Public sector union bosses will be delivering a “slap in the face” to low paid workers in Northern Ireland, if they oppose a cap to civil service golden handshakes, according to NI Conservative economy spokesman, Johnny Andrews. NIPSA, Unison and other unions indicated they may take legal action if redundancy pay-outs for public servants are limited to £95,000.
“Many hard-working people in Northern Ireland will be astonished to learn that union bosses look set to fight for high-earners getting pay-outs in excess of £95,000”, Johnny observed. “It really calls into question union leaders’ claims that they are standing up for low earners. Only high earning civil servants are entitled to exit payments in this region and most people in Northern Ireland will be shocked that NIPSA and other unions are saying they should get more.”
“If high ranking public sector employees are paid enormous redundancy packages, it means less money for vital services, like hospitals, roads and schools. It also means there’s less cash in the kitty for low paid workers in the public sector, who may be struggling to get by. The threat of legal action, from union bosses, shows that they are out of touch and are motivated by getting as much money from hard-working taxpayers as possible, rather than defending the interests of rank and file union members.”