Austerity not an option after crisis, says unions body as report maps a way ahead

OFFICIAL austerity following massive Government spending during the coronavirus pandemic would be unacceptable, workers in Northern Ireland said.

There must be no sudden removal of support for hundreds of thousands of people laid off or furloughed, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) stated.

It published a report today which set out plans to stimulate economic recovery, including addressing housing shortages and boosting health service spending.

Owen Reidy, ICTU assistant general secretary, said: “There must be no cliff edge, no sudden removal of supports for the hundreds of thousands of workers currently laid off as a result of the pandemic.”

More than 200,000 people have lost their jobs or been furloughed in Northern Ireland, roughly a third of the entire workforce, mainly in areas like manufacturing.

Mr Reidy added: “The response to this crisis has to be different this time. Austerity is neither socially acceptable nor economically necessary. We believe that the length and depth of the recession will be determined, at least in part, by the policies we choose and values that guide us.”

The blueprint urged an increase in employers’ national insurance, affordable child care and a “fully-funded” health service.

The senior trade union official added: “The report calls for a change of the priorities of governments on both sides of the border, finally addressing the unfinished business of a lost decade of austerity.”

The document also urged stronger workers’ rights through the promotion of sectoral collective bargaining, a social security system that protected the most vulnerable and an increase in employer national insurance to European levels.