Unite Northern Ireland water workers to strike over pay

Posted on December 4, 2024 by Unite the union NI

Union warns minister that industrial dispute will quickly impact safety of water supplies

Members of Unite, employed by NI Water and NI Water (Alpha) will begin industrial action next week with full strike action beginning before Christmas in a dispute over pay.

Employees of NI Water and NI Water (Alpha) are the only civil service workers who have yet to receive payment of a five percent increase and £1,500 non-consolidated payment from the 2023-24 tax year.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is a disgrace that Northern Ireland water workers are paid just a few pence an hour more than the basic minimum wage. Indeed, some of our members had to receive a top-up last year just to make their pay legal.

These workers are waiting 21 months for a pay increase that all other civil servants received long ago. It is totally unacceptable that the finance minister is now holding up this overdue pay increase.

“Unite is totally focussed on putting the jobs, pay and conditions of its members first and the Northern Ireland water workers will receive the full support of their union.”

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Stormont must protect pensioners from devastating loss of winter fuel payment

Posted on November 28, 2024 by Unite the union NI

Today, representatives from organisations backing the campaign, to restore the winter fuel payment including trade union Unite, met with Communities minister Gordon Lyons to demand urgent action to shield low-income pensioners from the impact of the payment cut.

The campaign has called on the Northern Ireland executive to step up and secure funding to fully restore the winter fuel payment for this year and beyond.

While Lyons has allocated £17 million to provide a one-off payment of £100 per household, campaigners insist this falls far short of what is needed. They argue that only full and permanent restoration of the payment can ensure pensioners are adequately supported during the winter months.

Speaking after the meeting, Dympna McGlade, a member of Unite’s retired members branch, said: “We made it clear to the minister that more must be done. While all Stormont parties claim to oppose this cruel cut, it’s time for their words to translate into action. 

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Unions warn minister pay deal delay for water workers will lead to strikes

Posted on November 27, 2024 by Unite the union NI

Unite – GMB joint trade union press release

NI Water and NI Water Alpha employees in Unite and GMB preparing to take industrial action

Trade unions Unite and the GMB have warned finance minister Caoimhe Archibald that she risks a potentially disruptive strike in the water and waste water service. The warning came after unions receivedcorrespondence from the minister stating that while she had received the business case for a pay award for 2023-24 from the department of infrastructure, she was awaiting a due diligence review on its affordability.

Both unions are currently undertaking full industrial action ballots which are due to end in the coming days. The unions wrote to the minister recently to highlight the risk of strike action commencing in the middle of December.

This would be the first industrial action in NI Water in 10 years and the first involving NI Water Alpha workers – meaning the strike will have a substantially greater impact.

Workers are seeking a 5.5 per cent increase and a one off £1550 payment which all other civil service workers have received. The business case for the payment has been authorised by NI Water and by the department for infrastructure but it now has to obtain agreement from the department for finance.

Unite regional officer Joanne McWilliams said: “The minister must act quickly to avert the risk of a disruptive dispute. Everyone else – the employer and the department for infrastructure – has agreed that this payment should finally go to these workers but her department is now holding it up. 

“It is completely unacceptable that water workers are still waiting for a payment all other civil service workers received months ago. Our members will not accept being treated unfairly.”

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HSE: Unite members vote for action over staffing crisis

Posted on November 27, 2024 by unitetheunion

Unite, which represents a range of grades across the Health Services Executive (HSE) said today (Wednesday) that members have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action over the staffing crisis resulting from the HSE’s ‘Pay and Numbers Strategy’. 

After the HSE claimed that it had lifted its recruitment ban, it emerged that vacancies are being benchmarked against the 2024 headcount, with the result that any vacancies unfilled in 2023 have effectively been lost to the health service.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The staffing crisis means that HSE workers are relentlessly overstretched while patients are not getting the service they need. Our members have no choice but to take action in defence of patient safety and their own working conditions.”

A recent survey of Unite members working for the HSE found the overwhelming majority reported that the number of vacancies in their department or team had remained the same since 31 December 2023, with workers highlighting the negative impact of staffing shortages on patient services and staff wellbeing.

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Fuel poverty awareness day: Stormont must restore pensioners’ warmth, dignity and fairness 

Posted on November 26, 2024 by Unite the union NI

November 27 is fuel poverty awareness day. The Unite retired members branch in Belfast is marking the day by sounding the alarm on the growing fuel poverty crisis facing pensioners across Northern Ireland.

The winter fuel payment is a vital lifeline for pensioners in the colder months. The government’s recent decision to means-test the payment will remove a vital safety net at a time when pensioners at risk of fuel poverty need protection.

Joint branch secretary, Mary Jo McReynolds said: “With some of the highest energy costs in Europe, harsh winters, and poorly insulated housing, many older citizens are being forced to choose between heating their homes and meeting other essential needs. Unite is calling for the immediate distribution of the promised £17 million by Stormont as a first step in restoring winter fuel payments to all pensioners.

“Universal access to the winter fuel payment treats pensioners with dignity and fairness. We strongly oppose means testing. It only creates administrative hurdles, excludes vulnerable individuals and undermines equity.”

Unite is calling on the NI Executive to allocate a further £27 million to fully restore universal winter fuel payments. It is also calling for efforts to promote uptake of pension credit among the 26,000 eligible who are currently missing out, the introduction of a comprehensive energy efficiency programme and publication of an updated and improved fuel poverty strategy for Northern Ireland.

Unite retired member Declan Lagan said: “The combination of rising energy costs, inadequate housing and low incomes places pensioners at significant risk. Cold homes are not just uncomfortable—they are dangerous, with serious health consequences for older people. On this fuel poverty awareness day, we urge communities minister Gordon Lyons and the Northern Ireland executive to take decisive action. Protect universal winter fuel payments, address the scandal of unclaimed benefits and invest in long-term solutions to tackle fuel poverty at its roots.”

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