Across the public service, Fórsa members have been expressing the same frustrations. The cost of living continues to erode wages. Housing remains out of reach for far too many. Flexible and remote working - once seen as a hard-won positive legacy of the pandemic - is increasingly under threat. Public services are stretched, staff are exhausted, and the sense that “we deserve better” has rarely been stronger.  

Fórsa’s recent Amárach survey confirmed just how widespread these concerns are, with large majorities saying their standard of living has worsened and that the next public service pay agreement must deliver real improvements. When asked whether they would be willing to take action with colleagues to strengthen their position ahead of the next agreement, an overwhelming 82% said they would take part in actions such as signing a pledge, attending a rally, or engaging in a form of action in support of a better deal and only 2% said they are not willing to take action alongside colleagues.  

Changing our approach

That’s why we’re launching a new campaign built on a simple but powerful truth: change is not going to be delivered from above, it is only made possible when workers act together. 

That willingness, and the challenges workers are facing, form the backbone of A Better Deal.  

The first step of the campaign asks members to do something simple: sign a pledge stating that they will only support a pay agreement that delivers meaningful increases, resolves local bargaining claims, builds a fair work-life balance, and commits the government to investment in common good issues like healthcare and housing.  

As Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan puts it: “It’s a straightforward statement of what we want to get out of the next round of public pay talks- but when tens of thousands of workers stand behind it, it will become a powerful message about what public servants will and will not accept.” 

“The campaign begins in the workplace because that’s where power is built. It will send a message to government that public service workers will not be passive participants in the next pay negotiations. Our members expect more - and we are organising to ensure they get a better deal.” 

Back to basics 

The campaign is about more than a paper pledge. It is about a back to basics rebuilding of workplace-level organising that gives unions real power. The first phase centres entirely on conversation - not mass emails, not posters, not online petitions, but real discussions between colleagues. Workplace reps will be setting out to speak to members one by one, listening to their experiences, answering questions, and explaining how collective strength is built from the ground up.  

Head of the education division Andy Pike said: “Members will begin to hear about the campaign in the weeks ahead.” 

“In the education division, we will begin the campaign in Higher Education, the Education and Training Boards and Special Schools, as there is a real need to build collective strength in these areas, given the scale of challenges faced by members.” 

“Reps will be reaching out, explaining how the pledge works and why it matters. They’ll be asking members about the pressures they are under and the demands that members themselves identified. They’ll be helping colleagues understand that the union’s strength in the coming talks depends on how many of us are willing to stand up and be counted now - before any offer is made, before negotiations begin in earnest,” said Andy. 

Phased approach 

This type of campaign takes time to build. In the first phase members will only be able to sign the pledge with a workplace rep present as it will only be possible to access the pledge platform through a unique link on workplace reps’ devices.  

Kevin Callinan went on to explain how this approach reflects something deeper that has been going on in the union. He said: “A Better Deal is not an ordinary campaign: it is an opportunity for members to strengthen power in their own workplaces.” 

“Many reps know the challenges of trying to support colleagues while feeling over-stretched and under-resourced. This campaign is designed to broaden that base - to identify new leaders, involve more members, and rebuild union presence in areas where it has thinned out. When members feel part of the union, rather than separate from it, everything becomes possible,” explained Kevin.  

What’s next 

What members can expect now is straightforward. You will hear from your rep. You will have the chance to ask questions, raise concerns, and talk about what matters to you. And you will be asked, simply and clearly, to sign the pledge. Signing is a public demonstration that workers want a deal that reflects the reality of their lives. 

“Over the next six months we have a chance to rediscover our networks and build our capacity to carve out a deal that delivers the type of lives we deserve. Top level that means pay rises above inflation, working arrangements that deliver real work life balance, putting our tax money into building a public health system and real efforts to solve the housing crisis.   

“We also need to be pushing back against empty rhetoric about rowing back on things like hybrid and remote work. The environmental and social gains growing out of these new patterns of work need to be robustly defended. Now is the time to stand up and be counted, and it starts with one small action: talking to your colleagues, listening to your rep, and adding your name to the pledge,” finished Andy. 

Join a union that wins. Join Fórsa.