The restoration of working time to pre-austerity levels will apply to all civil and public servants in the grades affected, including those who joined the public service after additional working hours were introduced in 2013.

The additional working time was introduced for thousands of civil and public servants, as an alternative to a third pay cut, under the 2013 Haddington Road agreement (HRA). Last month, the independent body charged with resolving the longstanding issue recommended that it should be restored to pre-austerity levels from 1^st July 2022.

This week, Fórsa published a guide to the recommendation, with the facility for union members to submit their questions. 

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said last week’s recommendation would remove a longstanding and debilitating drain on public service morale.

Following a meeting yesterday of the Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF) Kevin confirmed that Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Michael McGrath has received a copy of the full report. The minister has said he will give it due consideration. At yesterday's meeting Kevin pressed the need for an early confirmation that the Government will implement it in full.

Last month, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said the unpaid hours were unfair and “never intended to be permanent.”

Fórsa’s ‘frequently-asked questions’ document says that the union expects all parties to the Building Momentum public service agreement to accept the independent body’s recommendation, as the Haddington Road hours process is a fundamental pillar of the deal.

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

The independent body’s recommendation would see a return to the pre-July 2013 hours albeit with a minimum working week of 35 hours.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said the union had worked tirelessly to resolve the issue.

“This recommendation allows the Government to remove a deep grievance among many, mostly lower-paid, workers. Fórsa devised the strategy for addressing the issue and, working with other unions, insisted that it was included on the agenda for the Building Momentum talks. Throughout 2021, the union held out to ensure a concrete outcome from the HRA hours process set up under the agreement,” he said.

Callinan said he was confident that the return to pre-austerity arrangements could be achieved without excessive cost or damage to public service quality or output.

The independent body said it had taken account of the nine-year period in which the additional hours have been worked, the strain on the staff working the hours, and the “truly committed efforts of staff during the last two years in meeting patient, healthcare, population vaccine, security needs and the requirements of delivery for existing and new social welfare and pandemic payment measures.”

Read Fórsa’s guide to the recommendation HERE. 

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Senior Executive Officers (SEOs) and analogous grades have voted overwhelmingly in favour of accepting payment of an outstanding award through the sectoral bargaining fund, included in the Building Momentum agreement.

The ballot concluded on 26th January, with just over 94% voting in favour of accepting the proposals.

The ballot results showed a clear support to move the sectoral bargaining fund - equal to 1% of the total Senior Executive Officer and analogous grades’ pay - onto the top (LSI 2) of the SEO pay scale.

The sectoral bargaining clause contained within the Building Momentum agreement, negotiated by Fórsa, provided for a fund equal to 1% of basic pensionable pay for each group which could be used to go towards settling the claims or awards. The alternative option was to take the 1% in the form of a regular pay increase.

This would mean that those on the top of the scale, or due to go to the top of the scale, would have received just over 2% increase in salary from 1st February 2022.

The members also voted in favour of Fórsa pursuing the 5% pay award provided for under the ‘Benchmarking 2’ report, subject to the terms of any future public service agreement

In 2007, as part of the second benchmarking process, a comparative study was carried out. The results of the study found that rates of pay for SEOs working in the local authority sector were less than an employee doing a similar role in the private sector.

Consequently, the benchmarking body awarded the SEO group a 5% increase. This was never paid, and it has been an outstanding issue since then.

Fórsa’s head of local government Dessie Robinson explained it was difficult to make progress in any of the national pay agreements during the austerity years: “However the union goal always was to achieve the payment of this award when there was an opportunity to do so.

“A 5% increase that was awarded under that report was never paid. Survey results show that members clearly want the union to keep the claim for the outstanding adjudication awards alive,“ he said.

In local authorities, the only group that has an outstanding award is the SEOs and related grades (Senior Executive Officers, County/City Librarians, Heads of Information Systems, Financial/Management Accountants).

In the talks leading to the most recent public service agreement, Building Momentum, Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan raised the issue of the outstanding benchmarking award. Following long protracted negotiations, it was eventually agreed that the new national agreement would contain a provision to try and deal with outstanding adjudications, commitments, recommendations, awards and claims.

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

Fórsa has won agreement on a Dublin fire brigade (DFB) recruitment drive after the union flagged dangerously low staff numbers over the recent holiday period.

Earlier this week, the union received confirmation that Dublin City Council and the fire brigade had conceded that the current staffing level of 965 did not meet current or future resource and service delivery requirements.

As a result, two fast-tracked recruit training courses are now to take place in February and June.

