A Government decision to go back to the drawing board on legislation to compel employers to publish information on their gender pay gap means certain delays, and risks killing the initiative, Fórsa has said.

The union reacted angrily to confirmation that ministers are to draw up their own Bill, rather than amending an opposition Bill, which the Government has so far supported, and which is well advanced in the Oireachtas.

The Gender Pay Gap Information Bill 2017 was accepted by the Government when it passed its second stage last October. If enacted, it would require medium and large companies to publish details of the difference in the average pay of their male and female staff.

But the Government now intends to introduce an alternative bill, reportedly because it has reservations about the role of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission in administering pay gap reporting.

Responding to the development, Fórsa’s Head of Communications Bernard Harbor said reservations about the logistics of reporting, storing and presenting data could easily be addressed through amendments to the Labour bill, which is already well advanced.

“The Government has gone back to square one even though there is broad consensus on this issue across political parties, employers’ bodies, unions and civil society organisations. The move introduces needless delay, which means the legislation will probably not become law before a general election,” he said.

The administration’s move effectively shunts the issue back to the pre-legislation stage. Extensive consultation, which had produced a consensus on the issue, will now start again.

“We had the prospect of reaching the legislative summit by the end of this year. Now we are back in the foothills,” said Harbor.

The three unions that formed Fórsa were at the forefront of the campaign for legislation to compel organisations to publish details of their internal gender pay gap. Employer’s body Ibec was sceptical at first, but was persuaded to support the initiative.

All sides believe such a law could be a spur to action in tackling the gap between the average pay of men and women, which is stubbornly stuck at around 15%.

Fórsa has established that rumours that Revenue staff could be rostered over a 12-hour period as a result of PAYE modernisation are incorrect.

In negotiations about the PAYE modernisation project, management has instead proposed a nine-to-five working arrangement, which could develop into an eight-to-five span depending on work volumes.

If that happens, there would be provision for hours worked beyond five to be covered by the standard overtime arrangements. The same would go for any Saturday working that was required.

Fórsa officials have insisted that overtime should be on a voluntary basis.

Management has also said some rostering may occur if cover can’t be achieved locally. This would be agreed through discussions with the union.

Continuing discussions are focussing on proposals for extended opening hours for the employer helpline. Fórsa national secretary Derek Mullen has criticised management’s handling of the discussions, including the circulation of rumours about rostering.

“Our criticism of management’s approach led to the current proposal, which contained no reference to a 12-hour span,” he said.

The main location for the employer helpline is Nenagh, with overflow capability to Newcastlewest, BMW locations Galway and Dundalk, and possibly Cork.

Discussions will continue over coming weeks.

Fórsa is in discussions on its demand for the introduction of a disciplinary code for civil servants on probation, following agreement on a revised standard disciplinary code.

But a “major setback” occurred at a recent meeting, when the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) sought to roll back on a draft code that has been under discussion.

The union’s national secretary Derek Mullen said DPER had instead proposed a very short reference to a policy within revised guidelines for staff on probation.

“This is not a policy in our view, and we will be insisting that the discussion returns to the draft code that had been under serious consideration,” he said.

Forsa is engaged in negotiations with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) on the introduction of an absenteeism policy for civil servants, which controversially, encompasses all absences including legitimate certified sick leave.

As part of a new policy, the Government wants to introduce attendance management plans that will allow for the possibility of warnings that equate with warnings under the disciplinary code. This is the same approach adopted with performance improvement plans (PIPs), which unions previously resisted, all the way to arbitration.

Although unions lost the decision at arbitration, Fórsa maintains that it was a mistake, as it turned a performance improvement process into a disciplinary process that could quickly lead to dismissal.

This approach did not lead to effective performance management. Neither will a similar approach to absenteeism management.

Fórsa has said it will resist any policy that attempts to place legitimate sick leave in the same category as habitual attendance problems. Management’s failure to deal with the latter problem over the years has led us to this latest proposition, which would seek to introduce a one-size-fits-all approach to absences including legitimate sick leave.

No policy will replace the effective management of hard cases, and the use of good discretion by a manager in handing difficult cases where frequent absences become a feature for staff with previous unblemished records. There is often an underlying cause in such cases, which needs to be surfaced and which is not appropriate to a so-called management attendance policy.

A ‘zero-tolerance’ approach to absences that includes legitimate sick leave would fly in the face of equality legislation and other safeguards, which have rightfully been put there to protect staff with legitimate difficulties.

