DUP Leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson MP said,
“The Government has accepted our argument that Northern Ireland has been underfunded and has committed to an increased budget allocation.
The Secretary of State has the power to direct that the pay awards are made and I trust that the Treasury will release these funds rather than attempt to use them as some kind of leverage. Such an approach would not only fail but would be wrong.
Public sector workers deserve fair pay immediately and should not have their pay allocation used as a bargaining chip.
Our negotiations with the Government have made progress but will continue until there are arrangements agreed that unionists as well as nationalists can support.
We want to see the NI Assembly restored but on a basis where unionist concerns have been addressed.
Sinn Fein’s recall of the Assembly is a stunt. They know it will not achieve anything. It is designed to generate content for their Serbian based social media channels.”