Fórsa launched the second phase of its national campaign to highlight the valuable role of special needs assistants (SNAs) last week. The latest phase of the campaign will see the union’s 12,000 SNA members contacting all TDs and senators in the coming weeks to support Fórsa’s call for a review of the minimum SNA essential qualification, and to promote greater awareness of their complex role.

The education department rejected the union’s claim for a new minimum qualification during the summer.

TDs and senators will also be asked to sign a pledge ahead of an Oireachtas briefing session in Leinster House on 8th December.

The union’s head of Education, Andy Pike, said the outdated requirement for just three ‘D’ passes in the junior certificate lies at the heart of the problem.

“Our SNAs are not being respected or recognised as skilled and committed staff in the Irish education sector, and this campaign has been designed to change that, to give the professional recognition and respect to SNAs that they deserve, and to modernise the qualification requirements for this skilled and invaluable service,” he said.

Andy said establishing a professional qualification at QQI level six would increase the standing of SNAs within in the school system and secure proper recognition for their work. It would also acknowledge the fact that many SNAs already hold qualifications at degree level, while most have achieved at least a level six qualification.

“The Department of Education is essentially ignoring the lived reality of the SNAs in its employment, and remains out of step with international standards. Many other countries require candidates for SNA posts to have a college diploma or level six equivalent qualification.

“Our members are ready now to take the discussion to their local TDs, and to senators, and make them aware of this anomaly. They will appeal to them directly to support the case for updating the minimum qualification standards,” he said.

The SNA qualification has not been altered since the statutory SNA scheme was first established in 1979. Andy said the union wants it replaced with the relevant QQI qualification because the service provided by SNAs has changed considerably since then.

Fórsa met department officials at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in April this year to advance the union’s claim. Fórsa said many schools already seek a level six qualification, and don’t appoint new SNAs unless they already hold a level five award. In a letter sent to the union in July, the department said there was no need to change the qualification.

The #RespectForSNAs campaign to establish a new entrant qualification that reflects the complexities of the role, was launched in July 2021, and has drawn support and endorsements from parents associations, boards of management, school principals, teaching unions, advocacy groups and other stakeholders. Fórsa will also host an online conference on 4th December on the issue, with contributions from the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), academic experts, parents groups and SNAs on how education and training for SNAs could be improved.

Watch: SNAs Jesslyn Henry and Linda O’Sullivan spoke to Virgin Media News on Sunday (7^th November) about the campaign. You can watch back HERE

Listen: Fórsa officialShane Lambert spoke to Clem Ryan on KFM about the campaign. Listen back HERE 

The chief medical officer Tony Holohan has said he’s drawing up plans for limited antigen testing in some schools. Fórsa says pilot schemes now appear likely, though more details are awaited.

The move came after Fórsa wrote to education minister Norma Foley seeking the introduction of antigen testing for primary school students and staff, as a growing number of primary school children are contracting Covid-19.

The union outlined increasing concerns that the Government lacked a clear policy on the use of antigen testing. The test have been officially endorsed for use in food processing plants, universities and for HSE testing of close contacts.

Fórsa’s head of education Andy Pike said a review of antigen testing, and the protocols for the contact tracing and testing of asymptomatic students, would demonstrate that maintaining health and safety was a priority

“Primary school students are now one of very few groups in society for whom neither asymptomatic contact tracing, nor antigen testing, are available. Regardless of where they contracted the virus, either in the community or in their school, students are now attending school unless identified as testing positive or displaying symptoms,” he said.

The union says last September’s withdrawal of contact testing and tracing for asymptomatic primary school students addressed the significant disruption caused through the exclusion of students whilst they waited for negative test results.

But it has created an impression that the relaxation of primary school mitigation measures is now driving an increase in case numbers within the primary school age group.

Andy suggested to the minister that the process for close contact tracing of symptomatic students is reviewed to ascertain if it is possible to reduce the length of time students are required to restrict their movements.

