A ballot of Fórsa members at Barnardos began last Friday 14th February and will run for 3 weeks until Friday 7th March. 

The dispute is in relation to the organisation’s failure to pay workers the increases outlined in the terms of a 2023 Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) agreement on pay for workers in the community and voluntary sector. Of the 8% payable under the terms of the 2023 WRC agreement, only 4% has been paid. In addition, the employer has refused to engage with Fórsa 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.   

Barnardos management has claimed the funding received from Government to implement the pay increases allowed for in the 2023 deal were partly used to ‘reimburse’ a pay increase to staff in 2022, which was agreed and implemented around 18 months before the 2023 agreement. 

Fórsa official Louise O’Hara emphasised that members working in Barnardos are deeply committed to their work. She argued that it was unfair for employees who go above and beyond to have their nationally agreed pay increase withheld. “This ballot gives them an opportunity to express how they feel about the situation,” she said. 

“We sought clarification from the State funding bodies and they have confirmed that the money allocated for these raises is not for reimbursement, and that 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 for increases that predate the agreement.” 

Louise continued: “It’s reasonable to wonder why Barnardos sought reimbursement when audited accounts for 2023, show that they had more than €15m, of mostly unrestricted funding, in reserves? But because Barnardos won’t engage with Fórsa on this matter and have declined an invitation to talks by the Workplace Relations Commission, we haven't been provided any answers to that question." 

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