Left-wing groups call for 24-hour strike to reverse budget cutbacks

FURIOUS left-wing political groups have called for workers to join a nationwide strike in the wake of the budget and questioned whether leading trade union leaders should continue to hold power.

The United Left Alliance (ULA) is arranging a protest outside the Dáil next Wednesday and appealed to the public, union members and others hit by the budget to join ranks in calling for a reverse of certain cuts.

The alliance also said members of the main opposition parties in Labour and Fine Gael were offering a “shabby deal” to the electorate to secure power. Launching a call for a protest and a national 24-hour strike, MEP and ULA leader Joe Higgins called for a reverse in cuts made to welfare benefit and the minimum wage.