Northern Ireland health workers are to hold a one day stoppage on Thursday after a member of staff received a bullet in the post.

The incident happened last week, but has only now emerged.

Unions met the North and West Belfast Social Services Trust on Wednesday morning.

Staff do not take decisions like this lightly and I must emphasise that this is not a normal industrial relations strike

John Corey NIPSA

John Corey of the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (NIPSA) said about 900 trust workers are expected to take part in the stoppage.

"The North and West Belfast Community Trust did receive a threat which the staff there perceived as being sectarian in nature,"he said.

"Work has gone on by local representatives over the last number of days to try to establish the source of this threat and other matters.

Daycare services

"At a meeting of the trust staff yesterday, the staff felt very strongly and took a decision that they felt fully justified in staging a public protest about this tomorrow by not going to work."

He said staff involved were members of NIPSA and that some services would be affected, including social visits in the community, daycare services and administrative functions.

"Staff do not take decisions like this lightly and I must emphasise that this is not a normal industrial relations strike.

"The staff feel that they must protest strongly against the fact that a sectarian threat was made against one of their colleagues."