People Before Profit Cllr Shaun Harkin said,
“The Health Minister’s announcement, with the full backing of the Executive, that he is imposing an insulting 3 per cent pay offer on health and social care workers is a watershed moment.
Boris Johnson and the Tories devised this paltry pay offer that has been overwhelmingly rejected by health workers everywhere. With inflation at 4 per cent and energy costs skyrocketing, this is a real terms pay cut. By imposing it, the Executive is shamelessly acting no differently from the Tories.
This is no way to treat workers who’ve sacrificed so much throughout the pandemic.
The Executive parties are usually masters at obscuring their attacks on workers and the least well-off in society with communal squabbling. Not this time.
Make no mistake, this is a declaration of war by the Stormont Executive on our health workers and the health service.
This Executive has spent two decades promoting privatisation of health provision that has done tremendous damage to terms and conditions for health workers and the health service.
The Health Minister is asking trade unions not to take strike action. It’ll be no time before the Stormont Executive attempts to demonise health workers for being greedy and not caring about those in their care. Nothing could be further from the truth.
The Executive is giving health trade unions no option. We need a united response from all unions now that stands up for our health and social care heroes and that defends our health service.
The Executive parties are openly siding with the Tories and those intent on privatising the health service. We need to speak loudly with united and direct action in response.”