All of us at Skills Academy would like to wish our former and future course participants a wonderful Christmas and New Year. 

It is inspiring watching our participants learning and developing new skills to achieve better outcomes for members. Their commitment and enthusiasm continue to motivate us to provide ongoing guidance and support for them in their roles.   

It is heartening to see our many courses and workshops filled throughout the year. We are excited going into the 2025 term. We have developed some fantastic new offerings which we will be announcing by email. So, keep an eye out for them!

We would like to thank all our branches for their ongoing support in identifying key activists and workplace representatives, so that we can help build their confidence and capacity through training. We hope they continue to support our work in the new year.

We also want to thank everyone who filled out the evaluation of learning surveys which help us understand the needs of our representatives. These are incredibly important for helping us develop new offerings and content to maximise representatives’ potential and skills.

We look forward to welcoming you all to training during 2025. Updated training information will be sent to Branches and can be found on the training hub on website.  

Coming up in January:

Level 2 Workplace Representatives’ Training - Cork - 8th and 9th January 

There are still quite a few spaces available for 8th – 9th January in Cork. This will be the only Level 2 run in Cork for the entire 2025 period. We would encourage our reps, particularly those from the Cork/Kerry/Limerick/Waterford/Wexford area, to register. 

A registration link was sent to branches some weeks ago, but they can always contact us directly at skillsacademy@forsa.ie

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa. 

Our annual collection has once again shown the generosity and kindness of our members as toys and vouchers have begun to pile up in Nerney’s Court. The closing date for the collection is fast coming at close of business Monday 16th December. Don’t miss your chance to take part!

The collection for the Toy Appeal for Temple Street Children’s Hospital is an annual tradition our members rise to year after year, making a massive difference to the children and teenagers who spend the festive season in hospital. 

The appeal also includes the Crumlin, Tallaght and Connolly hospitals.

You can donate by posting a suitable unwrapped new toy to the following address: Fórsa Toy Appeal, Fórsa Trade Union, Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1. If you happen to be in our Nerney’s Court office between now and then, you can drop off your donations at our collection point.

Vouchers would be very welcome, either for Smyths toys or One for All vouchers. You can see a list of suitable toys here. We’ve also been asked by the organisers to make a special request not to forget about teenage children. Please also note that the hospital does not accept food items, homemade toys, small toys which could be a choking hazard, or used toys due to strict infection control guidelines. Please do not wrap the toys as all toys need to be checked by the hospital before being given to the patients. 

Your support, as always, is hugely appreciated. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact kosullivan@forsa.ie or ghearne@forsa.ie.

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa.     

We are happy to announce the names of members who will receive a contribution towards Gaeltacht fees for children, under the Jerry King Gaeltacht Scholarship Scheme for 2025.

The draw was held on 25th October 2024 and overseen by the NEC Membership Services Sub-Committee. As there were only a few entrants into the day scheme draw this year, an additional draw was held. Members who were unlucky in the residential scheme draw, were given a second chance and placed in a draw to receive the remaining €70 allocations from the day scheme draw.

The scheme will now provide 80 grants of €150 each to assist children of Fórsa members attending residential Irish language courses in Gaeltacht areas next summer. Six grants of €70 will be provided to assist children to attend day-only Irish language courses held outside Gaeltacht areas, and the remaining 34 allocations of €70 will go to children of Fórsa members attending residential Irish language courses in Gaeltacht areas unsuccessful in the first draw.

Fórsa staff have been in contact with winners to let them know of their successful application.

The list of Jerry King Gaeltacht Scholarship recipients for 2025 can be found here.

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa. 

Fórsa and the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) resumed talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) earlier this week (10th December), to further engage on the implementation of a job evaluation scheme in the local authority sector. 

Both parties had agreed to meet to progress the scoping exercise on options for a job evaluation arrangement in the sector in line with the terms of the current public service agreement. 

Following a constructive engagement, both Fórsa and the LGMA agreed to once again reconvene on Friday 24th January 2025 for a “productive engagement”, to discuss both parties’ written assessments and views of identified job evaluation schemes. 