While the parties were in agreement that staffing levels need to be increased, management said they should be partially addressed through previously-negotiated terms that state “the parties will commence with the redeployments in relation to specials, having due regard to the relevant requirements such as risk assessments, health and safety and the operational intelligence unit.”

It also set out a review period of six months where the parties will continue to engage in the review on the optimum staffing for DFB, including the redeployment efficiencies.

The head of Fórsa’s Municipal Employees’ Division, Dessie Robinson, said the union’s detailed engagement with the employer helped bring about this breakthrough.

“We have consistently pushed to increase and maintain staffing levels, and improve working conditions to enhance recruitment into the service so this decision is very welcome.

“This vital service was already under considerable pressure due to low staff numbers, and the strain on it was only exasperated by the pandemic when the staff that was already under pressure had to deal with rapidly decreasing numbers.

“A large number Covid-related absences coupled with significant number of staff due to retire this year meant urgent action had to be taken to ensure the smooth continuation of this essential service, and the union is delighted that two recruitment drives are already planned this year,” he said.

Dessie added that more than 200 staff members were absent in recent weeks, either because they tested positive or because they had to self-isolate due to being a close contact.

“This took place over the holiday period as well when the service expects increasing call-outs and incidents,” he said.

The union also particularly welcomed this boost in recruitment in light of previously stated concerns that numbers would have been seriously reduced this year on foot of promotion of firefighters to officer rank.

Dessie also acknowledged the incredible amount of responsibilities staff present at Dublin fire brigade had to undertake in this period, and said they “well and truly deserved” some respite from the additional responsibilities, lessened by the support the extra backing of new recruits will provide.

The union also secured commitment that the employer will ‘immediately engage’ with the Public Appointments Service (PAS) regarding advertising for a new panel as soon as possible, with a view to selecting recruit classes from this panel as required, to meet the needs of the service.

Last October, firefighters staged a protest outside the Mansion House amid claims of crews suffering from exhaustion due to staff shortages.

Meanwhile, 35 new recruits have already been assigned to fire stations across Dublin earlier this month, with a further 45 due to commence training next month.

Chief fire officer Dennis Keeley also told a Dublin City Council meeting earlier last month that almost one fifth of Dublin fire brigade frontline workers were unavailable for work over the New Year due to Covid-19. He warned staff absences remained at a level that would “impact on service delivery.” 

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

A joint union campaign is underway to win changes to a proposed law that the Government claims would give all workers a right to request remote working arrangements. The draft legislation attracted huge criticism from Fórsa and other unions, as well as labour law experts and others, when it was published last week.

Fórsa said the current text of the legislation was effectively a “right for employers to refuse remote working.” This is because of the bill’s extensive get-out clauses for employers, together with extremely weak appeals mechanisms.

Tánaiste Leo Varadkar, whose department published the bill, has since said that he will consult with unions and employers organisations on possible amendments to the legislation. And, speaking at the Oireachtas committee on enterprise, trade and employment on Wednesday (2^nd February) he said “I am open to having this legislation strengthened. I intend to strengthen it.”

Fórsa has asked the Irish Congress of Trade Unions to coordinate a union-wide campaign to ensure an effective effort to radically strengthen workers’ rights in this area. In a message to Fórsa branches earlier this week, the union’s general secretary Kevin Callinan pledged to remain in the forefront of the union campaign on remote work.

“We have also moved to accelerate discussions on a long-term civil service framework for remote and blended working, which is capable of being adapted and applied across the public service and other employments. Our objective is to meet the original March 2022 deadline for getting this in place,” said Kevin.

In response to the proposed legislation, Kevin said that, while some work functions could not be performed on a remote basis, employers should not be allowed to refuse flexible work on spurious grounds.

“We expect the legislation to support the consistent application of guidelines for identifying functions that can be performed remotely, and for facilitating staff requests for home-working arrangements unless there is a genuine reason to refuse.

“Fórsa has long sought legislation in this area, and the experience of the pandemic has shown that remote working does not negatively impact on productivity, performance, quality or data security.

“Employers must not have the option of simply turning down requests on spurious or vague grounds. Instead, they must be required to demonstrate, in a concrete way, that remote or blended arrangements are unworkable before they can turn down a request,” he said.

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

Fórsa has received acknowledgement from Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien, that there will be no forced transfer of staff to Irish Water. 

In a meeting with unions last week, the Minister confirmed his position that, in the context of a wider overarching agreement on water sector transformation being put in place, local authority staff will not be required to transfer to Irish Water. 

The union has said that any staff transfer arrangements under the five-year plan for Irish Water must be voluntary. The minister reaffirmed that any agreement brokered at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) would facilitate voluntary transfer to the national utility.

