It’s a New Year, but we’re stuck with the same old political stalemate in Northern Ireland.
After glimmers of hope before Christmas that Stormont might return, we somehow find ourselves in mid-January still without a functioning government.
The fact that our public services are crumbling around us, should be a shaming indictment on all those who are choosing to prolong our political stalemate.
This week marks a pivotal moment for our political stalemate.
Thursday 18 January is the last day the Assembly can convene to elect a speaker and executive ministers.
If devolution isn’t restored by then, Secretary of State for Chris Heaton-Harris has said he will pass further emergency legislation and take on setting a budget for Northern Ireland.
While the clock ticks down to Thursday’s turning point, public frustration and discontent is turning to action.
It is against this backdrop that a ‘Day of Strike Action’ is set to take place on 18th January — a general strike that commentators have deemed the largest in decades, with thousands of public sector workers set to participate — and we’ll be standing side by side in solidarity as the future workers of Northern Ireland’s economy.
The frustration among workers is mirrored in the sentiments of students across Northern Ireland. We, too, are fed up, sick and tired of waiting.
The day of action provides another opportunity for students and workers to unite, sending a resounding message that enough is enough.
As the cost of living continues to rise, our collective impatience grows, and we demand tangible solutions.
Many students are at their wits’ end, putting up with soaring rents, juggling extra work on top of study, and struggling to put food on the table — we cannot afford to let student poverty to be normalised.
The rationale behind this mass mobilisation is rooted in the secretary of state’s refusal to implement an agreed-upon pay rise for public sector workers — seemingly using the pain that many workers are feeling across the north as a bargaining chip to restore Stormont.
ICTU assistant general secretary Gerry Murphy has rightly pointed out that these workers should not be used as pawns in political manoeuvres.
Our public sector workers deserve fair compensation for their hard work and dedication, and withholding a promised pay rise as a bargaining chip for political leverage is both unjust and callous.
As we stand on the precipice of a critical moment in Northern Ireland’s political landscape - let us use this New Year as an opportunity to forge a fresh beginning.
This Thursday, students and workers will stand together in solidarity to demand a brighter future - to achieve fair pay for workers and deliver urgent support to students during the cost of living crisis, we must unite and take action collectively.
We cannot afford to be held hostage by political manoeuvring, and the time for action is now.
The unity demonstrated on 18th January should serve as a catalyst for change, inspiring a renewed commitment to address the needs of all our citizens.
In the face of uncertainty, let us stand together, workers and students alike, and declare that our voices will not be silenced.
As Northern Ireland draws to a snow-covered standstill, let’s use this moment to say clearly that enough is enough — we demand a government that listens, acts, and prioritises the wellbeing of its people.
Workers standing together on Thursday is not just a strike; it is a demonstration of the collective will of students and workers in Northern Ireland to get politics moving again and working for everyone.
:: Chloe Ferguson is President of the National Students’ Union of Northern Ireland (NUS-USI)
