Statement from the IWA on Workplace Relations Commission talks between trade unions and Government

tHE Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) is shocked and disappointed at the outcome of Monday's Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) talks between the Government and trade unions.

Without a genuine effort on behalf of government essential services for people with disabilities will continue to deteriorate and may bring about closure of some services. The government is washing its hands of the situation by not recognising the need to fully restore pay rates with Section 39 organisations like Irish Wheelchair Association, who are contracted to deliver services on behalf of the HSE.

Union officials left the negotiations after a pay offer of 5% was tabled saying that if fell far short of the current public service agreement.

Commenting on the situation Joan Carthy, Advocacy Manager with Irish Wheelchair Association described the failure of the talks as a ‘huge setback’, as IWA, like other Section 39 organisations, struggle to both retain and recruit staff.

“The disability sector, over the past ten years, has been chronically underfunded and undervalued by the Government’s exclusion of Section 39 organisations like IWA from public sector pay deals.

This issue is affecting our ability to attract and retain employees as they are offered more money for doing the same work within the HSE. This recruitment crisis has resulted in the reduction of services across the country and is having a hugely negative impact on our members who rely on us for at-home support, transport and social interaction,” she said.

While the IWA is an independent charity, pay scales for employees delivering HSE contracted services have historically been aligned to public sector pay. In 2010 and 2013 the HSE insisted that all Section 39 employees including Irish Wheelchair Association employees take pay cuts and we reduced our funding accordingly. Having complied with this directive in good faith, we were hoping that these talks would result in the Government providing the required funding to allow Irish Wheelchair Association to increase pay for our employees in line with HSE employees’ pay increases.

The current pay gap and disparity of Irish Wheelchair employees with HSE employees continues to put pressure on all operations as our inability to match HSE pay rates has seen a drain of employees from the sector. This issue is affecting all Section 39 organisations.

Irish Wheelchair Association Members like Mary Morris from Co Cavan are feeling the impact of the recruitment crisis on the ground. “I’ve been coming to Irish Wheelchair Association once a week for seven years and it’s been my happy place but due to staff shortages, I can only attend once a fortnight. My friends are here, and I miss that. If the staff were paid the going rate, I’d be able to come once a week,” says Mary.

Irish Wheelchair Association cannot provide a pay parity without receiving the required funding from the HSE through increased Section 39 grants. Our employees and members feel very frustrated that underfunding by the Government continues to have such a hugely negative impact.

ENDS

Photo: Image of graph