Northern Ireland

ABC council strike action put on hold for talks

A planned strike at ABC council is on hold to allow talks to take place
A planned strike at ABC council is on hold to allow talks to take place A planned strike at ABC council is on hold to allow talks to take place

A planned strike by council workers has been put on hold to allow last ditch pay talks to get underway.

Some staff at Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon council were due to stage a walkout over pay.

The strike action, which was due to begin on August 10, has now been paused to allow the Labour Relations Agency to facilitate fresh talks.

Trade unions, including the GMB, Unite and Nipsa met on Thursday with councillors from all the major parties and UUP leader Doug Beattie, who is an MLA for the area.

Alan Perry, GMB regional organiser, is hopeful progress will be made.

“Working people deserve fair pay in the midst of the worst cost of living crisis for decades," he said.

“We are hopeful that these new talks will lead to meaningful shifts from management.

"As such, we have paused our strike action.

“I’d like to thank the local councillors and MLA for their supportive work on this.”