Fórsa has received confirmation that over 90% of healthcare staff have now received a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine, as media reports emerged that those who refuse to be vaccinated face redeployment under proposals currently being examined by the HSE.

However, Fórsa official Chris Cully said the issue of possible redeployment has not yet been raised in discussions with the HSE. “The level of vaccine take-up can’t be accurately determined until all of the 300,000 people classified as healthcare workers have been offered a vaccine.

“So far the HSE can’t say how many have refused a vaccine, but they have indicated to health unions that they will need to look at mandatory risk assessment once they have the necessary data,” she said.

Media reports this week said while are no plans to make Covid-19 vaccines mandatory for healthcare staff, proposals being finalised would see those who fail to confirm they are vaccinated moved out of patient contact, depending on the outcome of a risk assessment. A possible exception to this would be when unvaccinated workers can’t be replaced due to staff shortages or specialised qualifications.

Fórsa has previously reported that guidance from the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) has said that employers of workers who refuse Covid-19 vaccinations should undertake a risk assessment in cases where the staff member could be exposed to Covid-19 in the workplace.

In February HSE chief Paul Reid said health staff who declined a vaccine would have to be redeployed if they posed a risk to patients.

HSA guidance says employers may have “no option” but to redeploy unvaccinated staff if they are “not safe to perform certain work tasks.”

Existing health and safety regulations require employers to offer vaccinations, if they’re available, when there is a risk to employees from working with a biological agent. The HSA updated its guidance to include Covid-19, which is defined as a biological agent.

Fórsa officials say such instances are likely to be extremely rare, and that an agreed and reasonable approach is available.

The union’s head of health, Éamonn Donnelly, has said there is an acceptance among the workforce that it was unsustainable for people to work in frontline Covid roles if they hadn’t had a vaccine.

“But we will need to ensure that risk assessments are conducted properly, and by qualified people, and we expect an open door for dialogue about any staff reassignments that might arise,” he said.

This week saw the formal establishment of the body charged with making recommendations to begin the process of addressing the additional working hours introduced for many civil and public servants under the 2013 Haddington Road agreement.

On Fórsa’s insistence, the recently-ratified Building Momentum agreement established a mechanism for addressing the hours, with significant funding set aside to commence implementation next year.

The new body will take submissions from management and unions representing the grades concerned, and make recommendations by the end of 2021.

In a communication to Fórsa branches yesterday (6^th May), the union’s general secretary Kevin Callinan said he believed the timetable could be met, and added that he’d continue to work to ensure that it is.

The initial implementation of the body’s recommendations is set to commence in 2022, with €150 million set aside for this purpose. This means working time will start to be reduced for the grades concerned from next year.

Building Momentum also says that any subsequent public service agreement will address any residual action required on the issue.

Yesterday, the Government formally announced that the body will be chaired by former WRC chief executive Kieran Mulvey.

The ICTU Public Services Committee, which represents most public service unions, has nominated former IMPACT general secretary Peter McLoone and former INMO (Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation) general secretary Liam Doran to the body.

This is because Fórsa and the INMO represent the largest number of civil and public servants affected by the introduction of additional working hours in 2013.

DPER is expected to nominate two retired senior civil servants to the body, and there will also be two ‘independent’ Government nominees. It is understood that the latter will most likely be from the personal management/IR consultancy sector.

It is intended that the body will be broadly gender-balanced.

Kevin said he hoped to coordinate a single joint union submission to the body. “I believe this is the best way to underpin the united approach that has so far delivered on this and other issues in the negotiation and ratification of Building Momentum,” 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.

Public service clerical and administrative staff will receive a 1% pay increase on 1^st February 2022 after Fórsa’s National Executive opted for a straight 1% pay round under the sectoral bargaining clause of the Building Momentum agreement.

This is on top of the agreement’s two general round increases, each worth 1% or €500 a year (whichever is the greater), which are payable on 1^st October 2021 and 1^st October 2022.

The additional ‘sectoral’ 1% will be paid to grades III-VII.

