Fórsa members in local authorities begin industrial action today, Monday 11th September 2023. This dispute is about job evaluation, the process which assesses if a job’s grade is properly matched to its duties and responsibilities.

The industrial action takes the form of an indefinite ban on non-statutory political representations from councillors, TDs, senators and MEPs, which means that from today, our members who are local government workers will not respond to routine queries and requests for information from politicians.

Members are instructed not to undertake the following tasks:

• Emails, telephone calls, texts, letters, with Councillors, Senators, TDs (including Ministers) and MEPs.
• Assistance with Councillor queries/parliamentary questions
• Face-to-face discussions about work queries from public elected reps.
• Routine updates provided from the Council centrally and at Municipal District level on issues such road closures, water, street cleaning etc.

The Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) has failed to engage meaningfully with the union on the establishment of a job evaluation scheme for workers in local authorities, despite a joint referral to the WRC.

Following approval by 85 % of members Fórsa served notice of the industrial action to local authority employers on Friday 1st September. The union has also written to political representatives to make them aware of the industrial action.

Over the past number of days, we have been encouraged by the support shown online by political representatives for local authority workers. There has also been media coverage in the Irish Independent and an interview with Forsa national secretary Richy Carrothers on the Kildare Today show on Kfm which you can listen to by clicking here.

Sending a message of support to members on the first day of industrial action, Richy Carrothers said: “Our members have been forced to take industrial action by the LGMA’s refusal to engage with us on a job evaluation scheme, which local authority workers deserve.  Many workers are carrying out duties at a higher level than their grade, which is an unfair and untenable situation. We are taking this action to demonstrate our determination to resolve this long-standing issue.”

There is a detailed FAQ available to answer any queries you might have which is available here. If you have a question that isn’t answered, please contact your local branch or email  lgaction2023@forsa.ie

Our union’s strength is in our membership. Show your support by asking your colleagues today: Have you joined the union yet? You can also download this poster and distribute or display it in your workplace. Alternatively, forward this email to your colleagues so they can scan this QR code to join. 

There’s never been a better time to join a union, and it’s never been easier. Join Fórsa today.