A chara, - I am sorry that Gerard Regan (June 7th) was unaware of SIPTU's relationship with the Labour Party. We had assumed it was public knowledge. But to put the record straight, SIPTU has a political fund, which was established following a ballot of our members in the autumn of 1990 conducted specifically for that purpose. Under the rules of the union, each member contributes a total of 50p a year to the fund, unless he or she exercises the right to opt out of making the contribution, as indeed some of our members have done.
Following the establishment of the fund, the Union's National Executive Council decided to affiliate to the Labour Party - resuming a link that had previously existed in the case of both of the unions that merged to create SIPTU, the former ITGWU and FWUI.
Indeed, the foundation of the Labour Party in 1912 was the direct result of a motion proposed by the then ITGWU leader, James Larkin, and seconded by his colleague, James Connolly, at the annual conference of the Irish Trade Union Congress (as it was then known). So our links with the Labour Party have a long history.
While Mr Regan is entitled to his view of the impact that our affiliation to the Labour Party has on our relationships with other political parties, I do not believe it is shared by many neutral observers. None of the other political parties discounts SIPTU's views because of our links with the Labour Party. Nor does that link in any way prevent the union from airing its differences with governments in which Labour participates. Indeed, some of the most vociferous attacks made by trade union leaders (including those of our union) were directed against governments in which Labour Ministers participated.
The reason Larkin and Connolly sought to build the Labour Party - and why SIPTU and some other unions continue to support it - was to provide the labour movement with a voice in the political process. As decisions in the political arena increasingly affect not only the living standards but the broader quality of life of our members, it is apparent that action in the political arena is necessary to complement our work in the industrial arena.
This political activity - which includes our relationship with the Labour Party - is financed by the political fund, which is monitored by our national executive council and duly audited and publicly reported each year in the union's annual report.
While we would contend that the level of democratic accountability surrounding our contributions to the Labour Party would distinguish them significantly from corporate donations from private companies, both we and the Labour Party are prepared to forgo these payments if, in the interest of greater transparency in public life, a blanket ban on corporate donations is introduced and democratically accountable State funding of political parties comes about.
I hope this clarifies the position. - Yours, etc.,
John McDonnell, General Secretary, SIPTU, Liberty Hall, Dublin 1.
