Galway Bay fm newsroom - Workers providing homeless services in Galway have unanimously backed a campaign to secure the Labour Court's recommended hourly rate for overnight working.
Impact Trade Union says staff at Galway Simon Community are providing services through the night for €4.50 per hour - less than half the national minimum wage.
It argues 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 hourly rate of €9.25 for this duty.
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.
Padraig Mulligan of Impact says this is not an acceptable position.
