Fórsa is encouraging members to write to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage Darragh O’Brien, calling on him to live up to the Government's commitment to stage a referendum on water ownership. Whilst the Minister has indicated the intention to run a water referendum, a date has not yet been secured.

Members across the union’s Local Government and Local Services and Municipal Employees’ Divisions will soon receive a postcard calling on the Minister to honour his commitment by naming the date for a referendum. The union is urging members to sign and return to their shop steward.

Head of Fórsa’s Local Government and Local Services and Municipal Employees’ Divisions Richy Carrothers once again expressed his disappointment at Government’s failure to act and said that a referendum would help protect Irish water services from any future attempt at privatisation by providing a constitutional guarantee of public ownership and urged Government to name the date.

“Privatised water services result in higher costs and poorer services for the public. Public ownership of water services ensures safe and sustainable access to water for everyone. It is critical that we continue to press Government to name the date for this referendum to keep water public. We’re calling on all local authority members to sign this postcard calling on the Minister to live up to his commitment,” he said.

Richy said that “the time has long passed” to end any lingering uncertainty about the future ownership of water services in Ireland.

“A referendum would give people the opportunity to have their say, in addition to providing us all with a unique opportunity to safeguard public ownership of water for future generations. This is the kind of grassroots campaign that unions excel at, and I’m confident that Fórsa members will seize the opportunity to get this message across to the Government parties,” he said.

Fórsa members are encouraged support the campaign by signing this card and circulating it among work colleagues, friends, and family.

As Annual General Meeting (AGM) season unfolds, now is the perfect time to consider taking a more active role within Fórsa.

Whether you picture yourself as a Workplace Representative or aspire to join the Branch Executive Committee as an officer, Fórsa has tailored courses to suit individuals at all stages of engagement with the union.

While in the role little over a year, our director of membership training Fiona Dunne, has developed a robust capacity building calendar to help you navigate the alphabet soup of acronyms and the sometimes confusing (but always democratic) structures of your union.

Fiona puts her emphasis on the importance of training down to her own roots as a shop steward.

“I really believe in training. I know it sounds like a bit of a cliché. I learned that we’re only as good as our most capable activists. If we’re building our activists, we need them to be strong and confident in what they’re doing.”

Under Fiona’s auspices, there will be 22 sessions a year for brand new members. The first training is called Fórsa 101 and is a fun, fast paced two-and-a-half hours long introduction to the structures of the organisation.

“We give an overview of 10 actions to take as an active member, including simple things like staying abreast of the latest union communications, talking to your rep, engaging with our social media, and, of course, the act of voting in ballots. We try to encourage them from day one. I want to provide people with as much information as possible,” described Fiona.

There are sessions for everyone. From union newcomers, to people who are looking to cover the basics or hone their skills as a workplace representative, branch treasurer, secretary or chair. Upcoming courses include:

• Expanded Workplace Representatives in Limerick on Thursday 7th and Friday 8th February
• Equality Module in Cork on Tuesday 13th February
• Fórsa101 online on Wednesday 14th February
• Foundational Workplace Representatives programme in Sligo Wednesday 27 to Friday 29th February

“If any of these courses pique your interest, reach out to your branch executive committee for access to the application link. Once you apply, the Skills Academy team will guide you through the rest of the process. We don’t all have to be a rep, but we’d like everyone to be active, ” Fiona concluded.

You can apply for our courses by completing the application forms sent by email 4-6 weeks before each course. You can contact your branch executive committee for the link. Once you have applied, Skills Academy will handle the rest.

Over 2,100 workers in the Local Government sector have completed the union’s recent workplace attitudes survey. The issue-based research set out to capture the views and opinions of people working in the sector in grades represented by Fórsa.

Head of Fórsa’s Local Government and Local Services and Municipal Employees’ Divisions Richy Carrothers explained that the results of this survey will shape and inform the union’s bargaining strategy as we seek to make the sector a better place to work. 

“The research we have carried out is the most comprehensive and wide-ranging survey of local government workers ever and we are drilling into the data results with a view to publishing a report,” he said. 

