Industrial action at Oberstown Child Detention Campus postponed after WRC talks

Industrial action due to take place at Oberstown Children Detention Campus next week has been postponed by trade union Fórsa following talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).Workers who are members of Fórsa were due to take part in a 72-hour work stoppage from next Monday to Wednesday after raising concerns about staffing levels.Fórsa described the WRC talks as “very challenging and lengthy”. A union spokesman confirmed on Friday that the industrial action had been suspended late on Thursday night.READ MORE“Fórsa has secured a commitment to weekly updates on the progress of the existing WRC agreement, and the immediate implementation of an interim safe-staffing plan. “The union will monitor progress and review its position at the end of October,” the spokesman said.Management at Oberstown, near Lusk, north Co Dublin, said they welcomed the decision “to suspend industrial action until the end of October following constructive engagement”.Capacity at Oberstown stands at about 50, and the facility is routinely full. There are plans to increase that number, but workers argue that safer staffing levels must be implemented first to protect both the employees and the children they care for.Staff staged a number of stoppages during the summer before an agreement was brokered at the WRC at the end of August that provided for further engagement.On Monday, however, Fórsa said the Department of Children – which oversees the running of the facility – had failed to meet an agreed deadline for submitting a business plan to the Department of Public Expenditure intended to secure the additional funding required to address staffing issues.In a statement on Thursday night, Oberstown described the suspension as “a positive development” that will allow a review by the Department of Public Expenditure and the Department of Children “of the business cases currently under consideration”.“Oberstown remains committed to working constructively with Fórsa, the department and all relevant parties to support the continued review of the business cases and to seek a resolution to the issues in dispute,” the statement said.“Oberstown’s priority remains the safety and wellbeing of staff and the young people in its care, and the safe and stable operation of the campus.”