Northern Ireland retail and hospitality sectors appeal to Heaton-Harris over Christmas public transport strike

Mr Neill and Retail NI Chief Executive Glyn Roberts met with the unions last Tuesday for discussions on the matter. In a joint statement afterwards they said the strike will have a detrimental impact on both sectors when they make income which sustains their businesses throughout the year. They also called upon Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris to take a more active role in resolving the dispute.

Today Mr Neil told the News Letter today there had been no sign of progress.

"At the minute, we've made our case to both unions and TransLink of the need to find a resolution but I think we all recognise that the gift of a solution lies with the Secretary of State,” he said. “So we're appealing to him to sit down at the table with the unions now and talk to them.”

He added: "We recognise that unions have a right to strike but we have also appealed to them, because it is really a vital time for the hospitality and retail sectors. We've had a really tough three years; we had COVID and then we've had the cost of living crisis which has really impacted us, so this is a make or break Christmas for many businesses. Anything that reduces footfall is really concerning."

Last week Unite General Secretary Sharon Graham laid the blame for the strike with the Secretary of State, saying he had imposed "a brutal budget settlement on the Department for Infrastructure which provides no funding for a pay increase for bus and rail workers".

The Northern Ireland Office responded that the UK Government has no authority to negotiate pay in Northern Ireland. It said the Secretary of State's priority is to see the return of the assembly and that he has commissioned a range of information from the Civil Service on potential measures to raise more public revenue for public finances..