Richy thanked those who responded to the survey. 

“Thank you to those who took the time to complete our questions. The data we have gathered is both rich and informative so make sure to watch out for further updates on the results,” he said. 

There’s never been a better time to join a union, and it’s never been easier. Join Fórsa today.

Public sector pay talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) resumed on Tuesday 9th of January, after adjourning shortly before Christmas. After making progress on several key issues the focus turned to pay on Wednesday. 

However, despite initial optimism that the talks might progress quickly unions were alarmed at the derisory opening offer. A revised offer was still viewed by union negotiators as not credible and the talks adjourned at 3am, to allow time for reflection on the Government side.

On Thursday morning unions expressed concern that the Government’s initial pay offering illustrated its lack of preparedness to complete a sustainable and robust multi-year pay deal, and further undermined perceptions of the Government’s approach to the process of securing a new agreement.

The initial offer would have put little more than an average of just €5 per week, before deductions, in the wages of low-income public service workers, and €10 per week in the wages of those on middle-incomes in the first year. There was shock in the room when this offer was made. That offer did not include any payment before June 2024.

Throughout this process the union side has been clear that any agreement must address the cost-of-living pressures members face on a daily basis. Such small amounts don’t come close to doing that.

The offer put on the table by government on Wednesday night failed to meet the basic test of dealing with the cumulative gap between wages and inflation – which amounts to almost 19% over the last three years. While most public servants received increases amounting to 9.5 % in the same period, the shortfall remains significant. 

The revised offer of 7.5% plus 1% local bargaining, which would begin with a 1.5% increase from 1 March 2024, remains very far from addressing the gap between wages and inflation.
  
In a note to Fórsa members General Secretary Kevin Callinan said: “Public sector workers show up for our country and our citizens every day. They deserve to be treated with respect and an offer like this is neither fair, nor credible.”

He continued: “The Government has effectively undermined its own approach to negotiating a multi-year public service pay agreement. There have been months of delays, and they have allowed Building Momentum to lapse, which puts us in an unprecedented position.”

On Thursday morning the officers of the Public Services Committee (PSC) of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) met with affiliate and non-affiliated unions and associations. At these meetings ballot wording was approved so that unions are ready to ballot members for industrial action should it become necessary. 

As the situation in Gaza deteriorates further the Irish Palestine Solidarity Committee continues to organise solidarity demos in Dublin and across the country. The next demonstration in Dublin takes place this Saturday 13th January, assembling at the Garden of Remembrance at 1pm.

Fórsa have participated in these demonstrations since October and will continue to do so. We know many of our members have been attending individually or with branch colleagues. To demonstrate our collective solidarity and to maintain consistent visibility at the protests we are seeking volunteers to carry and distribute Fórsa flags and banners.

Volunteers will be added to a Fórsa WhatsApp group to be kept up to date with marches and demonstrations. Volunteers will be asked to collect materials from Fórsa, distribute them to members at the marches and collect them again when the event has concluded.

The last few weeks has seen no let-up in the continued bombardment of Gaza, with the death toll now at 23000 people killed. The UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths has described Gaza as being “uninhabitable” and said that famine in the area is “around the corner.”

It is critical that we continue to show solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestine and demand an immediate ceasefire. If you are interested in supporting this work, please email kdonoghue@forsa.ie

Calendars, diaries and wallplanners for 2024 have been sent to Fórsa branches. Should you wish to request additional stock please contact calendars@forsa.ie and diaries@forsa.ie

Fórsa members can tune in to a free health insurance webinar, hosted by Cornmarket exclusively for the union.

Members will have two opportunities to catch the information sessions, which will take place at noon on 24th and 31st January.

The online sessions will offer guidance on all aspects of health insurance and advise how you can save money on your plan. Fórsa’s Director of Membership, Seán McElhinney will introduce the sessions, and Ireland’s leading health insurance guru Dermot Goode will also be on hand to offer advice and answer your questions.

Registration for the event is free and can be accessed HERE.

Registration link for the 24th is available here.

Registration link for the 31st is available here.

More information on Cornmarket can be found HERE.