Northern Ireland AGM: A growing Section going from strength to strength

The FDA was delighted to welcome members from its Northern Ireland Section to this year’s Annual General Meeting (AGM), featuring a keynote address from former Head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service (NICS) Sir David Sterling.

NI Section Convenor Robbie Davis kicked off proceedings at Queen’s University Belfast, reflecting on the fact that members were meeting amid good news on pay, after the 9% pay offer announced for NICS.

The deal, for a 3% increase from 1^st August 2024 to 31^st July 2025, and a further 6% increase from 1^st August 2025 to 31^st March 2026, was supported by a vast majority of members who voted in a consultative ballot to accept it.

The FDA recommended the deal to members, describing it as a “genuine attempt to tackle pay erosion”.

The AGM follows a period of huge growth for the Section, with Secretary Ross Thompson receiving the 2024 Individual Impact Award for his work increasing membership and engagement in the Northern Ireland Section, which was the union’s fast growing constituency from 2023-24.

Moving the Section report at AGM, Thompson gave credit to the FDA’s professional development offer as a key driver in that membership growth, with over 1,400 civil servants attending FDA Learn sessions over the past year alone.

This was also a theme of President Margaret Haig’s address to members, who celebrated the fact “the FDA is a growing union”. The FDA has “grown by 60% in 10 years” to reach more than 23,000 members, which couldn’t have been achieved without the hard work of reps in Northern Ireland and other Sections across the union.

Members welcomed Sir David Sterling to deliver a keynote address, who reflected on his time as the Head of the NICS, looked towards the future challenges facing public services in Northern Ireland and shared lessons on leadership he’d learned throughout his career in public service.

“I would always say to people, join a trade union”, Sir David told attendees. “You never know when you might need it.”

Reflecting on the work of the FDA in Northern Ireland, he added that he always encouraged his staff to “make it easy for people to join trade unions”, as they have a positive role to play in the workplace.

The former Head of the NICS also praised FDA’s new National Officer for Northern Ireland Robert Murtagh, saying he “did a fantastic job” defending civil servants in the media.

Joining the FDA in November 2024, Murtagh has already been a vocal supporter of FDA members in NI, challenging claims that senior civil servants were to blame for a projected £2.45 billion overspend in major capital projects and calling on politicians to “not use civil servants as scapegoats”.

Murtagh’s appointment was a direct result of the increased membership and engagement in NI, which has allowed the union to allocate more resource and invest in the future of the FDA in Northern Ireland.

The AGM also saw members vote on motions to set the strategic priorities for the Northern Ireland Section in the coming year. These included a motion on supporting senior civil servants (SCS) and engaging management to assess to current scale of overloading of staff, highlight the risks of excessive workloads, and advocate for a clear policy that ensures proper distribution of responsibilities and limits on overwork. 

Members also voted to properly value to work of Public Prosecutors and look at the current grading structure Public Prosecution Service for Northern Ireland, and called on the Section Committee to work with NICS to deliver a seconded FDA officer to support the continued growth of the union.