A new society based on the principles of active and involved citizenship, not tribal divisions, is the only way forward for Northern Ireland.
Commenting on the publication of the Sinn Fein and the DUP’s strategy -“Together: Building a United Community” - the Party said,
“The litmus test for any proposal on the future of Northern Ireland society is whether it seeks to eradicate sectarianism and replace it with one community actively committed to its own development – or whether it hijacks vocabulary and language to mask the fact that all it is proposing is the fine tuning of a divided society.
“Small change is the enemy of big change. We need bold and imaginative initiatives to transform our society. Unfortunately, this strategy does not provide them.
The Workers Party is calling for the adoption of a Five Point Citizenship Charter to tackle sectarianism based on:
- Secular, democratic government
- Integrated Education
- Integrated Housing
- Bringing down the walls , and
- An ‘Anti-Sectarian, anti-racist and anti discriminatory’ Pledge
Read the Party’s statement and details of the Citizens Charter in full here:
Citizenship - not tribal division and Anti-sectarian Citizenship Charter
Segregation -the elephant in the room
The Workers Party has welcomed the findings of the study into the provision of teacher training in Northern Ireland, but says the elephant in the room remains the fact that teacher training here is segregated on religious lines.
We look forward to what we hope will be a mature and calm discussion as to how best to maximise the integration of teacher training in order to secure not only the best educational outcome but one that
also contributes to the building of a new and different NI based on integration as opposed to division.
Read the Party’s statement in full: Elephant in the Room
In the week that the Party plans to publish its proposals for a ‘Citizens Charter to Tackle Sectarianism’ we are also acknowledging the role that Party members have played in the fight against sectarianism and bigotry during the past six decades.
‘Step Out Against Sectarianism’ is a sponsored walk to the top of Cave Hill – the iconic Belfast landmark closely associated with Wolfe Tone, the United Irishmen of 1798 and “…the unity of catholic, protestant and dissenter”.
This event will help to highlight the Party’s anti-sectarian campaign and our call for the demolition of all the “peace” lines and barriers that divide our society.
Details:
- The walk starts in the car park of Belfast Castle at 12 noon on Sunday 26th May 2013.
- The total walk is about six miles and should take roughly two and a half hours.
- Wear suitable clothes and footwear. It’s Belfast – it might rain!
- You don’t have to hand in a sponsor form – but it would help.
- Sponsored participants will receive a free ‘Step Out Against Sectarianism’ T-Shirt
- Bring friends and family – make sure you’re in the photograph to be taken on the summit!
- Download a sponsorship form here: Sponsorship Form
Real politics, real messages
May Day 2013
‘We all deserve a Better Deal’
While most political parties were busy arguing over flags, emblems and anthems, The Workers Party was marching in the annual May Day Parade through Belfast demanding a better deal on jobs, housing, health, education and all the other issues that effect working people’s lives.
The Party’s participation in the ICTU organised parade has become a noticeable feature, especially in recent years. This year Party members, friends and supporters formed a large contingent carrying placards calling for an end to sectarianism, integrated education, jobs for all and highlighting levels of child poverty in Northern Ireland.
Unionism and nationalism have failed
With jobs being lost, prices rising, homes being re-possessed, child poverty increasing and thousands of people across the city facing a daily ‘eat or heat’ dilemma, the Workers Party was also asking ‘What is the Assembly doing?
Unionism and nationalism have failed working class people and the new political order at Stormont is clearly out of touch with their needs. We need institutional reform to end the two all class alliances of unionism and nationalism and clear the way for real politics, real progress and a better deal for all. The answers won’t be found in anthems, flags and emblems.
May Day Parade photographs:
Northern Ireland needs Integrated Education
‘Shared Education’ report
The Workers Party has described the report of the Ministerial Advisory Group on Shared Education as “disappointing, lacking in imagination and vision and failing to see what a new education system could contribute to the building of a Northern Ireland free from sectarian division “
Read the full Party statement:
Shared Education Report – disappointing, lacking in vision and imagination
Further reading: Workers Party conference paper on Education
Good Friday Agreement
15th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement
In many ways, not least the ending of terrorist campaigns, Northern Ireland today is a better place than before.
However that should not blind us to the fact that fifteen years on we have not realised the ambition of a new Northern Ireland free from sectarianism and division.
The DUP and Sinn Fein are merely managing division in society, not overcoming it.
Follow the link for the full Party statement on the 15th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement:
15 years since the Good Friday Agreement
The writing’s on the wall
There are more ‘peace walls’ in Northern Ireland now than there were when the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998.
The Workers Party has always been a strong opponent of sectarianism and division. The Party also believes that the walls and barriers which divide people in towns and cities across Northern Ireland should come down.
On the 15th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement the BBC’s Chris Buckler looks at ‘peace walls’ and some of the issues around them. His report also features footage of the Party’s ‘Bring Down the Walls’ mural in Northumberland Street in Belfast.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-22088273
There are no excuses for segregated education
Welcoming the findings of recent research which indicates that 79 per cent of people in Northern Ireland favour integrated education, Workers Party South Belfast representative Paddy Lynn says the time is right for an Independent Commission to map out an integrated education stategy.
‘This research also shows that the major Executive parties prefer the concept of occasional ‘sharing’ between schools where the majority of students will remain of ‘Catholic’ or ‘Protestant’ background. Real integration means bringing all of our children together throughout their school lives’, said Mr. Lynn
‘The main parties here are failing to give the people of Northern Ireland what they overwhelmingly want. At the moment fewer than seven per cent of our children are educated in the integrated sector’
Clearly this is an area which the main parties at Stormont do not wish to address.An Independent Commission should now be tasked with the responsibility of mapping out an Integrated Education Strategy.’, Mr. Lynn concluded
Read more:Workers Party conference paper on Education
On International Womens Day the Workers Party asks what is the Assembly doing for women in Northern Ireland and suggests that the appointment of a Women’s Minister would be a positive first step.
The Party’s statement also calls for
Implementation and funding of the draft Childcare Strategy for Northern Ireland
Immediately assessing the impact on women of the Welfare Reform Bill
Ending the current public sector pay freeze
Publishing guidelines on abortion in Northern Ireland without further delay and rejecting the amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill
Ceasing to promote Northern Ireland as a low wage economy
Read more: What is the Assembly doing for women in Northern Ireland?
Visual pollution in towns and cities
A call for the introduction of ‘Clean City’ legislation prohibiting billboard advertising has been made by Gemma Weir, one of the Party’s representatives in North Belfast.
In a letter to Environment Minister Alex Atwood, Gemma has asked what plans the Minister has to remove this visual pollution from local towns and cities.
“Billboard advertising sites has already been tackled successfully by a number of cities worldwide including Sao Paulo in Brazil and Massachusetts and Tacoma in the United States – it is time Northern Ireland followed suit.”, said Gemma
“On one level this is a battle for an end to visual pollutants in the towns, cities and highways of Northern Ireland, but this is also about a battle for the quality and use of our public space, who controls it in whose interests and for whose benefit.
What we are witnessing in Northern Ireland, as has happened in our countries in the world is the increasing privatisation of the public sphere. Less and less of city and town centres and less and less of the countryside is now a shared location”, concluded Gemma.
More… A billboard and corporate advertising free Northern Ireland
