NI industry urges agreement on Welfare Reform

QPANI calls on politicians to consider the economic repercussions of failure to reach agreement

THE Quarry Products Association Northern Ireland (QPANI), which represents the majority of construction material suppliers in NI, employing more than 4,000 people, has written to the First and deputy First Minister and the leaders of the UUP, SDLP and Alliance Parties to support and encourage them in their efforts to find agreement on Welfare Reform.

Gordon Best, regional director QPANI, said: ‘We must do all we can to encourage our politicians to consider the realities and significant repercussions for jobs and the NI economy for failing to reach agreement on Welfare Reform.

‘The outcome of the recent, and significantly delayed, June monitoring has already led to job losses within our own sector due to budget cuts within the Department for Regional Development (DRD). It is abundantly clear that other Departments’ resource, and indeed capital spend, is going to be affected as a consequence of having to pay the Treasury fines for not implementing Welfare Reform.’

Mr Best continued: ‘QPANI, along with its members, will be meeting local members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) over the coming weeks to brief them on the reality of job losses and the knock-on effect on skills loss in their own constituencies as contracts are withdrawn. This comes at a time when many businesses were witnessing the first signs of growth in our economy and actually starting to recruit again.’

According to Mr Best, the experience of recent budget cuts resulting in withdrawal of work programmes and contracts has come as a shock, and the real prospect of further cuts in October and further monitoring rounds has created fear and uncertainty for the future.

‘Our members would support and encourage all those on the Executive to do all in their power to reach agreement on Welfare Reform to solve this matter and to ensure that first, the most needy in our society are protected, and secondly, that the economy, employment and workers livelihoods are protected too,’ he said.