Public sector workers were last night accused of taking advantage of the nationwide strike which all but shut down the country. As a quarter of a million workers downed tools for the day, southern shoppers caused traffic gridlock as they flocked across the border, causing 6km traffic tailbacks into Newry.
Employers’ group ISME described the strike as a “disgrace” and warned that public sector union bosses were leading their members “down a path of no return”.
“We cannot say it was all public sector workers but when you see tailbacks on the very day the public sector take a day off it is fair to say that the vast majority are public sector workers,” Mark Fielding, chief executive of ISME said. “If that is what is happening, it is beyond belief.”
The Small Firms Association also slammed the stoppage and said it caused unnecessary widespread disruption to the economy. SFA director Patricia Callan said a lot of people chose to take the day off and if it was true that Newry was very busy as a result of the stoppage then it was “quite shocking”.
Even before yesterday’s massive northern trek, the cross-border shopping exodus had been a cause of serious economic concern for southern businesses as hundreds of millions of euro have been siphoned off by stores in the North.
via The Indo