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Council staff reassignments now proceeding
by Bernard Harbor
 

The process of reassigning workers to other parts of the public service got underway this week, after the Local Government Management Authority (LGMA) forwarded guidance to Fórsa on which local authority services are deemed essential at this time.


The process of reassigning workers to other parts of the public service got underway this week, after the Local Government Management Authority (LGMA) forwarded guidance to Fórsa on which local authority services are deemed essential at this time.

 

The colour-coded guidance defines ‘brown’ services as essential and ‘yellow’ services as those where an emergency or on-call capacity is required. 

 

Fórsa has advised its members to read the official FAQ document on temporary reassignments. The union has also told employers that non-essential staff working in critical service areas are being told to attend in some local authorities, even though their specific function is not required at this time.

 

The reassignments are part of a public service-wide mobilisation to meet the challenges posed by the coronavirus.

 

Employers have been asked to identify staff who are carrying out work that’s not essential at this time, so that they can be released for critical duties elsewhere.

 

Employers will identify staff available for temporary reassignment, who will subsequently receive a questionnaire from the Public Appointments Service (PAS). The PAS will match staff to the roles where help is needed.

 

Fórsa has sought a mechanism to allow staff with the correct skills and experience to volunteer to work in specific critical areas. Although the PAS isn’t able to facilitate this at present, it is hoped that this may change.

 

Reassignments will be for 12-weeks, during which staff will be under the line management of your temporary employer.

 

However, measures already in place guarantee that reassigned staff will continue to be employed – and paid by – their existing employer. And they will return to their existing employer and role once the temporary transfer is over.

 

Staff who are on sick leave, or are self-isolating on medical advice, will not be reassigned. Those with childcare and other caring commitments can be asked to work at home.

 

Contact the union HERE if you have questions or problems related to temporary reassignments or other coronavirus-related matters.

 

Read the official FAQ document HERE.

Local councils show the way
by Hazel Gavigan
 

Local authority-led Covid-19 community response forums are being established around the country. The forums will work to ensure that vulnerable people are supported by coordinating a community response to the crisis and facilitating the collaboration of voluntary statutory agencies.


Local authority-led Covid-19 community response forums are being established around the country. The forums will work to ensure that vulnerable people are supported by coordinating a community response to the crisis and facilitating the collaboration of voluntary statutory agencies.

 

The local government minister Eoghan Murphy instigated the initiative last weekend on foot of the Taoiseach’s announcement of further restrictions on movement.

 

The forums will coordinate the collection and delivery of food, essential household items, fuel and medication; assist with transport for medical reasons; engage with those who are socially isolated, amongst other supports.

 

Fórsa’s north-east official Eimear Ryan has been in contact with various local authorities about their work to ensure the smooth running of this new service.

 

“County councils immediately mobilised all relevant staff and some worked through the weekend to ensure the community/coordination hub element was ready to go live on Monday morning.

 

“Staff have been redeployed from the majority of sections to ensure adequate resources for the new facility, and have very positively engaged with the process so far.

 

“Fórsa members around the country have adapted, where necessary, to ensure the provision of this vital service and communities are already benefiting from their efforts,” she said.

 

Monaghan’s community response forum is one example. It features over a dozen different bodies including the county council, the HSE, An Post, An Garda Síochána, the Red Cross, Age Friendly Network, Alone and a migrant forum.

 

Monaghan County Council chief executive Eamonn O’Sullivan said the aim was to centralise the excellent work already being done independently in the community.

 

“It is Monaghan County Council’s role to provide a targeted, integrated and coordinated approach to the delivery of these much-needed services to our more vulnerable citizens across the county,” he said.

 

Mr O’Sullivan also commended the local authority staff whose jobs have temporarily changed during the crisis and said they’re a “key resource in the management and operation of this community support programme.”

 

There are different phone numbers for each community response forum that operate seven days a week and can be found on respective local authority websites.

Unions call for stronger supports
by Hazel Gavigan
 

Fórsa has supported calls by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) for the Government to implement stronger measures to avoid an economic depression as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.


