The union-negotiated ‘new entrants’ pay deal came into force last week, well ahead of the earliest date envisaged in the current public service pay agreement. The new arrangement will see public servants recruited since 2011 skip their fourth and eighth increments.

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has asked Irish Water to set out its rationale for creating a single water authority by 2021, following meetings involving Fórsa, local government management, departmental officials and the WRC last week.

Fόrsa has asked the Local Authority Oversight Group, which monitors the implementation of the national pay deal in the sector, to intervene in a dispute about annual leave for staff who are acting up in a higher grade.

The founder of New Zealand finance company Perpetual Guardian, the first large organisation to switch to a shorter working week, has called on others to follow suit, following a successful eight-week trial. The result has been higher productivity, increased profits and significantly better staff wellbeing.

A ballot for industrial action by Fórsa members in the Cathal Brugha Street campus of Dublin’s new technological university, TUD, has been put on hold.

Fórsa has written to Scouting Ireland to seek assurances after concerns were raised over child safety protection protocols in the organisation. Minister for Children Katherine Zappone told the Dáil last week that child protection agency Tusla had raised concerns over security and procedures in Scouting Ireland.

The Department of Education and Skills (DES) has agreed to review general operative-related staffing levels in the City of Dublin Education and Training Board (CDETB) and revert to the union before Easter.

An increased role for trade unions and collective bargaining, along with improved social security supports and a broader focus on skills, is needed to protect job quality in the face of workplace automation, according to a new report from the Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI).