“As the labour movement is fond of saying: united we stand – because unity is our strength!”
Sinn Féin MP for Newry and Armagh Dáire Hughes spoke at the recent TUC Conference in Brighton – you can read his remarks below.
A chairde,
I am delighted to be here in Brighton for tonight’s fringe meeting as part of the TUC conference, both as a former Trade Union representative and as a proud, abstentionist Sinn Féin member of parliament.
I’d like to thank the recently rebranded Labour Movement for Irish Unity for organising tonight’s meeting tonight and for the invitation to speak.
Beyond that, and more importantly, thank you for ensuring that the politics of Ireland are on the agenda of the British labour movement.
It’s very important that the British labour and trade union movement is not bifurcated from political developments.
Trade unions should be the cutting edge of progressive development and advancement – in the workplace and in forming public policy.
Fundamentally the labour movement – the representatives of working people – cannot stand idly by while the future constitutional framework of these islands is under discussion.
We cannot follow de Valera’s outmoded instruction that “labour must wait.”
And nor can we indulge the notion that politics should be left to the politicians.
The labour movement – in both Ireland and Britain – must not wait.
Trade unions must be vehicles for change – and drivers of progress.
Because be in no doubt my friends – ultimately – partition is a worker’s issue.
Partition is a health issue. Partition is a housing issue. Partition is an infrastructure issue.
If we want to truly build a Workers Republic – as envisioned by Connolly, Markievicz, and Mellows, then trade unionists must be in the room – and they must be at the table.
And that stretches from the shop floor to the leadership.
It is almost cliché at this point to quote Connolly’s wisdom that
“The cause of labour is the cause of Ireland, the cause of Ireland is the cause of labour.”
But we repeat such dictums only because they remain as true as they were over a century ago.
Democracy is at the core of trade unionism.
National democracy is a core criteria for a fair society.
The labour movement has a fundamental role to play when it comes to deciding who makes the decisions that impact the lives of workers and their families.
Questions of a constitutional nature are not the preserve of a distant political class.
You only have to take a step back and consider who you would want in your corner in a negotiation?
A Whitehall politician – or a shop floor representative?
As someone who has seen both up close – I know which I would pick!
As a political party – Sinn Féin has a long-standing relationship with organised labour.
Across the island of Ireland we advocate for strengthened measures to bring workers’ rights into the heart of government.
Our Ministers in the North engage with Trade Unions regularly
And we stand in solidarity with Trade Unionists in their campaign for fair pay and better conditions.
Indeed, our commitment to workers’ rights is a key plank of our united Ireland agenda.
I am sorry to say that I am not convinced that this Labour government has, or indeed any British government have ever had, the interests of Irish workers to the fore of their thinking.
Indeed, dare I say, I’m not convinced that they have British workers to the fore of their thinking!
I’d like to take this opportunity – on behalf of Sinn Féin – to extend our solidarity to our comrades in the RMT as they proceed with their industrial action in the time ahead.
I commend Eddie – and his predecessor Mick Lynch – for their industrial leadership and commitment to workers’ rights.
It strikes me that you don’t have to be Irish to run a British Trade Union – but it certainly seems to help!
Our Sinn Féin team right across Ireland, has sought to prioritise workers’ rights and economic justice.
Our Economy Minister in the North, Dr Caoimhe Archibald, has launched the most substantial overhaul of the North’s employment legislation in generations.
The Good Jobs Employment Rights Bill forms the centrepiece of our wider Good Jobs agenda.
It is designed to modernise the employment law framework in the North with a focus on enhancing job quality and ensuring fairness across the labour market.
It was drafted and prepared following extensive engagement and consultation with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and local labour representatives.
Indeed we feel it represents a template for the southern state to adopt, especially at a time when the present Irish government looks set to retreat from its obligations under the EU Adequate Minimum Wages Directive.
Our flagship legislation will;
Curtail the use of exploitative zero-hours and low-hours contracts.
Introduce the right to reasonable notice of shifts and compensation for cancelled shifts
Tackle ‘fire and rehire’ and strengthen workers hand in discussions about conditions
Ensure that tips, gratuities, and service charges are passed on to workers in full.
It will include a statutory code of practice to support the ‘right to disconnect’,
Trade unions will gain a statutory right to access workplaces, including digitally
E-balloting will be permitted for industrial action ballots and the employee threshold for formal recognition requests will be lowered from 21 to 10.
