Feature Article
School secretaries survey
by Grace Williams, organiser
Fórsa trade union’s School Secretaries' branch has launched a survey aimed at members and non-members throughout the country. The purpose of the survey is to assist Fórsa officials in gaining further insight into the many daily challenges encountered by school secretaries.

Fórsa trade union’s School Secretaries' branch has launched a survey aimed at members and non-members throughout the country.
 
The purpose of the survey is to assist Fórsa officials in gaining further insight into the many daily challenges encountered by school secretaries.
 
School secretaries’ input will inform the union’s ongoing work to improve the terms and conditions of employment for our members.
 
The survey takes roughly five minutes to complete. It covers a range of issues, such as full-time/part-time status, school size, working hours and length of service.
 
To take part, click HERE and follow the on-screen instructions.
 
For information on the benefits associated with union membership, or for questions, please contact Fórsa organiser Grace Williams.
 
 
Articles A
Fórsa rejects pay cut call
 

Fórsa has hit back at ISME's call for the reintroduction of deep public service pay cuts.


Fórsa hit back at a business lobby’s call for the reintroduction of deep public service pay cuts last week, after the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises (ISME) association called for the gap between average pay in the public and private sectors to be reduced to 10% by 2025.
 
The union questioned the entire basis of ISME’s position, and said it was effectively a call for deeper public service pay cuts than those imposed during the economic crisis. The employers’ group issued its call following the Central Statistics Office’s publication of its latest pay survey, which recorded the biggest jump in pay across the economy since the recession hit in 2009.
 
The CSO found that average weekly earnings increased by 2.5% in 2017. Fórsa head of communications Bernard Harbor said this was welcome after almost a decade of pay stagnation and cuts in the public, private, semi-state and voluntary sectors.
 
“After almost a decade of pay stagnation, Fórsa welcomes the fact that pay is improving in all sectors of the economy, albeit at a modest pace. ISME should welcome this too, as its members benefit when we have a little more to spend on the products and services they sell,” he said.
 
Harbor also rejected the attack on the so-called public-private pay gap. “The CSO is crystal clear that its figures do not attempt to compare the pay of people doing the same or similar jobs in the public and private sectors. It also says that recent improvements in public service pay are a result of partial restoration of recession-era pay cuts.
 
“The CSO figures do not take account of the actual jobs that people do, their qualifications, age, experience, trade union membership, or other factors that account for differences in earnings,” he added. An earlier CSO report, which took these determinants into account found that the public sector pay gap ranged from -0.36% to +5.05% in 2014, depending on the methodology used and the way the so-called pension levy was treated.
 
Last week’s CSO report showed that average earnings in finance, the highest-paid sector, were almost three times higher than the lowest-paid accommodation and food sector.
 
 
Employers flouting pension law
by Bernard Harbor
 

Fórsa has slammed public service employers for ignoring their legal obligation to keep staff informed about how much their pension savings are worth.


Fórsa has slammed public service employers for ignoring their legal obligation to keep staff informed about how much their pension savings are worth.
 
The law that established the new ‘single public service pension scheme,’ which covers public servants employed since 2011, obliges employers to give scheme members annual benefit statements within six months of the end of the tax year.
 
But Fórsa has told the Department of Public Service and Reform (DPER) that it’s simply being ignored.
 
Staff are meant to receive details of their pension payments and the current value of their pension pot, including any contributions that have been carried over from previous employments. Failure to provide a statement is grounds for a complaint to the pensions ombudsman.
 
Fórsa official Billy Hannigan said the union has complained to DPER in the strongest terms. “It’s extraordinary that the provisions of the scheme, which is now in its sixth year of operation, are simply being ignored by public service employers. We have demanded an early meeting with DPER to discuss the issue,” he said.
 
