Fórsa has welcomed last week’s announcement that the Government has accepted an independent body’s recommendation that public service employees’ working time should be restored to pre-austerity levels with effect from 1st July.

In a statement issued on 14th April, the Government also said that the health minister would engage with health sector unions “on the measures that are required to ensure safe implementation of the recommendations.”

Fórsa has already been approached for these talks. It’s believed they could see some rostered staff continue to work the so-called ‘Haddington Road hours,’ with compensation, on a temporary basis.

The independent body was established under the Building Momentum public service agreement to report on the issue. It made its recommendation in January 2022.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said the recommendation – now set for implementation on 1st July – will remove a longstanding and debilitating drain on public service morale and productivity.

“The additional hours introduced under the 2013 Haddington Road agreement (HRA) fell hardest on women with caring responsibilities and have been increasingly counterproductive in terms of service delivery, morale and productivity,” he said.

Since its formation in 2018, Fórsa has worked tirelessly to put this issue on the agenda and get it resolved, often in the face of skepticism about the prospect of success.

“The independent body’s recommendation, which is now accepted by the Government, will remove a deep grievance among many, mostly lower-paid, workers,” said Callinan.

The additional working hours were imposed from 1st July 2013, when the standard working time of civil and public servants increased to 39 hours per week for those who previously worked between 37 and 39 hours, and to 37 hours for those who previously worked 35 hours or less. The hours of those working 39 hours or more were unchanged.

The recommendation will see a return to the pre-July 2013 hours, albeit with a minimum working week of 35 hours. This will unwind the final element of the HRA’s austerity measures.

The independent body said the additional hours had “undoubtedly contributed significantly to the national effort to recover from the global crisis of the last decade.

“These recommendations effectively conclude any further negotiations to restore pay and other conditions of employment, either imposed by a combination of FEMPI legislative enactments, or agreed through a difficult series of overarching public sector agreements addressing pay, pensions, working hours and public service modernisation requirements over the last decade,” it said.

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