A packed room at the Brehon Hotel buzzed with excitement as the Fórsa Skills Academy unveiled its new mentoring programme during the union’s recent national conference. This new initiative is designed to bolster practical skills and build confidence among activists and workplace representatives. 

With its aims to provide crucial “on the ground” support, complementing the core training programmes offered by the Skills Academy, the programme is based on a simple idea.

“It's just a really simple concept to pair people up together, trying to decipher the world of the trade union, to understand all of the work that we do inside of it and also to provide support,” said Fiona Dunne, Fórsa’s director of training.

Helen Sheridan, Chair of the membership training NEC sub-committee, and one of the proponents of the new programme, emphasised the inter-generational value of mentorship: "The idea of this mentoring programme is to pass on the experience reps have gained. Even as people retire or leave their employment, this programme ensures they stay connected to the union and those who follow in their footsteps."

Fiona Dunne highlighted the accessibility issues faced by new members: “I've worked with students for a long number of years, and one of the first things they say to me about the trade union movement is that it's impenetrable, and this is about trying to make us less impenetrable. It’s about reaching out our hands because they also said that once they come inside, we are fantastic to work with!”

Fiona McGrath, a Special Needs Assistant (SNA) from Dublin, shared her firsthand experience with the programme: "I became a rep for my school last September and was unaware of the mentoring programme initially. During the first day of training in February, I had no clue what to expect. By the end of the training, I knew exactly what I needed to be an effective rep. The programme provided the insight and support I needed."

When asked if she would recommend the programme to other members, Fiona's response was unequivocal: "Absolutely. Getting paired with someone more experienced offers invaluable insights."

The mentoring programme runs from September 2024 to March 2025. Members can register to be either a mentor or a mentee here. To participate in the training workshop at the end of the summer, applications must be submitted by Tuesday, 6th August 2024. For more information, visit the Fórsa Mentoring Programme webpage .

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

On Friday, 31st May 2024, Fórsa’s Skills Academy hosted a well-attended Lunch & Learn session focused on domestic violence awareness. This session, facilitated by Niamh Wilson from Women’s Aid and Fiona Dunne, Fórsa’s director of training, covered key areas including Women's Aid’s crucial role in raising awareness about the prevalence, forms, and impacts of domestic abuse. 

The event is the latest in a long string of actions with roots in multiple motions that were passed at national conference back in 2022, with the aim of improving workplace interventions related to domestic violence.
 
The workshop also looked at the intersection of domestic violence and the workplace, and how to respond to disclosures. A recording of the session is available on Fórsa’s YouTube channel.  

"Supporting women to stay in work is so important. One in ten women who experience domestic abuse will end up losing their job because of domestic abuse. And this is where employees, colleagues, managers, HR people can really make critical interventions to help avoid that terrible outcome for women," outlined Niamh Wilson. 

For more information and support options, members were encouraged to visit Women’s Aid services. Ideas for workplace awareness initiatives can be found here, and general awareness videos in multiple languages are accessible here. These videos feature women from diverse communities in Ireland, sharing signs of domestic violence and how to access help safely.

Tackling domestic violence has been a key focus for Fórsa. At the union's national conference in 2022, eight separate motions on domestic and gender-based violence were presented by various branches. The delegates in the hall demonstrated a keen sense of feeling and determination on the issue. Recognising the importance of domestic violence leave, the National Executive Council (NEC) then prioritised this issue, ensuring it was placed prominently on the industrial agenda across all divisions.

This led to extensive campaigning, a cross-divisional membership survey, and cooperation with Women’s Aid. In 2023, paid domestic violence leave became law through the introduction of the Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Bill (2023).

Despite initial proposals capping domestic violence leave payments at 70% of salary or €110 per day, interventions by Fórsa and other stakeholders resulted in increasing the payment to the worker’s normal daily rate of pay.

As the new law only provides for five statutory days of domestic violence leave, the union is continuing to campaign until ten days is achieved, a measure supported by Women’s Aid and international research.

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

Anti-racism trainings, organised by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), will be available in locations around the country, free, and open to all members of ICTU-affiliated unions, as part of the Anti-racist workplaces and unions project being undertaken by ICTU.

This project seeks not only to combat racism, but to encourage and assist minority ethnic and migrant workers to be represented at all levels of unions and the workplace.

