Irish Congress of Trade Unions backs NIPSA strike action: 'Public Sector Workers are less well off than they were in 2010',
Owen Reidy, Assistant General Secretary ICTU.
The ICTU, which represents 800,000 workers across the island and over 200,000 in Northern Ireland, fully supports the decision taken by NIPSA members in the Northern Ireland Civil Service to take strike action tomorrow 26th July 2019.
Owen Reidy, ICTU Assistant General Secretary said: "Public sector workers have had an imposed 1% pay cap since 2010. Over the last 8 years inflation has been well in excess of 1% except for 2 years so public sector workers are less well off than they were in 2010. This situation is neither acceptable nor sustainable. Low pay is a major problem in Northern Ireland with 30% of all workers being paid below the real living wage of £9 an hour. Disgracefully in our public services 10% of workers earn less than the RLW of £9 per hour."
"NIPSA members in the NICS have taken a stand. They have decided that their employer must negotiate and bargain with them fairly and reasonably. The response of their employer has been to unilaterally decide that 1.25% is the due increase. This is unacceptable and undermines the norms of collective bargaining. We urge the employer to think again, return to the bargaining table with NIPSA and negotiate an agreed settlement to this dispute.
NIPSA members engaged in strike action tomorrow have the full support of the wider trade union movement in NI and across the island," concluded Reidy.
