The leaders of the two main parties have been accused of “speaking out of both sides of their mouths” by unions representing S39 and other voluntary sector workers whose long-running pay dispute was highlighted by Charlotte Fallon’s encounter with Simon Harris over the weekend.
Representatives of Siptu, Fórsa, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation as well as the Irish Congress of Trade Unions met officials in Dublin on Tuesday from the government departments responsible for funding the hundreds of organisations providing essential homeless, health, disability and other services under contract.
The union side said afterwards they were told at the outset the officials were aware of the attention the exchange between Ms Fallon and the Taoiseach in Kanturk, Co Cork, had received but that their mandate with regard to the talks had not changed.
“There are people speaking out of both sides of their mouths here,” said Siptu’s senior health sector organiser Kevin Figgis, after the meeting had concluded. “When a microphone is put under their noses there are politicians saying how much they want to see something done for the S39 workers. We have been led to believe previously Roderic O’Gorman is in favour of sorting this out and in recent days we have both the Taoiseach and Tánaiste say they want to see it resolved.
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“If that’s the case then they need to provide their officials with the mandate they require to resolve this and we will return to the table.”
The dispute primarily revolves around the pay of thousands of staff at S39, S10, S40 and S56 organisations, some of them large, household names like Enable Ireland, the Irish Wheelchair Association and Rehab. The section numbers refer to the legislation under which the services are contracted.
Many of the staff previously had parity with colleagues directly employed by agencies like the HSE but lost it in the aftermath of the economic crash.
A deal that averted a strike in October of last year provided for a staged pay increase of 8 per cent and committed the government side to move towards a restoration of that parity. It subsequently offered a further 8 per cent but this falls short of the 9.25 per cent, excluding the local bargaining element, agreed in the public sector pay deal struck earlier this year and would, it was suggested, be spread over a longer term.
In a statement on Tuesday the union side said “the government negotiators are acutely aware of what is required to bring about a resolution to this long-standing dispute. While we remain available to engage if the current impasse continues we will find ourselves facing an unnecessary dispute.”
Separately, meanwhile, two of the unions involved, Fórsa and the INMO, will on Wednesday announce the outcome of ballots conducted in recent weeks on industrial action over staffing levels in the HSE.
Connect, which represents many craft workers across the health service, is due to announce the outcome of a similar vote later in the week.
The memberships are expected to have voted favour of action which would have the potential to extend to strikes.
With the executives of each likely to meet before any decision is confirmed on how they intend to proceed, however, and with three weeks’ notice of any action required in the health service, it is not expected any disruption would come this side of Christmas.
In a statement the Department of Children, which has taken the lead for the government side in the process, provided a more positive assessment of the meeting.
“During informal talks today the departments tabled proposals taking account of the unions’ position,” it said. “The unions have responded with additional proposals which will require consideration. The departments look forward to further and early engagement at the WRC to resume substantive talks.”
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