Fórsa’s elected National Executive met earlier this week and decided overwhelmingly to recommend acceptance of the proposed new public service agreement, Building Momentum. The proposals will be put to a ballot of the union’s members early in the New Year.

If accepted, the proposed new public service agreement won’t immediately resolve the longstanding injustice of the so-called ‘Haddington Road hours.’ But it’s a major breakthrough nonetheless.

Fórsa has cited the Office of the Attorney General for a series of breaches of the outsourcing protections contained in public service agreements. 

The cabinet has finally approved an increase in parent’s leave from two to five weeks for each parent, but says this can’t happen until April 2021 because IT systems need to be updated to make it possible.

Union-negotiated protections against outsourcing in the civil service and elsewhere will remain in place if the proposed new public service agreement is accepted in ballots of union members.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has called on the Government to give all workers a legal right to request flexible working arrangements, including remote work. 

Fórsa has called for certain civil servants, including those in social welfare offices and customs and border posts, to be included as key workers who to be prioritised for Covid-19 vaccinations once they are approved for use in Ireland.

The Cabinet last week approved proposed amendments to the 1995 Adoptive Leave Act, which will enable married male same-sex couples to avail of adoptive leave.

Victims of domestic violence will soon be entitled to a period of paid leave from work, after last week’s Government announcement that there is to be a public consultation process on the matter.