Water: workers to strike in Northern Ireland in run-up to Christmas
But Unite says action is avoidable if its pay issue is settled
Water workers across Northern Ireland are set for a pre-Christmas strike over pay.
Members of Unite, employed by NI Water and NI Water (Alpha) will begin industrial action next week.
Next Tuesday (December 10th) the workers will begin a work-to-rule - with an all-out strike to follow a week later.
And there's a warning it could cause mass disruption.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “It is a disgrace that Northern Ireland water workers are paid just a few pence an hour more than the basic minimum wage. Indeed, some of our members had to receive a top-up last year just to make their pay legal.
"These workers are waiting 21 months for a pay increase that all other civil servants received long ago. It is totally unacceptable that the finance minister is now holding up this overdue pay increase.
“Unite is totally focussed on putting the jobs, pay and conditions of its members first and the Northern Ireland water workers will receive the full support of their union.”
The union says it has written to Finance Minister Caoimhe Archibald to sort out the pay issue and "avoid disruptive industrial action."
Regional officer Joanne McWilliams said: “Our members play a vital in ensuring the supply of safe drinking water.
“The minister must act immediately, deliver the 21 month overdue pay increase to our members and end an entirely avoidable and disruptive industrial dispute.”