Fόrsa has invited branches in its Local Government and Municipal Employees’ Divisions to study and make comments on plans to establish Irish Water as the sole water authority in Ireland.

The My Open Library service is to open in Arklow, County Wicklow, for the first time tomorrow (Thursday). The service offers extended seven-day-a-week opening hours to library members on a self-service basis.

A new affordable childcare scheme, which comes into effect in October, will replace existing targeted programmes with a single, streamlined plan. Unions have welcomed an increase in the qualifying income threshold for State childcare support, but says more needs to be done to address low pay among early years’ providers.

Fórsa has welcomed a Government Bill, which would compel firms to report on their gender pay gaps. But the union says it wants to see a quick expansion of the number of companies covered by the new law.

The European Parliament has backed a new directive aimed at improving work-life balance for working parents and carers.

Fórsa has queried a National Competitiveness Council (NCC) warning that wage costs are rising too quickly to maintain Ireland’s competitiveness. The NCC’s annual ‘Cost of doing business in Ireland’ report, which was published last week, cited wage costs among potential threats to future competitiveness.

The inaugural meeting of Fórsa’s Disability Network took place earlier this month, with a strong focus on the workplace experience of people with disabilities.

Fórsa’s campaigning summer school is set to return for a third year on 21st and 22nd June.