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Government spending 'will hit confidence of nation'
Since making cuts, the government now spends half as much again on buying services and goods from the private sector as it does on its own bills, putting both sides of the field of employment at risk, it has been claimed.
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) analysed the recent departmental spending cuts of between 25 and 40 per cent in the Comprehensive Spending Review, asserting that it will hit the private sector hard.
It explained that newly-released public accounts explain that last year, the public sector wage bill took 25p in tax for every pound, while the private sector took 38p, or over £4,000 for every adult in the UK.
Whether they are axed from their job or are living in fear that they may be, staff in either sector will cut back on their outgoings, according to Brendan Barber of the TUC. "Companies that lose public sector contracts will stop buying goods and services from other firms. The net result is a big loss in business and consumer confidence," he added.
His comments follow the leader's lambasting of figures which indicated that 20,000 people a year are dying each year as a result of their working conditions - equivalent to the entire population of the Orkney Islands.
Posted by Michael Ewing
