Ulster Unionist Deputy Leader and Economy Spokesperson Diana Armstrong MLA has called for an immediate halt to the proposed Good Jobs Bill, citing significant opposition from Northern Ireland's business community.

Following intervention from industry leaders, Ms Armstrong warned that the Bill, in its current form, poses a threat to economic stability. She argued that the legislation could negatively impact a wide range of sectors, from hospitality and agrifood to technology and small family-run enterprises.

Diana Armstrong MLA said: "Today's intervention from Northern Ireland's business community is a powerful and timely wake up call. The Economy Minister must listen and act. The time to halt the Good Jobs Bill is now. This legislation is anti-jobs, anti-growth, and if pushed through in its current form, it will cause serious and lasting damage to our economy. From hospitality to agrifood, from small family enterprises to our world-leading tech sectors, businesses across Northern Ireland are united in their alarm. That cannot be ignored. "The Ulster Unionist Party will always champion good, high-quality jobs for everyone across Northern Ireland. But good jobs do not appear through legislation imposed without proper consultation, they are created when business is free to invest, grow, and thrive in a genuinely business friendly environment. Ending zero-hours contracts without viable alternatives, imposing new layers of union bureaucracy, and heaping compliance costs onto Small Medium Enterprises will not deliver better outcomes for workers. It will deliver fewer jobs, reduced opportunities, and a chilling effect on growth at exactly the wrong time.

"What makes this all the more concerning is what I have found when engaging with businesses right across Northern Ireland many were entirely unaware this Bill even existed, let alone the damaging elements contained within it. That is a damning indictment of this process. It is something I have raised directly in both the Assembly Chamber and the Economy Committee, and it speaks to a fundamental failure of consultation at the heart of this legislation.

"Northern Ireland's private sector is the engine of our economic success and it must be protected, not penalised. I am calling on the Economy Minister to pause this Bill, engage meaningfully with employers and industry, and bring forward reforms that are practical, proportionate, and built on genuine partnership with business. If she refuses, she risks wrecking the very economy she was appointed to build."