ABSTRACT
As Northern Ireland was an offshoot of the British economy and partially integrated into its industrial relations and pay bargaining, the well-worn wage strategy of unions was to track cross-channel rates and seek formal parity if possible. Even in nationalist Derry, the trades council distinguished between the principle of and agitation for civil rights, on which it was neutral for all but the immediate aftermath of 5 October 1968, when Billy Blease, the NIC's full-time officer, intervened to stop a proposed political strike. Government strategy was to continue the North's traditional specialisation in the UK economy, and it focused especially on synthetic fibres, which it regarded as an appropriate replacement for the withering textile and clothing sectors. By 2000, the NIC had representation on 40 of Northern Ireland's 144 public bodies, dealing with human rights, industrial relations, the economy and society, education and training, and health and personal social services.
