Late-night talks continue aimed at averting strike by care workers

Strike action by about 5,000 workers scheduled for Tuesday in 17 voluntary organisations and charities providing health and social services on behalf of the Government was still on course to go ahead on Monday evening despite prolonged talks between the two sides.

Government representatives and unions met at the Workplace Relations Commission at 2pm for discussions that went on well into the evening. By 9pm there was still no indication there would be sufficient progress for the three unions involved, Fórsa, Siptu and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, to defer the start of the action which is intended to be open-ended.

The strike is the latest stage in a long-running dispute with the staff seeking the same pay and conditions as those in similar roles who are directly employed by government agencies and enjoy significantly better circumstances.

Staff at organisations including Cheshire Homes, Enable Ireland and DePaul are among those due to participate, along with St Joseph’s Foundation, Don Bosco Care and the Western Care Association.

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One of the largest organisations to be impacted, Enable Ireland, which provides services to some 13,000 adults and children at 40 centres around the country, said it anticipates “there will be substantial disruption, including the closure of many services, from [Tuesday] onwards and to continue indefinitely”.

The organisation, which called on the Government to restore the pay parity which had existed between its workers and comparable staff in the public service until 2008, said it would keep service users informed of what impact the action has in individual services.

“We are very aware of how difficult this situation is for the thousands of families and individuals who rely on our services,” it said.

Minister for Children, Equality and Disability Roderic O’Gorman said last week in the Dáil the Government side was preparing to make “meaningful offer” to the unions and on Monday Tánaiste Micheál Martin said there was a “significant degree of work under way” to resolve the dispute.

“This is an issue that’s been on the agenda for about 10 years, there has been a stop-start approach to try and deal with it, but we’re anxious to see can we get this resolved sustainably into the future,” he said.

The pay gap at the heart of the dispute is said to average about 12 per cent but is considerably higher in some instances and the ability of staff to move to the Health Service Executive or a similar agency and do much the same work for significantly more money is, say the organisations affected, causing them huge problems with recruitment and retention.

Restoring parity at Enable Ireland alone, the organisation estimates, however, would cost €5.7 million and it has just a small portion of the staff seeking the increases.

A spokesperson for the Department of Housing said the dispute was “a matter for the relevant employers in the first instance,” but that “given the potential impact on vulnerable service users the department understands that local authorities have been liaising with the relevant service providers to ensure contingency plans are in place”.

Voluntary organisations and charities due to take indefinite strike action from Tuesday, October 17th:

· 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

· St. Catherine’s Association Ltd

· St. Josephs Foundation

· St. Luke’s Nursing Home

· Western Care Association