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Future of Work: “We can’t - and won’t - just go back to normal”
by Niall Shanahan
 

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan addressed an event last week organised by the Employment Bar Association on the future of work: “As we emerge from the pandemic we need better lives, better working conditions and a better planet. There are challenges facing us all, but we can’t assume we just go back to normal."


“As we emerge from the pandemic we need better lives, better working conditions and a better planet. There are challenges facing us all, but we can’t assume we just go back to normal - we won’t just go back to normal - and while there are challenges, there are also opportunities there for employers, for unions and for government to take on, and to build a better future."

 

That was the message delivered by Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan last week as he addressed an event organised by the Employment Bar Association on the future of work.

 

Kevin called for a national conversation to achieve “a future that works for everyone,” with good protections for workers against abuses, contributing to a more equal society. He said this could only be achieved through meaningful social dialogue and a redefined social contract.

 

The event, hosted by former communications minister Alex White, looked at the future of work with regard to a changing legislative landscape, the demands of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the expectations of changes brought about by an increased focus on remote working opportunities, including working hours and the right to disconnect.

 

Kevin said the pandemic had prompted a ‘reset’ in the minds of people about what constituted essential work: “Jobs that had largely gone unnoticed became hugely valuable to all of us, but the wider experience of the pandemic has forced us all to reconsider where we are now.

 

Shift

“There’s been a shift from 40 years of the ‘trickle-down’ politics of Reagan and Thatcher, it’s had its day. Equally, there’s been an alarming shift in wealth from labour to capital. Any approach that doesn’t take account of the need for a reset risks a global race to the bottom, we have to avoid that being the outcome.

 

“Last year, along with SIPTU’s Joe Cunningham, I raised the question of whether we’re now looking at a significant shift away from that four-decade market-centred economic orthodoxy, and towards some of the principles and tools associated with Europe’s post-war reconstruction.

 

“And we emphasised the challenge this would present to trade unions, civil society organisations and others, to stand ready to play their part, together, in the implementation of practical solutions.

 

“We’ve seen an acknowledgement by employers of a growing sense of the collective good, that it’s less about the individual. The world is shifting and we need to find a way to shift with it,” he said.

 

This would include a reimagining of the role of the State, and he said there’s a consensus among employers, unions and civil servants that Ireland’s infrastructure is deficient: “We need more housing, more education investment and greater childcare investment, and our caring model has been exposed during the pandemic crisis, where there are big issues of recruitment and retention. It’s not good enough to have a policy on these issues, you need to do something about it,” he said.

 

Action

Among the essential measures, he added, are a referendum on the right to housing, greater local democracy, significant investment in local services, and a just transition approach to a reduced carbon economy.

 

While there is a strong emphasis on high skilled, high quality jobs, and advantages for Ireland from having a highly educated workforce, Kevin said the infrastructural deficits worked against those advantages, and that there’s an opportunity to look at enterprise in a wider sense: “Changing attitudes to work doesn’t displace people’s interest in worker protections. Younger workers remain interested in worker protections, and a new collectivism is becoming visible, for example, in the tech sector.” He said.

 

Kevin discussed Fórsa’s launch of its detailed research into the wider economic benefits of collective bargaining, and the union’s involvement in the four-day week Ireland campaign, and its guiding principle of 100% pay, 80% working time and 100% productivity: “A hundred years after the eight-hour day was created, we should look at the opportunities a new working model would provide,” he said.

 

He said the type of future envisaged could only be achieved through a stronger trade union movement: “Trade unions need to connect with community and locality, with fewer unions and pooled resources, and by moving into areas like gig and platform working, as well as the fintech and biomedical sectors, which the trade union movement has previously neglected. But that’s about to change,” he said.

 

Kevin added that the connection between the trade union movement and politics could deepen, and that political awareness of the benefits of an organised workforce is becoming greater: “Employers who don’t understand that risk industrial relations challenges,” he said.

 

The webinar event is available to watch again HERE.