Head of the union’s Local Government and Local Services and the Municipal Employees’ Divisions Richy Carrothers welcomed the engagement and advancement to date but expressed frustration at the pace of progress. 

“Local authority workers up and down the country have been carrying out additional duties for years, but without any recognition for the extra work and the time has long passed for the implementation of a job evaluation scheme in the sector. The union has a reasonable expectation that significant progress is made in quarter one of 2025 and we have made this clear. The current delay in making any real progress is not sustainable or acceptable. For our part, we will follow through the commitments given at the WRC on the scoping process and we look forward to employers engaging in a collaborative and productive way in advance of the next conciliation hearing in January. We now need to see the process quicken and intensify” he said. 

Close to 10,000 jobs were lost from the sector following the financial crisis in 2008, and services were only maintained because local authority workers countrywide took on additional responsibilities above their pay grades. 

Following successful industrial action and intensive engagement in the WRC, Fórsa and the LGMA had agreed to pause negotiations to establish a job evaluation scheme for the sector last September, pending the national pay talks. The Public Service Agreement 2024-2026, which came into effect earlier this year, made provisions for re-engagement to progress this matter further, and in May, Fórsa wrote to the WRC triggering this clause.

“Job evaluation is available to workers in every local authority in Britain and across the 11 councils in the North; it is good for workers and employers. Our members are still dealing with the fallout from austerity well over a decade later. What is currently in place is neither fair nor sustainable. Our members are resolute, they want and deserve job evaluation and the LGMA can be in no doubt of our commitment and drive to deliver this,” he said. 

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa. 

Water workers who have applied for voluntary redundancy under the Framework for the future delivery of water services, and have had an offer accepted, will depart their local authority by agreement before 31st December 2024. In exceptional circumstances, this departure date may be extended by agreement to 31st March 2025.

The voluntary redundancy scheme is provided for under the Framework for the future delivery of water services, which outlines the transfer of water services from local authorities to Uisce Éireann, and how this will be managed from June 2022 until 31st December 2026. It works to facilitate the exit of local authority workers who, since 1st January 2024 are under the direction of Uisce Éireann and who do not want to become an employee of Uisce Éireann or who do not wish to be reassigned to an alternative role within their local authority. Applications for this scheme closed on the 30th September 2024. 

Head of Local Government and Local Services and the Municipal Employees’ Divisions Richy Carrothers explained that as Úisce Éireann continues to rollout their new structure. Local authority water workers may choose to remain within the employment of their local authority by way of reassignment. 

“The voluntary redundancy scheme is an integral part of the framework and one we have worked hard for. Importantly, there are no compulsory redundancies and workers continue to have choices available to them in terms of reassignment within their local authority or to transition or redeploy to Uisce Éireann. Water services staff opting to stay within their local authority will be reassigned to work within grade as per the agreement,” he said. 

Uisce Éireann has conducted several meetings across all 31 local authority areas over the last 24 months to outline the process for water services staff to transfer to the new national utility. 

A meeting of the high-level Irish Water Consultative Group (IWCG) is scheduled for 24th January 2025. This group is made of representatives of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) group, local authority water services trade unions, the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Uisce Éireann, the LGMA and County Council Management Agency, and continues to work to manage the transition of water service workers. 

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa. 

The introduction of new qualifying rules for fuel allowance will come as a welcome change for retired civil and public servants. These changes will take effect from January 2025.

Fuel allowance is a payment available to retired and unemployed people to help with the cost of home heating during the colder half of the year. The payment is intended to prevent people on fixed incomes from facing the decision ‘to eat or to heat’.

The qualifying requirement for people aged 66 or over to receive a weekly social welfare payment will be dropped. This means that going forward fuel allowance will be open to Class B and D PRSI civil and public servants.

Weekly income limits will also be raised, allowing more people than ever to qualify for fuel allowance. The limit for single people will rise to €524 (before tax) a week, while the limit for couples will rise to a combined income of €1,048 a week.

Fuel allowance is a means tested payment. There is positive movement in this regard as well. The amount of savings and investments that are not counted will double for people aged 66 and over. The amount will rise to €50,000 not counted.

