Delegates representing Fórsa’s local government branches will assemble in Kilkenny next week for the union’s biennial Local Government Division conference.

Fórsa has raised the idea of a mid-term review of the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA), which currently governs pay and working conditions for most local authority workers.

A series of public meetings to promote Fórsa’s More Power To You campaign got underway in Cork this week. The initiative aims to reclaim the role of local authorities and local democracy.

The Local Government Oversight Group, which oversees compliance with the Public Service Stability Agreement (PSSA), has made proposals to resolve a dispute over annual leave for local government workers who are acting up to a higher grade.

Outstanding issues of concern to so-called ‘new entrants’ – staff who entered the public service in 2011 or after – are set to be reviewed, according to a text agreed by public service unions and management.

Less than half of workers are currently in an occupational or private pension scheme, according to new figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO).

Last year had the lowest number of days lost to industrial action since 2012 according to new Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) figures.

The national housing and homelessness campaign ‘Raise the Roof’ is staging a national demonstration in Dublin on Saturday 18th May. The coalition, which includes trade unions, student bodies and housing and homelessness organisations, is calling for local authority-led investment in public housing.