Cork council ICT staff begin industrial action
Information communication technology (ICT) workers in Cork city and county councils began a work-to-rule at 7am yesterday morning, Wednesday, as part of an industrial dispute around workload, staffing levels, and alleged lack of professional recognition for their work.
Workers will stop out-of-hours work and will refuse engagement with third parties, including contractors and external service providers.
Last month, the workers - who are represented by FÓRSA - voted to approve industrial action, with 98.4% in favour, and an 86% turnout.
Over 500 council staff are taking part in the action across the country, 44 of whom are employed in Cork city and county councils.
FÓRSA has said while the precise impact may vary from council to council, “the withdrawal of out-of-hours support is expected to cause disruption if the dispute continues, particularly where ICT staff are required to respond to urgent system system failures outside normal working hours”.
Cork staff said they are frustrated by what they call years of inaction on the part of city council in regard to recognising professional status, pay, and responsibilities.
They are seeking a sector-wide review of ICT grading and pay, the establishment of a National ICT Continuing Professional Development (CPD) Committee, and a nationally agreed framework for out-of-hours work.
Paul Barker, chair of FÓRSA’s ICT Committee in local authorities said the staff are under increasing pressure as councils become more dependent on complex digital systems.
“Members are being expected to carry unreasonable workloads and to provide round-the-clock cover without proper staffing or recognition.
“This dispute is not about withdrawing services, but about forcing long-overdue engagement on how these services are properly supported,” he said.
A spokesperson for the LGMA said: “We remain fully committed to constructive engagement through the established industrial relations mechanisms and within the framework of the Public Service Agreement to work toward resolving this issue. The LGMA is not in a position to comment further at this time,” they said.