ICTU’s Retired Workers’ Committee has produced a leaflet to inform workers of fuel allowance, the upcoming changes, and the fuel allowance-related energy efficiency improvements scheme.

Committee member and Chair of Fórsa’s Retired Members Branch, Martin Bridgeman, spoke on the leaflet saying: “staying warm over the winter months is important to staying healthy, especially as you get older. We wanted to make sure that our retired members know that this payment is available to help pay the bills.”

“We also hope that our members who are still working will share the leaflet with their older friends and family. No one should go cold this winter," he continued.

This year the fuel allowance period will run for 28 weeks, from Monday 23rd September 2024 until Friday 4 April 2025.

The payment is worth €924 a year per household. It can either be taken in two lump sum payments of €462, paid in September and January, or €33 a week over the 28-week period.

Applying online will require a MyGov account. To apply online go here.

Printed form applications must be sent to different locations depending on which payments an applicant receives. For more information go here.

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa. 

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ Disability Committee has released a guide to help unions and employers better support and accommodate neurodiverse people in the workplace. 

The guide was launched on 3rd December, the date chosen to coincide with the International Day of Persons with Disabilities. The launch event took place in the Communications Workers’ Union offices in Dublin 1, with attendees representing a wide swathe of the union movement and disabilities organisations.

Speaking at the event ICTU president, Justin McCamphill called on unions to “ensure the guide is widely distributed in your union structures.” He also gave thanks to the many organisations representing neurodiverse people who took part in producing the guide.

This group includes Dyslexia Ireland, ADHD Ireland, and AHEAD who all made contributions. While organisations such as AsIAm, National Disability Authority, and Employability, among others, provided information used in the guide’s production. 

Justin made special mention of Neuro Pride Ireland who collaborated with ICTU’s Disability Committee, providing feedback and input on the final drafts.

Speaking at the launch event, Gillian Kearns of Neuro Pride, said “We were very happy to be in a small way involved in the making of this guide.” Appearing via web call, she stressed the importance of accommodations and understanding of neurodiversity in the workplace.

She expressed her hope that the guide would be “an important stepping stone in the right direction.”

The guide provides a detailed explanation of neurodiversity. It takes readers through the ins and outs of what it means to be a neurodiverse person, and how being neurodiverse can impact on how a person interacts with their coworkers and workplace.

Importantly the guide avoids making broad statements on the needs of neurodiverse people. Gillian described it as “the need for individualisation.” She said, “what each neurodiverse person needs can look very different. For instance, both myself and my sister are autistic and ADHD, but what we need is not the same.”

This point was picked up by Nem Kearns, also of Neuro Pride Ireland. They shared the case of a Neuro Pride member who later in life realised he was autistic and disclosed to his manager that he had received a diagnosis. Rather than asking him, the manager consulted a doctor on the needs of autistic people in general. On this advice the manager decided he could not work onsite. He had worked onsite for years without incident, and not working on site meant he was unable to do his job.

In Nem’s words “his career was ruined through beneficence.”

In attendance on the day, Katie Morgan, Fórsa National Secretary and Vice President of ICTU, drew attention to the Neurodiversity in the Workplace Policy Pledge. She said “Often neurodiverse people find the biggest barrier is that neuro-typical peers and employers just don’t know and are afraid to ask. 

“That’s why it is great to see the Neurodiversity in the Workplace Policy Pledge included in the Neurodiversity guide.” She continued “The pledge consists of a model policy that lets employers know what to do to accommodate neurodiverse workers, including the most important step of asking the person themselves.”

ICTU’s Neurodiversity Guide and pledge can be downloaded here.

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa. 

From 30th September 2025, anyone who does not have a pension scheme, earns more than €20,000 per year and are aged between 23 and 60, will be automatically enrolled into the new system established by the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Bill 2024.

On Tuesday 26th November, Fórsa hosted officials from the Department of Social Protection to explain what auto-enrolment pensions would mean for workers and answer questions on more specific circumstances. 

Here is what we learned:

Why is an auto-enrolment pensions scheme needed?

