The Local Government and Local Services and Health and Welfare divisional conferences took place in Letterkenny last week, running from Wednesday 14th May to Friday 16th May. 

Energy ran high as delegates converged to shape policy and strategy for the coming years.  

Members in Fórsa's health and welfare division shared frontline realities. Delegates told stories of poor morale, terrible conditions, and being forced to work in cars or kitchens. But it wasn’t all complaint, as motions were moved, solidarity flowed, and a huge camaraderie swept the room.  

Cathaoirleach Clodagh Kavanagh opened the conference by reaffirming union values of justice and solidarity. Head of division Ashley Connolly issued a rallying call to press on for pay justice in the community and voluntary sector.  

The findings of a Fórsa-commissioned TASC report showed 68 percent of health workers rate staff morale as low or terrible. Members spoke passionately about the impact of outsourcing and fragmentation on patient care. Real union strength comes from deep conversations, local fights, and national solidarity. We are not waiting. Our members are building power, one member, one workplace at a time. 

At the Local Government and Local Services conference there was a clear buzz around core issues including job evaluation, fair pay, housing, staffing levels, and resisting outsourcing. The atmosphere was charged with purpose as debates unfolded and motions passed. Head of division Richy Carrothers made a surprise announcement of major progress on job evaluation. 

Members shared frustrations, hopes, and a deep determination to drive change. Many remarked how attending conference replaced isolation with solidarity, giving them a renewed sense of empowerment and momentum. 

Speakers condemned the harmful impact of privatisation and the rise of far-right rhetoric, calling instead for investment in public services and a strong, secure public sector. They championed local government as the bedrock of daily life and a space where progressive values can thrive. 

A key takeaway from the closing message from general secretary Kevin Callinan was the power of collective action and the simple idea that when working people organise together in solidarity, they become a beacon of hope and a powerful force for lasting change. 

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa. 

Due to a technical issue with an external service provider, emails sent through the Fórsa website contact form were not delivered between 12th May 2025 and 19th May 2025. This issue has now been fully resolved.

If you did not receive a response to a query submitted through the website contact form during that period, please do send it again. Any other emails to Fórsa were not impacted. 

We apologise for the inconvenience and have put measures in place to ensure it does not happen again. Many thanks for your understanding. 

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The Fórsa Skills Academy has launched its brand-new training calendar, running from September 2025 to August 2026, and it's filled with a wide range of opportunities for professional growth, union empowerment, and personal development. 

Designed in response to the interests and priorities of Fórsa members, this year’s programme is built to equip activists, representatives, and members with practical tools to thrive both in the union and beyond. 

Fiona Dunne Director of Membership Training and Development said: “We’re delighted to share this calendar with our members. We’ve shaped this programme by listening to what people need — in their union roles, and in their everyday lives. Our aim is to create a learning space that’s relevant, engaging and empowering.” 

Courses range from workplace essentials to leadership development and include both in-person and online options. Here’s a snapshot of what’s on offer: 

• Branch Chairs and Secretaries training – learn everything you need to know about running effective meetings and organising your branch. 
• Time Management – This course delivers practical strategies with immediate impact, including effective planning, task prioritisation and smart goal setting. 
• Resilience Building Workshop – a course that provides tools and templates to build personal resilience and reduce stress. 
• Public Speaking, Communications and Digital skills training – we now have three exciting courses that cover all aspects of communication! 

Regular favourites Fórsa Induction and our monthly Lunch and Learn will return and run throughout the next training year. 

Details of upcoming courses, along with application forms, are emailed directly to each branch chairperson, secretary, and training officer 4–6 weeks in advance of the training dates. Courses are also promoted in Fórsa’s fortnightly member bulletins. Registration links for the new calendar will be issued from mid-June.

We know life gets busy, that’s why we’re sharing the full calendar now, so you can plan ahead and make space for your upskilling and development throughout the year. 

Explore the full 2025–2026 calendar and see what’s coming up.

Live this month: Lunch & Learn - Fórsa Mentoring Programme - Friday 30th May – Online 

The Fórsa mentoring programme, launched at the union’s biennial conference in 2024, is an initiative to supplement training provided by the Skills Academy and provide support and encouragement to our trained representatives who might require some additional guidance to build confidence whilst implementing their learning.   

