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Some schools failing on PPE
by Bernard Harbor
 

Speaking to the Oireachtas education committee yesterday (19th November), Fórsa called for a review of education department guidance to schools on the provision and use of PPE.


Fórsa has called for a review of education department guidance to schools on the provision and use of PPE.

 

Speaking to the Oireachtas education committee yesterday (19th November), the union’s head of education said existing guidance was being used to deny staff access to basic medical grade face masks in a small number of schools.


Andy told TDs and senators that advice on the use of face visors was now inconsistent with public health advice that visors should not be used. He said it was illogical to tell special needs assistants (SNAs) that face masks need only be used when carrying out personal care for students.


“SNAs work side by side with their students throughout the school day with no social distancing. They are constantly at risk not only when assisting a student with hygiene needs,” he said.


The Oireachtas hearing came in the week that Fórsa started to roll out a new service to members by supplying medical grade face masks to SNAs and bus escorts whose schools have not made adequate PPE available. Hundreds of masks have now been dispatched to the minority of schools that refuse to provide PPE.


Andy said the masks were readily available to health and social care staff, and cost around 20 cent each.


He also told the committee that staff at high risk if they contract Covid 19 were also poorly served by unclear PPE advice.


“These staff have been advised by occupational health to continue working in classrooms on the basis that they use medical grade PPE.

 

But the current advice suggests that masks need only be provided when they are providing personal care to students,” he said.

 

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE.

Leader outlines realistic approach to pay
by Bernard Harbor
 

A realistic and acceptable approach to a new public service agreement does not mean ruling out pay improvements, according to Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan.


A realistic and acceptable approach to a new public service agreement does not mean ruling out pay improvements, according to Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan. Speaking at the union’s biennial national conference yesterday (19th November) Kevin said any new deal must address additional working hours introduced in 2013 as part of the Haddington Road agreement.

 

He said any successor to the current public service pay deal, which expires in less than six weeks’ time, would have to be realistic in the context of an extremely challenging economic and fiscal situation. But he said this didn’t mean ruling out pay improvements over the lifetime of a deal.

 

“All the economic projections point to a rapid economic and fiscal bounce-back once the Covid situation stabilises, and we have cause to hope that will start to happen in the coming months,” he said.

 

Kevin told delegates that the increase in private savings during the pandemic pointed to a crisis of confidence at the root of Ireland’s economic difficulties. “This is further evidence of the need for Government to reject an ‘austerity’ approach, which will sap confidence from our economic biosphere.

 

“If we give people hope, we will also give them confidence to spend and participate in the economy and in their communities. This is the lifeblood that can quickly rejuvenate businesses. It’s the route to rapid employment, economic and fiscal recovery, which must be grasped in all sectors of the economy – public, private and community,” he said.

 

In a report on recent exploratory talks between unions and senior Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) officials, he said the engagements had intensified significantly over the last ten days.

 

“It’s still not possible to say with confidence that Fórsa and other unions will be able to put a PSSA successor to ballot in the near future. But there have been focussed and dedicated sessions on the issues outstanding from the Haddington Road Agreement, the potential shape of a sectoral bargaining element in any new deal, dispute resolution and service stability issues, and modernisation and flexibility,” he said.

 

He added that civil and public servants had given “a magnificent display of commitment, flexibility, hard work and agility” during the Covid-19 emergency. 

 

Kevin said the prospect of entering 2021 without a public service agreement in place was a huge challenge for the Government and those who depend on the stability, sustainability and quality of public services.

 

“History has taught us that the absence of a public service agreement means uncertainty at best, and chaos at worst. Fórsa doesn’t want to focus on difficulties and disputes. Instead, we want to continue to step up to the challenges in front of the public service in these extraordinary times,” he said.

 

On the issue of the so-called ‘Haddington Road hours,” he warned: “Some observers think we’re not serious about that. I want to make it crystal clear that it will be an essential element of any new agreement involving this union.”

 

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE.

School staff get face masks
by Niall Shanahan
 

Fórsa, which represents 11,000 special needs assistants (SNAs) nationwide, has begun to provide medical grade face masks to members in schools that have failed to provide them.


