McCusker Welcomes Strike Move
Éirígí candidate for the Lower Falls in next month’s council elections in the Six Counties John McCusker has welcomed the move by UNISON to ballot its membership on strike action.
The trade union decided to ballot its members in response to the McKinsey report on the health service, which could result in 10,000 job losses in the sector in the Six Counties.
McCusker said: “The British Tory government’s ideological attack on the health service, which is being facilitated in the Six Counties by the Stormont administration, needs to be resisted and resisted now.
“If the Tories and their fellow travelers get their way, the quality of health care you receive will depend solely on the amount of money you are able to pay for it, while the numbers of already hard-pressed health workers will be reduced even further.
“In light of this, UNISON’s decision to ballot its membership on strike action is highly welcome and long overdue.”
McCusker added: “The politicians at Stormont have abdicated any role in the fight back against the cutbacks by agreeing to implement them. It now falls to working people to lead that fight – in the workplace, in our communities and on the streets.
“As a public sector worker myself, I will actively support UNISON’s health service workers if they vote in favour of strike action, as will my party.
“If working people build a united, strong front they can defeat the cuts. But we have to start now.”