Pressure continues to mount on the Northern Ireland Secretary to reach a pay deal ahead of the largest strike action in recent history.
Education unions on Thursday called on teachers to voice their “dissatisfaction” after Chris Heaton-Harris was given a stern warning by the Health Secretary and Northern Ireland Civil Service Secretary Jayne Brady this week.
Mark McTaggart, from the Irish National Teachers’ Organization (INTO), which represents more than 7,000 members in Northern Ireland, said he was fed up with civil servants being treated like “pawns” while Stormont sat idle. He said he was doing it.
“The Secretary of State has made it clear that funding is available to deliver fair pay for union members, yet he and the DUP remain committed to working with the DUP while workers struggle to make ends meet. “They seem content to play tug-of-war,” he said.
“We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: fair public sector pay solutions do not depend on the actions or inactions of politicians or political parties.”
Heaton-Harris said on Monday that more than £3bn worth of monetary policy – including nearly £600m to settle public sector pay claims – remained conditional on administrative reform.
“The industrial action taken by trade unions will disrupt the lives of many people across Northern Ireland,” he said, adding that the public sector remained a remit.
“If the executive branch is not reformed by Friday, as I say, we will have to make a number of decisions and we will come up with next steps in due course,” he said.
Significant disruptions to health services are expected on Thursday, with the Ministry of Infrastructure warning people against unnecessary travel as the cold weather continues.
Polishing services will be affected for a week as GMB and Unite members continue industrial action.
Mr Brady wrote to the Northern Ireland Secretary on Monday, saying: “Urgent action is needed to address unacceptable pay disparities in the public sector.”
“You have made it clear that the UK government cannot and will not sit back and tolerate further decline in public services and public finances,” she said.
“This Thursday marks the biggest day of industrial action in a generation, reflecting the strength of sentiment and the deteriorating and frankly untenable position we currently find ourselves in. Let’s go.”