Sinn Féin MP Paul Maskey has urged the British Secretary of State to engage directly with local union representatives to resolve the current dispute and agree a fair settlement for health workers.

The West Belfast MP said:

“Our under-pressure health and social care workers should not have to take to the streets on picket lines in the depth of winter for pay and safe working conditions.

“I am urging Chris Heaton-Harris and his government to engage with trade union leaders in the north, as part of wider negotiations, to reach a fair pay deal and avoid the need for further strike action.

“Over a decade of savage Tory cuts has left our health service in a state of crisis and left public services thread bare from chronic underfunding.

“We need more investment in public services, not more cuts. And we need an Executive up and running now to tackle the problems and invest in our health service.

“Without fair pay and safe working conditions, it becomes much more difficult to retain skilled health and social care workers and that needs to be addressed urgently.

“The British Government must adopt a fair approach to public sector pay which values the vital role of health and social care workers.”