Strike action by health and community workers suspended

It follows a set of proposals brokered during talks at the Workplace Relations Comission between the INMO, Siptu, and Fórsa which concluded in the early hours of Tuesday morning. 

A strike by health and social care workers in the community and voluntary sector, which was due to start on Tuesday morning, has been suspended.

It follows a set of proposals brokered during talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) between the unions — INMO, Siptu, and Fórsa — and the Government which concluded in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

The dispute centres on a lack of pay parity between health-workers in organisations such as Enable Ireland and Cheshire Ireland with their HSE counterparts. An offer of a 5% increase during previous talks was rejected by unions as inadequate to bridge the gap.

The new proposal contains pay increases backdated to April 2023 and "commitments to address the funding issues in the sector".

As a result of the proposals, the indefinite strike action which was due to commence in 17 employments across the country has been suspended.

The strike action would have involved more than 5,000 workers across 18 charities and organisations including the Irish Wheelchair Association and Enable Ireland.

It 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.

In a memo to union members on Tuesday morning, the unions said: "Further to extensive talks chaired by the Workplace Relations Commission, we wish to advise that a set of proposals have been brokered on the dispute."

“The proposal contains pay increases backdated to April 2023 along with commitments to address the funding issues in the sector," it added.

The strike would have left thousands of people without assistants or access to day-centres leaving many potentially trapped at home and some unable to even get out of bed without help.

Disability campaigner Leigh Gath welcomed the news about the strike being called off but she said that many people were “very, very angry” that an agreement was left to the last minute.

Ms Gath is spokesperson for The Leaders Alliance, a national group of disabled people who have come together for the specific purpose of helping people understand the critical nature of disability rights and services and putting a stop to unnecessary strikes or service stoppages. 

She told Newstalk Breakfast: “Hundreds of people went to bed last night not knowing if there would be somebody to get them out of their bed this morning, not knowing if they would be able to get a drink of water today, not knowing if they would be able to get breakfast this morning."

A lot of people would still be impacted today because drivers could not be rearranged at short notice and people would not be able to get up and go, she added.

IWA slams Government

Reacting to the news, the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) expressed relief at the strike being called off, but it hit out at the Government "for allowing widespread disruption, fear, and angst to spread across their community".

The IWA said "it could have been completely avoided".

"It is heartbreaking to witness the unnecessary challenges faced by their service users and employees as a result of this ordeal," said a statement.

IWA acting chief executive officer Chris Hoey said there was "immense relief" in the community.

"It is crucial that the re-linking of pay salaries is established to ensure security in the sector and prevent workers from seeking higher pay rates elsewhere. It is truly regrettable that our people, including service users and employees, were pushed to the brink before these talks even began," he said.

"The stress imposed on families across the country cannot be reversed. This treatment by the Government continues to demonstrate the undervaluation of people with disabilities.

"We will tirelessly work to reverse the impact of the proposed strike action, although some effects cannot be instantaneously reversed. This is not good enough. We would like to express sincere thanks to our employees and service users for their unwavering support and to those who bravely shared their stories with the public."