Fórsa, which represents 11,000 special needs assistants (SNAs) nationwide, has begun to provide medical grade face masks to members in schools that have failed to provide them.

 

The union this week secured an initial supply of medical grade face masks after SNAs raised concerns about inadequate provision in their schools.

 

In a recent survey conducted by Fórsa, 22% of the 2,100 SNA respondents confirmed they hadn’t been provided with face coverings or masks that with meet the required standard.

 

Fórsa official Shane Lambert said it was not Fórsa’s responsibility to provide SNAs with appropriate PPE, but delays in a number of schools had forced the union’s hand.

 

“All of the available guidance is crystal clear, SNAs spend most of their day in close proximity to the children in their care.

 

They need to wear face masks, especially as the children in their care are not wearing any face covering. Any school that fails to provide the correct PPE is placing its own staff at considerable risk of Covid infection,” he said.

 

In October, the Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC) published advice for SNAs working in schools on how to protect against Covid-19 transmission, advising the correct PPE for SNAs is a surgical face mask (EN14683 standard) in instances where a two-metre social distance cannot be maintained. Shane said that, despite the clear guidance, too many SNAs have only been supplied with cloth masks.

 

“We cannot risk a situation where infection occurs while we wait for some schools to make adequate provision.

 

We are stepping in here because it’s become necessary, despite the fact that schools have been given the funding to provide the appropriate PPE. If it means shaming the Department of Education and Skills into action then so be it,” he said.

 

Shane added: “Aside from the delays in a number of schools, the failure of the Department of Education and Skills’ to make the wearing of face masks a requirement for those workers for whom two-metre social distancing is not possible, has forced us to act.

 

“Fórsa has this week implemented plans to distribute these masks directly to members who cannot access them in their own school. We must do all we can to ensure members can work as safely as possible,” he said.

 

The Government’s Roadmap for Reopening Schools document advises schools to consider the use of medical face masks in specific circumstances. Fórsa says the Department of Education and Skills has incorrectly interpreted this to refer only to situations where SNAs are providing intimate care needs.

 

More than 20% of respondents to the union’s survey confirmed that they’ve been asked to reuse PPE within their schools.

 

The Fórsa survey revealed that 24% of school staff have not been provided with any training on the appropriate use of PPE. This increases to 38% when those who say that they have not received adequate training are included.

 

Shane said Fórsa will continue to raise issues of social distancing and the need for adequate protection, including PPE, for high-risk staff with the recently-established forum involving education unions, representatives of the education department, the HSE, and its public health experts.

 

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE.

Conference hails workers’ response to Covid
Conference agrees renewed efforts to campaign against inequalities ‘laid bare by the pandemic’
by Niall Shanahan
 

Fórsa’s NEC took the opportunity yesterday to praise workers in all sectors for their response to the Covid-19 pandemic. Proposing the motion, Fórsa vice president Margaret Coughlan saluted workers in all areas of the public, private and community sectors “who rose to the many challenges presented by the pandemic, often in the face of risk to themselves and their families.”


The motion also called for the NEC to redouble its campaigning efforts against the many injustices and inequalities – including in health, housing, education, childcare, and provision for migrants, older people and younger people – that have been laid bare by the pandemic.

 

In a pre-recorded speech broadcast as part of Fórsa’s virtual conference, Margaret said: “Covid changed the way we live and the way we work, and kept too many of us further from our loved ones than we would ever choose to be.

 

“This pandemic has invaded our sense of normality, disrupted our lives and laid bare many inequalities in our society. It reminds us that our union has a serious role to play in confronting those injustices.

 

“Members of our union were among the first to take a position on the front lines of the fight against Covid. Many did so in the face of serious risk to themselves and their families, and we salute everyone - in all sectors - who face the challenges of the pandemic every day.

 

“Fórsa members throughout the country are proudly helping to protect the health and safety of citizens and workers, and to maintain essential services. We commend them, and we thank them. Their sense of duty and commitment is a source of pride for everyone in this union,” she said.

 

Margaret said the conference motion acknowledged that Fórsa has helped to achieve a great deal this year on worker protections, and commended the rapid and effective intervention by unions that led to the negotiation of the Covid-19 Return to Work Safety Protocol, which applies to all workers regardless of their work location during the pandemic.

