Representatives of community employment (CE) supervisors met yesterday to discuss new Government proposals for a resolution to their longstanding dispute over the lack of pension provision for CE staff.

Fórsa and Siptu agreed to jointly submit seek clarifications from the Department of Social Protection, which issued the new proposals, and to seek a meeting to put questions to them.

Earlier this week, Fórsa welcomed the move and sought further engagement on the proposals, which could see once-off payments for retiring CE staff.

A meeting of members of Fórsa’s CE Supervisors Branch was called last Monday (19th April) to discuss the proposals, which were received from the department on foot of discussions between that department, the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) and unions representing CE supervisors and assistant supervisors.

Fórsa has been campaigning for pension justice for CE supervisors since a 2008 Labour Court recommended that some provision should be made for the workers concerned. Over a decade later, the Labour Court recommendation has yet to be implemented.

Last July, Fórsa met the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform on the matter. Minister McGrath who said he wanted to fund a proposal to resolve the longstanding dispute, and subsequently instructed senior officials to engage with their counterparts in the Department of Social Protection.

Fórsa and Siptu subsequently submitted a joint proposal.