Angered by two years of political paralysis affecting public services in Northern Ireland, tens of thousands of civil servants are today taking part in mass strike action to demand pay rises.

Fifteen unions representing workers in education, public transport and even nurses have called for a strike.

According to their estimates, 170,000 of the 220,000 public sector workers in Northern Ireland will take part in the biggest strike ever to take place in this province of Britain.

Schools will remain closed, transport will not run, even street cleaning workers are participating in the protests. Health services will be affected by the strike, although hospital emergency departments will operate, as will some other essential services.

The strike comes as the political stalemate in Northern Ireland has lasted almost two years.

The DUP, the main party of the Unionists, withdrew from local institutions in February 2022 to protest some of the terms of Brexit, which it complains threaten Northern Ireland’s position within Britain.

Northern Ireland’s parliament met yesterday Wednesday in an attempt to elect a president, but to no avail.

London proposal

As the province has no parliament and no local government, which is responsible for everything from health to education, London manages Northern Ireland’s current affairs, which has led to cuts in funding for many public services, such as hospitals or the maintenance of roads and schools.

Britain’s minister for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris, recalled on Monday that a 3.3 billion pound (3.8 billion euro) package proposed by London in December remains available on the condition that the local provincial parliament.

In this package, approximately 584 million pounds (680 million euros) are foreseen for the increase in the salaries of civil servants.

The unions believe that the resources to increase wages should be released as soon as possible, regardless of the reopening of local institutions. The DUP also accuses London of using the strike to pressure the party to lift its boycott.

According to DUP leader Geoffrey Donaldson, the British government has the money and the necessary authority to proceed with a pay rise immediately.