 Water
Pressure Group NetNews |
| Water
Pressure Group NetNews |
A VICTORY FOR PEOPLE POWER!!!
by Gregor Kerr (Secretary, Federation of Dublin Anti-Water Charge Campaigns)On Thursday December 19th Minister for the Environment Brendan Howlin
finally announced the
abolition of water and sewerage charges. He had been left with no option
but to surrender to a massive
campaign of people power which rocked the political establishment to its
core. Long before the formal
announcement, however, it was clear that water charges were dead. They were
dead because they were
uncollectable. They were uncollectable because of a two and a half year
long campaign which scared the
hell out of politicians of all political parties, a campaign which
withstood bribes, threats and
intimidation from the Councils and which proved that solidarity is indeed
strength.Those of you who have been involved in this campaign or who have followed
its progress in the pages of Workers Solidarity
or elsewhere do not need to be reminded of its highpoints. From the early
morning patrols to prevent water disconnections
through protests outside courts in Rathfarnham, Swords and elsewhere and on
to the latest round of protests outside Council
estimates meetings, thousands of people have taken to the streets and shown
their opposition to double taxation.
Court Cases defended
Tens of thousands of PAYE taxpayers and householders have refused to pay
the charges and the membership and other
financial contributions made by them have enabled the campaign to
successfully defend court cases taken by the Councils. (It
was certainly not a campaign ever likely to receive funding from Ben Dunne,
Larry Goodman or any of the other
"entrepreneurs" in whose interests the political and taxation systems are
run).Despite the introduction of special legislation by the government to allow
the Councils the right to disconnect water, not one
single disconnection happened. When the Councils became frustrated at their
inability to push disconnection cases through
the courts, they turned to the "Civil Process for Recovery of a Debt" and
when the first of these cases hit the courts late last
year the story was the same - protests, legal objections, refusal to bow to
intimidation and frustration for the Councils. Just
as a few short years before massive street protests had ensured that the
Court decision to refuse the girl at the centre of the
'X' case the right to travel to England for an abortion had to be
overturned, the vision of people power and communities
standing together left the courts and the judges with no alternative but to
find in our favour.
Scurrying politicians
In my capacity as Secretary of the Federation of Dublin Anti Water Charge
Campaigns (FDAWCC) one of the most ironic
events of the campaign was the scurrying of politicians during late
November/early December to jump on the bandwagon of
opposition to the charges. Treating us all with the contempt which so many
people have come to expect from politicians, they
expect us to forget that members of all political parties set these charges
and that the water tax in Dublin was presided over by
two governments consisting of Fine Gael, Fianna Fail, Labour (twice) and
Democratic Left. Let us not forget - politicians
were responsible for imposing this unjust tax upon us. The working class
people of Dublin and around the country who have
resisted the tax are responsible for its end.Now that the charges have eventually been abolished, all involved in the
campaign should certainly take all the plaudits due to
us. However, we must remember that our work is not over yet. Many of the
people who have been on the frontline still have
court cases pending against them. Tens of thousands of people have bills of
several hundred pounds each against their
property - bills which may be called in in the future if these people
attempt to sell their houses. The two demands of an
amnesty for all non-payers and an end to court cases must be fought for
with the same vigour with which we have defeated
the charges. In addition we must fight for the abolition of refuse
collection charges where they exist and be prepared to resist
their imposition in other areas. Any attempts by local authorities to
increase motor tax must also be resisted.
Self-organisation
The essential message to be taken from the campaign against water charges
must be that the sight of tens of thousands of
working-class people organising to defend our own interests led to the
surrender of a government. We did not depend on
anyone to fight on our behalf, self-organisation and direct action were our
primary weapons. Every single person who put a
leaflet into someone else's hand, who attended a meeting or protest, who
refused to pay the charges played his/her part in our
eventual victory. We showed the powers-that-be a glimpse of our potential
power when we stand together. It is a lesson that
we ourselves must not forget. It is a lesson which we must ensure the
politicians are never allowed to forget.Congratulations to all involved in the Campaign. Here's to our next victory!!