Fórsa has informed the HSE that it plans to escalate the campaign of industrial action in response to the ongoing health recruitment embargo, with the commencement of rolling phone and email bans from 11th January next.

Following on from last week’s #endthefreeze lunchtime protests, Fórsa’s Health and Welfare divisional dispute committee considered all the options available to escalate the current ongoing action, acknowledging that it would be difficult to do so prior to the Christmas period.

In a memo to members, the union’s head of Health and Welfare Ashley Connolly explained: “The dispute committee has therefore taken the decision that members in different locations, on different days, should not answer their work-phone (including work mobile phones), or work emails for a specific period of time each day.”

Ashley said that members in every hospital, primary care centre, HSE corporate and all other areas across the HSE and Section 38s (voluntary hospitals and voluntary organisations) are instructed, as part of the ongoing industrial action, to participate in the rolling bans, which will take place between 11th and 26th January.

She added: “Management has been informed that Fórsa remains available to find a resolution. The role of clerical admin and managerial teams remains an integral part in the delivery of healthcare and we cannot stand by and allow these vital roles to be suppressed because of budget overruns.

“We require a commitment that any post that becomes vacant is filled - a “one out/one in” approach - which would allow us to engage on all other issues relating to recruitment, the use of agency into promotional posts and the extensive overuse of external private contractors and consultants,” she said.

Ashley said members have expressed their frustration at the continued failure of the HSE to adopt an approach allowing for the replacement of any staff that leaves their post: “Our members are not to blame for the HSE overspend and should not be held accountable for budget overruns in other areas.”

The action will involve all Fórsa clerical administrative and managerial members with the following exceptions:

• Acute Hospitals Main Switchboards
• Accident and Emergency Departments including all direct line emergency numbers normally available to the public
• ICU / HDU Wards (Including Special Care Neo Natal / Foetal Assessment Unit
• Coronary Care
• Theatres
• Palliative Care
• Oncology Units
• Transplant Units
• Acute Admission Units - Mental Health

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

The ongoing dispute at Tusla, over access to a job evaluation scheme, has been referred to the Labour Court. The referral follows a request by Fórsa following last week’s conciliation conference under the auspices of the WRC.

Fórsa assistant general secretary Chris Cully said Fórsa set out its position, regarding the 2013 Framework Agreement, and the continued breach of that agreement by the employer by denying access to the agreed job evaluation scheme.

She added: “Tusla and DCEDIY (Department of Children Equality Disability Integration and Youth) were represented at last week’s conciliation.

“Despite the best efforts of the conciliation officer, the parties were unable to reach agreement, so Fórsa requested onward referral of the matter to the Labour Court as provided for under section 26(1) of the Industrial Relations Act.

“A referral of this kind requires agreement of both parties, and the employer agreed on the basis that the union would agree not to further escalate its current industrial action.

“Fórsa had been planning to escalate our industrial action from 4th December, but this was paused to allow for engagement in the WRC. That pause remains in place pending the Labour Court hearing, but the existing industrial action instruction – in place since 25th October - remains active,” she said.

The ongoing industrial action involves Tusla’s clerical and administrative staff employed in grades three to six, who balloted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action in September.

The action takes the form of a series of non-cooperation actions, and an FAQ on the industrial action is available HERE.

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

From the 1st of January 2024, statutory sick leave will increase from three days to five days per year.

The increase is part of a larger change that will see the number of statutory sick days increased every year, until 2026, when it will amount to ten days per year.

Most Fórsa members are already covered by the public service sick pay scheme, while the new scheme will see many Fórsa members working in the private sector afforded greater protection.

The scheme is the result of a campaign launched by ICTU in 2020. ICTU started the campaign in reaction to the outbreak of Covid-19 clusters in meat-processing plants among low-paid workers. These outbreaks underlined the absence of a statutory right to sick leave.

Ahead of the increase to five days of sick leave, the Department of Enterprise’s Employment Rights Policy Unit has produced a short FAQ document to ensure clarity around the increase, and the effect it will have on applications for Contributory Illness Benefit from the Department of Social Protection.

The unit, in collaboration with the Department of Social Protection has also made information available using plain english and is available HERE.

The FAQ answers important questions as to the functioning of statutory sick leave. It includes details such as:

• The increase to five days is a minimum. Employers who wish to offer more favourable conditions, will be unaffected by the Statutory Sick Scheme.
• If an employee has not completed 13 weeks of service with their current employer, they will not be entitled to statutory sick leave, but will qualify for illness benefit.
• A valid medical certificate from a registered medical practitioner will be required to qualify for sick leave.
• Unused sick days will not be able to be carried over into the following year.

Full document: Sick Pay FAQs on Increase to 5 Days is available here.

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

Members are reminded to save the date for the Fórsa Global Solidarity Spring School, which will take place on the 1st and 2nd of March 2024, in Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1.  
  