 

She added that the motion also set out the union’s responsibility to ensure that Government and employers remain focused on doing the same. Conference called on the Government to oblige employers to report workplace-related Covid-19 outbreaks to the Health and Safety Authority (HSA), and to instigate a national assessment of the health and safety response to the pandemic, ensuring health and safety powers and provisions – including the numbers and powers of HSA inspectors – are strengthened and adapted as necessary.

 

Margaret expressed solidarity with all workers, both in Ireland and elsewhere, affected by the pandemic, and expressed the union’s condolences with those who have lost loved ones in recent months.

 

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE

Four-day week pilot projects sought
by Bernard Harbor
 

Fórsa has called for pilot projects in public and private sector employments to explore the feasibility of introducing a four-day week without loss of pay or productivity.


Fórsa has called for pilot projects in public and private sector employments to explore the feasibility of introducing a four-day week without loss of pay or productivity.

 

The union’s biennial delegate conference, which took place on a remote basis yesterday (19th November), agreed the initiative as part of a “steady and managed transition to a shorter working week for all employees in the private, public and community sectors.”


Delegates also called for the development and implementation of remote-working and other arrangements to improve work-time flexibility “to the benefit of workers, employers and the economy.”


And they backed the union’s call for an increase in the number of public holidays. Ireland currently has just nine public holidays, the lowest number in the EU.


A conference motion proposed by the union’s National Executive called for working time and working patterns to be fundamentally reviewed and reformed “in light of the experience of the Covid-19 crisis, and in response to the impact of new and developing technologies, the climate crisis, increasing caring demands, and demographic shifts including longer life expectancy.”


“Reduced working time can be an important mechanism for maintaining employment as new technologies replace or change traditional jobs, and for sharing the benefits of improved productivity that flow from automation and other technological developments,” it said.


Fórsa has played a leading role in 4DWI (Four Day Week Ireland), a coalition of businesses, unions, environmentalists, academics and NGOs established to campaign for shorter working time in all sectors of the economy.


The coalition, which was launched last year, says reduced working time is better for business, better for workers, better for women, and better for the environment.


Earlier this year, the union’s submission to the State’s public consultation on remote working called on the Government to open a dialogue with unions and employers, aimed at strengthening the legal framework around remote working, including the possibility of a legal right for employees to seek remote working and other flexible working arrangements.

 

Speaking at the Fórsa conference, the union’s Vice President Eugene Gargan said automation and other new technologies were set to erode “vast volumes” of routine work.


“As automation increases productivity, reduced working time without loss of pay is the means of sharing the benefits of new technology and sharing the available work. The same thing happened in previous technological revolutions, which led to reduced working time.

 

"This proposal is an imaginative and realistic response to the radical changes that are occurring in technology, work organisation, and working time,” he said.

 

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE.

Clerical and admin cooperation essential
by Bernard Harbor
 

The outgoing Fórsa president has highlighted the importance of co-operation between staff working in clerical and administrative grades across the public sector, in a keynote speech to the union’s biennial national conference yesterday.

 


The outgoing Fórsa president has highlighted the importance of co-operation between staff working in clerical and administrative grades across the public sector, in a keynote speech to the union’s biennial national conference yesterday.

 

Ann McGee, who will continue to serve as one of the union’s three vice presidents over the next two years, applauded the establishment of Fórsa ‘equivalent grade committees’ which coordinate work on behalf of members in clerical and administrative grades in the civil and public service.

 

The committees bring together reps from the union’s six divisions.

 

“They were formed immediately after the creation of Fórsa, and have explored differences in pay, working time and working conditions for clerical, admin and executive staff in parts of the civil and public service. There is much in common between workers in health, local government, education, the civil service, and state agencies,” she said.

 

She said the move had helped staff performing similar work to “support each other and develop a strong and informed voice.”

 

Ann, who was elected as Fórsa’s first president at the union’s first national conference in 2018, also paid tribute to the efforts of workers during the Covid-19 emergency.

