UNISONActive is an unofficial blog produced by UNISON activists for UNISON activists. Bringing news, briefings and events from a progressive left perspective.

Wednesday 16 June 2010

All pain, no gain - Government cuts leading to economic disaster says TUC‏

“History shows us that deep cuts wreck services”,, says TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber writing in the Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/joepublic/2010/jun/16/public-sector-cuts-coalition-economic-disaster

Barber lambastes the Coalition Government’s ‘fair cuts’ programme “most disingenuous….is the fact that the government's plans will inevitably throw vast numbers on to the dole in both the public and private sectors. Different analyses suggest different levels of joblessness as a result of £60bn of cuts, but in every case the figures run into the hundreds of thousands. This will not only be a disaster for all those facing unemployment but will also do further damage to an already fragile economy. As Bob Neill, the local government minister, candidly admitted last week: "Those in greatest need ultimately bear the burden of paying off the debt."

Economic growth is the solution to big public deficits says Barber, a case made in detail in a new TUC pamphlet ‘All Pain, No Gain’ which is published today:
>http://www.tuc.org.uk/publicsector/tuc-18087-f0.pdf