Cabin crew members at Aer Lingus are to ballot on a revised pay deal, following renewed negotiations with the airline during September.

An earlier pay deal was rejected by cabin crew in June. The new deal, which improves the basic pay rate by 12.25% over the next two years, and which will be backdated to 1st January 2023, will be put to a ballot of members shortly.

The Aer Lingus Cabin Crew branch committee will issue the ballot with a recommendation to vote in favour of the new pay deal.

Under the terms of the new deal, basic pay will receive a 5.75% boost in October - or €1,840, whichever is greater - as soon as the ballot is accepted. Another 3.5% (or €1,120) will apply from 1st January 2024, and another 3% (or €960) from 1st January 2025.

In addition, there will be a once-off tax-free voucher payment made on 1st October 2024, worth €750. The new pay deal includes annual revisions to cabin crew credits over the three-year period covered, which will see cabin crew receive an extra €664 in credits in 2024, and a total of €890 a year by 2025.

Fórsa and Aer Lingus will commence negotiations to devise a new credits model by January 2024.

The deal will also see cabin crew pay scale progression for those recruited in 2022 and 2023, in addition to improvements in commission and overnight allowances.

Pilots at Emerald Airlines, the carrier which holds the regional service franchise for Aer Lingus, have backed a new industrial relations agreement between the airline and Fórsa trade union.

The pilots are members of IALPA, the professional association which represents pilots within Ireland, and a branch of Fórsa. A ballot of pilots on the new agreement concluded on 8th September last.

Emerald Airlines operates regional flights, including the Dublin to Donegal service on behalf of Aer Lingus and UK regional routes trading as Aer Lingus Regional.

The agreement follows a series of negotiations between the union and Emerald, following the suspension of a work-to-rule during the summer months, and of a planned one-day stoppage at the August bank holiday weekend.

The industrial action had been organised in response to the airline’s prior refusal to engage with the union to form a collective labour agreement for pilots employed at the carrier.

IALPA principal officer Daniel Langan said: “The agreement achieves union recognition and a commitment to negotiating a Collective Labour Agreement (CLA) covering pilot pay, terms and conditions of employment.”

Fórsa national secretary Katie Morgan said the new agreement marked a fresh and positive step toward better industrial relations at the airline: "We will build on this success by negotiating a collective agreement covering pilot pay and employment terms.”

“The new industrial relations agreement commits the parties to that negotiation, and we look forward to commencing talks as soon as possible,” she said.

The ballot was backed by 100% vote in favour on a 93% turnout.

Ryanair’s Irish-based employed pilots, who are represented by Fórsa, have rejected a series of amendments to a 2022 collective labour agreement (CLA) in a recent ballot.

Fórsa official Ian McDonnell explained: “Fórsa and Ryanair agreed a CLA last December, setting out the pay rates and increases for pilots, up to the conclusion of the CLA, which runs until March 2027.

“The agreement ended the individual Covid-19 emergency agreements and delivered full pay restoration in December 2022.

“From July this year we continued to engage with the airline in order to address the one-off gap in pay increases in 2023, making a series of amendments to the existing agreement,” he said.

Ian said the amendments were to take effect from August, subject to a ballot of pilots. However, the amendments were rejected.

Fórsa has sought a meeting with Ryanair management to engage on feedback, received from members, on why the amendments were rejected.

Fórsa has teamed up with Cornmarket to offer our members a fantastic opportunity to win a family holiday.

Details of the competition and information about the Fórsa Salary Protection Scheme, which is administered by Cornmarket and underwritten by New Ireland Assurance Company, are detailed here.

The Fórsa Salary Protection Scheme offers Fórsa members income protection, and various other benefits, in the event that they become too unwell to work. The benefits of the scheme are significant, and the cover is only available to workers who are Fórsa members.

To help publicise the benefits of the scheme, Cornmarket are giving away a €2,500 holiday voucher for Center Parcs. So, take a few minutes to read up on the benefits available to you and enter the competition by clicking here before it closes on 30th September 2023.

