CAMPAIGN MESSAGES:THE PRO-LISBON Charter Group has said the treaty is vital for jobs and workers' rights and the EU is not a conspiracy against the Irish working classes.
The group comprises trade union activists campaigning for a Yes vote. Speaking at a press conference yesterday, Charter Group chairman Des Geraghty said Ireland’s future depended on export-led growth and this required a strong economy in Europe. “Only Yes can help achieve this,” he said.
Meanwhile, at a Say No campaign press conference, which featured many activists on the left opposed to the treaty, the campaign said multinational companies were in Ireland to maximise profits.
“They made €17.5 billion here last year so another No won’t scare them off. Lisbon would make the recession worse by giving the EU further power to restrict Government spending, which means that fewer people can buy goods and services so more jobs are lost,” the campaign stated.
Regional secretary of Unite trade union Jimmy Kelly said recent rulings by the European Court of Justice on workers’ rights represented “a stab wound” to the social Europe promised at the time of the Nice Treaty.
“What was needed was a protocol which addressed those judgments in the new Lisbon Treaty. It would have moved the issue of workers’ rights to the primacy that it should have had.
“This was absolutely something that could have been done and would have put us in a position that workers in Ireland and across Europe would have supported Lisbon,” he said.
Secretary of the Charter Group Blair Horan said it was “absolute lies” to suggest the minimum wage would be affected by passing the treaty. He also said controversial European Court of Justice rulings such as the Laval case – which had been highlighted by the No side – would have no impact here.
Mr Horan said Ireland had extensive minimum wage protection, not just a basic minimum wage of €8.65 per hour, but also higher legally enforceable rates in a range of sectors such as construction, hotels, retail and catering.
“These minimum wage rates apply to all workers in Ireland irrespective of their nationality. Workers are fully protected on pay and the Laval judgment has no impact here. The claims of a race to the bottom are just not factual,” he said.
The Charter Group also criticised Libertas as being anti-worker. Mr Geraghty said the Libertas articles of association suggested it would contribute funds to anybody resisting interference in its business by strike movements or organisations.
However, Libertas chairman Declan Ganley said he was unaware what was in its articles of association. “We should check but I don’t know what it says. We just use boiler plate [standard wording] memorandum and articles of association. But I’m not anti-anything.”
Meanwhile, at the Say No press conference, Patricia McKenna of the People’s Movement said the legal guarantees secured by the Government were not in the Lisbon Treaty and were not legally binding. She also criticised what she described as “gross and illegal interference” in the campaign by the European Commission for distributing a supplement supporting the treaty in Sunday newspapers.