Transcript NIC ICTU Women’s Committee

NIC ICTU Women’s
Committee
Austerity and the
Impact on Women's
Health and Wellbeing
What is health?

The World Health Organisation has
defined health as a “state of
complete physical, mental and
social well being and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity”.
Employment in Northern
Ireland

A Northern Ireland employment rate of
65.8% compared with the UK average of
70.5%

Increasing unemployment rate with a
significant increase in unemployment in
2010 – increase of 6.3% compared to an
overall UK decrease of 8.1%

Women have a much higher rate of
economic inactivity than males with one
third (33.9%) of women of working age
economically inactive in 2011 compared
to one fifth (20.9%) of men.
Public Sector in NI

NI economy traditionally dependent on
it’s uniquely large public sector

No OECD member has more than 25% of
its workforce employed by the state yet
the public sector accounts for more than
30% of all jobs in NI across local
government, health, education and the
civil service.
Northern Ireland
Workforce

78% of all jobs are full time and 22% part
time

37% of women work part time compared
with 8% of men

Women account for almost two thirds of
the NI public service workforce (63.4%).
They are 61.3% of full time and 75.5% of
part time employees.

Women therefore likely to be the biggest
losers in public sector job losses and pay
freezes.
Housing

Number of homeless single males
more than doubled from 3196 in
1995/6 to 6804 in 2011/12. The
number of homeless single women
increased by 83% during this period
from 2061 in 1995/6 reaching a
peak of 3769 in 2011/12
Welfare reform and NI

Northern Ireland will be the worst affected region
of the UK

With reforms implemented, there will be £750
million a year taken out of the local economy

That’s £650 for every adult of working age

Biggest financial loss comes from:

Incapacity benefit – 230 million a year

Tax credits – 135 million a year

1% uprating of most working age benefits

Reforms to Disability Living Allowance – 105
million

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3ciQhIeFR4&featur
e=c4-overview&list=UUW9SnLqvf6iLMSTGcnblAfQ
Health care and family
planning

1967 abortion act does not apply to NI.

No provision for abortions to be legally
carried out

CEDAW Committee recommendations
CEDAW
Recommendations


Recommendation 52

Disability

Older women

Asylum seeking women

Traveller women
Recommendation 53

Programmes and policies

Disabled women

Reproductive treatment

http://vimeo.com/68204686
Childcare provision in NI
(or rather lack of!)

NI is the only region of the UK not to have
a childcare strategy (although this is
currently being consulted on)

Only part of UK where there is no
legislative requirement to ensure that
parents have access to childcare services

Families in NI are paying 45% of their
income for childcare for one child – the
highest amount in Europe.
Transforming Your Care



Transforming Your Care is a major
structural and policy change in the NHS in
NI
Closures of:
 A&E
 maternity services
 Threat to midwifery led services
 Care of the elderly
Impact on rural areas
Health Equality Gaps
Alcohol

related hospital admissions
alcohol related mortality
Self
Harm
Hospital
Drug
admissions
related mental health
Behavioural
Teenage
disorders
births
Budgeting in NI Health
Care

6% budget cut to the Health and Social

GDP on health and social

funding per head in Northern Ireland.

mental health of the citizens of Northern Ireland