Health and social care workers in the community and voluntary sector have voted to accept an 8% pay increase.

Fórsa, the INMO and SIPTU said is members have given strong backing to a set of proposals agreed last month at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

The pay deal will benefit workers in Section 39, 56 and 10 organisations.

These are privately run organisations and charities that are contracted by the Government to provided services to the state in the areas of health, children's services and homeless services.

The pay agreement was reached on 17 October, hours before strike action was due to commence involving 5,000 workers across 17 organisations including the Irish Wheelchair Association and Enable Ireland.

Proposals include an offer from the Government of an 8% increase in funding for pay. A 5% offer was previously rejected by unions.

The increase will come in three phases backdated to April of this year and will run until March of next year.

There will be reengagement between the parties in December.

As part of the agreement, there will also be a method established to deal with the question of restoring the link between workers in the community and voluntary sector with equivalent pay grades in the Health Service Executive.

A coalition of community and voluntary organisations welcomed the acceptance of the 8% pay increase for staff.

The section 39, 56 and 10 bodies warned, however, that continued Government under-resourcing of their work must be addressed urgently to ensure services can be maintained.

"This should be central to talks arising from the WRC agreement to convene by 1 December," the coalition said in a statement.

"Our sector is still required to operate on shoestring funding. This impedes our ability to recruit and retain sufficient qualified staff for services in physical and intellectual disability, children, older people, family care, mental health, homelessness and addiction," the statement added.