Hospice staff and health workers ‘to vote for strikes’

UP TO 7,000 healthcare staff who work in the community could strike next month – with early ballot results indicating an ‘overwhelming’ support for action.

The threat of action is from employees in so-called Section 39 care organisations where pay cuts were imposed in the recession even though staff are not public service workers.

Section 39 organisations receive a State grant and provide disability and community health services.

It is understood that many of the workers being balloted work with disabled people in nursing homes and hospices.

Siptu has so far revealed the result of two ballots in Mayo and Wexford where workers have voted in favour of engaging in a strike on February 14. It will announce the outcome of the full ballot on Monday.

If a resolution is not reached after that date then strike action will escalate by a day a week until there are five consecutive days of action.

‘In simple terms these Section 39 workers provide exactly the same service as the HSE and Section 38 organisations and the agreement December: Hospice staff missed out on pay restoration was they always had a pay linkage with the public service,’ said Paul Bell, Siptu health division organiser.

‘In 2010 when salaries were cut in the public service, salaries were cut in the Section 39s even though Section 39 employees are not public servants but because of the linkage with the public service their wages were cut.’

Mr Bell said Section 39 workers did not enjoy the pay restoration measures other public servants did last year, even though they were classified as public workers during paycuts. ‘On top of that, some organisations – because of funding restrictions because the block grant had been cut – had to also freeze incremental credit which means that people got stuck on their salary scale. Some of those people are owed considerable monies because of that,’ he said.

Last month, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin accused the Government in the Dáil of ‘screwing’ staff at Statefunded hospices over pay restoration. His criticism focused on the failure to fund Section 39 organisations to allow them to restore pay to staff following the salary cuts of 2010.

Strike action across Siptu’s 7,000 balloting members across the country is likely, according to Mr Bell. He said: ‘The full result will be in on Monday – the early results, which are not official, are indicating overwhelming support for strike action. There was a very high turnout and very strong levels of being prepared to get into a dispute.

‘It will entail any service that can be closed will be closed. There will be some disruption, contingencies will be put in place to take care of vulnerable clients, especially those which are residential.’

The dispute relates to 12 employers, some of which have various centres. Mr Bell said ‘regrettably’ the industrial dispute has the potential to cause severe disruption.

Siptu said strike action can be prevented, saying, ‘The desired outcome is for all of the stakeholders to agree a focused and committed process to address the payments owed to these people which would prevent the need for any disruptive actions.’

He said: ‘We want a commitment also that the Labour Court recommendations which now amount to eight recommendations upholding our members’ disputes be addressed. We’ve had no dialogue with Government this week. We did last week. There has been no progress.’

‘Their wages were cut in 2010’