Sheffield Green Party will be supporting the strikes and protests in Sheffield on Wednesday 30th November.

Green Party spokeperson Bernard Little, who is an NHS employee and will be on strike himself, said

“We support decent pensions for all. The protests also draw attention to the government’s attacks on welfare and public services. People are angry about cuts to jobs and services which will harm the most vulnerable.”

Rally and March from City Hall, Barkers Pool from 12 noon .

Full Text Of Bernard’s Speech

My name is Bernard Little. I’m chair of Sheffield Green Party. We are supporting this strike. I’m a public sector worker, a therapy assistant at the Hallamshire Hospital and a member of Unison.

Nobody wants to strike, We’re public servants after all, doing responsible jobs. keeping the city going, educating our children, serving the most vulnerable in our neighbourhoods.

We’ve been forced into this strike because of relentless attacks on public servants by government. We’re left with no choice. Unless we take-a-stand it will get worse for everyone whether you’re in the public or private sector.

Cuts in pensions are a cut in pay. Many public sector workers are some of the lowest paid in the country. There is no need for these cuts, each year we lose £70 billion through tax evasion, £25 billion through tax avoidance and a further £25 billion of taxes that goes un-collected. It’s outrageous!

Public sector pensions are affordable. It’s a political choice about piling the UK’s debt burden onto the people who did least to create it.

In fact the Treasury has confirmed that increases in our pension contributions are not going into our pensions, they are to help pay for the financial crisis, a crisis which we were not responsible for.

The Green Party want a clamp down on tax evasion by the rich. We want a Robin Hood tax on financial transactions. We want an urgent review of the state pension so all of us can
live with dignity in our retirement.

Remember 10% of this country owns over half the wealth.

Remember the wealthy are paid hundreds of times the minimum wage, avoid taxes and hide their billions in offshore accounts.

Remember gambling with money is rewarded more than those who educate, who clean, who heal.

Remember 120 billion pounds of tax is lost from the public purse each year. There is no need for cuts to our pensions.

There is only a need for fairness and justice and for us to take a stand. Thank you.