Fórsa says it is confident it will soon have official confirmation of the eligibility for workers across the civil service to access parental leave until their child reaches the age of 16.

Union officials are currently at an advanced stage of talks to increase the eligibility for the leave, but they say this extension is just one of several matters it is pushing for on the equality front.

“We are heading into the new year with a renewed focus on several equality issues, and the cooperation of the equality committee at the general council would help in quickly progressing these crucial advancements,” said Éamonn Donnelly, head of Fórsa’s civil service division.

“This entire process could have been sped up if the equality committee of the general council facilitated meetings more often,” he added.

“We are really keen to begin having robust discussions around domestic violence leave and menstrual and menopausal welfare policies to gain ground on those issues too,” said Éamonn.

The union maintains that delays or lack of communication from the employer representatives at the general council will result in it agitating to meet outside the system for every single issue.

Fórsa’s push for action on these issues results from a combination of union surveys and research on the matters, as well as related motions being unanimously passed at its national policy-setting conference early last year.

Key findings from the union’s survey on domestic violence supports published in November showed that one in two people know someone experiencing domestic abuse.

“Employers needed to deliver a better response to victims of domestic violence. The survey results show the urgent need for a package of workplace measures to assist people suffering abuse,” Éamonn said.

Fórsa says these supports could make a huge difference to the employees, while being of minimal cost to employers.