The anticipated move towards more widespread remote working is an opportunity to look afresh at issues around working time and work-life balance, according to Fórsa. The union is preparing to make a submission to a Government consultation on remote working, which was launched yesterday (9^th July 2020).

Fórsa will argue that sectoral agreements on home working should protect workers in specific employments, but that these should be based on principles agreed with unions at a national level.

It also says the consultation should encompass a public conversation on the amount of time we spend at work, and the balance between work and other responsibilities. The union has been campaigning for reductions in working time across all sectors of the economy, and has spearheaded the ‘four-day week’ initiative in Ireland.

Official figures show that up to a third of employees were working remotely at the height of the Covid-19 public health crisis. Fórsa wants to retain the option for remote working – with adequate safeguards – for staff and organisations that want it.

But the union insists that emergency measures introduced during a crisis cannot simply continue without the negotiation of formal staff protections.

Fórsa issued guidance to members working from home back in May, and the union is currently drawing up a comprehensive negotiators’ guide in anticipation of sectoral talks on remote working policies.

The union’s advice covers health and safety, employers’ responsibilities, work-life balance, staying connected with the workplace, childcare, mental health, security, data protection and other issues.

The extended period of home working has been a new experience for most workers and their organisations, but it is widely expected to become a more normal part of working life in Ireland and elsewhere.

A recent survey found that only 12% of business leaders believe all their staff will return to work premises once Covid-19 restrictions are eased. Almost a third said they were considering downsizing office space, while 40% predicted an equal mix of staff working in the office and remotely.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said the union wanted to maintain the option for home working for those who wanted it. But he said a structured approach with proper safeguards was now required.

“Many workers have established a productive and rewarding remote routine, but it can be a struggle for others whose accommodation or personal circumstances don’t support this way of working.

“Fórsa wants to preserve the benefits of remote working for staff, their employers and the environment. But we need to ensure that proper safeguards are in place, and that the criteria for determining who works at home include an element of choice and a recognition that some people are just unable to sustain remote working for long periods of time.

“This is also an opportunity to look afresh at issues around working time and work-life balance, and Fórsa wants to ensure that this isn’t lost in the public conversation or in negotiations with employers,” he said.

The union also says remote working shouldn’t harm workers’ career prospects or weaken employment relationships.

The Government consultation is being conducted by the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, which says it will produce guidance for employers and employees on foot of the exercise. 

Read Fórsa’s remote working guidelines HERE.

Get more on the Government’s consultation HERE.

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The Government’s Taskforce for Aviation Recovery is due to deliver its final report today (10th July).

It was established last month to make recommendations on measures to help the sector, which is reeling from the impact of the Covid-19 crisis.

In a written submission to the taskforce, Fórsa said ongoing wage supports were essential to protect thousands of workers in airlines, airports and air navigation bases – and ultimately an estimated 150,000 jobs in tourism, hospitality services and aircraft maintenance, which depend on aviation.

The union also called for tax and PRSI breaks for the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA), and the maintenance of Dublin airport charges at 2019 levels, and the establishment of a Shannon-specific task force.

The taskforce published an interim report last month, which called for an end to the Covid-19 quarantine on incoming passengers.

The body is largely composed of industry representatives, although the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) general secretary Patricia King is a member.

The aviation industry has experienced a catastrophic downturn due to the crisis, leading to significant cost-cutting, redundancies and layoffs throughout the industry.

Fórsa represents members employed throughout the industry, including Aer Lingus and Ryanair, as well as staff at the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) and Dublin Airport Authority (DAA).

Fórsa general secretary and ICTU vice-president Kevin Callinan, has said the challenges and severe difficulties facing aviation workers and their employers will continue for a prolonged period.

Kevin said an island nation, with a significant dependence on tourism and overseas investment, needed to ensure the right policies are collectively agreed. “This is essential to creating the right environment for a safe return to flying schedules, and for passengers and airline staff to feel confident and safe while doing so.

“Public health concerns, and the advice of our medical and scientific experts, will be paramount in any policy decisions. It’s equally important that effective surveillance embraces the safety and health of all airport and airline staff,” he said.

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Cabin crew at Ryanair have voted in favour of a deal negotiated by Fórsa which will see pay cut by 10% and provides for pay to be restored over a four year period.

Cabin crew backed the deal in a ballot by a majority of 62% on a turnout of 68%.

The agreement, which was negotiated in response to the impact of the Covid-19 crisis on the airline, contains a review clause and a commitment by Ryanair to continue negotiations with Fórsa on an overall collective labour agreement.

An overall agreement will seek to cover issues of concern to cabin crew including annual leave, base transfers and early transition for agency crew.

