Republican News · Thursday 24 January 2002

Thousands at anti-sectarian rallies... with some notable exceptions

Last Friday, tens of thousands of people braved the rain to attend an ICTU-organised anti-sectarian rally in the wake of the UDA killing of postal worker Dabniel McColgan.

But as the hype began to subside, cracks in the show of solidarity were apparent. Consignia, the company who owns the Post Office, shrouded itself in ignominy by refusing to pay postal workers who refused to return to work until the UDA lifted its death threat against them. An Phoblacht has also learned that the workers in three postal sorting offices in the predominantly loyalist areas of Lisburn, Coleraine and Portadown ignored the strike call and turned up for work in the aftermath of the UDA killing of Daniel O'Hagan.

Most post office workers throughout the North stayed out in a show of solidarity with the McColgan family and their fellow Catholic workers who were under threat from the UDA and demanded that the death threat be lifted.

The Communication Workers' Union (CWU) has said that it will challenge the decision by Consignia to withhold payment to workers.

According to Consignia, the company is willing to pay workers for time off up until lunchtime on Tuesday 15 January when Daniel McColgan was buried but is unwilling to pay its workers until Thursday, when they decided to go back to work.

Controversy also surrounds the absence of DUP ministers Peter Robinson and Nigel Dodds from last Friday's rally in Belfast.

Both Sinn Féin ministers Martin McGuinness and Bairbre de Brún attended the rally in Belfast as did those from the SDLP and UUP ministers, but both the DUP ministers claimed they had departmental and ministerial commitments that they couldn't change.

Up to 30,000 people attended the series of rallies organised by the Irish Congress of Trades Unions (ICTU) against the threats to both the postal workers and teachers and ancillary staff in Catholic schools.

Workers turned up for rallies in Derry, Omagh and Belfast.