NAVCA backs Newcastle plan to use strikes savings to support the sector
NAVCA Chief Executive, Kevin Curley, has praised a council’s plan to give savings from the public sector strike to voluntary and community sector groups fighting poverty.
The idea came from trade union members in Newcastle and has won the support of the council - meaning up to £100,000 could now go to hard-pressed community projects tackling poverty, reducing worklessness and improving neighbourhoods in deprived areas.
NAVCA is urging all other public service employers who will benefit from strike savings to follow this example.
Kevin Curley said: “It would have been very easy for Newcastle City Council to quietly pocket the savings from the strike.
“The fact that they followed the advice of their unions and put that money into local voluntary organisations shows real leadership and a genuine concern for the people who are suffering most from the public spending cuts.
“Voluntary organisations across the country are struggling to maintain their services as their funding gets squeezed.
“I hope others in the public sector will follow Newcastle’s lead and put their savings to good use by supporting voluntary organisations tackling poverty. If they do it will bring much needed resources to the most deprived communities.”
(Source: navca.org.uk)