Meanwhile, the union has asked DPER to review the value of public service subsistence payments, taking account of price rises since the current rates were agreed. The rates are set using an agreed formula, which takes account of hotel accommodation and food prices.
SNA review mustn't rob Peter to pay Paul
by Kevin Callinan, deputy general secretary
 

This month marks the deadline set by Minister for Education Richard Bruton for the review led by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) of the Special Needs Assistant (SNA) scheme.

 

Fórsa's deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan says the review has been shrouded in secrecy, and warns against changes away from diagnosis-driven access to SNA support. Any attempt to remove or diminish access to additional care support for children with special education needs would be a cause of grave concern for the union and its members.


This month marks the deadline set by Minister for Education Richard Bruton for the review led by the National Council for Special Education of the Special Needs Assistant (SNA) scheme.

 

The process has been shrouded in secrecy. The composition of the group is not widely known but it is chaired by a retired chief schools inspector and populated with senior department and NCSE figures. It’s said to include an SNA but we know it’s not someone Fórsa, the main representative body for SNAs, is aware of or was asked to nominate. We await developments with interest.

 

Key to the review’s success will be the extent to which its recommendations will improve the position of children with special education needs.

 

Whatever you say about the current SNA scheme, it has revolutionised access to education for thousands of children. It’s also helped to establish the rights of those children in the wider public’s consciousness.

 

Subtext

 

We’ve seen attempts to question the increase in special education spending led by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform. It’s even been pointed out that special education now consumes a “greater share of expenditure” than higher education. Any attempt to suggest that children with special education needs are somehow responsible for the underfunding of the third level sector is absurd.

 

Of course, the real sub-text here is to suggest we are employing too many SNAs and resource teachers. Deeper still, there’s an insinuation that improving the rights of children with special education needs has, somehow, gotten out of hand.

 

So we need to be on our guard about a number of things. The first relates to changes away from diagnosis-driven access to SNA support.

 

Range of needs

 

The current system isn’t perfect, but it does guarantee that the rights of the child can be vindicated. The fact that parents with greater financial resources, and the knowledge of how to navigate the system, generally fare better is a problem.

 

If there is to be any consideration of a move away from this system, it must be on the basis that the range of needs that warrant support is not diminished. There also needs to be an independent, locally accessible mechanism to speedily resolve disagreements over access to support.

 

Another worry concerns the scope of practice of the SNA. I wrote to the minister following his remarks about UK teaching assistants last December in the Seanad. He has now clarified to me that his statement was intended “to support the care role of the SNA and to indicate that evidence from the UK suggested that changing it to a teacher assistant role, with a specific teaching role, was not a good idea.”

 

That is all fine and well, and not something sought by Fórsa in any case, but it seems to me that the success of the SNA scheme is based on a certain amount of flexibility in the classroom. This works well for everyone - the teacher, the student and all the other students in the class - as the presence of an SNA ensures an instant response to challenges that arise and, in truth, can often allow for them to be anticipated before they do.

 

Care supports

 

Many SNAs are assigned to work with children who have been diagnosed with conditions, such as ASD, and any attempt, covert or otherwise, to remove or diminish access to additional care support for these children would be a source of grave alarm for us.

 

We know too that many of the children with whom SNAs work would benefit from a number of other in-school services including occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, behavioural therapy and psychology.

 

We would like to see the development of these services but not at the expense of existing additional care supports, including those for children with emotional and behavioural difficulties (EBD) or complex medical needs. As I’ve said elsewhere, if reduced care support was to be the outcome of the review it would be like ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’.

 

Qualifications and professional development

 

The starting point for a look at the SNA scheme could have been an assessment of the existing span of qualifications possessed by SNAs, rather than relying on the declared qualifications which we already know totally misrepresent the level of skills in the classroom.

 

The overwhelming majority of SNAs have qualifications well in excess of the minimum standard. We also know that the appetite among SNAs for further training and professional development is boundless. That’s one of the reasons that so many parents of a child with special needs are happy in the knowledge that they have an effective advocate in school.

