Fórsa has agreed a supplementary set of guidance on Covid-19 safety measures in schools, which finally provide adequate safeguards on minimising coronavirus risk to staff and students during the summer programme for disadvantaged children and those with special educational needs.

Businesses in most sectors of the economy will be able to trade from Monday (29^th June) as the Government announced further relaxations in Covid-19 restrictions when it met last week.

Fórsa’s education division has welcomed the Technological Higher Education Association’s (THEA) decision to make face covering compulsory for all students and staff on institute of technology campuses from September.

Fórsa’s elected National Executive Committee has advised its branches and officials that significant changes to – or departures from – agreements governing pay and working conditions should again be negotiated through normal industrial relations procedures from Monday 29^th June.

The campaign group Education Futures has called on an incoming Government to back up its programme for government commitments with action by setting up a third level forum to tackle the funding crisis in higher education.

Fórsa’s summer series of webinars on campaigning issues kicks off at 1.00pm today (Friday 26^th June) with expert speakers discussing ideas for a new people-centred post-coronavirus social and economic model.

Last Friday’s meeting of the European Council in Brussels fell short of ironing out disagreements over the proposed EU recovery package, designed to restore European economies severely damaged by the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.