SCALE OF NORTHERN IRELAND CUTS REVEALED

Last week  we heard that the scale of the public sector cuts in Northern Ireland will amount to £2billion over the next four years –this staggering figure will amount to 25% of the public sector disappearing in the North ,schools ,jobs and hospitals will all be sacrificed in the name of ‘cuts’ .

These cuts stem from the CON-DEM coalition’s plans in Westminster however they will be pushed through by all the parties in the Stormont assembly-all of whom have made clear their ideological commitments to belt tightening and public sector reduction.

Discussion on public sector cuts in the North take place with a few accepted ideas which are rarely challenged. The main one is that the public sector is too big and unsustainable. However it is widely accepted that the only reason why the recession didn’t hit Northern Ireland harder was precisely because the public sector cushioned the economy . Even Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness accepted this at Sinn Feins Ard Fheis earlier this year. Despite these posturings his party along with every other party in the Assembly are in favour of attacking the public sector and making workers pay for the recession.

Another is that there has to be cuts because there simply is no money left. There is money to stop any cuts and to go further and pay for new homes, free education and a job for everyone . Every year the rich avoid paying £123 billion in tax –this is where the real fraud takes place.

The politicians who are looking to push through cuts have no foresight or vision as to what effect cuts on a scale of £2bn will have on people here. Not only will the recession get worse with more consigned onto the dole queue but we will have a ‘lost’ generation with no jobs prospects or university opportunities for our young people.

 Right to Work welcomes the ICTU protest against the cuts on September 29^th .This can be the start of the fight back against cuts where we say we aren’t paying for the mess caused by the rich.

Nipsa lunchtime public campaign against the cuts 12th August 2010

Trade Unionists call on people to get to Birmingham

The Right to Work campaign have called a protest on October 3rd at the Tory Party conference in Birmingham. We want this to be a day where we can let Cameron and his toff Tory party know that we are not going to accept his cuts. The Tories are using the recession as an ideological weapon to push through cutbacks on a scale never seen before. They want to slash £11 billion from benefits, cut at least 25% from all government departments and impose a pay cut for millions of workers in the public sector.

We are sick of hearing from the Government that we are all in this together and must all accept cutbacks and tighten our belts. The rich caused this crisis, they should pay for it. The Tories along with the Liberals are coming for working class people while letting the rich get richer by slashing the level of corporation tax. In Northern Ireland we are faced with huge cuts coming directly from Stormont. They are looking to push through £1billion of cuts in the public sector.

Despite statements to the contrary from politicians, these cuts will have a massive impact on frontline services- with more closures of hospitals schools and other public services as a result of the cuts. If Cameron and the Tories have their way they will raise the retirement age to 70, attack millions of public sector workers and completely decimate the services we rely on. That is why we need people to get on the bus to Birmingham on October 3rd- to make it clear to David Cameron that we are not going to lie down while he wrecks the lives of millions. Instead we are ready for a fight back – a fight to defend jobs, services, workers and to defeat the cuts they are looking to impose. The Protest at the Tory Party conference already has been supported by three National Unions-UCU,PCS and NUJ with support from many more branches. Locally it already has support from Unite and the FBU. The bus leaves Belfast on Saturday October 2^nd from the City Hall at 5pm ,returning from Brimingham Sunday evening . Tickets cost £20 Unwaged/Student and £40 Waged.

Signed by

(All in a personal capacity)

Jimmy Kelly Regional Secretary Unite

Jim Barbour National Executive Fire Brigades Union

Jimmy Donaghy Shop Steward Unite

Gerry Mulaney CWU

Jim Reilly CWU

Gorreti Horgan UU Lecturer

Brian Kelly QUB Lecturer

Joanne Smit NIPSA

Ryan McKinney NIPSA

Dominic Murray Unison

Branch 8 NIPSA

Jim Larmour Unite

Naomi Connor NIPSA

Ryan Wilson NIPSA

Paddy McGinley NIPSA

Gerry Carroll Unite

Michael Black USDAW

Sean McVeigh NUJ

Unions back Right to Work Bus.

Support is growing for the Right to work protest being called in Birmingham on October 3^rd outside the Tory party conference. Right to Work Belfast is organizing a bus to join the mobilization to say that we won’t pay for the crises or accept the Tories cuts.

