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&feature=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 admissions

Drug related mental health

Behavioural disorders

Teenage 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