Healthcare workers in Section 39 organisations, who are members of SIPTU, have voted overwhelmingly for strike action in a dispute over pay.
The ballot result showed 96% in favour of taking action on a turnout of 70%.
Section 39 organisations are privately owned charities and agencies that are contracted by the State to provide healthcare services.
The industrial action involves thousands of workers in 21 organisations across the country including the Rehab Group and the Disability Federation of Ireland.
SIPTU said it will take the mandate it has been given to talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on Monday aimed at resolving the dispute.
The union is accusing the Government of failing to honour a pay agreement struck at the WRC in October 2023.
The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth said that all parties have agreed to return to talks at the WRC on Monday.
“No one wants a strike and experience tells us that dialogue is the path to a resolution,” a department spokesperson said.
“We encourage all parties to focus on engagement through the available channels,” they added.
The deal included a commitment to work towards restoring the pay link between the public sector and the community and voluntary sector.
“The mandate from our membership for industrial action on this issue is strong and clear,” said SIPTU Sector Organiser Damian Ginley.
“The ball is now firmly in the hands of the Government. It has an opportunity to do the right thing for our members when employer representatives and unions meet for talks on this dispute at the WRC on Monday,” Mr Ginley said.
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Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Mr Ginley said that the union wants the Government to implement the agreement from 2023 and to advise their negotiators that they have the mandate to implement it in full.
Regarding what it would take for industrial action to be cancelled, he said that there would have to be a “strong commitment” from the Government that it is taking the matter seriously.
“We have a strong mandate from our members as a result of the failure of Government to implement the agreement from 2023,” he said.
“They have waited a long time, so there has to be a very strong commitment from Government on Monday to allow us progress this matter.”
Section 39 worker and SIPTU activist, Martha Buckley, said that if they are let down by the Government again, they are prepared to take strike action.
“Such action will have an adverse impact on client services and is the last thing that our members wish to undertake,” Ms Buckley said.
“However, without action now, our organisations do not have a future as workers are being forced to seek employment elsewhere due to a lack of adequate pay,” she added.
Many of the Section 39 organisations involved in this dispute are supportive of their workers getting better pay but insist that the funding must come from the Government.
They also want to see wider funding issues addressed, that go beyond just pay.
Earlier this month, Minister for Children, Disability and Equality Norma Foley brought a plan to Cabinet aimed at addressing the issues.
A pay agreement was reached with staff in the community and voluntary sector in October 2023 hours before strike action was due to commence involving 5,000 workers.
The deal included an 8% pay increase and a commitment to restore pay parity with the public sector.
There is no specific reference to Section 39 workers in the Programme for Government.
However, there is a pledge to “work with the voluntary sector through industrial relations mechanisms and other processes to progress pay issues that affect the delivery of disability services and the long-term viability of organisations within the sector”.
The Government said it will also consider measures to attract and retain staff in the disability sector, as well as developing a new workforce plan to address immediate staffing shortages and longer-term needs.
The issue of Section 39 pay came to the fore during the election campaign following an encounter between Simon Harris and disability worker Charlotte Fallon.
Today, Mr Harris told the Dáil that the issue of pay needs to be addressed with urgency.
Responding to a question from People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett, the Tánaiste said that the Government is fully committed to making progress on the matter.
“The next step is to get people back into the WRC and I want workers to know that talks are scheduled to resume on Monday 3 March, and I want to see them brought to a successful conclusion,” Mr Harris said.