Fórsa recently stopped the use of arbitrary attendance management tools, namely the so-called ‘Bradford factor,’ which applies a mathematical formula to short term absences to rate staff and possibly discipline them.

The current discussions will also deal with how absences are assessed for the purposes of access to promotion, and the award of increments.

Fórsa has made clear its opposition to the establishment of a direct relationship between the rate of legitimate sick leave and the awarding of increments. But departments are already doing this, often in an arbitrary fashion.
This is something we intend to address in the context of an overall agreement. Meanwhile, negotiations are ongoing.

Fórsa has secured an agreement which will see the additional leave for clerical officers (COs) and executive officers (EOs) provided for under the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA), rolled out to analogous grades, service officers and cleaners.

Under the PSSA, COs and EOs were granted an extra days annual leave after 12 years’ service, with a further day due after 14 years. Up until recently however, staff serving as law clerks, services officers and architectural assistants, grades equivalent to COs and EOs, were not permitted same.

Fórsa general secretary Tom Geraghty explained: “This new entitlement stems from a claim submitted by the former PSEU in respect of EOs. Arbitration found merit in the claim but left it up to the pay talks to implement, during which it was extended to COs.”

Earlier this year Fórsa official Andy Pike lodged a claim to extend this agreement to comparable grades in the civil service. Following consideration of the claim, and recognising that in the past, any changes in annual leave allowances were mirrored across equivalent grades, the claim was recently agreed at general council.

The additional leave for CO and EO analogous grades, service officers and cleaners will come into effect from the start of the 2018 leave year.

Former members of Fórsa, or the three unions that amalgamated to create the new union, can maintain their union membership and enjoy a range of financial and other benefits including continued participation in union campaigns and events.

The union has a retired members’ vocational group, which deals solely with the issues that affect former members. Continued union membership – at an affordable cost – gives retired members a voice on issues that affect them and their families. This is vital at a time when incomes and services are under pressure and the number of older people in Ireland is growing all the time.

Fórsa’s retired members’ vocational group campaigns to protect and enhance retired workers’ income and security, and advocates for better services for older people.

Retired colleagues continue to be members of the union branch they retired from, so they can keep contact with friends after retirement. Many branches and retired members’ groups organise social events.

How do I Join

The union subscription is either €8 per month (payable by bank standing order) or 0.4% of your pension (deducted at source, where employers provide this facility).  Regardless of the method of payment, the fee does not exceed €96.00 euro per year.

Financial benefits for retired members include:

€5,000 personal accident insurance
€5,000 critical illness or death benefit
€5,000 death of a spouse/qualifying partner
Evacuation or repatriation expenses of up to €250,000 for members who die or are seriously ill abroad
Free legal help in bodily injury cases
Free 24/7 legal advice helpline
Free 24/7 confidential counselling helpline
Free 24/7 domestic assistance helpline.

Retired members can also opt-in to Fórsa-facilitated financial benefits on car insurance, home insurance and travel insurance.  Retired members can also avail of our group discount scheme for online shopping.

Contact rnolan@forsa.ie for more information.

Fórsa’s youth committee has been hard at work establishing its presence, since its launch in May. The Great Fórsa Quiz was the inaugural event and the committee has since been developing a number of social and workplace campaigns.

New entrants pay, the housing crisis and precarious working conditions are high on the agenda.

Three new officers were recently elected to the committee. I spoke to Osal Kelly (chairperson), Irene Tiernan (vice-chairperson) and Yvette Kelly (secretary to the committee) to find out more.

Osal Kelly is a clerical officer at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and became involved in youth and social issues during his time at university.

He’s conscious of the challenges younger members are facing. “My priority is to develop the Fórsa youth committee as a group equipped to campaign for pay equality for young public servants, and to end the scandal of precarious employment blighting younger workers,” he said.

Osal hopes that the youth committee will also help fortify the trade union movement. “I hope to strengthen the links with activists in other unions and show the continuing relevance of trade unions to young people.”

As secretary to the committee, Yvette Kelly works at the Department of Justice and Equality. She is focused on the issues of mental health and pay inequality. Yvette’s passion for workers’ rights stems from facing unemployment and precarious work during the economic crisis. She began to question the injustice and unfairness facing many.

“The systematic inequality and the class logic that deepens injustice faced by workers hit home with me,” she explained.

Yvette’s goal is to empower other activists, to lead and organise effectively, in order to build a stronger union. “I want to bring home the main message of trade unions to young people entering the work force that an injury to one is an injury to all,” she said.

