Newry and Mourne: Up to 1,000 district council staff could strike in December

Nipsa representative Kevin Kelly confirmed on Tuesday strike action would be taken

Unions have said up to 1,000 staff at Newry, Mourne and Down District Council (NMDC) will go on strike for one day in the first week of December.

There are then plans in place for further action in January.

On Tuesday, representatives of the four trade unions which represent council staff said they will now inform Marie Ward, the council's chief executive.

The strike action is planned for all services other than facilitating funerals and weddings.

The council has said it has a "responsibility to spend public money in the most responsible manner possible".

The unions involved in taking the action are Unite, GMB, Nipsa and Siptu.

NMDC is one of Northern Ireland's largest council areas with about 180,000 residents.

It includes Newry, Downpatrick, Crossmaglen, Newcastle, Warrenpoint, Saintfield and Ballynahinch.

Ongoing issue

The move follows a long-running dispute stemming from the merger of terms and conditions of staff from the old Down District Council with the old Newry and Mourne District Council.

In 2018, a similar threat of strike action was narrowly avoided following talks between unions and management.

But unions said the matter has not yet been resolved, while a further dispute over the terms of an ongoing redundancy scheme is also among the areas of disagreement.

'One-day strike'

In recent weeks union members have been balloted on the matter.

On Tuesday, the unions met at Newry Leisure Centre, with Kevin Kelly of Nipsa stating that "our members voted for industrial action" and that the one-day strike was planned for early December.

Representatives from the unions met at Newry Leisure Centre on Tuesday

"This will be followed by further action in January. We are making this decision so that we do not disrupt people's lives in the run up to Christmas," he said.

"We do need to send a message out to management that this action needs to be taken because of their reluctance to consult with us - this dispute is in their gift to resolve."

The council disputed that there had been a "reluctance to consult" and said the senior management team and chief executive attended a number of meetings with the unions in recent months.

The council said the unions declined the offer of a meeting with the chief executive on October 23.

NMDC said it was "focused on ensuring fairness for all its employees", but that it had a "responsibility to spend public money in the most responsible manner possible".

The council said this was particularly the case "in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic when public finances are stretched" and there is pressure on the private sector.

"The council has been working with the trade unions over a period of time to agree common terms and conditions," the council said.

It added the first phase of this work was agreed in March 2020, and had been implemented successfully.