Page 43 - Fyne winter 2014

organisations offering support are also
under severe pressure.
There is a frightening growth in HIV
infection and gay men are particularly
at risk. But campaigns to raise
awareness of the risks and to encourage
testing are at themselves at risk because
of inadequate funding.
The impact of austerity on our
community’s voluntary sector, as shown
by the TUC report, is only the most
visible sign of the consequences of
the current economic strategy of the
government. The majority of the new
jobs the government boasts of are in
the lowest paying sectors; and many
LGB and T* workers are among those
struggling to get by with this insecure
and low-paid work. They must survive
on perilous zero-hours contracts, not
knowing from week to week how
much they will earn, juggling the bills
daily because the national minimum
wage will not cover their costs, or
being driven off benefits into ‘self
employment’ that earns too little to
live on..
There is an alternative to austerity, and
this report confirms that LGBT people
have as great an interest as anyone else
in pressing for it.”
Peter PurtonLGBT policy officer, TUC.
To read the ‘Staying Alive’ report, visit
www.tuc.org.uk/sites/default/files /
Staying.Alive.pdf.
www.fyne.co.uk
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