Fórsa members working in Oberstown Children Detention Campus will protest outside the Department of Children, Disability and Equality (DCDE) on Baggot Street tomorrow (Tuesday 18th August) in a continuing dispute over resourcing and safe staffing at the campus.
The protest will take place from 11am to 2pm, as Fórsa members also engage in a 10-hour work stoppage at the campus (9am to 7pm). The industrial action is the third in a series of planned weekly work stoppages which began earlier this month. In addition to the protest at the Department of Children, there will be a picket outside the Oberstown campus.
The ongoing industrial action follows a ballot of Fórsa members, concluded in May, backing industrial action, up to and including a full withdrawal of labour. Oberstown staff have been engaged in a work-to-rule action since 25th June.
Efforts to engage locally on several key issues, between Fórsa and Oberstown management, broke down last week. Fórsa expressed frustration that no representative of the DCDE was present for these discussions.
Safe staffing in Oberstown remains a concern for Fórsa members employed there. Fórsa assistant general secretary Deirdre O’Connell has said the current industrial action is taking place because members want a lasting solution, to ensure the safety of both residents and staff at the Oberstown campus.
She added: “Oberstown management has refused to include key elements of Fórsa’s claim in its business case to the DCDE. These include measures to address the recruitment difficulties facing the service, which management has said should be dealt with separately through ‘local bargaining’, while also acknowledging that there are not enough resources allocated to local bargaining to resolve them.
“The consequence of this approach is that it stalls efforts to resolve the issues in dispute and prolongs a situation where staff and residents face increased risks to personal safety,” she said.