Unions planning ‘biggest protest ever’ over cutbacks

The States Employment Board, which sets public-sector pay, announced earlier this year that all public-sector wages would be frozen, with the exception of those of nurses and midwives, who will receive a 0.4 per cent increase, as part of plans to plug a predicted £145 million financial shortfall by 2019.

Nick Corbel of the union Unite

Meanwhile, the Medium Term Financial Plan which was proposed by the Council of Ministers in July sets out plans to make £70 million in staff savings, including voluntary redundancies.

However, union representatives oppose the plans and say they are now planning to stage the Island’s biggest ever rally of public-sector employees before the plan is debated by the States.

Although still in the early stages of planning, representatives of several unions have been meeting regularly to discuss the next steps and have begun formulating plans for the demonstration.

Meanwhile, Nick Corbel, regional leader for Unite, said that he believed that industrial action was now ‘almost inevitable’ after Treasury Minister Alan Maclean said last week that the pay freeze was the only viable option in saving £70 million in staff costs.

Mr Corbel said: ‘The employer seems to be dragging their heels. We have been advised that there is no movement on pay.

‘As far as Senator Maclean’s comments about the pay freeze being the only viable option – it is not.

Marina Mauger, of teaching union NASUWT

‘We have put forward alternatives, such as reviewing the tax arrangements, but there has been no indication that they will review them. There will be a series of a user-pays charges which will impact on the vulnerable, ill and elderly.

‘This package of measures will hit the public sector hard but also hit the poorest members of our society. The whole strategy is shameful.

‘We are in the process of organising a rally and I would call upon all sectors of society to involve themselves in what we are doing because it is the whole Island, not just the public sector, that will be affected.’

Meanwhile, Marina Mauger, of teaching union NASUWT, has accused senior politicians of hiding the true nature of the public finances in the run-up to the October 2014 elections and said that the rally would be a chance for Islanders to ‘voice their opinion’ on the plans to plug the predicted financial shortfall.

She said: ‘The unions believe that adopting the MTFP as it is will lead the Island into austerity.

‘We also believe that the elected members of the States have failed to engage the public in a democratic process because they failed to disclose the deficit in the run-up to the elections – they would have known about the deficit at the time.

‘This will be the biggest demonstration Jersey has seen. The whole of the public sector are intending to support this and I am sure others will as well.

‘We have provided the States Employment Board with alternatives but they have said they are not going to implement them.’

The States debate on the financial plan is due to take place on Tuesday 6 October.

The national Union of Teachers (NUT) Jersey branch has warned that the announcement that the State’s Employment Board (SEB) intends to impose a Pay Freeze on all states workers will have a seriously detrimental effect on teacher recruitment and retention and, as a result our young people’s education.

That the SEB see a public sector pay cut as a sensible solution to the deficit they have created is unacceptable especially as we are exclusively being made to shoulder the burden of the mismanagement of public funds.

The much needed investment in Jersey’s education system cannot be offset with a real term pay cut for its Teachers. This follows years of real term pay cuts that have eroded the living standards of our members and of all public service workers.

Recently we have reached agreement with the Department and the panel Director to work co-operatively on developing a World class education system for Jersey. To be told that despite our commitment to renewal and modernisation is being rewarded with a cut in our standard of living is likely to lead to massive demoralisation in the education service.

We share the concern about proposed cuts to services, which would be disastrous to service provision and future public sector recruitment, and would of course mean that it will be the Jersey public who ultimately pay the price.

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