Also in this issue
 
Civil service Q&A
Competitions: Always keep the circular
by Seán Carabini
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New mental health tool
by Hazel Gavigan
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Human rights need union support
by Hazel Gavigan
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Union guidance on remote working
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Update your contact details
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Join Fórsa online
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Fórsa: Here to support you
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What do you think?
Your Fórsa bulletin is produced by the Fórsa Communications Unit, with input from across the union. We welcome your comments and suggestions for stories to cover.
Time runs short on public service pay
by Niall Shanahan and Bernard Harbor
 

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.

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Concern at numbers attending work
by Bernard Harbor
 

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.

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Outsourcing in social protection opposed
by Róisín McKane
 

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

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Cost of remote working in frame
by Bernard Harbor and Hazel Gavigan
 

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.

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Third party referral for passports row
by Róisín McKane
 

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.

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Attacks on welfare inspectors ‘unfounded’
by Bernard Harbor
 

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.

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Virtual conference good to go
by Bernard Harbor
 

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

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Pension commission line-up disappoints
by Bernard Harbor
 

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.

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