23/11/2023 Comments are off SIPTU Health Admin
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Health and community workers back WRC pay proposals

The three unions representing workers employed community and voluntary sector agencies, SIPTU, Fórsa and the INMO, have confirmed that members of all three unions have given strong backing to a set of proposals, brokered last month during talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), for an interim agreement on pay for workers in Section 39, 56 and 10 organisations.

The ICTU-led coalition of unions will now request that the WRC reconvene the parties. The WRC proposals led to the suspension of planned indefinite strike action, which had been due to commence in 17 employments across the country in October.

The proposals include pay increases backdated to April 2023, along with commitments to address the funding issues in the sector, providing for the parties to reconvene under the auspices of the WRC no later than 1st December next. The purpose of this engagement will be to agree further adjustments in funding for organisations and their staff that will have regard to the terms of the Building Momentum public service pay agreement and the terms of any successor public pay agreement.

The proposals backed by the unions provide for the following pay adjustments:
• An Increase of 3% from 1st April 2023 (backdated)
• An Increase of 2% from 1st November 2023
• An Increase of 3% from 1st March 2024
The dispute followed years of pay disparity between workers in Section 39 (health and disability services) Section 56 (services to children), Section 10 (homeless services), in community services and their counterparts employed directly by the state.

Because of that pay gap, union research has shown that workers are leaving their jobs – in large numbers – to take better-paid employment elsewhere. The turnover of staff in the sector is around 30% per year. The staffing crisis is adding to recruitment costs and longer waiting lists.

26/09/2023 Comments are off SIPTU Health Admin
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Health workers in the community and voluntary sector to commence indefinite strike action

The ICTU group of unions representing health and community workers, employed in community and voluntary sector agencies funded by the HSE and other state agencies, have announced today (Monday) that indefinite strike action, in several selected employments nationwide, is to commence from Tuesday 17th October next.

The union group, led by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), said the strike action will involve thousands of health and community workers in a variety of grades and in multiple locations, bringing services to a halt.

The decision to strike follows ballots carried out by Fórsa, the INMO and SIPTU. All three unions said ballot returns showed a high level of participation in the ballot, and overwhelming support for industrial action, up to and including strikes.

Workers in the following employments will take indefinite strike action from Tuesday 17th October:
Ardeen Cheshire Ireland
Ability West
Cheshire Ireland
Cheshire Dublin
Cheshire Home Newcastle West
Co-action West Cork
Cobh Hospital
Daughters Of Charity Child and Family Service
DePaul Ireland
Don Bosco Care
Enable Ireland (nationwide, including Cork, Tralee, East Coast and Midwest regions)
Family Resource Centres
Irish Wheelchair Association
Kerry Parents and Friends Association
St. Catherines Association Ltd
St. Josephs Foundation
St. Lukes Nursing Home
Trinity Community Care
Western Care Association

The ballot for industrial action took place following the breakdown of WRC talks in July and follows years of pay disparity between these workers and their counterparts employed directly by the state.

While these agencies are largely state-funded, workers employed in a range of health professional, clinical, clerical and administrative grades, are on lesser terms and conditions than their HSE counterparts. The pay differential is in excess of 10%.

ICTU general secretary Owen Reidy said the strike action is an inevitable consequence of the failure of the Government to address a serious and growing problem with how the agencies are funded, and a recruitment and retention crisis in vital services: “Workers in the sector now have chosen to take action because the State, as the chief funding body for these services, has failed to grasp the seriousness of the staffing crisis in this sector,” he said.

SIPTU Health division official Kevin Figgis said: “The decision to strike clearly demonstrates the level of frustration our members feel at the dysfunctional way in which parts of the community healthcare system is funded.

“Our members involved in this dispute provide essential health services on behalf of the State. Should voluntary providers continue to have recruitment and retention issues, and are no longer able to provide these services, there will be an obligation on the HSE to step in and provide them directly.

“These services will need to be appropriately funded. Pay parity with the public service is necessary to ensure the provision of vital public services to vulnerable people in our communities. It’s an acknowledged fact that the current funding model is unsustainable and will need to be resolved to secure the future of these services,” he said.

Fórsa Health and Welfare official Ashley Connolly said: “This is the action of last resort, and it has been a difficult decision for these workers, but they’ve been left with no more options.

“The Government has been dragging its feet on the issue for years, while making conciliatory noises to health workers who urgently need pay improvements. Their colleagues are walking out the door for better terms elsewhere, and waiting lists for the services these agencies offer continue to grow as a result.

