Fórsa is set to escalate proceedings in the ongoing dispute over the introduction of a job evaluation system for clerical and administrative staff in local authorities.

The union returned to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) last Thursday (26th January) seeking an acceptable solution to the issue, but talks ended when the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) refused to negotiate.  

Fórsa’s head of local government Richy Carrothers said that there is no prospect of further engagement as the employer is unwilling to engage.

“I've indicated to the LGMA and WRC that we will be reviewing this matter with intention of industrial escalation,” he said.

The union has long sought a local authority job evaluation scheme similar to the one that operates in the HSE and the education sector. Job evaluation is an established tool that allows the knowledge, skills and responsibilities associated with individual jobs – rather than grades or staff categories – to be assessed and appropriately rewarded.

Fórsa has maintained that almost 10,000 council jobs were lost following the financial crisis, and services had only been maintained because staff had taken on additional responsibilities above their pay grades.

In addition, there are severe disparities in pay rates across the local government sector, where staff doing the same work could be paid more or less depending on which of the 31 councils they work for.

Late last year the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), which represents council employers, responded to the union business case for job evaluation, essentially dismissing the union claim. The employer also tabled new job descriptions as part of the process. 

“Local authorities suffered the greatest reduction of numbers of employees during the austerity era, which has resulted in significant grade drift in the sector. Why should these workers suffer less favourable treatment than colleagues in other sectors,” said Richy.

Fórsa’s Roscommon Local Government branch held a recruitment and organising event last week (26th January), to introduce the union to new members and catch up with existing members.

Supported by management this event and was well attended by both new and current Fórsa members.

Branch chairperson Florie Hickey thanked official Seamus Smith and the management of Roscommon County Council and for their support and assistance during the meet and greet.

“It makes event’s like this much more successful when you have the support of the management within the building. The event has led to the sign up of several new members and we welcome them all,” she said.

Speaking at last Saturday’s AGM of Fórsa’s School Secretaries branch, assistant general secretary Shane Lambert urged delegates to speak to their school caretaker colleagues about joining the union.

With discussions with the Department of Education and the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) ongoing, Shane said it is vital to ensure school caretakers are in union membership before the process ends.

An inaugural AGM for caretakers last November saw a formal branch executive committee established, elected by members, to represent caretakers in the ongoing WRC talks.

Shane told the School Secretaries AGM that there is an agreement in principle, reflecting the terms of last year’s breakthrough deal for school secretaries while some outstanding issues, specific to caretaker roles, require further discussion with the department.

Shane urged the 200 school secretaries present to talk to their colleagues and ensure that caretakers in their schools are aware of the benefits of union membership: “Building our schools caretaker membership will be the key to providing the necessary strength to deliver a deal, and to take the new branch from strength to strength. The School Secretaries branch have shown how it can be done, there is a great foundation there for us all to build on,” he said.

Fórsa’s Mid-West office, in conjunction with Siptu and Connect, has made a presentation to Limerick Animal Welfare Rescue, on foot of their Christmas appeal.

The joint collection saw local branches drop much needed supplies to the Mid-West office during the Christmas period.

Fórsa’s official Helena Pryor thanked members for their generous contribution to such a worthy cause.

“Limerick Animal Welfare rescue and rehome dogs, cats, rabbits, horses and many other animals when they find themselves homeless through no fault of their own. Lots of our members saw the appeal and made separate trips to the sanctuary with their own donations when the office closed for Christmas which was great,” she said.

On Wednesday (1^st February), Fórsa, sent a message of solidarity to trade unions in the UK as the TUC held a national ‘right to strike’ day.

An estimated 500,000 workers took strike action, marking the biggest day of industrial action in decades in the UK, while dozens of rallies organised by the TUC also took place across the country.

In a message to TUC leader Paul Nowak, Fórsa general secretary and ICTU president Kevin Callinan said the union’s national executive fully supports the stand taken against the UK government’s new anti-strike laws: “Nobody should lose their job if they take lawful action to win a better deal. Our union recognises the scale of the threat posed by this anti-strike bill being pushed through parliament.

