Fórsa has contacted the Minister for the Environment, Climate, Communications and Transport  Eamon Ryan, on behalf of the union’s driver tester members employed by the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to alert him to precarious employment practises at the RSA.

The union told the minister in a letter issued yesterday (Thursday) that the RSA continues to hire driver testers on insecure, temporary, contracts despite lengthy waiting lists – of up to one year – for driving test applicants to take their test.

Fórsa has been engaging with RSA management to try and resolve the issue, although the RSA is limited in what it can do because any resolution requires sanction from the Department of Transport.

The correspondence to the minister included a petition, signed by 150 driver testers - a significant majority of the staff - calling for the department to sanction 40 permanent driver tester positions.

Fórsa official Ruairí Creaney said: “It is not acceptable for dozens of public service workers to be employed on temporary contracts when it is clear that there is a strong case for permanent jobs in the RSA.

“Waiting times for driving tests are at an all-time high, so it makes no sense for people to be employed on insecure and precarious contracts.

“This would facilitate a reduction in waiting times and may result in keeping waiting times below 10 weeks, as stated in the RSA’s Service Level Agreement. It would also help resolve the precarious employment issue for members.”

It’s never been easier to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE.

A ballot of cabin crew members at Aer Lingus, on a revised pay deal, continues this week. The ballot closes next Tuesday (10^th October). The ballot follows renewed negotiations with the airline during September. 

If ratified by the ballot, the new pay deal will improve the basic pay rate by 12.25% over the next two years and is to be backdated to 1^st January 2023.

The Aer Lingus Cabin Crew branch committee have issued the ballot with a recommendation to vote in favour of the new deal.

Under the terms of the deal, basic pay will improve as follows:

• 1st January 2023: 2% or €640 (whichever is greater)
• 1st July 2023: 1.75% or €560 (whichever is greater)
• 1st October 2023: 2% or €640 (whichever is greater – backdated)
• 1st January 2024: 3.5% or €1120 (whichever is greater)
• 1st January 2025: 3% or €960 (whichever is greater).

This equates to 9.25% by January 2024, and a total of 12.25% by January 2025. 

In addition, there will be a once-off tax-free voucher payment made on 1^st October 2024, worth €750.

The new pay deal includes annual revisions to cabin crew credits over the three-year period covered, which will see cabin crew receive an extra €664 in credits in 2024, and a total of €890 a year by 2025.

Fórsa and Aer Lingus will commence negotiations to devise a new credits model by January 2024.

The deal will also see cabin crew pay scale progression for those recruited in 2022 and 2023, in addition to improvements in commission and overnight allowances.

IIt’s never been easier to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE. 

Fórsa, which represents pilots and winch crew at the Irish Coast Guard Search and Rescue Aviation Service, met this week with management of the new operator of the State’s search-and-rescue (SAR) contract, Bristow Ireland Ltd.

The union had sought to meet with the new operator following its engagement with the Department of Transport over its concerns on the transfer pilots and technical winch crew, and that this would take place in accordance with the 2003 EU Transfer of Undertakings (TUPE) regulations.

Following the meeting on Tuesday (3^rd October), which included representatives of IALPA and Fórsa’s IESA branch, national secretary Katie Morgan said Bristow and the union had committed to ongoing engagement: “We’ve agreed to meet with Bristow on a fortnightly basis as the transfer process gets underway. Our aim will be to ensure a smooth transfer for our members in SAR, a process that’s expected to take two years.

“Fórsa’s priority is to ensure that our members’ terms and conditions of employment are seamlessly transferred over to the new operator,” she said.

In correspondence with IALPA vice president Daniel Langan this week, Irish Coast Guard director Micheál O’Toole said Bristow has given a commitment to the Department of Transport that the company supports the principles of TUPE and that it will fully engage with unions as part of the transition and mobilisation phase of the new contract.

Reiterating the Irish Coast Guard’s commitment to enabling a smooth transition, he acknowledged “the skill professionalism and commitment to service of the CHCI SAR Aviation crews based at Sligo, Shannon, Waterford and Dublin” and thanked them for their ongoing dedication to a responsive maritime SAR service for Ireland.

