Sammy Wilson said trade union protests as a waste of time
The finance minister Sammy Wilson has said a planned trade unionist protest against spending cuts in Belfast on Saturday is a waste of time.
Unions say they are highlighting the plight of thousands of public sector workers who face redundancy.
But Mr Wilson said unions were “giving false hope to people that somehow or other by holding placards they can avoid these financial choices”.
He also accused the unions of using the cuts to gain political clout.
“In doing so, they are probably delaying or seeking to delay the whole process of trying to make a budget.”
The rally, which will begin at St Anne’s Cathedral and make its way to the City Hall, is being backed by the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.
Liam Gallagher of the Derry Trade Union Council said the north-west would be particularly badly hit by the cuts because one in three people were employed in the public sector.
“We have been told that if this goes through, the figures are 20,000 to 25,000 public sector jobs and 16,000 knock-on job losses within the private sector.
“I think these are realistic figures and unfortunately that level of job loss will mean irreparable damage to the Northern Ireland economy.”
Economists have warned that redundancies are inevitable because of the cuts in public spending required by the Comprehensive Spending Review.
Construction and other industries reliant on capital investment face being particularly badly hit because of a bigger than expected cut in the capital budget.
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