CE cuts attack worst off
Over 600 Irish workers from the Community and Voluntary sector marched to the Department of Enterprise and Employment on Friday, 27 August, to protest against the decision of the Dublin Government to cut 4,500 Community Employment (CE) places. These cuts were not negotiated with the social partners and breach the terms of Partnership 2000.
This reductions have been condemned by the Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed, the Congress Network of Unemployed Centres, the National Women's Council of Ireland, the National Youth Council of Ireland, CORI Justice Commission and the Community Platform
The organisations, have detailed a strategy to protect the long-term unemployed and the services delivered through CE. They want:
A government guarantee that funding for the current 37,500 CE places be maintained for 1999.
A government guarantee that ten 5,000 CE places scheduled to be translated into social economy jobs will only be phased put when the new jobs have been phased in.
A government commitment that no action will be taken to reduce CE funding below 37,000 places without agreement with the social partners on
the reallocation of the resources to programmes which give greater benefit to the long term unemployed.
The government must also restate a range of other commitments already entered into concerning changes in CE:
the provision of additional training places for under 25s, and in particular for lone parents;
that access to CE will still be open to those under25 and to those who have already spent three years in Community Employment where this is the best option available to them.
Sinn Féin Councillor Larry O'Toole, who attended the march along with other Dublin Sinn Féin councillors, said the cuts were ``an attack on the working class community.
It is this group in society that will be effected by the cutbacks. The government is working in conjunction with employers who want to push people into low paid jobs. Low paid jobs are not good enough.''
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