Workers in the public service and elsewhere have been urged by the Government to resume remote working unless it’s necessary for them to attend the workplace in person. The new guidance, which comes on foot of NPHET Covid-19 advice, effectively means an end – for now – of the ‘phased return to the workplace,’ which started on 20th September.

As this bulletin was being finalised, Fórsa was engaged with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) on specific guidance for civil and public servants. This is expected to confirm that staff should not be expected to attend the workplace unless their presence is essential.

The guidance will also stress that the union-negotiated ‘work safety protocol’ must be followed in situations where workers are needed in the workplace.

Fórsa has advised its members to contact the lead worker safety representative in their workplace if they have concerns over Covid safety measures. If this isn’t possible, staff are advised to contact their union rep.

Economy-wide guidance from the Labour-Employer Economic Forum (LEEF) has been updated to take account the latest public health advice. The LEEF is the main national forum for unions, employers and Government to discuss and agree on workplace and other issues.

New HSE guidance also requires people who self-refer for a PCR test to self-isolate if they have Covid symptoms. The revised public service guidance is expected to say that ‘special leave with pay’ should apply when an employee has had a positive PCR test, or is required to self-isolate while displaying Covid symptoms.

Regardless of the nature of work, public service employers are to facilitate home working in situations where a person is required to restrict their movements as a result of close contact with a diagnosed Covid case. But special leave with pay will not be available in these cases as it only applies if a worker is ill.

Meanwhile, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) gave full support to the new advice to work from home unless it’s absolutely necessary to go to the workplace. Its general secretary, Patricia King, also called for the maintenance of the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP) and an urgent review of the adequacy of supports for businesses in the night life industry.

The transition to a zero-carbon economy will lead to the phasing out of some occupations, together with new employment opportunities, according to a new report from the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs.

The Government-backed study, Skills for Zero Carbon, outlines recommendations for delivery of the Government’s climate action plan, which includes carbon neutrality by 2050 and binding targets for emissions reduction over the next decade.

The report was launched this week as the European Public Services Union (EPSU) expressed its ‘profound disappointment’ with the outcome of the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow.

It forecasts that, in order to meet the climate action plan targets, employment in wind and solar energy generation will have to quickly increase from 3,000 to 8,000, before reaching 9,000 by 2030. And the workforce engaged in residential retrofit and heat pump installation will have to ramp up more than fourfold to over 17,000.

Meanwhile, the latest EPSU newsletter highlighted the last-minute interventions that weakened the final COP26 agreement. “The Glasgow climate pact, the final set of positions and decisions adopted by around 200 states, didn’t include the phase-out of coal or firm commitments on finance to assist developing countries and especially the island communities threatened with extinction.

“An unashamed last-minute power play by China and India managed to weaken the language on coal leaving it as phasing-down rather than a full phasing-out.

“Without firm action to keep coal in the ground, emissions will increase and we have the presence of a large number of fossil-fuel industry lobbyists to thank for this result,” it said. Research by the Trade Unions for Energy Democracy coalition shows that emissions continue to increase and are already back at 2019 levels despite the pandemic.

The Government’s report on future skills is available from the website of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment.

A special sub-committee of the civil service General Council is set to be established to help drive the transition to access for civil servants to the State’s industrial relations bodies over the course of 2022.

The General Council is the main industrial relations forum for the civil service. It’s made up of senior elected and full-time officials from Fórsa and other unions, as well as senior officials from the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER).

The committee meets every month to consider claims from the union or management side and ongoing policy matters that affect the terms and conditions of civil servants.

In recent times Fórsa has been critical of the operation of the scheme and, along with other civil service unions and associations, it has campaigned to modernise the industrial relations system and to open up access to the state industrial relations machinery – the Labour Court and Workplace Relations Commission – to civil servants.

At present, the only access currently enjoyed is on rights-based cases.

This development has been welcomed by the head of Fórsa’s Civil Service Division, Derek Mullen, who said it would “allow us to focus on the tasks that are necessary to complete the move, in particular the development of a robust internal dispute resolution mechanism.”

