February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
It should be remembered at this point in the MacBride Principles story that they were not, and are not, solely intended to give jobs to Catholics. That was, in the main, the most striking effect given the religious imbalance in employment that so long pervaded Northern Ireland life.
However, the principles are in fact intended to simply level the employment playing field, to protect Catholic, Protestant, dissenter and adherents to any and every religion from job discrimination based on faith, ethnicity, race, gender and any other category that might be employed to unfairly bar an individual from a chance to work.
So here’s to a happy 25th to the MacBride Principles. Long may they remain a standard for equality and an inspiration for those who battle injustice.