Fórsa is to meet education management in the Workplace Relations Commission today (Friday) to seek changes to parental leave arrangements for special needs assistants.

Delegates at Fórsa trade union’s conference in Killarney last week gave their unanimous backing to a motion calling for statutory paid leave for victims of domestic violence.

Public expenditure minister Michael McGrath has said the Government is willing to go beyond the pay terms in the Building Momentum public service agreement. But added that this must be done in a “balanced” way.

The education department yesterday (Thursday) confirmed that special leave with pay for staff in the Covid-19 very high-risk category will cease from 1^st July. This will also affect staff affected by long Covid.

Just 1% of employees have the protection of a menstrual health policy in their workplace, according to a survey published by Fórsa last week. 

A new study has ranked Ireland among the worst European countries when it comes to paid maternity leave.

As the effects of inflation continues to bite into wages with higher energy, retail and services costs, Fórsa’s school secretaries have drawn attention to the added pressure on schools to meet their energy bills, and how some are cutting school secretary working hours in order to do so.

Fórsa’s president has criticised the Government’s approach to giving workers the right to request remote or blended working. 

Fórsa has negotiated a further strengthening of the special needs assistants’ (SNAs) supplementary assignment panel for the forthcoming academic year. This builds on gains achieved over the past two years. 

The absence of agreement between unions, Government and employer representatives on practical measures to expand the range of free and affordable public services is undermining the national response to Ireland’s cost of living crisis, according to Fórsa.

Fórsa has called for a fundamental review and reform of working time and working patterns across the economy. 

Fórsa is to step up its campaign for expanded State service provision and a “best-of-class” social wage including free health care at the point of delivery, access to free or affordable childcare and early years’ education, social housing worthy of the name, enhanced local services and accessible high-quality education.