Strike action at the National Advocacy Service (NAS) was suspended after a matter of hours on Wednesday with Siptu announcing it had received a commitment from the organisation’s management to discuss full implementation of a Labour Court recommendation on pay and conditions later this month.
Around 50 staff had been expected to participate in the strike action and pickets were placed on NAS offices around the country including those in Dublin, Limerick and Cork.
However, after agreement was reached, the union issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon to say its members had suspended the action.
The staff involved act on behalf of people with disabilities in their dealings with State and other official bodies, advocating for their best interests and often supporting them as they seek to gain access to services in areas like housing, health and justice.
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The dispute is over pay and conditions which the staff say have effectively remained unchanged was established as a stand-alone body more than a decade ago.
The organisation is funded by the Citizens Information Board (CIB) which, in turn, receives support from the Department of Social Protection. While NAS had said it understood its staff’s position, it said it was not able to address the situation unless the backing it received to cover costs was increased.
The Labour Court had made a recommendation on new pay scales and other issues in January and the union says it has been told this will now be implemented.
“We’re relieved,” said Suzy Byrne, a staff member and Siptu activist. “This is what we wanted to be told yesterday, we shouldn’t have had to go on strike. It is good news, though, for our members, the staff, both present and future and for the people who use our services.”
“We are very pleased that we can now get back to our work,” said Ms Byrne.
Talks on implementation of the recommendation have been scheduled for June 24th and will involve an outside facilitator.
In a statement, NAS national manager Joanne Condon thanked the staff for returning to work and said services would be back to normal tomorrow.
“This two-week period provides a valuable opportunity to fully address the pay issues at the heart of this dispute,” she said.
“Our priority remains the wellbeing and support of those who need our service, and we are committed to ensuring uninterrupted service during this time.”
CIB said it welcomed the developments.
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