One-in-three Irish travel insurance claims are lodged before a holiday has even started, which shows just how crucial travel insurance is for holidaymakers. Yet approximately half the people leaving Ireland on holidays this year won’t have made provision.

KennCo travel insurance offers Fórsa members single trip and multi-trip insurance for individuals, couples and families. Its low cost annual multi-trip travel insurance for Fórsa members starts from just €59, which includes cover for your partner and dependent children. Its single trip insurance pricing starts at €12.86.*

Now KennCo is offering Fórsa members the chance to win a set of Tripp suitcases. Simply send your name and phone number to travel@kennco.ie before 31st May 2018 to be in with a chance. The winner will be contacted by 1st June.

KennCo travel insurance features 

• Worldwide and European cover available
• 365-day medical assistance
• Lost baggage
• Public liability
• Missed departure 
• Medical & emergency expenses 
• Cancellation and curtailment
• Personal accident
• Winter sports & scuba diving included

*Dependent children of 17 years and under can travel independently for up to and including 21 days. Between 18-22 years they can still be covered under the family policy provided they are still in full time education and travelling with either parent. Annual cover applies to individuals from 18-69 years of age. Single trip cover applies to individuals up to and including 79 years of age. You must be living with your partner for at least 6 months. Terms and conditions apply.

For more travel insurance information check our website.
 

Local health services will be undermined, and SláinteCare reforms stymied, unless planned new primary and community health structures are quickly put in place, Fórsa has warned.

The union has accused the HSE of stalling on the establishment of community healthcare organisations (CHOs) pending the introduction of SláinteCare reforms. Fórsa national secretary Éamonn Donnelly says this could mean inadequate and inefficient community services – themselves a pillar of SláinteCare proposals – for half a decade or more.

SláinteCare is a ten-year plan for the introduction of quality healthcare, free at the point of need, which has been backed by all the main political parties.

Éamonn wrote to the HSE’s head of employee relations last week to say Fórsa would pull out of discussions on the operation of CHOs – including interim reporting mechanisms – unless it got assurances that agreed structures would be implemented as quickly as possible.

“SláinteCare did not win cross-party and public support as an excuse to leave things as they are for half a decade. Community services are the bedrock of these ambitious plans for fair, affordable, high-quality health services, and it’s perfectly possible to establish structures that can be smoothly adapted to SláinteCare if and when it’s implemented.

“We can’t allow the HSE to stymie the development of better community health services today on the grounds that there’ll be another initiative along tomorrow,” he said.

Talks on staffing and structural issues related to the roll-out of the CHOs got underway in January, but Donnelly said momentum had been lost in recent weeks amid indications that the HSE was considering shelving the initiative until SláinteCare was in place.

Nine new ‘community healthcare organisations’ (CHOs) have been put in place to manage and deliver the provision of primary and community care services across the country. The negotiations between Fórsa and the HSE have focussed on management and governance structures, qualifications and reporting relationships in the new bodies.

Interim reporting relationships in the CHOs currently govern local reports to the heads of four functions: mental health, primary care, social care, and health and wellbeing.

Contacts between unions and officials from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) will continue over the coming weeks with a view to cracking the practical issues involved in shortening pay scales for staff who joined the civil and public service after 2010.

Unions affiliated to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) met with officials in Dublin the week before last to open the process. This was one week after Fórsa called on the Government to allocate funds in October’s Budget to begin shortening new entrant pay scales next year.

This would be significantly earlier than envisaged in the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA), which simply committed the Government to explore the issue.

The next round of meetings, between the officers of ICTU’s Public Services Committee and DPER officials, will focus on how to shorten the scales, which vary in length for different grades, Unions also want to ensure that any solution is fair to all new entrants, including those who have now gone beyond the two additional points added to the start of pay scales in recent years.

The April meeting was scheduled following the publication of a DPER examination of the scale of the problem and the cost of resolving it.

Although no money is budgeted to deal with the issue in 2018, Fórsa senior general secretary Shay Cody said he wanted the implementation of an agreed resolution to begin next year.

“This is an equity issue and, while no money has been allocated to resolve it in 2018, Fórsa believes it should be possible to start funding it next year, rather than delaying until 2020 or beyond. Pay equity is a priority for all trade unions, and every bit of progress in addressing this injustice has been achieved by unions collectively, through national pay negotiations and public service pay agreements,” he said.

The 60,000-plus new entrants now at work make up 19% of all public service workers. DPER says full equalisation of the pay scales would cost approximately €199 million.

