Leaders’ praise for frontline workers

FRONTLINE workers have been thanked by political leaders at a major trade union conference.

Sinn Fein deputy leader Michelle O’neill was among representatives from Northern Ireland’s five largest parties addressing the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Biennial Delegate Conference in Belfast.

She also used the platform to issue a warning that there is “no credible alternative” to the Northern Ireland Protocol, ahead of a meeting with Brexit Minister Lord Frost later.

It is understood that First Minister Paul Givan will also meet him virtually.

The ICTU conference, which was originally planned for July, is taking place over two days and brings together delegates from trade unions across Ireland under the theme of No Going Back.

Lessons from the coronavirus pandemic, the impact of Brexit on workers, housing and climate change will be among the issues on the agenda.

The leaders of the five parties represented on the Executive were each invited to address the conference to outline their position on workers’ rights.

In her address, Ms O’neill paid tribute to the pandemic efforts of healthcare and frontline workers, from cleaners to medics, to shop workers, teachers, youth workers and delivery workers.

She hailed their “courage and professionalism” throughout the “horrendous public health emergency”.

Ms O’neill said her party is committed to workers’ rights but warned that the Conservative Government “does not care about workers’ pay or rights”. She added: “Sinn Fein is fully committed to strengthening workers’ rights – we want to end precarious work, to tackle low pay and strengthen trade union recognition and collective bargaining rights.”

DUP deputy leader Paula Bradley received a cheer as she said she is a long-term member of the union Unison and that she recognises politicians “need to be better at communicating with the trade union movement”.

She pledged that her party will deliver ambitious new proposals to transform the childcare sector in Northern Ireland, saying some parents are facing bills larger than their mortgage payments, and that she had seen one bill as high as £2,200 for one month.

Ms Bradley also expressed her party’s opposition to the fair employment law exemption for teachers which allows schools to use religious background or belief in deciding who to recruit to teaching posts. Teaching union NASUWT is calling at the conference for the exemption to be scrapped.

UUP leader Doug Beattie also backed the ending of the exemption, adding his party in 2016 brought it before the Assembly where it was blocked by a petition of concern.

SDLP MLA Colin Mcgrath said his party will pursue a programme of reform to “recognise the imbalance in the lives of working people and actively seek to address it”.

Alliance’s Paula Bradshaw also backed the call to end the exemption, adding her colleague Chris Lyttle is working on a Private Member’s Bill to change the legislation.

We want to end precarious work, to tackle low pay MICHELLE O’NEILL BELFAST YESTERDAY