SIPTU Deputy General Secretary, Ethel Buckley, has told thousands of workers gathered in Belfast that the finalisation of the “Good Jobs Bill” marks a new era for workers’ rights, describing the large turnout as the embodiment of a “strong, visible, winning” movement.
Addressing the annual May Day March and Rally at Writers’ Square, Buckley delivered the keynote address, focusing on the legislative milestone reached this week.
“For years, the Northern Ireland Assembly has had the power to improve workers’ lives and failed to use it,” Buckley told the rally. “Stormont has failed to use its devolved powers to improve workers’ rights.”
The SIPTU Deputy General Secretary highlighted that the tide is finally turning with the introduction of the Good Jobs Employment Bill. “But now the Good Jobs Employment Bill is on the table,” Buckley said. “The Bill is before our Executive Ministers, and we fully expect them to move it through the Executive with urgency and onto the floor of the Assembly.”
She added: “This legislation will give workers the right to access a trade union in their workplace for advice and representation on employment issues.
“80% of people polled across Northern Ireland support union access in the workplace. Similar levels of support were shown for the bill’s proposals on zero-hour contracts and on reasonable notice for shift changes.
“These majorities include women and men, rural and urban, young, old and middle-aged and crucially, across people who voted in the last Assembly election for all parties – Sinn Féin, the DUP, Alliance, the Ulster Unionists, the SDLP, even the TUV.
“Across every community. Every age group. In every political tradition, the Bill has huge popular support.”
The SIPTU Deputy General Secretary observed that the vibrancy of the demonstration was a testament to the movement’s strength, stating: “The numbers, the noise, the energy, the solidarity. This is what a strong, visible, winning workers’ movement looks like.”
Buckley concluded her address with a direct ultimatum to the Northern Ireland Executive: “The message on the Good Jobs Bill from trade unions and from this rally today is simple: Move it. Pass it. Deliver for working people. Because the Good Jobs Bill isn’t just overdue – it is backed by the people.”