IMPACT has secured the restoration of increments for staff working in a high-profile voluntary agency. As part of the union’s overall pay restoration strategy, negotiations have been ongoing with a number of employers in the community and voluntary sector this year.

IMPACT assistant general secretary Ashley Connolly has represented members on a number of agencies in the sector and said that the most recent decision showed a welcome breakthrough for staff at the agency. “While negotiations continue in a number of other employments, we decided not to name the specific agency until those negotiations are concluded.

“However, it does represent a significant breakthrough in the community and voluntary sector, and indicates that the years of retrenchment in the sector are finally coming to an end. We still face a very significant challenge in restoring pay elsewhere in the sector, but this signals a welcome change,” she said.

Ashley added, “Staff in this sector have been subject to the FEMPI cuts in many instances but also through the imposition of shorter working weeks, increment freezes and other measures to reduce costs, while still maintaining services and responding to increased demand for services. IMPACT has continued to highlight the challenges faced by workers in the sector.

“There is no one-size-fits-all approach, we need to work with employers to see what improvements can be achieved,” she said.

Ashley added that negotiations with other larger employers in the sector are ongoing, and that IMPACT’s drive to recruit new members in the sector will be crucial to achieving pay improvements in other employments.

A recent survey showed that trade union density in the community and voluntary sector is still very low. The Community Foundation for Ireland survey found that more than six out of ten (62%) organisations indicated that their staff were not members of a trade union, while only 6% of organisations said that more than half of the workforce were unionised.

Ashley added, “The employments where we can really make a difference are those with higher trade union density, so recruitment and organisation remains a significant priority. This latest breakthrough shows that trade union membership has real value in the community and voluntary sector.”