Fórsa, which represents several thousand aviation workers in airports, regulatory bodies, international air traffic support and airlines, has said a joined-up government approach is needed to ensuring the survival of Ireland’s aviation industry.

State-funded wage supports, at levels that can sustain individuals and families, must continue in the private and commercial semi-state sector until the Covid-19 virus is under control, according to Fórsa.

Fórsa has called for pilot projects in public and private sector employments to explore the feasibility of introducing a four-day week without loss of pay or productivity.

The outgoing Fórsa president has highlighted the importance of co-operation between staff working in clerical and administrative grades across the public sector, in a keynote speech to the union’s biennial national conference yesterday.

Fórsa has a new team of officers, elected by the union’s branches, who were formally adopted at the union’s virtual national conference yesterday (19th November). 

Fórsa’s NEC took the opportunity yesterday to praise workers in all sectors for their response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Proposing the motion, Fórsa vice president Margaret Coughlan saluted workers in all areas of the public, private and community sectors “who rose to the many challenges presented by the pandemic, often in the face of risk to themselves and their families.”

Fórsa’s developing world fund was showcased with a short video during the union’s biennial national conference this week.