SIPTU remains strike-ready and has been reinvigorated by public sector industrial action, which has delivered membership growth and mobilised workers across the country, delegates at the Union’s Public Administration and Community Division Conference were told today
Addressing the Conference, SIPTU Deputy General Secretary, Ethel Buckley, said: “Action, visibility and campaigning on issues that actually matter to people can grow our Union in the workplace. I am delighted to say that the campaigning and preparation around this dispute has delivered significant membership growth. I know many of you have seen that directly in your own workplaces.”
She added: “Because being prepared to strike is like a muscle. If we never use it, it gets weaker. Sometimes we have to flex that muscle. And last week, we flexed it. But more importantly, we demonstrated that we are prepared to use it.”
Emphasising the importance of retaining new members and building workplace organisation, she said: “Because joining the Union cannot just be something somebody does when there is a strike ballot. Membership has to mean something every day.
“We have recruited new members. Now let’s hang on to them. We have mobilised workplaces. Now let’s strengthen them. We have demonstrated our power. Now let’s make sure everyone understands that that power hasn’t gone away.”
She concluded: “Let’s find and develop the next generation of representatives. Let’s strengthen every workplace. Let’s make sure that when the next challenge comes, nobody has to ask whether we are ready.
“Because we will be ready. Ready to organise. Ready to campaign. Ready to negotiate. And when necessary, ready to strike.”