Dear members,

We are now little more than two weeks away from Budget Day 2024. While the Government will be keen to unveil a financial package that improves its standing with the electorate, the Budget must respond to the continuing challenge of inflation.

Fórsa’s priority is to make sure that the Budget, and upcoming public pay talks, bridge the gap between wages and accumulated inflation.

As every Fórsa member will know, inflation has continued to erode our household spending power in 2023. Every household feels it. In back-to-school costs, groceries, fuel and other basics.

While the rate of inflation has recently shown signs of easing, the cost of living keeps going up, and the value of the money in our pockets can’t keep up.

The most recently published inflationary figures further reveal that, despite being introduced to curb inflation, rising mortgage interest rates are helping to fuel inflation. This means that rising mortgage interest rates have combined with continuing corporate profiteering to erode wages.

Union-negotiated pay deals - including the 2022 review of the Building Momentum public service pay deal - have played a vital role in meeting this challenge, but there remains a gap of close to 10% between wages and accumulated inflation over the past three years.

While the parties of Government have been keen to publicly dangle the prospect of tax cuts in recent weeks, it’s highly unlikely that any such measures will make much of an impression on household incomes, while inflation would quickly wipe out their value.

If the warnings about a possible fall in corporation tax receipts were to be realised, any cuts in income tax or USC may turn out to be temporary.

In any case we can see the need for more spending on services like housing, health and education. Our growing population requires more investment in most public services including childcare and social protection. Improvements that reduce the need to pay or to obtain services privately can help with the cost of living.

At the Labour Employer Economic Forum I have made it clear to the Taoiseach and other senior members of Government that the withdrawal of supports, such as the household energy credit, will place even more pressure on wage bargaining to make good the losses.

It is clear that new pay deals that address the impact of inflation on workers in the public and private sectors will be required to prevent a long-term decline in living standards.

Fórsa expects pay talks, on a successor to the Building Momentum public service pay agreement, to commence in the coming weeks, and we will continue to update you on that process as it develops.

Fórsa’s commitment is to continue to win positive results on behalf of its members. We’ve delivered our message to Government on what Budget 2024 must include to address the gap between inflation and current wages. In entering national pay talks, we are determined to ensure any remaining gap is closed.

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.

Fórsa’s Skills Academy will host its next Lunch & Learn on Friday 29th September from 1–2pm on the topic of Menopause health and you can sign up here.

This month’s live Lunch and Learn is a great opportunity for members to gain a better understanding of menopause health. We are delighted to welcome guest speaker Dr Caoimhe Hartley, as our guest speaker this month.

Dr Caoimhe is a GP and specialist in women’s health and menopause accredited by the British Menopause Society and the North American Menopause Society. She is also the Clinical Lead of the Complex Menopause Clinic in the Rotunda Hospital and the Founder and Clinical Lead of Menopause Health in Dalkey, Co Dublin. She also serves as a member of the Advisory Board of the European Menopause Society.

The aim of the Skills Academy Lunch & Learn series is to provide members with the knowledge to support them as union members or representatives whilst supplementing the broad range of training programmes currently being offered by Skills Academy. Whilst these sessions are predominantly for information, there will be opportunities for participants to ask questions via the chat function.

Closing date to register for this session is Wednesday, 27th September, at 1pm.

You can register to attend the one-hour lunchtime session here.

The Fórsa Skills Academy is the home for all of Fórsa’s training and development initiatives, offering you the practical training you need. We have training at all levels running in the months ahead. Take a look and sign up for the one that suits you best.

Fórsa 101 - New Members Information Session

Fórsa 101 is a short information session which takes place completely online. It’s a great way for new members to better understand the structure of the Union, how it works and how to get more involved.

The next sessions will be held on Wednesday, 11th October - one in the morning at 9:30am and one that evening at 6pm. The sessions will be between 2 to 2 1/2 hours long.

*Special Note to SNAs - due to issues in relation to release from the Department of Education for some courses, SNAs should only apply for the evening course.

Those interested in attending must complete the online application form here. The closing date for registration is: Friday 29th September 2023 at 13:00.

Foundational Workplace Representative Training programme

The Foundational Workplace Representative Training programme is a three-day course for newly elected workplace representatives, or those with less than 2 years representative experience and who have never received Fórsa training previously (except for the Fórsa101 information session). It covers all the basic skills and information that new representatives require to have confidence in the role and get through the first year.

Topics include:

• Branch structure and roles of the Executive Committee
• The role and responsibilities of the Workplace Representative
• Organising and recruiting members
• An introduction to Health and Safety
• An overview of Equality in the Trade Union agenda
• Industrial Relations, handling members' problems and local representation

This is an essential first course for any members undertaking a representative role and is offered in 7 locations throughout the country. Applications will close when the courses have been filled in each location.

Upcoming Foundational training dates:

Tuesday 26th - Thursday 28th September Galway

Tuesday 24th - Thursday 26th October Cork

Tuesday 28th - Thursday 30th November Limerick

Tuesday 27th - Thursday 29th February Sligo

Tuesday 26th - Thursday 28th March Wexford town (Local Trade Union Centre)

Tuesday 23rd - Thursday 25th April Woodford, Santry, Dublin.

You can register for the Foundational Workplace Representative Training programme HERE.

Expanded Workplace Representative Training programme

The Expanded Workplace Representative Training programme is open to those who have more than 2-3 years’ experience in the role of Workplace Representative and have NOT RECEIVED ANY training previously.

The first module focuses on Organising, on day 1 and Industrial Relations on day 2, and takes place on consecutive days on the first week of the month from September through April (except December), across all locations. The specific dates and locations are listed on application form and we would ask applicants to choose the nearest location to them to ensure as many representatives as possible gain access to these courses.

There are also two specialised modules, on Health and Safety, and on Equality. Workplace Representatives and Branch Executive Officers with these specific responsibilities are eligible to apply (provided they have not undertaken this training previously). The dates of these courses are also listed on the application form.

You can register to attend the expanded training programme here.

Upcoming Expanded training dates:

Wednesday 4th - Thursday 5th October 2023 Local Trade Union Centre, Wexford Town

Wednesday 1st - Thursday 2nd November 2023 Sligo

Wednesday 10th - Thursday 11th January 2024 Nerney's Court, Dublin

Wednesday 7th - Thursday 8th February 2024 Limerick

Wednesday 6th - Thursday 7th March 2024 Cork

Wednesday 3rd - Thursday 4th April 2024 Galway

Fórsa has recently donated €1,000 to the Wexford Marine Watch (WMW), a voluntary organisation which provides suicide prevention patrols along Wexford quays, estuary and harbour.

WMW is a registered charity established in December 2012 with the primary purpose to contribute to suicide prevention by identifying and intercepting vulnerable people who may be in difficulty before they harm themselves, by giving them immediate support and to get them to safety as soon as possible.

Previously, in tragic instances, many people in difficulty were not intercepted in time and those who entered the water got swept away by the very strong tidal flows in the harbour. This often resulted in drawn out lengthy searches by voluntary agencies, sometimes for weeks or even months, increasing distress & heartbreak for the families, relatives, search teams, and the wider community.

Fórsa Assistant General Secretary, Paul Moyer, who is a volunteer with the WMV, thanked Fórsa and its members for making this donation: “It is your membership fees that will directly impact in a positive way the communities, families, friends, and work colleagues who rely on Wexford Marine Watch. The donation will be put towards the running, training, and operations of the organisation.”

He added “The Wexford Marine Watch are extremely appreciative of the generous donation from Fórsa. Members across all divisions will benefit from this.”

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

If any branch would like to donate to the Wexford Marine Watch they can do so by contacting Paul at pmoyer@forsa.ie.