Discussions took place on Tuesday (26th November) between unions, including Fórsa, representing workers in the community and voluntary sector (Section 39, Section 56, Section 10 and Section 40 funded agencies) and representatives from various government departments.

The talks followed the political controversy arising from the encounter last weekend between Taoiseach Simon Harris and St Joseph’s Foundation worker Charlotte Fallon, a member of SIPTU, in Kanturk, County Cork.

In a statement following the meeting, the ICTU-led group of unions said: “Despite well-publicised commitments about pay parity for workers in the sector, the government representatives in attendance advised the unions they had no mandate to address the issue.   

“On behalf of their members, unions expressed their extreme frustration at the continuing lack of urgency to resolve the matter.”

The unions have again called on Government to honour its commitments by mandating its officials to negotiate a settlement, as required by the WRC-brokered agreement in October 2023, to achieve pay parity with publicly employed health workers.

The unions said restoring pay parity for these workers remains central to this dispute and must be resolved: “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.”

Fórsa national secretary Ashley Connolly said: “On Tuesday night’s televised debate party leaders reaffirmed their commitment to pay parity for our members but to date no request to reengage has been received. We urge the incoming Government to act fast to resolve this long running issue.”

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