At a meeting today involving NIC-ICTU representing a range of public sector unions and the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Finance and her senior officials, the trade union side made it very clear that they did not accept nor will not accept any artificial restrictions placed on them by the Department of Finance when it comes to public service pay.
"There are a number of long standing agreed processes around pay negotiation between various groups of public sector unions and employers. These processes must be respected and must deliver for workers, we cannot and will not continue to accept harsh pay restraint for public sector workers after 8 long years of austerity pay. Those who keep the economy going and maintain the fabric of our society should not have to rely on foodbanks or the benefit system, " stated Gerry Murphy NIC Chair and Northern Secretary of the teachers union, the INTO.
Alison Millar General Secretary of NIPSA and Vice Chair of the NIC also stated, "we made it fundamentally clear to the Permanent Secretary that public sector workers where way behind where they should be in their pay with inflation outstripping pay increases since 2010. This is neither acceptable nor sustainable and if not addressed urgently will inevitably see more industrial action in NI from a range of areas across the public sector."