The Minister also confirmed that local authorities will no longer have staff involved in the delivery of public water services beyond the end of 2026, and that local authorities will have fully exited the provision of public water services by that time. 

Based on a voluntary transfer system, this would give a five-year window to enable a planned transition of staff.

Referendum
At the meeting, the union also discussed a referendum on the public ownership of water services, and received the Minister’s support for it along the lines proposed by the union. The minister told union representatives that a future referendum would best be held in conjunction with any referendum on the right to housing in the Constitution. 

The Commission on Housing, which has recently been established, has been specifically tasked with advising the Government on this matter.

Fórsa first raised concerns in relation to delays on proposals for a constitutional referendum at the WRC meeting in December 2019. The minister at the time, Eoghan Murphy, wrote to the unions indicating that a referendum would be held in the first half of 2020.

In previous WRC discussions, Fórsa has sought movement on four strands broad strands:

• The structure and governance of the proposed single water utility
• Employment and industrial relations issues that arise from the proposal
• The need for a constitutional referendum on public ownership of water services, to assuage fears that the creation of a single authority is a precursor to the eventual privatisation of water services, and
• The future sustainability and revitalisation of local authority services.

Meanwhile, work is continuing on the drafting of a Water Service Separation Bill 2021 to provide for the separation of Irish Water from the Ervia Group. The union suggests that the legislation should give explicit reference to the State “authority” nature of the company, and that this should be considered further as the drafting of the Bill proceeds.

The head of Fórsa’s local government division, Dessie Robinson explained, “the confirmation from the Minister on the four strands will enable the group of unions to re-engage in Intensive negotiations under the auspices of the Workplace Relations Commission.”

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

Revised official advice on Covid-related workplace safety says employers should continue to consult with unions on workplace safety issues, and address staff concerns over plans for a phased return to work premises.

The transitional protocol on ‘good practice for continuing to prevent the spread of Covid-19’, which was published last Monday (31^st January), also recommends that arrangements for Covid-related ‘lead worker representatives’ should remain in place.

The protocol represents a radical relaxation in Covid-related workplace safety requirements, and effectively implements the workplace aspects of the Government’s 21^st January announcement on the easing of pandemic restrictions. Its removal of social distancing requirements and other formerly compulsory measures remove practical constraints on a phased return to workplaces.

But the Government advice continues to stress the need for consultation and caution, and says there’s nothing to prevent employers keeping safety measures in place on a voluntary basis, following consultation with staff reps.

Fórsa repeated its position that any return to workplaces must be phased, and that workers’ safety concerns must be addressed. It also said employees’ longstanding arrangements for childcare, eldercare and other aspects of balancing work and family responsibilities should be taken into account by employers planning a phased return.

The union also stressed the need to negotiate agreements to facilitate remote or blended working into the future.

In an email to Fórsa branches earlier this week, the union’s general secretary Kevin Callinan said most employers appeared to be planning a cautious and phased return to workplaces. “By and large, Fórsa officials and representatives are being consulted on any changes and this is in line with assurances we’ve received from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) at national level,” he said.

Fórsa met with senior DPER officials at the end of last week, and was again assured that civil and public service employers would be expected to consult with lead worker safety representatives and union reps on issues arising from the changed official guidance.

“We have also moved to accelerate discussions on a long-term civil service framework for remote and blended working, which is capable of being adapted and applied across the public service and other employments. Our objective is to meet the original March 2022 deadline for getting this in place,” said Kevin.

Last week, the union also expressed strong disappointment with the main aspects of the Governments proposed legislation on a “right to request” remote working. In media interviews, the union said the current text was effectively a “right for employers to refuse remote working.”

The Tánaiste has since said that he will consult with unions and employers organisations on possible amendments to the legislation. Kevin said Fórsa would remain in the forefront of union action on this.

The protocols on workplace attendance for those with Covid symptoms, positive tests and close contacts remain unchanged and face masks continue to be required in a number of settings including healthcare, public offices, libraries, museums, public transport, airports and ports. Protective measures in schools and early learning and care facilities remain in place until 28^th February.

The transitional protocol also outlines specific measures to protect workers at high risk and very high risk from Covid. 

Read the transitional protocol HERE. 

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

Fórsa has reapplied to the conciliation service at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) to address an outstanding claim regarding job evaluation at local authorities.

The union is seeking to go back into discussion at the Labour Court with the employer, but the original claim dates back more than five years and must now be referred to the conciliation service.

