Fórsa members at Barnardos will begin a ballot for industrial action next Friday (14th February), in a dispute over the organisation’s failure to implement the terms of a 2023 Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) agreement, and the employer’s refusal to engage with the union on the issue. 

Barnardos is a charity, part-funded by the State, providing services to vulnerable children and families.   

The October 2023 WRC settlement applies to health service employments in the community and voluntary sector (sections 39, 56, 10) and was instrumental in averting sector-wide strike action at the time.   

Fórsa official Louise O’Hara said Barnardos management has claimed the funding it received - to implement the terms of the 2023 pay deal - was used instead to ‘reimburse’ Barnardos for a pay increase to staff in 2022, which was agreed and implemented around 18 months in advance of the 2023 agreement. 

Louise explained: “There is no provision in the 2023 agreement for an employer to unilaterally decide to take any of the funding for pay as a reimbursement, especially not for decisions on pay increases prior to the agreement being reached.  

“Crucially, the State funding bodies have confirmed to Fórsa that the money is not for reimbursement,” she said. 

Of the 8% payable under the terms of the 2023 WRC agreement, only 4% has been paid. Louise commented: “The employer has refused to engage with the union and has also declined an invitation from the WRC to attend conciliation. 

“Our members at Barnardos have clearly expressed their frustration with the position the employer has taken, and a ballot for industrial action is now a necessary step toward resolving this dispute,” she said. 

Louise added: “Audited accounts for 2023 show that Barnardos had more than €15m, of mostly unrestricted funding, in reserves.  

“This is a charitable organisation whose actions have imposed an unfair financial hardship on its staff. The terms of the 2023 WRC agreement are very clear, and Barnardos needs to honour them,” she said.

The ballot will run over three weeks, concluding on 7th March.   

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