Fórsa and other public service unions have warned that the time available to negotiate and ratify a new public service pay agreement is running short.

Fórsa has raised concerns that more workers than necessary are being required to attend workplaces since the entire country entered level five of the Government’s Covid-19 framework two weeks ago.

Fórsa has formally opposed the temporary outsourcing of some Department of Social Protection (DSP) telephony work to an external provider.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has renewed calls for legislation to oblige employers to pay remote workers an allowance to cover some of the costs of working from home. ICTU also wants a review of the current €3.20-a-day rate that workers can receive tax-free.

Fórsa has referred a dispute over access to remote working in the Passport Office to a third party. The union is seeking the development of a remote working protocol that meets the needs of staff and the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Fórsa has written to the Department of Social Protection (DSP) about press criticism of social welfare inspectors (SWIs), which appeared in the Irish Examiner recently. The articles – branded as an ‘investigation’ and based on the opinions of an academic and “a number of women” – allege that the inspectors engage in intimidation and harassment of social welfare claimants.

Fórsa’s delayed 2020 national delegate conference is set to take place on a fully remote basis on 19^th November. Originally planned for last May, the event was interrupted by Covid-related public health restrictions on travel and assembly

Pension campaigners have expressed disappointment at the composition of a new Pension Commission, saying its membership doesn’t reflect the interests of those most affected by a proposed increase in the age at which workers become eligible for the State pension.