John Corey and Patricia McKeown send out a clear message

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ Northern Ireland Committee, which represents more than 200,000 workers, held a meeting ahead of the March 1 deadline for submissions to the public consultation and urged workers to reject the proposed Bill in its current format and demand that vital protections such as health, housing and education are included.

The Union said the proposals put forward by UK Secretary of State Shaun Woodward in December failed to provide any clear social and economic protections that would guarantee  these fundamental rights and freedoms are protected by law.

The event, which was held at Unison building on Monday 1st February, saw contributions from Monica McWilliams- Chief Commissioner NIHRC, Patricia McKeown- Regional Secretary of UNISON and former President of Irish Congress of Trade Union and John Corey – General Secretary NIPSA.

Peter Bunting, 

Peter Bunting, Assistant General Secretary, Irish Congress of Trade Unions – Northern Ireland Committee, said:

“The current proposals put forward by the UK Government cast aside decades of work aimed at ensuring all workers and their families have meaningful economic and social rights. They fall far short of the most basic rights of working people in Northern Ireland.

 An inclusive Bill of Rights will act as an effective set of checks and balances on state power and removes our fundamental human rights from interference from short term party political positioning.”

The Consortium hosted a fringe event at last weekends Alliance Party Conference entitled, ‘A Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland – Now more than ever?’.

The event sought to address whether it is fundamentally important, now more than ever, to ensure that basic rights are protected regardless of the political landscape at Stormont? Given the deepening crisis at Stormont it is crucial the issue of a Northern Ireland Bill of Rights reaches the fore of the political agenda.

The panel at the event included Anna Lo MLA, Pam Tilson Signature, Professor Colin Harvey Queens University School of Law, Alliance Councillor Geraldine Rice and Mark Kelly WAVE Trauma Centre.

Speaking prior to the event Anna Lo MLA said:

“I am very pleased we will have the opportunity to host this event. This meeting will be an opportunity to rejuvenate and focus our minds on a securing an adequate Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland, for too long now politicians have been silent on the issue. This debate will offer a constructive platform for debating the issue and give voices at ground level the opportunity to be heard.” 

 Sadie Hamill, an active member of Craigavon and Banbridge Pensioners Actively Lobbying Services, or PALS,  is  campaigning for the rights of older people to be recognised.

In a recent Newsletter feature Sadie  represented the voice of those in favour of a bill of rights, taking on the anti opinion of Jeffrey Dudgeon. Sadie explained the many issues facing older people in todays society and offered her opinion on how the introduction of a stong and inclusive Bill of Rights could help improve these issues.

Speaking in her article Sadie had this to say,

“Too often, society fails to represent the views of older people, and groups such as PALS come together to campaign on behalf of the over 50s. We work to ensure that the voices of this section of society are heard and to ensure that the specific needs of Northern Ireland’s older population are recognised and addressed.

A  Bill of Rights would help insure that the older generation has enough money to live on, not just survive. We have seen this winter, how so many older people have had to make the difficult decision of either heating their homes or putting food on the table. 

While I represent older people, the Bill of Rights is for us all. Human Rights do not change with age, and our call for a Bill that includes social and economic protection, such as the right to housing, work and healthcare, is as relevant to me at 72 as it is to a younger person.”

To view Sadie’s full article please visit: http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/FEATURE-Would-a-Bill-of.6005619.jp

Glenn Ross shows his strength by pulling the Bill of Rights bus in front of Belfast City Hall. Watch the video to see footage of Glenn’s efforts and hear feedback from Consoritum members about the importance of a Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.  

Strong man Glenn Ross today joined members of the Consoritum to launch the ‘Make Our Bill of Rights Strong’ campaign at Belfast City Hall. Joined by pupils from Malone Integrated College, Ross used his impressive 36stone frame to pull a 12 ton bus advertising ways the public can get involved during the consultation.

The event saw the launch of all elements of the public awareness campaign including billboard and bus advertisiments, and encouraged the public to get involved by text, by e-mail and by using the mailer distributed to every home in Northern Ireland.

Members of the Consoritum, including Disability Action, Help the Aged/Age Concern NI, NICEM, NIPSA, Include Youth and Rainbow also added their muscle to launching the campaign.

Anti-Poverty Network representative and Consoritum chairperson Fiona McCausland had this to say after taking part, “Glenn’s efforts today show just what can be achieved when you put your mind to it. Our campaign is about giving everyone the opportunity to have their voice heard and to make the weak powerful.  By giving their support to the campaign every person from every walk of life can get involved and shape the future of Northern Ireland.  The government needs to realise the strength of the support for the inclusion of social and economic rights”

Thank you to everyone who attended the launch, it was great to see such support for the campaign and have the views of so many different sectors of the community represented.

The ‘Make our Bill of Rights Strong’ campaign has launched the first major element of its public awarness raising campaign aimed at allowing the people of Northern Ireland to support our campaign for a strong Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.

The e-mail campaign which will be sent to thousands of people in Northern Ireland in the following weeks will be a very positive and diverse means of spreading the positive message of a strong Bill of Rights as widely as possible.

Consortium Groups launch email campaign in Derry

Consoritum members turned out across the province to shout loud for a strong Bill of Rights. Elizabeth Zammitt REAL Network, Richard Moore Children in Crossfire and Neola Nelis North West Community Network braved the cold to shout loud from the walls of Derry. Elizabeth had this to say at the launch, “A strong Bill of Rights is fundamentally important for Northern Ireland and it will help to protect everyone in society, particularly the vulnerable. We would strongly urge everyone who receives the email to add their name on the campaign website, www.BillOfRightsNI.org and then use email, Twitter and Facebook to spread the word.”

We want people to be able to show their support for our campaign on a Bill of Rights and we want to make that as easy as possible to achieve. For the duration of the consultation a microsite offering the opportunity to send a supportive  submission to the Bill of Rights consultation will be placed on the Human Rights Consortium website at www.billofrightsni.org

You can show your support on this site and also spread the word to your friends and family. Every voice counts in this campaign and  we would ask you to spread this viral campaign throughout Northern Ireland.

Welcome to the Human Rights Consortiums Campaign Diary. This new diary is aimed at giving you the opportunity to follow the activities of the Consortium, its members and the wider public who are actively involved in the campaign for a strong Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.

Now that the government have finally announced the public consultation on a Bill of Rights the Consortiums ‘Make Our Bill of Rights Strong’ campaign will be rolled out across Northern Ireland throughout the course of the consultation. This high level public awareness campaign will be very visibile and take many formats. Each of which hopes to offer the public the opportunity to contribute to our campaign for a strong and inclusive Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland.

We hope that this site will act as a means of tracking the various events and activities throughout the consultation, so please send us notice of your events, activities and pics in order to keep this diary as up to date as possible.

You can also help the campaign itself by participating in the consultation by clicking on the ‘Take Action’ button at the top of this site or going to www.billofrightsni.org

Please check back for further updates and help ‘Make our Bill of Rights Strong’