“We will be also pressing DPER in this process to deal with outstanding legislative amendments to ensure that civil servants are interpreted appropriately as workers under the terms of the 1990 Industrial Relations Act,” he said.

The Council is established under the civil service conciliation and arbitration scheme. The IR arrangements have been in place since the early 1950s, when civil servants were excluded from the Labour Court on its establishment in 1946.

Separately, the General Council met on Wednesday (24th November) and considered matters including the important issue of ensuring that overtime payments will be received by lower paid grades before Christmas.

Arrangements were agreed back in 2017 to ensure payments, and was due to the fact the NSSO payroll shuts down at the end of November for the completion of year-end clear downs of cumulative and shorter working year data, balancing and reconciliation of tax and PRSI to validate P60 and P35 listings among other matters.

Also ongoing at sub-committee of General Council is an important review of incremental credit in which Fórsa are seeking to improve general arrangements in the civil service for those with previous service, in line with EU norms and to reflect what is happening in the wider public service.

Ireland’s social welfare structure must change to match pay-related payments common in many European countries, according to ICTU general secretary Patricia King. She has urged politicians from all parties to get behind a new trade union-led campaign to strengthen Ireland’s “threadbare social safety net.”

In a letter addressed to TDs and government officials, Patricia said the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP) had demonstrated that a pay-related system could replace Ireland’s outdated fixed-payment approach.

As things stand, jobseeker’s allowance consists of a fixed payment of €203 per week, which is below the poverty line and gives relatively little support to those out of work.

In contrast, EU countries like Germany and France have a pay-related system, where welfare benefits are designed to secure a workers’ normal living standards during time-limited periods of difficulty.

ICTU says the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP) was effectively a European-style benefit that was aligned to the recipient’s income when in work. It wants the introduction of a short term pay-related income for those who have lost their jobs to match other European countries.

ICTU social policy officer Laura Bambrick said Ireland’s fixed-payment welfare system means the replacement value of the benefit falls as earnings rise. This leaves middle-income workers exposed to an even bigger drop in their living standards during periods of unemployment, illness, maternity and family leave.

“For example, a worker earning the average annual wage of around €40,000 has just a quarter (26%) of their wage replaced by unemployment benefit. Unlike our flat-rate payments, the European-model of pay-related benefits ensure workers can continue to pay their mortgage and other bills during short interruptions in earning a wage,” she said.

The Government has already indicated that it will consider a permanent move to a more income-related approach. In the meantime, ICTU has launched a campaign for the social safety net to be strengthened for workers, with an immediate move to pay-related short-term benefits.

Fórsa has lodged six claims in relation to career progression and annual leave issues in the newly established Legal Aid Board departmental council. The departmental council is a forum for unions and management to deal with claims and other industrial relations issues.

The union has sought career progression avenues for clerical officers (COs) following its workplace survey, which showed a clear need for promotional outlets.

Fórsa assistant general secretary Seán Carabini said the union was determined to use the new industrial relations structures to bring about improvements for staff.

“The workplace survey we conducted earlier in the year showed a clear need and appetite for promotional outlets for COs, particularly in regional offices. We are hoping to be able to explore this issue within the council, so that everyone has a fair chance at career progression. The work exists. We need to make sure that the right grade and pay structure also exists,” he said.

On pay parity, the union is seeking the same starting pay arrangements that other civil service solicitors enjoy. It has also lodged a claim to have all grade III solicitors moved onto the state solicitor pay scale, which applies in the rest of the civil service.

Seán said Legal Aid Board grade III solicitors work as diligently and carry the same workloads, and require the same professional qualifications as legal professionals working in other Government departments.

“Why, then, are they on a pay scale that ends over €10,000 less than their other civil service legal professional colleagues? Today’s claim is the first step on the way to finding a remedy for this,” he said.

The union has also sought to have the vacant positions of legal staff officer filled, and to end the practice of filling general vacancies from location-specific posts.

The union’s final claim seeks annual leave parity for mediators. Thought they are linked to the engineer pay scale, they do not currently get the same annual leave.