Mourners filled the parish church of Kilcoole, County Wicklow, at the end of April to bid farewell to Fórsa activist Tony Mitchell. Friends and colleagues gathered to celebrate the man remembered for his warmth, humour and generosity of spirit.

Tony was a social care worker at St. John of Gods for 28 years and was chair of the Dublin Care Services branch of Fórsa. Tony also served on the Health & Welfare divisional executive, and had recently taken up the chair of the social care workers’ vocational group.

Tony received a guard of honour from a large number of his Fórsa colleagues from the Dublin Care Services branch alongside activists, officers and staff from across the union.

All aspects of Tony’s work, life, trade union and community activism were represented. Clients and staff of St. John of Gods were in attendance, while additional music was provided by the Newtownmountkennedy male voice choir of which Tony was a member.

Tony was remembered with a minute’s silence at Fórsa's National Executive meeting yesterday (Wednesday).

Maura Cahalan, Cathaoirleach of Fórsa's Health & Welfare division, said "Tony was a staunch and unwavering union representative, who ensured members were supported locally and nationally. He was a very compassionate person devoted to his clients and his co-workers. He will be remembered dearly."

Commitment

Fórsa official Una Faulkner recalled being struck by Tony’s obvious commitment to his work, his unfaltering sense of social justice and potential for leadership. “He joined the branch executive in November 2012, and was elected chair of one of the largest branches in the health division just a few months later.

“Tony went above and beyond the call of duty for the members at St John of Gods. He frequently visited members in many of the other employments in the branch in Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare. He forged strong bonds and encouraged new members to get involved, mentoring them through industrial relation matters in their employments,” she said.

Mentor

Tony’s branch colleague, campaigns officer Roland Kennedy, is quick to credit Tony as his mentor as well as being a great friend over the last 17 years.

“Tony brought me in to the branch committee in 2007. We first met in 2001 during a dispute. I’d only been in my new job for a couple of weeks, and we got to know each other on the picket line. We became very close, we’d speak on the phone a few times every day. I always admired him.

“His priority at all times was making sure our members in St John of Gods were looked after, no matter where they worked, achieving what was fair and what was right. He was a true gentleman, and we shared friendship, unity and companionship, all the values inherent in trade unionism.

“Tony placed a great value on being personable, there was always time for a cup of tea and a chat with someone, even if the sparks were flying over some industrial relations issue. He knew how to do diplomacy, and he combined that strength - that essential fire in the belly - with real human warmth.

“He was very proud of being chair of the branch, and took as much pride in a trip to the Labour Court or a visit to the Fórsa head office to look after union business. It meant everything to him,” he said.

Support

Organiser Keivan Jackson highlighted the support Tony gave him as branch chair. “He always made the effort to come to the office, offering his help with anything I was working on, he was so supportive. He was a great man for a laugh and would often share an amusing bit of news about himself with a cheeky grin. I’ll miss those visits.”

Fórsa official Ian McDonnell said it quickly became apparent to him that Tony would be a key resource in assisting him when he became the union official for the Dublin Care Services branch two years ago.

“He was very knowledgeable and always available when I needed help. We also developed a personal rapport and friendship due to his openness and positive outlook on life. I will miss him and, like everyone else, I’ll continue to feel his loss,” he said.

Mischievous fun

Catherine Keogh’s first branch assignment as an official was with the Dublin Care Services branch. She was immediately taken with Tony’s mischievous sense of fun and the two became firm friends.

“You could be sitting in a very difficult meeting and have the misfortune - or good fortune - to catch the glint in Tony’s eye. You’d immediately get the joke, and that was his way of letting you know everything was going to be grand.

“He was decent and compassionate. So kind, so good, and above all so positive, he really brought out the best in us,” she recalls.

Vital

Fórsa’s Lynn Coffey worked with Tony as part of the union’s Social Care National Vocational Group. “Tony loved his profession and had a great belief that social care work is vital, helping people who are vulnerable. This year Tony became chairperson of the vocational group, demonstrating more of his selfless nature and giving more of his time to the group.

“He was chairperson for nearly a year but he has been a great friend and colleague to all who sat on the committee over the past number of years. Tony will be greatly missed by his colleagues in the group,” she said.

Ar dheis Dé do raibh a anam

Fórsa is still awaiting publication of the HSE audit of section 39 organisations after the prestigious journal Industrial Relations News reported last week that it was completed and ready for submission to the health department.  The review was established to assess pay restoration claims across the voluntary sector.

Under an agreement thrashed out in the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in February, management and unions will return to the WRC to assess how the audit findings can be addressed and implemented.

