Trade union grills parties on key election issues

One of the country’s largest trade unions has put a series of 11 questions to all of the political groups contesting this year’s election, vowing to publish the answers as soon as possible after the election is called.

Impact carried out the same exercise in 2011 and more than 10,000 members and fellow trade unionists logged onto the union’s website to view the parties’ responses to the questions.

Many of the questions reference issues which affect the union’s 60,000 public service members, including the parties’ attitudes to the Lansdowne Road Agreement on public service pay, the retention or disposal of state assets, and the privatisation of public services.