HEALTH AND COMMUNITY workers have called off a strike that was due to start today after a breakthrough in negotiations last night.

Around 5,000 workers employed across more than a dozen community and voluntary sector agencies were due to go on indefinite strike in a bid to secure higher pay.

Section 39 (health and disability services), Section 56 (services to children) and Section 10 (homeless services) workers in community services say there is a pay disparity between them and workers doing the same roles who are employed directly by the state.

Unions Fórsa, Siptu and the INMO, which represent the workers, decided to suspend the planned strike action following a set of proposals brokered during talks at the Workplace Relations Commission that concluded in the early hours of this morning.

In a memo sent to members this morning, the unions said: “Further to extensive talks chaired by the Workplace Relations Commission, we wish to advise that a set of proposals have been brokered on the dispute.

“As a result, it has been agreed to suspend the proposed industrial action to allow members the opportunity to consider the proposals,” the memo said.

The proposal includes pay increases backdated to April 2023 and commitments to address the funding issues in the sector.

Members will be balloted on whether to accept the proposal.