The new sub-committee hopes to set a positive precedent for the rest of the country to follow and create a useful platform for broader cooperation and organising between Tusla members nationwide.

Kerry Health and Local Government have become the first branch to launch a sub-committee to address the needs of their Tusla based members.

When forming the sub-committee, the branch identified and brought together workplace leaders from all pillars of Tusla to ensure full representation and to address all relevant issues. 

Anette Henriksson, a branch committee member of three years, has now become the chair of the sub-committee.

According to Anette, the idea arose from Tusla members being very conscious of the time their issues were taking up and their concern that they may be monopolising time during branch meetings. 

She said, “We are a vocal and large group, with so much going on that it took up most of the branch meetings. They are an hour and a half, there are people from the HSE and the local council, and we were taking up a lot of that time. We didn’t want to take time away from anyone else’s issues, so we decided to start up a sub-committee.”

Tusla members are currently facing a significant change due to the wide-ranging organisational reform taking place across Tusla. Added to this, Tusla workers in Kerry are dealing with the consolidation of two offices spread across the county into one single location.

According to Anette, these changes are creating uncertainty for Tusla workers, with workers at times uncertain whether their current posts would remain the same after the reform.

At the heart of many of the issues for Tusla members is a lack of consultation and inclusion in the decision-making process by management. The sub-committee aims to build power within the workplace and make themselves part of that process. 

Anette explains this by saying: “Part of why we started the sub-committee is to work on recruitment and membership to the union. The majority of our staff are in the union, but it has proven difficult to recruit the newly qualified workers. 

“There was a great recruitment training at the union’s health and welfare divisional conference this year. It gave us ideas to get young people involved in the union. We want to keep our young co-workers, they are the ones who will keep the work going once we’re gone” she continued.

Fórsa’s lead official working with members in Tusla, Tony Martin, attended the launch of the sub-committee. He said, “It was an honour to be in Kerry for the launch of the sub-committee. It’s great to see members take the lead and organise to build power and better representation in the workplace.”

“There are still many unknowns in the Tusla reform process, so it’s really helpful to have groups like this sub-committee to organise and flag issues as they come up. We would certainly encourage Tusla members in other branches that are spread out geographically or across a lot of work sites to consider doing the same.”

Fórsa official Seamus Smith said, “It's been fantastic to see members take this initiative and establish their own sub-committee, and it’s been a pleasure for the Southwest staff team to support them as leaders in their workplace. I’m hopeful that other branches will see what can be achieved by members coming together to fight and win.”

Anette praised Fórsa officials Seamus Smith, Liz Fay, and Tony Martin for their support of the sub-committee. She said, “They have been great. Liz and Seamus are always there to help, and we were quite honoured for Tony to come down to speak to the committee.”

“My hope is Kerry can set the precedent and other branches follow our lead and that we can set a good example for the rest of the country” she concluded.

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