What was the response from the public to the strike yesterday?
The response was overwhelmingly positive. Only one person in our office had been on strike before in 2009 so this was the first time for most of us. Our office is surrounded by the headquarters of big banks and finance companies so there was some nervousness that we would get a bad reception from these people but every single person who stopped to talk was positive towards us and what we were striking for. We had a load of beeps from Luas drivers and from other workers.
You mentioned that only one person had been on strike before, was the picket made up of young people?
Our workplace is small. For the last few years there has only been a handful of members in the union. But since the announcement of the ballot and work-to-rule we’ve nearly tripled membership and now have about 80% in the union. I think the ballot and the union being seen to be taking action made it really relevant for people. So, the age profile is mixed. It’s all ages really but the main group of people who joined were generally in their mid 20s, and are affected by the cost of living crisis but probably more by the housing crisis. So I think they saw the ballot and the union as a way to take action and fightback.
What was the mood of co-workers on the picket line like?
I think everyone had a really positive experience. Everyone was very determined and angry at the government.
There were lots of discussions that you wouldn’t normally have. A lot of it was obviously focused on inflation and the level of pay rise people would need to keep pace with it. But there was also lots of discussions about the war in the Middle East because people linked it to why we were on strike with the effect it is having on the cost of living. There was also discussions on how the heatwaves across Europe during the summer would have an effect on food prices because crops, fruit and vegetables were affected by that.
What did people want to happen next?
The unions have sold this strike as being about having ‘pay at the top of the agenda’ in talks with the government. So for some people the talks are the focus and if talks were agreed they would be happy not to strike next week.
But it's easy for the government to agree to ‘talks’. The actual issue is the level of pay increase. In the budget they mentioned €1.2 billion which would be a 3.5% increase. In the weeks before the budget a figure of €2billion had been mentioned. Even this would only be 5.8% which still isn’t enough.
That’s why lots of people want to continue on next week to keep the pressure on the government during any negotiations. “This government needs their balls squeezed” was one comment in favour of continuing next week’s strike to continue regardless.