“The availability of walk-in PCR testing would, in our view, assist in the rapid test-and-trace response required to improve health surveillance for primary school students, while minimising time spent out of school,” he said.

He warned that if the current situation continues to deteriorate, confidence in the ability of schools to operate safely could be undermined, and suggested a number of practical steps that could be taken in the medium term, including air filtration and ventilation systems.

Fórsa and other unions will expect an effective response to increased living costs when negotiations on a successor to the current public service pay agreement get underway next summer, according to the union’s general secretary Kevin Callinan.

He was speaking at this week’s Fórsa consultative council just two days before new figures showed annual inflation at a 14-year high of 5.1%. The biggest factors behind the fastest price acceleration since 2007 were hikes in electricity and other energy costs, as well as transport and rent.

Kevin told the consultative council that, “for the first time in many, many years,” Ireland was witnessing the return of inflation. Politicians and economists believe this is a temporary phenomenon, linked to economic reopening and energy shortages.

“I’m not entirely convinced, and an effective response is needed. “There can be no question that ordinary workers are feeling the increases in their pockets,” said Kevin.

He also pointed out that cumulative inflation of around 6% had occurred during the post-crash years when public service pay bargaining was mostly concerned with restoring wages lost through pay cuts between 2009 and 2011.

Last month, Kevin told the annual conference of defence forces association Pdforra that maintaining living standards against a background of rising living costs would be the priority in future pay negotiations.

“If the return of inflation is sustained over time there will certainly be a renewed focus on the cost of living when negotiations on a new public service deal get underway,” he said

He pointed out that the daily costs borne by workers, particularly the lower paid, are not fully reflected in the Consumer Price Index, which is the standard measure of inflation. “I speak here of rent or mortgage payments, childcare costs, and fuel prices that are set to further rocket. These necessities form very large elements of weekly outgoings for lower and middle income families, regardless of what sector they work in,” he said.

The current two-year public service pay agreement is untypically short, and expires in December 2022. Talks on its successor are expected to get underway in early summer 2021.

Testing of a job evaluation scheme for clerical and administrative staff in institutes of technology and technological universities is expected to get underway in the New Year. The new scheme will allow 10% of grade III to VII posts to be tested.

The purpose of job evaluation is to measure whether or not a specific post is correctly graded. It assesses the skills and responsibilities required of a particular post, rather than the individual performing it.

Representatives from the institutions are to be briefed on how the scheme has been developed over the coming weeks.

Fórsa successfully secured the re-opening of the HSE’s job evaluation scheme back in December 2020 following its suspension at the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Fórsa and other unions have welcomed the publication of the Government’s ambitious climate action plan. But they stressed the need for strong action to ensure its implementation, and called for social dialogue and protection for workers and communities impacted by the move to a carbon-free economy.

The long-anticipated action plan, which was launched last week, outlines 475 actions aimed at halving Ireland’s greenhouse emissions by 2030.

This is to be underpinned by incentives aimed at massively expanding the use of offshore wind and other renewables, retrofitting 500,000 homes to improve energy efficiency, and putting a million electric vehicles on our roads.

The plan says the public sector will lead by example. It will be expected to cut emissions by 51% before 2030, mandate public sector employers to move to 20% remote working, triple the length of electrified rail by 2030, and replace all buses with electric vehicles by 2035.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) described the climate action plan as a “positive initial step,” but said it would be judged on its capacity to deliver a genuine just transition across all sectors of the economy and society. The action plan includes a commitment to establish a national just transition commission, and to social dialogue and consultation on climate action policy.

The principle of a ‘just transition’ is usually defined as meaning that a healthy economy and clean environment can co-exist, and that this should be achieved fairly without damage to the health, environment, or livelihoods of workers or communities.

Congress official Macdara Doyle said the sectoral emission targets set out in the plan should be matched by an analysis of their impact on jobs in each sector, and that measures should be put in place to deal with the employment impact.

