Workers from the community sector yesterday formed a coalition with two major trade unions to launch a campaign to secure funding and workplace rights.
At Liberty Hall in Dublin, trade union leaders from Impact and Siptu and representatives of the 64,000 people working in the community sector said the new campaign would promote and defend the sector and its staff.
The conference, attended by several hundred people from across the State, heard that the sector was characterised by low pay, poor career prospects, non-existent pension provision, inadequate training and unsafe work practices.
The workers, who represent almost 25,000 non-profit organisations, deliver vital services in areas such as homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction, disability employment, the Traveller community, employment and economic development and child protection.
At the forum, David Connolly of the community sector/trade union campaign group said: "Community sector organisations now play a central role in innovative and flexible public service delivery.
"Yet funding arrangements and working conditions are well behind those in the mainstream public sector."
Successive governments had failed to acknowledge the sector and had been unwilling to provide secure funding for staffing and other costs including pay increases in Towards 2016 and other agreements, he said.
Trade unions leaders including David Begg, general secretary of ICTU; Shay Cody, deputy general secretary of Impact; Siptu's general president Jack O'Connor; and Patricia King, regional secretary of Siptu, all called for the community sector to become unionised and organised in order to bring influence.
Una O'Connor of the Sophia Housing Trust and secretary of Impact's boards and voluntary agencies branch said community sector workers wanted the same benefits as everyone else.
"We have mortgages and pay rent and we need a decent and secure income," she said.
Many speakers were from the sector. These included Gerry McCarthy of Ballyfermot Youth Service, who said not all employees had opportunities for education and training.
There should be a clear policy on training and Government funding for it, he said.
Helena McNeill, of Lourdes Youth & Community Services, said there were approximately 40 workers in the LYCS, which was financed by nine funders and four Government departments.
"We're the Cinderella sector, scrambling around for money and the first to be cut back."
Speakers from the floor raised a number of issues. Derek Mulcahy of Siptu in Limerick said they wanted to get the message out that they were real people with real jobs.
Michael McCarthy of Inner City Projects said many organisations had only one staff member.
Problems were also raised by the fact that in many organisations, many employees were also employers, Mr McCarthy said.
The meeting was told the community sector accounted for around 2-3 per cent of GNP.