“There’s a yawning pay gap of more than 10%. Services cannot be sustained as long as that continues,“ she said.

INMO official Albert Murphy said: “Nurses in the community and voluntary sector provide essential services to some of the most vulnerable people in society. They have not been afforded the same level of pay increases as their colleagues in the HSE, which is exacerbating a recruitment and retention crisis in the sector.

“Nurses in the sector are now facing into another winter with rising household costs, yet their salaries remain stagnant.

“The Government cannot continue to bury its head in the sand over the very real issues at the heart of this dispute. It’s hard for our members to take that while the exchequer has enjoyed record returns, and the state continues to deny vital pay improvements to thousands of workers in this vital health sector.”

SIPTU Public Administration and Community division official Karan O’Loughlin added: “Our members have opted to take action as the wage cuts, unilaterally imposed more than a decade ago, have been reversed all over the economy while our members have been left behind. It’s unacceptable.

“Government inaction and delay has only served to put these vital community services at risk and leave our members to feel as though they have no option to withdraw their labour,” she said.

23/08/2023 Comments are off SIPTU Health Admin
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Member Update – Section 39 Process

Dear Member,

We write further to our last update of 31st July in which we advised of the breakdown in talks between the relevant government departments and unions on pay justice for the Section 39 sector.

On that occasion, we detailed how unions would be consulting with members internally regarding the next steps for our campaign.

These consultations have now taken place and the unions will proceed to ballot members in several Section 39 agencies for industrial and strike action.

The organisations that will be balloted by SIPTU Health are as follows:

Cheshire Ireland
Ability West Galway
Western Care Association Mayo
St Joseph’s Foundation Cork
St. Luke’s Home Cork
Cobh Centre (Community Hospital)
Co. Action West Cork
Kerry Parents and Friends
Trinity Community Care CLG, Dublin

Ballots will also be conducted in several other organisations by our colleague unions.

We intend to commence the ballot on the week beginning on the 4th of September. Members in these organisations will be informed locally of balloting arrangements in advance.

It is important for members in all Section 39 agencies to support those taking action in pursuit of pay justice in the sector. This campaign may need to be escalated in the coming weeks and months.

It is more important than ever for members in Section 39 agencies to talk to their colleagues about the value of SIPTU membership and to encourage them to join in the pursuit of pay justice.

United, we will win.

02/08/2023 Comments are off SIPTU Health Admin
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Talks on pay terms for health workers in the community and voluntary sector break down at WRC

The group of unions representing workers employed in community and voluntary sector agencies funded by the HSE, walked out of talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) earlier this week in response to what the unions described as a “derisory” pay offer from the employer.

The union group, led by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), said it would now proceed to ballot workers for industrial action. The ballots will take place in several employments in the sector selected by the unions, and likely to involve hundreds of health and care staff. While these agencies are funded by the state, their employees in a range of health professional, clinical, clerical and administrative grades, are on lesser terms and conditions than their HSE counterparts.

SIPTU Health Divisional Organiser, Kevin Figgis, said: “The breakdown of these talks is a complete body blow to thousands of healthcare and community workers who had a legitimate expectation that they would be getting a decent pay rise coupled with the restoration of the pay link between Section 39 workers and workers in the public service. Is it unacceptable that workers providing essential public services are not being paid public service rates of pay. The government cannot continue to turn a blind eye and must grasp the nettle. There is over a 10% pay gap that is feeding a huge recruitment and retention crisis in Section 39 services. The reality is that if this continues, services will be shut down, and the HSE will then have to step in to provide these services. It’s completely counter-intuitive. The strategy of being penny wise and pound foolish with the provision of these services is completely intolerable, and our members won’t stand for it any longer. We will now engage with our members with a view to resuming widespread industrial and strike action across these services.”

SIPTU Public Administration and Community Divisional Organiser, Karan O’Loughlin, said: “ Our members in the community sector have been extremely patient while waiting for the government to put forward a reasonable and acceptable proposal. Despite their patience, this hasn’t happened. Our members are not prepared to wait any longer. For every member of staff freshly recruited, another experienced staff member is walking out the door. The situation is grim, and the offer this morning suggests there’s little, if any, political will to tackle it. Real pay improvements for staff are the only means of stemming the high rate of staff exits each year and to fulfil recruitment targets for vital health services, including disability and homeless services.”

