Fórsa has been engaged in discussions with the Department of Education over the past number of weeks on the SNA allocations for the next school year to ensure that SNA job security is protected.  

Now, as a result of those discussions, all SNA posts are set to be retained for the coming school year, even those identified as surplus by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE). There are approximately 70 posts in this category, following reviews by Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs).  

These posts will now be retained for the duration of the next school year, after which the new redeployment scheme will be fully operational. This means that where the SENO informed the school that an SNA post was surplus, that post will now be retained until the end of the next school year. Where a school was notified that the hours of an SNA were to be cut, that decision has been reversed and the hours will be retained.  

The new redeployment scheme will be used during the next school year to identify an alternative post for any SNA post that may be deemed to be surplus. Schools can also appeal against a decision that declares an SNA post as surplus. 

This confirms a new approach to addressing the precarious employment of SNAs. Even without a fully operational redeployment scheme an agreement is now in place to ensure that affected members are not at risk of redundancy without the safety net of redeployment being available yet.  

The NCSE has sent letters by email to schools confirming their SNA allocations, and the letter also specifies that whilst a post might be deemed surplus, it will now be retained until the end of the next school year. 

Fórsa’s head of education Andy Pike welcomed the announcement, saying:  “This has required careful and detailed discussions between the union and the department which has taken far longer than anyone wanted, however, despite the uncertainty caused by the delay, the outcome is a hard-fought win for members.” 

The additional 1600 new SNA posts will be allocated according to need with a significant number deployed to facilitate new special classes, developing schools and new special schools. More details on this will be available once the NCSE publishes the allocations to schools on their website. 

Andy went on to underline that the increase in SNAs joining the union had a big impact on this result. He said  “This agreement was only possible due to the increase in Fórsa membership amongst SNAs. The greater the number of SNAs in the union, the better the outcomes will be. This is a tangible sign that SNA terms and conditions will improve, and that the department and the government are beginning to listen to what our members have been saying for many years.” 

“Our members clearly told the department and government as a whole that if they genuinely respected SNAs, they had to demonstrate that respect by addressing precarious and insecure employment. This development is the first step towards a more secure allocation model with the same job security provided to SNAs as to their teacher colleagues.” 

Andy concluded: “We will be concluding the lengthy negotiations on the SNA Workforce Development Plan over the summer months and will report back to you on the outcomes as soon as we can.” 

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa. 

This month the Skills Academy are happy to announce the roll-out of an enhanced record system, designed and built by the Fórsa membership team. This system will give the Skills Academy the ability to identify and collate information on branch participation in training, and completion rates for all courses. 

Fórsa director of membership training and development, Fiona Dunne, said “This new system will allow us to more easily access student records and gather a full statistical breakdown of which members are taking up training. This information will allow us to better match what we have on offer with members’ needs, and ensure our resources are being directed where they’re needed.” 

The new interface will cover records from the past three years. Branches that wish to know what training has been undertaken by their representatives during that time can contact the Skills Academy at skillsacademy@forsa.ie.

Coming up in the next few weeks, the Skills Academy has the ever-popular Induction for new members, their first-ever Skills Academy Certificate Award Ceremony, and to celebrate Pride month, an LGBTQIA+ themed Lunch & Learn.  

Fórsa Induction for new members – Online - Wednesday 9th July  

Ideal for new members, Fórsa Induction is a short, informative session designed to unravel some of the mysteries of the union and provide a warm welcome. 

Learn the basics of what exactly a trade union is, the structure of Fórsa and how we operate, and how members can become more engaged, have their voices heard locally, and raise issues at divisional and national levels.   

Register here.

Live: Lunch & Learn – Supporting our LGBTQIA+ colleagues – 1-2pm Friday 27th June – Online  

LGBT Ireland's Pride Talk 2025 will bring you through the history of Pride in Ireland over the past five decades and outline why Pride celebrations in 2025 matter as much now as they did over 40 years ago, when the first Pride parade took place. Allyship is the key way for non-LGBTQIA+ people to express support, provide safety and co-create a fully equal and inclusive workplace, community and society. Allyship is at the heart of why Pride still matters.  

If you are interested, you can register here. Registration will remain open until Thursday 26th June.

Skills Academy Certificate Award Ceremony – 2.30pm 24th June - Nerney’s Court  

The Skills Academy are looking forward to welcoming some of their former students to Nerney’s Court next week for the first-ever Skills Academy certificate award ceremony. This ceremony will see students from several courses receive certificates of completion for courses they took this year. A second ceremony will take place later in the year for the remaining courses. Anyone in and around Nerney’s Court on the day is encouraged to join in celebrating their union colleagues’ achievement. 