Building Momentum established a ‘sectoral bargaining fund,’ worth 1% of basic pensionable pay, which can be taken as an across-the-board increase or used to deal with outstanding recommendations or claims for specific groups of staff.

Fórsa is currently consulting with representatives of groups, grades and categories to determine how they want to approach the fund.

The union’s decision on clerical and admin grades followed consultation with the five Fórsa divisions concerned and the two ‘equivalent grades committees’ that represent clerical and admin staff.

The consultation also involved a large-sample representative opinion survey of members in the grades, in which over 90% of those surveyed opted for the 1% option.

Fórsa has also told the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) that consultation between the union and management in each sector is now required to identify the linked and analogous grades that will be covered by this decision.

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, which represents health service clerical and admin staff, has praised the efforts of non-frontline healthcare staff in the rollout of Covid-19 vaccines.

The union’s head of Health and Welfare, Éamonn Donnelly, said the high volume of those registering for the vaccine, and making contact with the vaccine helpline, illustrated the workload involved.

“Since online registration opened up for those aged between 65 and 69 in mid-April, a total of 299,000 people have registered for the vaccine, of whom 40,000 have been provided with person-to-person helpline assistance by the HSE live helpline.

“In addition, there have been 23 recalibrations of the vaccine roll-out due to various circumstances, including interruptions in supply and clinical decisions taken with regard to the suitability of some vaccines to different cohorts. These changes create a significant administrative burden, but our members have continued to ensure a professional and well-organised response.

“The non-frontline staff responsible for this work are doing an exceptional job, and as their union we want them to know how proud we are of their efforts,” he said.

Éamonn added: “Our health system is composed of a wide range of dedicated professionals, delivering a diverse range of skills and services. Behind that delivery is a network of professional support that is rarely talked about, but ensures clinical services run as smoothly as possible.

“Clerical and administrative staff in health are always, for example, your first point of contact with health services, as indeed they are now in the vaccine roll-out efforts.

“They’ve continued, throughout the current phase of public health challenges, to coordinate the full range of clinical services and integrated community healthcare, as well as providing a range of specialised IT services, managing payroll and human resources.

“They are the home help coordinators and they’re at the frontline of child protection, and a community of professionals making sure vital healthcare supplies are to hand.

“Without this dynamic mix of dedicated workers, which make up approximately 11% of the total health and welfare workforce, none of these supports would be available to our clinical professionals. Together, they strive to keep the heart of our health system beating.

“Fórsa is proud to represent them, and commend them for their handling of the high volume of work necessary in rolling out these vaccines. It is crucial and valued work,” he said.

Vaccine progress

Fórsa assistant general secretary Chris Cully, who attends the HSE’s weekly vaccination progress meeting, said the vaccination programme is on course to meet its target of 240,000 vaccines this week. A total of 32 vaccination centres are now operating across the country and this number will increase to 38 by Sunday (9th May).

Chris added: “The 60 to 69 age cohort are set to have received their first vaccine dose by the end of May, and registration for the 480,000 people in the 50-59 age cohort opened up this week.”

A total of 2.1 million vaccines have been delivered to Ireland. As of Monday 3rd May, 1,621,870 doses of vaccine have been administered, with 30% of the population aged 16 years and older having had at least one dose.

Register to get a Covid-19 vaccine HERE.

Fórsa has endorsed a plea from HSE boss Paul Reid, who wrote to his staff last week urging them to work from home unless it was essential to come into the workplace.

The union’s head of health, Éamonn Donnelly said that, while most health staff had been required to attend workplaces during the crisis, those earmarked for remote working should continue to work from home until official guidance changed.

Reid wrote that admin, technical and management staff had risen to the challenge during the crisis, along with so-called frontline staff. But he said he’d noticed employees “gravitating back to work” too soon.

Acknowledging that remote working had been difficult for many, he said it remained necessary to protect the health and safety of all workers, “even though for many of us it does not provide ideal interaction.”

Reid said the HSE had an extra responsibility to ensure that it did not “inadvertently contribute to the very problem that together we have been trying so desperately to resolve.”

