Late on Wednesday 4th October the HSE announced it was renewing the imposition of a moratorium on recruitment, in a memorandum on the filling of new, and replacement, clerical, admin and managerial posts, despite ongoing talks on a framework agreement. An FAQ on the dispute is available here.

As a result, Fórsa has lifted its suspension of industrial action and instructed members to commence a work to rule industrial action today Friday 6^th October. In its written response to the HSE, Fórsa described as “unacceptable” the targeting of clerical, admin and managerial grades in the renewed moratorium, and that this was taking place in the context of ongoing talks between the parties under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC).

Fórsa’s head of Health and Welfare, Ashley Connolly, issued a communication to members yesterday (Thursday 5^th October), to say the publication of the HSE’s memorandum had left the union no option but to lift the suspension of industrial action with immediate effect.

Ashley said the union had written to members last week to provide an update of progress on the development of a framework agreement: “Regretfully, the HSE have chosen to abandon these discussions and walk away from this process that remained under the auspices of the WRC. Such an approach shows a disdain for the national industrial relations process.

“It’s important to stress that our members are not the cause of the HSE budget overrun. It’s the continued used of agency workers and private external consultants at a cost of hundreds of millions of euro that must be addressed.

“Targeting clerical, admin and managerial grades for a recruitment moratorium is unjust and will negatively impact on the provision of clinical services. They are an integral part in the delivery of vital services, and we must stand together to show the employer that Fórsa members will not be scapegoated,” she said.

During the talks at the WRC the HSE had provided a commitment to fill all vacancies in the affected grades from 1^st September. Consequently, Fórsa had suspended the commencement of industrial action (to 30^th September) to facilitate further engagement on a specific framework agreement.

Ashley said there had been three engagements throughout September, the most recent had taken place last week on Thursday 28th September, at which the union agreed a further temporary suspension to 1st November.

The publication of the HSE memorandum yesterday prompted an immediate response from Fórsa. Ashley added: “The unilateral actions of the HSE has irrevocably broken all trust between the parties and demonstrate an unwarranted and unfair disdain for the national industrial relations process. Such an approach will simply not be tolerated by our members. In circumstances where the HSE has walked away from the dispute resolution process, the deferral of industrial action is no longer tenable,” she said.

As of normal start time on Friday 6th October, members are instructed:

• Not to undertake tasks, functions or responsibilities associated with any vacant post
• Not to carry out the duties of a higher grade and strictly adhere to the rules and procedures governing their post
• To boycott all engagement in relation to HSE Health Regions also known as Regional Health Areas (RHAs)
• Not to engage or attend any working groups, planning, restructuring, consultation, scoping, discussion meetings / forums in relation to all change programs underway across the HSE and / or Section 38s. (e.g., RHAs, HSPA, NiSRP)
• Not to engage or participate in any meetings in relation to the further roll out of the IFMS change program including the roll-out of implementation group 2, 3, 4 and 5
• Not to return national information / data returns e.g., KPIs, Accident & Emergency statistics, delayed discharges, monthly activities etc. (including non-engagement in online forums and / or teleconference in relation to same)
• Not to engage with Finance and HR Information processes (including non-engagement in online forums and / or teleconference in relation to same)
• Not to cooperate with regulatory bodies e.g., HIQA
• Withdrawal from all national committees
• Not to engage with, meet, report to, or provide any information to external private consultants or HSE advisors
• Not to participate or engage with performance achievement / management
• Not to engage with all political forums and / or processes (PQs etc)
• Not to engage with any proposals in relation to the extended working week

Ashley advised the HSE that, should the union’s Dispute Committee decide to escalate the industrial action, Fórsa would provide a maximum of seven days’ notice to the employer. She added that, in accordance with the union’s obligations under the dispute resolutions procedure, Fórsa will remain available to discuss contingency plans.

The ballot for industrial action took place following the breakdown of WRC talks in July and follows years of pay disparity between workers in Section 39 (health and disability services) Section 56 (services to children) and Section 10 (homeless services) and their counterparts employed directly by the state. 