Next semester  

The next academic year begins in September with a wide variety of both new and returning courses available for members. Workplace Representative Training levels one and two, Public Speaking, Data Protection, Digital and Social Media, Communications, and more! Applications for each will open over the coming weeks. 

Check out the full schedule for the upcoming academic year here. If you would like to apply for any courses, you can contact your branch committee directly to receive an application link as they become available. 

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa. 

United Against Racism Ireland has called on all activists, anti-racists, political parties, unions, and anyone who opposes the far-right to join them on Sunday 22nd June to counter-protest the second ‘God Bless Ireland’ anti-immigration protest. 

The counter protest will be meeting on Dame Street at 1:30pm. 

The previous ‘God Bless Ireland’ protest encountered criticism from across Irish society with reports of chants of “get them out”, speakers calling for mass deportations, open use of Nazi salutes, and signs glorifying Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, and controversial public figure Conor McGregor who was present on the day. 

United Against Racism said “In April, far-right activists and groups led a worrying and explicitly racist and anti-immigrant demonstration. UAR organised a counter-demonstration to send a clear message: racism is not welcome on our streets.” 

“When left unchallenged, these far-right rallies embolden people to attack and abuse migrants and people of colour, dividing our communities, making our cities and towns unsafe” they continued. 

Fórsa stands against racism and discrimination in Irish society. Our members come from across the island of Ireland and around the world. We stand with our colleagues being adversely affected by rising anti-immigration sentiment and activities. 

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa. 

Fórsa’s school secretaries and caretakers have voted overwhelmingly in favour of indefinite strike action in their ongoing campaign for pension justice. The result, confirmed last week (Wednesday 11th June), saw 98% of voting members support the move, with a turnout of over 81%. 

Fórsa has informed the Department of Education that letters of notice would issue from this week to affected school employers and school management bodies. The union has confirmed that indefinite strike action will commence on Thursday 28th August 2025, at the start of the new school term.  

Fórsa represents more than 2,300 school secretaries and 500 school caretakers working in primary and secondary schools across the country. The ballot outcome follows years of campaigning to secure access to the Single Public Service Pension Scheme, from which school secretaries remain excluded, despite being placed on the Department of Education’s centralised payroll since 2023. 

Andy Pike, Fórsa’s head of education, said the result sends a powerful message: “Our members have voted overwhelmingly for strike action because they believe in pension equality. These are dedicated professionals who are essential to the smooth running of our schools. They deserve the same pension rights as their public service colleagues.” 

Andy said the ballot reflected growing frustration at the State’s continued refusal to extend pension parity, despite the significant progress made in standardising pay, contracts, and payroll arrangements for school secretaries. Similar pay arrangements for caretakers are expected to be finalised this year. 

He added: “The 2023 agreement was a landmark in recognising the value of school secretaries’ work. But without pension provision, it remains incomplete. Fórsa has always maintained that pension justice is a vital element of achieving full equality.” 

The 2023 agreement followed a prolonged campaign by Fórsa, which included strike action by school secretaries in January 2020, with strong support from teachers, Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) and parents in school communities. 

Fórsa has advised the department that it remains available for engagement should the department wish to discuss the terms under which Fórsa members can be admitted to the Single Public Service Pension Scheme. 

Andy added: “We urge both the Department of Education and the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform to re-engage with Fórsa to secure a fair and equitable resolution.”  

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa. 

As we approach the end of the school year, special needs assistants (SNAs) have once again faced the annual challenge of advocating for the appropriate implementation of ‘June Working’. 

Whilst ‘June Working’ is encapsulated in the discussions on the contract review, it remains a contractual obligation for SNAs in post-primary schools. However, its misuse has persisted over the years. Department circulars and the May 2023 Information Correspondence, provide clear guidance on what constitutes appropriate duties during this period.  

These can include tasks related to school and state examinations, continuous professional development, special educational needs (SEN) related work, such as providing and creating academic resources for the next academic year or developing individual education plans (IEPs) for students. 

Throughout June, staff across the education division have worked tirelessly to support members in addressing inappropriate duties assigned by management. These have often involved difficult conversations but have resulted in positive outcomes. 

Fórsa official Linda O’Sullivan said: “This year instances of SNAs being asked to perform duties that fall outside the scope of their role included cleaning out polytunnels, washing school uniforms, fixing and removing exercise equipment, shredding for the entire school and conducting toilet inspections.  These are very clearly outside the scope of appropriate duties. 

