Fórsa members working in Local Authority ICT are being encouraged to attend an online national meeting on Thursday 17th April at 2pm. The meeting will focus on the ongoing dispute over ICT recruitment and retention challenges in the local authorities. Members will be updated on the latest developments in the dispute with the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) and will have the opportunity to discuss how they would like matters to proceed. 

Paul Barker, chair of the Fórsa Local Government ICT Professional Committee, has called on as members to attend. He said “This has been a long- running dispute. We need to show management that we stand together if we are to solve this issue.”

Fórsa has sought meaningful engagement from the LGMA on addressing challenges to recruitment and retention in ICT since 2021. Despite initial signs of positive engagement, hopes for a healthy collaborative relationship have dwindled. 

National secretary and head of the union’s local government and local services and municipal employees’ divisions, Richy Carrothers expressed frustration with the process. He described engagement from the LGMA as “sporadic.”  

He said: “When we sought engagement in 2021, they asked us to submit a report, so we did that. Two years later, in 2023, after repeated attempts at re-engagement, they requested a follow-up proposal, so we did that and since then nothing has happened. They still haven’t responded.” 

He continued, “It feels like they’re just hoping we’ll go away. Even after escalation to the Workplace Relations Commission in July 2024, and obtaining agreement to engage with us, we are back to radio silence.”  

Richy warned that during the four years, Fórsa has been seeking meaningful engagement, issues in recruitment and retention have grown. He pointed to the 2022 introduction of new qualification requirements demonstrating the increasing demands being placed upon ICT staff.  

Describing the situation for ICT staff, Paul said, “We are now in a situation where ongoing issues are being compounded by our growing role and importance in local authorities. This change was acknowledged by management when they introduced the new qualifications requirements. However, they refuse to engage in meaningful discussions with staff about what this evolving reality truly means for ICT workers. There needs to be comprehensive restructuring and proper recognition of these changes.” 

In 2020, Government laid out their 2030 goals. One of these goals was the digitisation of local authority services, setting a target of 90%. Paul explained that this is unachievable without a stable, highly qualified ICT workforce. 

According to Paul, ICT roles require a broad set of in-demand skills. This means local authorities are in competition not only with the private sector but also other parts of the public sector which are able to offer better pay and conditions. 

He called for a professional ICT pay scale, aligned with grades of similar complexity and third-level qualification standards. 

He warned “Inadequate staffing threatens the roll out of online services. We are shouldering heavier workloads, often juggling multiple specialised roles without adequate resources. We need to be able to attract more staff. There is only so much we can do with the staff we have.” 

Another concern for ICT members is futureproofing of ICT in local authorities. To this end, Fórsa has proposed a national ICT Continuing Professional Development committee to oversee the developing and enhancement of ICT staff skills. The proposed committee would include representatives from the LGMA, IPA, HIS group, ICS, and the industry.  

Richy said “ICT is one of the most quickly evolving fields out there. ICT members know all too well that they have to train and retrain throughout their working lives. This committee would identify changes in ICT, what skills would be needed to keep staff up to date and offer them training to do so.” 

“As the ICT workforce expands there will be need for new roles and career pathways. The committee could establish these and develop targeted trainings to ensure existing staff can move forward in their careers,” he added. 

Members interested in attending can register here. 

Please note that this meeting is open to Fórsa members of the local government and local services division only. If you are a local authority ICT worker and wish to attend, you can join Fórsa here.

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