“Disability Advocacy Staff Vote on Pay Dispute”

Employees of the National Advocacy Service for People with Disabilities (NAS) are set to vote on proposals aimed at resolving an ongoing argument regarding their salaries. The talks that led to these proposals involved NAS management, the Citizens Information Board (CIB), Department of Social Protection (the financer of NAS) and trade union Siptu.

The resolutions focus on introducing new grade structures and union recognition, among other issues. Siptu suggests that the proposals are in line with a Labour Court recommendation made earlier this year. NAS currently has about 50 employees distributed across the nation, all of whom will cast their vote on these proposals in the coming weeks.

NAS advocates assist individuals with disabilities with their interactions with state entities, businesses and even family members. As it stands, an advocate earns around £42,000, increasing to approximately £46,000 over four years, with no additional service-related increases.

Siptu voiced its concerns over losing capable staff to other organisations, with the public sector being the major beneficiary, as NAS has had stagnant pay rates for an extended period. Calls for a pay bump and changes to the grading system have been ongoing since NAS was set up independently in 2010.

Proposals on the table include implementing a new 15-point pay scale for advocates, replacing the current four-point scale, though this does not account for existing service. Future raises and grading would match those of the larger Citizens Information Service, also financed by the CIB. Siptu is expected to suggest its members accept these proposals, once certain workplace evaluations have been conducted to finalise the terms.

If the proposals are accepted, they would mark the end of a drawn-out dispute, which resulted in a two-week strike by staff in July. Both CIB and the Department of Social Protection were contacted for responses.

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