Cost of living: Northern Ireland trade unions call for action at Stormont rally

The rally, organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions- Northern Ireland Commission (NIC-ICTU), involved 24 trade unions

A number of trade unions took part in a cost-of-living demonstration at Stormont on Saturday.

The rally, organised by the Northern Ireland committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), involved 24 trade unions.

It comes after industrial action was proposed by members of the Unite union last month over pay.

ICTU secretary Owen Reidy said people were "fed up" with the inaction of Stormont and Westminster.

"We have a government in Westminster that clearly puts parties before people and we have no government, no executive, here in Northern Ireland," he said.

ICTU secretary Owen Reidy said this is part of a six-month campaign

"We really believe now is the time for action, in the summer months before we get to the winter, because obviously inflation is at 9%, it is going to go double digits soon."

Mr Reidy said this was part of a six-month campaign to "bring together, workers, trade union members, community groups and others to demand action on the cost-of-living crisis".

• Why are prices rising so quickly?

Inflation in the UK, the rate which prices are rising, hit 9.1% last week - the fastest rise for 40 years.

People are dealing with higher costs of food as well as spiralling fuel and energy prices, with workers and unions pushing for pay rises to cope with higher prices.

'There is no help or support'

Staff nurse Nicola Murphy says the crisis has led to her having to make "hard choices"

Nicola Murphy, a staff nurse from Newtownards, said she was at the rally because she had "nowhere else to go".

A single parent who also works full time, Ms Murphy said she has had to make hard choices.

"I chose between me going to work or my son's education because I can't afford the bus fare to get him to school," she said.

"I need to rationalise putting that into my car for petrol to be able to go to work. I go to work, my son does not attend school every day."

Ms Murphy has spoken with the school but said "there is no help, there is no support, there is no guidance".

"I constantly worry about money, I constantly worry about how to put food on the table especially coming to the end of the month and closer to pay day", she said.

"It is a highly stressful situation for everybody."

Registered nurse Briege McLaughlin says she feels under valued by MLA's

Meanwhile, Briege McLaughlin, a registered nurse at the Mater Hospital, said she has no idea how she is going to continue paying her bills.

"I came here today to tell our MLAs (assembly members) to step up during this cost-of-living crisis and go back to work and sort out their problems," she said.

"Step up just like the nurses stepped up during the Covid crisis, we went over and above what was asked of us."

Ms McLaughlin said she has applied to have meters for gas and electricity put in her home and has found herself searching for "cheaper options" when food shopping.

"As an educated and highly-skilled nurse, it makes me feel like I am not valued and the people who I work with aren't valued by our MLAs," she added.

There has been a lot of high-profile industrial action in the past few months, which Mr Reidy believes will continue.

"Workers have to defend their pay and terms and conditions of employment. What are workers to do in the absence of meaningful action in the cost-of-living crisis," he said.

Mr Reidy said the ICTU wants to see more funds given to devolved governments in order to target low and middle-income earners.

The group also wants to see a return of an executive in order to pass legislation to help workers negotiating with their employers and help those most in need.

The DUP - which won the second-largest number of Northern Ireland Assembly seats in May's election - are refusing to nominate ministers or support an assembly speaker until its concerns over the Northern Ireland Protocol, which manages Northern Ireland's post-Brexit trading arrangements, are addressed.