“Please remember that it remains the case that ongoing physical attendance at HSE workplaces is only permitted where the work that you do can only be done when physically present in the office, and cannot be done remotely,” he wrote.

The HSE followed up with an official circular, which said managers were responsible for identifying work that could be done remotely.

Last week Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said he thought it would be September before Ireland saw a mass return to office-based working.

The country is still broadly working under ‘level five’ Covid restrictions. The official economy-wide Government advice at level five is that employees should work from home unless they perform “an essential health, social care or other essential service,” which “cannot be done from home.”

Fórsa and other unions are to engage with management at St John of God community services (SJOG) about the development of its ‘sustainability impact assessment,’ which is to be developed in collaboration with the HSE.

This week the health department proposed the new initiative to address the serious financial issues at SJOG, a ‘section 38’ employer, and one of the country’s main disability and mental health service providers.

In a letter to staff issued on Wednesday (5th May), SJOG chief executive Claire Dempsey said the organisation had received notification that health department secretary general Robert Watt had told the HSE that SJOG is “a significant and important service provider for the State.”

He said SJOG has been asked to develop the new plan in order to provide “a pathway to financial and operational sustainability so that it can continue to maintain its important service delivery role in line with a reformed model of care.”

SJOG announced last September that it would cease running most of its services due to a funding deficit in excess of €32 million, and planned to transfer responsibility for the services to the HSE over a 12-month period. SJOG has told the health minister that the size of the deficit could have implications for its planned orderly wind-down and transition.

Fórsa official Deirdre O’Connell-Hopkins said unions were are fully aware of the scale of the difficulties facing the organisation.

“We are actively working with management to navigate our way through this complex and difficult process for our members. In the development of the proposed sustainability plan Fórsa will resist any changes that attempt to erode members’ terms and conditions of employment,” she said.

Fórsa has again added its weight to calls for a legal right for employees to request remote working. In a submission to an official State consultation on the matter, the union said that, while some roles were inappropriate for remote working, legislation should underpin the principles of fair access to remote working arrangements.

The union also repeated its call for consistency and transparency in the application of criteria for deciding what roles are appropriate for remote work, and the selection criteria for employees to be allocated remote work.

The Fórsa submission said legislation should require employers to consult with employee representatives with a view to reaching agreement on remote working policies. Failing that, it said a formal Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) code of practice on these matters could be put in place, in consultation with social partners.

The Government made a commitment to establish a legal right to request remote working when it published its remote working strategy last January. It also said it would introduce a legally-admissible code of practice on the right to disconnect, review the treatment of remote working for tax purposes, and make remote working the norm for 20% of public sector staff.

Fórsa’s submission to the latest consultation, which closes today (7^th May), said that grounds for allowing or refusing remote working should be set out in agreements on remote work or in a formal WRC code of practice. And it recommended that, as a general rule, employees should spend some time in the workplace even if the majority of their work is done remotely.

The union also argued that legislation should include measures to protect employees from unreasonable surveillance and interference, and should oblige employers to inform employees of all measures intended to monitor work activity prior to the establishment of a remote working arrangement.

“Legislation should underpin full transparency and agreement over the use of any surveillance products or practices, and guarantee employees’ rights to privacy and a reasonable work-life balance, along with full compliance with the provisions of data protection legislation,” it said.

It added that employers should bear the cost of providing, installing and maintaining equipment required for the employee to perform their role, regardless of where they are doing it.

In a related development, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said he thought it would be September before Ireland saw a mass return to office-based working. He was speaking last week as the Government announced the first steps in easing ‘level five’ Covid restrictions.

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’s Health and Welfare Division is to host two live Oireachtas briefings on Friday 21st May, with contribution from union representatives working in health and children, equality, disability, and integration.

The virtual lobbying session on health will take place at 10.00am, followed by the briefing on children at 11.30am. Members can attend these online events by registering HERE. Both sessions will cover some common material.

The briefings will explore Fórsa’s new visual guide, ‘At the Heart of Health & Welfare,’ which illustrates the range and diversity of grades and occupations that Fórsa represents in the health and care sectors.