And we’re exploring the extension of collective sectoral bargaining beyond the public and agricultural sectors.
This is all within the first year of Sinn Féin taking control of the Economy Department.
Both in terms of overall economic growth and in terms of exports our economy has been out-performing Britain’s.
But – let us be in no doubt –
It is only through reunification that we can really take control of our economic destiny and realise the full benefits of the all-Ireland economy.
Partition has failed the island of Ireland. It continues to fail workers, students, communities (rural and urban), it has failed the family farm and it has failed our small and medium sized businesses.
And whilst cross-border development and cooperation is good, growing and essential – only national reunification will allow us to reach our potential as a society.
Economic modelling has already forecast the enormous growth that would be unleashed by reunification
The economic growth generated by unity would eliminate the so-called subvention within five to nine years.
Our economies are vastly similar, and increasingly integrated.
Sterling and the euro area are already traded – and are easily convertible.
The whole of Ireland is already in the EU single market for goods.
A majority of our small and medium sized businesses operate on a cross-border basis
And the scale of the difference in living standards and infrastructure is low, although alarming divergencies exist.
So, the two economies could be quickly and completely merged in a short time.
Now, imagine this process taking place without the representatives of workers in the room.
That is why we want to see all groups, parties, and organisations who aspire to Irish unity – wherever they are in the world – to work together towards that end goal.
A considerable amount of this work will be carried out in Ireland, quite naturally.
But there is a parallel conversation to be had here in Britain.
And that’s what tonight’s discussion is about.
That’s what the Labour Movement for Irish Unity is about.
We all must work to build a new Ireland
A new Ireland that is reflective and representative of everyone who calls our island home – be they Orange, or Green, or the complete rainbow of modern Ireland.
We believe the trade union movement, the labour family, provides a ready-made network for such conversations – and considerations.
There will be a choice in the time ahead.
The British government must be prepared to facilitate and implement that choice. To live up to their obligations under international treaty.
That is why these discussions need to be happening on this side of the Irish Sea
We now see a younger generation, a post-Good Friday Agreement generation, a Kneecap generation, who are now confidently finding and establishing an unignorable voice for themselves.
These are young people who are not constrained by outdated definitions or rigid parameters of the past.
They demand and deserve better for their future.
They don’t need British politicians imposing sweeping austerity measures and cuts to public services.
They reject militarism and complicity in genocide.
They reject the coarsening of both language and policy on immigration, on those dependent on social welfare, on our LGBTQ+ brothers and sisters and on the value of international human rights frameworks.
We are in the business of promoting a positive vision of a new and better Ireland, a united Ireland.
An alternative to the failed status quo.
It is no longer a question of ‘can we afford unity?’ – rather the fact that we cannot afford partition.
It is simply not good enough for Keir Starmer to say that Irish Unity is “not on the horizon” –
Or for Fleur Anderson to say that it is “not a priority.”
There is nothing to fear in debate.
Nothing to be lost in the democratic exercise of national self-determination.
And there is nothing to worry about in letting the people have their say.
So we need to inspire people – we need to excite people.
A united Ireland needs to be about more than stitching two failed states together.
A united Ireland needs to be about workers’ rights.
A united Ireland needs to be about better health care.
It needs to be about providing a home for everyone – and a safety net for those who need it.
It needs to be about social protections, about fair pay, and about good work.
We want to convince the largest number of people possible that a united Ireland will be benefit them.
We want to build an economy that serves society – rather than a society that serves the economy.
We need you, trade unionists and progressive voices in Britain to join us in plotting a way forward.
We hope you can be persuaders and supporters for Irish unity.
And ensure that Ireland is back on the agenda of the British left
The upcoming Assembly and Council elections must be the tipping point that delivers us a unity referendum.
We need to secure the necessary coalitions and alliances to secure that.
We need to be organised and present a coherent vision for the future.
That will take a lot of work and preparation.
But I have always felt that both optimism and activism are contagious –
And that is why we have to remain optimistic and get to work.
Because there is a new Ireland for us to win –
As the labour movement is fond of saying: united we stand – because unity is our strength!
Go raibh míle maith agaibh
- Dáire Hughes MP is the MP Newry and Armagh. You can follow him on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter/X.
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