For our May Lunch & Learn session scheduled for Friday 30th, we’ll hear directly from past participants of Fórsa’s mentoring programme about what worked well and how it benefited them and their workplaces. Our external programme facilitator will also speak on how mentoring strengthens union capacity and creates long-term value for Fórsa. 

Take this opportunity to be inspired, build your confidence, and see how mentoring can support your journey — register now and get involved! 

Register here.

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa. 

The Local Government and Local Services Division conference took place in Letterkenny last week, running from Wednesday 14th May to Friday 16th May.

Energy ran high as delegates converged to shape policy and strategy for the coming years. There was a clear buzz around core issues including job evaluation, fair pay, housing, staffing levels, and resisting outsourcing.

The atmosphere was charged with purpose as debates unfolded and motions passed. Folk music opened the conference and set a grounded, reflective tone.

Members shared frustrations, hopes, and a deep determination to drive change. Many remarked how attending conference replaced isolation with solidarity, giving them a renewed sense of empowerment and momentum.

Speakers condemned the harmful impact of privatisation and the rise of far-right rhetoric, calling instead for investment in public services and a strong, secure public sector. They championed local government as the bedrock of daily life and a space where progressive values can thrive.

A key takeaway from the closing message from General Secretary Kevin Callinan was the power of collective action and the simple idea that when working people organise together in solidarity, they become a beacon of hope and a powerful force for lasting change.

Read on for an overview of conference activities 

Conference opened on Wednesday with surprise performances from local artists Without Willow, and poet Valerie Bryce. At the end of his opening address Cathaoirleach Mick Whyms paid tribute to DEC members Liam O’Brion, Kevin O’Malley, Pat Considine, and Vincent Savage, as they head into retirement. He praised their commitment as being “second to none.” 

Kevin O’Malley then took to the stage to pay tribute to Al Butler, former national secretary of the division, and Tom Browne, former Cathaoirleach, who he described as “giants of the trade union movement and particularly this union.” 

“The power of the workers, the power of the collective made this possible.”

National secretary Richy Carrothers had a significant announcement for delegates with a last-minute addition to the agenda. Just before delegates were scheduled to vote on motions concerning job evaluation, Richy took to the stage to announce a major advancement in the over 15 year-long fight for a job evaluation scheme for the local authorities sector. 

He presented a WRC document outlining agreement to establish a job evaluation scheme for the local authority sector. He said: “This as close as we have ever been to a fair, transparent, and impartial job evaluation scheme.” Read more about that here.

Following debates on motions, Fórsa president, Martin Walsh addressed the conference. He praised delegates for their work in fighting for better workers’ pay and conditions saying: “You’ve made wins that will change lives.”

A selection of photos taken over the course of conference is available on our website, linked here. 

On Thursday morning head of division, Richy Carrothers delivered an address to delegates largely focussing on the conference theme of ‘Keep it public, Keep it local.’ Richy highlighted the need for a stronger local government sector and lambasted the lack of importance placed upon the sector.

He said, “Ireland now has the worst level of local representation and the weakest local government in Europe. That is a shameful table to be at the top of.”
Motions followed Richy’s speech, with delegates speaking on the 4-day working week, and motions addressing the housing crisis passing with enthusiastic support.

Also on Thursday general secretary, Kevin Callinan, rallied delegates with an address that put unions and union activists at the heart of the fight to overcome the “dark times” we live in. He said, “we stand in the vanguard, against division, against hate, against war. For community, for justice, for peace.”

Kevin extolled the need for reform and modernisation within the union movement citing work already done within Fórsa to invigorate the organising power of our activist base. He called on delegates to use Local Bargaining to have conversations with coworkers and bring them into the Fórsa community.

A number of panel discussions took place at conference on topics ranging from organising for power, to the state of local government around the world.
The panel on Libraries and the Far-Right, featured Fórsa members Edel Scally (librarian), Michael Devine (assistant librarian), and Faye Carrie (UCD), with Fórsa policy & research officer, Aisling Cusack, facilitating. 

Panellists described a lack of institutional support as an abiding problem for librarians when facing far-right agitation. Edel described a situation where health and safety officers were making security plans with no central guidance.

Faye described how, when interviewing librarians for the Resisting Hate and Navigating Agitation report, she found, “people needed to feel listened to, because they weren’t listened to by management”.

While there was a lack of support from people in positions of authority, Michael and Edel told of the great support they received from the community. Michael joked “our biggest danger was if we develop diabetes or hay fever, we received so many flowers and boxes of chocolates.”

He went on to underscore the importance of the swift response from unions: “Fórsa came in and said we’re here for you. The union support made us feel like we could do something about it.”

Guest speakers also addressed conference. Dr. Lorcan Sirr gave an address on housing, where he underlined the necessity for the state to directly produce housing for those most in need; whilst conference also welcomed Mayor of Derry and Strabane District Council, Lilian Seenoi-Barr. Lilian discussed the importance of building bridges, and the impact of representation. She called on Fórsa to be a union that builds stronger communities, and a better country.

A new DEC was elected to represent members of the division. Chair Michael Whyms and Vice Chair Bernard McNeely were elected unopposed. The members of the :Local Government and Local Services DEC are:

Fiona Baskett (Longford H&LG branch), Mairéad Costello (Kerry H&LG branch), Cliadhna Dinneen (Cork H&LG branch), Florie Hickey (Roscommon H&LG branch), Ray Kennedy (Offaly H&LG branch), Audrey Lambert (Dublin City Council LG branch), Noel McCarthy (South Dublin branch), Brian Madden (Galway H&LG branch), Ann Marie Maher (Laois LG branch), Margaret O’Dwyer (Kildare LG branch), Gerry O’Quigley (Dun Laoghaire Rathdown LG branch), Margaret Tuohy (Clare H&LG branch), and Padraig McGivney (Cavan H&LG branch). Padraig McGivney will take the post of 3rd divisional representative on the NEC.

Fórsa members working in local authorities are a step closer to securing a comprehensive job evaluation process as the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has confirmed broad agreement, under several headings, which it says will help towards agreeing “the mechanics and framework” of a job evaluation scheme for the local authority sector. Read the document here.

The developments were announced last week at Fórsa’s local government and local services divisional conference, which took place in Letterkenny, County Donegal. 

Richy Carrothers, head of Fórsa’s local government and local services division, said local authority workers deserve a fair, open, and transparent system of measurement to ensure the work they undertake is appropriate to the grade in which they’re employed. More than 80% of Fórsa members backed industrial action on the issue in 2023.

Richy told conference delegates that the union had continued to engage in intensive discussions with government and Local Government Management Agency (LGMA) representatives under the auspices of the WRC and described the statement of progress by the WRC as a ‘major development’, giving effect “to the policy of conference to deliver a job evaluation scheme in the sector,” he said.

Richy added that intensive work remained, but that the union had never been closer to securing a positive result: “Close to 10,000 jobs were lost from the sector following the financial crisis in 2008, and services were only maintained because local authority workers countrywide took on additional responsibilities above their pay grades. 

“Many of our members have been working over and above their grade. The local government sector needs to work in good faith and collaboratively with Fórsa. We will continue to work diligently and to do our best for members by ensuring that we deliver. We want to ensure that we end up in a position where no one is left behind,” he said.

The WRC confirmed that broad agreement has been reached under the following headings: 

• The parties are working towards the implementation of a job evaluation scheme based on the mechanics of the existing Higher Education scheme but tailored to the specific and unique requirements of the Local Authority sector.
• The principle of objectivity, transparency, impartiality and quality assurance will apply.
• The scheme will be operated centrally and jointly.
•  The purpose of the scheme will be to evaluate the post, not the individual performance of the person currently in the post.
•  A pilot will be launched by the end of 2025 in the first instance before the scheme is launched nationally. 

The WRC has identified several steps to be taken before the launch of a pilot scheme, including an engagement between the parties on agreement on job descriptions to benchmark evaluations against, assessors and the process of the assessment, and agreement on quality assurance.

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa. 

The recent Australian elections showed that working from home is now an election issue around the world. In this opinion piece, published in the Irish Examiner on Tuesday 13th May, Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan argues that we need real data to inform future policy. Fórsa is calling on the government to initiate a major study looking at the benefits of remote work, and how to embed sustainable hybrid policies. 

The Australian Liberal Party's opposition to working from home, a policy that proved so unpopular that it was reversed mid-campaign, is widely believed to have contributed to its defeat in the recent general election.  

Speaking as the scale of the outgoing government's victory was becoming apparent, Labor Senator Deborah O'Neill expressed disbelief that the Liberals had sought to cut back working from home. 

"Do they have no idea what it's like to be a modern family?" she said. Referring to the expectations of many young people to have the option to work from home, she went on to say: "There's a productivity agenda here for families and society as well as for the economy". 