 

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Pride in the civil service
by Gary Fagan & Catherine Bermingham
 

When customers of the Stonewall Inn, New York finally fought back against police raids on the bar in the summer of 1969, few involved in the ensuing three days and nights of rioting which followed could have truly appreciated just how profound their actions would be.


When customers of the Stonewall Inn, New York finally fought back against police raids on the bar in the summer of 1969, few involved in the ensuing three days and nights of rioting which followed could have truly appreciated just how profound their actions would be. Here, the modern gay rights movement was born, and soon Pride parades and festivals would become an increasingly regular and notable calendar event in cities around the world.

 

Here in Ireland, things took a little longer to get going. The first parades in the early 1980s were vital to the visibility of LGBT people in Ireland, a population still criminalised under Irish law at the time. Just as the patrons of the Stonewall Inn had decided ‘enough is enough’, the 1981 murder of Declan Flynn in Dublin’s Fairview park, galvanised a previously invisible Irish gay population, along with many of their allies and supporters.

 

Fortunately, we have come a long way since then. The decriminalisation of homosexuality, the Marriage Equality referendum, and the introduction of the Gender Recognition Act are all signifiers of this progress.

 

Today, Pride is often less about protest, and more of a celebratory event. However, this makes it no less important or relevant. A Pride parade is important to every single person who takes part, and every single person watching it wind its way through our streets. While we have made great strides forward, we recognise that there are other parts of the world where this is not the case, and where Pride simply cannot happen. The Pride parades and festivals which colour our summer months send a powerful message of solidarity, inclusion and belonging.

 

Happy Pride!

 

Pride and the Civil Service

2019 was the first time that the civil service formally participated in the Dublin Pride parade under the “Proud to Work for Ireland” banner, with 600 civil and public servants marching from government departments including the Department of Social Protection (DSP), An Garda Síochána, the Irish Prison Service, the Courts Service and the National Museum of Ireland. 

 

In 2020, a DSP engagement and innovation (E&I) steering group was established, with volunteer representatives from across the department. Its objectives were to plan Pride events, promote LGBTI+ diversity and inclusion and examine the culture, bias and awareness in relation to LGBTI+ inclusion. 

 

The DSP 2020 Pride celebrations were a great success. We participated in the virtual pride parade, Áras Mhic Dhiarmada was lit up in rainbow colours, a daily quiz was held, a survey was rolled out, an LGBT terminology guide and pronouns terminology leaflet was distributed and posters went up across the department. There were also a number of cross departmental events including panel talks, a Netflix viewing party and virtual pride quiz.

 

In July 2020 the LGBTI+ E&I group ceased and transitioned into a staff network, which is supported by over 100 volunteer. Allies across the country and by the HR equality diversity and inclusion (ED&I) team.

 

In addition, DSP Secretary General, John McKeon launched DSP’s first ED&I policy outlining the Department’s commitment to foster a working environment that is inclusive of all our colleagues.  

 

We have a number of exciting events planned, including a cross department quiz on the 24th June, so watch this space to see what’s in store.

 

If you wish to get involved please email LGBTIinternalnetwork@welfare.ie

 

On the blog

Queer liberation and the labour movement have walked hand in hand for decades. But have they strayed apart in recent times? This Pride month Mehak Dugal looks at the interwoven and complementary histories of both movements, and considers what has changed along the way. Read more HERE.

 

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

Return to offices: Health and safety first
by Niall Shanahan
 

ICTU responded to media reports last week that An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar wants to see a phased return to offices in August rather than September, on the assumption that the vaccination programme continues on course and cases remain under control.


The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) responded to media reports last week that An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar wants to see a phased return to offices in August rather than September, on the assumption that the vaccination programme continues on course and cases remain under control.

 

General Secretary Patricia King said: “Congress is currently engaged in a consultation process through the Department of the Taoiseach relating to the safe return to work of thousands of workers who have adhered to current Public Health advice and worked from home for the past 15 months.

 

“These discussions include full consideration of all aspects of the return of workers to office locations in the autumn including the health and safety requirements as provided for in the ‘Return to Work Safely Protocol’.”