The guide was designed to provide an at-a-glance reference for Fórsa's 30,000 health and welfare members working in crucial areas across wide range of vital services.

Registration for the events is free and can be accessed HERE.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan has written to Irish MEPs to seek their support in getting life-saving Covid-19 vaccines to struggling countries in the developing world.

The union has backed an international campaign to temporarily halt corporation-owned intellectual property rights from blocking the production of life-saving medical supplies across the globe. The US Government yesterday (6th May) indicated that it would support this approach, but the EU has yet to follow suit.

The proposed ‘trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS)’ waiver would allow the rapid upscaling of vaccine manufacturing by developing countries, which can’t do so at present because corporations own the rights.

The current second wave of Covid-19 ravaging the global south has seen record numbers of cases and deaths being recorded in recent weeks.

“Billions of people are sick, dying, bereaved or at risk due to the lack of vaccine coverage,” said Kevin.

“The rapid upscaling of vaccine manufacturing, among other crucial medical supplies, is imperative to effectively respond to the outbreaks, so that they can be made available promptly, in sufficient quantities, and at affordable prices to meet global demand,” he added.

Reports show several instances where intellectual rights have hindered the timely provision of live-saving supplies. The urgency of the situation is also amplified by the fact that many badly-hit countries such as India have not been predicted to have reached the peak of cases yet.

Fórsa, which represents over 80,000 workers in Ireland, including 30,000 healthcare workers, who like other frontline workers around the world, have been working tirelessly in response to the pandemic, has pledged its full support in the campaign for this landmark proposal.

In his letter, Kevin called on the MEPs to use their platform in the European Parliament to support the proposed waiver as the removal of barriers to “ensure that the entire world, including Europe, can get the virus under control and stay ahead of new variants.”

“There is a chance to respond to the urgent call for global solidarity,” said Kevin, who added that the Covid-19 crisis could be confined by sharing the advancements in European technology and know-how with the countries that need it most.

Meanwhile, Fórsa senior vice-president Martin Walsh formed part of team made up of Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien, and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney, along with the HSE and a number of other State agencies that worked closely to send emergency medical supplies to India to help deal with the worsening crisis there.

Ireland last week sent some 700 oxygen concentrators and 365 ventilators as part of an emergency donation, after it was reported that there was an acute shortage of oxygen and ventilation equipment in the hospitals there.

Read Kevin Callinan’s letter to MEPs HERE. 

Fórsa senior vice president Martin Walsh has been working with the team established to send emergency medical supplies to India to help deal with its worsening Covid-19 crisis.

Ireland sent some 700 oxygen concentrators and 365 ventilators to the sub-continent last week as part of an emergency donation, after it was reported that there was an acute shortage of oxygen and ventilation equipment in Indian hospitals.

The Irish team involves HSE workers and staff from a number of other State agencies.

This week India recorded its highest daily coronavirus death toll since the pandemic began, with almost 3,700 deaths in 24 hours. But reports suggest the real figures could be much higher.

Low testing rates and the unrecorded number of people dying at home, especially in rural areas, are cited as the contributing factors.

This came a day India became the first country to register more than 400,000 new cases in a single day.

Martin works as a supplies manager in the HSE’s health business services (HBS) department, the HSE, which is responsible for purchasing equipment. He said that the original stocks of 700 oxygen concentrators were purchased to prepare for the first wave of Covid in Ireland.

“When we got the call to prepare the stocks, a team was quickly put together to prepare the pallets for the flight. They were all volunteers and, by Tuesday, we had filled up three 40-foot containers ready to be flown over.

Martin described the experience as the “best day’s work in a long, long time,” and said the team knew they were going to be making a massive difference given the scarcity of oxygen in India.

“Watching the flight leave on Wednesday morning was an absolutely amazing experience. We were then called back in to prepare a further 500 concentrators to be sent over, so we ended up with 1,200 concentrators being donated in total. It was an absolutely incredible feeling knowing the difference it would make,” he said.