There will be two sessions in the coming weeks, taking place in Sligo and Galway. Fórsa will be providing space in our regional offices for the trainings to take place in.

The trainings are designed for union staff and representatives. They are intended to be participatory, so that participants can learn how to challenge racism when they see it, as well as arm them against the onslaught of misinformation we face daily.

Included in the training will be sections on language, definitions and terminology, current contexts in relation to racism in Ireland, migrants in the Irish workforce – facts versus fiction, racism in Ireland and the Irish Workforce, challenging racist behaviours – what to do/what not to do, and best practice in anti-racism work.

The first session will take place in Sligo on Tuesday June 11th from 11.30am - 3.30pm in our shared offices with SIPTU on Fish Quay.

The second will take place in Galway on Wednesday 3rd July from 11.30am – 3.30pm in our Fórsa Galway office, Unit 23-24 Sean Mulvoy Business Park.

On both occasions lunch will be provided. 

Places will be made available on a first-come-first-served basis. To secure a place, email Dr. David Carroll at David.Carroll@ictu.ie

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

Fórsa Trade Union members get a special discount on their worldwide annual multi-trip travel insurance from KennCo. This member offer will cover an individual, a couple or a family with travel insurance to protect your holiday.

Our worldwide annual multi-trip cover from €79.53, includes cover for you, your spouse/partner and dependent children, up to and including age 17, or for dependent children in full time education - up to and including age 22.

Main benefits include:

•    Worldwide annual multi-trip cover 
•    365-day, 24 hour emergency medical assistance service while abroad
•    Cancellation & curtailment
•    Lost baggage
•    Medical & emergency expenses
•    Personal accident
•    Travel delay and disruption
•    Public liability
•    Winter sports & scuba diving
•    Cruise cover up to €300
•    Family multi-trip covers dependent children up to 17 years to travel independently of their parent(s). 
•    Multi-trip covers trips up to 31 days duration.  Option to extend to 60 days duration also available.

Single trip cover options are also available for unrelated groups, trips up to 180 days etc.

Terms, conditions, and excesses will apply.

KennCo Underwriting Ltd T/A KennCo Insurance is regulated by The Central Bank of Ireland 

The Department of Education has published their report on the first national survey of Special Needs Assistants. 

The survey received 13,400 responses from a workforce of 21,000 SNAs. 75% of respondents were employed by independent schools and 25% by ETB administered schools. 

The survey contains important data on SNA demographics such as age, gender and nationality as well as data on the location of SNAs by county. 94 % of respondents were women, while 36% were aged between 46-55. Over 82% work full-time. 73% of those who took part in the survey reported regularly attending training or courses related to their role.

70% of respondents to the survey stated that they had an academic qualification at QQI Level 6. Examples given included diplomas on a wide range of areas including special needs, childcare, family studies, montessori teaching, and social care studies, as well as nursery studies and community and youth studies. 

Significantly, the vast majority of respondents (80%) are in favour of the current minimum entry qualification being raised. 

Fórsa national secretary Andy Pike said: “We have long argued that the minimum SNA entry qualification should be QQI level 6. The results of this survey show that our claim was an accurate reflection of the existing educational achievement of SNAs.” 

Andy continued: "The responses to the survey provide valuable information about how SNAs feel their work should be valued, and the challenges they face on a day-to-day basis. We will use the data in the survey to inform discussions currently taking place on the SNA Workforce Development Plan and National Contract."

You can read the report on the survey here.

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

Fórsa has urged the Minister for Education, Norma Foley TD, to increase the pace of engagement with the union for a new school caretaker pay structure.

Responding to a statement by the Minster last week - and welcoming a pay survey on the current pay and conditions of school caretakers in more than 3,800 schools - Fórsa said increasing the pace of engagement is essential to ensuring school caretakers do not have to wait any longer for a new pay structure to be implemented.

Fórsa head of education Andy Pike commented: “We believe that an agreement is possible on the same terms agreed for school secretaries, which would significantly increase pay and provide basic conditions of service.

“This would include, for example, paid leave entitlements, which would end the need for school caretakers to claim social protection payments during weeks of school closure. This arrangement has been transformative for school secretaries, who have been on a centralised payroll system since September 2023.

