The politicians in the Assembly are now openly speaking about imposing water charges on householders. This additional bill will be in the region of £400 a year - but once they are introduced, like electricity prices, they will increase.

Householders already pay for water through our rates. The introduction of water charges will be a double-tax. People are already crippled with high bills. Rising unemployment and wage cuts have seen ordinary peoples incomes savaged, and now the MLA’s in Stormont want to take more out of our pockets.

The introduction of water charges has nothing to do with investment in the water service - it is part of the process of privatisation of the service. Once charges are established, it opens the door to private companies to take over to make profits.

100,000 say ‘WE WONT PAY!’
The We Won’t Pay Campaign has successfully built mass support for non-payment of water charges since 2003. So far, over 100,000 people have signed our non-payment pledge. This campaign has been responsible for forcing the British Government and the Assembly to defer water charges for the past 4 years. This has saved every household hundreds of pounds.

Water charges can be defeated through a mass boycott. The poll tax in Britain was defeated through mass non-payment and water charges were defeated in Southern Ireland in the 1990’s as a result of a mass non-payment campaign. It is not a criminal offence to refuse to pay water charges. An organised mass non-payment campaign will force the politicians to scrap water charges.

Join the campaign

There are lots of things individuals can do to help build support for the We Won’t Pay Campaign. Can you leaflet your street /estate / college / workplace? Can you ask your local shops to display a poster advertising the campaign? Can you get others in your community to help you promote our campaign?

Contact us on 02890311778 or e-mail: wewontpay@bntconnect.com

There is no end to the antics of the bosses of the partly privatised water company NI Water. After wasting millions on miscalculating the revenue flow expected from domestic water charges, and introducing cuts to the service, they now claim they will have to pay out up to £3m in order to alter a contract with Steria, one of the private companies involved in the water service. NI Water boss William Duddy had the nerve to claim “it will be value for taxpayers”. Yet another reason not to pay water charges!

Anti-water charges campaigners today hit back against calls for the introduction of the controversial household water tax.

Pat Lawlor, spokesperson for the We Won’t Pay Campaign criticised a report from the First Trust Bank which has called on the Assembly to impose water charges on households. Read the rest of this entry »

Threat of water charges will be met with mass boycott

The anti-water charges We Won’t Pay Campaign has responded to speculation that water charges may be introduced next year by warning the Northern Ireland Executive that they “will be met with mass civil disobedience if water charges are imposed on people.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Anti-water charges campaigners reacted to yesterday’s announcement from the Northern Ireland Executive that water charges are to be deferred for another year by calling for water charges to be scrapped rather than delayed.

Gary Mulcahy, speaking on behalf of the We Won’t Pay Campaign explained “It is disappointing that the NI Executive has only announced the deferral of water charges. This means that water bills will be sent to people’s homes in April 2010. People are already struggling to pay the bills with soaring increases in energy costs. Another bill in the form of water charges is not acceptable, especially since we already pay for water through our rates.

“People have not forgotten what the politicians said when they came looking for votes during last years Assembly elections. They then claimed to oppose water charges, but now it seems they are prepared to introduce them in 2010.

“The We Won’t Pay Campaign has not gone away and we will continue to build opposition to water charges until they are scrapped once and for all. Our call for mass non-payment of water charges still has huge support in communities and if water charges are not scrapped the Executive will face a mass boycott of these deeply unpopular charges.”

Water service needs to be taken out of hands of Northern Ireland Water

Bosses from the private sector only interested in making profits, not a quality water service

The We Won’t Pay Campaign has called on the Northern Ireland Executive to intervene and bring the water service fully back into public ownership after a further 300 job losses were announced by the company.

Spokesperson Gary Mulcahy added “Bosses from the private sector were brought in to destroy our water service as part of a long-term plan to eventually privatise the water service. Part of that process was to cut jobs, which will undoubtedly lead to a worse service.

“Now that the Assembly has been forced to abandon water charges due to mass support for our campaign to boycott water charges, they should bring the water service fully back into the public sector. Northern Ireland Water is a private company in law and being run as a private company. But it is being publicly funded. The trade unions representing water service workers also need to prepare to whatever industrial action is necessary in order to stop the job losses.”

‘Water charges should now be scrapped’ - We Won’t Pay Campaign

First Minister Peter Robinson, addressing a meeting of business people today in Coleraine, announced plans to defer water charges for the fourth year in a row.

According to Gary Mulcahy of the anti-water charges We Won’t Pay Campaign:

“News that water charges will not be delivered to homes next April is to be welcomed. The Northern Ireland Executive seems to have acknowledged that it is now impossible for them to successfully implement water charges next April, especially when families are being hit with soaring food, electricity and gas bills.

“They have failed to answer our arguments over water charges and have failed to win any support in the communities. The reality is if they attempt to send water bills to households next April, our campaign of non-payment would gain huge support.

“The idea that water charges are desperately needed is now seen as farcical. We would urge the public to now increase the pressure on the political parties in power to finally scrap water charges for good. The We Won’t Pay Campaign will continue to fight until the Executive abandons it’s water charges agenda.”

Anti-water charges campaigners have responded to recent speculation on a possible new financial package for Northern Ireland by calling on the public to step up the pressure on the Assembly Executive to finally scrap water charges.

Spokesperson for the We Won’t Pay Campaign Gary Mulcahy today stated “The reason the Northern Ireland Executive is looking for a financial package is due to the mass opposition which exists in every local community to water charges.”

“The Assembly has nervously prevaricated for more than a year now over the introduction water charges. Talk of deferring water bills for a fourth year in a row further discredits this entire fiasco. The Executive should now remove the uncertainty which exists by announcing the scrapping of water charges once and for all. That would be the most democratic outcome.”

The We Won’t Pay Campaign will be encouraging the public to contact their local representatives to demand that they join the chorus calling for the scrapping of water charges.

Our answer: DON’T PAY!

THE ASSEMBLY Executive is set to impose water charges in April 2009. Householders will face water bills of up to £775 next year rising to £950 the year after. That is even higher than what direct rule Ministers were looking for!
Read the rest of this entry »

Legal bombshell causes funding crisis for Northern Ireland Water
The long-running controversial plan to introduce water charges has taken a dramatic new twist after a Department of Finance Personnel official has admitted that water charges cannot be collected through the rates on behalf of Northern Ireland Water Ltd.
Read the rest of this entry »