Striking public sector workers urged to ‘act in proportionate, lawful manner’

Striking public sector workers have been urged to act in a “proportionate and lawful manner”.

Police staff will be among tens of thousands of public sector workers taking part in a significant joint strike action on Thursday over pay.

Workers with 15 trade unions will take part in industrial action across health, education and the civil service.

Liam Kelly, chair of the Police Federation for Northern Ireland, urged Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris to release the funds for public sector pay awards to avert the strike.

He also urged workers to resist any calls for civil disobedience, saying that would “inevitably result in additional strain on hard-pressed police officers”.

“Our officers are also public sector employees who have been waiting some five months for a pay award to be signed off,” he said.

“They understand only too well the challenges facing public sector colleagues and fully sympathise with them in their attempt to right a wrong.”

He said while police officers cannot legally take part in strike action, they too are “angry, frustrated and dismayed” at the stalemate over pay.

He claimed government is “using public sector pay as a blunt way of bludgeoning and bullying for political ends”.

“The government is behaving disgracefully by employing such tactics against workers,” he said.

“Civil disobedience has been suggested including the possibility of blocking roads and occupying buildings to hammer home the message.

“I would appeal to all workers to resist such calls. Any such action would inevitably place an additional strain on policing at a time when our officers least need the pressure.

“Strike action and any associated protest must be conducted both proportionately and lawfully.

“Police officers are the emergency service of first and last resort, so it’s reasonable to expect that such large-scale industrial action will result in a hefty increase in calls for police assistance.”