Good morning delegates, we hope you are feeling energised and ready for our third and final day of conference.

This morning motions on terms and conditions are on the agenda, with work life balance, collective bargaining, the EU Adequate Minimum Wages directive, and artificial intelligence, among the topics on the agenda.

We will welcome Phil Ní Sheaghdha, vice president of ICTU at 10am and Owen Reidy, ICTU general secretary at 11.30am, and in the afternoon, Dr Jilan Wahba Abdalmajid, Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland will address delegates. 

The full agenda is available here, and don't forget to follow all the activity online at #Forsa2024.

Thursday at Conference 2024 proved a busy day, with elections, motions and keynote speeches all on the agenda.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan addressed conference on Thursday morning. In a wide-ranging speech Kevin declared that Fórsa will take a lead role in building a better Ireland. He said: “Everything we have, we won by organising.  Now we have to do more than we ever have before. We need to mobilise on the issues that will make our country a better place to live and work.”

There’s more details on his speech in a story below, and you can read the full text here. Media coverage of the speech can be read here in The Irish Times and here in the Irish Independent.

You can watch coverage of conference on yesterday’s TV news on RTÉ's lunchtime news (from 14:20) and on the main evening SixOne bulletin (from 19:20).
 

Four of our members working in local authorities spoke to both the Irish Times and the Irish Independent about the experience of dealing with aggressive and abusive behaviour by service users and far right agitators. Rose, Michael, Sorcha and Róisín eloquently told of the impact this workplace harassment has had on them and their colleagues, with Rose saying “It’s not our job to be censors”.

Read the articles here and here. 

Conference also welcomed two international keynote speakers on Thursday.  Esther Lynch, general secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC), and Fórsa member, congratulated members on their achievements, particularly in regard to the campaigns to protect library workers and for school secretaries pay and conditions. She told delegates that every union in Europe is connected, members are like links in a chain. 

Speaking ahead of the European elections on 7th June 2024, she said: “Workers and our trade unions are the beating heart of Europe, our activists and shop stewards are our front-line defenders, standing up every day for the pay, terms and conditions of our members but also for the fundamental human right to belong to a trade union and to act collectively in our defence of working people.”

Daniel Bertossa, president of Public Services International (PSI) spoke about the work public sector unions across the world do to protect their members. 

In the morning motions on pay were debated, with motions on new entrants pay scales being carried, among a number of motions on pay provisions. Later in the day internal union organisation motions were taken in closed session. Delegates debated issues ranging from the use of plain English in union communications, the creation of LGBTQI+ officers and how the union can best support reps. International policy motions closed off the day's debates with the majority of motions focused on the war in Palestine.

In election news delegates elected Martin Walsh President and Michael Smyth was elected as Treasurer.

It was standing room only at the fringe meetings held by the Skills Academy and the Membership Unit. These sessions provided members with an opportunity to hear from union staff about the ways in which they can be supported both in skills development, and to recruit more members to the union. The Skills Academy launched their mentoring programme and their new training calendar, which you can access here.

At Conference 2024 Fórsa delegates have the chance to support a number of charities dealing with a wide array of issues. 

Breast Cancer Ireland have a stand in the Mangerton Suite.Juliette and Breda from Cornmarket Pink and Blue Power are handing out travel packs and taking bookings for complimentary workplace breast cancer awareness talks. 

The charity cyclers are this year raising money for five charities:

My Canine Companion - who are also hosting a stand, are Ireland's largest service dog provider. They introduced the country's first school therapy dog programme, which now provides 60 dogs in schools supporting staff and students. These dogs are trained to assist autistic students, help them with anxiety, to breakdown communications barriers, and ease the difficulty of time spent at school, which can be especially difficult for neurodivergent students.

Wexford Marinewatch - are a Wexford town based suicide prevention group. They have over 140 trained volunteers who patrol the Wexford Harbour and Bridge area. Their main purpose is to identify and intercept people who may be in distress, and provide immediate support. They also ensure water safety equipment has not been stolen or damaged, and prevent intoxicated revellers from straying too close to the water's edge.

The Rainbow Club Cork Centre for Autism - help, support and teach people about autism. They teach children and young people to communicate, make new friends, be part of a group, learn new skills, and how to be themselves, proudly accepting Autism, and finding their own place in the world.

Autism Assistance Dogs Ireland - AADI provide trained dogs to autistic people who experience some of the more debilitating symptoms on the autism spectrum. 

Anam Cara - who support bereaved parents and families. They run support groups all across the country, as well as offering online support to parents mourning the loss of a child.

Donations are still open, if you wish you can donate here.

We have made number of videos for conference this year, the 'Your Union, Your Power' showcase of members' achievements over the past two years, 'Whilst they offer division we offer hope' a video on Fórsa members' campaign to protect library workers against the far-right, a video on the work of our Branch Supports Network Branch and a lookback at Ireland's first ever Trade Union Week. We also have our daily recaps showing the big events of the previous day. You can watch them all on our Youtube channel.

"Whilst They Offer Division, We Offer Hope" | Fórsa Members Stand Up Against The Far-Right.

"It's Been A Brilliant Experience." | Trade Union Week 2024 Recap