SDLP South Down MP Margaret Ritchie stood up in defence of public sector pensions in NI during Northern Ireland Questions in the House of Commons today.

Ms Ritchie asked Secretary of State Owen Paterson if he agreed “that the government must do more to deal with the genuine concerns of public sector workers and their pensions under siege, while those who have caused the economic crisis, particularly bankers, are getting away scot-free?”

Mr Paterson replied saying the strikes were regrettable and that the government’s offer to public sector unions was fair, adding that we “are all in this together”.

Speaking afterwards, Ms Ritchie said: “Owen Paterson is fooling himself if he thinks that public sector pension increases will aid the economy when low-paid workers will be losing out.

“This line of ‘we are all in this together’ is ringing more and more hollow as Tory-proposed cuts, enacted by the DUP and Sinn Féin in Northern Ireland, merely serves to widen the gap between rich and poor and impacts negatively on our public services.”

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