Published: Wednesday, 25th November, 2009 5:00pm

Anger on the streets of Cavan

The anger among the public sector workers around Cavan town regarding the proposed government cuts of €1.3bn in state pay and pension was palpable when they took to the streets yesterday (Tuesday).

An estimated 1,000 public sector workers in Cavan vented their ire at the proposed cuts and the general consensus was "enough is enough". They feel that have already contributed enough with the 7% pay cut in April and the tax levies.

Schools were closed, social welfare payments were disrupted, courts did not sit, there was Christmas day level service in hospitals, and local authority and civil servants had practically shut down for the day.

All non-emergency procedures were cancelled and all scheduled out-patient clinics postponed. HSE swine flu vaccination clinics are also closed.

Some 200 SIPTU members at Cavan General Hospital were on the picket lines from early morning. A spokesman said: "A lot of the members are disgruntled and if the protests escalate they're willing to go along with them." The government is picking on the lower paid all the time, he added.

"No one wants to be out here on a picket but we have to make a stand and tell government that enough is enough. If we lie down they'll walk all over us and we can't let that happen."

An estimated 60 TUI and seven IMPACT members were affected at Breffni College and were united in their stance. "We've made out contribution and it's time that those on higher earnings were taken into account," they said. The government appeared to be targeting lower to mid-scale earners all the time.

Outside St. Felim's Hospital a spokeswoman said about 200 IMPACT members around the county were on picket duty. "The public sector has been hit all the time and we can't afford to take any more cuts." She added that they had sympathy with those in the private sector who has lost their jobs but they had to make a stand.

Some 50 embers of the Public Service Executive Union (PSEU) protested outside the Dept. of Agriculture and the Garda Station. They felt it was unfair to "come after us again and it should be those on higher pay".

A representative of PSEU from Cavan Garda Station said there were a lot of people in the private sector earning €60,000 a year but not contributing their share. "They are the people the government should be going after."

The SIPTU members at Cavan Co. Council were out in force despite the weather and a spokesman said: "The public sector has been demonised in recent months in the media as the bad guys but this is not the case." The local authority has lost about 50 jobs in the last year.

He added that "we could be the vehicle that pulls the country through this. The government should be going after the higher earners."

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