A ballot of members working in the community and voluntary sector is underway. The ballot opened on Monday 7th April and runs until Monday 28th April.

Fórsa is recommending that members vote ‘Yes’ in a ballot of members in health service employments in the community and voluntary sector (Section 10, 39, 40 and 56 funded organisations), on the terms of a pay deal finalised last month at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC). 

Head of the health and welfare division Ashley Connolly said: “This deal is over a decade in the making. It acknowledges that pay for some in the sector has fallen behind public sector levels and allows for future increases in public pay agreements to be applied to the community and voluntary sector. Now, it’s over to you. Cast your vote and have your say.”

Members who are eligible to vote in the online ballot should have received an email with a link to Mi-Voice, our secure voting platform, along with a Unique Voting Code (UVC). If you are eligible to vote but have not received your UVC you should contact healthandwelfareinfo@forsa.ie immediately. 

The proposed pay agreement was achieved following months of challenging negotiations and builds on the terms of the October 2023 agreement. It contains pay increases for 2024 through to 2026. 

The agreement acknowledges that the pay of some workers in the community and voluntary organisations has fallen behind equivalent grades in public sector organisations.   

It allows for funding to be adjusted to allow for application of equivalent general round pay adjustments, as provided for in any successor agreements to the Public Service Agreement. 

A Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) document has been developed for members to address any queries you might have. You can read it here. 

Pay terms of the new deal  

If the terms of the new deal are accepted in the ballot, the pay terms of the new agreement are valued at 9.25% over two years (October 2024 to October 2026):  

2024  

• A general round increase in annualised basic salary of 2.25% backdated to 1st October 2024  

2025  

• A general round increase in annualised basic salary of 1% on 1st April 2025  
• A general round increase in annualised basic salary of 2% on 1st November 2025  

2026  

• A general round increase in annualised basic salary of 2% on 1st April 2026  
• A general round increase in annualised basic salary of 2% on 1st October 2026.

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa.