Unions: "We'll keep fighting over cuts"

Monday 05 October 2015

Union leaders have promised to continue the fight against public sector cuts on the eve of the big debate on States spending.

Tomorrow, Members begin to debate the Council of Minister's second Medium Term Financial Plan, which sets out States spending from next year until 2019. It includes proposals to save £70m by cutting wages.

Unsurprisingly, unions are unhappy about threats to their members' incomes, benefits and pensions so staged a march and rally on Saturday to voice their opposition.

Unite leader Nick Corbel said that the event had gone extremely well. "We had a couple of thousand people marching through town and while there were fewer at the People's Park for the rally we still got our message out loud and clear."

"We wanted to hold it as close to the debate as possible as any earlier and interest could have waned. And the idea of a march only gathered momentum after a meeting with States Members last week, when about 20 politicians took up an invitation to hear our concerns. Most of them were alarmed to hear that the unions hadn't been consulted through the MTFP process so I wouldn't say the debate is a foregone conclusion at all.

"We are calling for a review of the current plan and of taxation in general in Jersey. We also want effective and meaningful dialogue with the States, which just isn't happening at the moment. The current plan will hit the weak, vulnerable, sick and elderly in our society and we call on the States to reconsider and look to alternatives. It isn't too late."