A dispute concerning the overnight working rate for Galway homeless service employees is to be referred to the Labour Court.
Impact Trade Union argues that staff at Galway Simon Community are providing services through the night for €4.50 per hour – less than half the national minimum wage.
In a statement, the employer says it has been unable to secure the funding from the HSE to cover the cost of sleepovers, although the HSE has funded other sectors.
The dispute also concerns some staff at Cope Galway.
A Labour Court ruling in 2014 recommended that time spent on overnight sleepover duty should be acknowledged as constituting working time, and that workers should be paid the national minimum of €9.25 an hour.
The matter has been raised with the Workplace Relations Commission and is now to be referred to the Labour Court.
Padraig Mulligan of Impact says strike action is now on the cards.
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