‘We will be on the picket lines as long as it takes’

INDUSTRIAL strike action continued in Dungannon on Thursday morning as dozens of healthcare workers from South Tyrone Hospital took to the picket line.

More than 20,000 healthcare staff all across the North withdrew from their workplace for a one-day strike last Thursday in pursuit of better pay and working conditions.

“It is an appalling situation when trade unions willing to negotiate have all doors closed of them. It is therefore inevitable that this action today is happening,” said Anne Speed, Head of Bargaining and Representation at UNISON Northern Ireland.

“Healthcare workers cannot stand by idly or stay silent, and why should they?”

The strike action comes while NI Secretary of State, Chris Heaton-Harris, visited the USA to discuss trade. Anne continued, “He has responsibilities here. It is time he addressed the crisis in our health service. Staff recruitment and retention and pay justice are every bit as important as trade.

“Our members also expect a joint effort from all political parties to break this logjam.”

Workers involved in the strike action included paramedics, call handlers and support workers. Under trade union law, emergency cover was provided and trusts have been in contact with patients who were affected.

“Our workers are angry, they are not prepared to put up with much more of this but they are prepared to strike again. We will be on the picket lines as long as it takes,” says NIPSA member, Loughlinn Duffy.

“We need more than the £1,400 that has been offered because that is below the rate of inflation. Pay award? We term it a pay cut.”

NIPSA have expressed concern that the current health crisis will not be resolved quickly and likewise the current industrial action will also need to be a continuous and determined campaign to bring government and employers to negotiate meaningful resolutions.

UNISON member Emma Jane Cullen described their request for fair pay as “simple”, stating, “We’re asking the government to start negotiation with trade unions and stop avoiding us.

“We have major recruitment and retention issues and we need the UK government to engage with trade unions to resolve this issue within our NHS.

“We believe that it is the UK government’s mission to privatise the NHS, so we need our local government to get back to Stormont and start representing the people of Northern Ireland.”

Unions say strike action will continue throughout the UK until NHS staff receive a ‘liveable’ wage.

Meanwhile, teachers in Northern Ireland have also announced plans this week for industrial action in dispute of better pay, with a half-day strike set to commence on Tuesday, February 21.