“Fórsa appreciates there are a number of complex elements to the proposed caretaker agreement, such as how to treat overtime and on-call obligations, but we are confident that if both parties intensify their efforts a beneficial agreement can be reached,” he said.

Following the establishment of a new pay structure for school secretaries in 2021, Fórsa and the Department of Education agreed to negotiate a new pay structure for school caretakers.  

The school caretakers pay survey is to be completed by 14th June. Andy said the survey is an essential exercise to identify current pay arrangements, the results of which will inform ongoing negotiations on a new pay structure.

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

Fórsa members working in HR departments in Education and Training Boards (ETBs) have been issued a non-cooperation instruction effective from Thursday 30th May 2024. The instruction relates to increases in demands across three areas of work, in addition to normal workloads, with no additional administration resources provided.

These areas of work include the filling of assistant principal posts, the recruitment of teachers to special needs schools, and the adult educator deal.

Head of Fórsa’s Education Division, Andy Pike, outlined the additional requirements and said that no additional resources have been provided to meet this demand.

“At recent conferences, the Minister said that assistant principal posts that fall vacant on 1st September 2024, will have to be filled for the commencement of the new school year, but no resources have been implemented to meet this requirement.

“Furthermore, under a recent circular, ETBs are now committed to supporting the deployment of an additional 100 post-primary teaching posts to special schools. This is a new requirement, and no additional resources have been provided to meet this demand.

“Furthermore, a circular recently issued to inform ETBs that offer letters to those eligible for the adult educator’s deal should be circulated by late April to allow sufficient time for tutors to consider options by mid-June. Where a tutor opts to convert, contract changes are to take effect from September 2024. Once again, this is a new requirement, and no additional resources have been provided to meet this demand," he said.

Under the terms of the Public Service Pay Agreement 2024-2026, employers are obliged to enter into consultation with Fórsa on these significant increases in workload, but to date, no consultation has taken place at sectoral or national level. 

"Therefore, members have been instructed not to cooperate with the three areas of work effective from 30th May 2024 until instructed otherwise by Fórsa,” he said.

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

School secretaries who missed out on the chance to transfer to the national contract and pay deal negotiated by the union and implemented in 2023, can now apply to transfer to the Department of Education payroll system.

Those transferring will be able to receive the on-boarding allowance and will be assimilated to the new pay scale from 1st September 2024. 

The Department of Education has issued an invitation to schools where the secretary is not on their payroll system. Last September a number of school secretaries who were paid marginally over the maximum of the new pay scale opted to stay on their local contracts.

Following the ratification of the Public Service Agreement 2024-2026 in March, new public sector pay increases have been applied to the school secretary scale. Consequently, secretaries who remained on local contracts may now find that transferring to the national contract and the Department’s payroll system is financially beneficial.  

Fórsa assistant general secretary Shane Lambert said: “If this applies to you, you can now opt to transfer to the terms and conditions of the national contract, negotiated by Fórsa.”

“In that negotiation we were able to ensure school secretaries would benefit from any pay raises negotiated nationally for public servants. It’s great to see that come to fruition now, and we’re keen to make sure all school secretaries can benefit from this.” 

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

The ongoing housing crisis threatens to undermine Irish economic success and its international reputation, as a generation of workers continue to be locked out of the housing market. 

The concerns of Fórsa members about the impact of the escalating crisis featured prominently in a number of motions at the union’s recent conference in Killarney, dominating the first evening of debate.

A growing number of employers are reporting that prospective employees are declining job offers due to the lack of affordable housing, while accommodation concerns are driving recruitment and retention challenges in both the public and private sectors.

Helen Linehan, from Fórsa’s Cork general clerical branch, said her branch had brought its motion to the conference because so many of her younger work colleagues were still living at home with parents or contemplating emigration because they could not find a home.

Helen said too many members in civil and public services continue to struggle with high rent costs and are forced to live further away from their work in order to find more affordable accommodation: “The current situation cannot continue. Workers cannot afford escalating housing costs, and this poses a genuine threat to our public services,” he said.

She called on delegates to support a motion calling on the union to engage with the Government to find housing solutions, including rent controls, State provision of affordable and subsidised housing or the acquisition of housing for civil and public sector workers.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said housing has overtaken inflation and cost-of-living concerns for working people: “We have an incredibly successful economy, with burgeoning exchequer revenues and full employment. But, beneath the surface of that, the housing crisis is having a corrosive effect. 

