Open letter to Kerry Dail Deputies McEllistrim, O’Donoghue and Healy-Rae

kerry | worker & community struggles and protests | news report Thursday February 04, 2010 13:10 by Brendan Guilfoyle - Kerry Public Service Workers' Alliance

On public service cuts

An alliance of public service representatives call on Kerry government TDs to choose who they support – the providers and users of public services or the wealthy elite interests that in pursuit of selfish gain are happy to destroy our community.

Dear Deputies,

When the public come to consider the industrial action and disruption that will soon be widespread in the public sector, they will remember the following:

* Public servants play a vital role in our community and are central to our health, education, security, welfare and local services. While bankers and property developers are endowed with a multi billion euro bailout the Fianna Fail led government has set about the dismantlement of our public services.
* Since the banking and building collapse, Fianna Fail has continually campaigned to undermine the work of nurses, teachers, gardai, fire personnel and other valued public servants. Under-valued and poorly paid employees do not offer a good service. It is government policy to sacrifice public services rather than set about taxing the wealthy elite and undoing its own disastrous policies. How was a once popular political party captured by such a small unrepresentative minority of fat cats?
* The unilateral embargo on the filling of any public posts is causing worsening service levels. Staff who have the key skills and experience are threatened with pension cuts if they do not retire early and their replacement is forbidden under the embargo.
* Some 49 per cent of public servants earn less than the average industrial wage. They suffered a wage cut of at least 7 per cent in March another pay cut of at least 5 per cent (in addition to all of the other taxes and levies). Public service families with children and home mortgages face impoverishment.
* In employment terms, the public service is paramount in Kerry. Government policy has not invested in regional infrastructure and private sector jobs are therefore clustered much more in the East of Ireland. In employment terms, the public service is of fundamental importance to Kerry. The wage cuts will result in a direct loss of over €25 million per annum to the county. Local businesses will suffer heavily and more jobs will be lost.

The people of Kerry elected you but gave you no mandate to place the interests of rich bankers and builders before those of workers and the users of public services. Your utterly inequitable policies have politicised public servants to take action to stop the dismantling of community services. We represent an alliance of Kerry public service workers that has come together to fight this campaign.

We call on you as government TDs to choose who you support – the providers and users of public services or the wealthy elite interests that in pursuit of selfish gain are happy to destroy our community.

Signed,

Martin O’Grady (TUI Branch Chair, IT Tralee)

John Duggan, (SIPTU, Chair Irish Ambulance Representative Council)

Pat Keane (PSEU, Dept of Social and Family Affairs)

Seamus Moriarty (GRA, Tralee Garda Station)

Yvonne Mulvihill (PNA Branch Secretary, North Kerry Branch)

John O'Connor (CPSU, Department of Social and Family Affairs)

Teddy Foley (IMPACT, IT Tralee)