“The 2021 Climate Act requires that employment impact is taken into account in this process, which must deliver not only on climate policy objectives but also avail of the opportunity to enhance living standards, create decent work, and build more sustainable communities,” he said.

The action plan aims to increase the proportion of renewable electricity to 80% by 2030, and envisages €9.5 billion in extra carbon taxes. It says this additional carbon tax take will be earmarked for targeted social protection measures, agri-environment projects, and retrofitting for low-income homes.

The retrofitting programme will include the nation’s 12,500 public buildings, which account for about half of public service greenhouse gas emissions.

The Office of Government Procurement is also to update procurement advice to public bodies, including to promote locally-sourced food and electric vehicles. You can read the ICTU just transition briefing HERE.

Fórsa has welcomed announcements that new technological universities (TU) are be established in the north-west and south east. The north-west TU will be the fourth TU to be created since 2019, and it follows an application from Galway-Mayo, Sligo and Letterkenny institutes of technology.

It is expected that the new body will start operations early next year, with a multi-campus university presence encompassing eight locations in Castlebar, Galway City, Killybegs, Letterfrack, Letterkenny, Mountbellew and Sligo.

The new university will have over 2,200 staff and will offer around 600 academic programmes to over 20,000 students.

Meanwhile, in a welcome announcement for the south-east, it has also been announced that Waterford and Carlow institutes of technology are to merge to become Ireland’s fifth technological university.

Fórsa’s head of education Andy Pike welcomed the two announcements.

“The establishment of these two institutions means significant regional advances towards higher education access and skills progression. This will not only contribute greatly to the future and restructuring of the higher education landscape, but also to the regions’ economic and social development,” he said.

Andy said that consultation, agreement and communication throughout the amalgamation process would be key to the success of these ambitious plans.

The first TU in the history of the state, TU Dublin, was established on 1^st January 2019, followed by Munster technological university two years later.

The contribution of public sector workers during the pandemic has boosted trust in public services over the last 18 months, according to HSE chief executive Paul Reid. Speaking on ‘quality public services’ at the union’s enhanced consultative conference earlier this week, Mr Reid thanked Fórsa members and said the public’s increasing sense of trust was due to the fast-paced and action-oriented response of the public service.

“I’ve never seen so much change, implemented so quickly and at such a pace, for so many, for such public benefit as I’ve seen in the past 20 months.”

Pointing to a recent Universum survey on the sectors where people want to work, Reid said there had been a transformation, with workers in many professions now rating public services as the place they want to work and have a career.

“Some of our public services, including the health services, have topped leading social media and tech giants as the more attractive employer. That reflects the public’s trust and appreciation in the public services,” said Paul.

“There’s no doubt that, at the start of the pandemic, many members of the public and staff were quite scared of what we were heading into. And it was quite clear that where the public had to put their trust. It became obvious very quickly that this was going to be about the State’s response,” he said.

He said equality of access to health and other public services remains the priority.

“This was demonstrated through two of the most fundamental ways we protected people through Covid – the local testing and tracing regime and vaccination pop-up centres throughout the country. You weren’t prioritised if you had private care. It was all provided on an equal access basis.

"And that’s clearly what our State services should be about,” he said.

Mary Murphy, who leads the sociology department at Maynooth university, advocated for a stronger role for local government in the delivery of services.

“The future is public, but it should also be local. Local public services best enable those services to meet what our needs are. They best allow themselves to be inputted by democratic either local participative or representative government.”

Mary’s worked with Fórsa on the ‘More Power To You’ campaign for enhanced local services and democracy. Her research confirmed that Ireland’s local government system is one of the weakest in Europe.

“Through the local government power index we find that Ireland is really weak on important indicators such the degree to which the local government can write its own laws, raise its own money, make its own policies, and implement its own budget.

“At present, only 9% of government funding goes out to local government in Ireland. The average in a European context is a quarter of government funding being implemented through local government structures,” she said.

Citing some of the best practices across Europe, she said over 65% of Danish government spending went through local government structures.