 

Patricia added that Congress is also of the view that remote and blended working arrangements must continue to be a feature of future working arrangements post restrictions: “Precise dates for the initiation of the return of these workers have not as yet been proposed by the Government but should be guided as always by public health advice and not business interest only.”

 

Taoiseach Micheál Martin, asked about an August return to workplaces, said the Government would look at the situation at the end of June to see whether “we can move forward in some areas like that.”

 

Claims

 

Congress also responded this week to claims by the Irish Small and Medium Enterprises body that employers are having difficulties getting staff because of enhanced Covid-19 welfare payments.

 

Speaking to a Joint Oireachtas committee meeting on Wednesday (16th June), ICTU social policy officer Dr Laura Bambrick called into question ISME's claim that hiring difficulties are being caused by the PUP payment: “We are also calling into question how the unusual is being presented as representative.

 

“It’s not the PUP that is causing these struggles to finding staff, so what is it? In hospitality, in beauty services and in agricultural there is also evidence they are struggling to get workers.

 

“They are finding that these sectors are disproportionately relying on cheap migrant labour and a lot of those workers have returned to their own country. They have also found that people are changing to sectors and jobs that can provide regular hours and pay.

 

“There are some difficulties in rehiring, Ireland is not unusual in this but this is being misdiagnosed as a problem with the PUP.”

 

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Statutory sick pay “a change for the better”
by Niall Shanahan
 

While roughly half of employers already provide paid sick leave, many lower-earning more vulnerable workers have no paid sick leave, but a new statutory sick pay scheme is to be phased in over a four-year period, starting with three paid days per year in 2022.


A new statutory sick pay scheme will be phased in over a four-year period, starting with three paid days per year in 2022. The planned introduction of the scheme follows Cabinet approval of a draft Sick Leave Bill last week. While roughly half of employers already provide paid sick leave, many lower-earning more vulnerable workers have no paid sick leave. 

 

The scheme will see sick leave rising to five days in 2023 and seven days in 2024. By 2025 this will increase to 10 sick days per year. Sick pay will be paid by employers at a rate of 70% of an employee’s wage, subject to a daily threshold of €110 and can be revised over time by in line with inflation and changing incomes.

 

Congress general secretary Patricia King welcomed the scheme as a "change for the better" while expressing concern that the requirement to be with an employer for six months to qualify for sick pay has the potential "to incentivise some employers to opt for causal employment contracts to circumnavigate their obligations." Patricia added that the qualifying requirement to have sickness certified by a GP will place a financial burden on workers.

 

Social Policy Officer, Dr. Laura Bambrick said: “Ensuring workers are well at work is a basic issue of safety and simply the right thing to do. When workers are unwell they need to rest to recover. When sick workers stay home they reduce the spread of infection and the risk of workplace accidents; they protect others.

 

“ICTU will continue our engagement with TDs and Senators as the Bill makes its passage through the Oireachtas to ensure any unintended consequences are ironed out and that new scheme is fit for purpose.”

 

Writing in the Irish Examiner last week Patricia said Ireland is completely out of line with European norms in not requiring employers to continue to pay a worker’s wage if sick and unable to work: “In Ireland, with few exceptions, workers have no legal right to paid sick leave. Sick pay is viewed as a perk of the job that employers can decide whether or not to include in a contract of employment.

 

“As a result, half of all workers, including many of our low-paid essential workers, have no paid sick days and face being forced out of financial necessity to continue going to work unwell or to rely on the social welfare illness payment, if eligible.

 

“Trade unions do not underestimate the scale of the economic fallout from Covid-19 and are acutely conscious of the significant challenges facing some businesses. However, much of the criticism of this new workers’ right from business representatives echoes what we heard when equal pay for women, maximum working hours, and a minimum wage were introduced. None of these progressive improvements grinded the wheels of commerce to a stop, and neither will this modest measure,” she said.

 

See ICTU's quick guide to The State of Sick Pay in Ireland HERE.

 

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Menopause workplace policy underway
by Róisín McKane
 

Minister for health Stephen Donnelly has confirmed that work is underway to develop a workplace menopause policy.


Minister for health Stephen Donnelly has confirmed that work is underway to develop a workplace menopause policy.

 

Speaking to the Dáil earlier this month he said a number of actions on menopause are being developed by his department, including the provision of specialist supports as well as a national awareness campaign.

 

The policy is set to explore measures that allow work adjustments for people going through menopause, to include flexible working, guidance around sickness leave, and time off for appointments that might be needed.

 

The menopause has long been viewed as a private matter or exclusively as ‘a women’s issue’ and marginalised as a topic for discussion or taken into account in the design of workplaces and working practices.

 

A survey of almost 4,000 workers carried out by Wales TUC found that 88% of women workers who've experienced the menopause felt it has an effect on working life, while around 6 in 10 had witnessed the issue being treated as a joke in the workplace. 

 

The survey also showed that only a very small number of workplaces have policies in place to support women who experience difficulties during the menopause.

 

Fórsa equality officer Ashley Connolly has welcomed the announcement citing it as progress.

 

“There is still much to be done to tackle the taboo around menopause, particularly in workplaces, where often women do not feel able to talk about the menopause at all,” said Ashley.

 

“Government and trade unions alike need to work together to drive progressive workplace health policies for women’s health,” she said.

 

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

Bill backs housing referendum call
by Mehak Dugal
 

The Raise the Roof housing campaign group has backed calls for a right to housing to be enshrined in the Constitution.


The Raise the Roof housing campaign group has backed calls for a right to housing to be enshrined in the Constitution. It comes following a new Bill, legislating for a referendum on the right to housing, that cleared the second stage in the Dáil on 3rd June.

 

Raise the Roof coordinator Macdara Doyle said that the creation of a new right to housing was an “essential element” in addressing the dysfunctional housing sector in Ireland and would help deliver affordable homes for all.

 

The campaign includes trade unions, housing and homeless agencies, women’s groups, political parties, and other representative groups. The campaign has been lobbying for support of constitutional referendum, with a focus on the commitment to hold a referendum contained in the Programme for Government. The campaign has called on all political parties to support the proposed measure.

 

The group has also called for a massive State-led investment programme to deliver affordable homes for all by utilising public land for public housing provision, cost rental units and affordable homes to purchase, along with measures to create genuine security and certainty for tenants.

 

Last week the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) advised the Government to double the housing investment to tackle the ongoing housing crisis in the country. It said without the boost in investment and funding by the State, the crisis would stretch for another decade and add onto already steep rents and prices.

 

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

Feature Article
Know your pension benefits
by Róisín McKane
 

Fórsa members can tune in to a free pensions webinar, hosted by Cornmarket exclusively for the union, from 1pm on Thursday 24th June.


Fórsa members can tune in to a free pensions webinar, hosted by Cornmarket exclusively for the union, from 1pm on Thursday 24th June.

 

The online information session will offer guidance on all aspects of public service pensions. It will run for an hour.

 

Fórsa’s Billy Hannigan will be on hand to discuss the benefits of public service pensions, while Cornmarket’s Trevor Gardiner will explore the merits of Additional Voluntary Contributions.

 

Registration for the event is free and can be accessed HERE. More information on Cornmarket can be found 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.

Also in this issue
Last call for Summer Series
by Róisín McKane
 

There is still time to register for Fórsa’s campaigning summer series, which kicks off later this month.

 

The campaigning summer school has been an integral event in the union calendar since June 2017. In light of the current Covid-19 restrictions, the 2021 school is being delivered virtually from Tuesday 22nd June to Saturday 26th June.

 

A series of interactive webinars will explore the future of work, campaigning in hostile environments, and the role of the State in a post Covid world.

 

Speakers will include TASC director Dr Shana Coen, barrister at law Ann Christine Fitzgerald, ICTU social policy officer Dr Laura Bambrick, and Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan, amongst others.

 

Each moderated session will feature a panel discussion followed by questions moderated through the video-conference chat box.

 

Registration for the public webinars can be accessed HERE and will remain open until midnight tonight (Friday 18th June).

 

Find out more about the programme and speakers HERE.

