The Impact trade union has called on Minister for Finance Brian Cowen to pledge long-term resources for community sector organisations in his forthcoming budget.
The union, which represents over 5,000 community and voluntary sector staff, said that annualised and project-based funding is thwarting the development of services, and that low pay is driving staff into other sectors of the economy.
Speaking at the launch of a community sector trade union campaign this morning, Impact deputy general secretary Shay Cody claimed that the community sector has been used as a vehicle for "public services on the cheap" and that this had to change.
"The sector is increasingly attractive to a Government that believes dedicated community-based workers will deliver vital services without decent pay, pensions, job security, career development, training, protection against workplace hazards, or any of the other legal and negotiated conditions and protections that most workers take for granted," said Mr Cody.
The union claimed the Government's failure to fund nationally agreed pay increases to community and voluntary staff is leading many employees to leaving the sector.
"We believe that community workers should get the same reward as mainstream public servants doing similar work. But when Government or employers resist - as they usually do - we have to work on a case-by-case basis. It's a hard slog even to win the pay increases set out in national agreements and benchmarking.
"We've been to the Labour Court many times and established that staff are entitled to pay increases. It's a slow process, but we've won the argument in many important cases," said Mr Cody. "However, once we win the argument in the Labour Court, there's invariably a row over funding the increases."
Una O'Connor, secretary of Impact's Boards & Agencies' branch, which represents over 1,500 Dublin community sector workers, added that its members wanted the same as employees in other industries.
"In an era of near full employment, thousands of community sector workers survive for years on a series of insecure temporary contracts in organisations that operate hand-to-mouth on short-term funding. This is not an acceptable way to treat staff and it's not an effective way to develop services," said Ms O'Connor.