Daria Cibrario of the trade union federation Public Services International (PSI) echoed concerns around equitable access to quality local public services.

“When we don’t have equal access to water and sanitation, decent housing to go into lockdown safely, quality care health and nursing services, people die and will continue to die. This has been brutally exposed by the pandemic,” she said.

Daria also pointed to the systematic underfunding of local public services, and the role it played in widening the pre-existing inequalities in our societies, and the critical need to tackle it for the fair advancement of public services.

You can watch back the panel’s contributions on ‘quality public services’ by following this link.

As we begin to make travel plans again, worldwide annual multi-trip cover is available from €59 for Fórsa members. Cover includes:

• Emergency medical expenses up to €10,000,000
• Including 24/7 assistance
• Personal accident up to €30,000
• Cancellation up to €6,000
• Missed Departure up €6,000
• Cutting Short Your Trip up to €6,000
• Kids go free on family annual multi-trip policies
• All annual policies include worldwide cover
• Single trip cover options also available

Get a quote and purchase.

Winter travel

• 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.

Get a quote and purchase.

Covid cover

Travel insurance policies taken out on or after 1st September 2021 include medical and repatriation costs in the event you fall ill with Covid-19 whilst overseas, and cancellation if you test positive for Covid-19 within 14 days of the departure date of your trip.

This cover is valid provided the Department of Foreign Affairs 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 prior to the commencement of your trip. There is no cover under any other section for claims relating to Covid-19.

Get a quote and purchase.

Travel insurance information,

Public service staffing has not nearly kept pace with the rising population in the Republic since 2008, according to Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan. Speaking at a panel session on ‘State priorities and resources’ at the union’s enhanced consultative conference earlier this week, he said this underpinned the need for increased investment to maintain quality public services, which are also under increasing strain from demographic changes.

Kevin said an analysis of Central Statistics Office (CSO) figures showed a 14.4% population increase between 2008 and 2021.

But official figures show that the number of civil and public servants only grew by about half that rate – 7.7% – in the same 12-year period. Over five million people now live in the Republic and rely on its public services.

“Contrary to the narrative presented by some politicians, the public sector workforce has not been close to keeping pace with population growth, let alone the additional pressures that an ageing population places on health and care services,” he said.

Kevin said that, while workers and citizens were made to pay for the 2008 financial crisis, the recent pandemic saw a different approach in Ireland and the EU, which relaxed its fiscal rules until 2022.

But despite talk of ‘building back better' after the pandemic, many at the top of Government and the civil service remained captured by the economic orthodoxy of austerity. “A reset is required, with strong political direction to allow the State to play its vital roles to ensure that we really do emerge from the pandemic with better jobs, better lives and a better planet,” said Kevin.

Speaking from the French Economic Observatory in Paris, senior economist Catherine Mathieu said the EU should re-write its fiscal rules to allow individual countries run their fiscal policies and deficits in line with national needs, so long as a common approach to inflation targets was maintained.

She said the European debate was well underway in advance of next year, with some arguing for a return to pre-Covid rules. But she cautioned that, even though many EU states were carrying high Covid-induced debt, we should be “very slow” to bring it down.

Catherine added that EU climate action commitments required significant public investment of at least 2% of GDP each year. “We need rules that allow this investment,” she said.

Rob Sweeney of TASC, Ireland’s think tank for action on social change, said the Irish Government was planning to reduce the size of the State, with continued debt reduction premised on strong economic growth.

He said the coalition planned to balance State income and spending by the middle of this decade even though low interest rates made this “a very benign time to borrow money.” Although there was fiscal capacity for an expansion of public services and investment relative to the rest of the economy, this was not currently planned by the Government.

The Irish Hospice Foundation has launched a new guide on dealing with grief in the workplace, and providing support for employees, particularly in cases of suicide. The guide is designed specifically with employers and union representatives in mind.

It aims to help organisations increase their understanding and confidence in responding to suicide in the workplace by providing practical, sensible and sensitive guidelines to support colleagues who are grieving.