“The UK government is acting with impunity regarding workers who have been forced to withdraw their labour in the face of an intense cost-of-living crisis. As an employer we’ve witnessed this Conservative government transition from applauding essential public service staff to threatening them with the sack at alarming speed.

“As union members across the UK rally against this legislation, Fórsa applauds their efforts and supports them every step of the way. We share the view of the TUC that the legislation is unworkable and almost certainly illegal,” he said.

Among the half million striking workers were teachers across England and Wales. Kevin said a decade of meagre earnings in the UK’s state-funded school system has forced many take up second jobs, or to leave the profession altogether: “That any public servant is forced to do this, or relies on food banks to put food on their table, is indicative of policies that have inflicted very serious damage to individual workers, households, communities and society.

“Legislating to ban or restrict the right to strike is damaging in the same way. It demoralises workers, breaks down any sense of social cohesion, and tears up any remaining idea of a social compact.

“The UK government needs to stop and consider how much harm it’s doing, to consider why there’s so much industrial conflict at its door, and to be realistic about the value of a negotiated solution,” he said.

There’s never been a better time to join a union, and it’s never been easier. Join Fórsa today.

Fórsa has said that Government’s reliance on the private sector to build social housing is “disappointing but not surprising”.

Figures obtained from the Department of Housing show that 2,706 new-build social homes were delivered up to the end of September last year, of which more than two thirds were procured directly from private developers, underscoring the State’s reliance on the private sector to deliver housing.

Only twenty-eight per cent (760 homes) were delivered directly by local authorities via the Social Housing Capital Investment Programme or by approved housing bodies through the Capital Advance Leasing Facility.

Fórsa’s head of Campaigns and ‘Raise the Roof’ organiser Kevin Donoghue said that while the figures are frustrating, they should surprise no one:

"While obviously disappointing these figures should surprise no one. Successive Governments have been increasingly reliant on the market to provide local authority housing. Continuous divestment from local authorities in favour of market forces has been a deliberate policy for decades.

"To put this in perspective local authorities delivered 9,000 units in 1975, which amounted to a third of all housing delivered that year. Raise the roof has been calling for state investment in local authority led housing for years," he said.

Fórsa has been involved with the ‘Raise the Roof’ campaign since its conception which brings together a wide range of key civil society bodies to demand radical new action on the housing crisis.

Supported by ICTU, the Raise the Rood steering committee will be meeting in the coming days to plan the year ahead.

If you’d like to find out more about the ‘Raise the Roof’ campaign and Fórsa’s involvement you can click here.

Irish Labour History Society

At fifty years old, the Irish Labour History Society (ILHS) celebrates the contribution, and promotes knowledge of, Irish labour and Irish people in labour history, and provides a rich resource of material for history students, writers and makers.

Website. Publications. Archive

Run by volunteers, most trade unions are affiliated to the ILHS and there are also several hundred individual members. The website is updated regularly and contains material of interest to researchers. The annual journal Saothar (now in its 48^th year) is published by the ILHS, as are several other studies of labour history personalities and events.The society also:

• Maintains archives and a library at Beggars Bush in Dublin
• Displays museum pieces and union banners at its premises
• Has a collection of individual papers and material, and
• Makes its study facilities available without charge by appointment.

Much of what is stored at Beggars Bush would have been lost had not the ILHS collected and preserved it.

Join Us!

As we celebrate our half century, the ILHS invites you to join us, whether your interest is based on personal, educational, or general interest in labour history. Individual membership costs €35 per year and includes posting of a copy of Saothar to each member on publication.

At the close of 2022, the ILHS published the latest (and the 18^th) in our Studies in Irish Labour History series, Luke Dineen’s “A City of Strikes - The Cork General Lockout of 1909”.  There is a full list of such publications on our website. Among the Society’s activities in 2023 will be a series of essays to mark our half century, publication of Saothar 48 and an international conference in Dublin in September.  

Join with us in the work of promoting and preserving labour history.

Join on our website at www.irishlabourhistorysociety.com.

