Rallies will be held across Northern Ireland tomorrow to protest planned further cuts to the public sector and to call for further job creation policies.

The rallies — organised by the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions — will be held in Derry, Omagh, Coleraine, Craigavon, Magherafelt, Ballymena, Enniskillen, Armagh, Newry and Belfast.

The simultaneous rallies will take place at 1pm, with Derry's being staged on Custom House Street.

ICTU's Peter Bunting said that economic policy makers could learn a lesson from the news that the US economy was coming out of recession.

He said: “The US economy is improving because of President Obama's stimulus package. Likewise, the improvements in the German and French economies are down to prudent use of a public sector-led response to the downturn. Stimulus policies work.

“In contrast, the economy in the Republic of Ireland is stuck in a vicious downward cycle of cuts and falling demand and more cuts. The ICTU and others are calling for policies which stimulate growth and protect jobs.

“We in Northern Ireland and the UK cannot make the same mistakes which Brian Cowen and Brian Lenihan have made. We should plan, stimulate and innovate to protect and develop our economy.

“The Northern Ireland Committee of the ICTU is organising simultaneous rallies to prevent us facing the same crisis in 12 or 18 months time.

“The NI Executive budget for 2008/2011 introduced cuts of £1.604bn across all departments in Northern Ireland. The Executive is now planning for in excess of £370m in cuts before the end of the current financial year.

“All of these cuts will disproportionately affect working families and the disadvantaged, and all users of public services.”

The Derry rally is being organised by the Derry Trades Council, whose secretary Liam Gallagher said: “Members from Nipsa, Unite and Unison, basically all the public sector workers, will be there to state their opposition to the prepared cut backs over the next year.”