Dear Members,
On Monday we served notice of industrial action to employers in the long running dispute concerning pay parity for health workers in the community and voluntary sector. Later that morning, at a joint press conference held with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, SIPTU and the INMO, Fórsa member Ellie Horgan outlined the reasons behind the decision to take strike action. Listen to RTE’s coverage of the press conference here.
99.6% of members balloted voted in favour of this indefinite strike which will begin on Tuesday 17th October. It will involve thousands of health and community workers in a variety of grades and in multiple locations.
The strike action will take place in the following organisations:
- 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. Catherines Association Ltd
- St. Josephs Foundation
- St. Lukes Nursing Home
- Western Care Association
I’m writing to you now to inform you that all the unions involved met today, and we are working together to ensure that this strike action will be coordinated and effective. Local Strike Committees will be set up across all the sites where strike action will be taking place. We will ensure that you have materials and the support you need.
Members working in section 39, 10 and 56 agencies provide vital public services, and they deserve to be treated with respect. We have been encouraged by the statements of support issued by numerous other organisations including Enable Ireland, and The Wheel – Ireland’s National Association of Charities. Read those statements here and here.
A unique feature of this dispute is that the employers recognise this inequality must end and want the same thing we do, so we hope they will continue to show their support, along with service users. Please help us keep up the momentum by talking to the people you work with and asking them to show their support.
A detailed FAQ will be available next week, and we will be in touch with details of the process we will use to ensure workers on strike will be paid by the union, as agreed by the Fórsa NEC in January. In the meantime, if you have questions, please contact your local branch or email healthandwelfareinfo@forsa.ie.
Our collective strength as a union is our members. Help us build the union by:
- Talking to the people you work with and asking them to show their support
- Asking your colleagues who aren’t union members to join the union today
- Downloading this poster to display and distribute in your workplace
Thank you for your continued support.
Yours in solidarity,
Ashley Connolly
Fórsa national secretary
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