Over a month after Fórsa members voted in favour of a pay agreement for the  community and voluntary sector, a return to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) now appears imminent. 

The agreement was secured by unions after more than ten years of campaigning for better pay and conditions for workers in the community and voluntary sector.   

Under the terms of the agreement Fórsa members working in Section 10, 39, 40 and 56 organisations would benefit from pay increases valued at 9.25% over two years, backdated to October 2024 and running to October 2026. 

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

Though members of Fórsa, the INMO and SIPTU, all voted in favour of accepting the terms, and despite repeated effort by the group of unions, the funding departments have not provided a definitive date by which organisations will receive the increase in funding that will allow for pay increases. 

As a result, on Thursday 5th June, the group of unions decided to request a return to the WRC. 

In a letter to members they said: “While we understand that discussions on the implementation of the proposals are ongoing between the funding departments and the respective agencies, at this point, we have no definitive information on when members can expect to receive the agreed increases in pay.” 

“In light of this we have asked the WRC to reconvene the parties to discuss implementation of the agreed measures, and we are awaiting confirmation of a date for a meeting.”  

Head of the health and welfare division of Fórsa, Ashley Connolly said: “This agreement came after a campaign that lasted a decade. The funding departments can’t keep on dragging their feet on this, our members deserve to know when they will benefit from the changes to their pay which have been agreed.” 

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