Also in this issue
 
Blog: Challenging negative perceptions of immigration
by Andy Pike
The recent publication of Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission research into public attitudes towards immigration and immigrants from different ethnic backgrounds has highlighted the extent to which the Government has ignored the need to build and foster an inclusive society. 
 
The research shows how attitudes towards immigrants changed once the recession commenced. According to the Economic and Social Research Institute (ERSI), which carried out the research, public perceptions of immigration and immigrants were largely positive from 2002 to 2006.
 
This changed from 2008 onwards with perceptions being very negative in 2010 and then improving slowly as the economy recovered. This finding demonstrates a correlation between attitudes towards immigration and the state of the economy.
 
As the Irish economy continues to grow and with employment levels rising, attitudes to immigration appear to be more positive. But we should be deeply concerned that the research highlights differing attitudes towards immigration from specific racial and ethnic groups.
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Your Fórsa news bulletin is produced by the Fórsa Communications Unit, with input from across the union. We welcome your comments and suggestions for stories to cover.
Pay equity demanded for all grades
by Bernard Harbor
 

Public service union leaders will meet senior officials from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DEPR) on 27th April to open discussions on remaining pay equity issues for ‘new entrants’.

 

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Long term sick improvements won
by Bernard Harbor
 

The critical illness protocol (CIP), which governs public service arrangements for those on long-term sick leave, has been improved to allow more managerial discretion about what constitutes a ‘critical illness’ in cases where the precise medical criteria are not met. 

 

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More job evaluators promised
by Bernard Harbor
 

Health service management has agreed that more evaluators will be trained over the coming month to deal with the high demand for job evaluations.

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Gearing up for conference charity cycle
by Diarmaid Mac a Bhaird
 

Dust down that Lycra and dig out the bicycle clips. Because now’s the time to sign up for the Fórsa conference cycle and help raise much-needed funds for charity.

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Strong Fórsa presence at housing rally
by Niall Shanahan
 

Last Saturday’s housing rally saw a very strong Fórsa presence as community organisations, homeless services organisations and trade unions took part in the the National Homeless and Housing Coalition’s rally in Dublin.

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Fórsa audio bulletin episode 5
by Hazel Gavigan (audio editor)

We take a look at last week's education division conference as well as the main stories in the current edition of the news bulletin. Presented by Hazel Gavigan and Niall Shanahan.

Click here to listen
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