When many of their members were losing their incomes in the crash, some of Ireland's top union officials took no shortage of flak, occasionally unfairly, for their boss-like pay and conditions. When it comes to snouts and troughs, however, the Irish brothers are in the ha'penny place compared to some of les frères.

Thierry Lepaon, the leader of France's biggest union CGT, is under pressure to resign after allegations that the union paid €130,000 to renovate a city apartment for him to go with the job and tens of thousands more to dickie up his office. He also allegedly received "severance pay" of €100,000 to move from a local union chapter to the top job.

Benchmark that.