Fórsa members at the Oberstown campus in North County Dublin have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a Workplace Relations Commission-brokered agreement, which will permit retirement at age 55 for residential social care workers.

The ballot result means that staff retiring from the youth detention facility at 55 won’t be subject to any actuarial reduction to their pensions.

Management at Oberstown is presently in discussions with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) about when the agreement will come into effect.

Fórsa assistant general secretary Seán McElhinney said the agreement is the outcome of a two-year strategic campaign, which initially secured collective bargaining rights on pay, pensions, and other terms and conditions, following a dispute over mixed gender units.

“In year two, in a dispute about health and safety on campus, we used our collective bargaining rights as an opportunity to force a discussion on a lower normal retirement age for our members.

“Our key argument was that, in a dangerous working environment, without personal protective equipment, workers over 55 are more likely to suffer life-changing and debilitating injuries when engaging with critical incidents on campus.

“Oberstown is a challenging environment for Fórsa members. In the past two years alone, several members have been physically assaulted by residents and suffered serious injuries.

“The Fórsa Irish Youth Justice Branch has organised members through an effective campaign for safer working conditions, and has secured major concessions from the employer in what has been a tense industrial dispute over health and safety.

“The resolute determination of the branch and the collective strength of our well-organised membership has been a critical component of our success in negotiations with the employer. Workers in Oberstown will benefit from a reduced working life and that means they will have more time to spend with their families and in their communities when they retire.

“This magnificent success shows what workers can do when they fight collectively for change,” he said.