Why you, your family and friends need to take part in Pre- Budget Protest, Saturday, 24 November, 1pm, Parnell Square, Dublin
Friday 16 November 2012The Mandate Trade Union is calling on all members, their friends and family members to join the Pre- Budget March against Austerity on Saturday, 24 November – commencing at 1.00pm from Dublin‘s Garden of Remembrance.
Explaining why the march is so important, John Douglas, General Secretary of Mandate said: “We’re calling on as many of our members as possible to mobilise for the 24 November and to march proudly in defiance behind their Mandate banners calling for an end to the failed policies of austerity. In addition, we’re asking them to use the coming weekend to encourage their family and friends to take part too.
“We need to ensure that there is a large turnout for this march because politicians take note of what the public are thinking – they have to. We need to show the government in a very clear way that we want them to stop – and stop now – with the current austerity policies. The imposition of cuts, cuts and more cuts is causing deep-rooted damage to the Irish economy and to tens of thousands of low and middle income families the length and breadth of our country.
“Domestic demand in Ireland has declined by more than 25%; this is the largest collapse of any economy in Europe since World War II. Domestic demand is vital to job creation and the collapse in demand and consumer confidence has resulted in more than 440,000 workers without jobs and over 50,000 leaving the country each year for a better life. In the retail sector the collapse of domestic demand has seen some major casualties. You just have to look down the main streets and shopping centres of Ireland to see the vacant units and the misery caused to thousands of retail workers and their families.
“The present government has committed, as part of the bailout agreement, to more reductions of €3.5 billion in December’s budget. This will further reduce domestic demand and lead to thousands more Irish workers losing their jobs in sectors such as retail. The time has come to demand a halt to the failed austerity policies, commencing with those to be taken in the upcoming budget in December.”
John Douglas asked what has changed since 2009 – other than a change in government – when the ICTU called on the then-government to adopt the following 10-point plan:
1. Tackle the jobs crisis
2. Protect incomes
3. Stop social welfare cuts
4. Protect people’s homes
5. Safeguard public services
6. Reform the tax system
7. Protect pensions
8. Protect workers’ rights
9. Reform the banks
10. Extend the recovery period
“This 10-point plan was valid in 2009 and is even more valid today. We need to adopt the Congress approach to tackling the grave economic circumstances we find ourselves in and do it quickly because time is not on our side. If we don’t change tack and change it soon Ireland will be turned into an economic wasteland. This is why Mandate is calling on all our members and their families to make every effort possible to attend the anti-austerity demonstration next week. We as a country need as many people as possible taking part in the march on 24 November to secure a change in policy and offer hope for our own futures as well as those of our children and many future generations,” John Douglas concluded.
