Strikes resume but talks spare some councils

The Mid and East Antrim council and the Ards and North Down council have secured the suspension following talks with the trade union Unite, whose members rejected a public sector pay offer of 1.75%.

Mid and East Antrim Council has said that services will now “run as normal” as the local authority continues to “engage with our union colleagues”.

The Ards and North Down council, meanwhile, has yet to see strikes take place with Unite members there having set May 3 to 15 as the strike dates — and those dates have now been suspended.

Unite Regional Officer Kieran Ellison said: “Unite continue to have discussions with management at a number of councils, including some who have wrote to Unite declaring a willingness and an openness to engage in meaningful dialogue on how they can address our members’ pay issues.

“Unite have agreed to suspend our action in light of this open approach from management at those employers.”

Meanwhile, the strike by Unite members employed by the Education Authority continues.

Mr Ellison continued: “By contrast, the Education Authority have yet to submit a business case proposal which would address our members’ pay issues to the Department of Education.

“Unfortunately in the absence of any genuine process to enable meaningful negotiation, Unite are unable to adopt a similar approach in the case of the education workers’ strike. Should the Department of Education receive and respond positively to that business case in a timely manner, we would reconsider our position in regard to suspension.”

The Education Authority (EA) has indicated that some EA services continue to face disruption this week,  particularly school transport and some Special Schools.

Elsewhere, disruption to bin collections, leisure centres, Belfast Zoo and a range of other council services is expected to continue as Unite members in local councils continue to take industrial action.

And Unite has announced its members working at Langford Lodge, the successful Crumlin-based aerospace and defence company, have voted overwhelmingly for strike action on the issue of pay and an equal pay audit.