He said Irish Coast Guard management is actively engaged with all stakeholders, including CHC as the operator of the current contract, to enable the smooth transition to the new contract.

In June this year CHC Ireland filed legal proceedings against the Government’s tendering process after it failed to secure a new contract, reported to be worth €670 million.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE.

Fórsa’s national executive has backed a core set of priorities for upcoming public service pay talks, and these were subsequently endorsed by the ICTU Public Service Committee (PSC), which represents all ICTU-affiliated unions with members in the civil and public service,

The current public service pay agreement, Building Momentum, expires at the end of 2023. The final pay improvement under the deal, an increase of 1.5% or €750 (whichever is greater) applies to public service payroll from this week (1^st October).

To avoid industrial relations turmoil, a successor agreement will need to be negotiated and ratified before the current deal expires, and talks are expected to get underway shortly.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan chairs the PSC. He said the unions’ priority objective is to secure appropriate pay measures in response to continuing cost-of-living pressures on working families. He said cost pressures, including rising mortgage interest rates and corporate profiteering, continue to erode wages. 

Kevin added: “Unions are also focused on stabilising public pay agreements, as there’s been an inconclusive process of engagement on Building Momentum’s commitment to address outstanding issues that affect several public service grades, groups and categories.

“The intention of both union and Government representatives was to have this process concluded before entering talks on a new agreement for 2024. To stabilise the current agreement, and to ensure a successor agreement commences on a solid foundation, an agreed process for dealing with issues affecting specific groups and grades is essential,” he said.

Kevin said normalising public service industrial relations is also a key priority: “This includes appropriate access to the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court, and the final dismantling of remaining pieces of FEMPI legislation.

“We need to move on from a process of industrial relations shaped by the response to the 2009 financial crisis,” he said.

Unions have also agreed on pursuing measures to ensure the ‘future-proofing’ of quality public services and public service employment.

Kevin said the most recent figures on population made this an essential feature of upcoming talks: “With a growing population of more than five million, we do need to ensure that the State can continue to build and maintain quality public services designed to respond to people’s needs,” he said.

It’s never been easier to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE.

Anticipation ahead of next week’s budget is now at fever pitch. Our call to Government has been to bridge the inflation gap through investment in public services. When wages aren’t keeping up with rising costs, Government must respond with financial assistance and by improving the services that people rely on every day.

It’s easy to talk about the cost-of-living crisis as if it’s an abstract issue and to quote statistics about inflation. But we can’t lose sight of the fact that at its core this is a bread-and-butter issue. Quite literally - the cost of bread and butter, and everything else, just keeps going up.

In next week’s Budget we want to see clear commitments from Government that they will use the public purse to provide cost of living supports and to invest in the public services that will improve life for everyone in this country and make it a little bit easier to get by. Last year the household energy credits, and the introduction of free schoolbooks, were examples of tangible measures that had a real impact. This year we need to see creative thinking and investment in childcare, in education, in health, the things that shape our daily lives.

Action is also needed to address rising mortgage interest rates, which affects not only homeowners when monthly repayments go up, but renters too, as landlords decide to sell or to increase rents.

As we begin to see analysts pointing to a possible slow down in the economy, we again reiterate our message that now is not the time to reduce the tax base, but instead to make the public investment needed to make everyday life more affordable. 

Of course, employers must step up to the plate too and this includes the Government. Building Momentum expires at the end of 2023, and last week the ICTU Public Services Committee, which I chair, agreed its four pillars for negotiations on a possible new public service agreement. Our priority will be to ensure that wherever the Budget doesn’t go far enough to address the cost of living, pay increases for public sector workers must make up the difference. You can read more about our approach below.

One creative measure Government could announce next week that would demonstrate their appreciation of the contribution workers make to our society and economy, and the role trade unions play in ensuring fairness at work, would be to announce tax relief on union subscriptions. Fórsa continues to campaign for a reversal of this austerity-era decision to eliminate this tax relief.  Strong unions mean strong workforces so this policy would benefit workers and the wider economy.

