Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Last October, unions representing section 39 organisations and other sections reached an agreement for addressing pay disparity between section 39 organisations, the HSE and section 38 organisations. A proposal was agreed acknowledging that the workers in these organisations deserve pay equality. That pay agreement has not been honoured. Some of the workers have only received up to 65% of the pay deal. A subsequent public sector pay deal has been implemented, meaning that public sector workers have received another increase from January, which means the pay disparity between the two types of organisation has widened again. It is as much as €4 to €5 per hour at the very basic level, up to the guts of €20 per hour at the higher level.

To give an example, the Irish Wheelchair Association in Cavan has had to reduce its service to a Covid-like service because it cannot employ people. It employs people and trains them and loses them after six months to the HSE or a section 38 organisation because they are getting paid much better and have much better conditions for doing exactly the same work. The Minister might say these are community and voluntary organisations but they are doing the work on behalf of the Government and the HSE. If these organisations did not exist, the HSE would have to do this work and it would be out a lot more money.

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