Debate contribution: Election of Speaker and Deputy Speakers
Debate contribution by Mr Gerry Carroll on .
- MLA
- Mr Gerry Carroll
- Party at the time
- People Before Profit Alliance
- Date
- 30 May 2022
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Assembly Business
- Heading
- Election of Speaker and Deputy Speakers
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4177713
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Some three weeks after the election results, it is clear, more than ever, that the actions of the DUP are causing more and more people to be furious with its refusal to form an Executive. People have been left to the wolves of monopoly energy companies to charge whatever they like for the necessities of life and are rightly asking what Ministers here will do about it. What will they do to tackle the fact that heads of companies such as BP are arrogantly bragging that their organisation and industry is a cash machine for shareholders and the wealthy? People are languishing in jobs for which employers are not paying a level that allows them to live with some enjoyment and dignity without being forced to count every penny. People are asking what Ministers here are doing about it. We have an unbelievable situation: the average rent in Belfast is extortionate, and people are struggling, but most landlords are raking it in. Furthermore, consider the fact that rent went up again last year and continues to soar while landlords in student areas such as the Holylands and the like are pulling in £1·8 billion from renters, making this city — Belfast — the most lucrative for landlords. They are putting profit before people and decent housing conditions. Teachers in one of the biggest unions — the NASUWT — are balloting for strike action over inadequate pay and poor terms and conditions. Assembly staff in this Building are still challenging changes to working conditions and inadequate pay offers. I stand with them in that fight. I urge every MLA to do so and to refuse to cross their picket line. There can be no scabbing in a cost-of-living crisis. In truth, if an Executive were formed today or tomorrow, it could — I emphasise "could" — act on all those issues. However, Ministers and Members had a chance to act on the issues before but refused to take the required action in the previous mandate or in the mandate before that. Truth be told, the past record leaves a lot to be desired, to put it mildly. On every measuring stick, the big parties here have failed miserably to reduce poverty, increase wages and tackle wealth inequality. The previous Executive endorsed pay cuts across the board for workers, disgracefully sided with landlords when they had the chance to reduce private-sector rents and have left the wealthy unscathed during the pandemic. They failed to protect people. That is not just my assessment and that of my party. A recent Ulster University study found that many households here were struggling before the recent cost-of-living crisis. As part of a life and times survey, research conducted last year found that 62% of people did not think that the Executive were doing enough to address poverty. I therefore ask the parties in the House that would potentially form an Executive what guarantees they will give workers, especially everyone who was on the front line during the pandemic. I ask that they not plough ahead again with pay offers that are below the rising rate of inflation. Inflation is sitting at 10% — the highest in 40 years — and is set to rise. If that is the case, nobody in society should be left to stomach pay offers below that rate.
As I have said before, a deal below the rate of inflation is a real-terms pay cut. Officially, inflation is at 10% and is set to go higher, but we know that even that percentage does not truly reflect the cost-of-living increase, as food items are up by 20% and 50% in some aisles. At the same time, we see the profits of big supermarket chains such as Tesco literally double. What are Ministers doing now about capping the cost of food so that people can afford their weekly shop and eat food that is good for their health? If anything has been especially clear in the past two years, it is that leaving it up to the market does not work and only bolsters the profits and strength of shareholders and already super-rich individuals. We need government action now. We need ministerial action now. Regardless of whether an Executive are formed today or whenever, urgent action needs to be taken on those questions. Waiting for a resolution or an agreement in this Building does not cut it in this period for me. Change is always slow in coming from this Building. Repeatedly and often, it has been a block to progress and advancement. We need to follow the likes of the Caterpillar workers in west Belfast and Larne, who are going on the offensive and challenging inadequate pay deals and changes to their job that will see them forced into completing compulsory overtime without having any say-so. Workers are right to take action now to fight back, and we should stand in solidarity and encourage every one of them to do so.
829 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Awaiting analysis
This record has not been analysed yet. It is not counted in any total until it has been assessed.
Disagree with this assessment?
Classifications can be challenged. A person reviews every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.