SIPTU picket at Western Care tomorrow in pay justice protest

HUNDREDS of SIPTU members in the community and care sector will begin a three-day strike action today in more than 20 organisations in counties Cork, Kerry, Galway, Mayo and Donegal.

The pickets and protests as part of the Valuing Care, Valuing Community campaign which is seeking pay justice for workers.

In Mayo, staff at Western Care will picket tomorrow (Thursday) at Belmullet Training Centre, The Bridge Hub in Ballina, and the John Moore Road centre in Castlebar.

The demands of the Valuing Care, Valuing Community campaign are a pay rise for the first time in 14 years, safeguarding the vital services workers in the sector provide, and the return of the pay link which many had with the public service prior to 2008.

The government, which controls funding of the organisations involved, has to date failed to positively respond to the demand for pay justice.