The oxygen concentrators are beneficial as they provide an uninterrupted and continuous flow of oxygen that does not run out, as opposed to a cylinder which needs to be refilled after running out.

Another benefit of having the concentrators which extract oxygen from the air and supply it to patient at 90% concentration, is that they are far lighter than cylinders and can be moved easily.

Reports from India also show widespread shortage of hospital beds, with horrific accounts of people dying in car parks while waiting for oxygen or a bed. The rapidly deteriorating situation has been blamed in part to the Indian Government’s handling of the pandemic and large religious and political gatherings in the country in recent weeks.

The Irish consignment was made up of supplies previously purchased by the HSE to use in a field hospital setting. They have been donated as part of the European Civil Protection Mechanism, at the request of the Indian Government.

Fórsa has appealed to Ireland’s MEPs to voice support for a proposed EU directive, which aims to improve minimum pay across the continent by supporting collective bargaining.

In a letter to the State’s 11 MEP’s the union’s general secretary Kevin Callinan said Fórsa would publicise the outcome of European Parliament vote on the matter.

The proposed EU directive would require Ireland and other EU member states to take actions to increase collective bargaining coverage. But Ireland and eight other EU member states have suggested it be demoted to the status of a ‘recommendation,’ which would mean it has no legal force.

Fórsa argues that stronger collective bargaining rights across Europe cold underpin workplace protections and better wages for working women and men. The union says international research has demonstrated that it can also improve productivity, enhance employee innovation, and deliver greater stability for businesses and their staff.

“Emerging from the pandemic, the proposed Directive could play an important role for productivity, businesses, workers, and the economy generally. Better collective bargaining coverage is also proved to help to reduce inequality and the gender pay gap,” said Kevin.

Fórsa joined organisations across the globe at the end of last month to commemorate International Workers’ Memorial Day, which remembers workers who have been killed, injured, or become ill through work-related accidents.

The message of the day was that workplace safety and health is everyone’s business and can only be tackled through a collaborative approach. 

This year, Fórsa joined other unions in observing a commemorative wreath-laying ceremony, which was broadcast live. You can watch back the ceremony HERE.

Members of Fórsa’s National Executive Committee also paused for a minutes’ silence during their meeting in remembrance of all who have died, been injured or become sick in work-related accidents. 

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

Saturday 1^st May marked the international celebration of workers for #MayDay2021. With public gatherings to mark the occasion prohibited this year, most celebrations and commemorations took place online.

Fórsa published this blog post by Hazel Gavigan about how the battle for decent work continues, and considers where we go from here.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan acknowledged a May Day greeting card sent to the union by broadcaster Joe Duffy, thanking him for “keeping the flag flying for public health throughout” a tough year for workers.

Fórsa Cork posted this message marking Monday’s public holiday: “As we enjoy the bank holiday this Monday, let’s remember that basic rights such as the 8 hour day were only secured after trade unions waged a bitter struggle. These struggles are continuing around the world today. By supporting their struggles, we honour the legacy of May Day.”

May Day was marked in Ireland as a public holiday for the first time in 1994, marking the centenary of trade unionism in Ireland. This report from the RTE archive gives a flavour of how unions and government marked the occasion.

This short video looks at the history of May Day and extends a May Day greeting to members, friends and fellow trade unions.

Fórsa has called on the Government to accept Citizens’ Assembly recommendations on workplace and broader gender equality issues, which were recently published.

The assembly, made up of 99 citizens from across the country, made recommendations on pay and other workplace issues, as well as care and childcare, violence against women, social protection, politics and leadership.

These included a call legislate to reduce the gender pay gap, and to align the minimum wage with the living wage by 2025. It also recommended that the deletion and Article 41.2 of the constitution, commonly known as the ‘women's place in the home’ clause.

And it called for improved pay and access to pensions for paid carers, changes to the carers’ allowance, and respite and pensions for family carers.

Fórsa official Billy Hannigan welcomed the recommendations, and said Ireland was at the beginning of a long road in the campaign to achieve gender equality.

