The next instalment of Fórsa’s series of live wellness webinars takes place at 11am next Wednesday (15th July) when motivational speaker and author Ryan O’Reilly talks with rugby pundit and psychotherapist Brent Pope about staying motivated in work and at home over the coming months. The earlier sessions – on parenting in a pandemic, managing anxiety and eating habits are now available as podcasts.

Next Wednesdays session is the fourth in a series of five events brought to you in association with Cornmarket, who administer two of the union’s salary protection schemes.

Ryan O’Reilly will focus on staying motivated, as we continue to wrestle with the upheaval of Covid 19.

An expert in high performance and resilience Ryan is a professional performance coach who helps business leaders and entrepreneurs build high performance teams and realise their potential. A renowned international speaker and author, his speaking engagements have included a TedX in Italy and Ireland’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Summit.

Broadcaster, psychotherapist and mental health advocate Brent Pope will host the session. Best known for his work with RTÉ Sport, the former New Zealand rugby player and professional rugby coach recently qualified as a psychotherapist and councillor. Brent is also involved in several mental health charities, and is an ambassador for St Patrick's Hospital, Pieta House and Cycle Against Suicide, amongst others.

See a taster of what’s on offer HERE.

The series was informed by recent survey, which found that 80% of Fórsa members experienced anxiety during the Covid-19 crisis. Half of the respondents said mental health and lack of motivation were their top concerns.

The results reflect the stress of a period when thousands of Fórsa members have stepped-up to serve in high-risk frontline environments, with many more having to rapidly adjust to remote working.

Register for ‘Staying Motivated’  (11am, Wednesday 15th July) HERE.

Get more details on future Fórsa-Cornmarket ‘Wellness Wednesday’ events HERE.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE.

Fórsa has described the decision to exclude special needs assistants (SNAs) and other school-based staff from last week’s session of the Oireachtas Special Committee on the Covid-19 Response as “elitist and insulting.”

The committee discussed the re-opening of schools and heard contributions from teachers unions and parents representative bodies.

Fórsa, which represents 10,000 SNAs as well as school secretaries, caretakers and other support staff, said their voices should also have been heard by the committee. The union’s comments attracted strong support on social media.

Like the organisations invited to the oral session, Fórsa made a detailed submission to the Oireachtas Covid-19 Response Committee in June, detailing the potential problems faced by SNAs, school secretaries, caretakers and cleaners.

The union’s head of education, Andy Pike, said there was no excuse to exclude education workers who had extensive experience of the school environment and a clear understanding of the challenges of re-opening schools.

“Our members are very disappointed that the committee did not feel that their voice should be heard in this discussion. We had hoped that attitudes towards special education had changed and that the voice of SNAs, as a significant staff group in education, would be respected.

“It’s no surprise that, yet again, our schools support staff, such as secretaries and caretakers, have also been ignored. We can assure the chair of the committee that Fórsa will redouble its efforts to ensure that the voices of the thousands of non-teaching staff are heard, and that their work is valued.

Ignoring their contribution in schools and excluding them from discussion in re-opening schools is frankly elitist and insulting,” he said.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE.

Fórsa’s head of education Andy Pike has recorded a special end-of-term video message for the union’s growing membership in the education sector.

Andy addresses a range of issues affecting Fórsa’s 15,000-plus members in schools and early education, as well as clerical, administrative, management staff in institutes of technology and education and training boards.

He looks ahead to the re-opening of schools and colleges in September and comments on the new programme for government.

On the creation of a new Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science (headed by minister Simon Harris) Andy said it should be a positive development for the higher education sector, providing a greater focus on further education and recognising the sector’s key role in the country’s economic recovery.

On the programme for government, Andy said that while there are interesting proposals on education policy, there appeared little in the way of solid delivery for schools. Reflecting on the controversy over SNA reassignments at the height of the Covid-19 crisis in April and May, Andy added: “The new government wouldn’t have to try too hard to improve on the performance of the last one.”

School secretaries

Andy reflects on the strike by school secretaries in January. While there appeared to be momentum toward a solution to the dispute as a result of the strike at the time, the general election and the Covid-19 crisis halted progress.

With a new government in place and commitments from some of the governing parties to address school secretary pay inequity, Andy said he looked forward to re-convening talks under the auspices of the WRC in the coming weeks and meeting with Norma Foley, the new Minister for Education and Skills.

Schools re-opening

Looking ahead to a new term in September, Andy said the union won’t be distracted from its priorities to ensure safety measures are in place to protect staff and students.

He identifies three specific issues affecting SNAs on a safe return to work. These are the need to bring clarity on the issue of social distancing, the provision of appropriate PPE and the provision of additional SNAs in order to ensure the required complement of staff to operate safely. He said the department hasn’t done enough to ensure the availability of substitute SNAs if school ‘pods’ or teams are to be properly organised.

Andy also encouraged SNAs, school secretaries and caretakers to get involved with their own school’s Covid support plan, emphasising that this shouldn’t be left entirely to teachers.

Preparations

Andy said the union expects the new school and college terms to be very different and very complex, and Fórsa will be issuing bespoke advice to members in different areas accordingly. He said the objective, in all instances, is to maximise safety.