Irene Tiernan works in the HSE and is PRO for the Sligo Health and Welfare branch. She has been active in the trade union movement for the last two years . Irene hopes that her position on the committee will encourage others to get involved and strengthen the union and views her activism as a form of giving back to the wider trade union community.

“I want to give back to Fórsa as it’s invested so much time in me. I feel that by giving my time and commitment that I'm returning on the union’s investment in me,” she said.

“I joined the youth committee to be a voice for other young workers, and also encourage others to get involved in the union. I want to show how important the union is for young workers and remind them that we are the future and we have power to make positive changes,” she said.

If you would like to get involved, please contact Joe O’Connor or Roisin McKane for more information.

Workers at the council took part in a fourth one-day stoppage on Tuesday (3rd July) this week. Strike action scheduled for today (Thursday) has now been suspended.

Peter Nolan, head of Fórsa’s Local Government and Services division, said: “Based on the documents received from the WRC and the oversight group, we’re satisfied there’s a clear route to the full availability of flexi-leave for our members.”

The WRC document recommends that both parties agree that all staff at the council are allowed to generate flexitime/flexileave, and that council management would have to be satisfied that there is sufficient, productive work to enable the generation of flexitime/flexileave.

The document also recommends that Roscommon County Council will facilitate the taking of leave subject to ordinary business needs.

The union is to attend the WRC today to finalise the details.

Legislation supporting affordable childcare passed through the Oireachtas last week, just as an Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) survey confirmed that most families struggle with childcare costs.

The Childcare Support Bill, which is expected to be enacted in the coming days, promises to give parents additional financial assistance. The Government says the new scheme will replace existing targeted childcare programmes with a “single, streamlined and more user-friendly scheme.”

According to the ICTU survey results which polled 1,000 trade union members, childcare is one of the top two out-of-pocket costs for 71% of working families with a pre-school child. While half (52%) of families with two or more children say it’s their biggest monthly expense.

Commenting on the newly announced legislation, Congress general secretary, Patricia King said:

“Removing this employment barrier for mothers who want to return to work will increase the skills level and size of the workforce. This is vital for sustaining spending on public services and payments, such as the old age pension, into the future”.

Minister for children and youth affairs, Katherine Zappone says the new scheme will improve outcomes for children, reduce poverty, facilitate labour activation and reduce the cost of childcare for families.

“It is a key priority of this government and will require sustained investment and momentum over the coming years to achieve the childcare system that families in Ireland both need and deserve” she said.

Currently the families of over 75,000 children are in receipt of financial support.

Parents of children aged 6-36 months are currently entitled to a non-means tested childcare subsidy of €20 per week, which amounts to €1,040 a year. Some families are also eligible for a €145 means-tested subsidy if the child is under six months. You can click here to see if you qualify.

Just under half of young Fórsa members are struggling to pay their rent, an Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) survey has found. The survey into housing costs for union members under 35 also found that 45% of Fórsa members were either unhappy living at home or felt trapped in the rental market.

A further 17% said they were very unhappy in their current living arrangements, while 68% had little confidence in their future ability to buy a home.

Fórsa lead organiser Joe O’Connor said young Fórsa members’ experience of housing costs were disturbing, but not hugely surprising given the scale of the housing crisis.

“It is unsustainable that over one-third of young Fórsa workers are seeing more than 30% of their take-home pay swallowed by spiralling rent costs, with almost half feeling insecure in their housing arrangements,” he said.

“It’s well past time for decisive Government action to tackle these crippling costs and uncertain tenancies,” he added.

Joe said it was significant that 80% of Fórsa members said the Government’s failure to address the housing crisis would influence how they will vote in elections.

Read about the overall survey results HERE.

The Living Wage Technical Group has increased the rate of the Living Wage by 20c to €11.70 an hour.

In its latest report the group said the increase has been driven by changes in the cost of living and changes in the taxation system. It said the current housing crisis, and associated increases in rent levels, continues to be the main driver of the wage rate increasing for 2018. 

The Living Wage is an evidence based wage, centred on the concept that work should provide individuals with an adequate income to afford a socially acceptable standard of living.

The Living Wage, which now stands at €2.35 an hour more than the current minimum wage (€9.55), is derived from budgetary standards research, focusing on needs not wants.

It is constructed on the basis of a single adult household working 39 hours a week, and sees an income disparity of €91.65 on average per week, when comparing against the current minimum wage.

The technical group and its research is supported by the Nevin Economic Research Institute, SIPTU, Social Justice Ireland, TASC, Unite union and the Vincentian Partnership for Social Justice.

Click here for more information on The Living Wage 2018.