Dodds in firing line regarding North's civil service back pay

The North's Finance Minister was accused of moral blackmail today in a row about civil service back pay claims.

Nigel Dodds (DUP, North Belfast) was blamed for threatening public jobs after he said the £100m (€115m) equal pay settlement for thousands of less well paid bureaucrats could affect funding for other public services.

But Declan O’Loan (SDLP, North Antrim) was alleged to have distorted the truth after he told the Assembly cuts were unacceptable.

“This is moral blackmail, nothing less than moral blackmail of 9,000 civil servants,” he said.

“The message is don’t ask for your rights or your colleagues could lose their jobs.”

He alleged the minister refused to revise his budget to address this or other pressures because he failed to reopen the full process.

Mr Dodds gave an interview this month warning of the possibility of savings to raise money for the settlement.

The problem dates back 38 years, during which historically 60% of Catholics and two-thirds of women were in the lower pay scales.

The minister’s predecessor Peter Robinson said there should be equal pay for equal work of equal value.

Mr Dodds has said reallocations of the budget known as monitoring rounds of unspent funds were sufficient to shift money within the government.

Simon Hamilton (DUP, Strangford) claimed Mr O’Loan was playing politics with the issue.

“To try to dismiss the interest of this minister, his predecessor or indeed the party on this side of the chamber is an absolutely gross distortion of the truth,” he said.

He added: “I very much understand the frustration of civil servants at the amount of time it takes to resolve this issue.”

Most of the civil servants work in the secretarial and administrative grades.

Workers who retired in recent years could be entitled to the back-pay, which could be up to £20,000.

John O’Dowd (Sinn Féin, Upper Bann) said Sinn Féin was supporting the SDLP on the issue.

“There has to be a spotlight shone into the dark recesses of the Department of Finance and Personnel (DFP),” he said.

“This Assembly and the elected representatives within the Assembly expect this matter now will be dealt with properly.

“The interactions between the DFP and the trade unions representing the civil service have not been adequate.”

Mr Dodds said he believed in equal pay for work of equal value but added it was difficult to lay down a time scale as there were matters over which he had no control.

“There are those that would accuse me or my officials of delaying efforts to seek a resolution to this matter but I refute any such allegations.”

He added: “I am concerned that we should bring matters to a conclusion as quickly as possible but given the scale and complexity of the issues involved I am also concerned to see that we do so in a manner that is compatible with our legal obligations, fully informed by the facts and in a way that ensures both a fair and robust pay and grading structure and a civil service pay system that is affordable into the future.”

A motion expressing concern at the delay was passed unanimously.