The National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) has vowed to campaign for more investment in public services and an end to outsourcing. The NCWI’s recent annual general meeting backed a trade union motion calling on the organisation to lobby on the issue.

Siobhan Curran from IMPACT’s HSE Dublin North branch told the meeting that most public servants are women, and that women also depend most on public service provision. “The economic crisis was not caused by women, but it's clear that women are suffering disproportionately,” she said.

She said outsourcing and privatisation posed a huge threat to public services. “Time and time again we have seen the privatisation of a public service lead to poorer standards, less accountability and often unsafe working conditions. Private businesses providing public services in the pursuit of profit are not concerned by the welfare of women. We need to keep the welfare of women as our concern,” she said.

Other trade union motions at the meeting addressed precarious work, equality for gay and lesbian workers, and the recent Paris bakery dispute.