Fórsa national secretary Ashley Connolly said the offer, which had been sanctioned by Officials from the Department of Health, Department of Children Equality, Disability, Youth and Integration and HSE, fell far short of expectations: “This morning’s pay offer amounted to 5% in a single year, falling far short of the current public service agreement.

“These are workers providing professional health and social care working shoulder-to-shoulder with their public service counterparts. The employer’s offer suggests they were never that serious about resolving the growing pay disparities and the growing problem of employee retention. Any prospect of an agreement was essentially extinguished this morning,” she said.
Maeve Brehony of the INMO added: “The Government has been dragging its feet on this issue for years, while making conciliatory noises to health workers who urgently need pay improvements.

“They haven’t seen a significant pay rise for years, their colleagues are walking out the door for better terms elsewhere, and there appears to be no sense of urgency at Government level, despite the growing waiting lists for the services these agencies offer,” she said.
Until 2008, workers in these agencies received pay increases under national wage agreements. At the onset of the financial crisis they were subject to FEMPI pay cuts in line with the same cuts applied to public sector pay. Limited pay restoration measures were eventually won by unions in 2019 but pay in these agencies remains significantly behind, and no formal mechanism for collective pay bargaining exists for workers in the sector.

Union research has revealed that recruitment and retention of professional health staff in these employments has become a major challenge. Employers are consequently burdened with higher recruitment costs and growing waiting lists for services.

21/07/2023 Comments are off SIPTU Health Admin
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SIPTU says further solutions needed to address staffing issues in home care sector

SIPTU representatives have called on the Government to engage in meaningful dialogue to seek comprehensive solutions to the recruitment and retention crisis in the home support sector.

In response to the announcement by health minister, Stephen Donnelly, that State-funded home support providers will receive an increase in funding in order to pay workers the living wage, SIPTU Sector Organiser, Pat Flannery, said that it will not fully address issues in the sector.

SIPTU Sector Organiser, Pat Flannery said; “While we acknowledge the Government’s efforts to address some of the challenges in the sector, the announced pay increase falls short of what is needed to effectively tackle the current recruitment and retention issues faced by home support services.

“The current Living Wage in Ireland is €13.10 per hour. In the public service, a healthcare support assistant can start on more than €16 per hour. This will rise to more than €20 per hour for those who reach the top of their salary scale. In addition, public service healthcare support assistants enjoy union-negotiated benefits such as access to a pension scheme, paid sick leave, sufficient contracted hours and premium payments for unsociable hours. These are not often a feature in contracts of employment in the voluntary and private sectors.

“It is crucial to understand that the proposals do not go far enough in providing a sustainable solution for the voluntary home support sector. Progress in this area is far too slow to date and the Government needs to stop taking a piecemeal approach to this issue.
“Our members want the Government to engage in meaningful dialogue with their trade union to explore more comprehensive solutions to the recruitment and retention crisis in the home support sector.”

20/07/2023 Comments are off SIPTU Health Admin
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Unions call on Government to immediately intervene on Section 39 pay dispute

SIPTU, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) and Fórsa representatives, have today (Wednesday 19th July) expressed their deep and intense frustration with the Government over its failure to resolve a long standing pay dispute involving thousands of Section 39, Section 10 and Section 56 workers.

The call comes following a last minute cancellation of a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) by the government employers hearing for the fourth time.

SIPTU Health Divisional Organiser, Kevin Figgis, said: “Our members are beyond frustrated at this point. They want back what was taken from them: the 10% pay gap to be closed and the pay link with the public service workers restored in full. The strategy of dodge, delay, and deny won’t wash with our members and we are demanding that this matter be resolved once and for all. Our industrial and strike action has only been suspended, and if the Government does not intervene to settle this dispute, we will not be found wanting. We have the intolerable situation where members are being paid 2008 rates for work they do in 2023. This is completely unacceptable.”

SIPTU Public Administration and Community Divisional Organiser, Karan O’Loughlin, said “The wage cuts unilaterally imposed after the economic crash over a decade ago have been reversed all over the economy, but these workers are being left behind. This puts these essential services at risk and our members extremely frustrated. The reality is that we have a recruitment and retention crisis across the entire community health and voluntary sectors, so for government ministers to stand idly by while their department officials attempt to run down the clock and leave these workers high and dry time after time is completely intolerable. We won’t be standing for it and will be reactivating our strike notice if this disrespectful behaviour continues.”

