Health and social services workers to strike after budget fails to provide pay solution

Unions representing around 5,000 health and social services workers say they expect an indefinite strike due to start on Tuesday will go ahead with no suggestion of additional funding having been allocated in the budget to address the issue of pay in the voluntary organisations at the heart of the dispute.

The Government has set aside 90 minutes of Dáil time on Thursday evening for “statements on the sustainability of services provided by section 39 and section 56 organisations on behalf of the HSE and Tusla”, and one union official said they would be “watching with interest” but they have received no indication of an impending initiative and both Fórsa and Siptu indicated on Wednesday that they currently expect the strike at 18 organisations to go ahead as planned.

The organisations and charities affected provide health and social services on behalf of the HSE, Tusla and other Government. The unions say the staff want the same pay and conditions as those in similar roles who are directly employed by Government agencies who, it is estimated, currently receive around 12 per cent more.

Organisations including Cheshire Ireland, Enable Ireland and DePaul were among the 18 balloted for strike action, along with St Joseph’s Foundation, Don Bosco Care and the Western Care Association. All voted in favour.

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There was no general expectation that the issue be addressed in the budget although pay for barristers working in criminal law was. Unions had nevertheless been hoping for encouraging noises from Government and watching the funding allocated to disability and health services.

In the end, Siptu’s health division organiser, Kevin Figgis, said it was “very disappointing the Government made no provision to resolve the dispute in the budget yesterday. We have received no contact and are preparing for full strike action from next Tuesday”.

Speaking earlier, at a briefing for Oireachtas members hosted by Labour’s spokesperson on Health, Duncan Smith which was attended by representatives of the three unions involved, Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation Assistant Director of Industrial Relations, Maeve Brehony said the nurses affected had “been pushed to withdraw their labour,” as “they’re providing the same level of care to the same regulatory standards, and yet their wages are vastly different”.

The Government, she said, might want to “break the link” between the pay of those directly employed by agencies like the HSE and those working for organisations contracted to provide services on its behalf but “what they’ve demonstrated is they are going to break the services”.

After the briefing, Mr Smith said it was “simply unbelievable that yesterday we had a budget that did not mention measures to settle this dispute. This pay disparity is simply unacceptable. It is unfair to the workers themselves, and it is damaging to the quality of the services they provide.

“The Government could resolve this strike but need to come to the table and engage. They need to meet the unions representing these workers and negotiate a fair pay deal.”