The Economy

Whereas the past two years have seen the imposition of aggressive regimes of fiscal consolidation in Northern Ireland and the Republic, this conference considers that the human cost of austerity is unsustainable. Through no fault of their own thousands of people are denied the right to a living in their own country, are oppressed by debt or forced into a subsistence-type existence through social welfare benefits which are inadequate to prevent poverty. Those who still have work have been forced to endure much reduced living standards often beyond what constitutes a decent life. This state of affairs is made more intolerable by a culture of denial about its real cause - a crass lack of ethical behaviour and governance failures by those who were in positions of authority and oversight in the banking sector. This misconception of the problem has been compounded by an inability to appreciate its multi-faceted dimensions - fiscal, banking, economic, social and reputational - and by a deliberate attempt to present it as a systemic public sector flaw rather than the implosion of the neo-liberal growth model that it is. This is reflected in the articulation of proposed solutions which are ever more extreme variants of the model that has failedThis conference rededicates the trade union movement to the pursuit of A Better Fairer Way out of the crisis. It asserts that we will continue to campaign at home, and in collaboration with the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), until those responsible for the debacle bear their fair share of the costs of adjustment and workers and their families are no longer denied the chance of a decent quality of life.