Cabin crew directly employed by Stobart Air in the Republic of Ireland are balloting for industrial action over the airline’s refusal to recognise Fórsa and negotiate with the union on staff pay and working conditions. The ballot commenced last week and will conclude on Wednesday 10th April.

If passed, the ballot would also give the union a legal mandate for industrial action if the company takes disciplinary action against any crew member because they have joined the union, or because they participate in an industrial dispute.

Fórsa says a recent pay proposal in the non-union company fell short of recent airline industry norms, and was rejected by cabin crew by a margin of more than two-to-one of those who voted.

The union has since hosted a number of information meetings for Irish-based Stobart crew, and says there is overwhelming staff support for the union to negotiate on their behalf. It also referred the dispute to the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), which subsequently invited the company to talks. The airline refused the offer.

Fórsa official Ashley Connolly said Stobart cabin crew who attended recent meetings had expressed annoyance at company management’s refusal to engage with the union.

“They see their colleagues in other Irish-based airlines and they know it’s the industry norm for unions to negotiate on behalf of staff. I understand their frustration at a management team that continues to deny its workers access to a service that other airlines accept as normal practice and sound industrial relations.

“I wrote to management recently to re-state Fórsa’s willingness to use the facilities of the Workplace Relations Commission, but I haven’t heard back. Management’s refusal to do business in the usual way has left its staff feeling they have no choice but to consider industrial action,” she said.

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) will hold a hearing later this month to examine Fórsa’s claim for additional annual leave for clerical and executive officer grades in non-commercial semi-state organisations.

The union recently won improved leave for long-serving civil service clerical officers and executive officers through the civil service arbitration process. Under that deal, both grades secured an additional day’s leave after 12 years’ service, and another after 14 years.

The union is now seeking the same for related grades in the non-commercial semi-states.

Fórsa is to consult members on a new three-year pay deal in Premier Lotteries Ireland (PLI), following a Labour Court recommendation. The proposal would see three 2.5% incremental pay increases implemented between January 2018 and March 2021.

The recommendation came after prolonged talks with the company, which operates Ireland’s national lottery. It would see increases of 2.5% from 1st January 2018, 1st April 2019, and 1st April 2020. The deal would expire on 31st March 2021.

Fórsa official Denis Keane said the union first lodged proposals for a new pay agreement in 2017. “After lengthy internal discussions, the union sought a referral to the Labour Court. Its recommendation concludes a drawn-out process, and we will now consult members in PLI on the recommendation prior to a ballot,” he said.

Community employment (CE) supervisors and assistant supervisors will take part in a rally at Leinster House on Tuesday 16th April as part of their continuing campaign to secure the implementation of the 2008 Labour Court ruling on access to an occupational pension scheme.

Unions plan to mobilise members to lobby local and European election candidates ahead of the 24th May elections. They also intend to escalate industrial action over the injustice.

A one-day strike by CE supervisors and assistant supervisors took place in February. The 1,250 staff concerned have no access to any occupational pension scheme, despite a 2008 Labour Court recommendation in their favour.

The rally will follow a press briefing by industrial officials from both unions, who will outline the next steps in the industrial relations campaign to secure the implementation of the 2008 ruling.

Head of division Angela Kirk explained that a general meeting of CE supervisors last month decided on a course of action for the campaign.

“The rally on 16th April marks the next stage of our campaign. Our members will be raising the pension issue with their local and European election candidates in the run up to the May elections. We’re also making preparations to engage in further industrial action during this period,” she said.

Angela said branch activists will be mobilising members to ensure a strong attendance at the rally, and organising transport for people to attend from a number of regions. The rally commences at 11.30am.

The Labour Court has backed Fórsa’s claim for on-call allowances to be put in place for inspectors in the Commission for Railway Regulation. Management had been refusing on-call payments, which had been denied to newly-hired staff after being suspended in public service-wide cuts during the crisis.

Fórsa took the matter to the Labour Court, which agreed with the union’s case taken on behalf of five inspectors.

The staff concerned, who attend railway accident scenes, are obliged to participate in an on-call roster for at least one in every ten weeks.

The Court noted that the employer accepted the original rationale for paying the allowance, which will now be restored with effect from 1st April 2018.

Legislation published by the Government has confirmed its intention to limit gender pay gap reporting requirements to organisations with more than 250 employees at first. But this threshold will fall to 50 – in line with union demands – after three years.

It means that just a third of employers will initially have to publish gender pay gap information when the legislation is first enacted. This will cover almost half a million people who work in firms with more than 250 staff, and the first deadline for firms to submit their pay gap data is expected to be December 2020 or January 2021.