The bus from Belfast is already supported by the Fire Brigades Union and Unite the Union with both committing to donate money to the bus .Many other unions are expected to lend their support over the coming weeks.

The demonstration itself is supported by three national trade unions, the PCS, NUJ and UCU, the Labour Representation Committee and a number of local trade union and campaign bodies.

The Tories want to make working class people pay for the recession by introducing 25% cuts across all government departments, pay cut for millions in the public sector and pushing up workers retirement age. All this while corporation tax is being slashed for the wealthy in society who are still making huge profits. We need a fightback.

If you want to lend your support or book a place on the bus email rtwbelfast@hotmail.co.uk .

NIPSA PROTEST AGAINST CUTS

Hundreds of workers from NIPSA came out on lunch time protest Thursday 12^th August against threatened cuts on the public sector.

Workers out on protest included people  from the Child Support Agency, Labour Relations Agency, Royal Hospital and several other workplaces in Belfast city centre. The feeling outside workplaces was one of immense anger. The overwhelming feeling on the day was that David Cameron and the Tories along with their Liberal backers are unfairly attacking public services, whilst at the same time letting the rich off the hook. The reception from the public was one of great support, with many stopping to take leaflets of the protesters and sympathising with their fight.

The NIPSA leaflet handed out by workers pointed out the glaring inequality in the budget announcements- the Tories want to cut public sector departments by at least 25%,increase the age at which workers can retire and impose pay cuts for millions of public sector workers. Yet, £123 billion is lost every year in tax avoidance by the wealthy in society. This is where the cuts should fall and not on working class people and the services which we rely on.

As the cuts come to impact on the Health service, Education and Transport, protests like that of NIPSA are an important step in saying that we can fight back and take on the Tories and their cuts. We quickly need more actions like these to give workers confidence that the majority of people are on the side of fighting back and not the side of those who want to cutback. Protests like these send a message to politicians that workers aren’t going to lie down and quietly accept the cuts which are going to wreck people’s lives

RIGHT TO WORK PUBLIC MEETING

RTW-Belfast-Poster-6-8-10

RIGHT TO WORK PUBLIC MEETING- How do we stop the cuts

Wednesday 18 August 19:30

Holiday Inn Ormeau Avenue (Facing BBc) Belfast

Speakers

Jimmy Kelly Unite Regional Secretary
James O Toole Right to Work Dublin
Margaret Couchman Village Women’s Centre
…
More to be Announced.

The Tories are using the recession as an ideological weapon to push through cutbacks on a scale never seen before. They want to slash £11 billion from benefits, cut at least 25% from all government departments and impose a pay cut for millions of workers in the public sector.

We are sick of hearing from the Government that we are all in this together and must all accept cutbacks and tighten our belts. The rich caused this crisis, they should pay for it. The Tories along with the Liberals are coming for working class people while letting the rich get richer by slashing the level of corporation tax. In Northern Ireland we are faced with huge cuts coming directly from Stormont. They are looking to push through £1billion of cuts in the public sector.

Despite statements to the contrary from politicians, these cuts will have a massive impact on frontline services- with more closures of hospitals schools and other public services as a result of the cuts. If Cameron and the Tories have their way they will raise the retirement age to 70, attack millions of public sector workers and completely decimate the services we rely on.

That is why we need a fightback. Right to Work is a broad campaign of trade unionists,community activists and people who want to fight against the cuts. Come Along To hear how you can get involved in the campaign to fightback.

Support The NIPSA protests

From Nipsa

The new Liberal/Conservative Government has wasted no time in pursuing its attacks on the public services.   The purpose of this circular is to provide members with an indication of the breadth and scale of these attacks on public services and staff who deliver these services to the community. Despite the populist rhetoric from the UK Prime Minister and other Cabinet Ministers of inclusion and empowerment it is clear that the objective of this new government is to dismantle public services as much as possible while at the same “gifting” public services to a private sector whose sole interest is profit and not need. While the previous Labour Government had planned to continue its attack on public services through further public spending cuts, the coalition government has taken this approach a step further and under cover of the economic and financial crisis has decided to steamroll ahead to achieve a range of policy objectives which among other things include reducing significantly the size of the public sector, promoting privatisation and destroying the pension provision of public sector workers.

