Hundreds of workers join mass rally in Belfast

By The Press Association13th March 2015News Northern IrelandCuts, News Northern Ireland, Strike

Striking public sector workers cheered and chanted as the budget was branded the worst Northern Ireland had ever seen.

Hundreds of people including bus drivers, nurses, teachers and fire fighters who had been on picket lines across Belfast packed into the city centre for a mass rally where union reps vowed to continue the fight against austerity.

The flag-waving, air-punching crowd burst into boos and shouted “shame on them” as the Westminster Government, Stormont Executive and public sector senior management were accused of putting vulnerable people at risk.

Patricia McKeown, from Unison which represents thousands of healthcare workers, told the enthusiastic audience: “We still have a national health service; we still provide social care; education and public services. To our enemies we are a threat.

“Why have we still go those important things that enrich our life and make this a better world? Because you have fought for it for decades.”

The Belfast event was among the biggest rallies during the day of action organised by a number of trade unions.

Bumper Graham, from NIPSA, which includes thousands of civil servants among its membership, said he believed there was widespread public support for the strike.

Mr Graham said: “The turnout has been fantastic today, but not just in Belfast. There are rallies all over the province.

“The public fully recognise what our members are trying to do today to protect public services. I have been out since early this morning and I don’t think I have met one person who has been opposed to the strike.

“I think this will make a difference. I would say to all the candidates standing in the Westminster election, listen to the public service workers, listen to the public of Northern Ireland and go and fight the case against whatever government is returned at Westminster.”

Some protesters attended the rally in fancy dress with clowns and people wearing Edward Scissorhands outfits squeezed into the front row.

Others carried banners which read “Down with this Stormont thing”, “Stop the cuts” and “These cuts won’t heal”.

They were further whipped up by Unite representative Jimmy Kelly who told the crowd workers would not give up.

He said: “We were told only a few weeks ago ‘you won’t get a result in the strike ballots’. Workers are not up for a fight. Workers are going to be beaten down by the cuts. You have shown today that you are up for a fight and you are not giving up until we succeed.

“Whether it is north, south or east Belfast the story is the same. Workers are being put down, the unemployed are being put down and we are not taking any more of that treatment.”

Queen’s University Students Union president Ciaran Gallagher was among those gathered at Wellington Place.

He claimed students felt compelled to attend as a show of solidarity and to highlight opposition to a reduction in the budgets for further and higher education.

He said: “We are extremely concerned as students, not just from Queens but across higher and further education, about where the cuts will be coming from.”

Eoin Stewart, a nurse at the Mater Hospital, said he believed the strike would make a difference.

He said: “It’s cuts, cuts, cuts and more cuts. It is time we said enough is enough. There are nurses out here, domestics out here – everybody is out.

“I think the Government will have to listen. We always knew there would be an amazing turnout because we knew how angry people were and when people are angry, they go to the streets.

“We have the public support. Why wouldn’t we? This is a fight for national health service, this is a fight for education, this is a fight for a public sector that belongs to everybody.”

Dermot Rooney, regional chairman of the Fire Brigades Union, said up to 200 fire fighters, including officers, had used their day off to support the demonstration.

He said: “We are here to show our support for the other public servants who are on strike today.

“We are also here to raise about an issue we are facing in our organisation where we are facing a 5.5% cut in the incoming year which is going to have an awful effect on our service delivery.

“We are not on strike. The fire fighters here are off duty. There are some officers here as well and that’s a measure of how seriously we consider this.”