Fórsa has contacted all its members providing health and welfare services in the community and voluntary sector (Section 39, 56, 10 and 40 organisations), to advise of the union’s efforts to speed up the payments due to workers, following the outcome of the WRC agreement last October.
In a letter to members last week (31st January) the union’s head of Health and Welfare, Ashley Connolly, acknowledged that while many members had begun to receive the agreed increases, there were some organisations experiencing delays with the additional funding required to deliver the pay increases.
Ashley said intense discussions had taken place in January with the relevant funding departments, and subsequent correspondence had now issued to employers, confirming the availability of funds for drawdown.
Under the terms of the deal secured by unions last October, workers in the sector are due the following payments:
- An Increase of 3% from 1st April 2023 (backdated)
- An Increase of 2% from 1st November 2023
- An Increase of 3% from 1st March 2024
Ashley added: “We understand the frustrations some members are experiencing and recognise these delays are unacceptable.”
She said unions representing workers in the sector are actively working with funding departments nationally to prevent further delays and ensure the timely release of the required funding.
She added: “Once the initial 5% payment is paid, we will continue to monitor progress to ensure a smoother process for the 3% payment due in March 2024.”
The new public service pay deal is shortly to be balloted on by 19 public service unions.
Once ratified, Ashley said that, in line with the terms of the October 2023 WRC agreement, unions will seek early engagement with the relevant government departments to have the terms of the new public service pay deal applied to workers in the sector.
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