SIPTU NEC expresses support for striking workers across Northern Ireland
The SIPTU National Executive Council (NEC) today (Thursday, 18th January) expressed their full support and solidarity for all striking workers across Northern Ireland.
Speaking following a meeting of the NEC this afternoon in Liberty Hall, Dublin, SIPTU Deputy General Secretary for the Public Service, John King, said:
“All SIPTU members in Northern Ireland and all union members who are taking part in strike action today in defence of public services and for the pay justice and respect campaign for all public servants deserve great credit for the courage they have shown in their collective and determined resistance in the face of their brutal treatment by the Tory Government.”
The NEC urged Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris to intervene and release the funding required for public sector workers to get a much-needed pay rise in the absence of a functioning Stormont Assembly and executive.
During the meeting, the SIPTU NEC was also given a full briefing on the negotiation process for a new public service agreement in the Republic of Ireland.
John King said: “The bottom line is that Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Paschal Donohoe, must provide the necessary space and capacity to his officials to fully re-engage with the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in order to ensure that an acceptable and fair set of proposals are secured and to avoid industrial and strike action.
“The members of our NEC expressed their full support for SIPTU public service members in the Republic of Ireland in their campaign for a new public service agreement that protects employment and jobs. This means protecting public services and providing a fair reward to public service workers through meaningful and sustainable pay increases in what continues to be a cost-of-living crisis for workers and their families.
“The NEC determined its resolve to support SIPTU public service members in their campaign for industrial action in order to achieve these objectives should the current adjourned talks under the auspices of the WRC fail to deliver an acceptable set of proposals.”
