Letter: What would the unions in Northern Ireland ask of the incoming UK government?

The devolution sea border protected us from many of the bad ideas imposed on the rest of the UK in recent years, such as the bedroom tax and spiteful anti-trade union laws.

These are policies which we have long advocated, based on motions passed at our delegate conferences over the years, and the democratic structures of NIC-ICTU.

Completing Good Friday Agreement and honouring commitment to Bill of Rights

The trade union movement has been unwavering in its call for the full implementation of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement since its endorsement in the 1998 referendum, including the Bill of Rights.

The UK government needs to fulfil its obligation under the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement by taking a Bill of Rights to completion via Westminster legislation.

Scrapping the Legacy Act and return to principles of Stormont House agreement

We agree with victims organisations such as WAVE, that this act conflicts with the duty on the UK under the European Convention on Human Rights to effectively investigate unlawful death and torture, undermine the rule of law, and impede any truth recovery process.

Promoting tax justice and fairness to fund proper public services

As the NI Fiscal Commission found, what options open to the NI Executive will make very little difference.

The intense austerity imposed since 2010 and the self-sabotage of Brexit have left the NI Executive with a legacy of damage it will take years to repair.

A proper deal on the ‘fiscal floor’ would be a start, but the UK government needs to tackle the structural inequalities in the tax system that sees hedge fund managers and FTSE 100 CEOs pay less tax than the people who clean their offices.

Action on climate change and a just transition to net zero

Workers cannot be side-lined from shaping the economic transition. It is vital that representatives of workers in industries which will face the greatest change are centrally involved in securing a truly just transition.

Improved relations with EU

We need a government which is willing to talk seriously about improving relations with whom we share a land border, hopefully negotiating deals on (say) phytosanitary standards that will make much of the Irish Sea border irrelevant.

Change hostile environment towards asylum seekers

People fleeing war and oppression need safe and legal routes to reach asylum, and our ageing population can benefit from their skills and humanity, as the ‘native’ labour force declines.

It is possible to be both humane to others and self-interested for our futures and the health of our economy and society.

Recognition of the State of Palestine

Congress welcomed the Irish government’s recognition of the State of Palestine as “a very welcome development, as it clearly affirms the right of Palestinians to self-determination in a sovereign Palestinian state”.

Congress also supports stronger action by the international community to hold Israel’s extremist government to account.

However, if the UK government joins the dozens of states around the world who recognise the state of Palestine, that would be a dramatic improvement of the rhetoric and support from the UK government for the criminal actions of the Netanyahu government.

Commit to better workers’ rights in NI and across GB

Over the last few years, the trade union movement in NI has been able to win a better deal on key employment rights compared to the anti trade-union laws passed in GB.

Workers’ rights are significantly better than the rights enjoyed by our brothers and sisters in the rest of the UK.

We want a new Westminster government to scrap the Tory anti-trade union legislation and create a new framework for workers and their unions in England, Wales and Scotland.

With the return of the NI Executive and assembly the potential exists for us to lobby and get improvements to employment rights in Northern Ireland.

We are determined to see a transformed environment for working people, with collective bargaining at the centre of industrial relations.

Gerry Murphy, NIC-ICTU, assistant general secretary