Trade unions of Windsor Framework: The main lesson is that negotiations work

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions incoming assistant general secretary Gerry Murphy said: “The trade union movement in NI and across these islands have long advocated serious negotiations leading to a long-term deal which NI requires for economic as well as political stability.”

The Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions represents 34 trade unions with over 200,000 members across the Province.

Mr Murphy continued: “What follows next needs to be the revival of the the NI Assembly and the restoration of the NI Executive. The unfinished business of Brexit and the NI Protocol has blocked too much important work at the Assembly and Executive.

“Secondly, the government at Westminster, having seen the benefits of serious and substantial negotiations, need to apply the same lessons to the working people of GB and NI – it is time to talk with trade unions about the cost of living crisis afflicting working people in all parts of our economy. The main lesson is that negotiations work.”

Meanwhile Frankie Devlin, tax partner at accountancy firm KPMG, said: “It will take time to work through the detail, but we welcome the new agreement, which significantly reduces the burden of moving goods into Northern Ireland from the rest of the UK and also retains the benefits under the Protocol of trading with the EU single market.

“It should also provide a significant platform to attract new overseas investment into Northern Ireland, due to the benefits of our unique dual access to the UK and EU markets.”