Retail NI and Hospitality Ulster urges transport unions to call off Thursday's strike 'as a gesture of goodwill’

Retail NI has welcomed last night’s DUP executive vote as a major step forward towards the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly.

However in a statement, the chief executive called on trade unions to call off Thursday’s strike ‘as a gesture of goodwill’.

Translink workers recently announced plans four further days of strike action in February with Unite, GMB and Siptu revealing the first of these will be on February 1. The unions are taking action in a dispute about pay.

Bus and train services have been halted during other strike days in recent months including on January 18 when 16 trade unions across the public sector went on strike causing severe disruption.

In response, Retail NI chief executive Glyn Roberts, explained: “This is very welcome progress towards a restored Executive. We hope that the necessary arrangements to appoint Ministers can be made to happen in the next week.

“When devolution is restored, the hard work will really need to start with Ministers hitting the ground running making speedy decisions on public sector pay, a budget and a draft programme for government.

“Given this progress, we would call upon the transport unions to call off Thursdays strike as a gesture of goodwill.

"All the main political parties have now committed to getting the much needed pay to all public sector workers and therefore further strike is not necessary. It will only cause further disruption to our economy.”

Colin Neill, chief executive, Hospitality Ulster, agreed: “I am pleased that agreement has been reached to restore the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Executive. The hospitality sector has struggled to keep its head above water with spiralling costs, a protracted cost of living crisis, transportations strike, and dwindling budgets.

“The lack of a functioning government at Stormont has only exacerbated these issues, so the fact that the devolved institutions may soon return is good news for business owners across Northern Ireland.

"We understand that there are still legislative hurdles to overcome, and that an exact timetable is still uncertain. However, this forward momentum is good news, and we look forward to working with local MLAs and Ministers who can make vital and timely decisions to stabilise our economy and invest in the hospitality sector here.

“We are clear that a dedicated hospitality strategy is paramount for a revitalised local economy, and Hospitality Ulster will continue to lobby our elected representatives to endorse and implement our three-point plan for this industry, namely, Growth, Investment and Jobs. For hospitality to thrive, we need our local politicians, and the UK government to understand that VAT needs to be lowered, business rates should be overhauled, and that investment must be prioritised.

“Given the prospect of the Assembly returning as soon as next week, this means that the money to settle pay disputes is hopefully on the way. I would therefore urge the unions to reconsider and call off this week’s planned transport strikes. Our local businesses have already bore the brunt of previous strikes, and are not in the position to be disproportionately impacted further.”