This general election Fórsa is calling on parties and candidates to support our vision of a society that works for workers.

Friday 29th November, polling day in the general election, is an opportunity for members to demand a society that delivers a decent quality of life for all workers, offers accessible, high quality public services, and which provides a secure future in the face of climate change and advancing technology with regards to AI.

All of these demands are outlined in our general election manifesto which presents policy proposals to strengthen public services and enhance the working lives of our members. You can read it on our election hub here. 

Earlier this year, more than 20,000 of you shared your priorities with us, highlighting the issues you want us to campaign on in the lead up to the election and during the lifetime of the next government.

These priorities are:

• Meaningful pay increases, that go beyond inflation.
• The protection of remote and hybrid working arrangements, and support for the four-day week.
• Investment in high quality public services, including community healthcare, publicly funded childcare, and availability of reliable public transport. 

These issues affect all of us, and if addressed, would not only improve the lives of our members, but also strengthen public services and deliver widespread benefits for workers, service-users, and society. 

You can print this poster and use the question on it when election candidates knock on your door, so that you'll know if they support our priorities. 

Download it here. 

This forthcoming election is an opportunity to emphasise to candidates and parties the importance of the right to access trade unions and organise in your workplace. In the private sector, many employers often use tactics to prevent organising and make it difficult to access trade union representatives in the workplace.

Our manifesto calls for legislation to strengthen the legal right to be represented by a relevant union and which would make it illegal to victimise, harass or penalise staff for joining a union or for organising for better pay and conditions at work.

Workers’ access to trade unions should be improved by providing workers with the right to access their representatives in their workplace so that they can get information on their right and can talk about workplace issues, as well as facilitating union meetings during working hours. 

We are also seeking commitment to: 
-    Re-introduce tax relief on trade union subscriptions within the first year of government.
-    Introduce strengthened legislation to outlaw bogus self-employment arrangements and close loopholes that allow bad employers to exploit staff in this way, while avoiding their duty to contribute through the PRSI and tax system.