Fórsa’s Health and Welfare executive committee will today (Wednesday) identify the ‘section 39’ organisations where it will ballot members for industrial action over pay restoration if a Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) process, currently underway, doesn’t succeed.

A HSE audit of section 39 organisations has now been completed and submitted to the WRC for consideration. The review was established to assess pay restoration claims across the voluntary sector.

Under an agreement reached in February, management and unions are expected to return to the WRC soon to assess how the audit findings can be addressed and implemented.

Slow progress on pay restoration in section 39s had earlier prompted Fórsa to sanction ballots in agencies that were largely funded by the exchequer, and which were deemed capable of funding pay restoration.

The union lifted the immediate threat of industrial action after the Department of Health made a commitment that the HSE would bring forward a review of pay policy in section 39s. The review was an evidence-gathering exercise aimed at establishing which agencies cut pay during the crisis, and which have since begun to restore incomes.

The HSE review covers publicly-funded organisations with “sizable staffing.” It is also considering the financial implications of adjusting pay in each organisation, taking account of all sources of funding.