Fórsa has supported calls by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) for the Government to implement stronger measures to avoid an economic depression as a result of the Covid-19 crisis.

 

Central Statistic Office (CSO) figures released today (Thursday) show that over 300,000 workers have been directly affected by the virus over the past month. It took three years to reach this number during the banking crisis a decade ago.

 

ICTU general secretary Patricia King said the Government should “ramp up” and revise its temporary Covid-19 wage subsidy scheme to maximise the number of people who can return to work after the crisis.

 

Ms King called on the Government to adopt the European Unemployment Reinsurance Scheme, which helps countries cope with the rise in unemployment.

 

Under this scheme, the EU would provide loans and guidance on implementing short-time working schemes. It’s been done in Germany, where over 500,000 people are now in schemes.

 

The union-backed Nevin Economic Research Institute also said the European Central Bank should act as a lender of last resort to support governments who are supporting businesses and workers.

 

The Irish Government has already responded to union calls for income supports. But Fórsa says more is action is needed to prevent a long-lasting depression.

Fórsa says stay home unless told to work
by Bernard Harbor
 

Fórsa has amended its advice to members to say they should stay away from workplaces on public health grounds unless their employer has told them they need to attend work. Until now, the union has advised staff to go in unless told otherwise. The union says much of the dust has settled since the An Taoiseach’s ‘stay at home’ announcement last Friday (27th March), and that most employers have now given clear direction to staff.


Civil defence service lends a hand
by Mehak Dugal
 

The civil defence service is stepping up to support communities during the Covid-19 crisis. The mainly-volunteer agency is being tasked with distributing food parcels to vulnerable people, assisting An Garda Síochána in social distancing outdoors, setting up isolation centres, and transporting food and laundry for homelessness services.


The civil defence service is stepping up to support communities during the Covid-19 crisis. The mainly-volunteer agency is being tasked with distributing food parcels to vulnerable people, assisting An Garda Síochána in social distancing outdoors, setting up isolation centres, and transporting food and laundry for homelessness services.

 

The civil defence service includes over 3,500 volunteers who support the Gardai and other State response agencies in emergency and non-emergency events. It is also delivering Covid-19 signage, collecting medication from pharmacies for delivery to isolated households, and undertaking a range of other activities.

 

Meanwhile, temporary assistant civil defence officers are now being recruited to enhance the service, which employs just one civil defence officer in most counties. A small number of the assistants have started this week, with more positions set to be filled shortly.

 

The assistant officers are being appointed from the ranks of senior civil defence volunteers.

 

Yesterday (Wednesday) over 50 volunteers were already delivering services. Many more are expected to join them the coming days.

Feature Article
Support helplines for Fórsa members

Fórsa's range of support helplines remain in place during the coronavirus crisis. They are open 24 hours a day, seven  days a week at no additional cost to Fórsa members. 

  • Confidential counselling helpline 1850-77-66-55
  • Legal help in bodily injury cases 1850-77-66-44
  • Legal advice helpline 1850-77-66-44

For advice or information on workplace issues contact the union HERE.


Also in this issue
Covid-19: Advice to Fórsa members
 

Fórsa has updated its advice on coronavirus-related work issues for local council workers and staff in the wider public service. The advice covers attendance at work (including for pregnant workers and those with health vulnerabilities), salary protections for those self-isolating, temporary staff transfers, childcare and more. Read it HERE.

Fórsa: Here to support you
 

Fórsa is here to protect you if you have problems arising from the coronavirus or other workplace issues. The best way to contact the union at this time is HERE.

 

We will deal with queries as quickly as we can but, needless to say, the union will prioritise cases where members’ jobs and incomes are at immediate risk – as well as any serious health and safety issues that may arise.

 

Fórsa has cancelled all face-to-face meetings for the time being. The union is redeploying its staff to prioritise engagement with management on proposals arising from the Covid-19 public health crisis, and to provide rapid and efficient responses to members’ queries and concerns.

