Socialist Party Election Press Release

Solidarity with striking postal workers

Jim Barbour challenges political parties to refuse to use private mail companies during postal strike

South Belfast Socialist Party candidate Jim Barbour has announced his full support for postal workers who are currently engaged in industrial action.

Mr Barbour, the Northern Ireland firefighters’ union leader, whose central election theme is to Defend Public Services, stated

"Postal workers have been forced to take this action by a brutal management and the Blair Government. What lies beneath this dispute is an attempt to further erode postal workers conditions and to sell off the postal service to the private sector."

"My fellow Socialist Party candidate for East Belfast Tommy Black and I will be offering concrete support to postal workers in Northern Ireland who may decide to take solidarity action. In the event of local industrial action, we are publicly calling on all candidates to pledge not to use private companies to distribute their election manifestos."

For further comment contact:

Jim Barbour 07711210731

Tommy Black 07742405821

Contact the Socialist Party on 028 90 232962 or 07743282321

e-mail: socialist@belfastsp.freeserve.co.uk





NOTES FOR EDITORS:

Jim Barbour is an executive member of the Fire Brigades Union, representing firefighters in Northern Ireland.

Jim led firefighters in the recent dispute over pay and against the run down and privatisation of the fire service.

If elected he will act with the same resolve to defend public services and uphold the jobs and conditions of the people who work in them.

Jim was a founder of the South Belfast Campaign Against Water Charges and is currently helping setting up anti water charges groups around the constituency.

Jim is married with one daughter and lives in the Four Winds area.

Tommy Black lives in the Newtownards Road area and works as a school caretaker in Ashfield Girls’ High School. Tommy is chair of the East Belfast "Water Charges – We Won’t Pay" Campaign and is currently organising across the constituency to oppose this unjust tax.

As the former Chair of the Walkway Community Group he successfully campaigned for better facilities in East Belfast. As a union rep in the public sector union, NIPSA, he has campaigned for the rights of education workers and against the privatisation of our schools. He played a leading role in the struggle of term time workers for a full wage.