Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

It is very obvious that we should not be in this position. It should not have come to this. These workers provide a vital service in our community, yet they have to potentially go on strike on Tuesday. That is embarrassing. There is no disrespect to the Minister and to the Minister of State personally, but it is embarrassing. This country is awash with money and for the money they are looking for and for pay parity relative to their colleagues, it is embarrassing. Hopefully, the Government will address this issue and pay these workers what they deserve. For example, Deputies are paid very well but we could not a situation where one Deputy was paid less than others. We would be the first ones to give out and we are paid very well, yet we have health service workers are in this situation. That is completely unacceptable.

Section 39 workers - I was at one stage - are paid 10% less than their colleagues so they have lesser terms and conditions. It is just not acceptable. We can have all the platitudes we want but we need to address this issue to prevent a strike. The only thing that will prevent a strike is if the workers are finally acknowledged and paid what they deserve. This has been going on for far too long at 13 years and more. This is a legacy from the financial emergency measures in the public interest, FEMPI, years, and austerity that has left a bitter taste with a lot of workers such as teachers, nurses and section 56 and section 39 workers. This is a legacy issue and a throwback but it needs to be resolved very quickly.

I can never understand why these artificial tiers are put in place regarding people's pay, especially in the public sector. I just do not get it. Why would we want to pay somebody 20% or 10% less than another person who is doing the exact same job? Who would make that kind of stuff up? Maybe this can happen in the private sector where it is a race to the bottom and people are trying to profiteer. We are talking about public sector workers generally who do work the vast majority of people will not do; let us be honest. It is a really important job but we pay them less. It is absolutely ridiculous. Hopefully, this can be resolved so that workers do not have to go out on strike on Tuesday. I am sure it is the last place they want to be. They want to do their vital jobs but if they need to go out on strike, they will get all of our support and our solidarity. They will get a huge amount of public support as the public is on their side. They know an injustice when they see it. I hope the Minister and Minister of State will do the right thing and pay these workers what they deserve.

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