Last Friday the Taoiseach Micheál Martin intervened publicly in the tense exchange between Fórsa officials and civil service management, following a unilateral decision by management at the Department of Social Protection to change the established pattern of blended work arrangements.  

The Taoiseach’s intervention followed the union’s instruction, issued to all members in the Department of Social Protection last week, to continue with their usual work pattern. That instruction was issued in response to a directive to reduce remote working days from the first week of February.  

In a note to members, Fórsa’s deputy general secretary Éamonn Donnelly said: “This is a serious and avoidable dispute that concerns the unilateral alteration of the 2022 Blended Working Policy to the disadvantage of workers, without discussion, analytics or prior consultation. 
 
“This is the first instance in which the Government has rolled back remote working arrangements for its own staff, following the recent publication of the new Programme for Government, which commits the new administration to a review of remote and blended work policies,” he said. 

The union instruction also issued to Fórsa members in the Department of Finance, where one unit had received a similar directive on changes to remote work from management. 

The developments were widely reported in national and local media last weekend, while Éamonn spoke about the importance of blended working arrangements on RTÉ’s Claire Byrne Show. 

He commented: “Reviews of hybrid working arrangements must be based on analytics which take account of the benefit to the workplace, the worker, and the wider socio-economic benefits. In this instance the Department told us no analytics were used in making this decision. 

“A balanced discussion is needed. Operational reasons do need to be discussed but so do the societal reasons in favour of hybrid work, such as reduction of carbon emissions and urban congestion, and caring responsibilities undertaken by workers,” he said.  

You can listen back to the interview here.

By Friday afternoon the Taoiseach’s office had publicly intervened, advising that normal industrial relations processes should be followed.  

The DSP immediately revised its position and advised staff they had the option to continue current arrangements while consultation takes place. Similarly, the Department of Finance issued correspondence to staff this week confirming there has been no change to the department’s blended working policy, and that “all staff can continue to work their existing blended working patterns” as well as confirmation that the department will engage with the unions on the issue. 

Consultations are expected to get underway shortly. Thanking members for their support, Fórsa official Paul MacSweeney said: “This outcome would not have been achieved without your willingness to take a stand.  

“We’ll continue to stand up for remote and blended working, and we need you to get involved too. Ask your colleagues to join the union today so we can build our strength,” he said.  

What’s happening on the ground?  Fill us in. 

The pandemic forced many to hit the reset button on work-life balance. What began as a necessity—working from home—soon revealed new freedoms and benefits, like cutting the needless commute, and a reduction in number of sick days taken. Now, we want to hear from you: How would returning to the office impact your life? Are there aspects you would welcome? Can we ever truly go back to full-time office work? Talk to your colleagues and let us know what the mood is like on the ground. 

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