Motion no: 2
Conference is alarmed at the current political situation in Northern Ireland and in particular the impact that this is and will have on workers across the private, public and voluntary/ community sectors. While we continue to have obvious disputes and difficulties with the devolved administration in Northern Ireland, no one doubts that Direct Rule and the unmitigated full force of the Tory cuts/austerity agenda will be bad for the economy, bad for workers and bad for all citizens across the island of Ireland. Across all areas of the public sector there is a crisis particularly in our health and education sectors. There, on a daily basis, critical issues cannot be strategically addressed due to a lack of appropriate funding, manpower planning and political direction. Conference is appalled at the apparent inability of democratically elected politicians to sort out their differences, including the failure to deal with issues that were at the core of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement. There are many issues facing the public sector which need to be urgently addressed and the trade union movement will no longer accept or tolerate the idea that austerity has to be accepted because “there is no money. Both the longstanding promise to gift corporations a tax cut on their pro ts and the recent Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) Scheme show that this is a lie and that, where there is the political will, money can be found. ICTU must ensure, therefore, that the case is made for the progressive use of our resources and that we no longer tolerate Ministers and the NI Executive carrying out an economic policy that is destructive to our society. Conference therefore calls on the Executive Council to build a strong campaign to re- invigorate a comprehensive and strategic campaign of opposition to austerity both North and South. This will ensure that we can build a trade union movement that members will turn to in order to defend jobs, terms and conditions and enhance the wider society in which they and their families live.
