Up to 20,000 trade unionists gathered at Belfast’s City Hall today as public sector staff walked out across the Six Counties, hobbling public transport, closing schools and forcing hospitals to postpone operations.
Many local council services were cancelled and trade unions mounted rallies and pickets in Belfast, Newry, Londonderry, Downpatrick, Omagh, Ballymena, Portadown, Magherafelt and Cookstown.
Six feeder marches brought trade unions into central Belfast from the hospitals, schools, colleges and government offices transport depots, featuring banners from a range of organisations.
Unison, Unite, INTO, NASWT, Prospect, SIPTU, the Royal College of Nursing, the ATL, TSSA, GMB and the FBU were all represented.
Peter Bunting, Secretary of the Northern Ireland Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, said: “The real extremists in our society are those who have gambled billions with other people’s money and those politicians who have decreed that ordinary people will pay for the criminal conduct of the elite.
“We are many. They are few. This campaign does not end today.”
Mary Cahillane of INTO added: “The biggest education we can give our children is to teach them to stand up against injustice and inequality and to put public need before profit.”
Michael Dornan of Unite spoke for the transport unions that had brought Northern Ireland’s transport system to a total halt.
He said: “We stand together accusing the Westminster government of robbery.
“It is trying to split public and private sector workers. We fight for the pensions of all workers and we fight to see our pensions invested in the productive economy.”
Stephanie Greenwood of Unison warned Northern Ireland politicians: “If you do not defend the people, the people will not forget.
“We will not stop till we get a fair and just settlement.”
Musical entertainment was provided by Tommy Sands who wrote a song especially for the occasion, accompanied by guitarist Steve Cooney.
Confederation of British Industry Northern Ireland director Kirsty McManus responded to the largest single day of industrial action in almost a century by calling on the ConDemn government to “re-examine the case for strengthening the law to ensure strikes can only go ahead if 40 per cent of the balloted workforce have voted in favour of action, as well as simple majority.”
foreigneditor@peoples-press.com
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