https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-67719520
Public transport workers in Northern Ireland have begun a 48-hour strike in a dispute about pay.
Trade unions Unite, GMB and Siptu are involved in the action on what is traditionally one of the busiest weekends before Christmas.
It is expected to cause widespread disruption to Translink bus, glider and train services, with a further day of action scheduled for 22 December.
Translink has apologised for “any inconvenience” that will be caused.
The Education Authority said it was expecting “significant disruption” to school transport given the “scale of the action”, which began at midnight.
It said the action would affect more than 57,000 children and young people who have travel passes.
The strike falls on one of the most lucrative periods for the retail and hospitality industries.
On Thursday, the GMB’s Peter Macklin said members had been left with “no choice” but to strike.
He added the union did not want to cause inconvenience for the public and called for the Northern Ireland secretary to raise pay for workers.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has been engaged in talks with Stormont’s largest parties this week about the restoration of the executive, with a £2.5bn financial package on offer from the UK government.
This would include provision for public sector pay increases.
The unions previously took strike action on 1 December.
On Thursday, Davy Thompson from Unite dismissed speculation the strike would be called off.
He said workers will take action as they “do not have any sort of pay offer from the company”.
He added “the company’s rationale is that there’s been no budget set by the secretary of state”.
Siptu’s Niall McNally said the transport unions wanted public transport to be funded “properly”.
The action has faced criticism from representatives of the hospitality and retail sectors.
In a statement, Colin Neill of Hospitality Ulster and Glyn Roberts from Retail NI said their members had been left frustrated and anxious by the strikes.
“It is no secret that custom and footfall around Christmas is used to sustain businesses in the leaner months of the new year,” they said.
“So it is hugely disappointing and somewhat unfair that this further planned strike action will disproportionately target and impact our sectors when they are already struggling.”
Translink said it was “fully committed to entering constructive pay negotiations,” adding: “This can only be done once the budget issue has been resolved”.
“This situation impacts all public sector workers and needs to be resolved at the NI Executive level,” it said.
“We have urged our colleagues to reconsider and pause this action in light of the social and economic impact it will have at this time and to await the outcome of political talks.”
Bus lanes operational
One of the private companies which operates services linking City of Derry, Belfast International and Dublin airports says it will be doubling its capacity on Friday and Saturday.
Many have called for cars to be allowed to use the bus lanes as the volume of traffic is expected to increase considerably on Friday and Saturday.
In a statement the Department for Infrastructure said bus lanes would remain operational during the industrial action for “cyclists, motorcyclists, permitted taxis, any operating buses, which could include buses provided by health and education authorities, and the emergency services”.
“Bus lane enforcement will continue as normal,” it continued.
by LoveLaughLarne