Let The Good Times Roll

SIPTU are now “rolling out” work stoppages. How can you roll out a stoppage? Surely a work stoppage is something that, if you were inclined to roll it in any direction at all, you would roll in. The “in” suggesting a tightening, a contraction, a diminution as opposed to a loosening, an increase or an expansion which might be suggested by “out”.

Rolling out is a term you would normally associate with something good, an innovation, a development or change in procedure that people would broadly welcome.

I think maybe SIPTU are trying to be funny here in using language with positive associations to describe their actions. They are being ironic. It is a little known fact that trade unionists are capable of great feats of irony.

They have probably looked around and seen terminology with connotations of vague optimism such as “going forward” being used very successfully in a broader context and decided that they wanted a bit of the action.

And who could blame them. We are, after all, where we are.