'Finally some good news for LGBT+ people and women in Northern Ireland'
The Irish Congress of Trade Unions today welcomed the historic votes in Westminster which will see Parliament obliged to legislate for Equal Marriage and Abortion Law Reform should the NI Assembly not be up and running by the 21st of October.
The ICTU is part of the Love Equality coalition which has been campaigning for Equal Marriage since 2015. ICTU has also pressed for reform of Northern Ireland's punitive laws on abortion.
'The trade union movement welcomes the moves in Parliament to bring much needed equality to the people of Northern Ireland' said Owen Reidy, Assistant General Secretary of the ICTU.
'As part of the Love Equality and civil society campaigns for abortion law reform our preference would be that the laws were changed by the NI Assembly. We repeat our calls for all parties to agree a rights-based return to the power sharing institutions at Stormont, a position supported by every trade union on the island of Ireland at the ICTU Biennial Conference last week. However in the absence of a functioning Government, we fully support the moves by Westminster to legislate for these important rights.
ICTU Equality Officer Clare Moore said 'For too long LGBT+ people and their families have been treated as second class citizens while women have been denied basic healthcare in the place of their birth. We commend all of the MPs who voted for these important amendments and will campaign robustly to ensure there is no delay in enacting this progressive and much needed legislation'.
