Fórsa has today (1st September) served notice of industrial action in local authorities, citing the failure of the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) to engage meaningfully with the union on the establishment of a job evaluation scheme for workers in the sector.

In a letter issued to the employer today, the union said it had instructed its members to take industrial action following the “abject failure” of the sector management to engage meaningfully in the resolution of the dispute, despite having committed to doing so in the joint referral to the Workplace Relations Commission.

The industrial action will commence on 11th September 2023 with an indefinite ban on political representation from TD’s, Senators and Councillors from that date, with further actions up to and including strike to be announced in due course.

Fórsa has warned that any attempts to circumvent or undermine this action may lead to the immediate escalation of the action. Equally so, any attempts to intimidate or threaten Fórsa members engaging in this legitimate action, may lead to the immediate escalation of the dispute.

The union had previously postponed the industrial action on the express understanding that the LGMA would work collaboratively to resolve the dispute as per the joint referral. However, there was no meaningful or constructive engagement from the employer side at either of the two conciliation hearings.

Fórsa national secretary Richy Carrothers said “Both sides had committed to engaging meaningfully and constructively to resolve this dispute, but management has betrayed the good faith of the process. The LGMA had committed to the joint union and management referral to the WRC, but this good faith has been breached.

“The actions of the LGMA have undermined the process and we have lost trust that management are genuinely interested in finding an agreeable resolution to this dispute,” Mr. Carrothers said.

“The LGMA has forced this action. They have failed the process and they have failed our members. We are putting them on notice that this dispute isn’t going to go away by ignoring it. They should be in no doubt about the determination of our members to secure job evaluation in the sector. Our members demand and deserve job evaluation," he added.

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