Third major trade union urges members to vote No on fiscal treaty referendum

If the Government thought that getting a ‘yes’ vote in the upcoming EU fiscal treaty referendum would be a piece of cake, they were probably getting ahead of themselves. Why? Well as of today, a third major trade union has said it will urge its members to vote no.

The Irish Independent reports that the Technical Engineering and Electrical Union (TEEU) has followed trade unions Unite and Mandate in encouraging its 40,000 members to vote no in the referendum.

“It is becoming increasingly obvious that austerity is not working. The right wing agenda of Chancellor Merkel might make sense in Germany but it is a death sentence for our economy and people,” said Eamon Devoy, the general secretary of the TEEU.

Both the TEEU and Mandate have followed Siptu’s lead when it comes to publishing a document about the treaty. The document apparently outlines the trade union’s views on the fiscal treaty referendum and portrays it as nothing more than a one-sided austerity proposal.

“The backlash against austerity is no longer limited to small peripheral economies such as Greece and Ireland. The first round of the French elections shows that citizens in major, core economies of Europe are increasingly opposed to this policy,” said Mr Devoy, making reference to Nicolas Sarkozy’s competition from Francois Hollande for the French presidency.

Hollande has promised the French people that he will seek a renegotiation of the EU fiscal treaty. This move has seen his popularity skyrocket.

“Under no circumstances can we embed the draconian Fiscal Compact Treaty in our Constitution. This would condemn Irish working families to decades of financial servitude to the banks. It would effectively transform a Social Europe into a Financiers Europe permanently,” Mr Devoy added.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has said it will meet on Wednesday to decide its position on the treaty.

So three major trade unions are campaigning for a no vote. Does Enda's 'yes' vote have a hope?