Our union is a strong union. We are proud of our colleagues in Local Government who recently undertook industrial action. They secured a commitment to a roadmap for job evaluation in local authorities.

Our members and officials in health are engaged in several disputes all of which have fairness and respect at their heart. From today, clerical admin and managerial grade members in the HSE will begin a work to rule action, and on Tuesday October 17^th our members delivering health services in the community and voluntary sector will begin indefinite strike action. I hope you will join with me in standing in solidarity with members across all our divisions. 

Thank you for your continued support.

Yours,

Kevin Callinan

General Secretary.

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

Fórsa are teaming up with Cornmarket , for the second time, to roll out a potentially life-saving breast and prostate health assessment and education programme to thousands of members of the Fórsa Salary Protection Scheme.

The Pink and Blue Power programme aims to increase awareness of the signs and symptoms of common cancers and provide members with vital education and the opportunity for a once-off clinical physical exam. 

All-Ireland winners, Dublin GAA players Leah Caffrey and James McCarthy, joined us in Fórsa HQ to celebrate the launch.

The last programme back in 2019 was a huge success. It was launched in response to a high level of cancer claims in the scheme, and acknowledging that 1 in 9 women are diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime, while 1 in 7 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer.

The initial GP appointment only takes 15 minutes and includes:

• A clinical physical breast/prostate examination
• Education on signs and symptoms of breast/prostate cancer
• How to perform a breast exam (for women)
• PSA Blood test for men (to measure Prostate Specific Antigen)
• Personal report with clinical findings.

If further investigation is required, members are referred to a participating private clinic in Dublin, Cork or Galway for a consultation, scanning and a biopsy, if necessary.

Fórsa President Michael Smyth welcomed the initiative and encouraged all members to sign up for the scheme:

“Health is something we must not take for granted. The programme gives our members easy access to screenings, and we cannot underestimate the importance they may have in someone’s life. During the last programme, hundreds of participants were sent for further tests, and 5 Fórsa members were diagnosed with cancer. Their outlook was improved thanks to the programme.

“It was a pleasure to welcome both Leah Caffrey and James McCarthy to Fórsa and I’d like to applaud them for getting behind the campaign. Everyone has been affected by cancer in one way or another and we must continue to advocate for early diagnosis through programmes like this.”

 For more information, you can visit cornmarket.ie/pink-blue-power/

Pink & Blue Power is a benefit of the Fórsa Salary Protection Scheme. Not a member of the Scheme yet? Visit cornmarket.ie/forsa for more on benefits and how to apply.

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE.

Fórsa is inviting eligible members and activists to apply to its third level grant support scheme, which gives limited financial assistance to those undertaking certified educational courses – up to third level – that will assist them in carrying out their union representative role.

The programme requires that the qualifications and skills achieved through the scheme supported courses will be of benefit to the member in their work, union and personal life.

The scheme does not cover courses designed to enhance professional or career development unless they also improve a member’s ability to act as a Fórsa rep.

Applicants must be fully paid-up Fórsa members and can only apply by completing the application form. They must also have the support of their own Fórsa branch.

The closing date for applications is 5.30pm on Friday 13th October 2023, and all applications must be submitted by email to: bursaries@forsa.ie.

Full details of the application requirements and available support are available here. .

The approved application form is available here.

It’s never been easier to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE. 

All workers currently covered by the Building Momentum agreement, including staff in non-commercial Semi-State agencies, will receive a pay increase of 1.5% or €750 (whichever is greater), effective from 1^st October 2023. 

Pay scales for Fórsa members have been updated on the Fórsa website, reflecting the final pay adjustment under the Building Momentum Pay Agreement.

The deal, which was originally negotiated by Fórsa and other unions in 2020, with an extension to the agreement negotiated again in 2022, has delivered six pay adjustment to date totalling 7.5%.

You can view the revised payscales on the Fórsa website HERE.