Fórsa has told HSE management that the union’s response will be “swift and decisive” if there is any move to suspend the health service job evaluation scheme for admin grades.

Speaking at the biennial conference of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, Fórsa official Catherine Keogh said long-overdue investment in primary and community care was necessary in its own right, and would also free up badly-needed hospital capacity.

Planned increases in the State pension age will cost workers at least €26,000, plus benefits like free travel and the fuel allowance, according to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU).

Former President Mary Robinson urged union members to “get angry and take action” over climate change when she addressed the Irish Congress of Trade Unions' biennial conference in Dublin last Wednesday (3rd July).

Rent increases have pushed the ‘living wage’ up by 40 cent in the last year according to the Living Wage Technical Group, which calculates the minimum full-time earnings needed to support an acceptable standard of living.

Fórsa vice president Margaret Coughlan has called on unions to take action to improve their gender balance at senior levels.

Unions are preparing to show leadership in the event of a ‘no deal’ Brexit, which has become more likely, according to Fórsa’s incoming Senior General Secretary Kevin Callinan.