 

“Last March, at a time when none of us could know where this crisis would take us, the leadership of this union made an immediate and public statement that Fórsa and its members across the civil, public, private, voluntary and semi-state sectors, would cooperate fully with the emergency measures necessary to contain the Covid-19 virus, protect the health and safety of citizens and workers, and maintain essential services during this unprecedented public health emergency.

 

“In other words, Fórsa and its members have given their all, sometimes co-operating with measures that would not be acceptable in normal times, and temporally setting aside hard-won agreements, practices and benefits. That’s what I call leadership in a crisis. You have all been leaders,” she said.

 

She said Fórsa had led on issues from trade union organisation and strength, to public service pay and investment, automation and its impact on work and society, the gender pay gap, protection for the low paid and other vulnerable people, working time,  the four-day week, international solidarity and climate action.

 

“We should never lose sight of the fact that we are member-centred, we put our members at the centre of what we do. We care for our members and are committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for them,” she said.

 

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE.

New officer team now elected
by Róisín McKane
 

Fórsa has a new team of officers, elected by the union’s branches, who were formally adopted at the union’s virtual national conference yesterday (19th November). 


Fórsa has a new team of officers, elected by the union’s branches, who were formally adopted at the union’s virtual national conference yesterday (19th November).

 

In light of the ongoing Covid-19 restrictions on assembly and travel, the union’s president, vice presidents and treasurer were selected following postal ballots for the first time. They will hold the positions for the next two years.

 

Michael Smyth of the union’s School Completion Programme branch was elected president, while Kevin O’Malley of the Kerry Health and Local Government branch was re-elected as honorary treasurer.

 

Martin Walsh of the Louth Health and Local Government branch became the union’s new senior vice-president, and the remaining vice-president positions were filled by Ann McGee of the Department of Social Protection Clerical branch, and Eugene Gargan of the Communications Companies branch.

 

Under Fórsa rules, each of the union’s divisions must all be represented on the five-person officer group, with the Local Government division and Municipal Employees’ divisions counting as one constituency for this purpose.

 

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE.

Fórsa five-year plan adopted
by Róisín McKane
 

Fórsa’s five-year strategic plan, sets out Fórsa’s goals for the next half-decade, was presented to delegates at this year’s virtual biennial conference.


Fórsa’s five-year strategic plan was presented to delegates at this year’s virtual biennial conference.


The plan, which was adopted by the union’s elected national executive last month, sets out Fórsa’s goals for the next half-decade.

 

The plan was developed by the Strategic Organisational Review Team (SORT), following extensive consultation with Fórsa branches, members, activists and staff. It sets out to increase the union’s relevance and influence in workplaces and beyond.

 

It sets out some organisational objectives and strategies to be applied commonly across Fórsa.

 

Fórsa official Billy Hannigan said: “With a union of over 80,000 members, Fórsa faces a challenge to build upon the considerable successes we have achieved to date. To realise the opportunities that exist and deliver better outcomes, it was essential to review all areas of our activities to ensure we have the capacity to best serve the interests of our members.”


The core mission of the strategic plan is to create a union where members feel valued, where activists feel empowered and where staff feel heard and involved.


Billy described how the extensive consultation process helped shape the plan, and has “laid a firm basis” for the development of the programme of work ahead.


“The biggest requirement for everyone is to recognise that there has to be a sense of urgency and determination to implement the significant changes required to make Fórsa better and stronger,” he said.


Billy explained how the consultation process also ensured that that all aspects of the organisation have a common understanding of the union’s priorities, “at local level and at national level, in the short, medium and long term.”


Billy urged members, activists and staff to engage fully with the plan. “The delivery of these union-wide priorities requires a commitment from all to change and adapt our processes and supports. This is our own call to action,” he said.


Following on from conference, an implementation strategy for the plan will be developed, involving staff, activists and branches throughout the union.


The five-year plan will be overseen by the National Executive Committee and senior management team, and is subject to annual review and ongoing monitoring.


Policy decisions arising from future within this timeframe will also inform the work priorities of the union in the five-year cycle.


To view the Strategic Plan 2020-2025 click HERE

 

A short video presentation about the Strategic Plan is available HERE.


For more information of Fórsa’s Strategic Plan click HERE

 

 

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE.

