Assembly to be recalled this week in bid to back public sector pay

By Cate McCurry, PA

The Stormont Assembly will be recalled later this week in a bid to back a motion to endorse fair pay settlements for public sector workers.

The Assembly will meet on Wednesday – the day before trade unions are planning one of the largest public sector strikes Northern Ireland has seen in recent history.

Thursday is also the deadline for Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris to call fresh Assembly elections if the devolved government in Northern Ireland has not been restored.

The recall petition is an attempt to discuss the issue of public sector pay among other issues, according to Assembly Speaker Alex Maskey.

The Assembly has been effectively collapsed for almost two years. The DUP is refusing to participate until unionist concerns around post-Brexit trading arrangements are addressed.

The DUP has declined to elect a speaker for more than a year due to the party’s ongoing boycott of powersharing.

The recall motion tabled by Sinn Féin gained the required signatures from 30 MLAs and will take place on Wednesday at 12pm.

The Assembly will attempt to elect a speaker. However, without the DUP’s support the Assembly cannot proceed with its business.

The recall motion said the Assembly is to “endorse the demand for fair pay settlements for public sector workers” and that it “urges the DUP to respect the democratic outcome of the May 2022 Assembly election”.

The motion also states it “emphasises the pressing need to urgently reinstate the Executive to tackle the unprecedented challenges confronting citizens and our public services, particularly the immediate matter of public sector pay”.

Over recent days I’ve met and offered my support to many of the Trade Unions representing workers who are taking strike action next week.

We must recognise the invaluable role of these workers in our society, in our hospitals and schools, on trains and buses, and within the… pic.twitter.com/o9Ah2UYiTG

— Michelle O’Neill (@moneillsf) January 14, 2024

The DUP has insisted it will not end its blockade until it secures legislative assurances from the British government on Northern Ireland’s trading position within the UK.

It comes as Mr Heaton-Harris chairs bilateral talks with the leaders of the main Stormont parties in his latest effort to break the powersharing impasse.

In December, the UK government offered the parties a £3.3 billion package to stabilise finances in Northern Ireland, including £600 million to settle public sector pay claims.

However, it is dependent on the Stormont institutions being restored.

Stormont parties have said Mr Heaton-Harris should release the funds for the public sector pay awards immediately.