With the amalgamation of three unions to create Fórsa came an opportunity to enhance membership benefits. There are a broad spectrum of benefits available to members, varying in nature. Some are financial, others by means of support. With some schemes members are automatically enrolled when they join the union, and there are others that operate on an “opt in” basis. It is important to note however, that members can make considerable savings through these benefits.

So what exactly does your membership subscription get you?

Financial benefits

After 6 months in membership all members are entitled to the following:

• €5,000 in personal accident cover
• €5,000 critical illness cover or death benefit. Spouses are also covered under this scheme
• From 2 January 2019 a €5,000 illness benefit will be available to members if you are out of work for more than 12 months
• For members who are seriously ill, injured, or pass away while abroad, Fórsa will cover evacuation or repatriation expenses up to the value of €250,000

Fórsa has also negotiated a number of group schemes for its members through various providers including Cornmarket, Glennons Insurance, JLT, KennCo and Lyons Financial Services, details of which we'll be including in the next news bulletin. These providers will give members advice on various financial products such as car and home insurance, pension benefits, salary protection and life cover.

Support services

Fórsa members can also avail of free counseling, legal advice and support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year, through the following helplines:

• Free legal help in bodily injury cases 1850-77-66-44
• Free 24/7 legal advice helpline 1850-77-66-44
• Free 24/7 confidential counselling helpline 1850-77-66-55
• Free 24/7 domestic assistance helpline 1850-77-66-44

In addition, provisions have been made for a benevolent grant for members who are in financial distress. Gaeltacht scholarships are available for members who have school age children. Members can also avail of industrial relations scholarships.

Group Scheme

Another hidden gem is the group scheme. This operates on an “opt in” basis and there are huge savings to be made on everyday items. Members can access discounts from small businesses located near their place of work including restaurants, retailers, hairdressers and coffee shops.

The group scheme also operates a cashback system. The concept is simple; every time you shop online with one of the cashback partners they will reimburse a portion of what you spend. The money accumulates in your group scheme cashback account, which you can transfer to your bank account at any time.

Fórsa organiser Bernie Aston explains just how important these schemes are for members. “All of the membership schemes are hugely beneficial. Fórsa has negotiated with a number of financial providers to give members the best options available. Generally, with the likes of the financial products, members will see discounts on what they are currently paying.”

Bernie also highlighted the benefits of the group scheme. “This is a real money saver” said Bernie. “Members can more than negate the cost of their union subscriptions through the savings and offers available.”

For more information on the full range of benefits visit the Fórsa website.

Fórsa has suspended industrial action taking place in institutes of technology and Mary Immaculate College in Limerick (MIC), as work is to commence on introducing a new job evaluation scheme, following talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) last week.

The action commenced in mid-October, with the aim of securing a comprehensive job evaluation exercise.

Talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) last week produced an agreement between the union and the Department of Education and Skills which makes provision for the commencement of a job evaluation scheme for library, clerical and administrative and support staff roles in the higher education sector.

Fórsa members had backed industrial action by a margin of 85% in July. The industrial action took the form of members refusing to engage in any form of communication including making and taking phone calls, video conferencing, or responding to or forwarding emails.

Fórsa official Andy Pike said the talks at the WRC had been constructive, and brought to an end a three year delay on job evaluation, despite a commitment agreed in May 2015, as part of the negotiations that lead to the Lansdowne Road Agreement.

“Our members have been waiting three years for this outcome. They showed their strong resolve by taking action. We’re satisfied that the measures agreed here today give our members a clear path to a comprehensive job evaluation scheme, and for that reason we are satisfied that it’s now appropriate to suspend the industrial action,” he said.

Andy explained that the purpose of job evaluation is to measure whether or not a specific post is correctly graded. “It assesses the skills and responsibilities required of a particular post, rather than the individual performing it.

“Since 2008 the higher education sector has seen a very large increase in the number of students enrolled while staff numbers fell. There has been a corresponding increase in total productivity as library, professional and support staff took on the challenge of delivering services in these circumstances.

