Fórsa members in the physiotherapy department  of  St. Vincent's University Hospital recently achieved important local wins.

Members had identified two issues that affected everyone: a blanket restriction limiting annual leave requests to a maximum of two consecutive weeks, and a gendered uniform policy. Female members of staff were required to wear tunics, while male members of staff were required to wear white office shirts. 

Physiotherapist Dan Thompson contacted Fórsa after hearing the same frustrations from colleagues time and again. 

"In a modern workplace, people want fairness and flexibility. Only being able to take two weeks' leave max limits the options you have for annual leave, and it is impossible to take long-distance trips if you only have two weeks to do it. People were also quite frustrated that men and women had to wear different uniforms, neither of which were particularly comfortable or practical for physiotherapists who work in a busy hospital " he said. 

"People had tried to raise these issues individually, but they hadn’t really gotten anywhere." 

Members set about building collective support. Department meetings gave everyone the opportunity to vent and shape what winning a fair outcome looked like.  

For the annual leave campaign, members agreed on a proposal to end the two-week restriction. Dan organised a petition that was signed by 85% of the department, with only members on leave unable to add their names. The petition demonstrated overwhelming support for change before negotiations even began. 

Then they met to agree what changes they wanted that would work for everyone. Workplace representative James Hale sat in with Fórsa officials during negotiations with hospital management, armed with proposals and solutions developed by the members themselves.  

Within a month of negotiations, management agreed to lift the annual leave restriction on a year-long trial basis, giving physiotherapists the right to request more than two consecutive weeks of leave. 

Members also secured agreement on a revised uniform policy. Previously, male physiotherapists were required to wear white office shirts while female physiotherapists were expected to wear white tunics. After another petition, signed by 95% of the department, members won the addition of a practical, gender-neutral polo shirt to the department's uniform options. 

Fórsa official Sylvia Power said the victories showed what happens when workers move from individual complaints to collective action. 

"These policies had been in place for many years and were out of step with every other Section 38 hospital physiotherapy department in Dublin. Staff had tried individually to change them, with little success. The wins came when members stood together, agreed on what they wanted and demonstrated that the whole department was behind those demands." 

The campaign also bolstered the union’s membership. The physiotherapy department now has 28 Fórsa members, with several people signing up due to the grassroots activity.  

The victories on annual leave and uniforms may seem modest on paper, but they demonstrate a much bigger lesson: that when workers organise, they can take power back and shape their lives for the better. 

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa.