NDP must yield workers’ dividend or risk missing targets

Posted on August 10, 2025 by unitetheunion

Unite warns poor conditions shrinking construction labour supply

Quarter-trillion Euro package must be used to drive ‘race to the top’

Trade union Unite, which represents construction workers throughout Ireland, today (Sunday) warned that the National Development Plan (NDP), which envisages €275.4 billion of public capital investment to 2035, will miss its targets if poor working conditions in the construction sector are not addressed. 

Calling for a ‘workers’ dividend’, the union said that new public procurement criteria must be introduced which would strictly limit subcontracting chains while requiring collective bargaining and adherence to collective agreements, as well as union involvement in compliance monitoring.   

Commenting, the union’s Irish secretary Susan Fitzgerald said:

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Jones Engineering: Unite meets Irish Embassy in Stockholm to highlight concerns

Posted on August 8, 2025 by unitetheunion

Despite Jones being forced to drop High Court action against shop stewards, company refuses to engage meaningfully with Unite

Embassy had supported opening of Jones’  new Swedish office

Trade union Unite, which represents construction workers throughout Ireland, this week met with senior officials at the Irish Embassy in Stockholm.

At the meeting Unite raised concerns surrounding the support given to Jones Engineering by the Embassy for the opening of Jones’ new Swedish office in Gävle.   

Unite has been in dispute with Jones since 2023, when union members took industrial action in pursuit of a claim for ‘travel time’ restoration. Instead of engaging with Unite to resolve the issues in dispute, Jones Engineering pursued the union and – in an unprecedented move – individual named shop stewards through the courts.  Despite being forced to drop its High Court action against Unite and three named shop stewards, the company still refuses to engage meaningfully with the union.

Speaking after the meeting, Unite regional officer James McCabe said:

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Unions lodge notice of first 24-hour strike by workers at Belfast council leisure services

Posted on August 7, 2025 by Unite the union NI

Joint UNITE-NIPSA press release

Belfast leisure workers are lowest paid in Northern Ireland and are seeking a one pound an hour increase to the current pay offer

Talks ended without management company Greenwich Leisure Limited making any improved pay offer

Unite and NIPSA trade unions have announced a 24-hour strike by leisure staff at facilities operated by Green Leisure Limited in Belfast.

14 leisure centres and two gyms owned by Belfast City Council are operated by the arms-length management company. The strike will commence at 00.01 on Tuesday August 12 and continue until midnight. The industrial action is likely to shut down entirely the operation of several leisure centres, given that more than 200 leisure workers are members of two trade unions.

Pay at Belfast leisure centres has fallen behind that of other council leisure facilities in Northern Ireland following the decision to outsource them to Greenwich Leisure Limited. Belfast leisure worker pay is now the lowest in Northern Ireland.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is deeply unfair that Belfast leisure workers are the lowest paid leisure workers in Northern Ireland. Workers who perform the same tasks and have the same responsibilities are paid significantly less than they would be in neighbouring councils. Belfast City Council’s decision to outsource services to GLL has proven disastrous not just for workers who are underpaid and overstretched but for the public who have endured hikes on charges.”

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Threat by Associated Print to shut Portadown site indefensible

Posted on July 24, 2025 by Unite the union NI

Proposed closure will leave only one newspaper printworks in Northern Ireland

Unite the Union has condemned plans by Associated Print to shut its Portadown facility, warning that the move would result in the loss of over 30 skilled jobs and deals a severe blow to Northern Ireland’s newspaper print capacity.

The union is calling on Associated Print to drop its plans to close the site and instead invest in the business or else sell the site to someone who would take on the business as a going concern.

Unite believes the modern and small-scale print works at the factory are perfect to meet the needs of the industry given the complexities involved in printing large numbers of papers in small quantities.

Sharon Graham general secretary said, “It is totally unacceptable that a viable business and its workers face being thrown on the scrapheap because of mismanagement. This can and should be a fundamentally viable business.”

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Belfast GLL leisure workers vote for industrial action  

Posted on July 7, 2025 by Unite the union NI

Largest council in Northern Ireland has worst pay for leisure workers

Industrial action to commence Tuesday 15 July with a work to rule at outsourced leisure centres and gyms

Members of Unite and NIPSA employed at Belfast’s municipal leisure centres have voted overwhelmingly for industrial action.

The ballot followed the refusal of Greenwich Leisure Limited (GLL) to agree the workforce’s pay claim. The company is contracted by Belfast City council to manage its outsourced leisure centres and gyms.

As a result of GLLs failure to offer a fair pay offer a continuous work-to-rule will begin on Tuesday 15 July. The unions also contacted GLL to clarify that they stood ready to commence negotiations to resolve the pay dispute at any time.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is a disgrace that leisure workers at Belfast leisure centres are earning far less than workers doing the same job in neighbouring councils. The council’s decision to outsource services to GLL has proven disastrous not just for workers who are underpaid and overstretched but for the public who have endured hikes on charges.

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