Republican News · Thursday 28 November 2002

Sinn Féin councillor exposes council bias

In the week that the North's Equality Commission, in its 12th Annual Report, announced that the gap between Catholics and Protestants in the workforce has stalled in the Six Counties, Sinn Féin councillor Philip McGuigan has exposed the religious bias of Ballymoney council.

Speaking to An Phoblacht about the Equality Commission's recent three-year review into recruitment figures for Ballymoney Council, McGuigan accused the council of "trying to bury the findings of the report saying that on three separate occasions the council decided not to implement recommendations made the Commission.

"The council has failed in its obligation to bring about a more religious balance in its workforce after publication of this review," stressed the councillor.

McGuigan said the Equality Commission report was "private and confidential, but as far as I am concerned this discrimination must be exposed".

Philip McGuigan, Sinn Féin's sole representative on Ballymoney Borough Council, has described the DUP controlled Council as a cold house for Catholics.

"Catholics make up at least 43% of the economically active population but only make up 14% of the councils employees and of 85 vacancies filled over the last three years, only 13 went to Catholics. At the current rate it will take over 80 years for the proportion of Catholic workers to reach the required level," said McGuigan.

"I brought this review up at a recent council meeting so that no one could sweep it under the carpet. The council is not doing anywhere near enough to redress the imbalances of its own workforce, even though the Fair Employment Commission suggested that affirmative measures were needed to ensure fair participation for Catholics.

"Ballymoney Council is seen by unionists as a council for unionist people and are determined to keep it that way and on three occasions decided not to implement suggestions made by the Equality Commission about their working practices. While others remain silent and allow this discriminatory practice to continue, Sinn Féin will continue to fight to both highlight the inequalities and injustices within the council," concluded McGuigan.

Meanwhile, the Equality Commission, in its 12th annual report, released on Thursday 21 November, shows that of the 479,517 employees covered, only 39.4% are Catholic, even though 43% of the Catholic population is available for work.

It is similar to last year's figure and is the second year in which Catholic participation in the workforce has not increased.

Evelyn Collins, chief executive of the Equality Commission, said: "There clearly remains an overall underrepresentation of Catholics in the workforce; we will continue to work with all employers to help them address problems of underrepresentation."