While these agencies are largely state-funded, workers employed in a range of health professional, clinical, clerical and administrative grades, are on lesser terms and conditions than their HSE counterparts. The pay differential is more than 10%, although advocacy group The Wheel say the difference could be as much as 20%.

Fórsa’s head of Health and Welfare Ashley Connolly said: “This is the action of last resort, and it has been a difficult decision for these workers, but they’ve been left with no more options.

“The Government has been dragging its feet on the issue for years, while making conciliatory noises to health workers who urgently need pay improvements. Their colleagues are walking out the door for better terms elsewhere, and waiting lists for the services these agencies offer continue to grow as a result.

“There’s a yawning pay gap of more than 10%. Services cannot be sustained as long as that continues,“ she said.

Fórsa’s national executive has backed a core set of priorities for upcoming public service pay talks, and these were subsequently endorsed by the ICTU Public Service Committee (PSC), which represents all ICTU-affiliated unions with members in the civil and public service,

The current public service pay agreement, Building Momentum, expires at the end of 2023. The final pay improvement under the deal, an increase of 1.5% or €750 (whichever is greater) applies to public service payroll from this week (1^st October).

To avoid industrial relations turmoil, a successor agreement will need to be negotiated and ratified before the current deal expires, and talks are expected to get underway shortly.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan chairs the PSC. He said the unions’ priority objective is to secure appropriate pay measures in response to continuing cost-of-living pressures on working families. He said cost pressures, including rising mortgage interest rates and corporate profiteering, continue to erode wages. 

Kevin added: “Unions are also focused on stabilising public pay agreements, as there’s been an inconclusive process of engagement on Building Momentum’s commitment to address outstanding issues that affect several public service grades, groups and categories.

“The intention of both union and Government representatives was to have this process concluded before entering talks on a new agreement for 2024. To stabilise the current agreement, and to ensure a successor agreement commences on a solid foundation, an agreed process for dealing with issues affecting specific groups and grades is essential,” he said.

Kevin said normalising public service industrial relations is also a key priority: “This includes appropriate access to the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court, and the final dismantling of remaining pieces of FEMPI legislation.

“We need to move on from a process of industrial relations shaped by the response to the 2009 financial crisis,” he said.

Unions have also agreed on pursuing measures to ensure the ‘future-proofing’ of quality public services and public service employment.

Kevin said the most recent figures on population made this an essential feature of upcoming talks: “With a growing population of more than five million, we do need to ensure that the State can continue to build and maintain quality public services designed to respond to people’s needs,” he said.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE.

Anticipation ahead of next week’s budget is now at fever pitch. Our call to Government has been to bridge the inflation gap through investment in public services. When wages aren’t keeping up with rising costs, Government must respond with financial assistance and by improving the services that people rely on every day.

It’s easy to talk about the cost-of-living crisis as if it’s an abstract issue and to quote statistics about inflation. But we can’t lose sight of the fact that at its core this is a bread-and-butter issue. Quite literally - the cost of bread and butter, and everything else, just keeps going up.

In next week’s Budget we want to see clear commitments from Government that they will use the public purse to provide cost of living supports and to invest in the public services that will improve life for everyone in this country and make it a little bit easier to get by. Last year the household energy credits, and the introduction of free schoolbooks, were examples of tangible measures that had a real impact. This year we need to see creative thinking and investment in childcare, in education, in health, the things that shape our daily lives.

Action is also needed to address rising mortgage interest rates, which affects not only homeowners when monthly repayments go up, but renters too, as landlords decide to sell or to increase rents.

As we begin to see analysts pointing to a possible slow down in the economy, we again reiterate our message that now is not the time to reduce the tax base, but instead to make the public investment needed to make everyday life more affordable. 

Of course, employers must step up to the plate too and this includes the Government. Building Momentum expires at the end of 2023, and last week the ICTU Public Services Committee, which I chair, agreed its four pillars for negotiations on a possible new public service agreement. Our priority will be to ensure that wherever the Budget doesn’t go far enough to address the cost of living, pay increases for public sector workers must make up the difference. You can read more about our approach below.

