Aggression from SIPTU/IMPACT at UCD gates

Plasid

Were you one of those verbally abused, physically blocked from entering, herded from your bus at the entracnes to UCD today, had people sitting on the bonnet of your car?

Democratic right to protest? What about democratic right to cross a picket?

What about not UCD staff trying to enter the campus? The strike those not relate to these individuals and yet they were shown same aggression at the entrances...

What about the private companies operating in UCD, are they not allowed to continue in their struggle to survive without this?

I might have supported peoples right to protest today, but not after this distain for other peoples rights... shame on you!

1968

I was at pickets at three different UCD entrances today from approx 11am - 3pm and did not see one incident of striking workers/supportive students "verbally abuse", "physically block" or sit on people's cars.

See my other post here for a brief report of the day's events:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=63169267&postcount=81

fillmore jive

I got off the bus this morning and I think it was a student protest (?) there was a huge blockage of protesters. So I walked up and they just stood there, I said excuse me please but they wouldnt budge. Some lad starting shouting at me not too sure what he was saying and some woman kept trying to hand me a leaflet. I just grabbed the leaflet and they let me through. Bunch of headbangers.

Mikeyt086

A woman jumped in front of my car, i beeped the horn and told her to **** off, like every other idiot that jumps out in front of a car.

Pride Fighter

Why cross the picket? There is nothing there atm. It's not ideal to be a scab.

imstrongerthanu

Mikeyt086 wrote: »

A woman jumped in front of my car, i beeped the horn and told her to **** off, like every other idiot that jumps out in front of a car.

Lol:D

Mikeyt086

Pride Fighter wrote: »

Why cross the picket? There is nothing there atm. It's not ideal to be a scab.

Personally? I "crossed the picket" to collect my mate from Belgove to go to Dundrum Shopping Centre. REVOLUTION!

ardmacha

Why cross the picket? There is nothing there atm. It's not ideal to be a scab.

Students are all mé feiners, not much point in expecting anything from them, unless it is concerned with Abercrombie and Fitch gear.

33% God

Mikeyt086 wrote: »

Personally? I "crossed the picket" to collect my mate from Belgove to go to Dundrum Shopping Centre. REVOLUTION!

Are your mates from belgrove unable to walk?

Crossing a picket is an act of massive disrespect.

1968

ardmacha wrote: »

Students are all mé feiners, not much point in expecting anything from them, unless it is concerned with Abercrombie and Fitch gear.

Not all of them.

I've heard that 60 students from Maynooth joined with their lectures and other college staff on picket lines today. Positive news.

jimi_t

33% God wrote: »

Crossing a picket is an act of massive disrespect.

So is striking a week before exams.

(not that I would cross a picket - seen too many reeling in the years from the thatcher era)

Mikeyt086

33% God wrote: »

Are your mates from belgrove unable to walk?

Crossing a picket is an act of massive disrespect.

They can walk but they didnt want to be molested while leaving on foot. I popped in, picked him up and popped out.

Imagine if i actually was collecting a friend unable to walk. You would look like such a knob.

stop

1968 wrote: »

I was at pickets at three different UCD entrances today from approx 11am - 3pm and did not see one incident of striking workers/supportive students "verbally abuse", "physically block" or sit on people's cars.

See my other post here for a brief report of the day's events:

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showpost.php?p=63169267&postcount=81

I did see this type of behaviour, around 9am.

1968 wrote: »

Not all of them.

I've heard that 60 students from Maynooth joined with their lectures and other college staff on picket lines today. Positive news.

WOW 1% of NUIM students!!!!

1968

It seems the only official statement from the UCDSU has been this - "Anyone who is looking for a place to study, the JJ Library is open 10am till 4pm at the very least today, and the out of hours reading room is open this evening from 11pm until 3am."

Absolutely shocking.

During the last major industrial dispute in UCD when women cleaner's went on strike in 1985, the UCDSU canceled one of its balls as going into the venue would have involved breaking the picket and instead held a free event the main Library at which the Blades among other played.

It seems those day's are gone.

33% God

Mikeyt086 wrote: »

They can walk but they didnt want to be molested while leaving on foot. I popped in, picked him up and popped out.

He could have walked out to you, no-one would mind in the least people from campus leaving the university, my mate from Merville came out to me today and had no trouble.

Imagine if i actually was collecting a friend unable to walk. You would look like such a knob.

Ya, I did think of that

jimi_t wrote: »

So is striking a week before exams.

