Unite rep says Housing Executive repair staff like plumbers and joiners will be among those walking off the job next week

As reported, staff who belong to the Unite union at all 11 councils will walk off the job this coming Monday for a week in a disupte over pay – and likewise at the Province’s various regional techs, and the Housing Executive.

Now Unite representative Michael Keenan, based at the Housing Executive, has told the News Letter what this will mean in practice.

“A lot of people in the Housing Executive are just above minimum wage,” he told the News Letter.

“The Housing Executive [workers] in particular are among the lowest paid.

“Mostly it’s going to be DLO (Direct Labour Organisation staff)... that includes joiners, plumbers, labourers, grass cutters, concierges. It will include some office staff.

“This is only the beginning of the industrial action. It’s outrageous – inflation is running at 6%, 7%, 8%.

“People are reluctantly taking this action.”

It was put to him that stopping manual labourers from doing repairs to Housing Executive properties would have a serious knock-on effect on some of the poorest people in society.

“The answer to that is nobody wants to go out on strike,” he replied.

“People are going to lose money. But they’ve been pushed to the wall and feel they have no alternative.

“We’re spearheading this for everyone who’s low paid.

“We’re hoping this is going to spread right across Northern Ireland – not only the public sector, but other areas.”

The strike action by Unite is over pay.

Specifically, the union is rejecting an offer of 1.75%.

The Bank of England has said inflation was at 5.5% in January and that at some point in spring it would pass the 7% mark.

Meanwhile Unite and GMB bus workers (including drivers and depot staff) are to start voting this week on whether or not to launch strike action of their own in April.

They have been offered a 3% pay bump, but union chiefs are holding out for 6% amid the soaring cost of living.

The GMB warned that any strike action by bus staff will see the Province “grind to a halt”.

Meanwhile there are signs industrial unrest is indeed spreading elsewhere; workers at Spirit Aerosystems in Belfast (formerly Bombardier) have voted for industrial action over pay. The turnout was said to be 85%, and of that, 90% backed strike action.

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