Fórsa Health National Secretary, Ashley Connolly, said: “This latest delay is a very frustrating development, and adds a further strain on our members in this sector, who have had their patience exhausted by endless delays. The delay also puts additional pressure on employers in the sector, who are managing a deepening crisis on recruitment and retention, while service users continue to endure lengthening waiting lists due to staff shortages. We need decisive Government action to bring an end to the delays and uncertainty. Unions stand ready to negotiate in good faith. Equally we stand ready to engage with engage in industrial action. We will return to the WRC on 31st July, and our members will expect progress.”

INMO Director of Industrial Relations, Albert Murphy, said: “We are disappointed with yet another deferment from the employer’s side. We will attend the WRC on the 31st July with a firm expectation there will be a credible proposal from management to the unions involved in this long-running dispute. The workers who are at the centre of this dispute are not immune from the cost-of-living crisis. Their salaries have not meaningfully increased in fifteen years. The Government must take its role as a substantial financial backer to Section 39 organisations seriously and ensure that workers in these organisations have their salaries linked to the public service.”

05/04/2023 Comments are off SIPTU Health Admin
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Unions to attend WRC do discuss pay for staff in community and voluntary health and care services

The three unions representing staff working in community and voluntary sector agencies funded by the HSE – SIPTU, Fórsa, and the INMO – have confirmed the unions will attend the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on Monday 17th April.

The WRC meeting will mark the commencement of conciliation talks on the long-standing problem of pay terms for staff working in HSE-funded agencies providing health and care services.

While funded by the State, employees in a range of health professional, clinical, clerical and administrative grades are on lesser terms and conditions than their HSE counterparts.

SIPTU divisional organiser Kevin Figgis said: “The health minister acknowledged in the Dáil last October that the Government is the ‘main and often sole funder’ of these organisations, and that its funding affects the ability of agencies to improve pay and conditions. That acknowledgement means these talks must happen, and that a fair and sustainable solution is achieved.”

SIPTU’s divisional organiser Karan O’Loughlin added: “These pay disparities continue to have a detrimental effect on staff recruitment and retention, and ultimately on the capacity of these organisations to deliver services. It’s therefore crucial that we enter discussions with the funding bodies in order to resolve it once and for all,” she said.

Fórsa national secretary Ashley Connolly commented: “Our members across this sector continue to deliver vital services on behalf of the State, and so we welcome the opportunity to enter conciliation talks.

“The unions continue to work together on this issue and remain determined to secure a just and sustainable solution to the pay disparities for specialist staff in this sector,” she said.

The INMO’s director of industrial relations Albert Murphy said: “We welcomed the news last week that the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and the Department of Health, confirmed they would attend the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) along with the HSE, in future conciliation talks.

“It provided some badly needed progress. Unions have a shared and very clear idea of the scale of the problem. We remain determined to engage on the basis of making sure these agencies are sustainably funded and that the drift on pay and conditions is finally reversed after almost 15 years,” he said.

Until 2008, workers in these agencies received pay increases under national wage agreements. At the onset of the financial crisis they were subject to FEMPI pay cuts in line with the same cuts applied to public sector pay.

Limited pay restoration measures were eventually won by unions in 2019 but pay in these agencies remains significantly behind, and no formal mechanism for collective pay bargaining exists for workers in the sector.

Last week the unions confirmed they had served fresh pay claims on a number of employers in the sector.

30/03/2023 Comments are off SIPTU Health Admin
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Fresh pay claims served on employers in community and voluntary health; and care services

The three unions representing staff working in community and voluntary sector agencies funded by the HSE – SIPTU, Fórsa and the INMO – have confirmed that fresh pay claims have been served on a number of employers in the sector.

The fresh pay claims have been served on employers in the context of an ongoing dispute about pay terms in HSE-funded agencies providing health and care services.

While funded by the State, employees in a range of health professional, clinical, clerical and administrative grades are on lesser terms and conditions than their HSE counterparts.

The Minister for Health acknowledged in the Dáil last October that the Government is the ‘main and often sole funder’ of these organisations, and that its funding affects the ability of agencies to improve pay and conditions.

Earlier this week the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and the Department of Health, confirmed they would attend the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) along with the HSE, in anticipated conciliation talks on the issue.

The departments confirmed their intention to attend at a meeting of the National Joint Council on Tuesday the 28th of March, the main industrial relations forum for the health service, comprised of representatives from management and trade unions.

