all-party jobs forum in an attempt to get all-party agreement on a plan to create full employment? Unemployment is the greatest issue and the Government will be judged on it.
In recent months The Workers' Party have been coming under increasing abuse and attack from all quarters. The Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour Parties are at one in seeing The Workers' Party as their greatest enemy and so also do the Federated Union of Employers, the Irish Farmers' Association and the newly formed Association of the Self Employed. These are precisely the people who have had a monopoly of economic power since this State was formed over 60 years ago. These are the political and economic organisations who are responsible for maintaining the capitalist system of Government which has exploited the wealth of our country for the benefit of a few, decade after decade, leaving the working people in poverty or forced to emigrate for a decent living.
There is nothing these monopolists of power fear more than a political organisation of workers and oppressed people. It is typical of them at a time of recession and failure of capitalism to attempt to lay the blame on those who have been denied economic power throughout the past 60 years. All organisations of the working class have been put under increasing pressure during the past couple of years in attempts to make them scapegoats for the failure of capitalism. This has been concentrated recently in personal abuse on trade union officials, especially some who are also members of The Workers' Party.
The Workers' Party are in the honourable role of defending the hard-won rights of workers which are under increasing attack so we are not surprised that we are the butt of regular abuse and attack by the political and economic organisations of the bosses. We make no apologies to anyone for standing by the working class, inside and outside the trade union movement.
It is a shock, however, to discover the the Labour Party have sunk so low as to stab the defenders of the working class in the back. Instead of co-operating with The Workers' Party, as we have asked them to do on a number of occasions, to defeat the attacks on trade unionism and the attacks on the living standard of working people, the Labour Party have taken the lead in undermining the basic principles of trade unionism and allowing the bosses to decide who will or will not negotiate on behalf of workers.
This has been an unprecedented year for liquidations and closures of companies and for major redundancies in many more firms both State and private enterprise. Yet the Protection of Employment Act 1977 has not been invoked to protect their interests. The purpose of the Act was to give greater protection to groups of workers faced with redundancy. Under the Act a company must notify collective redundancies to the workers' representatives and the Minister at least 30 days in advance. The Minister may request employers to consult with him, or an authorised officer of his Department, before redundancies take place and he also has powers of inspection. There are penalties, though small, for breaches of the Act.
However, the Minister for Labour, Deputy Quinn, has made no attempt to use this Act to defend workers' rights to a job. Nor does he believe workers have a right to a job, but he does believe entrepreneurs have a right to throw workers out of a job. This is the same Minister who had allowed £250 million subscribed by workers in youth employment levies to be squandered without supplying one person with a job. That was his reply to a question of mine in this House. With that record of gross treachery to the working class is it any wonder that the Minister, Deputy Quinn is trekking about seeking scapegoats for the Labour Party's failures.
I must refer to the Government's policy on public sector pay. A Government who claim inability to pay are a Government who have a gross inability to govern. The Government cannot claim inability to pay when they are handing out hundreds of millions of pounds of taxpayers' money in grants and hand-outs to private individuals, firms, farmers and so on.
The teachers have been grossly maligned. They are paid less than other professional people in the public service. We must decide whether teachers or engineers offer the greatest social benefit to our society. The teachers have proved productivity in the higher teacher-pupil ratio. They should be given the pay and the award that is their due.
