The following Socialist Party members are standing for the NIPSA General Council elections:

Brian Booth
Lucia Collins
Carmel Gates
Tanya Killen
Billy Lynn
Padraig Mulholland

The Socialist Party also calls for a vote for all Time for Change candidates

Nearly 100 workers at Regency Spinning, a textile manufacturer in Newtownards, are currently involved in a campaign to secure unpaid wages after the factory was closed in November.

Pickets were placed outside Regency Carpet in Bangor, a sister company owned by multi-millionaire race-horse owner Noel Furlong. Last June Regency Spinning were awarded £570,000 in grants from Invest NI under the guise of job creation.

Postal workers at Tomb St. depot in Belfast have voted 74% in favour of strike action against management’s breaking of agreed disciplinary procedures.

Management in Tomb St. have broken their own rules by taking disciplinary action against workers before entering into agreed procedure with CWU reps. They hope to break down any barriers to taking disciplinary action so they can implement new working practices and attack working conditions.

Two shop stewards, Gabriel McCurry and Fra Martin (pictured), took limited strike action in January in order to extend the time to allow management to agree in writing to follow agreed practice. If management fail to agree in writing to obey existing procedures, postal workers then face taking more strike action to defend themselves.

Following the acceptance of the deal late last year between the CWU Executive and Royal Mail, management feel more confident in harassing union reps and postal workers. The deal was accepted mainly due to the inability of the CWU Executive to lead an effective struggle against attacks on pay terms and conditions.

But on the ground postal workers have shown they are prepared to fight. Postal workers across Northern Ireland and Britain are involved in big battles with management at local level. 200 workers in Burslem, Stoke have been on strike for over three weeks against victimisation of twelve workers. These struggles should be linked up. United action by all postal workers is needed to force Royal Mail and their New Labour supporters to back off.

The NHS is going through a major pay review where every job is considered on its merits.  That is unless you are a Medical Secretary in Northern Ireland! 

There are two possible grades for Medical Secretaries, Entry Level Band 3, and the higher paid grade, Medical Secretary Band 4.  In Scotland over 80% of Medical Secretaries have been graded at pay Band 4 and in Wales the figure is over 70%. In Northern Ireland when jobs are graded at Band 4, Health Service management simply refuse to accept the outcome.

The knock-on effect is that services will be hit as experienced secretaries leave because their wagesare insufficient to make ends meet. Also, they can’t be replaced again due to low wages and a vicious circle ensues where everyone, including patients, suffers. 

In Altnagelvin Hospital, Medical Secretaries who are members of NIPSA have voted 100% to take action on this issue. Their first day on strike took place before Christmas. Since then they have continued a work-to-rule. It is likely that NIPSA will now begin the process to ballot all their medical secretary members across the country.

Northern Ireland’s Medical Secretaries are not asking for special treatment, only equality with their colleagues in Scotland and Wales.  Instead of equality they are facing a typical management attack on a group of predominately female part-time low paid workers, who management think will roll over and accept low pay. As this dispute escalates these workers deserve our full support in their fight to ensure a proper wage.