The school will provide a unique opportunity for interested members to discuss a range of international, trade union and human rights issues. We will hear about projects that Fórsa actively fund across the world through the union’s Developing World Fund, and it will also be an opportunity to hear about Forsa’s global solidarity work

. 

The two-day event will kick off on the Friday afternoon and will feature panel discussions and guest speakers on topics including the war on Palestine and the rise of the far right, amongst others. 

Further information, and a link to register will circulate to members early in the new year but in the meantime, if you have any queries, you can email them to internationalsolidarity@forsa.ie. 
 
We look forward to welcoming you to the next Global Solidarity Spring School.

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

One in five workers in Ireland have good jobs that pay well, provide good employment security, good work-life flexibility, and provide workers with high levels of discretion over the conduct of their work.

That’s according to the latest report, examining the quality of people’s jobs in Ireland, by the Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI), the trade-union backed economic research organisation.

Men are almost three times more likely than women to occupy high quality jobs, and men are significantly less likely to have poor quality jobs, revealing a pattern of occupational gender segregation in the Irish labour market.

The report, by Dr Lisa Wilson (NERI) and Professor John Geary (UCD) draws on data collected in UCD’s Working in Ireland Survey (WIIS), and assesses the quality of jobs in the Irish labour market, identifying where the good and poor jobs are and who occupies them, and estimates the proportion of the workforce that occupies jobs in either of these categories.

The report finds that, at the other end of the job quality spectrum, a little over a quarter of the workforce are employed in poor quality jobs.

These are found to be broadly of two types. The first, described as “demanding, highly controlled, precarious jobs” are occupied by workers who face significant job insecurity. Their earnings are low and they work hard over long hours and have poor work-life flexibility.

The second are described as “precarious, low-paid jobs,” similarly characterised by insecurity and low pay, but are also typified by the provision of little training and few managements supports.

The report says that the State can do more to improve job quality, and that there are several options in this regard, including the establishment a set of minimum standards across a series of job quality dimensions. The report says the State could also do more regarding paternal leave, including shared maternity-paternity leave, which would lessen the care burden on women.

Find out more and read the full report:

• Where are the good jobs in Ireland and how can we create more of them? by Dr Lisa Wilson.
• Job Quality in Ireland: First findings from the UCD Working in Ireland Survey 2021.

Fórsa, and other unions affiliated to the ICTU’s Public Services Committee (PSC), have expressed concern about the slow pace of public service pay talks, which got underway in late November.

The union’s general secretary, Kevin Callinan, who chairs the PSC, said a lot of work still needs to be done despite nine separate engagements over three weeks: “Progress has been undeniably slow so far, and that is disappointing.

“We are hoping to inject a sense of urgency into the next round of talks, and to make real progress on finalising a deal,” he said.

Talks adjourned on Wednesday evening (13th) and are due to resume on Monday morning (18th).

Kevin added: “While a lot of work remains to be done to conclude an agreement within the very small amount of time available, it is significant to have secured a commitment to repeal FEMPI in the context of a multi-year pay deal.

“While it represents an opportunity for unions to operate in an environment no longer bound by emergency measures, the intent of any draft legislation to deliver on that needs to be clear.

“Equally, we remain focused on stabilising any agreement and finding a means to address several outstanding issues affecting some public service grades, groups and categories.

“Considerable work remains to be done to achieve an agreement that can deliver on cost-of-living pay increases, especially for those on lower and middle incomes.

“We’ve exchanged positions on the Government’s modernisation agenda, and on the union’s agenda for the futureproofing of quality public services and jobs.

“More work is needed to bring these items to a conclusion, and we will want to ensure existing protections, such as those on outsourcing, continue within the context of a new agreement.

“As in all negotiations, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed, and the pay element is likely to form the concluding phase of the talks process.

That means we really need to push for progress on Monday, as the time available to finalise an agreement is limited both by the December 31st expiration of the Building Momentum agreement, in addition to the Christmas hiatus,” he said.

Fórsa will continue to provide information on pay talks developments to members in the coming days.

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

Fórsa’s Skills Academy is wishing everyone a wonderful Christmas and happy and healthy new year. 

The Skills Academy is looking forward to creating new learner networks and building greater capacity amongst our workplace representatives in 2024. 

In the meantime, you can catch up on our Lunch and Learn sessions, and if you have any queries you can contact Judith at skillsacademy@forsa.ie.

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

The distribution of union calendars and wallplanners is currently underway, with shipments arriving to branches over the coming week.

If you need additional stock, please contact calendars@forsa.ie

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

Fórsa communications unit is asking members to complete this short survey, and tell us what you think of the union’s bulletins.

The union’s communications team produce the bulletins you receive every fortnight, with input from across the union.

We would like feedback on what you like about the bulletins, and what you think could be improved.

We want to make sure you are informed and up to date with the union’s campaigns, actions and activities. So please take a few minutes and complete this short survey. 

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