BLAGAROON

TC WORKERS EVICTED
BY FORCE FROM
DUBLIN PREMISES:




Pregnant woman starts labour during fracas:


Workers at the Thomas Cook travel agency branch in Dublin who were occupying the premises in the city centre, opposite Trinity College, in pursuit of agreed redundancy payments from their employers based in Britain, were evicted by force following a dawn raid by 150 Gardaí (Irish State Police) at 4.00am Tuesday morning.

The Gardaí used a battering ram to break down the door and gain entrance and arrested the 40 or so workers, mainly women, who were continuing the occupation all week. One woman worker, who was pregnant, started to go into labour in the street while awaiting the arrival of an ambulance. The child was born in hospital shortly afterwards. Also arrested were Cllr Richard Boyd Barret, People Before Profit Alliance, and other supporters who had gathered in the street outside and were roughly handled by the large force of Gardaí present.

These brutal tactics show that Scumbag Cowen and his rotten government will use state power without hesitation to smash worker resistance to his government’s inhuman and anti-social policies in defence of capitalist interests during this banker and speculator sponsored economic recession, the burden of which is being forced on working people and their families.

The arrested workers and supporters were incarcarated in the Dublin Bridewell prison and brought before the High Court later in the day at 2.00pm. Outside the court a large support crowd demonstrated their solidarity and was widely representative of Trade Unions SIPTU, UNITE, CPSU, Dublin Council of Trade Unions and political groups People’s Movement, Socialist Workers’ Party, Sinn Féin, Socialist Party, éirigí, People Before Profit, Workers’ Solidarity, Campaign Against the EU Constitution, Worker's Party and many family members of the arrested workers plus individual supporters from all over Dublin. Continuous support for the protest was expressed by passing motorists, taxi-drivers and bus passengers.

The arrest of the workers at Thomas Cook has caused outrage and deep anger in the city and even though they were all released by the court, the stark contrast between the treatment meted out to them in comparison to that of the criminal bank gamblers and property speculators has not been lost on the wider population and is a further factor in the growing unrest and opposition to the tottering Cowen government as it tries to con the people into voting for its EU Lisbon Treaty scam in next October’s referendum.

FearFeasa Mac Léinn

Áth Cliath/DUBLIN, 05 LÚNASA/AUGUST, 2009.

Scenes outside Four Courts, Dublin, 04.08.09: