This is the second set of budgetary recommendations that the Irish Congress of Trade Unions(ICTU) has issued during the Covid-19 pandemic, the most severe global health crisis in living memory.
Due to the enormous personal and communal efforts made since March 2020, as well as the unprecedented international cooperation to develop vaccinations, we have been able to lift many of the most restrictive measures. We are reopening society and the economy, step by step, but with a long way to go yet.
It is clear that we are not going back to the way things were – and there should be ‘no going back’ to the old economic model. The indispensability of basic public services and of the welfare state was brought into sharp focus and we need a ‘new deal’ or new economic model to ensure a safe and secure future for all.