 

Respect

 

No review of the SNA scheme can have credibility if it fails to address the need to achieve respect for SNAs. For this to happen they must be seen and treated as equals, not just in the school community, but in the education system as a whole. There can be no place for a continuation of the practice of insecure employment and fragmented posts with uncertain working time and income. It’s time that these issues are addressed and finally resolved.

 

For all of the above reasons we will not be relying on the outcome of this review.

 

Fórsa’s Education division will hold its Easter conference on 5th April 2018 on the theme of the future for SNAs. It will open the debate on all of these issues, and seek to further advance the planning for a professional institute. That endeavour will have, at its core, a determination to raise standards even higher, to promote training and best practice, and to safeguard services for the children who depend on SNAs.

Employers obliged to consider mediation
by Bernard Harbor
 

Civil and public service managers are now obliged to consider the use of mediation when dealing with most workplace and contract disputes. The new policy applies to all civil service departments and offices, which are also required to bring it to the attention of bodies operating under their aegis.


Civil and public service managers are now obliged to consider the use of mediation when dealing with most workplace and contract disputes.
 
A recent circular from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) sets out the policy. It applies to all civil service departments and offices, which are also required to bring it to the attention of bodies operating under their aegis.
 
The circular sets out the factors to be considered when deciding what disputes are best resolved through mediation, which it says “must” be considered before recourse to third party bodies like the courts, arbitration or adjudication.
 
It points out that Government policy “is to promote mediation as a viable, effective and efficient alternative to court proceedings.” But it says managers have not used the already-established ‘alternative dispute resolution mechanism’ as much as they could.
 
The circular also sets out a number of exclusions from the requirement to consider mediation, and says procedures under existing industrial relations fora are not covered by the policy.
 
The 2017 Mediation Act also obliges lawyers to advise clients to consider using mediation to resolve disputes.
 
Read the DPER circular HERE.
 
You can act on housing crisis
by Niall Shanahan
 
Congress general secretary Patricia King says a critical component of resolving the crisis “must be a major public housing building programme, as part of a wider strategy of transition to a European cost rental model and the creation of a secure and sustainable housing system for all.”

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has developed an online tool that enables trade union members and other to send a direct message to your constituency TDs, urging them to support the Congress Charter for Housing Rights.


The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has developed an online tool that enables trade union members and other to send a direct message to their constituency TDs, urging them to support the Congress Charter for Housing Rights.


The Charter was developed, with input from Fórsa and other unions in response to the escalating housing crisis.


Congress general secretary Patricia King says a critical component of resolving the crisis “must be a major public housing building programme, as part of a wider strategy of transition to a European cost rental model and the creation of a secure and sustainable housing system for all.”


The Charter includes a number of principles which Congress is urging the Government to adopt and fully implement.


Send a message


The online tool allows you to send a message to TDs in your constituency urging them to back the Charter. The online tool also recognises that a number of party and non-party TDs have already pledged their support, enabling users to send a message of thanks.


To lend your voice to the Charter campaign, simply click here and you will be guided through the required steps.

Unions: Challenge border hardliners
by Lughan Deane
 

The British Trade Union Congress (TUC) has called on Theresa May to face down hardliners to protect the Good Friday Agreement.


The British Trade Union Congress (TUC) has called on Theresa May to face down hardliners to protect the Good Friday Agreement. Its general secretary Frances O’Grady said the draft EU Brexit withdrawal agreement, published last week, would deliver the Prime Minister’s promise of no hard border in the island of Ireland

 

The EU draft is based on commitments made in negotiations between the UK and EU27 last December.

 

“She must face down the hardliners in her party and put all options for a final deal back on the negotiating table. That’s the best way to protect jobs, rights at work and the Good Friday Agreement,” according to O’Grady.

 

Writing in the Guardian, the TUC leader said trade unionists know peace on the island is precious and fragile. “Over many years, the TUC worked with friends in the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) to help achieve it. Throughout the troubles, trade unions tried to build bridges between working people from different communities. And at the Good Friday Agreement referendum, unions came out in support of the deal and encouraged members to vote yes,” she said.

