On Wednesday national secretaries Ashley Connolly and Linda Kelly addressed the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health warning that low morale is not a marginal staffing issue; it is affecting retention, service capacity, patient care, and confidence in the delivery of Sláintecare.

Fórsa members working as perfusionists will take industrial action in June in a dispute over pay and the HSE’s refusal to implement a Labour Court recommendation.  

Convened every two years, delegates from all branches of the union vote at conference to elect union officers and set policy. This year was a landmark Biennial Conference, with the announcement that we now have over 100,000 members, an achievement only made possible by the hard work of organising, mobilising and building that members have undertaken over the past two years.  

Delegates at Conference voted to elect union officers for a two year term. 

Martin Walsh (Louth Health and Local Government) was re-elected as President, while Michael Smyth (School Completion Programme) was re-elected as Treasurer. Michael Crowe (DSP Executive Grades) was elected Senior Vice President, while Julie Flood (Dublin City) and Mark Tighe (IALPA) were also elected as Vice Presidents. 

New research commissioned by Fórsa was launched last week at Conference. Over 19,000 members took part in the survey which informed the research, making it one of the largest ever studies of workers on this topic. 

The research shows that not only has remote and hybrid working become a standard expectation of modern employment, but it is also having positive impacts on productivity, transport, infrastructure, regional development, local economies, family life and staff retention.