Fórsa official Ashley Connolly said the deal reflected the severity of the crisis faced by aviation generally, while the union continued in its aim to protect as many jobs as possible in anticipation of an eventual recovery:

“This agreement is a product of the difficulties being faced by the aviation industry globally.

“Our cabin crew members understand the severity of this crisis. They’ve backed an agreement that protects their job and provides for a review of circumstances should they improve sooner than expected. Equally, it was important for us to have the restoration of pay built in to the agreement,” she said.

Ashley added that the union would continue to negotiate with the airline as it has done since Fórsa secured recognition for cabin crew in 2018.

“This has been a significant challenge for all parties concerned. We remain focused on maximising protections for these Ryanair workers.

“There remains a lot more work to do, and it will be done in a uniquely challenging environment where none of the parties involved yet know how the industry will emerge from the current crisis,” she said.

The terms of the deal includes the replacement of a bonus of up to €1,800 per year, which was due to expire in March 2021, with a basic salary increase of €900 gross a year in July 2023 and €900 gross a year in July 2024.

This is designed to provide more certainty of earnings for cabin crew, as well as increasing the proportion of fixed pay as pay is restored over the four year duration of the agreement.

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Fórsa has sought clarification on a number of issues following a meeting with An Post management on its plans for the future of its GPO headquarters in Dublin.

The company is examining plans to move from the GPO,, O’Connell Street which famously served as the headquarters for the 1916 rising.

An Post has said that the GPO is not fit for purpose, and are proposing to vacate the historical landmark in favour of a new modern premises.

A union sub-group was established early on in the process, to facilitate consultation between the company and representatives from all three unions representing members in the company (Fórsa, AHCPS, CWU). Union officials from the three unions met with An Post senior management last Friday and are awaiting further documentation before talks continue.

Fórsa official Denis Keane said that some documentation is expected from the company this week with a view to further engagement.

“We hope to resume negotiations once clarification on a number of items is received but as of now, any decision to relocate would be premature,” said Denis.

A recent staff survey indicated that headquarters staff wish to remain working in the GPO.

Denis said that unions agree that GPO is in need of extension renovation, and while staff may need to be temporarily relocated during construction, they should return to the O’Connell street location.

“All three unions strongly believe that the GPO remains the best option for both HQ based staff and the company,” he said.

Engagement is expected to resume shortly.

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Representatives from the Shannon airport group of unions have called for immediate discussions with management after the Shannon Airport Authority (SAA) announced plans to cut pay by up to 20% until April 2023.

The unions – Fórsa, Siptu and Connect – described the move as 'unacceptable'.

The three unions said they would resist unilateral pay cuts “in the strongest possible way” and said the “appalling” absence of consultation with airport staff was an obstacle to an agreed solution to the airport's difficulties.

They said the proposed terms of the voluntary redundancy scheme published by Shannon airport had not been discussed with unions and were not acceptable to them. The unions want the proposals withdrawn in advance of “meaningful negotiations.”

The group of unions said it would be seeking the same voluntary redundancy terms as those offered to Dublin Airport Authority staff.

In its submission to the Government-established aviation taskforce last month, Fórsa said the airport was a vital piece of infrastructure, which is key to the economy of the mid-west region.

Unions also questioned the timing of this announcement ahead of the publication of the taskforce report, which is expected today.

Fórsa official Johnny Fox said: "We expect the taskforce will be making a series of recommendations to Government, and we believe the company should have waited for this report before announcing swingeing pay cuts and staff reductions."

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE.

More than a million people have now downloaded the Covid-19 tracker app, which was launched by the HSE on Tuesday. The app is designed to boost contact tracing measures by enabling users to identify close contacts and to alert them quickly if they need to test for the virus.

Fórsa is encouraging union members to download the app to their smartphone as part of the national effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus.

The app was developed by the HSE with input from a range of official bodies including Gardai and the office of the government chief information officer.

Research conducted by Science Foundation Ireland, who are technical partners in the project, shows that most people in Ireland are in favour of an app, with 82% of respondents willing to install it.

Acting chief medical officer Ronan Glynn said testing and contact tracing would remain vital until there is a vaccine or an effective treatment for the virus.

“The app is integral to contact tracing, working in tandem with the key public health measures of social distancing, hand washing, covering our coughs and wearing face coverings, helping us to stay safe and to protect each other,” he said.

The HSE’s chief executive Paul Reid said the app can reduce – from days to hours – the time it takes to trace close contacts, including close contacts who are not known to each other.

“Every additional contact that the app can trace will improve our existing contact tracing operations. By downloading the app, you are helping us to reach more people in a shorter time period and to provide the right advice and access to testing. This will increase our capacity to suppress the virus,” he said.