 

For further enquiries please contact summerseries@forsa.ie

 

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

4 Day Week research underway
by Róisín McKane
 

A new research project is underway to assess the financial impact of the introduction of a four day working week on businesses.

 

The project, which will be carried out in partnership by Four Day Week Ireland, University College Dublin, and Boston College, will also look at the social and environmental effect of a move to a four day week.

 

The four day week campaign has long advocated for the gradual transition to a shorter working week for all workers, with increased productivity, better employee wellbeing and a reduction in carbon emissions cited as benefits.

 

Although there have been a number of four day week trials in organisations across the globe, this new project will mark the first large scale research into a shorter working week, replicated across companies of different sizes, in various sectors, across a number of countries.

 

Fórsa’s director of campaigning and chair of Four Day Week Ireland Joe O’Connor told Newstalk last week that here is a growing body of company and academic research that suggests positive outcomes for both workers and employers.

 

“There is increasing international interest in a four day week, with the concept introduced on a trial or part time basis across a number of companies,” said Joe.

 

“This is an exciting opportunity for both businesses and government to run a large scale co-ordinated trial of the four day working week, to see what the economic, social and ecological impacts of the four day week on businesses really are,” he said.

 

For more information on Four Day Week Ireland click 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.

Unions celebrate public services day
by Róisín McKane
 

The European Federation of Public Services Unions (EPSU) has called for a celebration of the contribution of public services workers to our communities, who have often put their lives at risk, on the annual United Nations day of public services which takes place next Wednesday (23rd June).

 

EPSU says that in the aftermath of the Covid-19 crisis, we must ‘build back better’ by investing in quality public services with adequate staffing and qualified workers to ensure a fairer future for all.

 

The pandemic has shown how important the contribution of our members and other essential workers is to keep our society going

 

Fórsa is an active member of the federation, which plans to highlight union demands for fundamental change and a determination to resist any new austerity policies advocated by employers or governments.

 

UN public service day will be used to celebrate the work of public service workers across Europe and remember the many public servants who have been infected, hospitalised and even died in service.

 

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

Citizens’ Assembly calls for action on gender, work and pay
by Mehak Dugal
 

The Citizens’ Assembly on Gender Equality has published its final set of recommendations to inform the Houses of the Oireachtas’ debate and decisions on the issue over the next coming years.

 

The latest recommendations include a call to close the gender pay gap through legislation, and to align the minimum wage with the living wage by 2025, and to delete Article 41.2 of the constitution, commonly known as the ‘Woman in the Home’ clause.

 

The Assembly has also recommended improved pay and access to pensions for paid carers, changes to the carers’ allowance, and respite and pensions for family carers. The report highlighted that 98% of full-time carers are women, while twice as many unpaid female as male carers provide over 43 hours care per week.

 

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.

 

The Assembly recommends over the next decade, Ireland must move to a publicly funded and accessible model of quality childcare and called for an increased share of GDP to be spent on childcare, from the current 0.37% of GDP to at least 1% by no later than 2030 in line with the UNICEF target.

 

Fórsa National Secretary Andy Pike welcomed the recommendations, and said Ireland was at the beginning of a long road in the campaign to achieve gender equality, and that the recommendations on childcare, gender quotas, pay, and social protection had the potential to bring about real and meaningful change.

 

“The specific recommendation contained in the report on childcare and carers is very comprehensive and likely to form the background to discussions on gender equality for the next few years.

 

“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.

 

Representation

The majority of OECD countries provide maternity payments that replace over 50% of previous earnings. In Ireland, less than one-third of gross average earnings are replaced by the maternity benefit.

 

Ireland’s gender pensions gap is also particularly concerning given that 90% of ‘qualified adults’ are adult women, while some 86% of lone parent households are headed by women.

 

On the issue of political representation, the report recommends extending the gender quota for party candidates at elections and for this to be reviewed every five years, with penalties for parties that do not meet the statutory gender quotas, and that funding to public bodies must be made contingent on reaching a 40% gender balance quota by 2025.

 

The full report and recommendations of the Assembly can be accessed 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.

Join Fórsa online
 

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: Here to support you
 

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.