Council alarmed by poverty 'maintained by British government' in 'violation of international laws'

Derry and Strabane Council will invite the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty to discuss the ‘levels of poverty maintained by the British government' that ‘violate international law.’

Councillor Shaun Harkin brought a motion to the reconvened Full Council Meeting last week.

The motion mentioned the 3,500 food parcels to adults and children distributed by Foyle Food Bank this year. It also noted DfC reports almost 70,000 children live in absolute poverty in the North.

“I've been alarmed, as I'm sure others have been alarmed about the reports from the Foyle Foodbank and other charities and other organisations that are attempting to assist people dealing with hardship,” the People Before Profit Councillor said.

“There's been a lot of focus on the cost of living crisis over the last number of years. I think that there's less focus right now in the media, and perhaps there's a sense that we're moving out of the worst of the cost of living crisis.

“But when you attend meetings with people from food banks they raise the alarm. They are overwhelmed by the level of demand on them. And as we head under the winter months right now, the pressures on a lot of families and households right across our district will mount.”

He said the British government has not done enough to help and the issue is worsened by the lack of a government in the North.

“We're in a situation where workers are not being given decent pay raises. We talked about our transport workers being offered a 0% pay raise. We'll have teachers going on strike, we've had Education Authority workers, many of whom are low paid, on strike and there's many, many people who are struggling on inadequate benefits right across our district.

“I think we need to continue to highlight the fact that many people have been plunged into hardship and it's gotten worse over the last number of years.

“The point of this motion is really to draw attention to the fact that the United Nations have also said that the levels of poverty that are maintained by the British government here are in violation of international laws and that is shocking.”

The motion asked Council to note ‘with extreme alarm’ the findings of UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty, Oliver De Schutter, that levels of poverty maintained by the British government violate international law.

It also included that Council recognises that the following contributed to create ‘ extreme cost of living pressures on families and households’: low-pay, inadequate benefits, forced migration to Universal Credit, unregulated private rental costs, the growing housing, education and health service crises and the lack of free childcare - and that these pressures will mount in the winter months.

The motion called on Council to ‘urgently’ promote through each of its available platforms all help accessible to people provided by organisations in the District and by government.

The part of the motion that caused controversy was that Council supports all strikes, campaigns and actions taken to alleviate hardship and inequality.

Prosed amendment sparks heated debate

Alderman Derek Hussey proposed an amendment to that aspect of the motion.

“It states 'Council supports all strikes, campaigns and actions taken to alleviate hardship and inequality.

“I would propose an amendment that 'Council supports all legal strikes campaigns and actions taken to alleviate hardship and inequality,'” the UUP alderman said.

“It would be illogical for a public body such as ourselves to support action which is not legal.

“It's just to simply state that we support the strikes, campaigns, whatever provided they're legal.”

Speaking to the amendment, Cllr Christopher Jackson said it was a ‘disappointing’ attempt to ‘score cheap points’.

“In terms of the amendment, if people want to bring amendments in to make cheap political points particularly on an issue as important as the cost of living crisis that we're currently going through, It's not something that we can support,” the Sinn Féin councillor said.

“We fully support the right to industrial action from all our workers. We support the trade union movements and all industrial actions carried out through engagement with trade trade unions. It's really disappointing that the amendment has come in to try and cause division and score cheap points.”

He said Sinn Féin would not support the amendment but supported the original motion.

Alderman McCready took issue with Cllr Jackson's response, saying that it was 'a bit obnoxious'.

“My goodness we're having an amendment brought forward in the chamber to encourage discussion to strengthen the motion - for that to be seen as something from out of this planet is a bit obnoxious,” the UUP alderman said.

“I think we're all equals in this chamber every single seat, regardless of your party. So if we contribute in a manner which you disagree with then that's absolutely fine. You can disagree with it and it doesn't remove the fact that people can amend things, go against things, abstain and vote for.

“My goodness for having a difference of opinion as a minority group in this council. I'm certainly not going to be shaken by it or certainly my colleagues.”

He said the UUP would be supporting the motion with or without the amendment proposed by them.

“We can pointscore politics here all day long, it doesn't change the circumstances our children are found in or those in hardship who are standing on the picket line, of which the majority of members in here did stand alongside in support.

“So we [Council] do care and the Ulster Unionist Party do care also. That's why we're happy to support this motion, irrespective of whether you agree or disagree with the amendment.

“If you've got something to fear in this chamber of putting the word 'legal' in front of something, oh my goodness you've got a lot more to answer for than what I've got to say here.”

Cllr Brian Tierney said he believes the amendment was made to ‘insinuate towards’ the pro-Palestine protest at the council the day before.

“I thought all the drama was yesterday (Wednesday) but I must have missed the memo. Quite a contribution there from Alderman McCready,” he said.

“I want to make the point that I totally and absolutely respect everybody's right in this chamber to try and amend the motion. We just ask that people respect our right to try not to allow that particular amendment to go through. I think that's important.

“I think if we're all being honest and open about this, we know where and why that particular word is trying to be included in that particular paragraph and I can sympathise with why it is but I genuinely don't see that it's needed.

“The right to strike is a legal action. So, by that nature, all strikes are legal. Therefore, I don't see why that word is required, other than to refer back to events which happened in this chamber yesterday, or to insinuate towards those events.”

He said the SDLP supports the original motion but not the amendment.

Cllr Harkin said the focus should be on the fact that the UN said the British government is allegedly violating international law.

“Workers have a right to strike but some people are trying to criminalise the trade union movement – that is what the Tories are trying to do.

“Hypothetically, if desperate parents from New Buildings and Creggan happened to go to the Secretary of State's office and do a sit-in calling for the holiday hunger meals to be reinstated, I would fully support them and I don't see how anybody in here could sit and tell them you shouldn't do that.”

Alderman Keith Kerrigan said he agrees with 'the vast majority of the motion' but took issue with some aspects of it.

“I think any of us that have been dealing with local schools will know that the school principals on the teams, the boards, and governors are doing everything they can to try and sustain the schools. And I don't see that we can ask them to do any more,” the DUP alderman said.

“I wouldn't necessarily agree fully in regards to 'unregulated private rental costs'. I don't think that's an issue that Council should be getting involved in.”

He said he has no issue with Alderman Hussey's amendment.

The amendment fell with 25 against and six for. The original motion passed unanimously.

Council will now write to the British Secretary of State again, demanding the reversal of ‘punitive’ budgets, including ‘hurtful cuts targeting children’, for holiday hunger payments to be immediately reinstated and for ‘urgent, adequate’ funding for discretionary housing support.

Council will notify the Secretary of State and the NIO of its willingness to pursue them for extreme poverty and harm to children violations of international law.

Council will also invite the UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty and the NI Commissioner for Children and Young Peoplefor an urgent Special Meeting of the full Council.