The strike by clerical and administrative staff in the Bray and Wicklow VEC has ended. During the week-long dispute 1,000 people on FAS-funded programmes were left without pay. Those most affected were on Community Employment projects and on "second chance" education schemes for early school leavers.
Work resumed yesterday and arrangements are being made to pay arrears to FAS scheme participants this week. Many of them had to rely on supplementary welfare during the dispute.
Discussions took place between IMPACT and the Department of Education over the weekend and union members accepted settlement terms at a meeting on Sunday evening. They took strike act ion after failing to resolve prob lems on staffing in 18 months of negotiation with the department. They said the workload had quadrupled over the past decade but staff numbers had remained static.
The planned amalgamation of the two VECs brought the dispute to a head. Under the settlement terms a number of upgradings will take place, existing acting-up allowances will be maintained in certain circumstances and some temporary staff will be made permanent. Existing VEC services will not be reorganised or extended without further discussions with the union.