Andy thanked all the members for their input and actions during very difficult times, and said one of the effects of the Covid-19 crisis and the controversies around SNA reassignment was that the division’s membership has increased significantly.

“At more than 15,000-strong this puts us on a much better footing in our dealings with employers. So we will look forward to being able to achieve more for our members as we move into the next term,” he said.

You can watch Andy’s video message HERE or in the viewing panel below.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE.

Fórsa’s SNA branches have had early success with an initiative to include sign language interpretation in their video call information meetings. The initiative is designed to enhance the experience for SNAs from the deaf community.

Noreen O’Mahony chairs the union’s Munster SNA branch and explained the branch decided to include a sign language interpreter on their 1^st July meeting following a request from a member in Waterford.

“We decided to arrange a meeting specifically for SNAs from the Deaf community and we asked the chairs of all the SNA branches to inform members in their area about the meeting,” she said.

A total of 17 members attended, with a very positive response from participants, who have asked for the inclusion of a sign language interpreter at future meetings.

“While these members do receive email communications from us, they felt they missed out being able to ask questions and hear from fellow SNAs. I feel it would be a fantastic thing to keep on into the future and it worked really well, and brought together a group of SNAs from different areas,” said Noreen.

Fórsa’s head of education, Andy Pike, said the initiative showed how SNA branches continued to embrace innovations and new ways to reaching out to members during the Covid-19 crisis.

“Initiatives like this improve equality of access at union meetings, and shows how we can overcome the limitations of video calling and actually enhance the experience of members. All credit is due to those who made this happen, and I look forward to seeing this approach continue,” he said.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE.

More than a million people have now downloaded the Covid-19 tracker app, which was launched by the HSE on Tuesday. The app is designed to boost contact tracing measures by enabling users to identify close contacts and to alert them quickly if they need to test for the virus.

Fórsa is encouraging union members to download the app to their smartphone as part of the national effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The app was developed by the HSE with input from a range of official bodies including Gardai and the office of the government chief information officer.

Research conducted by Science Foundation Ireland, who are technical partners in the project, shows that most people in Ireland are in favour of an app, with 82% of respondents willing to install it.

Acting chief medical officer Ronan Glynn said testing and contact tracing would remain vital until there is a vaccine or an effective treatment for the virus.

“The app is integral to contact tracing, working in tandem with the key public health measures of social distancing, hand washing, covering our coughs and wearing face coverings, helping us to stay safe and to protect each other,” he said.

The HSE’s chief executive Paul Reid said the app can reduce – from days to hours – the time it takes to trace close contacts, including close contacts who are not known to each other.

“Every additional contact that the app can trace will improve our existing contact tracing operations. By downloading the app, you are helping us to reach more people in a shorter time period and to provide the right advice and access to testing. This will increase our capacity to suppress the virus,” he said.

Get more information about the app HERE.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE.

Ireland’s CervicalCheck programme has restarted after a 17-week suspension due to Covid-19. The HSE expects cervical smear appointments suspended during the coronavirus period to be completed by the end of October, with the backlog of tests scheduled to take place over the summer expected to be cleared by next February. 

In the meantime, women who show symptoms of cervical cancer are being advised to contact their GP immediately, rather than wait for a smear.

Some 100,000 women missed a test since the service was paused in March. 

The introduction of HPV screening, which is expected to be more effective than the previous cytology method, is also expected to be slow the test process.

The HSE has also introduced new public health measures to prevent the spread of Covid-19 in the screening environment.

Get more information about cervical screening during the pandemic HERE.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE.

Over a million people are still dependent on State income supports, according to official figures, although 63,000 stopped claiming the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP) last week.

This was the biggest boost in people returning to employment since the Covid-19 crisis began in March, according to the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP).

It said the biggest returns to work were happening in accommodation and food, hairdressing, wholesale and retail, construction and motor repairs.

Almost 413,000 people are currently getting the PUP, with a similar number being supported by the Covid-19 temporary wage subsidy scheme, which is paid to employers. In addition, there are 220,800 people on the live register.

This week also saw the introduction of a two-tier PUP payment, with a lower weekly rate of €203 for those who earned less than €200 prior to being laid off. DEASP says this will affect about a quarter of those who receive the payment.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE.

Post-pandemic economic reconstruction is an opportunity to create a more equal society where all work is valued, according to president Michael D Higgins.

Speaking at a global summit on ‘Covid-19 and the world of work’ earlier this week, he said the global health crisis had exposed the failures of the world’s economies, and called for a “new balance between economy, ecology, society and culture.”

The summit was organised by the International Labour Organisation, a United Nations body made up of representatives of governments, employers and unions.

“This Covid-19 crisis, that follows the earlier banking crisis, has laid bare the consequences of profound economic and social inequalities, which, taken together with widespread inadequacies in social protection, have scarred our global landscape for many decades.

“Tragically, instead of recognising the inequities of current systems, many governments and employers across the globe have used the crisis to further restrict the rights of working people through limiting collective bargaining, disrupting the right to strike, excluding workers from participation in the economy through their unions, and, in some cases, impeding even the registration of unions as part of civil society,” he said.