 

Fórsa's main phone line (01 817 1500) is now open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Alternatively members can use the Contact Us page on the Fórsa website to submit queries directly to the relevant division within Fórsa and this remains the most efficient way to access advice directly.

 

Wherever possible, Fórsa staff have been equipped to work remotely. Therefore, members should not attend Fórsa offices at this time. If you have a query or concern, the best way to raise it is to contact the union HERE.

Updating your contact details
 

Fórsa is keen to ensure that all our members contact details are up to date.

 

By maintaining your current contact details we can ensure that up-to-the-minute, important information can be delivered directly to each and every member of the union.

 

This is especially important during the current national Covid-19 crisis. In the past few days we’ve been able to issue a series of special bulletins to members, keeping them in touch with the latest advice and guidelines from the HSE and employers.

 

However, if any member isn’t receiving this information, it means we don’t have a current email address for them on our system. This could be because they’ve moved departments or changed grades or employment etc.

 

If this sounds like the experience of one of your colleagues, please share this information with them and let them know we’re encouraging members to update their contact details with us in order to improve our communications service to members.

 

The union is also experiencing a high volume of members getting in touch with the communications unit directly to change their contact details as a result of new eircom policy taking effect later this month. Those members wishing to change the email address Fórsa contacts them on should also follow the directions outlined below.

 

It's also worth noting your home email address helps to ensure direct, safe and more effective communications with you than a workplace email address.

 

To update contact details, visit our website HERE and follow the directions to quickly update them.

Huge economic fallout predicted
by Bernard Harbor
 

Over 350,000 people could lose their jobs if current coronavirus-related restrictions and closures stay in place for 12 weeks, according to the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI).

 

This would push the unemployment rate to 18% in the second half of this year, up from less than 5% in the first three months of 2020.

 

The report was published as social protection staff processed over half a million individual transactions last week. This included 283,000 pandemic unemployment payments and over 200,000 standard jobseeker payments.

 

Describing the pandemic as the “greatest threat that the Irish economy has faced since the financial crisis,” the ESRI also warned that State finances will be hard hit.

 

It envisages a significant fall in revenue as economic activity stalls, coupled with extra health spending to deal with Covid-19 and the soaring costs of supports to laid-off workers and struggling businesses.

 

The economic think tank suggests that the economy could shrink by over 7% this year on foot of reduced household spending, cancelled and postponed business investment, and falling overseas demand for Irish-produced goods.

 

It says the labour market had been strong prior to the pandemic. But was now facing “the largest one quarter shock in living memory.”

Direct provision protections demanded
by Bernard Harbor
 

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has called on justice minister Charlie Flanagan to put urgent measures in place to protect people living in direct provision centres during the Covid-19 crisis.

 

ICTU wants direct provision-based asylum seekers aged over 60 years old – and those with pre-existing medical conditions – to be allowed to move to accommodation where they can effectively self-isolate and cocoon. It says this will help stop the spread of the coronavirus.

 

ICTU’s international officer David Joyce said: “There is no conflict between measures to protect public health and human rights. It’s simply not in the public health interest to have direct provision centres that potentially spread the virus quickly.”

 

Congress says conditions in direct provision centres often make it impossible for people to self-isolate. Yet the State’s recommended strategy is to self-isolate and self-quarantine, while minimising human contact and social gatherings.

 

ICTU has also criticised the decision to exclude asylum seekers who lost work because of the crisis from the Covid-19 pandemic unemployment payment.

 

Almost 5,700 refugees and asylum seekers, including over 1,700 children, are currently living in 39 direct provision centres. Another 1,585 people, including 285 children, are staying in emergency accommodation.

 

The Movement for Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) says people in direct provision often live in very close quarters, sharing living spaces and other facilities with multiple families.

 

“The HSE posters on social distancing are useless to an asylum seeker sharing a tiny bedroom with a stranger, having to use communal bathrooms, and congregating in a canteen for meals three times a day,” it says.