Belfast protest at threat to health sector job losses
The Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (NIPSA) will be protesting outside the Health & Social Care Board and Public Health Agency in Belfast tomorrow to highlight the impact of the budget cuts on health and social care agencies.
They say a number of Health Arms Length Bodies will be experiencing between 3% to 15% cuts in their budgets.
NIPSA Deputy General Secretary, Alison Millar said: “It is frightening to think of the impact of the budget cuts to a number of Health Arms Length Bodies including the Health & Social Care Board; Public Health Agency; Business Services Organisation; NI Medical & Dental Training Agency; RQIA; NIPEC and NI Social Care Council.
“All of these organisations are threatened with cuts of between 3% – 15%. It goes without saying that these organisations are unlikely to be able to make cuts of this magnitude without impacting on the services they provide and impacting on jobs.”
NIPSA say they have organised this protest in advance of possible strike action (on March 13th) to highlight the impact that these cuts will have on a number of health services and health sector jobs, which may be lost as a result of these cuts imposed by the Health Minister.
The union also say they are concerned that no detailed information has been provided on what the real implications are of these proposed cuts.
Tommy Brownlee, NIPSA Official stated: “Our members are worried and concerned about the impact these announcements may have on their jobs, job security and the security of their families. NIPSA has met and will continue to meet the Senior Management Teams in each of the impacted bodies to fully understand the magnitude of these cuts.
“The Health Minister is playing fast and loose with our members livelihoods and members today are expressing their anger and concern at these cuts. NIPSA believes these organisations form part of the building blocks of the Health Service and to undermine these functions cause untold harm to patient care.”
