Workers in health and social care, education, public transport, roads, forestry, rivers, ferries and PSNI to strike for improved pay

Union demands secretary of state for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris stops using underfunding of public services as negotiating leverage

Unite the union has confirmed that public sector workers have voted to join a wider, coordinated strike action by public sector workers on 18 January. Over the next 24 hours the union will provide full details of the industrial action to a range of public sector employers. 

8,000 public sector workers in Unite will join the action. The union’s membership includes more than 4,000 health and social care workers, 2,300 bus and rail workers, 800 education authority workers as well as members in the roads service, forestry service, rivers agency, Ferry services and PSNI. The coordinated strike action by public sector workers on 18 January is set to be the biggest in the history of Northern Ireland and is focused on achieving pay improvements as well as ensuring pay parity where relevant with public sector workers in Great Britain. 

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “This will be an unprecedented demonstration of the power of workers in Northern Ireland. For almost two years, the absence of a functioning Stormont Executive has led to growing paralysis and crisis across public sector services. 

“This situation has been made worse by a secretary of state for Northern Ireland who has sought to leverage the crisis in the current negotiations through imposing a punishing budgetary settlement.

“Unite will not allow the livelihoods of workers and the funding of public services to be used as a bargaining chip by this government.” 

Regional Secretary of Unite the union in Ireland Susan Fitzgerald said: “Unite members working in public services perform a vital role in our society. Whether it is hospital staff, paramedics, carers, special needs educators or support staff, those providing bus, rail or ferry services, those who repair and maintain our roads or forests or those who process policing matters or who deal with floods; our members are on the frontline. This strike action puts government on notice that unless pay reflects these workers’ commitment, they can’t take that service for granted.

“Public sector workers’ pay has been falling behind inflation for more than a decade; and that was before the worst cost of living crisis in living memory. The situation is untenable with virtually every public sector body and agency reporting a staffing crisis rooted in an inability to recruit and retain staff. 

“On top of that the secretary of state for Northern Ireland has sought to weaponise the suffering of public sector workers and that of those reliant on crumbling services to advance his political agenda.“