 

She said unions supported the peace treaty as the best way of promoting jobs and a stable economy, and “because working people in Northern Ireland are entitled to peace, prosperity and civil rights.”

 

Meanwhile ICTU’s Belfast-based assistant general secretary Owen Reidy called on the British government to listen to the voices of the trade unions and industry. “It is time the UK Government, in the interest of all people across the UK, started to negotiate in a logical and reasoned fashion. The ideal solution is that the EU and the UK negotiate a deal which avoids a hardening of the border on the island of Ireland,” he said.

Audio bulletin is snowbound
 

Unfortunately, we are not able to bring you the usual Fórsa audio bulletin with this publication. That’s because last week’s snow and storm prevented us from getting out and about to interview the people in the union news.

 

Normal service will be resumed next time. Many apologies!


Also in this issue
Congress wants stronger rights bill
by Bernard Harbor
 

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has met social protection minister Regina Doherty to urge her to strengthen proposed legislation on precarious work.


The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has met social protection minister Regina Doherty to urge her to strengthen proposed legislation on zero hour contracts and related employment arrangements.

 

Proposed laws currently going through the Oireachtas would ban zero hour contracts in most circumstances. ICTU wants them banned in all situations.

 

Unions have also called for a minimum three-hour payment when staff are called in to work, stronger redress when employers flout the law, and other measures to restrict unacceptable working time practices.

 

ICTU officials have also met opposition spokespeople on the issue. The bill is currently at committee stage, which means it can be amended.

 

Read the ICTU briefing here.

Stark warning on Brexit effect
by Niall Shanahan
 

A new government-commissioned study has warned that Brexit will hit the Irish economy no matter what type of deal is signed between London and Brussels.


A new government-commissioned study has warned that Brexit will hit the Irish economy no matter what type of deal is signed between London and Brussels.
 
The study, by Copenhagen Economics, estimates the cost to the Irish economy of a ‘hard Brexit’ will be around €18 billion, much greater than the expected economic impact on any other EU country.
 
The Irish Government said the findings of the report would help the state prepare policy adjustments to mitigate the exposure of the Irish economy to the effects of Brexit.
 
The study is the second major report commissioned by the government on the potential effects of Brexit since 2015.
 
The report analyses 24 sectors of the economy, including agri-food, pharma, electrical machinery, wholesale and retail, and air transport. It says these five sectors account for approximately 90% of the total economic impact.
 
Survey: The cost of Brexit
 
Return to the cover page to take the latest Fórsa survey.
 
New Fórsa official for SNA branches
 

Sean Carabini has been appointed as the assistant general secretary for Fórsa’s SNA branches.


Sean Carabini has been appointed as the assistant general secretary for Fórsa’s SNA branches.

 

The four branches represent up to 8,000 SNAs nationwide. Sean will take over from Barry Cunningham, who has been working with Fórsa’s education branches since 2015. Barry will be assuming duties with branches in the North East and will maintain a role with Fórsa’s School Secretaries branch.

 

Sean was an assistant general secretary with the PSEU, and began working for the union in 2014. In addition to his industrial relations work with members in civil service branches, he was also responsible for communications, and edited the PSEU Review magazine.

Gaeltacht scholarship grants
 

Applications are now open for the 2018 Fórsa Gaeltacht grant scheme. The scheme is open to children of Fórsa members attending residential Irish language courses in Gaeltacht areas this summer.


Applications are now open for the 2018 Fórsa Gaeltacht grant scheme. 80 grants of €150 each are available to assist children of Fórsa members attending residential Irish language courses in Gaeltacht areas this summer.
 
A further 40 grants of €70 are available to assist children to attend day-only Irish language courses held outside Gaeltacht areas.
 
Children of Fórsa members, who are aged between 11 years and 18 years of age on 1st July 2018, are eligible to apply for the grant scheme.
 
An application form is available here, and includes the full terms and conditions of the scheme.