“The Irish economic success story is being actively undermined by the ongoing accommodation shortages in all Irish cities, towns and rural areas. 

“A growing number of younger people are locked out of housing and locked out of starting an independent life. These are the young people we need to build and improve public services,” he said.

Recent polling found that 8% of young people in Ireland, aged between 18 and 34, are planning to leave the country, while one-third of the age group say that they are considering it because the situation has become so acute. 

Kevin added: “It’s the reverse of the situation that prompted the 1980s ‘brain drain’ of young people, who left the country because of the lack of employment opportunities. Today, employment is plentiful, but housing pressures are prompting a fresh exodus of talent.

“The country’s international reputation is being badly compromised because current policies on housing simply aren’t working, which means that foreign direct investment is increasingly under threat,” he said.

Fórsa activist Anne Marie Ryan, from the union’s Westmeath branch, called on delegates to support the union’s active engagement with government to advocate for “a meaningful and workable resolution to the housing crisis. We want the union to fight for stricter regulations on landlords, developers and commercial funds to ensure fair and affordable housing options for all workers,” she said.

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

Answering ICTU’s call to “get the bill done” the Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Bill, 2024 has passed the latest vote in the Dáil.

Having now passed all Dáil stages, the legislation will now move on to its second Seanad stage, the committee stage on June 11th.

Prior to Dáil debate on the bill Owen Reidy, General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), described the implementation of an Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings System Bill as a matter of urgency.

“Another generation of workers cannot be allowed to have their income and living standards plummet in retirement. Ireland remains the only OECD country not to operate auto-enrolment or similar pensions saving scheme,” he said.

The scheme will see employees aged 23-60, earning over €20,000 a year and not currently contributing to a pension scheme, automatically enrolled in a state-provided pension.

Those in receipt of an automatic enrolment pension will have the ability to opt out after six months but will be re-enrolled every two years.

A state-owned body, the National Automatic Enrolment Retirement Savings Authority (NAERSA), is to be set up to administer collections and payments, while pension funds will be managed by private investment firms.

Sean Sherlock TD had sought amendments that would see ICTU guaranteed a board member of NAERSA, but was ultimately unsuccessful. 

Minster Heather Humphreys TD argued that the bill already required there be a board member with knowledge of, or experience with, employees’ interests, and that this post could be filled by an ICTU representative or “someone who would otherwise meet the approval of trade unionists”.

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

The local and European elections take place today, Friday 7th June. Polling stations across the country opened at 7am and remain open all day, closing at 10pm. 

Voters will cast their ballots to elect members of local councils and the European Parliament. In Limerick, Ireland’s first ever directly elected mayor will be voted in.

On the morning of the vote Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan urged members to make their voices heard. He said: “We are privileged to live in a democracy where we get to choose who makes decisions at local, national and European level."

"Public representatives serve the people who elect them. As a union we fight for fairness at work and for better public services every day. Voting is another way to make our collective voice heard.”

In the local elections close to 2000 candidates are running in 31 local authorities. In total there are 949 seats to be filled across 166 local electoral areas.

The European elections take place every five years, voters in 27 EU member states elect 720 MEPs to the European Parliament. The European Parliament is the world’s only directly elected transnational assembly. Not all countries vote on the same day, so the elections run from 6-9 June.

In Ireland they take place on the same day as the local elections. Ireland elects 14 MEPs to the European Parliament from three constituencies: Dublin (four seats), Midlands North-West (five seats), and Ireland South (five seats).

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions produced a manifesto outlining the European priorities for the trade union movement, you can read it here. 

As part of the More Power to You coalition Fórsa, along with SIPTU, and Connect, published a local election manifesto calling for stronger local government and local services, and more effective local democracy. 

The measures called for include:

• Better funding for local authorities
• Directly elected mayors
• Return of waste collection services to local authorities
• Referendum on public ownership of water
• Local authority led cost rental public housing 
• Increased local authority direct labour for homer energy upgrades and maintenance
• Local authority led community ownership of renewable energy projects

The Electoral Commission website contains useful guides on how Ireland’s PR-STV voting system works, and all the practical details related to the election. You can consult it here.

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