There's an important message in this for other governments. In Ireland, the current Programme for Government is noticeably silent on the subject when compared to the commitment in the previous programme to a 20% target and to the Make Remote Work policy.  

It's difficult not to conclude that some politicians are more concerned with mimicking the DOGE agenda in the United States and having a go at what is often mistakenly perceived as an almost exclusively public service phenomenon.  

At April’s Labour Employer Economic Forum (LEEF), understanding the importance of the availability of flexible working arrangements to attract and retain the best talent, employer representatives supported the trade union call for an in-depth examination of all the issues involved in working from home.  

There are concerns expressed about the health, safety, and welfare of staff operating in isolation, and about the ability of organisations to harness the energy that can come with physical team gatherings. There’s also concern about the negative career trajectories for women that could be a consequence of home working. 

These are challenges that call for good management, and they are all issues that can be addressed.  It would be a mistake to throw the baby out with the bathwater. 

The Covid experience has shown conclusively that remote working can be successful, and productivity can be improved, not just maintained. As recent statistics show, younger workers are voting with their application letters and CVs, favouring opportunities that provide for remote, hybrid, or blended work. 

Decisions should be based on evidence, not on whether it's inconvenient for those in charge to manage. This appeared to be at play earlier this year, in moves to reduce working from home in parts of the civil service. These changes should be suspended to allow a comprehensive review to be conducted. We need real data to inform future policy. 

Any assessment must also extend to the broader societal and ecological issues. For those of us who cannot work from home, it's not in our interest to have additional traffic on the road adding to our already lengthy commutes and to atmospheric pollution and the carbon footprint.  

We all benefit, however, from the growing evidence that, by avoiding wasted travelling hours each day, people who work from home have time to give to their local schools, sports clubs, and communities, not to mention to their families.  

It is ironic that the loudest voices railing against working from home have been from some regional independents. Perhaps this is driven by frustration with service delivery. If so, this should be dealt with on the merits of the case, whether it's due to a failure of management, inadequate resources, or something else.  

There can be little doubt that working from home is making a real difference in rural Ireland and that, with proper planning, it has the potential to be transformational. The people using regional remote working hubs, now based in many towns and villages, and those working in home offices, represent a market for local shops and businesses that would otherwise be elsewhere.  

There is too much at stake for working from home to be seen as just a Covid phenomenon. If we get it right, this can be central to our economic and social prosperity. We need to recognise that and resist the trendy opposition to it that we see in parts of the political and corporate world. 

The government should seize the initiative, arising from the Labour Employer Economic Forum, to propose terms of reference for a major study. To fail to do so would be an enormous own goal. Like in Australia, there could be a political price to be paid too. 

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa. 

Are you a transport worker who has faced violence or intimidation at work? Are you a woman? Then this survey is for you.  

The European Transport Workers’ Federation (ETF) has launched a new survey to gather real stories from women on the front lines of transport work. The aim is to collect testimonies directly from women working in all areas of the transport sector. 

This survey is more than just data collection, it’s about building strong evidence to push employers, governments and institutions to take concrete action, informed by the reality of women transport workers.  

Take the survey here and help build a safer transport industry for all.

If this doesn’t affect you directly, but you know a woman working in transport who has been affected, please ask them to fill out this important survey.  

Fórsa national secretary and head of the union’s services and enterprises division, Katie Morgan, said: “Every single woman in the transport industry deserves to work without fear. This ETF survey is your chance to contribute to the collective demand to stop violence and harassment against women transport workers. Violence and harassment are sadly part of daily life for far too many women in the transport sector. Women continue to face abuse, intimidation and harassment for simply doing their jobs. And yet, too often, their voices go unheard, their experiences are dismissed, and this problem is ignored. Together, we can demand safer workplaces for every woman in transport.” 

The ETF said: “As we all know, violence against transport workers has been on the rise since the recent pandemic. This must end. Together we can make a change. For this reason, the women's committee of the European Transport Workers' Federation has decided to conduct the survey ‘Violence and harassment against women transport workers’. Although we know that all transport workers suffer from violence, this survey is specifically for women transport workers, and we kindly ask you to support it. Your voices and real experiences are essential in helping the ETF expose the extent of the problem and fight for safer, fairer workplaces.” 

If you would like to fill in the survey in a different language, you can choose from several options available here.

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa.