Motion no: 21
Conference notes with disappointment that the current political crisis continues with no restoration of devolution in sight in the short term. Whilst the restoration of locally devolved government is not a panacea to all our problems, it is a necessary requirement under the Belfast/ Good Friday Agreement and is an important expression and one element of local democracy. Conference also notes and regrets that this political crisis continues and coincides with the 20th Anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. The absence of a local devolved government is even more acute in the context of the ongoing Brexit discussions whereby there is no coherent local government voice articulating the interests of Northern Ireland.
The trade union movement has articulated the interests of workers in discussions with the UK government, the Irish government, and the political parties in NI and has led the way in the building of some level of consensus with other representative bodies in NI and indeed civic society. We must continue to call out politicians who seek to set aside the Belfast/Good Friday agreement for their own narrow interests. We must continue to seek to work to ensure there is no hardening of the border on the island of Ireland, no border within the UK and no border within these islands.
This conference therefore calls on the NIC to ensure that,
- The trade union movement takes appropriate actions to seek to ensure that the full implementation of the agreement is achieved and defended.
- That our movement seeks to widen and deepen political discourse, participation and debate rather than the current narrow scope of the competing political parties.
- In conjunction with seeking and supporting a return to devolved government demand a forum for social dialogue (as per the Better Work Better Lives campaign) whereby our movement can seek to influence the local economy and society in the interest of workers and challenge austerity measures.
- To continue to articulate the trade union movement position on Brexit as articulated in 2 publications since the referendum and to work with others, locally, nationally and internationally to seek to ensure that workers do not pay the price of Brexit and that the Belfast/ Good Friday agreement does not become a casualty of any Brexit.
- In light of the uncertainty over freedom of movement for workers, that affiliates will not accept either a reduction in the rights of migrant workers nor any prospect of public service workers being conscripted into a proxy border control after Brexit.