(not that I would cross a picket - seen too many reeling in the years from the thatcher era)

Were people really that inconvenianced by it? It's not like it was sprung on anybody. My lectures from today are all being repeated (although Tuesday is my quiet day) and I reserved today to do reading for one of my assignments, got all the materials in the library yesterday.

Although I suppose it's the lack of forward thinking in Ireland that's responsible for most of this mess in the first place

Sierra Oscar

I noticed a small group of picketers at the Fosters Gate entrance.

The minute the rain arrived they disappeared and were not to be seen again for the entire day.

Fad

33% God wrote: »

Crossing a picket is an act of massive disrespect.

If you dont respect their cause you shouldnt have any problem with it.

Sad Professor

I really wish the college had just closed today and been done with it. If people wanted to go in anyway and use the library, or just to spite the picketers, that's fine, but all classes/assessments/exams should have been cancelled or rescheduled. I don't have a particularly strong opinion on the strike either way. It seems most lecturers/tutors were practical and cancelled their classes, while others insisted on going ahead with them for no other reason than to say fcuk you to the strikers. It's unfair that students have to get caught in the middle.

graduate

Many lecturers/tutors who were not permanent were concerned that they might be vicitimised if they didn't go in, the treatment of these people in UCD is like something from the 19th century.

Sully

Unions told our lecturers in WIT they were not allowed re organise classes etc.

random_banter

I work in UCD, however unlike those lucky enough to have nice safe contracts or permanent jobs, I have none - am paid by the hour and have pretty much zero job security.

While I respect peoples right to strike I highly resent being pressured into not attending work and being asked not to cross the picket line by people who can strike with little consequences to their own job - by those people who have lots of job security. If I didn't show up for work today I could have been shown the door tomorrow! Do these people realise what a good situation they're in compared to a lot of people in this country?

On the note of aggression to those crossing the picket line- as I walked through the picket line at 10am for work I personally witnessed the drivers door on two different cars having their windows banged on by picketers telling the drivers not to enter the campus.

33% God

Fad wrote: »

If you dont respect their cause you shouldnt have any problem with it.

If you don't respect them then why would you expect them to respect you?

random_banter wrote: »

I work in UCD, however unlike those lucky enough to have nice safe contracts or permanent jobs, I have none - am paid by the hour and have pretty much zero job security.

While I respect peoples right to strike I highly resent being pressured into not attending work and being asked not to cross the picket line by people who can strike with little consequences to their own job - by those people who have lots of job security. If I didn't show up for work today I could have been shown the door tomorrow! Do these people realise what a good situation they're in compared to a lot of people in this country?

On the note of aggression to those crossing the picket line- as I walked through the picket line at 10am for work I personally witnessed the drivers door on two different cars having their windows banged on by picketers telling the drivers not to enter the campus.

Those poeple have those conditions and security because people were smart enough to organise and brave enough to fight for them.

Bloody Nipples

Pride Fighter wrote: »

Why cross the picket? There is nothing there atm. It's not ideal to be a scab.

Well seeing as students aren't employed by the college, I can hardly see how them entering a location they PAY to use is counted as strikebreaking, scabbing, crossing the picket etc.
These terms refer to people who work in the college. So basically it was pointless harassment of people who had nothing to do with either side of the protest.

ardmacha wrote: »

Students are all mé feiners, not much point in expecting anything from them, unless it is concerned with Abercrombie and Fitch gear.

This is just sh1t stirring.

WeeBushy

ardmacha wrote: »

Students are all mé feiners, not much point in expecting anything from them, unless it is concerned with Abercrombie and Fitch gear.

Why should we respect peoples' actions when they are being blatant "me feiners"? You're completely hypocritical.

And what about people who live on campus? Were they expected to stay locked up on campus? Or not be allowed to return to their place of resissence if they had left the campus, for fear of being accosted by those picketing?

The actions of some who were protesting today was incredibly childish.

Kournikova

I dunno why unless you live on campus anyone went in anyway. I didn't go in today or yesterday, well just cause I decided to take the day off yesterday.

I don't cross pickets anyway so even though I didn't agree with the strike that isn't really the point here. If someone is on strike I really don't care why they are and will never cross pickets.

Sierra Oscar

Kournikova wrote: »

I dunno why unless you live on campus anyone went in anyway.

Well, quite a lot of lectures and other activities still went ahead today. Thats perhaps why people wanted to go in, especially with tests approaching.