The dispute refers to a union claim to introduce a job evaluation system for clerical and administrative staff. Fórsa’s head of local government, Dessie Robinson, said the referral was made in order to restart Labour Court proceedings on the long-running dispute.

Job evaluation is an established tool that allows the knowledge, skills and responsibilities associated with individual jobs – rather than grades or staff categories – to be assessed and appropriately rewarded.

Dessie referenced the union’s position, due to the loss of almost 10,000 council jobs following the financial crisis, that services had only been maintained because staff had taken on additional responsibilities above their pay grades.

“Fórsa is seeking to have a local authority job evaluation scheme similar to the one that operates in the HSE and the education sector.

“The austerity era led to such a massive reduction of numbers of employees, which resulted in grade drift within the sector,” he said.

The union maintains there are disparities in pay rates across the local government sector, where staff doing the same work could be paid more or less depending on which of the 31 councils they work for.

Fórsa maintains that this is one of the reasons the employers were so strenuous in their opposition to a job evaluation scheme for the sector in the past, and refused to agree to go to the Labour Court to consider the claim.

The dispute was aired in the Labour Court in 2020, and the Court ordered Fórsa to present a business case to support its claim. The union had completed this work, but the Local Government Management Agency (LGMA), which represents council employers, had refused to return to the Labour Court.

The union continues to pursue the matter.

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

KennCo travel insurance offers Fórsa members single trip and multi-trip insurance for individuals, couples and families. Low cost annual multi-trip travel insurance for Fórsa members starts from just €59, which includes cover for you, your partner and dependent children. Single trip insurance pricing starts at €12.86.*

KennCo is offering Fórsa members the chance to win a €150 One4All voucher. All Fórsa members who purchase or renew a KennCo Travel Insurance policy between December 1st 2021 and 31st March 2022 will be entered into the draw.

KennCo travel insurance features:

• Worldwide and European cover available
• 365-day medical assistance
• Lost baggage
• Public liability
• Missed departure
• Medical and emergency expenses
• Cancellation and curtailment
• Personal accident
• Winter sports included in all annual policies and available on single trip policies.
• Winter sports equipment, hire of replacement ski equipment, ski pack, piste closure, travel delay due to avalanche
• Cover in relation to Covid-19 *

Travel insurance policies taken out on or after 1st September 2021:

• Medical and repatriation costs in the event you fall ill with Covid-19 whilst overseas
• Cancellation if you test positive for Covid-19 within 14 days of the departure date of your trip
• Provided prior to your trip commencing the DFA has not issued advice to avoid non-essential travel or advised do not travel to your destination or any country/area you are travelling through.
• There is no cover under any other section for claims relating to Covid-19.

Terms and conditions and excesses will apply. Get a travel insurance quote HERE.

*Dependent children of 17 years and under can travel independently for up to and including 21 days. Between 18-22 years they can still be covered under the family policy provided they are still in full time education and travelling with either parent. Annual cover applies to individuals from 18-70

years of age. Single trip cover applies to individuals up to and including 79 years of age. You must be living with your partner for at least six months.

Terms and conditions apply. For more travel insurance information check our website. Competition terms and conditions are on our website.

New data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) shows that a third of the working population between the ages of 20 and 69 have no pension coverage outside of the state pension, despite ongoing campaigns to improve pension coverage. Meanwhile, just a quarter of young workers between the ages of 20 and 24 have opted for a private occupational pension.

The latest figures on pension coverage have emerged just as plans to introduce private pension auto-enrolment for most employees have been deferred once again. Nearly half of those workers who do not have a pension have indicated that the State pension would be their main source of income on retirement.

On Wednesday (1st February) the Joint Oireachtas Committee report on the Pensions Commission was published, drawing a mixed response. Fórsa expressed concern about the Committee’s recommendation to delay the implementation of auto-enrolment.

Fórsa official Billy Hannigan criticised the delay, indicating that auto-enrolment has the potential to address income inadequacy for retired workers by ensuring employers contribute to their employee’s living standards: “As recent studies suggest only one in three workers in the private sector have no pension coverage outside the state pension. It’s crucial that workers start paying into their pension as early as possible and that employers are legally compelled to contribute to that pension.

“There have been many cases of workers regretting to set up their pensions at an early age, indicating that they didn’t know how to do it. The auto-enrolment process will remove these barriers and ensure all workers retain a good standard of living once they retire,” he said.

Fórsa, along with the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) welcomed several of the committee’s recommendations, especially to retain the pension age at 66, and to the right to retire on a full State Pension from the age of 65 to workers with a long social insurance record.

