rights in recession

Pamela Dooley Vice Chairperson ICTU NI Committee and UNISON

•Equality and Rights under greatest threat at time of recession

•Commitments in Good Friday Agreement largely ignored by politicians

•Draft budget constitutes a real threat to the socio economic rights of the people

Women

Children

Everyone living in poverty

The low paid

Pensioners

Working class people in general

Restricted access to community care Closures of beds Hospital beds will get blocked Waiting lists will extend, both for hospital and community

services Reduction in grants to the voluntary sector No new patients on high cost drugs Jobs will be lost – c.4,000 A moratorium in employment Cash control on necessary agency and locum spend

leading to unplanned closure New buildings currently in construction left unopened Co payments and Greater contributions from service users.

Over 4 years £300m funding gap Capital 30% shortfall

ISSUES NOT ADDRESSED

Attainment Outcomes

Existing Inequalities

Real need

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Promise of some growth in Free Meals, Early Years

BUT

School meals budget cut by 6%

School Budget Cut (2014-2015 - 15%)

LMS issue

Home to School Transport cut

Capacity Building (4.8m) cut

Job loss

DEPARTMENT OF CULTURE ARTS AND LEISURE

Library Closures (x10)

15-20% reduction opening hours (redundancies)

Recruitment freeze

Book Stock (0.29!)

Department of Employment

Student loans

Education Maintenance Allowance

Universities and Colleges

Major cuts in services and job

‘Flat Cash’

Little or no growth in public housing

Waiting list increase

Regeneration initiatives under threat

Obscene cuts to the welfare benefits system

Introduction of charging for services

Universal Benefit a threat to individual rights

Pay Freezes

Pay Cuts

Attacks on agreed conditions

‘Sweating’ the workforce

Attacking the benefits system

UK and NI governments side-stepping legal obligations on equality and human rights

Legal challenges in UK winning at operational level if not at Government level

Trades unions taking industrial action Unions and communities mobilising,

marching , lobbying and taking direct action A sustained programme of strategic action on

all front can bring about change