The march, through the heart of Dublin, was organized by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, an umbrella group representing 55 unions across the whole of Ireland. It was designed to be a warning shot to Brian Cowen and his government’s plans to cut public sector pay even as it pumps billions of euros into troubled banks.
The government defended the wage reduction proposals as being necessary to keep Ireland’s spiraling deficits under control and restore international confidence in the economy.
But the plan, which effectively means a seven percent cut from the paychecks of 350,000 Irish public sector workers, has been heavily criticized by taxpayers swamped by revelation after revelation of shady dealings and irresponsible lending at the country’s biggest banks.
Anglo Irish Bank, which was nationalized last month after collapsing under the weight of its bad debts, last week revealed it expected to lose about