Get more information about the app HERE.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE.

Talks between Stobart Air and Fórsa are continuing.

The union is seeking to maintain pilot and cabin crew jobs at the airline pending its eventual recovery.

Like all other aviation employers, Stobart, which operates the Aer Lingus regional service, has been severely affected by the Covid-19 crisis.

Last month the company said it planned to shed more than 100 jobs, despite plans to relaunch its flight schedule by August. Stobart said it planned to resume flying from Dublin to Edinburgh and Glasgow next Tuesday (14th July).

Fórsa official Ian McDonnell said the union was looking at a range of measures, including shared rostering options for pilots, to maintain as many jobs as possible at the airline.

Fórsa official Ashley Connolly, representing cabin crew, said the union is continuing to engage with the employer to protect jobs and incomes during the unprecedented crisis.

Ian said: “As we have done in other employments, the union wants to ensure jobs and incomes are protected as much as possible so that there is a sufficient complement of crew to maintain flight schedules when demand resumes."

Ashley added: "We continue to engage on behalf of cabin crew regularly, in an attempt to mitigate against job losses.

“The scale of the crisis in aviation is significant and nobody in the industry has seen a crisis of this scale in their lifetime. While we’re expecting the publication of the report of the Aviation Taskforce today (Friday), we need to see an integrated problem solving approach that addresses all aspects of the industry,” he said.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE.

Over a million people are still dependent on State income supports, according to official figures, although 63,000 stopped claiming the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP) last week.

This was the biggest boost in people returning to employment since the Covid-19 crisis began in March, according to the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP).

It said the biggest returns to work were happening in accommodation and food, hairdressing, wholesale and retail, construction and motor repairs.

Almost 413,000 people are currently getting the PUP, with a similar number being supported by the Covid-19 temporary wage subsidy scheme, which is paid to employers. In addition, there are 220,800 people on the live register.

This week also saw the introduction of a two-tier PUP payment, with a lower weekly rate of €203 for those who earned less than €200 prior to being laid off. DEASP says this will affect about a quarter of those who receive the payment.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE.

The next instalment of Fórsa’s series of live wellness webinars takes place at 11am next Wednesday (15th July) when motivational speaker and author Ryan O’Reilly talks with rugby pundit and psychotherapist Brent Pope about staying motivated in work and at home over the coming months. The earlier sessions – on parenting in a pandemic, managing anxiety and eating habits are now available as podcasts.

Next Wednesdays session is the fourth in a series of five events brought to you in association with Cornmarket, who administer two of the union’s salary protection schemes.

Ryan O’Reilly will focus on staying motivated, as we continue to wrestle with the upheaval of Covid 19.

An expert in high performance and resilience Ryan is a professional performance coach who helps business leaders and entrepreneurs build high performance teams and realise their potential. A renowned international speaker and author, his speaking engagements have included a TedX in Italy and Ireland’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Summit.

Broadcaster, psychotherapist and mental health advocate Brent Pope will host the session. Best known for his work with RTÉ Sport, the former New Zealand rugby player and professional rugby coach recently qualified as a psychotherapist and councillor. Brent is also involved in several mental health charities, and is an ambassador for St Patrick's Hospital, Pieta House and Cycle Against Suicide, amongst others.

See a taster of what’s on offer HERE.

The series was informed by recent survey, which found that 80% of Fórsa members experienced anxiety during the Covid-19 crisis. Half of the respondents said mental health and lack of motivation were their top concerns.

The results reflect the stress of a period when thousands of Fórsa members have stepped-up to serve in high-risk frontline environments, with many more having to rapidly adjust to remote working.

Register for ‘Staying Motivated’  (11am, Wednesday 15th July) HERE.

Get more details on future Fórsa-Cornmarket ‘Wellness Wednesday’ events HERE.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE.

You can help us keep you up-to-date with union information, news and advice by checking your contact details and amending them if necessary. If we have your home and personal contact details (personal email, mobile phone number, and home address) we can get information to you quickly and directly. You can update your contact details HERE.

Workers who wish to join Fórsa can to do so using a new ‘join online’ function on the union’s website.

Going live with the new system follows several months of research, preparation and testing aimed at making it easier than ever to join the union. It also goes live as the union continues to process a large number of new membership applications, as interest in joining the union has surged since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis.

Fórsa’s general secretary Kevin Callinan commented: “The current crisis has created the necessity to be able to carry out our business in different ways. Work on this project had commenced before the Covid-19 crisis took hold, and its completion marks a vital step as we tackle the challenges of living in changed times.

“We can see that more people want to join a union in response to what’s happening in the wider economy. It’s vital that they can take those initial steps quickly and easily, and making the membership application process more accessible is part of that process.

“This is a crucial new venture to enable Fórsa to substantially increase our membership - and to strengthen the union’s hand - at a critical time in the union’s development,” he said.

The online facility is a streamlined and simplified membership application process, and will be the quickest and easiest way to join the union. All incoming applications will continue to be subject to check-off and approval by Fórsa branches and the national executive committee, while the new online system is designed to ease the administrative burden on branches.

You can join Fórsa online at https://join.forsa.ie/

Fórsa is here to protect you if you have problems arising from the coronavirus or other workplace issues. The best way to contact the union at this time is HERE.

We will deal with queries as quickly as we can but, needless to say, the union will prioritise cases where members’ jobs and incomes are at immediate risk – as well as any serious health and safety issues that may arise.

Fórsa has cancelled all face-to-face meetings for the time being. The union is redeploying its staff to prioritise engagement with management on proposals arising from the Covid-19 public health crisis, and to provide rapid and efficient responses to members’ queries and concerns.

Fórsa's main phone line (01 817 1500) is now open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Alternatively members can use the Contact Us page on the Fórsa website to submit queries directly to the relevant division within Fórsa and this remains the most efficient way to access advice directly.

Wherever possible, Fórsa staff have been equipped to work remotely. Therefore, members should not attend Fórsa offices at this time. If you have a query or concern, the best way to raise it is to contact the union HERE.

The Fórsa summer series of webinars on campaigning issues continues later today (Friday).

You can join the lunchtime session HERE at 1pm for a discussion on campaigning, with contributions from experts including consultant Dr. Gráinne Healy, Fórsa lead organiser Kevin Donoghue, and Salome Mbugua of AkiDwA.

The panel will discuss practical elements of campaigning and give tips on how to be effective with limited resources. It will also discuss how to ensure that your campaign is open, inclusive and participative so that all activists feel empowered to contribute.

Designed to equip the union’s senior activists with the skills and tools to lead local campaigns, the summer series offers opportunities to discuss and debate on some of the pressing issues of interest to Fórsa activists across a range of economic, social, equality and environmental topics.

To register for upcoming sessions on universal healthcare (16th July), climate action and automation (24th July), and the future of work (31st July) please click HERE.

Be sure to follow the event on Twitter using the hashtag #FórsaSummerSeries.

Last week’s webinar discussed the rights to collective bargaining. A recap from last Friday is available here.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE.

Post-pandemic economic reconstruction is an opportunity to create a more equal society where all work is valued, according to president Michael D Higgins. Speaking at a global summit on ‘Covid-19 and the world of work’ earlier this week, he said the global health crisis had exposed the failures of the world’s economies, and called for a “new balance between economy, ecology, society and culture.”

The summit was organised by the International Labour Organisation, a United Nations body made up of representatives of governments, employers and unions.

“This Covid-19 crisis, that follows the earlier banking crisis, has laid bare the consequences of profound economic and social inequalities, which, taken together with widespread inadequacies in social protection, have scarred our global landscape for many decades.

“Tragically, instead of recognising the inequities of current systems, many governments and employers across the globe have used the crisis to further restrict the rights of working people through limiting collective bargaining, disrupting the right to strike, excluding workers from participation in the economy through their unions, and, in some cases, impeding even the registration of unions as part of civil society,” he said.

President Higgins called for strong rights to collective bargaining, secure work and adequate social protection.

“We continue to witness increases in precarious employment, contract working, and an ongoing casualisation of labour, with new and emerging trends in work practices that are often deemed ‘innovations’, innovations insofar as they provide new means to maximise profits for employers, but in their practical delivery reveal the ongoing erosion of employees’ hard-won labour rights,” he said.

President Higgins said digitalisation could have a positive impact on work, but that online workers needed the protection of basic employment law, collective agreements and social protection.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE.

Irish trade unions have joined the global condemnation of Israel’s plan to annex substantial parts of the West Bank and the Jordan valley this month.

The move is part of a so-called Middle East “peace plan,” proposed by the Trump administration, which has attracted huge international criticism.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has condemned the move, which will dislocate some 200,000 Palestinians, as a violation of international law. And, with privately owned Palestinian land making up 23% of the area, the land-grab will extinguish most of the Palestinian agricultural sector.

Critics says the move will sever any prospects for genuine negotiations for a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict, while perpetuating human rights and international humanitarian law violations.

ICTU this week called on the Irish Government to urgently reject this plan, and to exert pressure on the Israeli government to block its further implementation. 

It noted that a proposed ‘occupied territories bill,’ which could have facilitated a strong Irish response, was dropped from the recently-adopted Programme for Government.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE.