Unite the Union, Ireland Region

Health and social care workers in Northern Ireland in strike ballot

Posted on October 7, 2025 by Unite the union NI

Unite to ballot members following failure of department of health to deliver pay parity and safe staffing

Unite is to ballot over 4,500 workers in Northern Ireland’s health and social care system, for industrial action. This follows the failure of the department of health to deliver on pay parity and safe staffing.

The union has members among professional and technical staff, including porters, as well as among paramedics in the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said, “Workers in Northern Ireland deserve the same pay as their NHS colleagues. The failure to deliver pay parity and safe staffing has left our members with no alternative but to ballot for strike action. Health and social care workers in Northern Ireland have the full support of Unite in their fight for fairness and respect.”

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Budget 2026: Employers take up residence in Government Buildings

Posted on October 7, 2025 by unitetheunion

Workers pay for business tax breaks as government fails to index tax bands

Housing crisis will not be solved by patchwork of subsidies and tax giveaways

Responding to Budget 2026, trade union Unite warned today that many workers will be running to stand still following the government’s decision to focus on tax breaks for builders and burger chains rather than inflation-proofing income tax bands at a time when workers are facing an ongoing cost-of-living crisis.

The union also strongly criticised the government’s continued reliance on market subsidies rather than expanding public provision of vital services such as childcare and housing.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said:

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Posted in Press Releases, Republic of Ireland news | Tagged Budget26, housing, JobsPayConditions, Sharon Graham, Susan Fitzgerald, taxation, Unite ROI | Leave a comment

Press releaInflation-proofing PPF pensions would return thousands to pensioners at no taxpayer costs

Posted on September 29, 2025 by Unite the union NI

400,000 pensioners lose out as pension contributions before 1997 are not inflation-proofed despite pension funds having a £14.1 billion surplus

Unite has called on the government to use surplus reserves in the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) and Financial Assistance Scheme (FAS) to inflation-proof pensions. The two funds were set up by government to cover defined-benefit (final salary) pensions at companies which went bust.

Under current rules in both funds, pension contributions paid by workers before 1997 are not inflation proofed at all. That means that a retired worker whose pension was earned before 1997 is only getting 50 per cent of its value. For a worker with an average pension (value of £48,000) earned before 1997, inflation-proofing would increase the total value of the pension pot by at least £24,000.

400,000 retired workers in the UK have pensions held by the PPF or FAS which were earned before 1997. All would benefit from inflation proofing to a greater or lesser extent depending on years worked and pay rates.

There are currently 4,399 pensioners in FAS and 4,782 in PPF in Northern Ireland. This includes large numbers of former employees of Harland & Wolff, Wilson’s Feeds, Visteon, FA Wellworth and British Midland airlines, ECC, Lamont, James Mackie & Sons and Desmonds & Sons.

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Posted in Northern Ireland news, Press Releases | Tagged FAS, pensions, PPF, RIPA, Sharon Graham | Leave a comment

Workers to strike for five further days at Collins Aerospace, Kilkeel

Posted on September 29, 2025 by Unite the union NI

Unite has notified management at Collins Aerospace in Kilkeel of a further five days of strikes. The fresh strikes dates mark an escalation of the pay dispute and follow an initial one-day strike on Friday. Workers at the aircraft seat manufacturer are demanding a cost of living pay increase and respect from their employer.

The five-day strike will commence at 00:01 Thursday 2 October and continue until 08:00 Tuesday 7 October.

The union has called on management to re-engage in talks and bring forward a pay offer that meets workers’ expectations.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “The escalating strike by workers at Collins Aerospace confirms the strength of feeling. They want respect and they demand a pay deal which meets the rising cost of living. The workers can count on the full and continuing support of Unite in their campaign to win a fair pay deal and respect.”

Posted in Manufacturing, Northern Ireland news, Press Releases | Tagged Collins Aerospace, fair pay, Kilkeel, respect, Sharon Graham, strike | Leave a comment

Housing crisis: Unite says wages are solution not problem

Posted on September 26, 2025 by unitetheunion

Good jobs key to attracting and retaining labour

Trade union Unite, which represents construction workers throughout Ireland, today said that sustained wage rises in the construction sector are critical to prevent a loss of vital construction skills as Ireland grapples with an ongoing housing crisis.

Unite was commenting on this week’s Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) report highlighting recent wage increases and capacity constraints in the sector.

The figures cited by the ESRI are based on preliminary estimates for the last quarter. According to the Central Statistics Office (CSO), over the past number of years construction wage increases have been largely in line with wage increases in the economy as a whole.

The collectively agreed Construction Sectoral Employment Order saw workers covered by the agreement receive a 3.4% minimum pay increase effective from August 2025.

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