‘Overworked and underpaid’ – IWA staff want parity

The “overworked and underpaid” staff at the Irish Wheelchair Association (IWA) centre in Mullingar say that the vital work they carry out for their service users must be reflected in their pay packets.

Section 39 agencies such as the IWA are government funded through grants and provide vital disability, mental health and community services in Westmeath and around the country.

During the last recession, staff at Section 39 agencies had their wages cut at the same time as their public sector counterparts – however, while pay for most public sector workers has been restored for a number of years and many received pay rises this year, IWA and other Section 39 workers had to wait until October of last year for their pay to return to 2009 levels.

Speaking last week during a meeting with Cllr Denis Leonard, “frustrated” IWA staff say that they are looking for a “fair day’s pay for a fair day’s work”.

Driver and programme assistant Billy Masterson joined the IWA’s Mullingar team in 1999 and is the longest serving member of staff at the centre. One of a number of local employees who have worked for the IWA for more than two decades, he says that Section 39 workers are looking for parity of pay with public sector counterparts. While public sector workers’ job descriptions are well defined, he and his colleagues do not have that luxury.

“We are multi-taskers here, as required, because that is the very nature of our job: whenever, wherever and however.”

Based in the Springfield Centre, the IWA provides a range of services and supports for over 40 local people with physical disabilities, including transport, training and outreach programmes.

Praising her staff for their dedication, co-ordinator Alice McDonnell says that “there is so much more that they do beyond the physical day to day labour”.

“It’s the friendships. They are there when no one else is. They listen to stories. They are masters of most jobs: transport, cleaning, washing, listening to the [service users’] emotional struggles or their physical struggles, trying to get wheelchairs, trying to get access to services, housing, applications, different things. They are a one-stop-shop for a lot of people because some people are so isolated, particularly in rural Ireland,” she said.

While the government have expressed its support for a Dáil motion from Labour calling for a pay increase for Section 39 workers, the IWA staff in Mullingar don’t hold out much hope that they will see an improvement soon.

“It’s just so frustrating. When you see the hard work that goes on here and the amount of work that’s done is way and beyond the job description.

“Who was there during Covid? All of these guys were out at the coalface when no one else was,” Ms McDonnell says.

In addition to their wage complaints, the IWA centre is currently understaffed, thanks in no small part to the difficulty it has in recruiting Community Employment (CE) Scheme workers. At present, the centre has six core workers, some of who work three days a week, and CE Scheme participants, who work 19.5 hours a week.

Mary Breenan is the CE Scheme supervisor. She says that with scheme workers receiving only €20 on top of their social welfare payments, there is little incentive for people to sign up.

“We had 17 workers on CE Schemes a few years ago and we have nine now. We can’t get anyone. It’s €20 extra. If you have a car, it costs you money to go to work.”

Given the staff shortages, Ms McDonnell says that one of her biggest difficulties is persuading staff to take their annual leave, as they don’t want to put their colleagues under even more pressure.

She says that if things don’t improve soon, there is a “real risk of services being cut back or closed due to the lack of staff”.

Mr Masterson says that he and his colleagues love their jobs and would hate to see services cut due to the effect it has on service users’ lives.

“None of us here want to withdraw a service. We are a dedicated and committed group here.

“The clients that we serve, we are their lives. One of our service users said we are a home from home. We are another family to them. We are sometimes the only people they will see from end of the week to the next, and in many ways, they rely on us. We bring more to the table that what you see.”

While they view their work as a vocation and deeply rewarding, they are “burned out” due to post pandemic staffing shortages.

Driver and programme assistant Rose Rice spent three years on a CE scheme at the centre before getting a full-time job. She says that while she has to prepare for classes at the weekend and evenings, she loves her job; however, Section 39 staff need to be properly remunerated for the important work they do.

“We are not trying to be mealy mouthed about it. It’s come to a head now probably because of the financial situation.”

Ms Brennan says she is sick of Section 39 workers receiving praise from politicians and the HSE for the work they do. “All we want is a little bit of recognition and fairness through our pay packet. The condescending stuff; I don’t want to hear it any more.”

Cllr Leonard says he supports Section 39 workers’ calls for pay parity with public sector workers and that the government and HSE “aren’t valuing” the work carried out by the IWA and other agencies in the way they should.

He also said that he would raise the issue at local authority level and at national level through the Labour Party.

“They [Section 39 workers] are required to do many different tasks and be many different people over the course of the day. That needs to be recognised,” he said.