Chet T16

Kournikova wrote: »

I dunno why unless you live on campus anyone went in anyway. I didn't go in today or yesterday, well just cause I decided to take the day off yesterday.

I went in because i had 2 lectures and a lab.

More generally, i go in because i woke up one day and my job was no longer there and no amount of striking would have got it back. I didn't get any hassle going in today but i'd be damned if i would miss out on my oppurtunities for the future for fear of crossing a picket by those who still have their jobs

Kournikova

Thats true, I heard from someone who did go to a lecture that only like 30 people showed up and that on a normal day theatre L is normally fairly full.

Het-Field

Kournikova wrote: »

Thats true, I heard from someone who did go to a lecture that only like 30 people showed up and that on a normal day theatre L is normally fairly full.

Hope they got the lecture.

I recall attending a lecture during my postgrad in DIT. It was the night after the class christmas do, and only 3 class members turned up (there should have been 60). The lecturer asked if we wanted the lecture, and I said I wanted it ! The other two didnt object, and my belligerance worked !!

mloc

Anyone involved in this protest today is an embarassment to Ireland. It was nothing but a fraud, a union organised holiday pushed by naive and unrepentant backwards union leaders.

The behaviour today of the public sector epitimises the culture of waste and protectionist bloat that has eaten away at our country.

Fad

33% God wrote: »

If you don't respect them then why would you expect them to respect you?

There's a difference between disregarding someone's cause and physically/verbally abusing them.

lemon_sherbert

I crossed the picket and unashamedly so. I respect the picketing protesters' right to free assembly and protest, but with finals in two weeks, I can't afford to miss a 2 hour lecture which equates to one twelfth of the course. I didn't have much hassle driving in the gate, just some placard waving, but I went in at Fosters Avenue, and in the rain there were only 3 protesters.

graduate

Ok, let's get this right. The strike was to oppose pay cuts. Because apparently people can't afford to take pay cuts. Those that were striking were on full time contracts and were as such loosing no money for doing so.

The question is not whether people can afford pay cuts, it is the arbitrary application of paycuts without negotiation. Anyone striking loses a days pay, and so are in exactly the same situation as you.

johnfás

I support their right to protest but I expect them to respect my right to get on with work. My assignment deadlines are not being pushed back by a day as a result of the action and I am paying over 8,000 a year to do a Masters in Law. I feel I am perfectly entitled to make use of the library facilities when I am paying that sort of price for doing so.

I don't see the SU compaigning to have concessions made on behalf of students who will miss out as a result of the industrial action.

mloc

johnfás wrote: »

I don't see the SU compaigning for anything useful, ever

FYP

Plasid

Pride Fighter wrote: »

Why cross the picket? There is nothing there atm. It's not ideal to be a scab.

Not everyone trying to go into UCD today was staff or a union member, many had jobs to go to, many had classes or exams (that were not cancelled), many do not work for UCD and as such cannot be a scab.

mloc

There is also the small matter of research facilities, many of which requiring on-going work to be taking place and don't fit in with in the whims of union leaders. You might have heard of them; they generate a lot of money for the university through research grants.

Mardy Bum

Why should students respect SIPTU members when these people never respected students strikes last year?

Some of you people on here eg. God 33 are extremely ignorant. Take a look at the state of the country, fine people can strike, but disrespectful behavior at pickets from strikers, isn't endearing behavior at all. Some people cannot afford to strike, have some respect.

Euro_Kraut

Mardy Bum wrote: »

Some of you people on here eg. God 33 are extremely ignorant. Take a look at the state of the country, fine people can strike, but disrespectful behavior at pickets from strikers, isn't endearing behavior at all. Some people cannot afford to strike, have some respect.

+1 I was out on a picket today myself and helped out with the organizing of placards etc. To hear of this kind of bullying behavior by fellow ICTU member Unions is very disappointing. It does nothing for the Union the cause. These people are bullys, little else. They have clearly forgotten what the Union movemnet is all about.

Everyone has a right to protest and everyone has a right not to protest. I spoke with work collegeues today as they crossed the picket. It was all very cordial and adult like. I understand why others don't get involved and I hope they understand why I do.

Such behavior as described should be reported to the relevant Union. Members found to be acting in a manner contrary to the good of the Union can be expelled.

ProjectColossus

I demonstrate for a course, and today was the last opportunity a lot of students would have to ask specific questions about the course before the exams, on a one to one basis. I'm also paid hourly.