Supplementary pension coverage in Ireland is low, especially in the private sector where two thirds of workers are not paying into a pension scheme. ICTU has expressed concerns over whether the state pension alone is enough for a worker to live on comfortably after retirement.

 
The auto-enrolment pension scheme is designed to ensure that workers will not have to rely on the state pension alone.

Who will be affected?

Workers will be automatically enrolled in the pension scheme only if they meet three criteria: they are between the ages of 23 and 60, they earn more than €20,000 per year, and they do not already have a pension scheme.

This means most workers in the public sector will not be affected by the auto-enrolment pensions scheme as they already have pension schemes included as part of their employment conditions.
For workers outside of the age and income thresholds, there is an option to opt-in to the pension scheme. This will be available through the mygov welfare portal.

How much will workers pay in contributions?

In the first three years of the scheme workers will pay 1.5% of income automatically, with employers matching the 1.5% and the state adding 0.5%. In years four to six that will rise to 3% and 1% respectively, in years seven to nine it will rise 4.5% and 1.5%, and from year ten onwards rates will be set at 6% for workers and employers and 2% for the state. 

State and employer contributions are capped at the first €80,000 of income. This means in the first three years the state will not pay more than €1,200 (1.5% of €80,000) and the state will not pay more than €400 (0.5% of €80,000).

Workers can contribute more to their pension if they wish, but the state and their employer will not match their contributions past that point.

Can workers leave the auto-enrolment pension scheme?

The only way for a worker to leave the pension scheme is to either no longer meet the three requirements or to move to another pension scheme.

However, after six months workers can suspend their pension for a two-year period. After this period, they will be re-enrolled and will need to wait another six months before they can suspend their pension again.

When the contribution rate changes at the beginning of years four, seven and ten, there will be a two-month period where workers can withdraw from the scheme and receive a refund on their pension savings. This will not be a complete refund to ensure that a small amount remains for retirement.

Can workers transfer their auto-enrolment pension savings to another pension scheme?

No, any savings in the auto-enrolment pension scheme are non-transferable.

What happens if a worker leaves their job?

When a worker leaves their employment, whether that be for a new employment or a break in employment, the money they paid into their pension will remain and payment will resume in their next employment should they still meet the three criteria or opt-in.

What about workers with two jobs?

For workers with multiple employments, each employer will be required to pay into their pension. The pension payments will be applied to the overall income, meaning workers cannot pay into the pension scheme for one employment and not the other.

Will contract workers also be covered?

Contract workers will also be covered by auto-enrolment pensions. Their contributions will be covered in a look-back period at the end of the year.

Will the auto-enrolment pension scheme replace the state pension?

No, the auto-enrolment pension scheme is designed to supplement the state pension. 

How will it be decided whether a worker qualifies for auto-enrolment?

Auto-enrolment will be judged using data provided by the Revenue Commissioners. The decision will be based on a worker’s payroll information. This means workers who are not on a payroll (self-employed, etc.) will not qualify for auto-enrolment.

Who will oversee the pension scheme?

A state-owned body, the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA), is to be set up to administer collections and payments, while pension funds will be managed by private investment firms.

How will pensions be managed?

Pensions will automatically be placed in a default age-related strategy. This means younger workers will be placed in a high-risk strategy and risk will reduce as they age, ending in a low-risk strategy as they approach retirement.

Workers will also have the choice of changing to a higher, medium, or lower risk strategy.

What will this mean for employers?

Employers are legally obliged to facilitate and pay into the pension scheme. This includes for workers who choose to opt-in to the scheme. Should an employer not fulfil their obligations, refuse to recognise a worker opting-in, or retaliate against a worker for opting-in the legislation outlines cases are to be taken to the WRC.

NAERSA will work out how much is paid which removes the administrative burden from employers who will only need to set up a direct debit.

Can a pension be inherited?

The pension is considered part of a worker’s estate. In the event the worst happens, their pension will be inherited as a lump sum. The money accrued is not transferable as a pension scheme.

For more information visit the Gov.ie auto-enrolment hub here.

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa.