Speaking on the uncertainty over the NI Protocol and the re-establishment of the NI Assembly and Executive, ICTU Assistant General Secretary Owen Reidy said:
Voters have spoken, the election is over. While people voted for different parties and different things, they voted for a Northern Ireland Assembly and NI Executive, to share power and to act urgently on the cost of living crisis, in the interest of all voters.
There are indeed issues around the operation of the protocol that need to be addressed, but they must be addressed by the two parties to the protocol - the European Union and the UK government.
Indeed, had the UK government shown better faith in the last few years on this issue, many of the concerns could have already been resolved. Refusing to form a NI Executive in this instance does not in any way address or alter issues around the protocol. Refusing to establish a NI Executive on this occasion is wrong, as it was on the last occasion.
People expect their politicians to now work together on the many challenges that affect all the people in Northern Ireland. The most adequate method to address the cost of living crisis for workers (and citizens) is a combination of measures. They include bargaining for decent pay increases in the workplace, but also government budgetary intervention. When we have a Westminster government that refuses to intervene, combined with a Northern Ireland Executive which is absent and incapable of intervening, what are workers to do?
I anticipate that we will see continued and growing industrial action over the failure to address pay as part of an overall response to the cost of living crisis. When we do ultimately have a NI Executive there will be many related issues for it to address and resolve.
The time for the restoration of an Executive is now.
