Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) in Derry gathered in protest today with other unions and community activists in opposition to further cuts to Universal Credit payments. The event itself was organised by the Derry Trades Union Council who are demanding that the forthcoming welfare payment cuts are immediately cancelled.
A spokesperson for the IWW said following today's event in Guildhall Square in Derry that "The proposed £20 cuts to Universal Credit payments is nothing short of an attack on all of those who are already fighting to keep their heads above water. There is no doubt that our city and surrounding area is already topping the UK tables as an economic blackspot and with further cuts now planned on October 6th, that will literally mean working class families will be fighting for lives.
"This is an attack on workers already on or below the poverty line. It is proof, if poof where needed, that this is effectively a class war. An attack by the political establishment, the wealthy few, upon the poorest and most vulnerable within the Derry area.
"For ourselves as a union, it is our belief that the only effective answer to this is workplace and community action. Let's not forget that we are still in the grasp of a global pandemic. We cannot allow our class to be subjected to increasing humiliation by the bosses and their establishment. Be that from within Westminster or Stormont who are now in the process of implementing more cuts on the vulnerable and weakest within society.
"It's high time the political establishment received a clear response to their attacks from the labour movement, that an injury to one actually means an injury to all." #IWW #CancelTheCut