“The annual leave argument is straightforward. Annual leave is attached to grades in the civil service. Yet, for some reason, the mediators have a lower annual leave allowance than they should have and we’d like to see it fixed,” said Seán.

Fórsa is seeking completion of the amalgamation of grades, as outlined in the civil service management’s modernisation plan.

In 2017, the staff officer (SO) grade was amalgamated with the executive officer (EO) grade. However, there were some grades that are attached on a pay basis to the staff officer grade that were not part of the amalgamation.

The legal clerk grade is one such example of this.

Fórsa assistant general secretary Seán Carabini stated: “Grade restructuring was part of the civil service management’s modernisation plan. The amalgamation of the SO and EO grades was the mechanism that was used to deliver on this goal. But this job hasn’t been completed.”

In 2019, Fórsa brought the matter to the attention of the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform with a view to correcting it. At present approximately 120 civil servants remain tied to the old staff officer pay scale.

“In many cases, the grades still tied to the SO pay scale are specialist grades, meaning that your promotion opportunities are quite often limited.

“Additionally, it is having a real impact on mobility. Staff officer is not catered for in the mobility scheme. How, then, can you look for a transfer if there are no SOs to swap with? The only sensible thing is to complete the amalgamation of grades for the last few staff tethered to the SO,” said Seán.

The Department of Public Expenditure and Reform did not agree to the proposal to amalgamate those still tethered to the SO grade with the EO grade.

Now, this disagreement has been formalised, meaning that the union can consider whether to bring this claim forward or not.

“Our intention is to lodge a case with the civil service arbitration board for a decision on the matter. It is a curious outlier that the union is having to bring a claim to ask DPER to finish out the modernisation and grade rationalisation programme that they began. However, as things stand, those still tied to the SO grade are losing out,” said Seán.

The annual general meeting of Fórsa’s Conservation Rangers branch has unanimously passed a motion calling for all necessary steps to be taken to advance a grading review in light of wider and increased responsibilities over the last 10-15 years.

The union says arising from the increased responsibilities to the role, Fórsa and the branch committee made a submission to management in 2019, setting out how the role has changed.

The AGM, held earlier this month, heard that further work involving the ecological assessment of planning applications, agricultural works and infrastructural projects, and the introduction of EU directives on birds and habitats, also underlined the need for the review. There will also be an increased requirement for ecological assessments and follow-up prosecutions.

In addition, the expansion of visitor attractions and the management of habitats, and an increase in surveys to be carried out on scientific species and habitats, formed part of the urgent calls to advance the review.

Fórsa assistant general secretary Shay Clinton said that, while biology or related sciences were desirable, there was an imminent need for the qualifications for the posts to be updated. “The reality is that practically all conservation rangers are highly qualified with a masters degrees or doctorates,” he said.

The union is also frustrated that the draft format for the review of the National Parks and Wildlife Services has not been made available , even though the review was to be completed at the end of the summer.

The penultimate health webinar, organised exclusively for Fórsa members, will look at health insurance options and takes place at 12 noon on Wednesday 1st December. A follow-up session is set for 9th December.

The event will hear from industry expert Dermot Goode, and is hosted by Cornmarket.

Participants will hear some ‘myth-busters’ on health insurance and get advice on how to make savings when reviewing their insurance options. There’ll also be industry updates and advice on legacy plans.

The webinar will also allow attendees to ask questions and will facilitate conversation to ensure members’ health insurance questions are heard and addressed.

If you are new to health insurance, the event will also help find the right plan for you and advise on the best benefits and points of focus while selecting a plan.

You can register for the day that suits you best to attend.

Register to attend on Wednesday 1st December at 12pm HERE.

You can register to attend on Thursday 9th December at 12pm HERE.

Dermot Goode is the leading expert on healthcare benefits in Ireland. He has over 30 years’ experience in healthcare having worked with VHI, BUPA Ireland, Cornmarket and more.

Find out more about the range of tailored financial products for Fórsa members here.

Irish unions have demanded that the Government puts pressure on Hong Kong authorities over the dissolution of independent trade unions there. The Hong Kong Confederation of Trade Unions (HKCTU) has been forced to disband as a consequence of persistent stigmatisation, vilification and attacks on its activities.