“The sector relied for a long time on the goodwill and dedication of its staff with many individuals assuming additional and more onerous duties. This situation was exacerbated by the failure to fill higher grade posts over the past number of years. In some cases posts were filled by agency staff on a temporary basis,” he said.

The launch of the Fórsa Women’s Activist Network will take place on Saturday 3rd November at 11am at Fórsa's Nerney's Court Office.
 
This new Equality Network will provide a forum for members across the union to meet and discuss issues relevant to women in the workplace. This national meeting is the first of a series of new Equality Networks to be established by the Equality Committee over the coming months.

The meeting will be opened by ICTU General Secretary Patricia King and will feature speakers on the gender pay gap, access to flexible working schemes, the role of women within Fórsa and other topics of interest to activists across the union.
 
The event, which will run from 11am to 3pm, will include speakers on the following topics:

• Patricia King, General Secretary Irish Congress of Trade Unions – Opening remarks
• Ann McGee, Fórsa President - Building the Women’s Activist Network
• Orla O’Connor, Director National Women’s Council of Ireland – The Gender Pay Gap and mandatory Reporting
• Laura Bambrick, Social Policy & Legislative Officer Irish Congress of Trade Unions - Wives, Mothers, Workers: A brief history of the treatment of women in tax and welfare policies
• Angela Kirk, Fórsa National Secretary – Women working in Aviation – experiences, barriers & opportunities
• Lisa Wilson, Economist at the Nevin Economic Research Institute – The importance of flexible working for women in the workplace
• Margaret Coughlan, Chair ICTU Women’s Committee – Our Fórsa Inspire Training and how we can develop the role of Women within Fórsa

The full programme is available to view here. This is the first of a number of new Equality Networks which will be established over the coming months aimed at improving equality in the workplace for Fórsa members.

 
Places are available to members on a first come first served basis, lunch will be provided. To book a place please send an email to this address with 'Fórsa Women’s Activist Network' in the subject heading.

Following a recent Labour Court decision about SNAs in Scoil Mochua, Dublin, SNA reps have sought a meeting with management do discuss any health and safety concerns and required supports that could arise before moving to new practices within the school.

The school is attached to the Central Remedial Clinic (CRC). The Labour Court’s decision was widely reported in the media.

Fórsa official Seán Carabini explained, “The SNAs in the school were not comfortable with their issue ending up in national media. The case itself was unusual in that it centred around the SNA contract. Until very recently, the school had never issued any of the SNAs with the SNA contract. The SNAs in question had been working in the school for up to forty years in some cases.

“When they were initially hired, they were told that there were different toileting arrangements for children with different needs. Some would need SNA support and others nursing support.

Local practices

“Without a contract, local practices developed over the decades to respond to these different needs. This meant SNAs looked after most of the toileting, while healthcare professionals were responsible for toileting for children with more complex medical needs.

“The practice proved successful and has worked for many years,” he said.

Seán said the school decided a few years ago to change its practice and delegated responsibility for the majority of toileting to SNAs, which raised a number of contractual questions specific to SNAs in Scoil Mochua.

Concern

“Our members at Scoil Mochua have consistently operated from a place of concern,” he said.

Seán said the main questions for the SNAs at Scoil Mochua were:

• Were they best placed to meet the toileting needs of children with complex medical needs?
• Were they bound by the SNA contract even though the contract was never issued to them?
• Did management have to consider the local practice that had developed in the school over the decades to deal with the issue?
• What would the impact be on the other supports that SNAs give in the school?

Seán added: “The Labour Court, in its deliberations, considered that, in this case, the SNAs were bound by the general SNA contract and that the school could, indeed, change the local practice.

“At present, the Labour Court recommendation has neither been accepted nor rejected and, before making any such decision, the members have sought to meet with management do discuss any health and safety concerns and required supports that could arise before moving to new practices within the school,” he said.

