Unions Divided Over Treaty

The ambiguity of the Lisbon treaty has left two of the country's largest unions unable to agree whether the treaty is or is not good for workers.

The Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) has said it is advising members to vote No, while the Civil and Public Service Union (CPSU) has said it will be calling for a Yes vote.

The national executive of the TEEU, which is the country's largest craft union, has said it is advising its 45,000 members to vote No on 12 June, joining UNITE representing both AMICUS and the ATGWU in advocating the No vote.

The union says it favours a social Europe but recent key judgements by the European Court of Justice show that the pendulum has swung against workers' rights and in favour of big business.

The CPSU, which has 13,000 members, has said it will be calling for a Yes vote claiming the Lisbon Treaty will strengthen Irish workers' rights and give them legal protection through the Charter of Fundamental Rights. It says a Yes vote is in the interest of ordinary workers.

Yesterday, the Irish Farmers Association (IFA) warned of a No vote if its concerns about World Trade Organisation talks are not allayed.

The IFA intensified its campaign with a letter to all 166 TDs and 60 senators, with it’s President, Padraig Walshe, telling the elected representatives that the threat to farmers' livelihoods from EU Commissioner Peter Mandelson's WTO cuts was the "single obstacle" to farmers voting Yes in the referendum.

However, Fianna Fail MEP Sean O Neachtain last night claimed that Ireland would face "economic destitution" if the treaty was rejected.

He said: "Ireland now needs Europe more than Europe needs us. The American multinationals have already warned us that a No vote will result in lower levels of investment coming into Ireland from America,"

(DW)