Belfast Health Trust plans to ration services will put lives at risk

Health campaigner calls on unions to build for mass demonstration

The Belfast Health and Social Care Trust have announced plans to cut emergency surgery from the City and Mater hospitals and centralise the service in the Royal Victoria Hospital by 2013.

Centralising emergency surgery in the Royal Victoria can, in and of itself, potentially put lives at risk due to increased travel time for patients. However, this is just the beginning.

Week of ‘Protest and Solidarity’ held across Europe

Make ETUC 29 September "Day of action" decisive workers’ mobilisation

Following the call by sixteen MEPs from European United Left / Nordic Green Left (GUE/NGL) in the European Parliament, and initiated by Joe Higgins of the Socialist Party (CWI in Ireland), protests and activities took place in many countries across Europe last week. Although mostly modest in size, the breadth of these actions actively point in the direction of what is needed - mass European-wide protest and industrial action to resist the attacks of governments and bosses across the continent.

Fight the Cuts!

This week's Budget is a declaration of war against working class and poor people. The Tory/Lib Dem government is attempting to spin the Budget as being progressive. Nothing could be further from the truth. This Budget will lead to major cuts to public services, wage cuts, job losses, attacks on benefits and further tax cuts for the super-rich.

Thoracic and Vascular beds under threat at Royal Victoria

The management of the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust continue unabated with their agenda of cuts to frontline services. The Socialist Party can exclusively reveal that Thoracic and Vascular wards 4A and 4B in the Royal Victoria Hospital are to be amalgamated with the loss of approximately half the beds.

Protest against cuts to hospitals, schools and vital public services

A protest has been called on Thursday 24th June from 5-6pm outside the European Commission offices on the Dublin Rd in Belfast to oppose the cuts to public services to be announced in this weeks Budget.

Trade unions back Protest Against Public Service Cuts
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Letter of support from unions and political parties
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Communities must unite against sectarian and racist attacks

Anti-racism campaigner calls for united action

Local resident and anti-racist activist Paddy Meehan condemned last night’s attacks in the Village area of South Belfast.

Mr. Meehan called for “an immediate end to all sectarian attacks against Protestant homes and Catholics living in the Village. It is important that local communities unite, across the sectarian interface, to stop all attacks. Communities must stand up and isolate racists and sectarians on both sides.”

Bloodbath Budget 22 June

Millionaire ministers savage public services

Deeper cuts, faster cuts, tougher cuts. This is what Tory chancellor George Osborne is promising in his 'austerity' budget on 22 June. He is justifying the cuts by saying that the public debt is "worse than we thought".