SIPTU has expressed outrage at the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) over threatened redundancies at the sporting body, which have been announced without consultation with staff or any clear outline of the organisation’s future plans.
SIPTU Services Divisional Organiser, Adrian Kane, said: “The FAI has shown utter contempt for its staff by outsourcing critical decisions about their futures to faceless consultants while failing to engage in any proper consultation process. This is an insult to the workers who have given their all to the organisation and to football in Ireland. The FAI has a duty to be transparent and accountable to its employees, yet it has kept them in the dark while threatening mass redundancies.
“We are calling on the FAI to immediately reveal the full extent of the redundancies it is planning, including the number of jobs at risk and the criteria being used. Workers have a right to know what is happening to their livelihoods and how these decisions are being made. The FAI has shown a total lack of respect for its employees, for our union, and for the wider footballing community.”
SIPTU Sector Organiser, Robert Purfield, said: “Our members are deeply concerned about their futures and the lack of transparency from the FAI. We demand to know why the FAI chose to hire external consultancy firms instead of engaging with workers directly. This type of decision-making is not only unprofessional, but undermines the very spirit of collaboration that is essential to the success of any footballing organisation. Our members are disgusted by a statement released by the FAI today in which it refers to necessary ‘skill sets’ within the workforce. The question is: what are the necessary skill sets displayed by a CEO who, in recent months, has lost many of his senior management team and now hires unnamed external consultants to draft a plan he has yet to reveal to workers? There are also many questions for the FAI Board to answer.
“It would appear that grassroots football is set to bear the brunt of this attack—whether it’s the night leagues that cater to youths in economically disadvantaged areas, or the Football for All schemes that provide opportunities for children with additional needs. These vital services should not suffer due to the failures of misguided FAI management.”
SIPTU members in the FAI will meet to discuss their comprehensive response to today’s developments.