In defence of our public sector

BY Gerry Kelly
In the current climate it seems to be the order of the day for some commentators to casually dismiss the public sector as wasteful and ripe for sweeping cuts. However, as I walked freezing up Ardoyne Road in this 'current climate' very early on Saturday morning, I was amazed by the many care-workers out and about tramping through the snow.

Perhaps it's the extremes of weather or the run up to Christmas that draws our particular attention to those who toil away quietly tending to our most vulnerable. Snow, darkness, freezing fog, icy footpaths and punishing workloads are the norm. Yet every time I turn on my car radio all I hear is the public sector under attack.
As an MLA I deal daily with constituents most distressing experiences when the public sector has let them down. That's the nature of political life, consistently helping to tackle failings in the system and ensuring they are put right as we strive for the delivery of first class services.

However I want to take this opportunity to praise the dedication of our public sector workers. They shouldn't only get the headlines when something goes wrong. Nurses, public transport workers, teachers, cleaners, fire and rescue workers, porters, home-helps, council workers etc.
The list is huge and these are the glue, along with the community and voluntary sector, that hold society together.

I'm sure you have heard countless times of the little acts of kindness people have received above and beyond the call of duty from public sector workers on the front line under extreme pressure. Be it a kind word, a cup of tea or a quick message. For many older people this can be the difference between life and death and the only personal contact they receive from one day to the next.

Not to mention the daily work done while taking verbal and physical abuse, tending to the bereaved or putting life and limb on the line. Is anyone seriously suggesting this is a wasteful area ripe for sweeping cuts?
Sinn Féin have set out our stall to defend front line services. Nowhere is this more important than deprived areas of North Belfast. The Mater Hospital alone is our biggest employer and a massive community resource, which needs to be cherished and defended by us all.

The morale of public sector workers across Ireland is at a very low point as they are forced to pay the bill for the rampant unregulated greed of the free marketeers.
Those of us old enough to remember the last time this savage Tory agenda was common currency will recall their obsession with the price of everything and the value of nothing. For many of our workers the public sector is a vocation not just a job.

Encouraging jobs and growth in private industry must be complementary to investing in our public sector. Be in no doubt this is a battle of ideologies. The Tory's and their local political cohorts intend to use this recession to bring in a raft of anti-worker policies that in more normal circumstances they wouldn't try.
It's building communities verses ‘get on your bike’. It's rights verses charity. Its society verses the cult of individualism. In the current Assembly negotiations to produce a budget, Sinn Féin will be strongly defending workers on the front line.