Unions hold citizens to ransom!
A passport is a human right of any citizen.
It proves nationality, but more importantly it’s the means by which we travel in and out of this island. Without a passport you cannot go on holidays, you cannot make business trips and you can’t even emigrate to find work.
450,000 people in this country are out of work. It’s bad enough that they’ve lost their jobs, and it’s even worse because there are no jobs for them here. Now, to compound the problem, the unemployed must queue for a passport overnight, and they may not even get one because of the selfish actions of those who still have a job!
The CPSU’s industrial action on the passport office in Molesworth Street is not hitting the government in any way. It is only attacking the people that they claim to protect, the “ordinary working people”.
It is now reported that over 50,000 passport applications remain unprocessed in the system. The industrial action is primarily to blame for this, but it is not the only cause of the problem.
There are only three machines in the country that make passports! What’s more startling to learn is that two of those machines are now broken! However, let’s assume that a passport machine only works an eight hour day, like the average unionised worker. Surely, when there is a threefold reduction in the number of machines available then we can simply increase by three fold the productivity of the machine.
What I’m simply saying is, have the passport machine running 24/7 to clear the backlog, it’s that simple. However, we need workers to operate the machine and God forbid that any public servant should work “unsociable hours”.
People have lost thousands of Euro because they’ve missed their flights, and we must ask the question whether the government or the unions are liable to pay compensation. Today, Fine Gael TD Alan Shatter called for the CPSU to pay for any compensation claims. I assume by his comments that the Department of Foreign Affairs might have successful compensation claims to deal with. I hope the unions pay the full cost of other actions!
This crisis also raises the question, should we privatise passport production?
I’d be firmly in favour of this proposal. Private firms cut out the waste that is a cancer on our public services. They would run the passport office efficiently and they would get passports to citizens with minimal waiting times. Obviously, there is the risk that the private firm would use this facility for malicious purposes however if the government provides the same oversight as it does the passport office presently then there is no risk.
Either we privatise the system or we just face the same crisis the next time the unions don’t get what they want. We are citizens of Ireland and a passport is our right. Don’t let a vested interest take control of your life, and don’t let them hold you for random!
March 25th, 2010 at 12:15 am
Is that Fine Gael youth’s official policy toward dealing with union activity in the public sector, then?
Very Thatcherite, I must say…no real insight, knee-jerk reactivity, ham-fisted bluster… You might do well as a CPSU representative actually
March 25th, 2010 at 12:45 am
I’m only a member of Fine Gael. Many people within the party would agree with this stance but many others would disagree. Thatcher showed no compassion in pursuit of her policies and I wouldn’t think of causing the social damage that she caused. I think the passport service should be privatised, or that passport workers can’t engage in industrial action as part of their employment contracts. The Guards can’t strike because they provide an essential service, the same should apply here.
March 25th, 2010 at 12:18 pm
She didnt care about social damage?
Neither do you by the sound of it. Union trouble?
Ban the union!
Public sector trouble? Privatise!
I love hearing people tout privatisation as the solution to all our public-sector woes. Always privatisation, never a legitimate root-and-branch reform of services and structures. No one has the wit or the balls to foment something like that. Imagine a long-term plan of change aimed at not achieving results withing the next 4 years, but building a solid, cost-effective infrastructure further into the future! Preposterous idea, i know
Always the short-term solution. Ah no though i do agree privatisation would certainly ensure us an efficient service, no doubt free of any conflicts of interest. Sell the passport service to the Chinese, that’ll ingratiate us. And ensure further investment!
Why not privatise the entire public sector, the army, the police force, the government? And have a referendum on instituting a blanket ban on any union activiy, that’ll ensure direct value for your (i’m sure well-earned) money.
That’ll mean public property is a thing of the past… adios muchacho!
I suppose TDs and ministers have always been for hire, that never hurt anyone. Its not like vested interests are ever at stake with public-sector contracts. Why put a stop to a bad thing, eh?
March 25th, 2010 at 5:01 pm
I didn’t say ban the union but reduce their ability to attack the travelling public like this, it’s unacceptable.
Obviously you can’t privatise justice services or the government. I don’t want a huge amount of privatisation in the public sector, and certainly not in education. The Passport Service is one area where privatisation is possible and I believe it should be looked at.
Privatisation is not the solution to all our public sector woes in fact it would only play a small role. I’m fully in favour of a legitimate root-and-branch reform of services and structures. It’s actually something Fine Gael is pushing for in the HSE, CIE and other bloated government services.
March 25th, 2010 at 6:43 pm
That is truly a knee-jerk reaction. Privatise the passport office? That would be, quite frankly, stupid! A passport is not a commercial service, as you said in your piece it’s a human right! Putting your rights in the hands of businesses is stupid. If you’re gonna say silly things, don’t!
March 25th, 2010 at 6:54 pm
Well, education is a right and it is partly privatised both here and abroad. Clearly we wouldn’t fully privatise the passport service but I think a partial privatisation would solve most of the problems with the service. It’s very expensive to get a passport even though it is a right and the disruption we’ve seen this past week would be less likely to happen in a privately run business