Budget bad for young, old and vulnerable – say Mandate Trade Union

Tuesday 15 October 2013

Mandate Trade Union is criticising today’s Budget saying it is a Lockout Budget for the young the old and the vulnerable. The union is condemning the effects today’s Budget will have on the fabric of our society and is strongly critical of the refusal to ensure the wealthy play their part in our recovery.

Commenting on today’s budget, Mandate Assistant General Secretary, Gerry Light said:

“What is clear is that more could have been done to protect existing jobs and with hangover taxes like the full property tax, water charges and an increase in the carbon tax, all coming down the line, the domestic economy is still facing a bleak future.

“The decision to extend the waiting time for sick pay from 3 days to 6 days will be a worry for some workers but Mandate is insisting it will be employers who will have to plug the gap and not the employees.”

“The reduction of social welfare rates for under 25 year olds is a cost saving initiative which unfairly targets young, unemployed people who are already doing all they can to enter the workforce.

“There are 26 applicants for every job advertised in this economy but again the government is penalising young unemployed people for a crisis they didn’t create. Young people have already shouldered an enormous burden during this crisis and again we find that the government sees them as soft targets.

“With more than 200,000 of our young people having already emigrated, it would seem that the government is creating the conditions necessary to ensure emigration continues,” said Mr Light.

“The extra investment of €14 million for the Youth Guarantee is to be welcomed but it must be to in the context of worthwhile education and decent employment and cannot be used as a catalyst for exploitation of any worker.

“We mustn’t continue down the path of ‘jobs at any cost’ and Mandate will continue to campaign for decent jobs and decent income for all workers in our society.”

Mr Light added that “cuts to the maternity benefit of €32 per week will impact on low income households most and is an unfair burden on young families already struggling to get by.

“The axing of the telephone allowance for pensioners will create social isolation for vulnerable people, particularly in rural areas and the scrapping of the bereavement grant will create unnecessary anxiety for older people.

“The increase in the prescription charge of 66% from €1.50 to €2.50 may not seem much but for those already counting the pennies, this will impact in a very negative way on their standards of living.

“There were a number of choices to be made in this Budget but the refusal to implement a wealth tax or for a larger contribution by those who are in a greater position to shoulder the adjustment is a matter of regret for the low and middle income families of this country.

“Following the government’s renewed commitment to maintaining the Irish corporation tax rate, Mandate is calling on the government to ensure companies pay their fair share by ensuring the effective corporation tax is the full 12.5% and not the significantly lower rate they’ve been paying to date.

“It is likely that the domestic economy will continue to struggle and we’ll continue to haemorrhage decent jobs as a result of this government taking more money from the domestic economy. It is clearly a bad budget for the young, the old and the vulnerable.”

Mr Light concluded by saying, “No matter what way this is dressed up it represents a further austerity budget in a series of seven, all of which have had a negative impact on the domestic economy and jobs, particularly in the retail sector.”

ENDS