The Government\u2019s failure to avert tomorrow\u2019s strike action by Section 39 workers will heap further pressure on threadbare services for the elderly and people with disabilities, according to Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns.<\/p>\n
Deputy Cairns, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on disability, said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was an expectation that last week\u2019s Budget would allocate funding to restore pay parity for community and voluntary workers, who are paid significantly less than their counterparts in the HSE. This would have been the perfect opportunity to halt the indefinite industrial action being commenced by around 5,000 Section 39 workers on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is important to remember that the pay of Section 39 workers was historically aligned with that of HSE staff until cuts were imposed across the board during the recession in 2010. However, while rates for HSE staff have since been restored, pay parity for workers in the community and voluntary sectors never materialised.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the Social Democrats\u2019 alternative budget, we proposed funding of \u20ac150 million as a first step towards pay parity for Section 39 organisations, which are struggling to recruit and retain staff due to low wages.<\/p>\n
\u201cUnless there is an 11th<\/sup>\u00a0hour solution found, there will be hundreds of people tomorrow who won\u2019t be able to get out of bed, get a drink of water or get breakfast for themselves. I know many of these workers are embarking on industrial action with heavy hearts and it is very much a last resort.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Government were given 21 days\u2019 notice of this strike action and it is incredible that no progress has been made during this time. The Minister for Health must immediately intervene to avert tomorrow\u2019s action and prevent further chaos in already overstretched disability services around the country.\u201d<\/p>\n October 16, 2023<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The Government\u2019s failure to avert tomorrow\u2019s strike action by Section 39 workers will heap further pressure on threadbare services for the elderly and people with disabilities, according to Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns. Deputy Cairns, who is the party\u2019s spokesperson on disability, said: \u201cThere was an expectation that last week\u2019s Budget would allocate funding to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2059,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,400,7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2737","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-holly-cairns","category-press-release"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n