Barrett calls for healthcare workers’ pay increases to be delivered

Section 39 workers carrying placards and flags during industrial reaction in Castlebar last year (Pic: Alison Laredo)

placeholder image — Section 39 workers carrying placards and flags during industrial reaction in Castlebar last year (Pic: Alison Laredo)

Independent local election candidate Harry Barrett ‘inundated with calls’ from Western Care and Irish Wheelchair Association workers yet to receive pay increases

INDEPENDENT local election candidate, Harry Barrett has called for promised pay awards for staff in Western Care, the Irish Wheelchair Association and HSE-funded organisations in Mayo to be delivered.

Strike action from numerous Section 39 workers was averted last October when unions and government reached a deal in the early hours of the morning that promised pay increases to 5,000 staff across 17 organisations.

The promised increases, totalling 8 per cent and to be distributed in three phases, were set to begin with a 3 per cent backdated payment from April of the previous year.

However, many of them have yet to receive increases, according to Mr Barrett, who said he has been ‘inundated with calls’ from concerned workers.

“The delay in pay increases is particularly hard for staff members with families, including those with children in school or facing college fees. Without adequate compensation to cover rising living costs and inflation, these workers face an uphill battle to provide for themselves and their families. Cost of living is through the roof and their pay doesn’t match this,” stated Mr Barrett, who is standing in the seven-seat Castlebar Local Electoral Area.

“I have been inundated with calls from concerned staff asking me for a response, so I am now calling on Government TDs in Mayo to advocate on behalf of these hardworking Western Care staff and all other voluntary bodies affected, ensuring that they receive the pay increases they were promised and rightfully deserve.”