Trade unionists in Northern Ireland will join up with the wider public as they unleash a campaign of industrial action to beat back cruel cuts from Westminster.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ (ICTU) Northern Ireland committee called for its affiliates to engage with their members and wider communities after a special meeting on Monday that considered holding ballots on strikes.

ICTU assistant general secretary Peter Bunting warned: “Northern Ireland is facing cuts to jobs and services which the society simply cannot bear.

“The dam has burst after years of pressure from Westminster.

“Since 2010, £3.6 billion has been removed from the block grant. Years of whittling away at public services have reached down to the bone.

“There is now nothing else to cut without doing permanent damage.

“At the urging of ICTU-affiliated trade unions and their 215,000 members, the leadership of the trade union movement is determined to make an effective and collective response to stop these cuts.”

A series of public meetings will be hosted by local trades councils in major towns and cities during 2015, in which trade unionists and local campaigns will work together as part of a long-term strategy against the cuts proposed in the 2015-16 draft Budget and the further cuts threatened for the rest of the decade.

The ICTU urged local politicians to refuse to impose these “draconian” cuts.

“We commend the local political parties for standing up to (British Prime Minister) David Cameron last week and speaking for their voters who have consistently opposed welfare reform and cuts to essential public services,” said Mr Bunting.

“These services are all essential for the wellbeing of our people, the health of our economy, the skills of our workforce, the sustainability of our environment.

“We cannot allow ourselves to be trapped by false choices.

“If George Osborne thinks that we will slash welfare in order to cut corporation tax, the answer is simple — we don’t want to do either.”