President Higgins called for strong rights to collective bargaining, secure work and adequate social protection.

“We continue to witness increases in precarious employment, contract working, and an ongoing casualisation of labour, with new and emerging trends in work practices that are often deemed ‘innovations’, innovations insofar as they provide new means to maximise profits for employers, but in their practical delivery reveal the ongoing erosion of employees’ hard-won labour rights,” he said.

President Higgins said digitalisation could have a positive impact on work, but that online workers needed the protection of basic employment law, collective agreements and social protection.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE.

You can help us keep you up-to-date with union information, news and advice by checking your contact details and amending them if necessary. If we have your home and personal contact details (personal email, mobile phone number, and home address) we can get information to you quickly and directly. You can update your contact details HERE.

Existing Fórsa members in the union’s education division are eligible to take up six months’ free salary protection if they join the Cornmarket salary protection scheme. The offer closes on 31st October.

The scheme gives participants up to 75% of salary if their pay is reduced by half or more because they are unable to work because of illness or injury. It also includes some life cover and specified illness benefits.

The offer is only available to existing members who are applying to join the scheme for the first time. It’s not available to existing or past members of salary protection schemes administered by Cornmarket.

The details of the offer are available HERE. 

The Fórsa summer series of webinars on campaigning issues continues later today (Friday). You can join the lunchtime session HERE at 1pm for a discussion on campaigning, with contributions from experts including consultant Gráinne Healy, Fórsa lead organiser Kevin Donoghue, and Salome Mbugua of AkiDwA.

The panel will discuss practical elements of campaigning and give tips on how to be effective with limited resources. It will also discuss how to ensure that your campaign is open, inclusive and participative so that all activists feel empowered to contribute.

Designed to equip the union’s senior activists with the skills and tools to lead local campaigns, the summer series offers opportunities to discuss and debate on some of the pressing issues of interest to Fórsa activists across a range of economic, social, equality and environmental topics.

To register for upcoming sessions on universal healthcare (16th July), climate action and automation (24th July), and the future of work (31st July) please click HERE.

Be sure to follow the event on Twitter using the hashtag #FórsaSummerSeries. 

Last week’s webinar discussed the rights to collective bargaining. A recap from last Friday is available here.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE.

Irish trade unions have joined the global condemnation of Israel’s plan to annex substantial parts of the West Bank and the Jordan valley this month.

The move is part of a so-called Middle East “peace plan,” proposed by the Trump administration, which has attracted huge international criticism.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has condemned the move, which will dislocate some 200,000 Palestinians, as a violation of international law. And, with privately owned Palestinian land making up 23% of the area, the land-grab will extinguish most of the Palestinian agricultural sector.

Critics says the move will sever any prospects for genuine negotiations for a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict, while perpetuating human rights and international humanitarian law violations.

ICTU this week called on the Irish Government to urgently reject this plan, and to exert pressure on the Israeli government to block its further implementation. 

It noted that a proposed ‘occupied territories bill,’ which could have facilitated a strong Irish response, was dropped from the recently-adopted Programme for Government.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE.

Workers who wish to join Fórsa can to do so using a new ‘join online’ function on the union’s website.

Going live with the new system follows several months of research, preparation and testing aimed at making it easier than ever to join the union. It also goes live as the union continues to process a large number of new membership applications, as interest in joining the union has surged since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis.

Fórsa’s general secretary Kevin Callinan commented: “The current crisis has created the necessity to be able to carry out our business in different ways. Work on this project had commenced before the Covid-19 crisis took hold, and its completion marks a vital step as we tackle the challenges of living in changed times.

“We can see that more people want to join a union in response to what’s happening in the wider economy. It’s vital that they can take those initial steps quickly and easily, and making the membership application process more accessible is part of that process.

“This is a crucial new venture to enable Fórsa to substantially increase our membership - and to strengthen the union’s hand - at a critical time in the union’s development,” he said.

The online facility is a streamlined and simplified membership application process, and will be the quickest and easiest way to join the union. All incoming applications will continue to be subject to check-off and approval by Fórsa branches and the national executive committee, while the new online system is designed to ease the administrative burden on branches.

You can join Fórsa online at https://join.forsa.ie/

Fórsa is here to protect you if you have problems arising from the coronavirus or other workplace issues. The best way to contact the union at this time is HERE.

We will deal with queries as quickly as we can but, needless to say, the union will prioritise cases where members’ jobs and incomes are at immediate risk – as well as any serious health and safety issues that may arise.

Fórsa has cancelled all face-to-face meetings for the time being. The union is redeploying its staff to prioritise engagement with management on proposals arising from the Covid-19 public health crisis, and to provide rapid and efficient responses to members’ queries and concerns.

Fórsa's main phone line (01 817 1500) is now open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Alternatively members can use the Contact Us page on the Fórsa website to submit queries directly to the relevant division within Fórsa and this remains the most efficient way to access advice directly.

Wherever possible, Fórsa staff have been equipped to work remotely. Therefore, members should not attend Fórsa offices at this time. If you have a query or concern, the best way to raise it is to contact the union HERE.