People Power Action Crucial To Reorder Government Priorities

𝗣𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗲𝗼𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗲𝘀

People Before Profit Cllr Shaun Harkin said,

“The DUP’s attempt to cause political chaos over the Protocol underscores their complete disregard for people facing hardship amidst a cost of living crisis.

The DUP’s self-centred and reckless opportunism has put a spotlight on the entire Executive’s failure to act on astronomical energy prices and the spiralling cost of living crisis.

The DUP, Sinn Féin and the SDLP refused to support an Assembly recall motion backed by People Before Profit and others to declare a Hardship Emergency and prioritise putting in place adequate financial protections.

All the big parties are playing up their concern now about the cost of living crisis – but they ignored the Hardship Emergency protest at Stormont and dismissed it as a stunt.

The Executive demonstrated the same complete disregard when the Tories slashed Universal Credit payments.

The entire Executive has backed Tory pay cuts for health and social care workers.

The Executive hasn’t lifted a finger to back the campaign for Westminster to implement a new, radical Wealth Tax on billionaires and corporations – whose bank accounts swelled during the pandemic – to fund vital services.

The treatment of workers and the least well-off contrasts with how the Executive has prioritised handouts to elites and the politically connected throughout the last two years.

Workers stayed on the job and put themselves at great risk, but Stormont dismissed their demands for better treatment and respect just as much as Boris Johnson.

Despite the words of concern now from the Unionist and Nationalist establishment, it’s been one set of rules for elites and another for everyone else. The Executive has acted no differently from the Tories.

No one should expect the Executive to change its modus operandi even in this crisis initiated by the DUP. None of their promises can be trusted.

Workers should take action now for real cost of living pay increases.

People power actions that unite across the communal divide are key to force government into declaring a hardship emergency.

There should be no excuses about putting funding in place to protect those – workers, the vulnerable, community organisations and small businesses – who are being hammered by rising costs and pay cuts.”