Union say £90 million cuts will drive services to “collapse”

Tuesday 21 July 2015

Unions have accused Jersey’s ministers of deliberately hiding the £145 million deficit in the run-up to October’s elections and have labelled financial plans as “an attack on the public of Jersey."

Just weeks after proposals for a pay freeze provoked an angry reaction from unions, the plans for deficit reduction – including £90 million worth of government cuts – have driven them further.

Despite occasional heavy rhetoric in the last few years, unions in Jersey have held back from action and strikes, but the plans from ministers could be about to change all of that.

The joint statement by public sector unions including Unite and Prospect harden the lines, and accuses ministers of disguising the deficit last year and describes their plans to deal with it as “collapsing public services” and “stealth taxes."

Ministers propose £90m worth of cuts, mainly from staff budgets, and £45 million in new charges on health and waste to balance the books by 2019.

The joint statement dismissed that proposal, saying: “What is apparent to public service representatives and will be to the public is that there was no mention of the black hole in the run up to the recent elections.

“Presumably it didn’t just appear but was deliberately hidden in the run up to the election. It is not just our members who are under attack by the MTFP it is the whole of the Jersey public.

“The austerity measures being proposed will change the face of public services beyond all recognition and before this is allowed to happen, the Public of Jersey should know there are alternatives and demand they are explored.

“We requested that they lead other jurisdictions on abolishing or reformulating the zero ten taxation policy which is clearly the cause of the suggested deficit.

“They decided to hold their line resulting in this attack on the public of Jersey. “Hard evidence shows that economic recovery can only be stimulated by economic investment particularly in public services. We need to make this government listen to this message.”