Sir, – Up to 5,000 workers in the community and voluntary agencies are threatening industrial action because of Government’s failure to address funding and recruitment issues.
Although they are not directly employed by the HSE and their services are partly State funded, in many cases, staff of these organisations have significantly worse terms than their HSE counterparts in similar grades.
Many of these organisations are forced to rely on charitable donations from the general public to make up the shortfall in their funding.
It would seem to me to be a no-brainer for the powers that be to give them equal status as their HSE counterparts, before their industrial action highlights the inequality and creates greater embarrassment to Government for not providing properly resourced and funded services in the first place. – Yours, etc,
BOBBY CARTY,
Templeogue,
Dublin 6W.