Fórsa members can now save 50% on their AA Roadside Rescue plan, through a new and exclusive union negotiated scheme.

This new AA Roadside Rescue offer provides for 24/7 roadside breakdown assistance in Ireland and the UK for just €6 a month, and will provide cover whether driving or as a passenger.

This new offer can be accessed exclusively through this portal.

Contact the AA here for more information.

An Post has successfully achieved a ‘zero’ gender pay gap for the second year running.

In the rake of figures reported under the gender pay gap law that recently came into effect, the commercial semi-state body maintained its last year’s gap of 0% and according to the company’s chief executive, trade unions played a key role in achieving that.

Chief executive David McRedmond said: “We’re heavily unionised. Unions are very progressive.” 

The head of Fórsa’s Services and Enterprises Division, Katie Morgan said it was a momentous achievement for staff at An Post, some of whom are Fórsa members.

“The union has long been campaigning for the introduction of gender pay gap reporting and the reduction of the gap, and what better example to lead by now than the State postal service achieving this for two years in row," she said.

Separately, the generally reported figures showed that for every €1 a man earns, a woman earns €0.88.

An analysis of figures of Ireland’s largest firms revealed women were paid 12.3% less than men, on average. This gap nearly doubled when it came to bonuses.

However, the reports also showed women were paid more than men at organisations such as Lifestyle Sports, FIFA creator EA Games, fruit grower Keelings’ logistics arm, SuperValu owner Musgrave and Bus Éireann who all had double-digit gaps in favour of women.

The public appointments service which is predominantly female, had the highest gap in favour of women at 21.5%.

Further, an almost zero percent gap existed in the several of the country’s county councils, drinks maker Heineken, Irish tech unicorn Stripe, computing giant Microsoft, retailers H&M and Avoca Handweavers.

The cross-industry reporting also revealed that the gaps were widest in traditionally male-dominated sectors such as construction, law and finance. Out of those, the construction sector took the top spot, with men paid an average 23% more than women.

The membership subscription rate ceiling increased on 1^st January this year, in line with the pay award increase under the extension to the Building Momentum pay agreement. This ensures that higher paid workers contribute their fair share of an increased contribution that lower paid workers automatically get deducted as their salary increases.

Under Rule 1(ii) of Appendix A the NEC has approved the increase of 6.5%. increasing Fórsa’s membership subscription ceiling to €425.30. The ceiling ensures a limit to the amount that members are asked to pay in annual subscription to the union.

Subscription rates remain unchanged. The union’s general subscription rate for 2023 is 0.8% of basic salary up to a maximum of €425.30 (€35.44 per month) reflecting a maximum salary of €53,162.50. This downloadable excel spreadsheet illustrates how the subscription rate applies in a range of different salary bands. 

The union’s two other subscription rates are unaffected by the change. These are the legacy rate paid by those who were members of the former PSEU on 31st December 2017 and the 1% rate for new and existing CO related grades in the Civil Service who have access to the former CPSU Benefit Scheme which was carried over into Fórsa. Branch levies are unchanged but the ceiling if applicable has increased in line with the 6.5% increase in the general Forsa membership subscription ceiling.

Benefits

On top of negotiated pay increases and protection when things go wrong at work, union members can benefit from an improved range of membership entitlements introduced when Fórsa was formed in 2018.

These include €5,000 in personal accident cover or €5,000 critical illness cover or death benefit, which also is also available to spouses of Fórsa members.

Alternatively, €5,000 in illness benefit is available to members who are out of work for more than 12 months. And Fórsa also covers evacuation or repatriation expenses up to the value of €250,000 for members who become seriously ill or injured, or who die, while abroad.

That’s on top of a range of financial benefits, negotiated with external providers, which can mean big savings on financial products like car, home and travel insurance, pension benefits, salary protection and life cover.

Fórsa members can also avail of free counselling, legal advice and support helplines, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. And they can opt into our group scheme, which gives them access to huge savings on a wide range of everyday items and services including restaurants, retailers, hairdressers and coffee shops.

Get full details about membership benefits here.