Health union’s ‘disbelief’ at Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris ‘refusal’ to meet ahead of fresh strike on same date as teacher walkout

The Unison trade union has said its members across Northern Ireland will be on picket lines from 8am to 8pm on February 21.

The strike by Unison members on February 21 coincides with a half-day walkout by teachers across Northern Ireland.

The Education Authority has now urged principals to close schools only as a last resort if, as expected, the strike goes ahead on that date.

The woman tasked with heading up negotiations for Unison members in the health service, meanwhile, has said the “refusal” of Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris to meet with trade unions has been met with “disbelief”.

Northern Ireland has been without a fully functioning, devolved government at Stormont for around a year, following the DUP’s decision to withdraw its Ministers in February last year in protest at the Northern Ireland Protocol trading arrangements following Brexit.

And in the absence of a functioning local government, trade unions in the health service have been pushing for the Secretary of State to step in and fill the void as their dispute over pay and conditions continues.

Several health unions have already staged strike action as the UK-wide wave of industrial action rumbles on with no end in sight.

The Northern Ireland Office has previously said it remains the Secretary of State’s “hope that the parties will recognise the importance of getting back to work so that an Executive is in place to take the decisions and action needed to address the challenges facing the public sector at this critical time."

In a statement on Wednesday, Ms Speed said: "The refusal once again from the Secretary of State to meet with health unions has been met with disbelief. Politicians in Northern Ireland of all parties must no longer stand by. Why are we not hearing their collective voice raised in a call to provide funding and resources for the NHS? The absence of a devolved government does not prevent them joining in common cause. They do not have to remain silent.”

She added: “This dispute needs to be resolved. A continuing vacuum will further destabilise the health service which is already struggling to retain its workforce.”

Members of the Unite trade union, which includes a large contingent of workers in the Northern Ireland Ambulance Service including paramedics, are also due to stage further strike action this month.

A total of four dates have been announced by the union for strike action this month – on February 16 and 17, and again on February 23 and 24.

On the looming teachers’ strike on February 21, the BBC report that Education Authority chief executive Sara Long has written to principals urging them only to close schools as a last resort.

In her letter, she advises principals to carry out a risk assessment and to open their school all day if it is "safe" to do so.

Most schools are expected to close until the afternoon.