WOMEN AGAINST THE CUTS

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: may/june 2012 :: RMTnews 18 A t last year’s RMT national women’s conference a resolution was passed on the topic of women against the cuts. This called for support for Merseyside Women Against the Cuts and London Women Against the Cuts, along with raising awareness about these campaigns and the TUC briefing on this topic within the union. The TUC also produced a briefing titled 'The gender impact of the cuts' which outlined the impact that cuts to jobs, services and welfare would have on women. At the time of writing many of the cuts were yet to take effect. However, even at that early stage it was already apparent that the government's deficit-reduction strategy would disproportionately disadvantage women and families, particularly those on low incomes. The TUC updated this briefing recently giving an overview of the ways in which women in both the public and private sectors have been affected by the public sector cuts, as workers, as benefits claimants and as service users. This comprehensive briefing is in the women’s section on the RMT website. In summary it shows how the government’s attacks on the public sector are having a disproportionate and disastrous effect on women in three main ways: • More women will lose their jobs simply due to the fact that significantly more women than men are employed in the public sector • Women are more reliant on the services than the public sector provides and therefore stand to lose more from cuts to services • Women are more likely to depend on the welfare system and will be hit hard by cuts to benefits. The topic of the gender impact of the cuts was taken forward at this year’s conference. The TUC briefing of the impact of the cuts was given to the delegates and breakout groups pooled their experiences and knowledge of what was happening in their areas. RMT delegation leader to the TUC women’s conference Tracy Darker noted the examples delegates were sharing and took them to the conference to be included in their mapping exercise. Besides the cut back in child tax benefits and increases in unemployment which were universal, local examples included the closure of children’s play areas, citizen advice bureaus and libraries. In addition, a request for examples on the global recession within the transport industry had been received from the International Transport Workers Federation. Again delegates pooled their experiences which have been fed back to the ITF. Should any member wish to send in any evidence regarding the real experience of the cut backs, please do contact the Equal Opportunities Officer, j.webb@rmt.org.uk. Oxfam - A Gender Perspective on Welfare Reform. WOMEN AGAINST THE CUTS RMT equality officer Jess Webb reports on the effect of government cuts on the lives of working women Many campaign groups, charities, community groups, and NGOs have also published responses to government policies. A selection of these can be found at the following websites: The Fawcett Society www.fawcettsociety.org.uk Women’s budget group www.wbg.org.uk/ Working Families Comprehensive Spending Review: The Impact on Working Families www.workingfamilies.org.uk/articles/pdf/article/341 Child Poverty Action Group “Research commissioned by the TUC shows that female lone parents will lose 18.5 per cent of their net income”