Feature Article
President applauds pandemic response
by Bernard Harbor
 

President Michael D Higgins has applauded the contribution of Fórsa members, activists and staff throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and says we face a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a fairer and more sustainable society and economy.


President Michael D Higgins has applauded the contribution of Fórsa members, activists and staff throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, and says we face a once-in-a-generation opportunity to build a fairer and more sustainable society and economy.

 

Speaking in a video message to the union’s national conference yesterday (19th November) President Higgins said: “I wish to acknowledge all Fórsa staff and its more than 80,000 members for their contributions during the Covid-19 pandemic, both as public servants and as active and caring union representatives.”

 

Michael D, who also spoke at the opening of the union’s first national conference in 2018, said the formation of Fórsa was a great achievement.

 

“The establishment of Fórsa represented the conclusion of much dedicated labour, negotiation, and necessary compromise to create from three unions what is a stronger and larger union.

 

“That this was done in a spirit of solidarity and comradeship towards a common purpose which laid a great foundation for the future, a result we are experiencing, and not only within the union but in Irish society,” he said.

 

He place the union in the “long and proud tradition” of Irish labour, “a movement that has endured relentless struggles to secure human rights in often epic, hard-fought battles, a movement inextricably interlinked in our nation’s struggle for independence or giving a lead in opposition to the waste of human life that is war.”

 

“Too rarely it is asked to what level would society have sank without such a movement, one that secures and protects the irreducible right to dignity in the workplace and in society. Now Unions and Union members must have a new role as the best source of new forms of socially just, sustainable, ecologically responsible forms of economy and society,” he said.

The President noted that the conference took place amid the challenge of dealing with the coronavirus pandemic.

 

“Out of such a crisis, we are presented with perhaps a once-in-a-generation opportunity to do things better, to embrace and bring to fruition a new paradigm of existence with each other, in relation to work and living, and with the world itself; a renewed and healthier connection of society, economy and ecology.

 

“The pandemic provides an opportunity to rethink the connections between climate neutrality, a sustainable economy, social welfare and labour itself. Trade unions giving leadership in breaking new ground is not new,” he said.

 

And he said Fórsa had a crucial role to play in “helping to bring about a vision of a fairer society and economy, one that promotes decency in the labour market, inclusivity and sustainability in their many forms, and that works for an end to any crippling authoritarian hierarchy or invocations of class or privilege that impedes or obstructs good, decent, effective work.”

 

Watch President Higgins’s speech HERE or read it HERE

 

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE

 

 

 

Also in this issue
Union members thanked for global solidarity
by Róisín McKane
 

Fórsa’s developing world fund was showcased with a short video during the union’s biennial national conference this week.

 

The fund, which is made up of 3% of every member’s union subscription, funds a range of solidarity projects in the developing world. It allocates over €600,000 a year to international projects supporting education, development and trade union rights and organisation.


Solidarity funds existed in all three pre-existing unions which now make up Fórsa, and it’s a legacy that lives proudly on.


Delegates saw first-hand, the incredible work achieved because of the donations of Fórsa members, who have contributed approximately €1.8 million to a range of solidarity projects in the developing world to date.


Representatives from Concern, Action Lesotho, Public Services International (PSI) and the Lady Health Workers Union in Pakistan spoke about some of the projects Fórsa members are supporting in several countries.


Speaking to just one of the many supported projects, Concern’s international programme director Anne O’Mahoney explained how the contributions of Fórsa members make a real difference in the developing world.


“The fund has enabled us to support people trying to get on their feet and back into to the employment stream in the Central African Republic,” she said.


Education projects here at home also benefit from the fund, including RTE’s ‘What in the World’ documentary series, which highlights development issues for an Irish audience.


It’s clear that Fórsa’s contribution to global solidarity is making a real difference.


For more information on Fórsa’s Developing World Fund click here.


To watch the Developing World Fund conference video click here.

 

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact the union HERE.

The USA’s most union-friendly president
by Mehak Dugal
 

The USA president-elect Joe Biden, has vowed to check the abuse of corporate power over labour and hold corporate executives personally accountable for violations of labour laws – all while encouraging unionisation and collective bargaining.


Since he was elected, Biden has attributed the 40-hour work week, paid leave, and health care protections to the workers who organised unions and fought for worker protections over the years.


