Local authority housing and other services threatened by vote for industrial action

Public service union Fórsa has warned of major disruption to local government services this summer if authorities do not engage with it on the establishment of a job-evaluation scheme for those working in the sector after members voted overwhelmingly for industrial action on the issue.

The union, which represents more than 10,000 local authority workers across the country, says there is widespread frustration over the lack of an evaluation scheme similar to those established in the higher education and health sectors.

Thousands of jobs were lost from the sector during and after the economic crash, with those staying on, it argues, having to take on additional responsibilities and an increased workload. The current dispute relates to a longstanding call for a process to be established to measure and address the issue.

The union’s members voted by a margin of around five to one in favour of taking action on the issue, and Fórsa national secretary Richy Carrothers called on the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) to engage on the issue in order to prevent housing, road maintenance and other local authority services being impacted.

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“We have a strong mandate now from our members, and this dispute isn’t going to go away by ignoring it, which is exactly what the LGMA has attempted to do,” he said. “Job evaluation provides an agreed analytical system to ensure our members are getting the pay they deserve for the job they do. Fórsa’s efforts to secure a job-evaluation scheme is a crucial part of our continuing campaign to ensure local authority pay is, above all else, fair.

“The LGMA needs to immediately return to due process under the auspices of the WRC. A small window of opportunity exists right now to resolve the dispute by engaging in meaningful negotiations and to avoid escalation of this dispute. If the LGMA fails to grasp the opportunity now a summer of disruption is inevitable,” he said.

The LGMA was contacted for comment.