Community sector and section 39 workers unite to demand better pay and conditions

The rally by the community sector and Section 39 health workers, who marched for better pay and respect for their jobs in Dublin city centre on Tuesday. Picture: Gareth Chaney/ Collins 

Workers in the community sector and Section 39 healthcare organisations have turned out in force in Dublin for a rally asking for better pay and respect for the jobs they perform in towns and cities across the country.

Hundreds of organisations provide services under Section 39 of the Health Act 2004, which allows for funding to be given to groups that provide health and social care services. Unions say workers in this sector are poorly paid, have little to no pension provision and have poor job security.

The possibility of industrial action in the coming weeks has not been ruled out, as unions called for the Government to take action and enter meaningful engagement on the issue to address the “State’s neglect” of the sector.

The workers operate in areas such as home care, dementia services, disability services and nursing home provision. They work for a variety of charities, not-for-profits and healthcare providers and are not deemed civil servants. Their rates of pay and conditions can vary significantly, unions say.

Chris O’Leary, who works for the EmployAbility service in Cork which helps people with disabilities and those with a health condition to find work, said the rally was “not looking for massive payouts or anything like that” but was about “keeping food on the table” at a time when the cost of living is surging.

“It’s such a broad church of people within Section 39 and the community sector,” he said. “We have no security as services undertaken are put out to tender. That creates instability in the job. We don’t have pensions. In some cases, what people are paid is only slightly above minimum wage.

It’s a situation where people don’t have time to be sick, even. We’re barely surviving in the current climate with rising costs.” 

Mr O’Leary gave examples of travel allowance not changing despite the rising cost of fuel, with services needing to be provided in North Cork, East Cork and Cork City.

“That has to come from our own pocket then and that’s not sustainable,” he said. “The voluntary and community sector has played a vital role in Irish life for years. We just want to be respected, get proper pay and conditions at the end of the day."

While hundreds attended Tuesday's rally, Mr O’Leary said many workers in Cork were unable to leave the service users who they provide care to every day and that these workers “cannot abandon the most vulnerable” despite their own need for better pay and conditions.

Last year, trade union Fórsa published a report which found there were high annual staff exit rates by health and social care professionals from agencies funded by the HSE.

Fórsa assistant general secretary Catherine Keogh said the Government’s failure to adequately fund the sector was having a severe impact on staff retention, with the knock-on effect impacting essential public services for vulnerable and marginalised communities.

“The only realistic solution is to rebuild and refinance the voluntary and community sector with a more sustainable and appropriate funding model,” she said.