Nothing underlined more clearly the extent to which this coalition Government is out of touch with the daily reality for millions people than the suggestion from a Cabinet minister that the protest over pensions should be confined to a sedate, non-disruptive
15 minute token demonstration. Patronising? Insultingly so. Risible? To the point of absurdity. If you’re angry, take a tea break, calm down and it will all be all right.
There is anger, it is justified and there is a place for it. And that is a protest on the streets.
As the study commissioned for the Unite union shows, a typical public sector worker would have to work three lifetimes to earn a Cabinet minister’s pension. That’s before the Government steals more with cuts and makes the public sector worker pay more, and work longer for the privilege.
According to one report, the boss of Barclays is on 75 times the average pay of the bank’s staff, representing a pay rise of 4,899 per cent over 30 years.
We have a society that is governed by the rich, for the rich. This is not the politics of envy but the politics of greed versus need. Corporate greed and excessive pay packages and bonuses for company bosses are mirrored by excessive cuts in services, job losses and falling living standards for others. The public sector workers who are seeing their pensions slashed will have sons, daughters, brothers and sisters who cannot find either work or a decent home of their own.
As Ian Hernon writes on page five, even the Government’s new housing package – David Cameron’s “magic moment” for the homeless – is a scheme dreamt up by the rich and privileged to encourage a new generation of homebuyers to deepen their debt while boosting the profits of entrepreneurs and a ruse to repeat Margaret Thatcher’s right-to-buy votes through selling off the nation’s housing stock.
And as Unison’s Dave Prentis says on page seven, his members, who can ill afford to lose a day’s pay, voted decisively, but not lightly for action. Most of the union’s members are low-paid women in the caring professions, going to work to make their communities better places in which to live and work. They and their public sector colleagues form the backbone of a civilised society. They deserve better and their vote for action reflects the depth of their anger at a Government which treats them like garbage.
The protest may not bring change overnight but it is part of a broader push to effect the deep political and cultural change that is needed to achieve a more equitable society.
As Mr Prentis says, the austerity agenda is killing growth, boosting unemployment and fuelling the downturn. Public sector workers are striking not just for their pensions but also for a fairer economic plan, founded on social democratic principles. That is why Tribune supports and salutes them. And why we will be marching by their side.
