Fórsa’s membership at St Michael’s House has been boosted by around a quarter in recent weeks after Fórsa secured a significant win on pay and job titles.

St Michael’s House provides a comprehensive range of services and supports to men, women and children with intellectual disabilities, and their families, in 170 locations in the greater Dublin area.

Organiser Roland Kennedy explained: “The breakthrough on pay marked the conclusion of a long drawn-out dispute, which was resolved by bringing management to the negotiating table. It has shown locally what the union can achieve, and we expect to have a full working committee set up and active in St Michael’s House shortly, which is a very significant development and a first for Fórsa in this area.

“We’re now engaged in monthly meetings with the employer to resolve any outstanding individual cases.”

Roland said a recent breakthrough at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on pay restoration measures at ChildVision, which took effect in October, has also seen membership grow to 65% of the workforce.

ChildVision is a dedicated centre for children with sight loss, some of whom also have profound sensory impairments and additional disabilities.

Roland says it’s a very complex organisation due to diversity of supports it offers its service users, with a significant range of pay grades and different work locations in its complex.

“These are the sorts of breakthroughs that can energise a workforce and we’re seeing a great deal more union participation and activism in these employments as a result, which is an extremely positive development,” he said.