The union has held a meeting with the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform about the future of the administrative officer (AO) grade. The meeting is the latest activity in a union campaign that seeks to address the issues identified by members of the grade.

The union outreach to AOs identified several issues, including a lack of clarity over the purpose of the grade, concerns over career progression opportunities, different approaches by different departments about the deployment of the grade, and a lack of clarity on what is meant by the term ‘graduate recruitment’. 

As part of the outreach, which has been underway throughout 2022 and 2023, the union found that there were at least four different understandings of the purpose of the grade. In some departments, recruits were being deployed to policy and analysis work, similar to the work that was traditionally undertaken by the grade.

In other departments, the AO was seen as completely interchangeable with the grade of higher executive officer (HEO), which is problematic because of the pay differential between the grades and the different competencies attaching to each grade. 

The third category of AO definition relates to departments that are somewhere between these two points. The final category relates to AOs who are recruited with specialist academic backgrounds but who do not have a career pathway associated with the specialism. 

The grade was originally introduced before the foundation of the State and was, at the time, seen as a ‘cadetship’ of sorts for the assistant principal (AP) grade, guaranteeing that at least some APs at the time would have third level qualifications. 

Once an AO came through their ‘cadetship’ period, they automatically became APs, a situation that ended approximately 20 years ago. In relation to the ‘graduate’ nature of the role, the union found that there was a difference between advertising a post as ‘graduate entry’ versus ‘graduate development’. 

A large number of AOs believed that they were going to be developed as public service policy analysts. However, they also felt that any guidance given on this was rarely related to the actual work being carried out on the ground. The ratio of AOs to other grades has increased exponentially in recent years. 

Traditionally, when compared to the HEO role, for every seven HEOs in the civil service there was approximately one AO. Now, however, there is approximately one AO for every 4.5 HEOs. The increase in AOs is partially attributed to the fact that the moratorium in the austerity years did not largely apply to the grade and some departments used the availability of the grade to fill critical vacancies that they could not otherwise fill.

This has contributed to the lack of clarity in different departments on what the grade can and should be used for. Fórsa recognises that there is a series of issues to be remedied in relation to graduate recruitment to the civil service and the definition and deployment of the AO grade. 

The research was well received by the Department of Public Expenditure, NDP Delivery and Reform and there is an appetite to engage on this issue. Isabella De Luca, an Administrative Officer on the Divisional Executive Committee and Chair of Fórsa Youth said that it is “encouraging that DPER have acknowledged that there are fundamental issues” with the structure of the AO grade. 

“We hope to continue this engagement to secure a commitment from DPER to undertake a meaningful review of how graduate recruitment is managed in the civil service. There is no simple solution, but it is important to highlight the long-standing concerns of our AO members with regards to pay, career development and progression, particularly with a view to ending the practice of interchangeability with other grades,” she said.  

There’s never been a better time to join a union, and it’s never been easier. Join Fórsa today.

As Annual General Meeting (AGM) season unfolds, now is the perfect time to consider taking a more active role within Fórsa.

Whether you picture yourself as a Workplace Representative or aspire to join the Branch Executive Committee as an officer, Fórsa has tailored courses to suit individuals at all stages of engagement with the union.

While in the role little over a year, our director of membership training Fiona Dunne, has developed a robust capacity building calendar to help you navigate the alphabet soup of acronyms and the sometimes confusing (but always democratic) structures of your union.

Fiona puts her emphasis on the importance of training down to her own roots as a shop steward.

“I really believe in training. I know it sounds like a bit of a cliché. I learned that we’re only as good as our most capable activists. If we’re building our activists, we need them to be strong and confident in what they’re doing.”

Under Fiona’s auspices, there will be 22 sessions a year for brand new members. The first training is called Fórsa 101 and is a fun, fast paced two-and-a-half hours long introduction to the structures of the organisation.

“We give an overview of 10 actions to take as an active member, including simple things like staying abreast of the latest union communications, talking to your rep, engaging with our social media, and, of course, the act of voting in ballots. We try to encourage them from day one. I want to provide people with as much information as possible,” described Fiona.

There are sessions for everyone. From union newcomers, to people who are looking to cover the basics or hone their skills as a workplace representative, branch treasurer, secretary or chair. Upcoming courses include:

• Expanded Workplace Representatives in Limerick on Thursday 7th and Friday 8th February
• Equality Module in Cork on Tuesday 13th February
• Fórsa101 online on Wednesday 14th February
• Foundational Workplace Representatives programme in Sligo Wednesday 27 to Friday 29th February

“If any of these courses pique your interest, reach out to your branch executive committee for access to the application link. Once you apply, the Skills Academy team will guide you through the rest of the process. We don’t all have to be a rep, but we’d like everyone to be active, ” Fiona concluded.

