Sinn Féin will continue to work with trade unions to resist public service cuts

Conor Murphy

SINN FÉIN MP Conor Murphy has said Sinn Féin will continue to work closely with trade unions to resist any cuts to public services. He was speaking as public service unions prepare to stage a 24-hour strike on Wednesday.

He said:

Sinn Féin is adamantly opposed to the Tory cuts agenda.

When other parties claimed we had no alternative but to accept the cuts, we refused to accept this and persuaded the Executive to develop innovative alternatives which identified a potential £1.6billion in additional revenue.

Sinn Féin’s record in government demonstrates that we have always sought to protect frontline services, lower-paid workers and hard-pressed families. That is why we ensured there would be no imposition of water charges or an increase in student fees.

It is why our ministers are continuing to ensure that every possible measure is taken to protect frontline services despite the challenges of the current economic climate and the Tory cuts agenda.

We fully support the right of unions to take industrial action and we hope to continue to work in alliance with the trade unions and community and voluntary sector to campaign against cuts and to defend community and public services, especially in the most deprived areas.