Until 2008, workers in these agencies received pay increases under national wage agreements. At the onset of the financial crisis they were subject to FEMPI pay cuts in line with the same cuts applied to public sector pay.

Limited pay restoration measures were eventually won by unions in 2019 but pay in these agencies remains significantly behind, and no formal mechanism for collective pay bargaining exists for workers in the sector.

The unions have said they remain available to engage with the departments and the HSE under the auspices of the WRC, and are hopeful of an imminent conciliation meeting.

26/01/2023 Comments are off SIPTU Health Admin
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Campaign Update – Valuing Care Valuing Community

Dear Member,

We write to you with an important update regarding the Valuing Care Valuing Community Campaign.

The story so far:
Members will be aware of the history regarding the campaign for pay justice in the Section 39, Community and Voluntary sectors.

Most recently, in July of last year workers in a number of community organisations engaged in strike action in pursuit of decent pay within their sector. This was followed by further action in September 2022 in which thirteen Section 39 agencies and community organisations took part in a day of strike action in pursuit of pay justice.

The actions were deemed to be a success. A number of high-profile public representatives publicly endorsed the campaign and called for a mechanism for addressing pay within the sector. In October, there was support across the Dáil for a Labour Party motion which called for support for the Valuing Care, Valuing Community Campaign. At the time Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, and Minister of State at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Anne Rabbitte spoke in support of a process, under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission, to address the long-standing pay issue within these organisations.

SIPTU supported the call for the use of the WRC and referred the matter for conciliation in October 2022. The Union maintained pressure on all parties to attend the WRC and honour the government’s commitment to resolve this long standing pay dispute through talks. The Union confirmed to employers our members’ willingness to take further action in progression of their claim, if necessary.

Campaign Update:
There was initial resistance by relevant government agencies and departments to attend. However, only this week it was confirmed by the HSE that it would attend talks, bringing us one step closer to resolving the dispute. The Department of Social Protection has confirmed its availability to attend the WRC and an engagement is scheduled for next week.

It is important to note that the relevant parties only agreed to attend the WRC when they realised that our members, with the support of their Union, SIPTU, would accept nothing less than their fight for pay justice to be treated as anything other than a priority.

We understand that a date for talks will be issued shortly and we will endeavour to keep our members updated with regards to any developments on the campaign.

SIPTU will revert to its members in Section 39, Community and Voluntary organisations on possible next steps, if sufficient and timely progress is not made on this claim.

It is important that you speak to your colleagues about the value of being in the Union and join SIPTU as we progress the matter of pay justice in your sector.

In solidarity,

Kevin Figgis
Divisional Organiser
Health Division

Adrian Kane
Divisional Organiser
PAC Division

17/01/2023 Comments are off SIPTU Health Admin
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SIPTU calls on Minister to end pandemic payment delay for non-HSE and Section 38 workers

SIPTU representatives have called for the intervention of the Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, to ensure that eligible health workers employed in private employments and Section 39 organisations receive their Pandemic Special Recognition Payment (PSRP) without further delay.

SIPTU Sector Organiser, Pat Flannery, said: “Our members are aware that a limited number of Section 39 agencies have made these payments to their eligible workforce but many have not. It has been reported that more than half of eligible workers who do not fall under the remit of the HSE or Section 38 agencies have yet to receive their payment.

“Agencies that do not fall under the remit of the HSE or Section 38 of the Health Acts received guidance from KOSI Corporation, which has been commissioned by the Government to oversee the process, in November 2022, advising them of the eligibility criteria for the PSRP. The guidance also set out how these organisations could submit a claim for the funding in order to make the payment to their workers.

“The KOSI guidance explained that it was intended that funds would be made available to these organisations to pay the PSRP by the end of November 2022, as long they submitted accurate claim forms by 11th November of that month.

“These workers put their shoulder to the wheel and provided essential care during the darkest days of the pandemic. The services they provided included care to the vulnerable in the intellectual disability sector, care to our elderly in communities around the country and nursing home care.”

He added: “The fact that these workers have been kept waiting for payment of PSRP is unacceptable. We are calling for the Minister of Health to intervene and make sure that funds are released to make these payments. Workers in these essential services cannot be expected to wait any longer. The PSRP was announced by the Government in January 2022. Surely it is time for all the workers eligible for this payment to receive it as some form of recognition for the work they did to protect our society and communities at great personal risk.”

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