In addition to recognising the role of unions and the importance of collective bargaining on his campaign website, Biden said he would work to strengthen public and private sector unions during his presidency.


He had previously committed to providing a federal guarantee for public sector employees to bargain for better pay and benefits if elected.


The former vice president and US senator has four decades of relationships with union leaders behind him, with Politico citing him as potentially the most labour-friendly president the United States has ever had.


His pro-union stance stands in stark contrast to the previous office holder, under whose term union membership had continued to decline and pay inequity widened. 

 

Biden has made a specific promise to sign the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which has House of Representatives backing. It would strengthen workers' ability to unionise, including by allowing them to form unions via card-check elections, where employees sign forms authorising the union to represent them.


Meanwhile, during his first term, Biden is also expected to re-establish a Democratic majority on the National Labor Relations Board, the agency responsible for enforcing the National Labor Relations Act and settling disputes between unions and employers.


It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE.

Abysmal access for disabled revealed
by Mehak Dugal
 

Almost 80% of people with physical disabilities have poor or no access to public spaces according to a new survey from the Irish Wheelchair Association. The lack of access is due to issues with pavements, parking, pedestrian crossings and more.


The study reveals that a further 66% of people reported difficulty accessing public buildings, including healthcare, retail and leisure facilities.


The survey results formed part of the latest edition of the association’s 'Best Practice Access Guidelines', launched to mark the charity’s 60th anniversary.


A shocking 73% of respondents said they often faced steps to the main entrance of public buildings.


At present, there is no minimum standard for wheelchair accessible housing in Ireland. The Guidelines and current building regulations are extremely restrictive when it comes to accessibility, making simple everyday activities needlessly complicated.


Tony Cunningham of Irish Wheelchair Association said the access guidelines set a standard for accessibility in Ireland across construction, housing, public amenities, retail, tourism, hospitality and sport.


“They are inspired by the experiences of Irish Wheelchair Association members, who continue to experience poor accessibility within their local communities that impose limitations on their daily lives,” he said.


Tony called for a review of the current regulations to include wheelchair accessible housing design, that falls in line with their recently published guidelines, to ramp up the accessibility standard for new builds.


The Irish Wheelchair Association also appealed to the anyone engaged in employment in planning, building and design to adopt the guidelines to create an Ireland where people with disabilities enjoy equal rights, choices and opportunities in how they live their lives.


Irish Wheelchair Association’s ‘Best Practice Access Guidelines: Designing Accessible Environments’ is available to view and download HERE.

 

It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE

New trade union studies programme
by Mehak Dugal
 

Siptu College is inviting all union members to apply for the ICTU/Siptu Trade Union Studies Certificate programme, which is offered in partnership with the National College of Ireland.


The programme, which kicks off in January, will be delivered through online classes.


Fit for activists and staff of any union, the course is open to those with or without previous academic qualifications.


It aims to provide learners with a sound theoretical and practical engagement with the purpose and practice of trade unions in the workplace and beyond, with the objective of enhancing their activities as officers or activists within a trade union, and of possible further academic study.


This is a modular programme which means that you can take individual modules at your own pace. It is however designed to be achievable in two years and you have a maximum of five years in which to complete all of the modules.

 

A separate option to take some of the elective modules purely out of interest without having to attend the full programme is also available for those who are wary of committing themselves to a full study program.

 

Modules available from January 2021 are divided into ‘core’ and ‘elective’, and you can find further information on each of them here.

More information about the program, its modules, fees and schedule are also available in this brochure.

 

You can express your interest for a place in the program by filling out this form.

The closing date for applications is 11th December 2020 and places are expected to be offered by 18th December, with classes starting the week commencing Monday January 2021.


It’s never been more important – or more easy – to get the protections and benefits of union membership. Join Fórsa HERE or contact us HERE.

Update your contact details
 

 

 


You can help us keep you up-to-date with union information, news and advice by checking your contact details and amending them if necessary. If we have your home and personal contact details (personal email, mobile phone number, and home address) we can get information to you quickly and directly. You can update your contact details HERE.

Join Fórsa online
 

 

 


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: Here to support you
 

 

 


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.