Dear members,

I’m writing today to wish you a very happy May Day. Each year the 1st of May provides us with a  powerful reminder of the reasons we come together to form a collective as a trade union. Together we are stronger than we can ever be alone.

This year, May Day takes place in the middle of Ireland’s first ever Trade Union Week, which is part of the Better in a Trade Union campaign, launched by ICTU. We launched this campaign to send a strong message to the Government and across Irish society: the trade union movement is alive and kicking. 

Recent Red C research has told us that 44% of workers aged between 18-34 who are working but aren’t already in a union are interested in joining a union. We need to speak to all workers about the benefits of being in a trade union and how they could transform their workplace collectively.

I am delighted that so many Fórsa branches have gotten involved in Trade Union Week. It’s a powerful demonstration of the diversity of our branches and shows just how active you are. Events are taking place in schools, hospitals, offices and county councils: in all the places where essential public services are delivered every day by our members. Thank you to all those of you who have gotten involved.

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Later this month, our Biennial Union conference will take place in Killarney, from 15-17 May. Delegates from all branches of the union will come together to elect the union’s leadership and decide on the policies which will direct our activities in the years ahead. 

As the country prepares to vote in local and European elections, our conference theme is ‘Your Union, Your Power’  - a demonstration that it is our members who chart our course, choosing the direction and activities of their union. Democracy in action defines us.

This May Day I also want to celebrate the migrant workers without whom the provision of healthcare in this country would crumble.

As a trade union, we must continue to ensure that workers are protected from discrimination and integrated into communities and new spaces with open arms. Equally, we must hold employers to account on their obligations to provide workplaces that are free from hate speech and in which their staff feel safe.

Yours in solidarity,

Kevin Callinan
General Secretary