N Ireland awaiting chaos in biggest strike for 50 years

ROAD gritters are among more than 150,000 public sector workers taking part in Northern Ireland’s biggest strike in 50 years.

Yesterday motorists were told to make only “absolutely essential journeys” following one of the coldest nights of the year, and to exercise “extreme caution” if they venture on to the “hazardous” roads.

Temperatures in Northern Ireland dropped to -4C (25F) before workers from 16 unions, including nurses and teachers, downed tools over pay.

Members of the two unions operating road gritters plan to end their weeklong strike on Thursday.

The longer industrial action, which involves several hundred road service workers from the GMB and United unions, is because of a dispute over a productivity bonus.

Alan Perry from the GMB told BBC Radio Ulster his members could potentially accept a request by the Department of Infrastructure to work in an emergency but there was “no guarantee”.

Eighty per cent of public sector workers joined the walkout, demanding overdue pay rises to deal with the cost of living crisis and rising inflation. Buses and trains were also out of action in Northern Ireland, where public sector salaries lag behind the rest of the United Kingdom.

Nurses manned the picket lines until 1pm yesterday as the Department of Health warned of a “significantly reduced” service.

Almost every school in the country was closed as 800 members of the Unite union working in education began eight days of strike action.

Officials in Northern Ireland argue they do not have enough money to pay public sector workers the same salary as those in the rest of the UK after Westminster imposed budget cuts in the absence of a devolved government.

The DUP has boycotted Stormont for almost two years over the Irish Sea border, which is the cornerstone of postbrexit trading arrangements for Northern Ireland.

The Government has offered Northern Ireland’s major political parties a financial package worth £3.5 billion if the DUP returns to power-sharing and accepts Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s new Brexit deal which reduces border checks in the Irish Sea.

The package includes £584million to settle public sector pay claims. Chris Heaton-harris, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, has resisted calls to release the funding separately, arguing it is a devolved matter.