Fórsa members in Tusla begin industrial action

Michael Bolton

Admin staff within Tusla are starting industrial action on Wednesday, as the Government are urged to intervene and prevent it escalating.

Admin and clerical staff at the child and family agency are starting a work-to-rule action in a dispute over a job evaluation scheme, which would ensure employees are only carrying out work appropriate to their grade.

The Fórsa trade union says the Department of Public Expenditure is questioning the ongoing validity of the arrangement that's been in place since Tusla was formed in 2013.

Fórsa spokesperson Niall Shanahan says they'll be forced to escalate their action if the issue isn't resolved.

"Fórsa members who are in Tusla and in clerical and administrative roles, have been instructed not to carry out the work of other colleagues in their absence, and not to undertake work in any vacant post or work associated with the Tusla reform programme.

"It is possible in some instances, it is possible in local Government, where because of the departure of staff over the last number of years, people were taking on the work of colleagues who had left.

"In some cases, that leads to a situation where the workload is of a more senior nature, or they are taking on a greater workload.

"It really is regrettable that the union has had to take industrial action, it could have been avoided.