As part of a wider clampdown on human rights campaigners and civil society organisations by security forces and the judiciary, unions and their activists have suffered intimidation and harassment for undertaking basic trade union activities.

In a letter sent to foreign affairs minister Simon Coveney, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) urged the government to demand that the Chinese and Hong Kong governments respect their obligations under international human rights treaties.

ICTU also called on the Government to closely monitor the labour and human rights situation, and engage with Irish unions to ensure that the Chinese and Hong Kong governments observe their international obligations.

In response Mr Coveney indicated that Ireland and its EU partners were closely following the situation in Hong Kong.

He also said that he had raised the issue with Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi during a visit to China in May this year. And last month Ireland and other EU states suspended their extradition agreement with Hong Kong as a way of expressing their concern in relation to the rule of law in the country.

The Government has given a commitment to monitor and assess the situation in Hong Kong and raise their concern to the Chinese authorities if necessary in the future.

Fórsa is urging its members to sign an international petition calling on the European Commission to allow the production of approved Covid-19 vaccines to competent and safe pharmaceutical facilities around the world.

The NoProfitOnPandemic petition campaign is a European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI), which means the Commission is obliged to respond if enough signatures are collected. Its organisers say allowing developing countries to produced approved vaccines locally would make them freely available and accessible to all.

It wants action to ensure that intellectual property rights, including patents, do not hamper the accessibility or availability of any future Covid-19 vaccine or treatment. And it highlights the EU’s role in this, saying European legislation on data and market exclusivity should not be deployed to limit the rollout of licenses to produce vaccines across the globe.

It says EU action would significantly increase worldwide production, distribution and – most importantly of all – access to vaccines for all humankind.

NoProfitOnPandemic is also demanding the introduction of legal obligations for beneficiaries from EU funds to share related Covid-19 knowledge and intellectual property, as well as greater transparency around public contributions and production costs of the life-saving treatment.

Its appeal says: “We cannot allow big pharmaceutical companies to privatize crucial health technologies that have been developed with public resources.”

The petition has already attracted almost 300,000 signatures from EU citizens. But it remains short of the million signatures needed to compel the European Commission to consider the adoption of this position.

While Ireland has performed better than many other EU member states in supporting the initiative, it still has not reached its interim target of 10,000 signatures.

You can sign the petition HERE. 

Stronger protections for workers across the health service are urgently required, according to the Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ (ICTU) executive council.

At its recent meeting, the council and affiliated trade unions heard of the devastating impact that the Covid pandemic and resulting strain on the healthcare system is having on the workforce.

Fórsa, along with other members of the ICTU group of health unions, is calling for increased support and more Health and Safety Authority (HSA) staff to inspect healthcare workplaces in a timely manner.

The head of Fórsa’s Health and Welfare Division, Éamonn Donnelly, said that, with the attention on public health measures and protecting the public, it was imperative that health staff were not left behind.

“Staff in healthcare work in high-risk settings, putting themselves and their families in immediate danger. The larger workforce is now also experiencing the strain and burden of the fourth wave of Coivd-19.

“Many work long hours in vulnerable environments to provide care for those infected with Covid as well as those in need of other health services. Greater supports towards improving the capacity of the health system, and aiding staff by allying their concerns in a timely manner, would ensure that they carry out their roles well.”

The ICTU executive council also called for assurance that workloads would be manageable, and that all available assistance from the private hospital sector was sourced as capacity is exceeded in the public hospital system.

It said all health services and facilities should be considered as one when dealing with this catastrophic pandemic.

The legal action taken by Ryanair against Fórsa and 11 individuals was settled in the High Court this week.

The union strongly defended the Ryanair action in which the airline sought damages of €13.7 million, which it claimed it had incurred as a result of proposed industrial action by pilots in 2019.

Fórsa welcomed the settlement, which saw the damages claim dropped and both parties enter into a non-legally binding agreement covering the conduct of industrial relations and resolution of industrial disputes.

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.