Fórsa’s health division leader has called on the Public Service Pay Commission to press on with examinations of recruitment and retention difficulties in the health professions, social care and elsewhere, now that it has concluded its work on nurses and medical consultants.

Fórsa has added its voice to international trade union demands for reduced working time to ensure that workers share the benefits of increased productivity from technological change.

Fórsa has hosted a job evaluation scheme ‘quality assurance’ event to mark the anniversary of the re-introduction of the scheme in the health service.

Fórsa has welcomed government plans to increase paid parental leave from two to seven weeks for each parent by 2021, but says the move is long overdue.

The persistent gender pay gap means that women have to work the equivalent of 67 extra days each year to earn the same as their average male counterpart, according to Fórsa official Geraldine O’Brien.

Fórsa is to consider seeking a Labour Court intervention to challenge HSE delays in meeting its commitments on issues related to community healthcare organisation (CHO) structures.

The standard overnight rate of civil service expenses has been increased to €147 in line with inflation following agreement at Civil Service General Council