Today marks the centenary of the legislation that permitted Irish women to vote and stand in parliamentary elections for the first time. It’s also 100 years since the first woman MP was elected to Westminster.

Constance Georgine Markievicz was elected in a Dublin constituency, but never took her seat at Westminster. Instead, she joined the revolutionary first Dáil, becoming the first female TD.

The first of the commemoration events on women’s suffrage took place in Glasnevin Cemetery last Sunday (4th February). The event coincided with Constance Markievicz’s 150th birthday, but it also focused on the three issues she championed: labour, nationalism and suffrage.

ICTU general secretary Patricia King reflected on an industrial dispute with a manufacturer of rosary beads, which Markievicz was involved in. The event was also addressed by Sinn Féin president-elect Mary Lou McDonald, and Ivana Bacik, Labour senator and the chair of Votáil 100.

The speakers all reflected on current efforts for the political and economic advancement of women, but focused particularly on the current make-up of the Oireachtas.

Sunday’s event was the first of many commemoration events remembering the fight for women’s suffrage.

A new ratio of promotions to open recruitment, means an additional 10% of civil service executive officer (EO) posts will be filled by promotion in future. The arrangement, which was agreed in the discussions that led to the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA), sees the introduction of a new 60:40 ratio in favour of internal promotion over open recruitment.

However, DPER also tabled 300 potential liabilities to the open EO panel as part of this discussion. Fórsa is disputing this on the grounds that many of the liabilities relate to the period when the recruitment moratorium, which ruled out open recruitment, was in place.

The union says members should not be further disadvantaged as a result of the moratorium. It has told the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform that EO open liabilities should not accrue for periods when no EO recruitment was taking place.

The number of civil service higher clerical officer scale posts will increase this year and next, following an agreement struck during the talks that led to the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA), which was backed by unions last year.

The percentage of people on higher scales will increase from 15% to 20% of clerical officers in 2018. A further increase to 25% will take place in 2019.

Fórsa is keeping the matter under review in all civil service departments to ensure that the agreement is properly implemented.

We’ve received a number of queries about our report on the opportunity for civil servants to opt to revert to pre-Haddington Road hours, which appeared in the last Fórsa News Bulletin (18^th January 2018).

In relation to the permanency of the reversion, members should note that section 2.12.2 of the Public Service Stability Agreement says the opportunity is: “to permanently revert to the pre-Haddington Road Agreement hours.” The agreement does not make any provision for altering this.

The new pattern is calculated in the same manner as a worksharing option. In this case, a member who works 41 hours per week works an annual total of 43.25 hours x 52.18 days. This equates to 2256.785  hours per annum. Those who opt to return to the Pre-Haddington Road hours will work 41 hours per week – or 2139.38 hours per annum. This equates to 94.797% which, when rounded, becomes a 95% worksharing pattern.

Rising executive pay in the private sector will inevitably lead to a rise in wider inequality, according to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions. Its latest annual survey into executive pay Because We’re Worth It: The Truth About CEO Pay in Ireland also warns of a regulatory gap, which means Irish-registered companies based in London can avoid best practise regarding female membership of corporate boards.

The survey, which examines the remuneration of CEOs at 27 companies, finds that an average earner would have to work 270 years to earn the equivalent of the boss of CRH. It would take them 62 years to earn the equivalent of the Aryzta CEO’s remuneration package.

Dr Peter Rigney, one of the authors of the report, said: “If this trend is left unchecked it will inevitably lead to greater levels of inequality across Irish society. We have yet to see conclusive evidence of a direct causal link between high CEO pay and company performance.”

Five of the seven companies being examined for the first time were quoted on the London stock exchange, and had seen the pay of their CEOs fall in the past 12 months. The report says increased political will to tackle rising executive pay in the UK is the main reason for this. The authors say this debate has yet to start in Ireland.

This year’s report also examined gender diversity at executive and director level. It identified just two female CEOs – at FBD and Glanbia – in the 27 companies examined. “Most companies have a long way to go if an average of at least two female directors was to be in place,” it says.

The report also found that three of the four London-based companies with no women board members were registered in Ireland. These companies say they are not bound by London codes of practice, which encourage companies to have at least two female board members. The authors call for this “regulatory gap” to be closed.

Read the report HERE.

The Fórsa National Executive Committee met for the first time on 18th January. Writing to the union’s branches afterwards, the three Fórsa joint presidents said it was an historic occasion, made possible by several years of hard work by the combined executives and activists of our three former unions.

The three joint presidents – Ann McGee, Niall McGuirk and Pat Fallon – will be in office until new executive officers are elected at Fórsa’s first national conference in May.

They said the new union’s rich diversity was evident at the executive meeting. “We have spent a lot of time and effort to create this exciting new union. Now the real work has started. We look forward to working with every branch and activist to ensure that this force for good is one to be reckoned with. We can confidently anticipate the challenges that lie ahead,” they wrote.

The presidents said the first executive meeting was characterised by a determination to work together to use the union’s collective strength to protect and enhance the interests of every group of members.

“While taking pride in the rich legacies of our three founding unions, we firmly believe that, as the strongest and most influential trade union voice in the civil and public service, voluntary organisations, and the semi-state sector, Fórsa can deliver much more for its members, their communities, and the many thousands of workers who have yet to join our union,” they said.
An oversight committee, consisting of Niall, Ann and Pat, has been established to deal with any concerns or thoughts that members want to share.

• Public ownership of Irish Water
• Government action plan on jobs
• Bogus self-employment
• Tax relief on union subscriptions
• Investment in early childhood education including a pre-Budget briefing
• National Civil Aviation Development Forum
• Social Protection appeal on behalf of Coillte employees
• Gender Pay Gap Reporting Bill 2017

In the last edition of the Fórsa members' news bulletin we asked Fórsa members “Should healthcare professionals be compelled to have the flu vaccine?” on foot of an announcement by the Minister for Health Simon Harris that he would consider making it obligatory for healthcare professionals.

Almost half of our survey respondents disagreed that health workers should be compelled to get the flu vaccine and voted ‘No’, while 28% voted ‘Yes.’ However, a further 23% of respondents agreed that the vaccine should be mandatory for anyone working with the general public.