Impact says social care workers owed €10m in pay arrears

About 800 social care workers are owed at least €10 million in pay arrears, the trade union Impact has said.

Speaking at the union’s health and welfare division conference in Ennis, Impact national secretary Louise O’Donnell said the issue dated back to 2004 when the staff concerned became eligible for additional premium “twilight” payments for working late in the evening from 6pm to midnight. The qualifying period was later restricted to 8pm to midnight under the Haddington Road agreement.

She said the payment for working “twilight”hours was set at time and a sixth, but that the the rate was never paid to many social care workers .

She said the staff concerned worked for the HSE (since transferred to Tusla)and the voluntary organisations, providing child and disability care services.

Ms O'Donnell said it was estimated that staff in Galway and Roscommon working in facilities run by the Brothers of Charity and Ability West were owed over €7 million.

She said the staff had voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action in support of their campaign to have the money paid to them.

She said a formula had been agreed with the HSE about payment of staff who had worked for it directly but that no date had been set for staff to receive the money.

Ms O’Donnell told the conference that in some cases nurses and other staff working alongside social care workers did actually receive the twilight payments.

In her address to the conference Ms O’Donnell also said there was an in-built culture of dysfunction in the Irish health service which threatened its future.

She said Impact members worked throughout the health system – in managerial, administrative and clerical grades as well as in therapy and other positions.

“This gives us a good oversight of the breadth of services that the Irish health sector delivers but, unfortunately, it also gives us a bird’s eye view of how dysfunctional it is. This is not to take from the good work that is carried out by staff throughout our health services. On the contrary, the recent staff survey actually shows the degree to which these staff are happy to go the extra mile to deliver the service,” she said.

“The focus to date has always been on the delivery model. There is a mistaken belief that if the delivery model is changed it will resolve all issues. This is a bit like repainting a car when the engine has seized up and hoping it will start again.”