Fórsa members at Oberstown carry out work stoppage
Fórsa union members at Oberstown Children Detention Campus have carried out a six-hour work stoppage in protest at resourcing at the facility .
A work stoppage by Fórsa union members at the Oberstown Children Detention Campus has commenced. This is the result of an ongoing dispute concerning resourcing and safe staffing levels within the facility. The industrial action began at noon today and is part of a ballot conducted for Fórsa members in May. Since June 25, Oberstown staff have been involved in a work-to-rule action.
Management has been informed of further planned work stoppages on August 11, 18, and 25, with each being increasingly prolonged. Fórsa's assistant general secretary, Deirdre O'Connell Hopkins, stated that the industrial action will persist indefinitely until the concerns regarding safety at the detention facility are addressed. "This action became unavoidable in light of ongoing capacity challenges at Oberstown," she explained.
"Safe staffing is the objective here. Until that's achieved, the wellbeing of residents and staff remains at risk." O'Connell Hopkins also informed Oberstown management that Fórsa reserves the right to reassess, modify, and potentially escalate the action, including additional work stoppages or a complete withdrawal of labor. However, representatives of Fórsa remain open to discussions with management to resolve the dispute.
Despite a previous meeting at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in June, Fórsa believes management's proposals do not offer a viable or operationally safe solution to the raised issues.
Written by urgent.news from RTE News's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
