Published September 4, 2012 | 
A change has been made to the date of the protest that was planned for Parliament Buildings, Stormont on Monday, 10 September 2012.
This protest will now take place on:
Tuesday11 September 2012
@
12.00pm.
Parliament Buildings, Stormont.
The protest on 11 September 2012 at Stormont coincides with the NI Assembly’s new legislative session during which the Assembly will be giving consideration to the Welfare “Reform” legislation which will have a detrimental impact on both working and non-working families.
PLEASE SUPPORT THE PROTEST!
Published August 29, 2012 | As Millions of people across Britain watch the 2012 Paralympic games aimed to inspire young disabled people to take up sport, compete at the highest level illustrating disability does not prevent a full and active life. It is disgraceful hypocrisy that ATOS Health Care, the private company who carries out the cruel and dis-credited capability assessment is the main sponsor of the games.
As Tara Flood, who won a Paralympic gold in Barcelona in 1992 before becoming a campaigner and educator said in an interview to the Guardian newspaper “It is a shocking irony that Atos is a main sponsor of London 2012 whilst destroying disabled people’s lives on behalf of the government.”
The SCC states disabled people are forced to suffer the stress of the ‘work capability’ assessment administered by Atos; the sole aim of this cruel process is to push as many people as possible off sickness benefits, as part of the Assembly Executive’s planned £500 million in benefit cuts.
The SCC says
- Fight all benefit cuts.
- Kick Atos out of the Welfare system.
- End the work capability assessment.
- A living wage and benefits with work opportunities for all without compulsion.
JOIN THE PROTEST
ROYSTON HOUSE
34 Upper Queen Street, Belfast
FRIDAY, 31st AUGUST 2012:
12.30 – 1.30 PM
Published June 20, 2012 | ICTU has organised a protest against the introduction of welfare reform measures which will impact on the most vulnerable in our community.
Don’t allow the Assembly make families, the unemployed and the disabled pay for the financial crisis caused by the greedy casino mentality of the banks and big business.
SHOW YOUR OPPOSITION TO THE WELFARE REFORM BILL!
Join us on 25th June at 10.30am
at the steps of Parliament Buildings, Stormont.
Spread the word
Contact ICTU to find out more on 028 90 247940
Published May 20, 2012 | Given the current rate of youth unemployment in Northern Ireland is over a fifth (21.4%) of Northern Ireland’s working age population; increased by 155% since 2008. Stop the Cuts Campaign are appalled that the Assembly Executive intends to carryout savage cuts in student bursaries for Nursing and Midwifery courses enrolling in September 2012. According to the DHSSPS.NI consultation document bursaries will be cut initially by £1000 from the student’s entitlement leaving them with a pittance to live on. This will force students to try and balance their training with whatever job they can find if any to survive.
But the proposals go far deeper that just nursing students. If the Assembly Executive and Health Board have its way, they have stated that this is only “Step 1” as they will carry out similar cuts in all healthcare bursaries. This will see attacks on medical, Radiology, Occupational Therapy, physiotherapy, Dietetic, Social Work and Speech and Language students. These brutal cuts in essential bursaries will impact up to 3500 potential students per year. The DHSSPS.NI also states that they will review the bursaries again with a view to making further cuts and all bursaries means tested. This is the stepping stone to cutting bursaries completely and forcing all students to pay for all fees on health courses; having a devastating impact on students from low income families, particularly as welfare benefits are already being cut.
These students will be the Doctors, Nurses and Allied Healthcare Professionals that will be looking after us and our family members in hospitals and community. At a time when we see our health service in meltdown due to staff cuts; do we really want to risk the destructive impact that will occur to their training and the care they will provide to the most vulnerable in our society. For the political parties in the Assembly, this does not appear to matter.
The SCC are completely opposed to all cuts in education and demand that the Assembly Executive stop this attack on healthcare bursaries and re-invest in more student healthcare places to replenish the staff the NHS has lost. The SCC supports and offers any practical help to building a genuine campaign established in opposition to cuts in student healthcare bursaries.
