Working women from North West worst hit by cuts in public services

Published: March 7, 2010

WORKING women in the North West will be hit hardest by threatened cuts in public services, according to a new TUC survey.

That’s because more women work in the region’s public services than men.

Almost half the women who are in work on Merseyside – 47.74 per cent, or 137,070 of the total female working population – are employed in serving the public in the NHS, schools and the caring services.

Two out of every five women in work in Greater Manchester  – 224,273 women or 40.21 per cent of working women – are also in public service.

Overall in the North West, public services employ more than 600,000 women (618,129 or 41.5 per cent of all female employees).

If these services are cut as a result of the bankers’ recession, it is working women who will pay the price – that’s the  grim warning on International Women’s Day (March 8th).

Most at risk amongst the five Merseyside local authority areas are women in Wirral, where public services employ 27,069 women – 50.5 per cent of the total female working population in the borough.

Next is Sefton, where public services employ 24,376 women – 49.1 per cent of the female working population.

Knowsley has 13,829 women in public service (49 per cent); Liverpool has 60,095 women in public services (48.7 per cent); St Helens has 11,701 women in public services (41.4 per cent).

Amongst the Greater Manchester local authority areas, most at risk are women in Bury where public services employ 16,374 women – 49.0 per cent of the total female working population in the borough. Next is Oldham, where public services employ 16,805 women – 44.1 per cent of the female working population.

Tameside has 14,735 women working in public service (43.3 per cent of the female working population); Salford has 23,901 women working in public service (41.4 per cent); Rochdale has 14,141 women working in public service (41.1 per cent); Bolton has 21,751 women working in public service (40.7 per cent); Wigan has 18,639 women working in public service (39.8 per cent), Manchester has 60,188 women working in public service (38.4 per cent);  Stockport has 22,578 women working in public service and Trafford has 15,161 women working in public service (27.4 per cent).

In Lancashire, public services employ 135,964 women (46.5 per cent of working women).

In Cheshire, public services employ 81,355 women (34.72 per cent of working women).

The survey results are based on the latest data from the Annual Business Enquiry Employee Analysis, 2008 from the Office of National Statistics.

NW TUC Vice-chair Lynne Morris, Regional Manager with the public services union, UNISON, whose membership is 70 per cent women, said: “The simple truth is that if public services are slashed now, as some politicians and pundits are demanding, it will be women who will suffer most.

“It is women’s jobs which are most on the line as a result of this bankers’ recession.

“Redundancies will obviously hit public services very hard – that’s the first thing.

“But with more women facing the dole queue, there will be a knock-on effect on their children and their family life as well as the health and welfare of their local communities, where women still take the lead role.

“How some politicians can call for immediate cuts in services and then try to portray themselves as the party of the family is beyond me.

“Cuts damage the services public servants are proud to provide and they harm women, children and their families most. Public service cuts risk putting back the cause of women’s rights – and that is a terrible prospect today, when we are celebrating International Women’s Day.”

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