The European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU), which represents Fórsa and other unions with a collective membership of over 20 million, has condemned the recent Russian attack on Ukraine in the strongest terms.

Recently-published legislation that claims to give workers a right to request remote working arrangement is “fatally flawed” and needs major amendments, according to Fórsa and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU).

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform has declined an urgent request from Fórsa to allow a further roll-over of annual leave to facilitate staff who’ve been unable to take all their annual leave because of the pandemic and related work pressures.

Social protection minister Heather Humphreys has indicated that final proposals for an auto-enrolment pension scheme will go before Government in the coming weeks.

Fórsa has called on the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) to finalise the amalgamation of the staff officer (SO) and executive officer (EO) grades, following their consolidation in 2017.

The Department of Social Protection has restored normal public opening hours for walk-in services in Intreo centres, following substantial union engagement.

A six-hour-shift working pattern has been introduced in the passport office following substantial engagement between Fórsa and management.

Ireland spends 28% less on pensions and 12% less on family and child welfare when compared to high-income EU countries, according to a major new report on The Irish State Post-Pandemic, which was published by Fórsa last week.