Fórsa and other unions have called on the Government to vastly improve income supports for tens of thousands of workers threatened with lay-offs because of the coronavirus crisis.

Although measures have been put in place to speed-up welfare payments, those who lose their jobs face a huge drop in income as Jobseekers’ benefit is set at just €203 a week.

Earlier this week the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) demanded much more ambitious measures from the Government to preserve workers’ jobs and incomes.

Over 140,000 workers were laid off over last weekend, mainly people who work in pubs, hotels and childcare. It’s estimated that another 200,000 jobs are at immediate risk.

In a letter to Leo Varadkar earlier this week, ICTU general secretary Patricia King said this level of shock unemployment would match the total number of jobs lost in over two years following the 2008 financial crash.

“This necessitates exceptional financial intervention. Workers are not in a position to withstand this economic burden and we are urging Government to immediately introduce a scheme that subsidises the salaries of workers under threat of lay-off due to the Covid-19 crisis, with a view to preserving their net income,” she said.

ICTU pointed to robust responses agreed between unions, employers and governments in other European countries. In Denmark, a temporary wage compensation scheme has been agreed to help companies that would otherwise have to let staff go.

The Swedish Government has also agreed a temporary scheme with unions and employers, which would guarantee workers 40% of their normal hours and 90% of their pay, while halving employers’ wage costs.

Ms King said a household with two adults and one child on a single income of €50,000 could see a two-thirds drop in net income if the earner was laid off. A single childless worker on €25,000 could see a fall of around half.

“There is also great divergence with regards to employers’ efforts to uphold wages for their workforce, with some making great efforts while others make none,” she said.

Unions are seeking the introduction of a State-funded scheme that preserves net incomes when workers are threatened with coronavirus-related lay-offs.

Read ICTU’s full letter to the Taoiseach here.

Fórsa’s biennial delegate conference has been deferred until November. The conference – where branches elect the union leadership and set policy for the next two years – was set to take place in Killarney in May.

The decision was been taken by the union's elected National Executive Committee (NEC) in light of the Covid-19 national emergency, associated public health concerns, and restrictions on large meetings and travel.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said the decision was regrettable but unavoidable. “Our intention now is to focus all the union’s efforts on ensuring the health and safety of members, activists and staff, and assisting members and protecting public services in these difficult and extraordinary times,” he said.

Under the union’s rules, the existing elected officers will remain in place until the conclusion of the conference in November. There is no change to the position of divisional representatives on the NEC.

New arrangements for a public service-wide mobilisation to tackle the Covid-19 virus and maintain essential public services were put in place on Wednesday (18th March 2020).

The move allows the temporary transfer of civil and public servants to critical roles for up to three months, with a possible extension if required.

Fórsa understands that specific arrangements for school-based and other education staff may issue early next week.

Right now, the most urgent need for temporary assignments is in the HSE and social welfare.

The new arrangements were published in a Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) circular the day after Taoiseach Leo Varadkar outlined the gravity of the crisis in a TV address.

They envisage that local human resource (HR) departments across the civil and public service will identify staff who could be released for temporary transfers.

In discussions between Fórsa and DPER, the union sought and received assurances that a facility for staff to volunteer to take on critical roles will be put in place. The union raised this on foot of a large number of queries from members who want to volunteer.

The measures also confirm that HSE-recommended social distancing will be observed in work settings, and that transferred staff will receive necessary training and upskilling.

The new measures also guarantee that staff who take on temporary roles 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.

DEPR says transferred staff may be able to continue to work from their present location, and there is also potential for remote working where this is practical.

Throughout the crisis, Fórsa has strongly urged members to volunteer for temporary critical assignments if they are able to do so – and to co-operate with requirements arising from such redeployments.

The union’s elected national officers agreed the following policy statement last week:

“Fórsa and its members across the civil, public, private, voluntary and semi-state sectors are committed to co-operating fully with emergency measures necessary to contain the Covid-19 coronavirus, protect the health and safety of citizens and workers, and maintain essential services during this unprecedented public health emergency.

“The union will continue to advise its members to co-operate with all necessary measures, including some that might not be acceptable in normal times, so long as employers consult with the appropriate unions, respect existing collective agreements, and reach agreement with the union if they feel it necessary to waive aspects of collective agreements in the short-term.”

Under the new arrangements, staff identified as available for potential temporary transfer will receive a link to an online questionnaire for submission to a dedicated Public Appointments Service (PAS) portal. The PAS will process temporary assignments in consultation with the relevant local HR departments – with assignments starting as soon as possible.

Fórsa officials will be available to deal with any problems that may arise for members. In recent days, the union has redeployed its staff to prioritise engagement with management on proposals arising from the public health crisis, and to provide rapid and efficient responses to members’ concerns.

A related DPER FAQ says: “Covid-19 is the most significant crisis faced by our country in living memory. Our primary focus in the civil and public service is to support the health and wellbeing of all our citizens.

“To achieve this, and to keep delivering the critical services to society, especially for the most vulnerable and at-risk, we need to come together and work as a unified public service.”

Read the DPER circular HERE.

Read the DPER FAQ document HERE.

Contact Fórsa HERE.

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.

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.

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.

A unique online documentary film club may be of interest to members looking for some alternative viewing at the moment.

Cultures of Resistance Films is an online film project which aims to create and distribute films that advance public awareness about issues of social and economic justice, and that showcase creative efforts to promote peace and protect human rights. The project was established by Caipirinha Productions.

“We view filmmaking not only as a way of documenting social injustices but also as an important part of the effort to change things for the better. We have been proud to use all of our Cultures of Resistance films to advance a variety of important human rights campaigns. In addition to forming the Cultures of Resistance Network as a way of supporting international peace and justice campaigns.”

Sean Lowde of Fórsa’s Probation branch brought the project to our attention. “The films are progressive and independent and might provide relief for those of us stuck at home with Disney and other such stuff,” he said.

You can view the range of short and feature-length documentaries via YouTube HERE.