Proposals for councillors to strike ‘untenable’, claims councillor
A proposal for councillors to go on strike or work-to-rule following a 5% pay rise offer is untenable, a South Armagh councillor has said.
Cllr David Taylor, who is Chairman of the Ulster Unionist Councillors Association, was speaking after the National Association of Councillors (NCA) in Northern Ireland launched a formal consultation with all 462 NI councillors to determine whether they should strike or adopt a work-to-rule in response to a 5% pay offer from the Department for Communities.
The NCA argues that the recent independent review of the roles and responsibilities for councillors made several key recommendations to pay and conditions - but that the response to it by the Minister for Communities Gordon Lyons "fell short".
Chair of NAC Northern Ireland, Alderman Alan McDowell, said councillors across Northern Ireland feel “undervalued and overlooked”.
He added: "Despite working 40–60 hours per week, the Minister’s response assumes a 20-hour workload and fails to deliver parity with other elected representatives. Our members are now being asked whether they wish to take action to secure a fairer deal.”
Key concerns raised by NAC members are that their basic allowance was increased by only 5% — from £17,030 to £18,329 — well below the review’s recommendation of £21,935.
They also object that the minister refused standard mileage allowance for council duties; no severance payments for long-serving councillors; no attendance allowance for representing councils on outside bodies and no uniformity in Special Responsibility Allowances across councils.
The NAC is asking councillors to consider a full strike, rolling strike, work to rule - or accept the minister’s offer.
However it it recommending work-to-rule as “a first step” - working strictly no more than 20 hours per week.
Cllr Taylor says that such a move “would not serve the interests of local government or the communities we represent”.
He added: “Our priority as a Party is to ensure that constituents and local ratepayers receive effective representation. We remain focused on delivery and the efficient running of councils, and we believe strike action would only distract from those responsibilities.
“The Ulster Unionist Party does not believe industrial action is the way to address any issues arising from the Ministerial Review. Such a step would instead create further problems for local government.
“As this local government mandate continues, our commitment remains to provide representation and service for those who elected us. Any action that takes councillors away from that duty stands in clear contrast to that commitment.”