Stormont staff overwhelmingly reject pay offer - raising prospect of picket line dilemma for MLAs
Northern Ireland Assembly staff have overwhelmingly rejected a pay offer of 3% – leaving industrial action at Parliament Buildings a very real possibility, the News Letter understands.
The pay offer – which has been rejected on the basis that it is below inflation – was made by the Assembly Commission, which is governed by the main five political parties at Stormont.
It is understood of those who took part in a ballot on the pay deal, 96.1% rejected it. In the event of industrial action, Assembly business could be seriously disrupted – and MLAs would face the prospect of crossing picket lines if they were to carry out their job as legislators.
A strike was averted in 2022, after a deal was brokered to stop a walk out on the day newly-elected MLAs were due to take up their positions at Stormont.
An Assembly spokesperson said: “We do not engage in public commentary on ongoing pay negotiations or claims. Discussions of this nature are handled through the appropriate formal channels with the Assembly Commission’s trade union. Responsibility for determining any pay settlement rests with the Assembly Commission”.
Public sector trade union NIPSA – who are involved in negotiations – were also approached for comment, however there was no response at the time of writing.
The NI Assembly is independent of government, and employs its own staff outside of the NI Civil Service (NICS). It operates a secretariat to support the work of MLAs and the running of the Stormont estate. The secretariat is divided into five strands; Corporate Services, Corporate Support Unit, Facilities, Legal, Governance and Research Services and Parliamentary Services.
Some of the staff in the building are not employed directly by the Assembly, and are instead employed by outsourcing firms. These roles are mainly the lowest paid workers at Stormont, and include cleaners, porters, security staff and catering. These staff are not included in the current pay negotiations.
The same is true of NICS departments run by the Sinn Fein controlled Department of Finance.
Earlier this year, the party faced questions over the introduction of robots and proposed cuts to cleaning staff in 162 civil service sites.