Police Federation urges strikers to resist ‘civil disobedience’ calls

Police staff will be among tens of thousands of public sector workers taking part in a significant joint strike action on Thursday over pay.

Liam Kelly, chair of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, urged Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris to release the funds for public sector pay awards to avert the strike.

He also urged workers to resist any calls for civil disobedience, saying that would “inevitably result in additional strain on hard-pressed police officers”.

One of Northern Ireland’s largest trade unions, Nipsa, has called for a campaign of “public disobedience” to protect public services in the province.

Mr Kelly said: “Our officers are also public sector employees who have been waiting some five months for a pay award to be signed off.

“They understand only too well the challenges facing public sector colleagues and fully sympathise with them in their attempt to right a wrong.”

He said while police officers cannot legally take part in strike action, they too are “angry, frustrated and dismayed” at the stalemate over pay.

He claimed government is “using public sector pay as a blunt way of bludgeoning and bullying for political ends”.

“The government is behaving disgracefully by employing such tactics against workers,” he said.

“Civil disobedience has been suggested including the possibility of blocking roads and occupying buildings to hammer home the message.

“I would appeal to all workers to resist such calls. Any such action would inevitably place an additional strain on policing at a time when our officers least need the pressure.

“Strike action and any associated protest must be conducted both proportionately and lawfully.

“Police officers are the emergency service of first and last resort, so it's reasonable to expect that such large-scale industrial action will result in a hefty increase in calls for police assistance.”

Nipsa, which represents thousands of civil servants and public sector workers, said the narrative that “normalises the erosion” of services must be disrupted.

Nipsa deputy general secretary Patrick Mulholland: “The very fabric that binds our communities together is being torn apart by cuts, privatisation and neglect.

“The unions have been battling to protect our vital services, but it is time for the public to take a stand, to make their voices heard and to play their part in the fight.

“Nipsa members will strike on January 18 in defence of our services.

“Alongside that I am calling for a campaign of public disobedience and resistance against the dismantling of our public services.

“We must disrupt the narrative that normalises the erosion of our services, the privatisation of our hospitals, and the overcrowded classrooms in our schools.”