Unison boss ‘unreservedly sorry’ over Army comment fiasco

The regional secretary of Unison has offered an unreserved apology for the union’s reaction to the involvement of UK armed forces medics in combatting Covid-19.
By Adam Kula
Published 22nd Jan 2021, 09:53 BST
Updated 22nd Jan 2021, 10:38 BST
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The union had stirred uproar among members and non-members who favoured the deployment of troops to NI hospitals by posting a message late on Wednesday night on Facebook, questioning the move.

The original Unison statement said the union was “urgently seeking detailed reasons for this decision” and “demanding to see information in relation to staffing pressures” that led to the deployment.

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Patricia McKeown, the union’s regional secretary, then tried to calm the storm which ensued by stating that the union was merely asking questions, not voicing opposition to military involvement.

Patricia McKeownPatricia McKeown
Patricia McKeown

This did little to stem the tide of negative comments about the union’s handling of the situation online.

Click here: Furious reaction to military medic comment morphs into political brawl

In the latest twist, at night-time on Thursday (after the News Letter’s copy had all been filed), she said in a video message on Facebook: “We posted a badly worded response to the minister’s announcement that he was deploying military personnel into the health service.

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“That response had precisely the reverse effect of what we intended.”

She added: “I’m the regional secretary and the buck stops here. I unreservedly apologise to our members for the distress we caused.”

More to follow.

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