“We have also seen continued displacement of work with SNAs expected to take on duties appropriate to other grades such as those of the school secretaries, caretakers, and cleaners. A recurring issue is the assignment of schoolbook scheme responsibilities without the corresponding grant payment outlined by the department for this work.” 

To help members deal with these issues, information sessions were hosted by SNA branches across the division to ensure they had access to information and resources. 

These meetings covered relevant circulars, examples of appropriate tasks and explained how members can raise concerns with management before seeking union support. The attendance was strong and feedback from members was overwhelmingly positive. 

At a local level, there has also been significant successes through engagement between members, union officials and school management, which have succeeded in changing the tasks assigned to SNAs. Linda concluded: “These wins are a testament to the strength of our collective advocacy and the importance of standing together.”  

Fórsa assistant general secretary Shane Lambert added: “It is clear that 'June working' continues to create problems, despite tasks being clarified and there being a clear understanding between us and other stakeholders at the SNA Industrial Relations forum as to what is appropriate or not.” 

“We have made our views on ‘June Working’ clear in the discussions on the contract review and will use these recent examples as further evidence in support of our arguments.  It is clear, however, that when members come together and make a stand, refusing to carry out duties that are not appropriate, they can and do win.” 

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa. 

On Monday 23rd June Fórsa will be celebrating United Nations Public Services Day. 

Together with trade union colleagues from across Europe and around the world, we will celebrate all the workers who provide the vital public services that keep our societies running smoothly. 

General secretary Kevin Callinan said: “Imagining a world without public sector workers doesn’t bear thinking about. Public sector workers provide the services that frame our day-to-day lives, whether that's through local authorities, the civil service, in health, education or semi state agencies. Fórsa members deserve our gratitude and respect. Without you, the tapestry that holds society together would unravel.” 

Ahead of the occasion, the European Public Service Union (EPSU), of which Fórsa is a member, launched its new Public Services Agenda, calling for strong, accessible, and democratically accountable public services to be placed at the heart of Europe’s future. 

Launching the document, the EPSU underlined the role public services have in daily life - from healthcare and education to energy, justice and care. The agenda calls for a commitment to public investment, fair taxation, and high-quality public employment. 

It also offers a roadmap to ensure the EU delivers on the promises of the European Pillar of Social Rights - particularly the right to quality, affordable public services. Read it here. 

Keep an eye on Fórsa’s social media channels and your emails on Monday so you can watch and share our celebration of public services and the workers who provide them. 

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa. 

Fórsa is calling on members to join the ‘Raise the Roof’ protest in Cork this weekend, on Saturday 21st June, beginning at 2pm at the National Monument on Grand Parade. 

Fórsa is a member of the broad coalition organising the ‘Raise the Roof’ campaign and will be taking part on the day. 

We are joined in the ‘Raise the Roof’ campaign by fellow trade unions, civil society groups, and political parties, who are demanding that the government take concerted and effective action to address the deepening housing crisis.  

According to recent figures from the Daft.ie, average rents in Cork City have risen by 13.6% in the past year, to €2,213, with a similar rate of increase being felt across Munster. 

Fórsa head of campaigns Kevin Donoghue said, “We had a great turn out from members in Dublin at a ‘Raise the Roof’ demo on Tuesday. We’re hoping to see our Cork members and members across Munster turn out in force. Unaffordable rents and housing prices are impacting our members’ lives and careers all around Ireland.” 

“The cost of housing is spiralling across the country. Not just in the big cities, but in the towns and countryside. We have to say enough is enough” he continued. 

The Cork protest follows a protest outside Leinster House on Tuesday 17th June, which precipitated renewed scrutiny of government failings in housing provisions in the Dáil. The protest was widely reported on, with coverage appearing on RTE, The Irish Times, The Irish Independent, The Journal, and the Irish Examiner, amongst many others.

Speaking at the protest, Fórsa member Elli Horgan said “I’m being forced to move out of Dublin because my rent is over a thousand euro. I’m a public healthcare worker, I want to serve Dublin, but I have no choice.”

The ‘Raise the Roof’ campaign is calling on government to adopt a series of policy demands to address the housing crisis. These include:  

• An expanded programme of public housing on public land, led by local authorities and housing bodies to deliver affordable housing.  
• Ensure that at least 20% of all housing is public housing, in line with Housing Commission report.  
• Move to a genuinely affordable not-for-profit cost rental model.  
• Full restoration and expansion of the tenant-in-situ scheme.  
• Urgent action to tackle the tens of thousands of vacant and derelict properties.  
• An immediate restoration of the ban on no fault evictions and a freeze on all rent increases.  
• And most of all, we need a clear commitment that workers will be able to live in the communities they serve.  

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa.