Fórsa wants to refer a dispute over blended working in the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission to a facilitator under the civil service conciliation and arbitration scheme, which allows third party referral on disputed issues.

Fórsa has called on social protection minister Heather Humphries to take urgent action to recruit community welfare officers and support staff to clear the backlog of additional needs payment (ANP) applications, which have doubled in recent months due to the cost-of-living crisis.

Fórsa has called for an urgent Government commitment to a referendum on the right to housing, with a firm date for voting, in its latest submission on the issue.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has called on the Government to increase the national minimum wage from €10.50 to €12 per hour in this month’s budget.

Workers on lower incomes face a higher rate of inflation than the average according to a recent report from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).