Fórsa negotiators have had a preliminary meeting with representatives of council employers to discuss the sectoral bargaining clause of the new public service agreement.

Building Momentum, which was overwhelmingly endorsed by Fórsa members last month, establishes a ‘sectoral bargaining fund,’ worth 1% of basic pay, on top of two general round pay adjustments worth 1% each.

The sectoral fund can be used to deal with outstanding adjudications, recommendations and claims relevant to specific groups of workers within the local authority sector. Or groups can opt to take the 1% as a straight pay increase.

The sectoral bargaining process first requires both sides to identify the different groups of grades and staff categories that will be subject to negotiations. Once these ‘sectoral bargaining units’ are agreed, work can begin on how the additional 1% of pay will be distributed through sectoral bargaining.

Fórsa told the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), which represents council employers ,that it’s currently in internal consultations about the make-up of the sectoral bargaining units. It also pointed to a number of outstanding adjudications for grades in the sector, which could be considered as part of the sectoral bargaining process.

Agreement on the shape of the sectoral bargaining groups is meant to be concluded by the end of next month. Payment of any sectoral awards is scheduled for 1st February 2022.

Haddington Road hours

Separately, discussions are intensifying on the establishment of an independent body charged with addressing the so-called ‘Haddington Road hours,’ which are also being addressed under Building Momentum.

The body, which is to be set up by the end of this month, will take submissions from management and unions representing grades whose hours were increased under the 2013 Haddington Road deal.

It will make recommendations by the end of 2021. Rollout of these recommendations will begin within the lifetime of the agreement, with €150 million available to commence implementation during 2022.

Fórsa fought hard for the inclusion of the process in Building Momentum. As a result, workers whose hours were increased under the Haddington Road deal can expect to see reductions in working time from next year.

The vital role of council workers in Ireland’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the future of water services, will be among the issues discussed at the annual general meeting of Fórsa’s Municipal Employees’ division, which takes place on a virtual basis at 6.00pm on Thursday 15th April.

Members who want to attend must register by midday on Friday 2nd April. You can do that by emailing the union at jodonohoe@forsa.ie.

The branch has members in Dublin City Council, Dun Laoghaire Council, Limerick City and County Council, The Technological University of Dublin, Athlone Institute of Technology, the City of Dublin Education and Training Board, and in schools and community-based employments.

Members will hear the very latest update on the union’s response to the recent Government policy paper on the future of water services: “Irish Water: Towards a national publicly-owned, regulated, water services utility.”

Peter Nolan, national secretary and head of the union’s Municipal Employees’ division, will explain to members that Fόrsa will not tolerate any compulsory conscription of council water staff to Irish Water. The meeting will also consider pay developments within the sector and the settlement of the recent dispute about school caretakers.

Fórsa had reaffirmed its position that forced transfers of local authority workers to Irish Water will not be accepted as reported in the previous bulletin. The approach was underlined at a special joint meeting of the unions’ two divisions with workers in the sector – the Local Government Division and the Municipal Employees Division – which took place earlier this month to consider Government’s recently published policy paper on the future of water services.

The president of Fórsa’s Municipal Employees division, Thomas Murtagh, who will also address the AGM, has said workers and their families were worried about the future. “Fórsa members want to stay working for the local authority,” he said.

Fórsa and other unions in the sector had previously been in discussions at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) based on a four-stranded process to address conditions of employment, the status and governance of any new water entity, constitutional protection against privatisation, and the threat to wider local government services that would follow the removal of a substantial income stream.

Fórsa’s Local Government and Local Services Division wants action to ensure that staff in the same grade are paid equally, regardless of what council they work for.

The union has told the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), which represents council employers, that workers in a range of grades are not receiving the same pay for the same work.

But the LGMA flatly reject any proposal to resolve the problem.

The union now wants to refer the issue to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), and the divisional executive is making contact with groups representing the grades concerned. They include archivists, heritage officers, museum curators, environmental awareness officers, and housing-tenant liaison officers.

Local government branches are also being asked to identify other areas where the inequality exists.

The non-professional library officers’ vocational group annual general meeting takes place at 1.00pm on 21st April next. The meeting will be held online.

Fόrsa members who are branch librarians, library assistants, senior library assistants and library staff officers are eligible to attend.

You can get details on how to register for the meeting from your Fórsa branch, or email lcasey@forsa.ie for further details.

Workers who wish to join Fórsa can to do so using a new ‘join online’ function on the union’s website.

Going live with the new system follows several months of research, preparation and testing aimed at making it easier than ever to join the union. It also goes live as the union continues to process a large number of new membership applications, as interest in joining the union has surged since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis.

Fórsa’s general secretary Kevin Callinan commented: “The current crisis has created the necessity to be able to carry out our business in different ways. Work on this project had commenced before the Covid-19 crisis took hold, and its completion marks a vital step as we tackle the challenges of living in changed times.

“We can see that more people want to join a union in response to what’s happening in the wider economy. It’s vital that they can take those initial steps quickly and easily, and making the membership application process more accessible is part of that process.

“This is a crucial new venture to enable Fórsa to substantially increase our membership - and to strengthen the union’s hand - at a critical time in the union’s development,” he said.

The online facility is a streamlined and simplified membership application process, and will be the quickest and easiest way to join the union. All incoming applications will continue to be subject to check-off and approval by Fórsa branches and the national executive committee, while the new online system is designed to ease the administrative burden on branches.

You can join Fórsa online at https://join.forsa.ie/

Fórsa is here to protect you if you have problems arising from the coronavirus or other workplace issues. The best way to contact the union at this time is HERE.

We will deal with queries as quickly as we can but, needless to say, the union will prioritise cases where members’ jobs and incomes are at immediate risk – as well as any serious health and safety issues that may arise.

Fórsa has cancelled all face-to-face meetings for the time being. The union is redeploying its staff to prioritise engagement with management on proposals arising from the Covid-19 public health crisis, and to provide rapid and efficient responses to members’ queries and concerns.

Fórsa's main phone line (01 817 1500) is now open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Alternatively members can use the Contact Us page on the Fórsa website to submit queries directly to the relevant division within Fórsa and this remains the most efficient way to access advice directly.

Wherever possible, Fórsa staff have been equipped to work remotely. Therefore, members should not attend Fórsa offices at this time. If you have a query or concern, the best way to raise it is to contact the union HERE.