Public spending cuts poisoning recovery, warns UNISON

UNISON, the UK’s largest public sector union, has again called on the Government to “think again” about public spending cuts, for the sake of the whole economy. The call comes in the wake of a report from insolvency firm Begbies Traynor, showing that 50,000 private companies are at risk because of the cuts.Dave Prentis, General Secretary of UNISON, said:“The Government’s public spending cuts are poisoning the country’s chance of economic recovery. They are putting hundreds of thousands of jobs in the private sector at risk. The public and private sectors are inter-dependent and by hitting one you damage the other.“Today’s red flag warning, comes on top of a report yesterday from Pricewaterhouse Coopers, which put nearly a million jobs at risk. The Government cannot ignore the growing body of evidence that their spending cuts are deeply damaging to both the private and public sector.“Before it is too late the Government must re-think its obsession with cutting public spending. There are real alternatives. Clamping down on the tax dodgers, taking action on the tax havens, and getting the banks to pay their fair share towards the recovery by imposing a Robin Hood Tax would raise billions.”