A further 22% of the workforce will be covered once the threshold falls to 50 staff or more.

The legislation will also require reporting on differences in bonus pay, part-time pay and the pay of men and women on temporary contracts.

Fórsa has been at the forefront of the trade union campaign for legislation on gender pay gap reporting, which it says would encourage employers into tangible action to bridge the gap. But the union last year criticised the Government’s decision to delay the process by withdrawing support from a well-advance Bill in order to produce its own legislation.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions and National Women's Council have called on the Government to compel all employers to publish the gender pay gap data within a year of the legislation coming into force.

The launch of the Fórsa Disability Rights Network takes place this Saturday (6th April) at 11am at Fórsa's Nerney's Court office. The event will be opened by Finian McGrath, the Minister of State for Disability Issues.

Senior Fórsa official Andy Pike said the new network will provide a forum for members across the union to meet and discuss issues relevant to disability rights in the workplace.

“This national meeting is the second in a series of new equality networks to be established by the union’s equality committee over the coming months. The meeting will be of interest to Fórsa members living with a disability, members working to provide disability services, and activists with an interest in disability rights,” he said.

A full programme for the event, and details about how to register are available here.

Two-thirds of Irish people believe housing should be made more affordable, even if it requires increased taxes, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). The data was published as the Irish Congress of Trade Unions urged workers to sign its petition, which calls for a legal right to housing.

The OECD’s cross-national ‘Risks That Matter’ survey found that 41% of Irish people felt more affordable housing was necessary for them to feel more economically secure. It also revealed that Irish people were concerned about the cost of health care and their financial stability in old age.

Fórsa has been campaigning for action on the housing crisis, particularly through the ‘Raise the Roof’ campaign, which is calling for a local authority house-building programme, greater security for tenants, and a constitutional right to housing. The union is urging members in the Galway area to join a lunchtime protest next Monday (8th April).

The OECD survey asked 22,000 people in 21 countries about risks relating to social and economic issues, and how they felt their governments were doing addressing those risks.

A factsheet on Ireland’s ‘Risk that Matter’ survey findings is available HERE.

Applications are now open for the 2019 Fórsa Gaeltacht grant scheme, which will make 80 grants of €150 each available to assist children of Fórsa members attending residential Irish language courses in Gaeltacht areas this summer. A further 40 grants of €70 are available to assist children to attend day-only Irish language courses held outside Gaeltacht areas.

Children of Fórsa members, who are aged between 11 years and 18 years of age on 1st July 2019, are eligible to apply for the grant scheme. You can download the application form here. 

Please download the form to a folder on your device prior to filling it out. If you cannot use the fillable form online then please print the form, complete it in black pen and return it to: General Services Committee, Gaeltacht Scheme, Fórsa, Nerney's Court, Dublin 1, D01 R2C5. It should arrive before 5.30pm on Monday 29th April 2019.

All queries and applications should be sent to gaeltacht@forsa.ie.

Unions have strongly criticised finance minister Paschal Donohoe for refusing to help public servants recently forced to retire at age 65, but who were retained in work on diminished pay and pension arrangements. The decision was communicated to unions last month.

The limited interim arrangements had been put in place following the Government’s 2014 decision to raise the state pension age from 65 to 66. This meant that civil and public servants who depend on the state pension for a large part of their retirement income faced a huge gap in the first year of retirement.

Many took up the temporary fix of being re-hired until they were eligible for the State pension. But those who exercised this option were placed on the first point of the non-pensionable pay scale, and were not able to make further pension contributions.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions had urged Donohoe to give the staff concerned the option of extending their 12-month retention arrangement up until age 70, and to get increments due to them during this period.

Late last year, the Government bowed to union pressure and legislated to give civil and public servants the option to remain in employment up to age 70 if they chose.

The legislation also required the finance minister to outline potential remedies, within three months, for public servants who had been forced to retire between 6th December 2017 and the commencement of the new law. But the minister has opted to do nothing for them.

“As a result we have a cohort of people who wished to extend their working life, but cannot do so simply by virtue of the date of their 65th birthday,” said Fórsa official Billy Hannigan.

Public servants recruited after 1st April 2004, but before January 2013, were not covered by the new legislation because they already either have no compulsory retirement age or the ability to retire up to age 70.

Fórsa’s has become part of an alliance of over 60 civil society organisations working to ensure that Ireland keeps to its commitment to achieve sustainable development goals at home and abroad.

Coalition 2030 promotes the global development agenda for the entire world up to 2030 through a set of 17 sustainable development goals.