“Fórsa’s own work on workplace and broader gender equality are reflected in many of these recommendations. Achieving them, including the deletion of the ‘women's place in the home’ clause, would be welcome first steps, and the Oireachtas must now respect the devotion and commitment of the assembly by accepting their recommendations and implementing them without delay,” he said.

Billy said recent public health restrictions had resulted in significant increases in domestic, gender-based and sexual violence. “The specific assembly recommendation on the appointment of a survivors’ commissioner, as an independent advocate and voice for victims, is a very welcome addition at this precarious time,” he said.

He added that assembly recommendations on childcare, gender quotas, pay, and social protection had the potential to bring about real and meaningful change.

Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) general secretary Patricia King acknowledged the assembly’s recommendations on improving wages and working conditions and welcomed its adoption of ICTU’s recommendation that workers be given a legal right to collective bargaining.

On leadership and politics, the assembly calls for introduction of maternity leave for all elected representatives, and extension of extend gender quotas for party candidates to local, Seanad and European elections, with increased penalties for parties that don’t meet the quota.

It also called for legislation to require private companies to have a gender balance of at least 40% on their boards, and said funding to public bodies should be contingent on their reaching a 40% gender balance quota by 2025.

The complete list of recommendation by the Citizens Assembly is available to view here.

Fórsa members, and their spouses or partners, can be in with a change of winning a year’s free car and home insurance by entering a competition organised by Glennons Insurance. Just contact Glennons to renew an existing car or home policy, or take out a new one and you will be automatically entered into the draw.

The competition closes on 30th June 2021 when a winner will be chosen at random – and have their premium refunded. Glennons are insurance experts with over 70 years’ industry experience. They have worked with the union for many years.

Get more information HERE or call 01-707-5800.

Trade unions in Ireland and UK have written to the Department of Foreign Affairs and British Foreign Office to express "profound condemnation of the terrible state violence currently taking place in Colombia."

The letter, signed by 27 trade union leaders, including Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan and deputy general secretary Eoin Ronayne, was issued yesterday (Thursday 6th May), and outlines reports of serious atrocities by state forces that have taken place since the latest round of trade union-led national strike mobilisations were initiated at the end of April.

“Colombian state forces have committed human rights abuses on a massive scale. According to national human rights organisations, state forces have killed at least 18 people, with some reporting up to 37 deaths, and left numerous others with permanent eye injuries. There are also several reports of sexual violence committed against detainees, while human rights observers and journalists have been attacked” it says.

Colombia’s Supreme Court found that state forces have acted with systematic violence towards peaceful protest, following the police killings of up to 13 people during protests in September last year. Despite the ruling and repeated warnings by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), the violence has continued.

Kevin commented: “I was in Colombia in 2016 when the peace agreement was ratified. This is not the peace or the country that was promised. Our government must stand up for democracy and human rights by taking a clear stand.”

The letter urges both governments to condemn the state-sanctioned violence: “On behalf of the millions of workers across both Britain and Ireland who our unions represent, we call separately on both our governments, in Britain and Ireland, to publicly condemn the state violence which has taken place over recent days and to demand an immediate end to the violence and full accountability for the perpetrators.”

Follow Justice for Colombia on Twitter.

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/

Fórsa is here to protect you if you have problems arising from the coronavirus or other workplace issues. The best way to contact the union at this time is HERE.

We will deal with queries as quickly as we can but, needless to say, the union will prioritise cases where members’ jobs and incomes are at immediate risk – as well as any serious health and safety issues that may arise.

Fórsa has cancelled all face-to-face meetings for the time being. The union is redeploying its staff to prioritise engagement with management on proposals arising from the Covid-19 public health crisis, and to provide rapid and efficient responses to members’ queries and concerns.

Fórsa's main phone line (01 817 1500) is now open from 9am to 5pm Monday to Friday. Alternatively members can use the Contact Us page on the Fórsa website to submit queries directly to the relevant division within Fórsa and this remains the most efficient way to access advice directly.

Wherever possible, Fórsa staff have been equipped to work remotely. Therefore, members should not attend Fórsa offices at this time. If you have a query or concern, the best way to raise it is to contact the union HERE.