Fórsa and other unions in Aer Lingus have been told that the airline is to reduce working time for the month of April, with the effect that staff earnings will be reduced by 50%.

Management told unions today (Thursday) the airline will be operating just 20-25% of the usual number of flights in the coming weeks, due to travel restrictions and reduced demand caused by the global Covid-19 public health crisis.

The airline said the reduction in earnings will be implemented equally across the company, with all grades – including senior management – experiencing a 50% cut. Because the cut is due to short-time working, staff may qualify for social welfare payments.

Aer Lingus has assured the unions that these are emergency, temporary measures, and that normal pay and conditions will be restored once the situation has normalised.

Fórsa official Ashley Connolly said: “This is obviously devastating news for cabin crew and other Aer Lingus staff struggling to pay rent and mortgages. We will be advising them about their rights to social welfare payments and other protections.

“The union has been in intensive talks with Aer Lingus management over the last few days with the aim of minimising the impact of this crisis on jobs and incomes. Given the impact of the public health crisis on the airline industry, we’re relieved that we have been able to keep everyone in a job.”

Fórsa remains in discussions with other airlines including Stobart and Ryanair, as well as the agencies that provide cabin crew to Ryanair.

An Post has confirmed that social distancing guidelines and flexible working have been implemented to protect the health and safety of staff and the wider public, while maintaining services at this challenging time.

Mail collection and delivery services are operating as normal, with protective procedural changes now in place. Similarly, post offices remain open, with special contactless arrangements in operation for customers who need to collect social welfare payments.

An Post has also announced an increase in opening hours, with the majority of post offices now open from 8.00am to facilitate elderly customers who want to conduct their business ahead of other customers.

At headquarters, a number of staff have been IT-enabled to work from home, and the number is likely to rise as technology and work allows. Management is also putting a contingency plan in place to allow work to be moved from the GPO to other head offices within the organisation, should the need arise.

For more information on the special arrangements implemented by An Post click HERE.

Fórsa’s biennial delegate conference has been deferred until November. The conference – where branches elect the union leadership and set policy for the next two years – was set to take place in Killarney in May.

The decision was been taken by the unions’ elected National Executive Committee (NEC) in light of the Covid-19 national emergency, associated public health concerns, and restrictions on large meetings and travel.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said the decision was regrettable but unavoidable. “Our intention now is to focus all the union’s efforts on ensuring the health and safety of members, activists and staff, and assisting members and protecting public services in these difficult and extraordinary times,” he said.

Under the union’s rules, the existing elected officers will remain in place until the conclusion of the conference in November. There is no change to the position of divisional representatives on the NEC.

Fórsa and other unions have called on the Government to vastly improve income supports for tens of thousands of workers threatened with layoffs because of the coronavirus crisis.

Although measures have been put in place to speed-up welfare payments, those who lose their jobs face a huge drop in income as Jobseekers’ benefit is set at just €203 a week.

Earlier this week the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) demanded much more ambitious measures from the Government to preserve workers’ jobs and incomes.

Over 140,000 workers were laid off over last weekend, mainly people who work in pubs, hotels and childcare. It’s estimated that another 200,000 jobs are at immediate risk.

In a letter to Leo Varadkar earlier this week, ICTU general secretary Patricia King said this level of shock unemployment would match the total number of jobs lost in over two years following the 2008 financial crash.

“This necessitates exceptional financial intervention. Workers are not in a position to withstand this economic burden and we are urging Government to immediately introduce a scheme that subsidises the salaries of workers under threat of lay-off due to the Covid-19 crisis, with a view to preserving their net income,” she said.

ICTU pointed to robust responses agreed between unions, employers and governments in other European countries. In Denmark, a temporary wage compensation scheme has been agreed to help companies that would otherwise have to let staff go.

The Swedish Government has also agreed a temporary scheme with unions and employers, which would guarantee workers 40% of their normal hours and 90% of their pay, while halving employers’ wage costs.

Ms King said a household with two adults and one child on a single income of €50,000 could see a two-thirds drop in net income if the earner was laid off. A single childless worker on €25,000 could see a fall of around half.

“There is also great divergence with regards to employers’ efforts to uphold wages for their workforce, with some making great efforts while others make none,” she said.

Unions are seeking the introduction of a State-funded scheme that preserves net incomes when workers are threatened with coronavirus-related lay-offs.

Read ICTU’s full letter to the Taoiseach here.

Fórsa is keen to ensure that all our members' contact details are up to date.

By maintaining your current contact details we can ensure that up-to-the-minute, important information can be delivered directly to each and every member of the union.

This is especially important during the current national Covid-19 crisis. In the past few days we’ve been able to issue a series of special bulletins to members, keeping them in touch with the latest advice and guidelines from the HSE and employers.

However, if any member isn’t receiving this information, it means we don’t have a current email address for them on our system. This could be because they’ve moved departments or changed grades or employment etc.

If this sounds like the experience of one of your colleagues, please share this information with them and let them know we’re encouraging members to update their contact details with us in order to improve our communications service to members.

The union is also experiencing a high volume of members getting in touch with the communications unit directly to change their contact details as a result of new eircom policy taking effect later this month. Those members wishing to change the email address Fórsa contacts them on should also follow the directions outlined below.

It's also worth noting your home email address helps to ensure direct, safe and more effective communications with you than a workplace email address.

To update contact details, visit our website HERE and follow the directions to quickly update them.

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.

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.

A unique online documentary film club may be of interest to members looking for some alternative viewing at the moment.

Cultures of Resistance Films is an online film project which aims to create and distribute films that advance public awareness about issues of social and economic justice, and that showcase creative efforts to promote peace and protect human rights. The project was established by Caipirinha Productions.

“We view filmmaking not only as a way of documenting social injustices but also as an important part of the effort to change things for the better. We have been proud to use all of our Cultures of Resistance films to advance a variety of important human rights campaigns. In addition to forming the Cultures of Resistance Network as a way of supporting international peace and justice campaigns.”

Sean Lowde of Fórsa’s Probation branch brought the project to our attention. “The films are progressive and independent and might provide relief for those of us stuck at home with Disney and other such stuff,” he said.

You can view the range of short and feature-length documentaries via YouTube HERE.