Councillors in Northern Ireland to be balloted on possible strike action

The National Association of Councillors has sent letters to all of its 460 members

Councillors in Northern Ireland are set to be balloted on possible strike action after the Department of Communities rejected a range of proposals regarding allowances.

The National Association of Councillors has sent letters to all of its members on councils in Northern Ireland asking them whether or not they would like to take strike action in response to the Department rejecting the proposals it has made as part of the Mawhinney Review on the Roles and Responsibilities of Councillors.

While the minister has agreed to increase allowances by five per cent from £17,030 to £18,329, the NAC had wanted this increased to £21,935 following a recommendation from the Review for the Basic Allowance.

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The Minister also rejected;

• No Standard Mileage Allowance for carrying out Council duties
• No Uniformity on the Range and Allowances on Special Responsibility Allowances paid by different Northern Ireland Councils
• No Severance Payments for long-serving Councillors (as provided to MLAs and MPs)
• No Attendance Allowance for representing Councils on outside bodies

In a letter sent to its more than 460 members, the National Association of Councillors said: “After 8 months of collecting information and views of relevant stakeholders, including a response rate of 62% of Councillors replying to a survey, the Review of the Roles and Responsibilities of Councillors in Northern Ireland was published in August 2024. While the NAC supported the most of review’s outcome, we remain disappointed that several key recommendations were not adopted in the Minister’s April 2025 response.”

It continued: “The Minister did announce a 5% increase in the basic allowance and committed to equalising pay across councils. This was an increase from £17,030 to £18,329, despite a recommendation from the Review for the Basic Allowance to be increased to £21,935.

“However, this falls short of recognising the full scope and intensity of Councillors’ work — often exceeding 40–60 hours per week for full-time members. Some see this as a pay cut as the Ministers response to the review states “The 5% increase proposed is based on Councillors working 20 hours per week (previously 18.5)”. This is an Allowance reduction of 2.5% based on the increase of hours.”

The NAC has given members a range of options to consider which include strike action and working to rule, with the union suggesting the latter.

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