In some rare circumstances, a child with an SNA assignment may withdraw from a school. This may unfortunately lead to the loss of the SNA’s job. What notice is an SNA entitled to before the job ends in this manner?

Section 4.1 of the SNA contract states that SNA notice periods should be in line with the appropriate period of notice set out in the Minimum Notice and Terms of Employment Acts 1973-1991.

This legislation is very clear. It states:

• If the employee has been in the continuous service of his employer for less than two years, one week
• If the employee has been in the continuous service of his employer for two years or more, but less than five years, two weeks
• If the employee has been in the continuous service of his employer for five years or more, but less than ten years, four weeks
• If the employee has been in the continuous service of his employer for ten years or more, but less than fifteen years, six weeks
• If the employee has been in the continuous service of his employer for fifteen years or more, eight weeks

The SNA should continue to be paid as normal during the notice period.

SNA contract issues: archive

Since April we've been publishing a special segment focussing on contract issues facing SNAs. Devised and written by assistant general secretary Seán Carabini, It has proved to be one of the most popular items in the Education news bulletin. 

We've archived all of these items for ease of access, and will publish an updated archive in each future edition of the bulletin.

If you have SNA contract issues you'd like to see covered in the bulletin, please contact info@forsa.ie. Please include 'SNA contract issues for the news bulletin' in the subject heading.

• Panel Appeals
• Displacement: Are You Doing Someone Else’s Job?
• Standard contract for 2018/2019 school year
• SNA allocation FAQs
• The NCSE's SNA review: main points and recommendations
• Q&A: NCSE Comprehensive Review of the Special Needs Assistant Scheme
• Post fragmentation
• I was a full-time SNA but have had my hours cut. Am I entitled to any redundancy payment?

Trade unions must match the digital experience provided by other organisations to build towards the future according to the Trade Union Congress (TUC’s) Antonia Bance.

Ms Bance, the TUC’s head of campaigns, communications and digital, was speaking about the importance of unions adopting a digitally orientated approach at the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) Friday Briefing event in mid-October.

She said an effective digital approach was crucial to reaching younger workers and encouraging greater engagement with unions. “Digital is as much about culture, practices and processes as technology, enhanced communications and research capabilities can be used to tailor campaigns,” she said.

Ms Bance also said practical changes to methods of recruiting members could make the everyday work of unions more efficient and provide a simpler and more enjoyable experience for members.

Speaking after the event, Fórsa's communications officer Niall Shanahan said “Antonia presented us with a formidable challenge, one that unions need to face realistically. Union members need to be able to have a digital relationship with their union on a par with their relationship with their bank or favourite online bookstore.

“The event provided useful and interesting insights into how to reach members on different platforms, and how to tailor both communications and general operations. 

“While every member values the direct contact they have with a union official, that relationship must be complemented by a responsive digital experience. The future is already here, unions need to own the digital space. We're not there yet,” he said.

Fórsa welcomed David Keegan and Edel Doran (pictured left, below) from First Fortnight to learn about their excellent work.

The Dublin-based charity aims to challenge mental health prejudice and stigma through arts and culture. It began as a volunteer-led initiative in 2010, establishing the first mental health arts and culture festival in 2012.

The charity also provides creative therapies to marginalised communities affected by mental ill-health.

Pictured are Fórsa's Eamonn Donnelly (right) and Dessie Robinson presenting a donation from our conference charity cycle event in May.

Find out more about their work at firstfortnight.ie.

Mental health support

First Fortnight are one of four mental health charities that received funds from the union’s charity cycling event, the sixth event of its kind. This year, the union focused on groups providing mental health supports and suicide awareness and prevention services.

Eamonn and Dessie established the event in 2008, cycling from Dublin to Kilkenny.

Since then the event has grown, attracting donations from every branch of the union, and each event features a growing number of participating union members.

To learn more about this year’s charities, check out the latest edition of Fórsa magazine, available in your workplace, or download a PDF version here.