Breffni Mc Guinness, National Bereavement Development Specialist with Irish Hospice Foundation, played a key role in the development of the guide.

“Providing appropriate support to staff who are bereaved is a key element of staff wellbeing, especially when the loss involves suicide. Helping managers and staff to respond with humanity, compassion and competence are key steps, as is having an appropriate bereavement policy. ‘Grief in the Workplace: Responding to Suicide’ provides practical guidance for workplaces on how these steps can be achieved,” he said.

The resource was developed in partnership with the Irish Hospice Foundation, the HSE National Office of Suicide Prevention, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and employers’ body Ibec. It covers:

• Support for workers bereaved by suicide in their personal lives.

• Responding when an employee, contractor or member of the public dies by suicide on or off site.

• Developing a bereavement policy to deal with suicide in the workplace.

A list of useful contact details and guidelines for responding to suicide in the workplace are also provided in the appendices.

Speaking at the launch, ICTU equality officer David Joyce said: “None of us wish to have to deal with the topic of suicide-related to our workplaces but this guide provides us with the tools to deal with it in a sensitive and practical manner.

“Congress is pleased to be a partner in this work and will circulate widely among our networks so that trade unions can play an informed and supportive role in ensuring workplaces are equipped with the skills and knowledge to respond to suicide.”

Best practice suggests that when employers or those in responsibility handle these situations well, there is a positive impact on other employees’ reactions to the loss and the resulting long term effect it may have on them.

The Central Statistics Office says between 400-500 people die by suicide every year. There are few families, communities or workplaces that have not been touched by suicide, either directly or indirectly.

The full guide ‘Grief in the Workplace: Responding to Suicide’ is available to view and download here.

Increases in the five-hour and ten-hour rates for civil service expenses will come into effect from 1st December, following a management-union review.

Changes to the rates are expected to be applied in the broader public service in line with standard practice.

The daily subsistence five-hour rate will increase from €15.41 to €16.29, and the ten-hour rate of €36.97 goes up to €39.08.

In accordance with an agreed formula, and in line with changes to the consumer price index (CPI), there was no change in the standard overnight rate.

Read the civil service circular HERE.

Remote and hybrid work can significantly reduce barriers to work for people with disabilities, but it shouldn’t be seen as an alternative to improving the accessibility of workplaces through practical accommodations, according to a new report from Employers for Change.

Employers for Change is part of the Open Doors Initiative, which provides marginalised groups pathways to work through training, education and employment opportunities.

Its new report on the future of work and disability studied the impact of remote working on disabled people during the Covid-19 pandemic. It found that removing barriers in transport, and allowing for greater flexibility around working hours, greatly improved the working lives and workforce participation for many.

It also said remote working had greatly improved a sense of connectedness among employees with disabilities. 

Authored by Maynooth University academic Joan O’Donnell, the report collaborated with several employers and equality experts including ICTU’s equality and development policy officer, David Joyce.

O’Donnell said remote work “does not necessarily offer a solution for inclusion and accessibility in the workplace,” and should not be treated as a simple fix to an extremely complex issue around accessibility improvement.

The report also highlights the importance of involving disabled employees in conversations around company policies and remote working policies that will greatly affect them.

Ireland currently has one of Europe’s lowest employment rates for people with disabilities. 

Read The Future of Work and Disability: A Remote Opportunity HERE. 

The Fórsa Skills Academy is inviting members to sign up for its 2022 workplace representative training programme, which covers a range of topics including organising, communications, equality and diversity, representing individuals and meeting with management.

You can apply HERE and the closing date for expressions of interest is 5.00pm on Tuesday 30th November 2021.

The course is being offered to all workplace representatives who have completed the recent Fórsa 101 training. A detailed overview has already been circulated to the union’s branch executive committees.

Contact Judith Coffey on 021-425-5221 or skillsacademy@forsa.ie if you have any questions.

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.