Niall McGuirk, Cathaoirleach of Fórsa’s Civil Service Division, put forward a motion backing the coalition at the union’s national executive last month. Writing in the latest edition of Fórsa magazine, he said the union would advocate for the implementation of these goals.

“It's not just about words, it's about actions too, small actions from each and every one of us that will help. Consider the type of world we can aspire to. A world free from poverty is goal number one. Zero hunger is goal number two, while good health and wellbeing comes next,” he writes

Niall said a ‘Just Transition’ paper that ICTU is currently developing – and which seeks to secure workers' jobs and livelihoods while economies shift to low-carbon production – is linked to goals covering decent work, sustainable cities and communities  and climate action.

ICTU Development Officer David Joyce also welcomed Fórsa’s decision to join the coalition. “Congress has been working to ensure that trade unions are aware of the goals and use them in their work. We’re delighted to welcome Fórsa as a new member of Coalition 2030, and as part of this global movement to ensure that Governments live up to their commitments,” he said.

Read more about on trade unions and Coalition 2030 here.

Fórsa is supporting ONE Galway’s rally on behalf of the Raise the Roof housing and homelessness campaign, which takes place in Eyre Square at 1pm on Monday 8th April.

The event will show support for a housing motion from Mayor Neil McNelis, which will be debated in Council chambers later that day. It calls for significant investment in public housing, action on evictions, rent certainty and the creation of a legal right to housing. These are all policies that Fórsa supports.

Homelessness is growing faster in Galway than in any other Irish city. This growing crisis has seen over 10,000 people – workers and their family members – on the council housing list for the first time. But still the Government clings to its catastrophically-failing policy of private provision.

It’s time for a new approach, which is why Fórsa has teamed-up with homelessness organisations and other unions to demand public provision. It’s the best and quickest route to safe, secure and affordable housing for all.

That’s why the union is asking you to devote one hour of your time, at lunchtime on the 8th April, to stand in solidarity with workers, their families and all those affected by Galway’s housing and homelessness crisis.

You really can make a significant contribution to this campaign, and show real solidarity amongst the people of Galway.

Fórsa is hosting a screening of the film A Silent Transformation at 6pm tomorrow (Thursday 4th April) as part of the Fórsa Insights series. The documentary is about the transformative power of co-ops, and the impact they have had in communities across Ontario.

The screening, in Fórsa’s Nerney’s Court office in Dublin, will be followed by a panel discussion on the role co-ops can play in finding a solution to the housing crisis in Ireland.

Earlier on the same day, the union is hosting a seminar on climate change, and the impact that a move to a low carbon economy will have on workers in Ireland. The event, ‘A Green New Deal for Workers,’ takes place in Fórsa’s Nerney’s Court office, from 2pm to 5pm.

The event will address what a ‘green new deal’ could mean, and will explore a ‘just transition’ to a low carbon Ireland. Professor John Barry of Queens University, Belfast is the keynote speaker.

The event will also feature interactive workshops around the development of a climate information campaign for Fórsa members, the creation of a sustainability strategy for the union, and establishing a just transition committee within Fórsa.

Fórsa Insights is a series of talks and cultural events open to Fórsa members, ICTU affiliates and NGOs. The aim is to explore a range of issues including human rights, climate change, migration, homelessness and the experience of campaigning for workers rights across the globe.

There’s still time to RSVP to Joe O’Connor for either or both events. For capacity reasons, places are limited to two spaces per branch.

A series of events to mark the centenary of the Limerick Soviet kicks off on Friday (5th April) as the city marks 100 years since the 1919 strike, which was precipitated by the death of trade union and republican activist Robert ‘Bobby’ Byrne. The centenary programme runs until 28th April with a wide range of events.

The strike, which made international headlines, was against a permit system introduced by the British military authorities. The workers took over all aspects of the running of the city, produced their own daily paper, policed the city, controlled all food and fuel supplies and even printed its own currency.

Fórsa official and President of the Limerick Council of Trade Unions, Mike McNamara, will host a bus tour of the sites of the Limerick Soviet with Liam Cahill on Sunday 14th April.

Mike said he was delighted with the commitment of so many people to celebrate the Limerick Soviet. "It’s a very impressive programme and I’m sure the public will enjoy the many opportunities to become more familiar with this aspect of our city's history. I applaud the voluntary and community spirit of so many involved in providing Limerick with such an impressive festival of events,” he said.

Mike has written a history of the events around the Limerick Soviet which appears in the latest edition of Fórsa magazine, which is out next week.

Find out more at limericksoviet100.ie.