Workers backing Enough is Enough campaign say cries for help ‘fallen on deaf ears’

Local workers and community activists have backed a national campaign as cries for help have “fallen on deaf ears”.

Hundreds of people in Liverpool took to the streets as part of a national day of action to call on the government to act in the cost of living crisis. The protestors gathered at St George’s Plateau in Liverpool city centre yesterday, Saturday, October 1 as part of the nationwide Enough is Enough day of action.

The movement is publicly backed by Labour politicians including West Derby MP Ian Byrne, and supported by trade union groups including the Communication Workers’ Union and National Union of Rail, Maritime and Transport Workers, as well as community activist groups such as ACORN, Fans Supporting Foodbanks and Right to Food Campaign.

READ MORE: Hundreds take to city streets to say ‘enough is enough’ as prices spiral

The campaign, which has seen over 500,000 people sign up in support, has called for “fair pay, affordable bills, enough to eat and a decent place to live”. And now local workers and community activists have said “our government has the power to change this, to help people, but our cries have so far fallen on deaf ears”.

Carmel O’Boyle, a local nurse and branch chair of Royal College of Nursing for Greater Liverpool and Knowsley, said she was supporting the campaign as “poverty affects us all”. She said: “The cost of living crisis is having a detrimental affect on healthcare workers and patients alike.

“Hearing people in hardship is heartbreaking. Whilst we live in one of the richest countries in the world, we have people using food banks to survive. ‘Heat or eat’ is a phrase I never thought I would hear, but my patients and colleagues are facing the same fears. Enough is enough, we need change now, for the good of all before people are dying of poverty this winter.”

Zak Hassan, from community sports club Granby Toxteth Athletic, said they were supporting the campaign because “the large community we represent are voiceless and struggling due to the shortfalls of this government”. The 23-year-old added: “We as an organisation are partnering up with campaigns like Enough is Enough to give us a chance to speak up for the unrepresented and struggling voiceless in our community.”

Speakers at the rally, which attracted around 1,000 people, included Mr Byrne and trade unionists involved in the ongoing strikes at the Port of Liverpool, at National Rail and at Royal Mail delivery offices.

Speaking from the roof of a fire engine, Mr Byrne said: “We’ve had forty years of Thatcherite inspired economic consensus, the privatisation of our utilities, underpinned by draconian anti-trade union laws designed to stop us fighting back. But it’s not bleeding working, is it?

“Look at what we’re seeing here. Look at what we’re seeing across the country. Enough really is enough.”

Also speaking were representatives of the Fire Brigade Union (FBU). Lee Hunter, a local firefighter and active member of Merseyside FBU said: “Firefighters work in the heart of our communities and see first-hand the consequences of inequality, brought about through austerity and continued attacks on the working class.

“Alongside other workers firefighters have effectively seen their pay cut as the cost of living has continued to rise, to the point where some are worrying about how they will cope financially. Our members will no longer suffer these ideological attacks and we will stand shoulder to shoulder with the most vulnerable in society to demand a better future for all. That is why the Fire Brigades Union on Merseyside and nationally support Enough is Enough.”

Rallies also took place in London, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow, Birmingham and 45 other towns and cities across the UK. Some 175,000 people signed up to march at the rallies.

Organisers at Enough is Enough say they plan to bring together foodbanks, clothes banks, trade unions and groups supporting those in debt to provide direct assistance to working people on the breadline over the winter months.

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