Hundreds join Tyrone picket lines in strike action

PUBLIC sector workers across Tyrone have held a rallies as part of a mass day of strike action throughout the north.

Union members staged protests in each of the county’s four main towns and at healthcare and educational facilities. Rallies also took place at the Courthouse in Omagh and in Cookstown amidst calls for pay parity.

First Minister Designate, Michelle O’Neill of Sinn Fein joined strikers in Cookstown this morning.

Hundreds of workers joined picketlines at Omagh Hospital and Primary Care Complex, at the headquarters of the Education Authority and at the Arvalee School and Resource Centre and the Translink Depot.

Later, the strikers marched through Omagh town centre to the town’s Courthouse. They waved flags and held placards as speaker after speaker highlighted the need for pay parity.

Denis Greer from the Royal College of Nurses, who has worked in Omagh for 15 years, said striking wasn’t something that people wanted to be taking part in.

“Our nurses are the lowest paid in the United Kingdom. This is the third time that we have had to come out and strike for fair pay,” he said.

“We should be in hospitals looking after our patients rather than out here striking. But because of our MLAs and the fact that they can’t get their act together we have to do this and it’s a disgrace.”

Andy McKane, branch chairman of Unison in Omagh and Fermanagh, said he was heartened by the turnout despite the cold morning.

“There have been good attendances at all the picketlines. We have more out on strike action on this occasion than during previous strikes,” he said.

“People are fed-up and sick, sore and tired of having to do this. We were told in 2019 that pay disparity wouldn’t happen again and yet again we find ourselves back here. Numbers of are being lost wholesale in the health service.

“In April, our Band One and Two workers will be below the minimum wage and they are the engine of our health service. We find ourselves being used as a lever by the Secretary of State to get Stormont up and running again.”