Public sector trade unions turned up the heat on all the political parties this week, underlining their determination to resist post-election attacks on jobs, pay and pensions.
Speaking to his union’s health conference in Brighton, Unison general secretary Dave Prentis said: “We will not stand idly by and let our members in the NHS pay for the financial crisis with their jobs, with cuts to their pay, or to the vital care they deliver to our communities. Whether they are fighting to keep their A&E open or demanding action over cuts – we will be right there with them.
“Whoever is returned to power has to learn that cuts to public service budgets will not help our recovery – they will hold it back. They’ve got to learn that just as unbridled market forces wrecked our financial system, they’ll wreak havoc in our public services, too. They’ve got to understand that if the profit motive didn’t help our banks serve the public interest, it certainly won’t help Hinchingbrooke Hospital put its patients first.”
He promised Unison would work closely with other unions to fend off attacks from a new Conservative, Labour or coalition government: “From our brothers and sisters in other unions, such as PCS, taking action to defend their jobs and services, to the pensioners who we marched alongside through London last weekend in defence of our welfare state, public service workers and public service users will stand shoulder to shoulder.”
His comments came in a week when the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development analysed the manifestos of the three main political parties and concluded it is “probable” that 10 per cent of the 5.8 million jobs in the public sector will be cut by 2015 – putting more than half a million people out of work – as the next government tries to reduce the deficit caused by bailing out the banks.
Richard Exell, senior policy officer of the TUC, warned that Tory plans to lay waste to public spending will worsen unemployment. He said: “While thousands of jobs were lost last year, without government investment things would have been much worse.”
And Mark Serwotka, general secretary of the PCS, said: “If any of the main parties were really serious about protecting public services they would start by tackling the £70 billion in tax evaded by very wealthy and very powerful individuals and organisations.”
