Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) assembly member Matthew O’Toole, leader of the official opposition at Stormont, said public sector workers needed to know if they would receive their pay awards in time for Christmas.
He said the situation was reaching a “critical” point because it would eventually become “logistically impossible for payroll to be updated in time for Christmas wage packets”.
Speaking at the assembly’s finance committee, which he chairs, O’Toole called for an “urgent update” from the Department of Finance.
“Public sector workers out there rightly want to know whether they’re going to have their pay increase that they’re all expecting and deserve in time for Christmas.
“Both to meet the costs of Christmas, which is not getting any cheaper, but also the cost of increases at the pump and indeed increases in home heating oil and gas.”
O’Toole added: “The finance minister said on Monday he was taking legal advice on whether it was possible to agree public sector pay deals in the absence of an agreed executive budget. I think we need to know what that advice is.”