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S. E. A. Statements

Water charges con-trick exposed

Statement by Eamonn McCann, vice-chairman Derry Trades Council, DTC representaive on Trade Unions Against Water Charges.

Monday March 26th. 2007

Plans for water charges and the privatisation of the water service are to continue, despite any postponement of the introduction of water charges.

This is clear from a letter sent by the chief executive of the water service, Katharine Bryan, to staff last Friday.

The letter says that the first step towards privatisation---the establishment of NI Water Limited and the transfer of staff outside the public service---is to go ahead on April 1st.

If the local political parties are to deliver on their clear promises to oppose privatisation and charges, they must repudiate the contents of this letter forthwith and make it plain that water will remain public and be funded through general taxation.

The non-payment campaign will continue. The campaign can claim credit for pushing the water charges issue to the top of the agenda and forcing the main parties to include it in negotiations on devolution. The rallies in Belfast, Derry and Strabane next Saturday will spell it out that, having beaten back water charges this year, we are not going the accept them next year, or the year after that, or ever.

This fight is not over. It has moved into a new phase. It could be that it is only just beginning.

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Text of letter from Katharine Bryan to Water Service staff.
Sent: 23 March 2007 11:12
Subject: Letter from Katharine Bryan - Possible delay in charging

Possible Delay in Water Charging

As you may be aware from coverage in the press, following ongoing negotiations between the main political parties and Gordon Brown, the Chancellor has pledged financial support for Northern Ireland if a devolution deal is arrived at by Monday 26 March.

The financial support includes £100m in 2007-8 to enable the new administration to delay the introduction of water charges without affecting the existing spending plans for Northern Ireland. The details of how this will work in practice are not yet available.

In summary if devolution resumes and water charging is delayed:

  • Northern Ireland Water will still be established, as planned, on 1 April. NIW will be a government company outside of the Northern Ireland Civil Service.
  • Northern Ireland Water will implement its plans, as outlined in the Strategic Business Plan, and as agreed with Government. The funds which would have been collected from domestic customers would then be provided by Government.
  • Planned changes in how we are regulated both economically and environmentally will continue.

If charging is delayed, there will be implications for arrangements made with Crystal Alliance to manage billing on behalf of NIW. We will look at how this should be managed if a delay in charging is confirmed. The relevant Directors will also be talking to staff whose roles would be directly affected over the next few days.

We will keep you informed as the outcome of the political negotiations becomes clearer. In the meantime I want to reinforce my gratitude to everyone who is contributing to the delivery of services and the move to NIW. Whatever the outcome of the political negotiations, there is a great opportunity for us and I am confident that we will take advantage of that to build on the success of Water Service and deliver a high quality service to our customers.

Kind Regards





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