Fórsa members working directly with young people at the Oberstown Children Detention Campus are to ballot for industrial action in an escalating dispute over staffing levels, health and safety concerns, and management’s response to increased bed capacity at the campus.

The ballot opens today (Friday 8th May) and closes at 12 noon on Friday 22nd May. Fórsa is recommending that members vote in favour of industrial action, up to and including strike action, in pursuit of a resolution to the dispute over safe staffing and resourcing at the campus.

The dispute follows a prolonged period of concern among staff regarding safety and operational pressures at the campus.

Last summer, Oberstown attracted significant media attention following several violent incidents in which staff members were assaulted and injured, with some requiring hospital treatment. One worker sustained what the union described as "life-altering injuries."

Although a temporary agreement on staffing and operational measures was reached at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) late last year, Fórsa says serious concerns remain unresolved.

Fórsa said many of the concerns raised repeatedly by members were reflected in a recent inspection report by the Health Information and Quality Authority (Hiqa), which found that children had been locked in their rooms for extended periods because of “critically low staffing levels.”

The report also warned that increasing capacity at the campus risked undermining the safe operation of the service and placing additional pressure on already stretched staffing resources.

The union has written to Minister for Children, Disability and Equality Norma Foley raising concerns about the impact increased bed capacity could have on staffing levels, operational pressures, and campus safety. Fórsa has also advised management that current staffing resources are insufficient to safely accommodate existing detainee numbers, and that any further increase in capacity would place additional risk on staff and young people. Earlier this year, Minister Foley confirmed there would be no immediate increase in referrals to the campus pending a wider review of capacity issues.

In correspondence to management this week, Fórsa assistant general secretary Deirdre O'Connell Hopkins said the union had repeatedly sought clarity on how management intended to safely manage increased capacity levels in light of ongoing staffing constraints, but had not received an adequate response or safety plan.

The union has also criticised what it describes as continuing threats of disciplinary action against staff who followed a Fórsa safe staffing instruction issued in response to concerns about staffing ratios and workplace safety. Fórsa said the decision to proceed to ballot followed a continued failure by senior management to engage meaningfully with staff concerns.

The union has accepted an invitation to attend a further WRC engagement on 3rd June and is awaiting a response from Oberstown management on the proposed date. Fórsa said members had shown considerable patience throughout the dispute, but that management had failed to provide credible reassurances on staffing, safety, or operational planning despite repeated requests from staff and their representatives.

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