Tories Want Working People to Pay for Bankster Disaster, says Solidarity
The Conservative Party wants ordinary British workers to pay for the financial disaster caused by bankster greed, Solidarity Trade Union general secretary Pat Harrington has warned.
“The Tory plan to raise the retirement age to 66 for men has been presented as a proposal to tackle Britain’s burgeoning national debt,” Mr Harrington said.
“A large part of the debt to the public purse is as a direct result of the bailout of banks following their greedy and disastrous lending policies. The Tories now have the cheek to announce that it is their intention to make the ordinary British worker pay the price,” Mr Harrington said.
Earlier, Shadow Chancellor George Osborne outlined plans to raise the state pension age for men to 66 from 2016, up to 10 years earlier than planned. The pension age for women will rise to 65 by 2020 under Tory proposals.
Mr Osborne said the move was needed to help reduce the UK’s debts, saying “hard choices could not be avoided” because of the dire state of public finances.
“After years of hard slog workers will have to work that little bit longer if the Tories have their way. Who is to say that this will not be extended as and when the state sees fit?” Mr Harrington said.
“The offensive bankers’ bonuses are set to kick in again this Christmas. After being bailed out by the taxpayer, they will now cream off tax money for themselves. This adds insult to injury as workers continue to be squeezed in the depression.”
“The old City-Tory alliance looks set to restart under David Cameron,” Mr Harrington said. “The new ‘caring’ Tory party is phony. The Tories are showing that they want ordinary workers to pay for the mistakes of the banksters and speculators. Mr Cameron can’t hide his harsh policies however he spins it,” he said.
* Solidarity is the only trade union in Britain which does not discriminate against its members on political grounds. It has about 20 active current cases it is fighting for members on a whole range of issues.
Solidarity has also just finished the latest edition of its in-house journal British Worker which concentrates on education and training. The union is growing fast and has become established enough to be giving evidence next Tuesday to a Government inquiry.
More about Solidarity can be found by clicking here.
