The TUC has warned all political parties, ahead of a general election which now looks more firmly set for May 6 following confirmation of the March 24 Budget, of the damaging repercussions of savage cuts in public spending.
As voters prepare to go to the polls in an election that will be the precursor to cuts whoever wins, the Conservative lead is, according to one recent opinion poll, down to just two percentage points.
Voters are worried about the effect of deep cuts planned by Tory leader David Cameron and Shadow Chancellor George Osborne. But Labour, too, is vulnerable and union leaders fear those on the right of the party who have been indulging in a “how low can you go” contest with the Conservatives.
Now a new report from the TUC, which is being seen by many in the labour movement as a shot across the bows of Chancellor Alistair Darling as well as Mr Osborne, warns that women will be hardest hit by cuts in public spending. The report, Women and the Recession: One Year On, says that cuts will hit women harder because four in 10 women work in the public sector compared with two in 10 men.
TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: “Slashing public spending may satisfy fiscal hawks and City traders but it would cause misery to millions of people who have already suffered from the recession. A fresh wave of public sector job losses could leave many families with both parents out of work.
“Many women choose to work in the public sector because it offers secure work with a good work-life balance and a decent retirement income. It is hardly fair that these are now all under threat thanks to the mistakes of super-rich bankers, who are already back collecting their bonuses.
“When politicians talk about the need for deep spending cuts they rarely say how this would affect ordinary working people. But, as our report makes clear, women would have
to pay for these cuts with their jobs and pensions.”
The report identifies Wales, Scotland and the north east of England as the areas which will be most badly hit because that is where the highest proportion of women work in the public sector.
The report also shows that many areas with a high proportion of female public sector workers have higher than average rates of male unemployment, so spending cuts would leave many families with both parents out of work.
And it warns that cuts in public sector pensions will only increase the gender divide in retirement income – women’s average income in retirement is already one-third less than men’s – and lead to greater poverty for female pensioners. Women hold nearly
two-thirds of defined benefit schemes in the public sector so any cuts in pensions will fall disproportionately on them.
