Fórsa's attendance at yesterday's Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Youth made a big impression and is covered in today's Indo (‘We have a clear mandate’ – school secretaries and caretakers set to strike after summer break - link here if you don't have premium access), and the Irish Examiner ('At the moment, to work in Aldi is a better-paid job than a school caretaker') and Highland Radio includes a clip from Andy's address to the committee.
In the Irish Times, Martin Wall continues his coverage of the fallout from a series of payroll errors in the Civil Service. He reports today that the Department of Public Expenditure is facing having to pay about €700,000 in interest to the Revenue Commissioners over delays and inaccuracies in its tax deductions.
In its coverage of the current blast of lovely warm sunshine, the Indo reports that Marie Sherlock TD has called for legally defined maximum temperature limits for all workplaces due to climate change. She said this echoed recent calls from the European Trade Union Confederation for a binding EU directive on occupational heat exposure.
Today's members' news bulletins includes news of the dispute at Barnardos that arose when the charity withheld funding for a 4% pay boost under the terms of a WRC agreement as Emmet Malone writes in the Irish Times that "some of Ireland’s best-known charities and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have been accused of hypocrisy for failing to allow their employees to be represented by trade unions." The Wheel, an umbrella body that represents many charities and NGOs, told Malone the sector is 'complex and fragmented', but it would “welcome the opportunity to sit down with the Ictu or individual unions about how to improve engagement between employers and their staff”.
Elsewhere, speculation that local government might get a boost as the Irish Examiner editorial scrutinises Taoiseach Micheál Martin's comment that he wishes to re-establish town councils across the country in the next three years.
Meanwhile, in Moygashel County Tyrone, further evidence of an overlap of the far right and loyalism, as bigotry and hate are again celebrated as 'culture.'
Your Zen this morning is a frequent flyer in this part of the news briefing. Kae Tempest's latest album Self Titled is another intense lyrical exploration of identity and "a love letter to the trans community". I already have my tickets booked for his Vicar Street show in December. The standout track for me so far is Breathe, while Know Yourself brings the artist's work (past and present) together in a unique and moving way.
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