Strike action could disrupt EU referendum in NI

The ballot does not close until after the Assembly election on May 5, meaning that it will not be affected by the move.

However, if staff vote for strike action, both the June 23 vote on the UK’s membership of the EU and the counting of ballot papers could be disrupted by the walk-out.

Dooley Harte from trade union NIPSA told the News Letter that it was a “possibility” that the action would coincide with the referendum, but stressed that the decision would be taken by the union’s members at the Electoral Office.

The dispute has arisen over proposals to close all six of the Electoral Office’s regional offices, with services being centralised in Belfast.

The changes will mean that electoral candidates from as far away as Enniskillen and Londonderry will have to travel to Belfast to nominate.

Chief Electoral Officer Graham Shields insisted that the proposals “have not yet gone out for public consultation and no final decision will be taken until that has been done”.

He said that the changes “are designed to put the Electoral Office on a sustainable financial footing - it has to operate within current financial constraints as do all parts of the public sector”.

And he argued that it was “in the interests of voters for the Electoral Office to take advantage of new technology which will bring us into line with the rest of the UK”.

Mr Dooley said that the union had engaged with most political parties but had “got a poor reaction from most of the political parties”.

He said that the staff “feel very strongly about this” and that “for them to take any sort of decision on industrial action – especially at this time – shows the depth of feeling”.

He said it would be “incredibly significant” if there was industrial action, and particularly strike action, which coincided with the referendum.

NIPSA said that regional electoral offices in Ballymena and Newtownards will close later this year with the remaining offices in Banbridge, Londonderry, Newtownabbey and Omagh closing early next year.

Mr Harte said that the proposal went against all government policy in terms of engaging more with rural communities and attempting to decentralise government services from Belfast.

He said: “Management within the Electoral Office have indicated that these proposals are driven by reduced funding from the Northern Ireland Office with over 25% having been lost since 2010 and a further reduction of 17% proposed by 2020. How much is our democracy worth?

“These proposals will not lead to a better service, in fact exactly the opposite. Voter registration will now be done online despite over 800,000 voters being lost when online registration was introduced in England.”

Ulster Unionist chairman Lord Empey said that the proposed closure of the offices was “a mistake”, adding that “there is no use complaining about lower voter turnout and registration while at the same time retreating to Belfast as the only centre where an office is located”.

The former UUP leader said: “I am convinced that the ultimate plan is to try and hand over the responsibilities to Local Government to save the NIO money.

“This is a foolish and shortsighted mistake. The service provided by the Electoral Office is regarded as highly professional and independent.

“Bringing this service to local government, which is under the control of politicians, is a risk not worth taking.

“The decision by NIPSA to ballot its members on strike action is understandable.”