Workers at the Caritas convalescent centre in south Dublin are fighting for decent redundancy payments after their service went into liquidation. The ‘section 39’ agency had previously followed public service pay and conditions, and Fórsa is insisting that the staff receive public service redundancy terms.

Fórsa official Seán McElhiney said over half the workers in the step-down centre had contracted the Covid-19 virus while looking after people who had recently discharged from hospital treatment.

The centre closed to patients at the end of March and its board of management voted for voluntary liquidation earlier this month.

Seán said that, prior to that, the board of management had failed to provide adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) and made no plans to contain suspected cases.

Fórsa’s local representative, Sarah Kelly, said workers were indignant, and blamed the board for shortcomings in their management and the inhumane way in which the news was made public.

"There were people who hadn't been at work, and who obviously had no access to their emails. At the breakfast table, they were reading that the job they thought they were going back to, had gone. All the while, their kids were still playing at their feet," she said.

Sarah spoke about the cost of school uniforms and groceries as she explained that most Caritas workers would not be paid for the month of July.

"We're worried about pensions and redundancy payments, too. It's not just the impact of losing our jobs. It's an omnishambles. We won't be paid this month. Our redundancies won't reflect our service properly, and questions remain about pension-provision," she said.

Geraldine Noonan, another Fórsa Representative and a stalwart of the Caritas staff, called on the Sisters of Charity, who own the land, to intervene and contribute to a fund for staff who are about to lose their jobs.

"For years, we've shown our commitment to the ethics and values consistent with providing quality care for vulnerable people. We're now calling on the Sisters of Charity to do the right thing by us. The futures we thought we had are gone," she said.

Seán said: “It's far too easy for companies to walk away from their obligations to the workforce when they decide to shut the shop. Fórsa won't accept our members being treated with such deplorable disposability, and the first step will be to fight for certainty.”

Members in Caritas will value your support in the coming weeks. Please share this article on social media, and send messages of solidarity to smcelhinney@forsa.ie.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE.