SIPTU members of the National Advocacy Service have called off their strike – for now.
The county advocates took to a number of points across the country yesterday, including for Kilkenny, Carlow and Tipperary on The Parade in Kilkenny city.
Their action was highlight issues regarding pay and working conditions.
However, they’ve now agreed to postpone any further outages for two weeks with services resuming from today.
Statement issued last night;
Meanwhile, in response to a query from KCLR News yesterday, the Citizens Information Board issued the following;
‘Following intensive engagement by all parties, CIB has been notified that strike action at the National Advocacy Service has been deferred pending the outcome of talks which will commence later this month. CIB welcomes this positive development.’
And the Department of Social Protection sent this statement;
“The Minister is aware from the Citizens Information Board, which funds the National Advocacy Service (NAS) for People with Disabilities that their employees commenced industrial action on Wednesday, 12th June.
This strike action is on foot of a Labour Court recommendation in relation to pay, grades and other conditions.
Efforts continued until late last night to avert the strike and involved all parties – including officials from the Department of Social Protection and representatives from Citizens Information Board, without a resolution being reached. Following further engagement today SIPTU have confirmed that the NAS strike committee has agreed to defer this strike action and enter discussions on the Labour Court recommendation. These discussions will commence on 24 June, to be facilitated by Kevin Duffy, former Labour Court Chair.
The Minister welcomes this development and is fully supportive of a facilitated engagement between parties as the best way to resolve these issues and to minimise the impact on service users.
The Minister recognises and acknowledges the value of the important advocacy services that NAS provides to adults with disabilities.”