Relatively few students turned up, but since the labs had not been cancelled, I figure it was the correct decision.

Nobody challenged or said anything to me, entering from the N11 bus stop around 1.30.

Zuffer

I entered at the main entrance, and was challenged, but wasn't stopped from entering in any way. I saw a few cars trying to get in, they were all forced to stop and made aware (as if they couldn't see the placards) of the strike. One car did actually turn around. The rest drove in.

I really don't like the attitude of those who say "You should never cross a picket" or similar things. That is your opinion, but I completely disagree. You'd like if everyone feared the picket because that would give unions more power. In my opinion unions cause more harm than good, so it is better for society to see them depowered.

That said, they are perfectly free to strike, and I wouldn't envy the people on the pickets today. It takes some courage to stand up for yourself, even though I don't agree with the cause. I also think the official email we got telling us to come in was bad. It set up an automatic confrontation between staff and students, which management must have loved. It would have been better for industrial relations to just shut down the college to non-essential stuff for the day.

The_Minister

ardmacha wrote: »

Students are all mé feiners, not much point in expecting anything from them, unless it is concerned with Abercrombie and Fitch gear.

Leave aside the fact that the students of today are probably going to see most of their tax money go towards repaying the loans we are taking out now, rather than services for their own benefit, and that the strikers want to increase the amount that has to be paid back, mostly by students. Which means that any student who supports the strike is probably cutting his own throat.

Leave aside the idea that the people holding the strike are the ultimate mé feiners, as they want massive increased borrowing, paid for by the rest of the population, to maintain their currant incomes.


Your post is basically just empty ****-stirring. If you have a point to make, take two minutes and make it, otherwise don't post. An ignorant one-liner reliant on a baseless stereotype thrown in doesn't benefit the discussion one bit.

Alkers

Surely "crossing a picket" is if you're going into a place that is your place of work. Like someone walking through UCD is not crossing a picket. Ridiculous nehaviour this morning tbh, heard it was very bad over by smurfit.

The_Minister

Simona1986 wrote: »

Surely "crossing a picket" is if you're going into a place that is your place of work. Like someone walking through UCD is not crossing a picket. Ridiculous nehaviour this morning tbh, heard it was very bad over by smurfit.

I heard it was the few students protesting that were the culprits, not the actual staff.

Aside: A friend of mine in UCG went in, and someone shouted "Death to the Bourgouis (spelling?) at him.

glaston

The_Minister wrote: »

Aside: A friend of mine in UCG went in, and someone shouted "Death to the Bourgouis (spelling?) at him.

Bourgeois:

1 : relating to the social middle class
2 : marked by a concern for material interests and a tendency toward mediocrity

#2 = public sector in a nutshell

1968

The_Minister wrote: »

Aside: A friend of mine in UCG went in, and someone shouted "Death to the Bourgouis (spelling?) at him.

I'm assuming if someone did say this that it was as a joke.

UCG? Presuming you mean NUIG?

qwert2

glaston wrote: »

Bourgeois:

1 : relating to the social middle class
2 : marked by a concern for material interests and a tendency toward mediocrity

#2 = public sector in a nutshell

Brilliant

I was pissed off about the library hours today. I have a vital exam on Thursday and I usually use the library to study. As a result I got f-all done today

The_Minister

1968 wrote: »

I'm assuming if someone did say this that it was as a joke.

UCG? Presuming you mean NUIG?

Dats da bunny.

1968

qwert2 wrote: »

Brilliant

I was pissed off about the library hours today. I have a vital exam on Thursday and I usually use the library to study. As a result I got f-all done today

Could you not have studied at home for just one day?

qwert2

1968 wrote: »

Could you not have studied at home for just one day?

Afraid not, way too noisy

Pride Fighter

mloc wrote: »

The behaviour today of the public sector epitimises the culture of waste and protectionist bloat that has eaten away at our country.

The public sector did not waste 5-10 billion on re-financing the banks and giving them an additional 54 billion bailout.

betafrog wrote: »

It's not ideal to lose a days wages. It's also not ideal to impact your education by not being able to attend lectures and tutorials that weren't otherwise rearranged. No need to insult someone just because they have different priorities to you. I can't afford to lose a days wages and I can't afford to lose the marks available for the work done in my tutorial. How the f*ck is that being a scab.

I am up to my neck in financial misery. I would never cross a picket, even if I was paid 10 grand.