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SIPTU REPRESENTATIVES HAVE warned that thousands of workers employed by Section 39 organisations providing vital health care services could strike in February over pay issues.
Section 39 organisations are voluntary organisations who have service legal agreements with the HSE to provide health and social care within communities.
Some 12,000 Section 39 workers receive dual salary funding between the HSE and voluntary contributions.
Their main salary funding comes from the HSE through a grant. The grant was cut back in 2010, leading Section 39 salaries to be cut in line with those in the public sector.
However, Siptu has said that while public sector staff are beginning to see pay restoration, that isn’t the case for Section 39 workers.
Pay restoration for thousands of workers providing public services is set to rise again by 1% on 1 January.
Siptu has said this will further grow the pay gap between members in Section 39 organisations and their colleagues providing vital care services.
“It makes the lack of pay justice for Section 39 workers even more unbearable and only serves to harden their resolve during the current ballot for industrial action,” Siptu health division organisation Paul Bell said in a statement.
Balloting for the strike is currently ongoing. If Siptu members in Section 39 organisations decide to vote yes, strike action will be taken on 12 February 2018.
Our members have done everything possible to avoid a strike which would impact on some of Ireland’s most vulnerable citizens.
Unfortunately, due to the actions and inactions of the government and the individual Section 39 employers, they increasingly believe that their only option is strike action.
The Siptu Health Division has made an application to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health for a hearing in mid-January concerning pay justice for Section 39 organisation workers.
“Our request for a Joint Oireachtas Committee hearing is to ensure that the public and elected representatives are aware of the facts concerning how our members are being forced into taking strike actions,” Bell said.
Siptu has requested that representatives of the HSE, Department of Health, Department of Public Expenditure, and Section 39 employers’ organisations attend the hearing.
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“Keep the recovery going”
TDs: Wahey, we get a €5k pay rise!
Health workers: Where’s our pay rise?
Fine Gael: Well, we haven’t recovered that much now…
@Franklin Roosevelt: the economy has recovered very significantly since the 2007 implosion , I know that’s not popular acknowledge here but it is true
@Franklin Roosevelt: apologies hadn’t read comment properly
Maybe a.silly statement but ” voluntary organisations” funded by hse . What makes it voluntary if the workers are being paid ?
@Chris Tobin: as far as i know that title entitles them to legally receive charitable donations. So the HSE funding isn’t 100% of their income.
@Stephen Foster: voluntary only in name for tax reasons so
@Chris Tobin: They are service providers to the HSE who would have to do the support and rehab work they do. Section 39 groups as is mentioned in the article.
Please check out the difference before statements that quiet simply are wrong and uninformed.
The HSE pay for the staffing of them to do the work, the charitable donations are used directly to help the clients more than they could if only relying on HSE funding
I honestly wish people would learn more about the section 39 groups before commenting . The misunderstanding above are frightening.
Funding was cut, wages were cut, so as not to affect the clients IE me and other disabled people who rely on these groups.
The charitable donations go in special activities or training for the clients.
The group that help me received a 64% increase in requests for support and had a 15% cut in funding.
DO THE MATH.
Are these people employees of the HSE though? It doesn’t sound like it as they are section 39 companies who receive funding from the HSE as they are effectively charities or do charity classified work. SIPTU are looking for the HSE to increase grants to these designated charity organisations it seems so that they can be used to fund salary increases. This is comparing apples with oranges surely. I’m not sure how this is comparable with PS pay increases.
@Sean @114: hse funded ” voluntary organisations” so
@Chris Tobin: they are providing funds. They are not the employer and there is no obligation on HSE to provide more funds for salaries as it is not the employer. SIPTU comparing apples to oranges here. The gripe is with the employer surely.
@Sean @114: No you have it wrong completely. Not surprising as a lot of people do. It would take too long to explain. Section 39 groups do work for the HSE and they are paid like any other service provider. The wages were cut in line with the PS wages and what they are asking for is parity.
@Gary Kearney: The HSE provide recurring grants for these agencies but are not a direct employer of their employees. You will find none of them on the HSE payroll.
@Alan McCartney: But this came up in 2014 relating to top-up payments.
The HSE engaged with “section 39 organisations regarding their obligations under their service agreements with it not to pay or subsidise salaries, expenses or other benefits which exceeded those normally paid in the public service.”
If their pay was capped then, they’re saying it would be fair to match it with HSE wages now.
@Alan McCartney: correct, not the employer. They may ‘subsidise’ section 39 agencies but they do not employ these staff. At least that was always my understanding. If they were let go would they receive a P45 from the HSE employer registered company? I don’t believe so.
@Fiona Fitzgerald: yes obligations under an agreement which sees funding received from the HSE. They set guidelines that certain payments should not exceed those in line with their own. It makes sense to do so. Nowhere would it make sense to agree to pay ‘increases’ for non employees.
@Alan McCartney: and they can match it all they want from current funding levels.
When the inefficiencies are gone from the health service and some savings made, review pay and apply where possible.
The amount of €uros wasted on administration for administration sake is what cripples the guys of the budget.
SIPTU won’t hear tell of it because our affects their income.
You’d cringe at the salaries the top table are paid in these unions. Jack O’ Connor is on €149k folks.
@Murph: examples please.
Sack them all and get the army to take over.
@Peter Barlow: What, march into nursing homes and help them all into clean uniforms? Shout out their medication in relays?
@Peter Barlow: I hope none of your family ever need these services.
have your say