THE trade union UNISON met with a group of Twinbrook residents this week to discuss the ongoing campaign for free schools meals for all schoolchildren.

Spearheaded by Unison’s RVH and Muckamore Branch, the campaign aims to tackle childhood poverty by securing free and nutritional school meals for both primary and secondary school pupils.

The initiative is part of the union’s wider ‘No Going Back to Normal’ campaign, which looks to build a more equal post Covid-19 society.

On Tuesday evening, UNISON's RVH Branch Secretary, Conor McCarthy, and UCHT Branch Secretary, James Large, held an outdoor meeting with residents of Almond Drive to hear their thoughts and opinions on the campaign. 

Mr McCarthy said street meetings will be rolled in areas across Belfast, as the union looks to build cross-community consensus in tackling rising child poverty. 

"During the public consultations that governments Departments do, which are not that accessible, we want to have street meetings for debate and to get people's testimonies and real stories," he said.

"Last night we heard about kids going into school without money and the schools just won't give them a dinner. 

"We got a lot more out of the street meeting and listening to people's personal testimony than we ever would listening to Professor such-and-such talking about the need for free school meals. That's important part of the campaign, where you have the world of academia talking about why it should happen, but there's nothing more powerful than ordinary people saying it should happen."