Congress General Secretary David Begg has said the Irish trade union movement must begin to reorganise and rebuild if it is to "recapture ground lost" during the years of crisis and the domination of market ideology.
Delivering a public talk on Trade Union Structures: Fit for Purpose? as part of the People's College Lecture Series, Mr Begg questioned whether the Irish union movement, as currently structured, was in a position to deliver on its core promise and mission.
"At this point in time, unions must adopt a defensive posture. Around the world, union organisations face hostility and, indeed, questioning of their relevance and very right to exist. This stems primarily from the freemarket ideology that has dominated economic and political life over recent decades.
'that trend has been exacerbated in the current crisis, where we have seen a determined effort to unwind all advances made by working people and undermine the role of trade unions.
"But that will not always be the case and we need to begin the process of reorganisation and rebuilding that is a necessary precursor to recapturing that lost ground, in post-Troika Ireland" Mr Begg said.
He defined the "core mission" of trade unions in the post-crisis era as to "restore decent work for everyone and to bring markets under the democratic control of society.
'that's a big ask and I would seriously question if, as currently organised, we are in a position to do that, with 48 affiliated unions, 19 unions across the public sector alone and no presence in significant sectors of the economy.
'that leads to duplication of resources and weak coordination," Mr Begg said.
He said that Congress has taken some significant steps towards reorganisation and was studying the model developed by unions in the Netherlands.
He said Holland also operated as a small, open economy and following internal disagreements in 2011, the Dutch FNV federation had embarked on a radical restructuring programme.
He said utilising a similar model in Ireland might see unions adopting a 'sectoral organisational" structure, with an appropriate balance of power between the centre and sectors.
