By Róise Collins
VULNERABLE service users across the county went to bed on Monday night, not knowing if they would get out of bed on Tuesday morning, Mary McGrenra, service coordinator at the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) in Donegal has revealed.
Ms McGrenra was speaking following the suspension of a proposed strike of community and voluntary sector workers which was due to take place on Tuesday morning.
The workers who were ready to take to the picket felt that they were left with no choice because of a pay disparity affecting the recruitment and retention of staff, which in turn was impacting the delivery of vital services.
“This is not a new topic, this has been ongoing for ten years, it is not just pay parity it is also chronic underfunding from Government and the fact that it took so long to get to that point shows none of us wanted this,” said Ms McGrenra.
IWA staff are relieved that the proposed industrial action was postponed. However they are angry with the government for allowing widespread disruption, fear, and angst to spread across their community.
Ms McGrenra stressed how it should have never been allowed to get to that point.
“The bottom line is we never should have been put to the pin of our collar. It’s dreadful that the government has pushed us to the limit, it is dreadful for the staff and dreadful for the service users.”
Talks between the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) and Unions concluded in the early hours of Tuesday morning when they reached an interim agreement.
The proposal contains pay increases worth 8 per cent for IWA employees and the wider Section 39 employees along with commitments to continue meaningful talks for re-linking the pay rates with that of their Health Service Executive (HSE) counterparts. The WRC will convene parties to this interim agreement no later than December, 1 2023.
Ms McGrenra wholeheartedly thanked their service users across Donegal for supporting the staff in what she described as a “really challenging time for them and their families”.
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