Member's statement: Health and Social Care Workers' Pay
Member's statement by Mr Gerry Carroll on .
- MLA
- Mr Gerry Carroll
- Party at the time
- People Before Profit Alliance
- Date
- 21 October 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Health and Social Care Workers' Pay
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5197220
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Thanks, Mr Speaker. What does it say about our society that, with the passing of another year, there is another attempt at a strategy to deny our health and social care workers the pay that they are owed? How many times do health and social care workers need to be strung along by political parties and be told, "We get it", "We are with you" or "We have got your back", while Budgets are passed again that refuse to include the money set aside for those health and social care workers while continuing to slash our public-sector budgets? In the absence of their pay being forthcoming, health and social care workers are totally correct and justified in taking strike action. The blame should not be placed at their door for having the temerity and the gall to stand up for themselves, for their communities and for future public-sector workers across the board. The blame should be placed at the door of the system and of the Executive, who give rates handouts to multinational corporations and landlords whilst telling health and social care workers, "Sorry, the money is not available". The last time that there was a political crisis in this place, politicians promised health and social care workers safe staffing legislation and proper, fair pay. The Executive have categorically failed on both fronts, and people are right to rail against them. The Health Minister tells health and social care workers that there is no money to pay them, but his Department has paid over £400 million not to the independent sector but to the private health sector. That is a disgrace. It is time to stop taking advantage of all those who work in health and social care. It is time to stop exploiting those workers and making below-inflation pay offers that amount to less than those made to healthcare workers in the South and in England, Scotland and Wales. It is time to pay health and social care workers what they are owed and what is due to them.
340 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.05 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.86).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.06 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.03 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.01 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.03 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.86 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.05 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.91 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.06 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.03 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:32 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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