ICTU’s head of Social Policy & Employment Affairs, Dr Laura Bambrick, welcomed the proposals for the new legislation, indicating that a move to a European-style flexible pension age is long overdue.

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

Fórsa is in discussions at the Workplace relations Commission (WRC) conciliation service today (Friday,4th February) to run a confined competition to fill Senior Executive Officers (SEO) roles in local authorities.

The union is also seeking to have the same agreement applied that currently applies to grades IV to VII for promotion at this level.

More information is set to follow in the next issue.

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

Fórsa members can continue to avail of free counselling, legal advice and domestic assistance by contacting the union’s helplines, which now have new phone numbers. Qualified personnel are on hand to support Fórsa members 24 hours a day, seven days a week on the following lines:

• Legal help in bodily injury cases: 0818-776644
• Legal advice: 0818-776644
• Confidential counselling: 1800-776655
• Domestic assistance: 0818-776644

Fórsa members can also avail of a health information service, staffed by qualified nurses, on health and fitness and non-diagnostic advice on medical matters. Advice on allergies, the side effects of drugs and how to improve general fitness are also available as part of this service.

The health and medical information line can be reached on 0818 254164, and is available 9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday, excluding public and bank holidays.

If you call outside these times, a message will be taken and a return call arranged within the operating hours. More information can be found HERE.

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) is calling on the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to ensure that the Winter Olympics – set to open in Beijing today (Friday) – do not contribute to oppression and human rights violations in China.

And it’s asking Fórsa members and others to help by signing its petition. 

Awarding the Chinese Communist Party a “gold medal for oppression,” the ITUC has also called on the games’ ruling body to ensure the safety and security of athletes, journalists, staff, spectators and others attending the games.

And it has called on commercial sponsors – including Airbnb, Allianz, Coca-Cola, Intel, Toyota, Visa and others – to review their association with the Beijing winter Olympics and put pressure on the Chinese Communist Party to end policies of repression and allow fundamental rights and freedoms under international rules.

The ITUC has identified “five rings of repression” that are strangling freedom and rights for many millions of people. They include workers’ rights violations, repression in Hong Kong, intimidation of the LGBT+ community, repression of minorities and poor handling of the pandemic.

Earlier this week Yang Yang, who chairs the Beijing Winter Olympics Athletes’ Commission warned competitors that they “need to be responsible” if they decide to speak out about “controversial” issues. Many saw this as a warning to athletes not to publicly criticise China’s human rights record.

Criticism of China’s appalling human rights abuses, including the mass persecution of Uyghurs in western Xinjiang and the assault on Hong Kong’s democratic freedoms, has intensified in the run-up to the games, which some activists are calling the “Genocide Games”.

A number of western countries plan a “diplomatic boycott” of the opening ceremony.

Sign the union petition HERE. 

Read more HERE.

The application of Covid-related special leave with pay in the civil and public service is changing, on foot of revised recommended isolation periods and updated public health advice.

From next Monday (7^th February), Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) guidance will be that special leave with pay for those with Covid-19 will be applicable for a maximum of ten consecutive calendar days for all new cases, including those advised to self-isolate because they are displaying symptoms and/or have received a positive PCR test result.

Special leave with pay is not available to staff who are merely required to restrict their movements, and who don’t need to self-isolate. DPER has advised employers to facilitate home working in these situations.

The special leave with pay facility only applies to staff who are rostered to be working, and special leave with pay can’t be substituted for annual leave or other forms of leave.

Read the revised DPER FAQs HERE.

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

Workers who wish to join Fórsa can to do so using a new ‘join online’ function on the union’s website.

Going live with the new system follows several months of research, preparation and testing aimed at making it easier than ever to join the union. It also goes live as the union continues to process a large number of new membership applications, as interest in joining the union has surged since the onset of the Covid-19 crisis.

Fórsa’s general secretary Kevin Callinan commented: “The current crisis has created the necessity to be able to carry out our business in different ways. Work on this project had commenced before the Covid-19 crisis took hold, and its completion marks a vital step as we tackle the challenges of living in changed times.

“We can see that more people want to join a union in response to what’s happening in the wider economy. It’s vital that they can take those initial steps quickly and easily, and making the membership application process more accessible is part of that process.

“This is a crucial new venture to enable Fórsa to substantially increase our membership - and to strengthen the union’s hand - at a critical time in the union’s development,” he said.

The online facility is a streamlined and simplified membership application process, and will be the quickest and easiest way to join the union. All incoming applications will continue to be subject to check-off and approval by Fórsa branches and the national executive committee, while the new online system is designed to ease the administrative burden on branches.

You can join Fórsa online at https://join.forsa.ie/