Slow progress on pay restoration in section 39s had earlier prompted Fórsa to sanction ballots in agencies that were largely funded by the exchequer, and which were deemed capable of funding pay restoration.

The union lifted the immediate threat of industrial action after the Department of Health made a commitment that the HSE would bring forward a review of pay policy in section 39s. The review is an evidence-gathering exercise to establish which agencies cut pay during the crisis, and which have since begun to restore incomes.

The HSE review covers publicly-funded organisations with “sizable staffing.” It is also considering the financial implications of adjusting pay in each organisation, taking account of all sources of funding. In the review, the HSE is to:

• Establish whether, when, and to what extent pay cuts were applied during the crisis in each relevant organisation
• Establish whether, when, and to what extent pay restoration has happened
• Identify, with appropriate supporting evidence, the financial implications for each organisation, taking account of all sources of funding
• Propose an appropriate plan for phased resolution in each case.

A temporary pause on job evaluation applications has been lifted, as huge demand from health workers prompted an increase in the resources devoted to processing applications and undertaking evaluations.

The Job Evaluation Unit, which involves management and union reps, put the pause in place so it could catch up with a backlog. Now, applications are again being assigned to assessment teams.

Additional assessment teams are also being put in place to reduce waiting times, currently running at six to nine months. Hundreds of applications have already been assessed, many of which have resulted in an upgrading.

The Job Evaluation Unit also intends to develop an alert system to provide information on the status of applications. Fórsa head of health Éamonn Donnelly said he understood staff frustration at long waiting times, but said the high volume of applications was the cause.

“We’ve fielded a huge number of queries about tracking applications. Some were delayed because local management sign-off had not been completed. Applicants should check that sign-off has been completed before contacting the Job Evaluation Unit,” he said.

The reactivated job evaluation scheme for health service clerical, administrative and management staff opened last year on foot of the union’s campaign. An eight-year suspension of the scheme created a lot of pent-up demand from workers who took on substantial extra responsibilities as clerical and admin staff numbers fell dramatically during the crisis.

The scheme, which is open to clerical and administrative grades III to VI, and related grades, offers staff the prospect of an upgrading if their job roles and responsibilities are found to have increased sufficiently.

It’s been reported that regulations requiring organisations with over 250 employees to disclose their average hourly gender pay gap will go before cabinet this month, with legislation expected later this year.

Last weekend, RTÉ reported that the threshold may be reduced to 150 employees after two years, and to 50 a year after that. The new law will also cover bonuses, and will apply to part-time employees and those on temporary contracts.

Fórsa, and the unions that amalgamated to form the new organisation, have campaigned strongly for legislation to oblige significantly-sized employers to publish details of the average gap between pay of the men and women they employ.

The union won support from a wide range of organisations, and has worked closely with employers’ body Ibec on the issue in recent times.

Delegates at the inaugural Fórsa Civil Service Divisional conference were welcomed into the hall by a sea of green ribbons in support of See Change’s ‘green ribbon campaign,’ which kicked off this month.

See Change is a group of organisations working together through the National Stigma Reduction Partnership to bring about positive change in public attitudes and behaviour towards people with mental health problems.

Their aim is to help facilitate a cultural shift in the workplace so that employers and employees feel supported and secure in discussing mental health. The campaign, which runs for the month of May, will see more than 500,000 ribbons disseminated nationwide, encouraging conversations about mental health.

Recent studies show that one in four employees may experience mental health difficulties at some time. But, sadly, there is still a stigma associated with mental health issues.

People affected by struggles with mental health can be very reluctant to disclose their difficulties or seek help in the workplace for fear of stigma and discrimination. See Change wants to tackle this head-on, by getting people talking about mental health, reducing stigma one conversation at a time.

The issue of mental health and wellbeing was at the forefront of many members’ minds at last month’s Civil Service conference. The green ribbons atop each seat sparked numerous encouraging conversations, and delegates sported them with pride.

Civil Service Divisional Executive committee member, Daniel Copperthwaite received rapturous applause when he took to the floor to discuss a motion on the matter, speaking passionately and bravely about his own experience.

Fórsa fully supports See Change in its work to end the stigma associated with mental health. Green ribbons will soon be available in all Fórsa buildings in support of the green ribbon campaign. Wear yours with pride.

For more information on the campaign, and to see how you can get involved, please click here.

Fórsa’s Cork Branch is hosting a social gathering for union reps in the county at the union office at 6.30pm this evening (Thursday). Invitations have been sent to activists and reps across the city and county, and to national branches with workplace reps based in Cork.

The union’s joint general secretary Eoin Ronayne and deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan will be in attendance, along with officials and staff based in the Cork regional office.

The idea of bringing together local Fórsa reps in an informal social setting was hatched after the Cork branch AGM earlier this year, according to branch chair Liz Fay.

“The event will provide Fórsa’s Cork activists from the three previous unions with an opportunity to gather and learn about each other and the work we do on behalf of members. I see it as an occasion, which I hope will help activists to work together in our new organisation, Fórsa. Together, we can only be stronger,” she said.

The Cork office was refurbished in 2015 and has modern conference, meeting and training rooms, which are available to Fórsa activists and members. Branch members will lead tours of the facilities in a relaxed environment accompanied by a light hors d’oeuvres and drinks reception.

Health workers are most likely to be out of work due to work-related illness and injury, according to new research conducted by the Economic and Social Research Institute and the Health and Safety Authority.

Launched last month, the report - which can be accessed here - examined work-related illnesses and injuries across a range of high-risk sectors including health, construction, transport, manufacturing and agriculture, forestry and fishing.

It tracked experiences from 2001 to 2014, and found that these sectors accounted for 41% of overall employment and 56% of all work-related injury.

Health sector workers were most likely to be absent from work due to work-related illness, with an absence rate of 92,000 between 2001 and 2014. Similarly, health ranked highest when the issue of work-related injury was explored.

Manual handling was a serious cause for concern with musculoskeletal issues accounting for 46% of work-related illnesses. Stress, anxiety and depression were also more prevalent among health sector workers, with 22% of workplace illnesses attributed to this, compared to 16% across all other sectors combined.

Shift workers, especially those who work nights, were at a higher risk of injury, while new recruits were more at risk than their more experienced colleagues. In addition, a longer working week was also noted as a contributing factor, with employees working more than 40 hours a week seeing a significant increase in the risk of a work-related illness or injury.

Fórsa has reached agreement with the child and family agency Tusla to establish a panel to urgently fill a number of critical grade IV vacancies, which are needed to satisfy immediate service needs.

An interim panel was created in 2017 to cater for these requirements, pending establishment of the National Recruitment Service (NRS) joint panel. But it has since been exhausted.

Fórsa official Chris Cully said the new interim panel will be abolished once the NRS grade IV panel, which will cater for Tusla and the HSE, is in place.

The original plan was for the first interim panel to be disbanded once the NRS panel was established. But the joint panel is still in the planning stages.

The head of Fórsa’s health and welfare division, Eamonn Donnelly, said: “The finalisation of panels are another few months in the making as high population density geographical areas are still being worked through.”

Fórsa launched its 2018 small grants fund for the Dublin north-east inner city area last month. The fund, established to support projects in the community around the union’s Nerney’s Court office, has an annual budget of €50,000.

The funds are allocated to projects in the areas of education and intercultural development, with a maximum of €1,000 granted to successful organisations. The figure was set after local groups said they needed small grants with minimum red tape.

Over the year, the scheme has supported educational workshops and seminars, equipment for homework clubs, computer training programmes, community weeks, festivals involving foreign national young people and their families, and social events encouraging intercultural mixing. Priority is given to groups working with marginalised and disadvantaged people.

The scheme previously ran under IMPACT, one of the three unions that amalgamated to create Fórsa. Speaking at the launch, Paddy Quinn of the small grants fund committee said: “We’re hoping the amalgamation might facilitate an expansion of the fund into the regions.”

Fórsa member Fergus McCabe, who works with Young People at Risk North Inner City, said the format of the small grants fund lends itself to easy applications that people find very effective.

“The idea of the fund is that it’s non-bureaucratic. Many people who look for funding elsewhere find it’s a nightmare with forms but the great thing with this is that it’s based locally, the forms are simple, and you get a quick decision,” he said.

Local groups and organisations from within Dublin’s north east inner city are invited to apply by filling in a form and returning it to Fórsa before Monday 21st May.

Get the form HERE.

The European Public Services Union (EPSU) reported last week that a final deal, covering all public sector workers in Denmark, had finally been agreed after months of uncertainty.

Negotiations had previously gone to mediation and looked set to escalate to industrial action and a threatened lockout by employers in March.

Unions had planned targeted strike action involving 10%-15% of workers. In response, the employers threatened to retaliate with a massive lockout of 50% of municipal and 90% of state workers.
However, the mediation worked and the unions were able to secure an overall package worth 8.1% over the next three years.

The overall package includes a commitment to ensure pay developments in line with the private sector, accounting for 0.71% of the wage improvements. This replaces a rule which only guaranteed the public sector a proportion of the value of private sector increases.