Last week a tense exchange took place between union officials and civil service management, following an unprecedented and unilateral decision to change the established pattern of remote work in the Department of Social Protection. On Friday afternoon Taoiseach Micheál Martin intervened publicly, commenting that normal industrial relations processes should be followed. 

On Thursday evening, 30th January, your union issued an instruction to all members working in the Departments of Social Protection and Finance instructing them to continue with their usual pattern of remote work.  

The instruction came in response to a directive to reduce remote working days from the first week of February. In a note to members head of the Civil Service division Éamonn Donnelly said:  

“This is a serious and avoidable dispute that concerns the unilateral alteration of the Blended Working Policy 2022 to the disadvantage of workers, without discussion, analytics or prior consultation.” 
 
He continued: “This is the first instance in which the Government has rolled back remote working arrangements for its own staff, following the recent publication of the new Programme for Government, which commits the new administration to a review of remote and blended work policies.” 

The union instruction was widely reported on in national media the next day, Friday 31st January, featuring on the cover of The Irish Times, and later that morning Éamonn spoke about the importance of remote working for peoples’ lives on The Claire Byrne Show on RTE Radio One. 

He said: “Reviews of hybrid working arrangements must be based on analytics which take account of the benefit to the workplace, the worker, and the wider socio-economic benefits. In this instance the Department told us no analytics were used in making this decision.” 

“A balanced discussion is needed. Operational reasons do need to be discussed but so do the societal reasons in favour of hybrid work, such as reduction of carbon emissions and urban congestion, and caring responsibilities undertaken by workers.”  

Then, on Friday afternoon Taoiseach Micheál Martin intervened publicly, commenting that normal industrial relations processes should be followed. 

DSP revised its position and advised staff they had the option to continue current arrangements while consultation takes place. 

Thanking members for their support, Fórsa official Paul MacSweeney said: “This outcome would not have been achieved without your willingness to take a stand. We will continue to stand up for remote working, and we need you to get involved too. Ask your colleagues to join the union today so we can build our strength.”  

What’s happening on the ground?  Fill us in. 

The pandemic forced many to hit the reset button on work-life balance. What began as a necessity—working from home—soon revealed new freedoms and benefits, like cutting the needless commute, and a reduction in number of sick days taken. Now, we want to hear from you: How would returning to the office impact your life? Are there aspects you would welcome? Can we ever truly go back to full-time office work? Talk to your colleagues and let us know what the mood is like on the ground. 

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