Stronger Together is the official podcast of Fórsa’s Sligo Health and Local Government branch and went live on the Anchor podcasting platform at the end of May.

The podcast is presented by Sligo branch members Irene Tiernan and Rodrigo Frade, and the first episode looks back on the previous week’s Health & Welfare divisional conference which took place in Sligo.

The podcast also features a report from the Local Government and Local Services divisional conference which took place in Kilkenny in early May.

Irene says the branch plans to use the podcast to provide quick and practical answers to members’ questions and to broadcast local branch news.

“We’re also hoping to feature members and officials as guests on the podcast. We think it’ll provide a new and very innovative way to enhance our branch communications, to get people involved in the conversation and boost the visibility of the work of our branch,” she said.

Rodrigo said the branch had been planning the podcast for some time. “We are always open to finding new ways to communicate with our members.

“In recent years we developed an informal and very effective meet-and-greet style of union meeting that we call the ‘huddle’. It proved to be a very successful means to recruit members and helping people to understand what the union does on behalf of members.

“The podcast has a similar objective, embracing the technology that allows us to reach beyond the workplace,” he said.

The latest episode was recorded live at the Art Deco theatre in Ballymote and features an interview with Pat Fallon about the benefits of being in a trade union. You can stream or download it now from Apple podcasts, Spotify and Anchor.