St Christopher's staff have notified management they will take industrial action in November
A Fórsa spokeswoman confirmed they served notice of industrial action in St. Christopher’s, last Thursday October 24.
Over 130 staff at St Christopher's in Longford have informed management they are set to commence industrial action in two and a half weeks due to an ongoing pay row.
The dispute centres on the non-payment of increments promised under a previous pay agreement.
In May, proposed industrial action at St Christopher's Services, Longford was postponed, pending the start of talks in the Workplace Relations
Management stated that a HSE directive had prevented the payment of the increments to staff at the intellectual disabilities provider.
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A Fórsa spokeswoman confirmed the trade union has served notice of industrial action on St. Christopher’s.
"The industrial action will commence on Monday 18th November, following the three week notice period which is required before industrial action can take place in the health service," she said. "In advance of that we will continue to engage with the employer on how the dispute will be conducted and the issue at hand, namely the non-payment of promised increments."
Fianna Fáil TD Joe Flaherty has said this week he has 'immense sympathy and understanding' for staff.
The Lanesboro-based politician said the 'difficulty' is that it is a 'Section 39' organisation and they have their terms and conditions at St Christopher's as opposed to the Department of Health/ HSE.
"Notwithstanding that a consultation process has been underway with the unions and the HSE at the WRC (Work Relations Commission)," he said. "Significant progress was made last year and agreement was reached on a significant part of their pay concerns and at the moment there is an agreement in principal through a €1.25million payment to staff at St Christopher's."
Deputy Flaherty said his understanding is the HSE is awaiting a letter of determination from the department to authorise the HSE to pay that money.
Meanwhile, Senator Micheál Carrigy, who said he fully supports staff, has expressed his disappointment at the continued failure to resolve the pay dispute despite an agreement appearing to be close on several occasions.
“This industrial action was taken as a last resort by staff who are fully committed to the duty of care they provide to the service users," he said. "It is disheartening that the €1.3 million has not been released and this must be addressed immediately," he added.