Fight for your right to parity
»»150,000 go on strike demanding‘fair pay now’
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STRIKING workers in the North took to the streets yesterday chanting they want “fair pay” and they want it “now”.
In a defiant message, a rally at Belfast City Hall was told “we will win this fight” while Carmel Gates, general secretary of Nipsa, stood at Stormont and warned: “This is the beginning, we will escalate.”
Union officials lined up to slate Secretary of State Chris Heatonharris with calls of “shame on you” as they urged him to free up cash for a pay rise.
But DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson was also in the firing line with one union chief saying the party needed to “get back into government”.
An estimated 150,000 public sector workers took part in the biggest strike action in the region’s recent history.
A mass rally in Belfast heard calls for the DUP to end its boycott of Stormont and for Mr Heaton-harris to release funding to make delayed pay awards.
He has refused, saying the matter is a devolved one.
Other demonstrations took place at Guildhall Square in Derry, Omagh court house and Enniskillen town hall.
Police mounted a significant security operation but the rallies passed off without incident.
Following early morning pickets at hospitals, schools and public buildings, a number of feeder parades marched towards Belfast City Hall where a large crowd gathered for a rally addressed by multiple trade union representatives.
Irish Congress of Trade Unions assistant general secretary Gerry Murphy called on Mr Heaton-harris to end his “failed political strategy”.
Mark Mctaggart of the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation said DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson was keeping Stormont in suspension because of his concerns over the Irish Sea border.
“Yet he is more than happy to have a sea border for pay for public sector workers,” he added.
Justin Mccamphill from the NASUWT stated: “To the DUP, we say get back into government.
“We fully understand there are issues arising from Brexit that are problematic but these issues must be addressed within the agreed political framework.
“The Tories have taken our money, the DUP should not take our hope.”
Unison’s Patricia Mckeown labelled Heaton Harris a “headcase” and slated politicians for saying they were “standing in solidarity” with workers, asking: “Wouldn’t it be more useful to stand in solidarity with each other?”
Speaking at the picket at Stormont, Carmel Gates said: “My members are angry and are not going to back down. This is not something which is a temporary fight. They are so angry at how they have been treated.
“This is the beginning, we will escalate. The Secretary of State needs to know that. This is not the end.”
Linda Millar, a teacher at Ballyclare Secondary School, joined the picket lines to help achieve pay parity. She said: “We are losing teachers left, right and centre to Doha, Dubai, everywhere. The education system is crumbling. Our buildings are crumbling.”
Alliance Party leader Naomi Long met striking workers at the Ulster Hospital and said political instability at Stormont had contributed to public sector fragility in Northern Ireland. Sinn Fein vice president
Michelle O’neill talked with striking workers in Magherafelt.
She said: “It is a very difficult day for our public sector workers.
“They feel forced to take to the picket lines in defence of what is reasonable and fair, which is fair pay and working conditions for the job