Fórsa members in the community and voluntary sector were told that it was time Government ministers showed them the respect they deserved after 14 years without any pay improvements.

Addressing the rally of community and voluntary sector members Fórsa official Catherine Keogh said fine words and promises from Government ministers were not enough.

“Ministers will meet with union officials and give us fine words about how our members are doing great work providing disability services, and say ‘we’ll make sure to do something,’ but they do nothing. It is sickening, it is wrong, and it has to end,” she said.

Catherine described 14 years without pay improvement in the community and voluntary sector as shocking and abhorrent.

“I’m using strong language because I feel strongly. You’re working the hardest jobs in this country, with no respect. Somebody needs to give you respect, and we’re going to get it for you.

“You shouldn’t have to take to the streets and take strike action, and I hope I never have to see you out on the streets again, unless it’s to celebrate you getting a pay rise. We will fight and we will win for you,” she said.

Hundreds joined the national day of protest on Tuesday (3rd May) in response to what the unions describe as the “neglect and underfunding” of community sector services.

The ‘Valuing Care Valuing Community’ protest marked the commencement of a national campaign, which will include industrial action aimed at ending the State’s neglect of the community and voluntary sector, and highlight the need for better pay and respect of their roles.

Catherine said the Government’s failure to adequately fund the sector was having a severe impact on the retention of staff, which in turn was having a devastating effect on essential public services to some of the most vulnerable and marginalised citizens and communities. “Fórsa published a report last September which identified very high annual staff exit rates by health and social care professionals from agencies funded by the HSE. The rate of departure is up to 33% annually, and this has led, inevitably, to a decline in the quality of service delivery.

“In many cases community sector and Section 39 organisation workers are poorly paid, have poor or no pension provision and lack security of employment. This is despite providing important health and social services to the most disadvantaged and vulnerable members of our society. The only realistic solution is to rebuild and refinance the voluntary and community sector with a more sustainable and appropriate funding model,” she said.

Funding

Unions have said the denial of funding for improvements in pay and conditions of employment is unacceptable and have been further critical of moves to privatise and commercialise some services, including local employment services (LES) and job clubs.

Unions have warned that privatisation of these services are likely to have profound negative consequences for society and the citizens and communities that rely on them. This week it was revealed that a US firm that has been criticised for its handling of social welfare schemes in America met with the Department of Social Protection weeks before a tender for local area employment services was announced.

Fórsa assistant general secretary Lynn Coffey said the entry of predatory US firms into the sector was a cause of deep concern.

“These are companies whose only objective is the generation of profit. The outsourcing of LES or jobs clubs to such firms can only lead to a decline in the quality of service delivery as they pursue profits at the expense of community-led services,” she said.