Winter fuel: Stormont must ensure NI pensioners receive payments if Westminster fails to deliver 

Posted on May 22, 2025 by Unite the union NI

Unite to continue campaigning for full restoration of universal winter fuel payments

Following yesterday’s statement by prime minister Keir Starmer that the government plans to increase the number of pensioners eligible for the winter fuel payment, Unite has said Stormont must make sure no Northern Ireland pensioner loses out this winter.

The prime minister’s statement did not promise to fully restore the universal payment or commit to a timeframe.

The winter fuel payment was previously worth £200 a year to each pensioner. Following an active campaign by the Pensioner Convention and Unite, community minister Gordon Lyons moved to introduce a partial mitigation payment of £100 to affected households.

Sharon Graham, Unite general secretary said, ““Unite has always been clear that any and all cuts to winter fuel are simply picking the pockets of pensioners while the richest in society keep getting wealthier.

“The winter fuel decision should be fully reversed, and money should be found instead by implementing a wealth tax on the super-rich.”

Regional secretary for Unite Susan Fitzgerald said, “The announcement by Keir Starmer will offer some hope to pensioners but unfortunately the government has not committed to fully reverse its disgraceful policy. The Stormont executive must give an assurance that, even if Westminster fails to fully reverse the cuts or drags their feet, no pensioner in Northern Ireland will be left in the cold this winter.”

Unite continues to pursue a judicial review to overturn the government’s decision to cut winter fuel payments to all but the poorest pensioners. 

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Department of education statistics reveal nearly 15,000 low-paid education support workers on precarious temporary contracts

Posted on May 12, 2025 by Unite the union NI
Sharon Graham meets striking school support workers

More than 2,500 general and special needs classroom assistants are not moving to permanent contracts despite more than four years of service

Unite has called on education minister Paul Given to intervene to end precarious ‘temporary’ working among school support workers.

The union has made public (here) figures supplied to trade unions by the Education Authority which has revealed widespread reliance on temporary working for staff such as nursery, general and classroom assistants in schools. Many of those working under such poor practices do not receive pay during school holiday periods and have little job security from one year to the next.

Given the predominant female composition of the workforce, the union highlighted major concerns that women workers were being treated in a such a problematic manner.

More than two-thirds (14,930 of 21,815) of those working as assistants in schools are on temporary contracts. Reliance on precarious temporary workers is greatest among general assistants at 85 per cent. Twelve per cent of the total workforce were temporary workers despite having four years’ service. That figure includes more than 2,500 classroom assistants of whom more than 1,800 have responsibilities for Special Educational Needs children.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “These statistics reveal the widespread use of precarious temporary working practices for the recruitment of school support staff. The scale of this issue raises real questions about why a predominantly female workforce in our schools – including those with responsibilities for children with special educational needs – are being treated so poorly by a public body.”

Unite regional officer Kieran Ellison added: “In previous months Unite revealed the extent of reliance on school support staffing by those without relevant qualifications or even child safety checks being in place. This latest evidence now shows the long term and widespread use of temporary workers in the sector. That more than 2,500 classroom assistants – including more than 1,800 special educational needs classroom assistants – find themselves still in precarious temporary work despite having four years of service is disgraceful. Unite is calling on education minister Paul Given to intervene quickly to end this unfair treatment of low paid school support workers.”

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ASML refusal to engage highlights need for collective bargaining legislation

Posted on May 5, 2025 by unitetheunion

‘Case closed’ says WRC after Dutch tech giant refuses to engage

Unite, which organises workers in ASML in Maynooth, today (Monday) said that the company’s refusal to engage collectively with the workforce highlights the need for legislation providing for statutory union recognition and collective bargaining. The European Union Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages requires member states to work towards a collective bargaining coverage target of 80 per cent.  Ireland’s coverage is currently estimated at just 34 per cent.

ASML, which produces photolithography systems used to manufacture microchips, reported a record €28.3 billion total net sales and €7.6 billion profit in 2024. 

In March, Unite was informed by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) that ASML had refused to engage in conciliation and that therefore “the case is now closed”.

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Migrant HCAs: Oireachtas members hear demands for family reunification

Posted on April 30, 2025 by unitetheunion

“Care is what we do – so let us care for our families”

Representatives of Unite the union, Migrant Rights Centre Ireland and Migrant Nurses Ireland today (Wednesday) spoke at an Oireachtas briefing hosted by Ruth Coppinger TD to outline workers’ demands for reform of Department of Justice rules which can see migrant Health Care Assistants (HCAs) and other employment permit holders separated from their families for years.

Current rules stipulate that general employment holders must wait for 12 months before applying to bring over their family.  A minimum gross income of €30,000 in the two years preceding the application is required for a worker to bring their spouse to Ireland. Additional thresholds require a minimum household net income of €36,660 to bring one child to the state, €41,912 for two children and €47,164 for three children, with further higher thresholds for additional children.

Migrant HCAs on new contracts currently earn €30,000, slightly above the full-time minimum wage of approximately €27,400.

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Thousands of Northern Ireland Spirit workers left facing uncertainty after Airbus announces only partial buy out

Posted on April 28, 2025 by Unite the union NI

Potential break-up of Spirit constitutes an unprecedented threat to Northern Ireland aerospace, wider economy and society 

Unite, the leading trade union at Spirit Aerosystems, has called on the UK government to intervene to secure employment and the future of Northern Ireland aerospace.  

The call follows this morning’s announcement by Airbus that it would only buy Spirit production lines within its own supply chain. The development is the latest in the wider Boeing takeover of Spirit operations globally. 

Approximately 1,000 workers employed on the manufacture of Airbus wings will be taken on by the company directly. The 400-500 working on Airbus fuselage and other production lines for Spirit will be taken on by Airbus but with longer-term uncertainty outside the current contract period.  

The remainder of the workforce – over 2,000 workers – are employed on non-Airbus work. As yet, these workers do not know the identity of their future employer and have no assurances for their employment. 

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “Hundreds of highly skilled Spirit workers are facing an uncertain future. The UK government must now intervene to secure not just the workers but the future of Northern Ireland aerospace. “The government has huge leverage over the key players – billions in contracts and government grants go to these aircraft manufacturers. It cannot drop the ball and allow the collapse of Northern Ireland’s strategic and world-class aerospace sector. Government needs to deliver for Northern Ireland.” 

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