Northern Ireland health strikes likely in January after 'pause' for Christmas, suggests union boss

Unison regional secretary Patricia McKeown made the comment in an interview with the News Letter, after the chief executives of Northern Ireland’s health Trusts said in a joint statement the ongoing industrial action is likely to be “prolonged”.

On the possibility of a protracted campaign of industrial action, she said: “It will last as long as our members wish it to ask. It is their decision. We gave notice to the employers of a fortnight’s action short-of-strike. There’s the rest of the week to go, as well as Monday’s strike action. We will pause then to put the service back in place for Christmas and the Christmas period. Then, we are most likely to be out again in January.”

Asked if the fate of Northern Ireland’s health workers is tied to negotiations at a UK national level between trade unions and the government, she said: “We have seen one devolved government take decisive action to improve the pay offer, and that’s Scotland. That’s where all eyes are at the moment. The workers in England and Wales, as well as Northern Ireland, are looking to Scotland to see whether there can be any matching response to an increased offer – which would be taken very seriously.”

Asked about the UK government’s approach to the strikes, Ms McKeown said: “The criticism of the government is coming from all quarters. The attitude they have taken is an absolute disgrace. This is a government and a political party that told the people the NHS would be safe in their hands. To wash their hands of what is a crisis situation right across the health service, in all four jurisdictions, is a poor response. I think they ignore health workers at their peril.”

“The UK is a very rich country. It’s not a poor country. As I’ve said before, if you’re facing a heart attack who do you want to send for? A qualified Northern Ireland paramedic or a chief executive of a bank? It is about getting our priorities as a society right.”