THE response from the Island’s major union to plans to cut £50 million a year from States spending has been nothing if not entirely predictable.

Unite leader Nick Corbel has promised that mass action from his members can be expected. That action, moreover, cannot be expected to exclude strike action.

Mr Corbel has also said that his members are ‘distraught’ about cuts, which they expect will lead to many job losses, and the higher tax burden and extension of the ‘user pays’ principle.

However, although he refers to States plans as ‘ham-fisted’ and seems to lay blame for them entirely on the shoulders of Treasury Minister Philip Ozouf, what is absent from his comment is any suggestion concerning what can be done to take the States balance sheet back into the black.

Firstly, far from being the projects solely of Senator Ozouf and perhaps a few dedicated henchmen, the Comprehensive Service Review and the associated fiscal policy review were agreed without dissent by the entire Council of Ministers – albeit behind closed doors.

Secondly, if the unions are to bring anything to bilateral discussions – which they most certainly should do – their ideas must include alternatives to the present way forward. To suggest anything that falls short of such a contribution is sheer foolishness.

The Island is experiencing the harshest economic conditions since the post-war recovery. This is undoubtedly the present state of affairs and no one who can read a balance sheet – even haltingly – can believe that the Council of Ministers are trying to pull the wool over anyone’s eyes.

Nevertheless, the ministers will find it exceedingly difficult to take the public with them on their voyage into austerity. Many people will be instinctively sceptical about their views and the vehement way in which they have been expressed. Perhaps far more tellingly, collectively, our unions can still exercise very considerable power and it is already evident that at least some of them are in belligerent mood.

The coming months and years are going to be testing times. They will be considerably less testing if union members and leaders can recognise our situation for what it is and co-operate to the best of their ability.

In addition, it would also be more realistic if the executive were prepared to acknowledge that the workforce, particularly in the public sector, has a role to play.