Snow and ice: NI road gritters to take week-long strike action

Members of two unions which operate gritters on Northern Ireland roads will be taking week-long strike action from Thursday.

The action coincides with a period of very cold weather, with a snow warning for the middle of the week.

It will begin at one minute past midnight on Thursday 18 January, involving Unite and the GMB unions.

The Met Office has issued weather warnings for Wednesday and into Thursday.

Several hundred Roads Service workers are expected to take part in the strike action.

The Department for Infrastructure has advised that only "absolutely essential journeys" are to be made on roads in Northern Ireland on Thursday.

"The road network will be hazardous for travel due to widespread icy conditions and will not have been gritted apart from some limited gritting on the M1 and M2 motorways, the A1 and the A4," a spokesperson said.

"Roads leading to the limited salted part of the network will not be treated, so extreme caution will be required for anyone travelling tomorrow on any part of the road network."

Depth of feelings

Alan Perry from the GMB union, which represents some of them, said the strike showed the depth of feeling of his members.

"Their dispute isn't on pay, it's also in relation to a productivity bonus which we believe was completely outdated and wrong and therefore then there's two elements to the strike, hence why our members are out for a week," he told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme.

"I've no doubt if a request comes in from the Department for Infrastructure in relation to a derogation we are duty bound to consider that derogation.

"There's no guarantee that our members would grant it, but certainly if there is some sort of an emergency or anything like that then obviously we would consider it, but ultimately the decision would lie with our members."

'Political leverage'

Unite said that Roads Service and Forestry Service workers "will continue their strike action for a week from 18 January to 24 January with action short of strike action being taken by other Unite civil service workers who will refuse to conduct winter services (gritting) during this period".

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Unite general secretary Sharon Graham added: "The funding for a pay increase for public sector workers is available but it is being cynically withheld by the secretary of state.

"He must immediately release this money - it is disgraceful that it is being withheld for use as political leverage."

Sub-zero temperatures are forecast to last until Friday morning before improving at the weekend.

Unsettled weather from the Atlantic is forecast to bring milder air, reducing the risk of ice and frost from Friday night.

The low pressure system will also bring much stronger winds and outbreaks of rain.

The action by roads workers is part of a wider strike by public sector workers.

Tens of thousands of workers from across the sector, including teachers, civil servants and bus and train drivers, are also walking out on Thursday January over pay.

Unions have billed it as the biggest strike in Northern Ireland's history.

The Department for Infrastructure said the following services would be affected on Thursday:

• Winter service - gritting of the road network;

• Repair of serious infrastructure defects such as manhole collapse or potholes;

• Prioritisation of assistance to those incidents with most impact to life and property;

• Response and clear-up operation when there are incidents on the road such as oil spills or unexpected debris;

• Drainage infrastructure clearing and cleansing;

• MOT services and driving tests;

• Strangford Ferry services;

• Significantly reduce our capacity to respond to flood emergencies;

• Significant delays in responding to calls to the flood incident line.