Article from the March 2006 issue of the Socialist
newspaper of the Socialist Party, Irish section of the CWI

PROTEST against Water charges

Saturday 1st April, 1pm, Belfast City Hall

PETER HAIN is an April Fool if he thinks we are going to pay his water charges. That is the message the "We Won't Pay" Campaign will be getting across at their 1 April rally at Belfast City Hall.

The rally is being organised to mark the fact that, from April, there will be just one year to go before these charges are due to be introduced. This means there is one year to launch a campaign of massive opposition that can defeat them.

The government have lost all the arguments about water charges. At first they claimed we don't pay for water but, when challenged, they accepted we pay for it in our rates.

They said European rules meant people had to pay a separate charge but, again when challenged, were forced to accept this is not so.

They say we pay less than people in England and Wales - but chose to ignore the fact that wages here are much lower and prices of basic necessities much higher than across the water.

The government has lost all the arguments but are still going ahead with the charges. This is because the real reasons they want to introduce this tax are not the reasons they give in public. Water charges are part of their overall neo-liberal agenda of cutting public services to make way for privatisation.

The message that the "We Won't Pay" rally will be getting across on 1 April is that the charges can be beaten.

There are a large number of groups and campaigns opposing the charges, reflecting the almost total opposition that exists. The "We Won't Pay" Campaign welcomes this broad opposition and is part of the trade union based "Coalition against Water Charges".

However the "We Won't Pay" Campaign is distinct in that is the only campaign that is arguing for and actively preparing for mass non payment as the most effective way to defeat the charge.

Other campaigns are relying on lobbying and on linking arms with the local politicians. But this government is deaf and blind when it comes to lobbying. The main local parties all agreed to introduce water charges when they held office in the Assembly.

Non-payment is the way the beat the government on this. But non-payment needs to be prepared for long before the charges come in.

Following the 1 April rally, the "We Won't Pay" Campaign will go into a new gear. There will be further protests and dozens of local meetings with the aim that every area will have its own non payment group before the charges come in next April.

Already preparations for the rally are going well. Local groups are leafleting and postering their areas and making arrangements to get people there.

A number of unions including NIPSA and the Fire Brigades' Union are expected to support the event.

Don't miss this rally. Come along and bring family and friends. Make sure that 1 April sends a clear message to Peter Hain that his charges will be resisted.

After 1 April help build the Campaign over the year so that, come next April, Peter Hain will be an even bigger April Fool if he tries to introduce them.