Major traffic disruption in Northern Ireland is expected as trade union strikes continue on Thursday.
Thousands of bus and train drivers are continuing their strike action over pay despite the DUP’s deal to restore Stormont.
The first of four planned walkouts will take place on Thursday.
School support workers are also striking over pay. Translink drivers also went on strike before Christmas.
Ireland v Fiji player ratings: Bundee Aki bounces back, Caelan Doris leads by example
David McWilliams: The potential threats to Ireland now come in four guises
The album that nearly finished U2: The story of How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb and its new ‘shadow’ LP
‘I know what happened in that room’: the full story of the Conor McGregor case
The walkout comes after last Thursday’s mass strike, one of the largest in Northern Ireland, by 170,000 public sector workers.
Those on strike include more than 3,000 public transport workers from the Unite, Siptu and GMB unions and about 800 Unite members employed by the Education Authority (EA) as non-teaching staff.
This includes school bus transport staff, school caterers, administration staff and classroom assistants.
Trade unions are calling on Northern Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris to release almost £600 million to settle the dispute which centres on the North’s workers being paid less than their British counterparts.
Mr Heaton-Harris has insisted that he does not have the legal power to act and that pay is a devolved matter.
Last month, he announced the money was available as part of a £3.3 billion package for Northern Ireland but was dependent on Stormont’s return.
Next month marks the two-year anniversary of Stormont’s collapse after DUP First Minister Paul Givan quit the powersharing executive.
Now, transport strikes planned for Thursday in Northern Ireland are to go ahead despite the DUP’s deal to restore Stormont.
Three further dates of industrial action are planned later this month.
Speaking on Tuesday, Peter Macklin, GMB organiser, said: “As it stands, there is no offer on the table. Thursday’s strike will go ahead”.
- Sign up for push alerts and have the best news, analysis and comment delivered directly to your phone
- Find The Irish Times on WhatsApp and stay up to date
- Our In The News podcast is now published daily – Find the latest episode here