You can apply for our courses by completing the application forms sent by email 4-6 weeks before each course. You can contact your branch executive committee for the link. Once you have applied, Skills Academy will handle the rest.

The latest edition of Fórsa’s CSQ e-zine is now available, and can be found here.

There’s never been a better time to join a union, and it’s never been easier. Join Fórsa today.

Public sector pay talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) resumed on Tuesday 9th of January, after adjourning shortly before Christmas. After making progress on several key issues the focus turned to pay on Wednesday. 

However, despite initial optimism that the talks might progress quickly unions were alarmed at the derisory opening offer. A revised offer was still viewed by union negotiators as not credible and the talks adjourned at 3am, to allow time for reflection on the Government side.

On Thursday morning unions expressed concern that the Government’s initial pay offering illustrated its lack of preparedness to complete a sustainable and robust multi-year pay deal, and further undermined perceptions of the Government’s approach to the process of securing a new agreement.

The initial offer would have put little more than an average of just €5 per week, before deductions, in the wages of low-income public service workers, and €10 per week in the wages of those on middle-incomes in the first year. There was shock in the room when this offer was made. That offer did not include any payment before June 2024.

Throughout this process the union side has been clear that any agreement must address the cost-of-living pressures members face on a daily basis. Such small amounts don’t come close to doing that.

The offer put on the table by government on Wednesday night failed to meet the basic test of dealing with the cumulative gap between wages and inflation – which amounts to almost 19% over the last three years. While most public servants received increases amounting to 9.5 % in the same period, the shortfall remains significant. 

The revised offer of 7.5% plus 1% local bargaining, which would begin with a 1.5% increase from 1 March 2024, remains very far from addressing the gap between wages and inflation.
  
In a note to Fórsa members General Secretary Kevin Callinan said: “Public sector workers show up for our country and our citizens every day. They deserve to be treated with respect and an offer like this is neither fair, nor credible.”

He continued: “The Government has effectively undermined its own approach to negotiating a multi-year public service pay agreement. There have been months of delays, and they have allowed Building Momentum to lapse, which puts us in an unprecedented position.”

On Thursday morning the officers of the Public Services Committee (PSC) of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) met with affiliate and non-affiliated unions and associations. At these meetings ballot wording was approved so that unions are ready to ballot members for industrial action should it become necessary. 

As the situation in Gaza deteriorates further the Irish Palestine Solidarity Committee continues to organise solidarity demos in Dublin and across the country. The next demonstration in Dublin takes place this Saturday 13th January, assembling at the Garden of Remembrance at 1pm.

Fórsa have participated in these demonstrations since October and will continue to do so. We know many of our members have been attending individually or with branch colleagues. To demonstrate our collective solidarity and to maintain consistent visibility at the protests we are seeking volunteers to carry and distribute Fórsa flags and banners.

Volunteers will be added to a Fórsa WhatsApp group to be kept up to date with marches and demonstrations. Volunteers will be asked to collect materials from Fórsa, distribute them to members at the marches and collect them again when the event has concluded.

The last few weeks has seen no let-up in the continued bombardment of Gaza, with the death toll now at 23000 people killed. The UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths has described Gaza as being “uninhabitable” and said that famine in the area is “around the corner.”

It is critical that we continue to show solidarity with the people of Gaza and Palestine and demand an immediate ceasefire. If you are interested in supporting this work, please email kdonoghue@forsa.ie

Calendars, diaries and wallplanners for 2024 have been sent to Fórsa branches. Should you wish to request additional stock please contact calendars@forsa.ie and diaries@forsa.ie

Fórsa members can tune in to a free health insurance webinar, hosted by Cornmarket exclusively for the union.

Members will have two opportunities to catch the information sessions, which will take place at noon on 24th and 31st January.

The online sessions will offer guidance on all aspects of health insurance and advise how you can save money on your plan. Fórsa’s Director of Membership, Seán McElhinney will introduce the sessions, and Ireland’s leading health insurance guru Dermot Goode will also be on hand to offer advice and answer your questions.

Registration for the event is free and can be accessed HERE.

Registration link for the 24th is available here.

Registration link for the 31st is available here.

More information on Cornmarket can be found HERE.