Cuts to Public Expenditure

The Chancellor of the Exchequer in his May 2010 “mini” budget announced that over the next 4 years there would be cuts in Departmental budgets of between 25% and 40%.  If cuts of this scale are not stopped then there will be serious consequences for public servants who will face significant job losses and compulsory redundancies.  While Ministers in the NI Executive have expressed concern at the likely damage that these cuts will have on jobs and services they will inevitably be involved in taking measures to deal with wholesale cuts to Departmental budgets.  These cuts will apply across the whole of the public sector generally with no area likely to escape the impact.

Attacks on Redundancy Payments

Despite the success of the Judicial Review initiated by our colleagues in the PCS Union, the new Government is now planning to make even more draconian cuts to the Civil Service Compensation Scheme.  The Government now plans to cap redundancy payments at one year’s salary for compulsory redundancy and 15 months  for voluntary redundancy.  At the moment this remains a major issue for members in the Civil Service but in the context of threatened redundancies this plan by the government can only be viewed as a means of getting these redundancies on the cheap.

Public Service Pensions

The Government has established a Commission headed by John Hutton, former Minister in the previous Government, to have a fundamental look at public service pensions.  The agenda is unambiguous.  The Government has asked the Commission to take into account a range of factors including what is described as the “growing disparity between public service and private sector pension provision” as well as “how the risk should be shared between the taxpayer and the employee”. John Hutton the Chairperson of the Independent Public Service Pensions Commission has also advised that he has been asked to consider the case for delivering savings on public service pensions ahead of the Government’s Spending Review which will be published this Autumn.  The terms of reference for this review reflects in many ways the anti public service agenda of private sector cheerleader organisations such as the CBI and the Institute of Directors which have been attacking public service pensions for many years.

Public Sector Pay

The Government has unilaterally applied a two year freeze on public sector pay with a concession for public servants who earn less than £21,000 per annum Full Time Equivalent (pro rated for part time staff).  This is grossly unfair and comes at a time whenever bonuses for senior private sector staff especially in the banking sector have started to rocket once again. It should be noted by members that workers in the private sector who have been subject to pay reductions represent a minority of workers in that sector. In addition members should be aware that reports have surfaced that a number of government figures have expressed support for further moves to introduce regional public sector pay. There can be no doubt whatsoever that the depressing of public sector pay is likely to remain as a central element of Government measures to cut public expenditure.

Privatisation

Prior to the UK General Election the Conservative Party claimed that the National Health Service was safe and would be protected if they were elected.  The Health Secretary in Britain Andrew Lansley has already announced plans to reform the health service in England and Wales in a way which opens the door for massive privatisation and the further marketisation and commercialisation of the NHS.  The large private health providers are already rubbing their hands in glee at the prospects of the opportunity of making massive profits from a “liberalised” health service.  We do know that there are those in the current government who envy the US approach to providing health services which is predicated on an ability to pay on the part of individuals and where millions of citizens are denied access to universal access to health care.  We need to ensure that the NI Executive and the Health Minister in Northern Ireland resist any attempt to impose similar proposals on Northern Ireland.

Trade Union Response

As part of the campaign to defend public services NIPSA will be working along with our colleagues in the broader trade union movement to oppose cuts to public expenditure and against any measures which will result in job losses, compulsory redundancies, reduced pension provision and freezes on the pay of public servants. The threat that members now face is unprecedented and represents the biggest threat to public services since World War II.  The Conservative/Liberal Democrat Coalition government is a government of millionaires which is managing the existing financial and economic crisis in a way which favours heavily the wealthy in our society and at the expense of those who rely on public services and those who deliver them.

Public Protests by NIPSA on Thursday 12^th August 2010

As part of its ongoing efforts to highlight the folly of public expenditure cuts NIPSA is calling upon all branches to participate in protest meetings outside workplaces between 12 noon and 2 p.m. on Thursday 12^th August 2010.  At these events branches are asked to distribute copies of the NIPSA leaflet “Who Suffers Most From Public Spending Cuts?” to members of the public.  Copies of the leaflet should also be made available to individual NIPSA members.

Supplies of the leaflet can be obtained by contacting Aidan McDonnell at NIPSA HQ telephone 028 9066 1831 or email aidan.mcdonnell@nipsa.org.uk

A further bulletin will be issued shortly on the arrangements for the protests on 12^th August.

Yours sincerely

BRIAN CAMPFIELD

General Secretary