THE States has been accused of starting a recession. Even though the House has agreed corporate tax reform to make Guernsey a more attractive and competitive place for business, Ron Le Cras, from the Transport and General Workers’ Union, said that while jobs were being shed across the island, the States continued to ignore the public.

‘You are still hitting the working man,’ Mr Le Cras, the union’s regional industrial organiser, told a recent public meeting.

He said that many were concerned about how they would be affected by it.

‘How do you intend to protect the people on low pay?’ he said. ‘You have started a recession already.’

He was furious that no one was being held responsible for multi-million-pound overspends on States capital projects.

‘Who gets taken to task for it? The answer is nobody. What do we see getting done about it?’

Mr Le Cras also said he knew why there was a poor turnout at public meetings.

‘The people of Guernsey are fed up of wasting their time going to meetings, making representations and the States not listening.’

But Treasury minister Lyndon Trott dismissed the claims.

He insisted that the tax proposals protected the lower paid.

‘We have done everything in our power to ensure 75% of the people in this island have the minimal economic impact,’ he said.

‘I don’t think we could have done any more.’

Deputy Trott also played down claims about overspends on capital projects.

‘Ninety per cent of public-sector contracts come in on time and budget – occasionally there is a dispute,’ he said.

He also said that the economic figures did not support claims of a recession.

‘Far from it,’ he said. ‘This economy is in good shape and will go from strength to strength.’