Mr. Gerry McCormack:

I will speak a little about Brexit and its impact on our members. It is absolutely critical that the agreement, as intended, remains in place. I live in a Border constituency in which huge numbers of workers are employed in the agrifood industry. A lot of industry happens across the Border, particularly in the food industry, with pigs going in one direction and meat in the other. If that agreement is not fully implemented, it will have a huge impact on the economy of this country and, indeed, on the North as well. It is imperative that it remains in place and that the institutions are put back in place. Workers in the North are suffering big time as a result of those institutions not being in place. A UK study recently found that for those on the lowest incomes in the UK, their incomes have dropped by 5.5%, not since the referendum but since Brexit has started to be implemented. More interesting is that those on high levels of incomes have seen their incomes increase by 7.5%. If we want to know why there was a Brexit and why some people still want it to be there, those findings are part of the reason, as is racism and all the other stuff that was thrown at people during the referendum. It is critical for us as a union that the institutions are put back in place.

As my colleagues have said, we are having a debate within the trade union movement about constitutional change and the impact it will have. We want a new island and a new Ireland. We want people to be better paid and to have better conditions of employment. Collective bargaining is critical. It is the easiest way to distribute wealth across the economy. There is no doubt about that and the absence of it is a real problem. We hope the new legislation and new directive will assist us greatly, assuming the measures are implemented in the manner in which the directive intends they be done. The measures must then be extended to workers in Northern Ireland. A total of 30%-plus workers in the North are on low pay. It is a disaster really.