Fresh Start Agreement

Derry Trades Union Council notes that the "Fresh Start" Agreement between the DUP, Sinn Fein and the British and Irish Governments;

Paves the way for brutal cuts to benefits which will not be mitigated by limited and temporary extra funding and a stepping up of harassment of welfare recipients, driving vulnerable people further into poverty and desperation.

Will see Stormont borrow £700 million to fund around 20000 public sector redundancies, which will have a devastating impact on the economy, public services and rob young people of job opportunities.

Aims to cut corporation tax to 12.5% by April 2018, transferring hundreds of millions directly from public services to the profits of big business and beginning ab unwinnable race to the bottom.

Lays the basis for the selloff of public assets and new austerity taxes as Stormont aims to meet "challenging cost reduction targets” across departments.

This Council believes that "Fresh Start" is a bad deal for workers, young people and the people of Northern Ireland in general. This Council also believes that this deal is fundamentally no better and in some ways worse than the Stormont House Agreement which the Northern Ireland Committee of ICTU rejected and which provoked the public sector strike on 13th March 2015.

This council notes with concern the statement from NIC ICTU regarding "Fresh Start" which reflects a begrudging acceptance of this deal. This Council calls on NIC ICTU and all bodies of the Trade Union movement to reject this austerity deal and work together to rebuild meaningful resistance to Tory and Stormont cuts through campaigns, demonstrations and crucially co-ordinated Industrial Action across all sectors.

There is an alternative!