Northern Ireland could be crippled today by a major public sector strike.
Unions in the north have been embroiled in long-running wage disputes, some lasting for years.
Workers are demanding that the same wage incentives offered to workers in other parts of the UK be introduced in Northern Ireland.
To further this objective, around 16 trade unions with around 170,000 cooperative members will take part in industrial action today.
Teachers, doctors, nurses, bus and train drivers, civil servants and others will be on the picket line.
Members from these various sectors have been taking part in industrial action over the past 12 months, but this will be the first time the action has been coordinated throughout the day.
Yesterday’s ICTU Executive Committee meeting expressed unanimous support for affiliated unions participating in industrial action across North Korea today.
Speaking after the conference, ICTU general secretary Owen Reidy said he expected today to be “the biggest industrial dispute in Northern Ireland’s history”.
He added: “Northern Ireland’s civil servants are being used as political pawns by this discredited Conservative government.
“Many of these workers have not had their salaries increased for three years, despite the post-COVID-19 situation and the cost of living crisis.
“The funds are there, but the workers are being held to ransom. This is unacceptable and not sustainable.”
Mr Reidy also called on the Irish Government to “recognize the consequences of not reaching an agreement on the expansion of public sector pay and public services in this jurisdiction”.
“Unprecedented scale”
Northern health officials have warned that the disruption will be of a “massive and unprecedented scale” and the Ministry of Health is urging people to “take all prudent steps to reduce the likelihood of needing medical treatment”. He recommended that.
Schools are expected to close as all major teachers’ unions and other education staff go on strike and public transport will not run.
Unison will be one of the unions participating in the strike. Unison has 40,000 members across the health, social care, education and community volunteering sectors.
John Patrick Clayton, policy expert at Unison, said: journal People receiving health and social care make up a large proportion of its membership.
“They have been involved in industrial action in the health sector for over 12 months,” Clayton explains.
“We also have members of educational support services, such as classroom assistants and those who provide catering and cleaning services in schools.
“They have been taking industrial action in recent months and staged a one-day strike in November last year in connection with an ongoing dispute over pay.”
Mr Clayton said of people working in the health sector: “They are very frustrated by the fact that in every other part of the UK we have seen NHS workers being paid.” .
Members of the Royal College of Nursing on a picket line outside the Mater Health Hospital in Belfast in 2022. P.A.
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“They are suffering from high inflation and rising costs of living, but they have seen their colleagues in other parts of the NHS receive bonuses while they themselves have not.
“They feel that they are being left behind and that the situation they are in is truly unacceptable.”
In December 2019, more than 20,000 people working across health services in the North took part in strike action demanding equal pay with colleagues in the NHS across Northern Ireland and the UK.
“Stormont executives re-established pay parity when they returned in early 2020,” Mr Clayton said.
“The concern for our members is therefore that they are seeing paychecks being made in other parts of the NHS and the link to equal pay being broken once again.
“That’s the core of the conflict and why they’re going on strike.”
education
When it comes to educators, Creighton said: journal “The dispute is over an alleged review of pay and appraisals,” he said.
“This is a process that has been ongoing with the Northern Ireland Education Authority and the Department for Education for several years,” Mr Clayton explained.
The Northern Ireland Education Authority was directed to carry out a pay and grade review in 2018 to ensure a fair and equal pay structure.
Mr Clayton said these reforms were needed to ensure the education support services workforce was “fairly and appropriately valued for the vitally important work of providing educational services”.
Mr Clayton added: “We would like to see them recognized for that, but the funding to actually make that pay and appraisal review happen has not yet been released.”
Funding to carry out this review is available but is being withheld by Northern Ireland Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris.
In December, the UK government proposed a £3.3bn (€3.85bn) package to stabilize Northern Ireland’s finances, including £600m (€700m) to settle public sector pay claims. .
However, this will only be available if the Stormont facility is restored.
The DUP is refusing to join the devolved government until unionists’ concerns about post-Brexit trade deals are resolved by the UK government.
Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O’Neill yesterday spoke at a recall meeting after Stormont’s failure to elect a speaker, accusing the DUP of refusing to accept a nationalist prime minister, saying Stormont may never come back. expressed concern.
Sinn Féin Vice-President Michelle O’Neill spoke in the Northern Ireland Parliament yesterday. P.A.
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The DUP again used its veto yesterday to block the selection of the Speaker, Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister.
Mr Heaton-Harris has been asked to intervene on an interim basis to ensure funding for public sector workers is secured.
Clayton explained: “In the absence of the Stormont executive, it is the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland who sets the budget for public services in Northern Ireland.
“The budget provided does not provide the resources needed to address pay issues in either health or education, leading to proposed cuts across public services and government departments.
“In the health sector, we have repeatedly called on Heaton-Harris to do something about pay, because other parts of the NHS also have pay incentives, and this is why health care in Northern Ireland This should have been reflected in the wage incentives for workers.”
“Before Christmas, Mr. Heaton-Harris said there were resources available for a fee, but he has not released those resources and that is causing great frustration.”
File image of Northern Ireland Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris P.A.
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Mr Clayton said he needed to see Stormont’s chief executive reinstated, but called for “funds to be released by Heaton-Harris to fix issues around public sector pay”.
“The Secretary of State has previously said that he does not and cannot negotiate on salary issues, and we have not asked him to do so,” Clayton said.
“We’re asking him to release the funding we need to address these issues. That will be the message our members will be conveying today.”
“Political Football”
Clayton said. journal There is widespread dissatisfaction that the problem cannot be resolved.
“Even without executives, members still have to deal with pay issues.
“That’s what leads to this huge frustration, you have a secretary of state there who is responsible for governance and public service budgeting, and he says the resources for salaries are there.
“That frustration comes from the feeling that our members don’t want to be used as a political tool,” Clayton said.
“Heaton-Harris said there are resources out there and our message is we need to free up those resources.
“The Civil Service Secretary in Northern Ireland and the chief executives of various health trusts have all issued statements highlighting the need to address pay issues and make that funding available.”
Jane Brady, Director of the Civil Service for Northern Ireland, has written to Heaton-Harris asking for the funds to be released to stop today’s strike action.
Northern Ireland Civil Service Secretary Jane Brady called for funds to be released to stop the strike. P.A.
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Her letter read: “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.
“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.”
Mr Clayton added that Unison members “do not want their issues to become political footballs”.
“They know that they have very reasonable demands on pay. We have seen them paid in the NHS in England for example, so there is a movement to recognize them here as well. I hope to be seen.”
“The devil is in the details”
Asked if the release of these funds would be enough to meet the strikers’ demands, Clayton said: “I don’t want to raise any expectations that that’s going to solve everything.”
“It would be a big step in the right direction,” Clayton said. “But the devil is in the details.
“While funds are being released, we expect assurances about what funds will be made available across the various conflicts in which we are involved.
“There will also need to be discussions with executives and departments about how that money will be spent, but first and foremost the money needs to be released.
“Releasing this money would be a big step, but it will then require work with unions to get to a point where employers and departments can make proposals to their members.”
Elsewhere, Mr Clayton said today’s strike would be an opportunity for people to “join other public sector workers in other unions to make their voices heard loudly”.
“They need to be valued, they need to be treated fairly, and they will be taking that message to everyone who is in a position to do something about it.
“Where do we go after today’s strike?” We will continue to work with representatives from our various branches to consider next steps.
“However, we have made it clear that our members will not sit back and accept a position that is truly unacceptable.
“They need and will continue to seek solutions, and this sense of frustration will continue until we see some really positive developments.”
-Additional report from Press Association
