Northern Ireland bus and rail unions to ballot members over strike action

Three trade unions representing bus and rail workers in Northern Ireland are to ballot members over industrial action in a pay dispute.

Unite, GMB and SIPTU will ask members members to vote on possible action up to and including a strike following an "insulting 0% pay offer".

The first date for any action would be Friday 1 December, affecting Ulsterbus, Metro, Glider and rail services.

BBC News NI has approached Translink for a comment.

In a joint statement, the unions said such coordinated industrial action "would be unprecedented in recent years and would bring to a standstill all bus and rail services in Northern Ireland".

The unions said management at Translink "had indicated they were unable to offer any pay offer or a timetable for negotiations for an improved pay offer in light of the constrained funding for public transport".

Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite the union, said members had "voted overwhelmingly by 98.5%" to reject the 0% offer and that it was now encouraging members to vote for industrial action.

She added that public transport had been "underfunded by Stormont for years" and that "brutal budget cuts" introduced by Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris had brought about the dispute.

Peter Macklin, of GMB, said its members "should not be subject to a sanctions budget imposed by the secretary of state due to the failure of politicians at Stormont".

"Zero per cent is simply unacceptable and means a very severe real terms reduction in pay for front-line bus and rail workers."

Niall McNally, of SIPTU, said workers were facing a "crushing real-terms pay cut", adding that a strike would bring "bus and rail services to a standstill and will have a wider impact both socially and economically".

The unions said they were due to take part in a meeting, alongside Translink management, with the Department of Infrastructure's permanent secretary in the coming days.