Following the collapse of talks between Fórsa and Pobal, members will be asked to vote on whether they wish to take industrial action in furtherance of their pay dispute. 

Fórsa represents members working in the Early Years division of Pobal. 

There are two issues in dispute. The employer has withheld a 2% increase in pay that was due in March 2025. In addition, management refuses to resolve a pay grading issue for early years specialists, whereby the union believes that members are wrongly graded and need to have their pay scales adjusted. 

Following a joint referral to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), an independent mediator was appointed to oversee a process between the parties to assist in resolving matters. However, unfortunately, on Friday 18th July, Pobal walked away from the talks. 

Fórsa official David Field said: “We’ve been working hard to resolve these long running issues. The branch has actively taken part in discussions at the WRC, and yet the employer chose to walk away. That demonstrates a lack of respect for members, and we are left with no choice but to proceed to ballot our members.” 

Members will be informed of details in the coming weeks.  

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