One creative measure Government could announce next week that would demonstrate their appreciation of the contribution workers make to our society and economy, and the role trade unions play in ensuring fairness at work, would be to announce tax relief on union subscriptions. Fórsa continues to campaign for a reversal of this austerity-era decision to eliminate this tax relief.  Strong unions mean strong workforces so this policy would benefit workers and the wider economy.

Our union is a strong union. We are proud of our colleagues in Local Government who recently undertook industrial action. They secured a commitment to a roadmap for job evaluation in local authorities.

Our members and officials in health are engaged in several disputes all of which have fairness and respect at their heart. From today, clerical admin and managerial grade members in the HSE will begin a work to rule action, and on Tuesday October 17^th our members delivering health services in the community and voluntary sector will begin indefinite strike action. I hope you will join with me in standing in solidarity with members across all our divisions. 

Thank you for your continued support.

Yours,

Kevin Callinan

General Secretary.

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

All workers currently covered by the Building Momentum agreement will receive a pay increase of 1.5% or €750 (whichever is greater), effective from 1^st October 2023. 

Pay scales for Fórsa members have been updated on the Fórsa website, reflecting the final pay adjustment under the Building Momentum Pay Agreement.

The deal, which was originally negotiated by Fórsa and other unions in 2020, with an extension to the agreement negotiated again in 2022, has delivered six pay adjustment to date totalling 7.5%.

You can view the revised payscales on the Fórsa website HERE.

Fórsa are teaming up with Cornmarket , for the second time, to roll out a potentially life-saving breast and prostate health assessment and education programme to thousands of members of the Fórsa Salary Protection Scheme.

The Pink and Blue Power programme aims to increase awareness of the signs and symptoms of common cancers and provide members with vital education and the opportunity for a once-off clinical physical exam. 

All-Ireland winners, Dublin GAA players Leah Caffrey and James McCarthy, joined us in Fórsa HQ to celebrate the launch.

The last programme back in 2019 was a huge success. It was launched in response to a high level of cancer claims in the scheme, and acknowledging that 1 in 9 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, while 1 in 7 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer.

The initial GP appointment only takes 15 minutes and includes:

• A clinical physical breast/prostate examination
• Education on signs and symptoms of breast/prostate cancer
• How to perform a breast exam (for women)
• PSA Blood test for men (to measure Prostate Specific Antigen)
• Personal report with clinical findings.

If further investigation is required, members are referred to a participating private clinic in Dublin, Cork or Galway for a consultation, scanning and a biopsy, if necessary.

Fórsa President Michael Smyth welcomed the initiative and encouraged all members to sign up for the scheme:

“Health is something we must not take for granted. The programme gives our members easy access to screenings, and we cannot underestimate the importance they may have in someone’s life. During the last programme, hundreds of participants were sent for further tests, and 5 Fórsa members were diagnosed with cancer. Their outlook was improved thanks to the programme.

“It was a pleasure to welcome both Leah Caffrey and James McCarthy to Fórsa and I’d like to applaud them for getting behind the campaign. Everyone has been affected by cancer in one way or another and we must continue to advocate for early diagnosis through programmes like this.”

 For more information, you can visit cornmarket.ie/pink-blue-power/

Pink & Blue Power is a benefit of the Fórsa Salary Protection Scheme. Not a member of the Scheme yet? Visit cornmarket.ie/forsa for more on benefits and how to apply.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE.

Fórsa is inviting eligible members and activists to apply to its third level grant support scheme, which gives limited financial assistance to those undertaking certified educational courses – up to third level – that will assist them in carrying out their union representative role.

The programme requires that the qualifications and skills achieved through the scheme supported courses will be of benefit to the member in their work, union and personal life.

The scheme does not cover courses designed to enhance professional or career development unless they also improve a member’s ability to act as a Fórsa rep.

Applicants must be fully paid-up Fórsa members and can only apply by completing the application form. They must also have the support of their own Fórsa branch.

The closing date for applications is 5.30pm on Friday 13th October 2023, and all applications must be submitted by email to: bursaries@forsa.ie.

Full details of the application requirements and available support are available here. .

The approved application form is available here.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE.