Sinn Féin: No Outcry over Fishing Jobs Loss

national | rights, freedoms and repression | press release Thursday February 21, 2008 16:32 by Cael - Sinn Féin Poblachtach

Sinn Féin Poblachtach

The drastic reduction in the Irish fishing fleet leaves
hundreds of crewmen without any form of redundancy
payment, a spokesman for Republican Sinn Féin said today

NO OUTCRY OVER FISHING JOBS LOSS

The drastic reduction in the Irish fishing fleet leaves
hundreds of crewmen without any form of redundancy
payment, a spokesman for Republican Sinn Féin said today.

Joe Lynch from Beechgrove Avenue in Limerick, a former
bosun with Irish Shipping said that up to one thousand
jobs are to be lost but there is no national outcry over
what is a huge human tragedy for the families of
the crewmen.

If these jobs were in a factory or an industrial zone
there would be anger and rage and calls for action
he said. Yet because they are crewmen on trawlers
their plight is being ignored by the politicians.

The very same type of thing happened with Irish
Shipping. While the officers and executives were
well looked after in terms of redundancy payment,
the ordinary seamen were given a pittance after
years of service.

This cutting of the fishing fleet is yet another outcome
of EU policy which is now acting against the interests
of Irish workers.

Gradually the Irish fishing fleet will be reduced and
eventually outnumbered by the fleets of the larger
EU maritime nations who plunder the stocks off
our coasts.

What we are seeing now is the latest move towards
the EU introducing giant factory ships into Irish
waters.