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Secretaries and caretakers return to WRC  
by Niall Shanahan
 

Fórsa will meet education department officials next Thursday (13th May) to review a fresh set of proposals on the regularisation of employment for school secretaries and caretakers. This follows a further session in the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on Friday 14th May.


Fórsa will meet education department officials next Thursday (13th May) to review a fresh set of proposals on the regularisation of employment for school secretaries and caretakers. This follows a further session in the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on Friday 14th May.

 

The last round of talks took place in late April, with the union reporting very limited progress. In a communication to members, Fórsa assistant general secretary Shane Lambert said the WRC had requested a clear set of proposals from the DES ahead of the next engagement.

 

“These proposals should include a number of elements, which would form the basis of the terms and conditions of any contract, such as pay, access to sick pay, holiday entitlements and maternity benefits,” he said.

 

Shane added that the talks are expected to move into a more complex phase, which will encompass difficult discussion items.

 

“These include access to pension schemes and public service status. These will be very difficult discussions and the items in question are likely to be key, with regards to whether an overall agreement can be reached, or not,” he said.

 

Fórsa’s head of Education Andy Pike said the union would have to consider whether to remain in the process if the department’s proposals failed to live up to Government commitments made last year.

 

“The department has an opportunity now to reveal something of substance, a set of proposals that illustrate its serious intentions. If the it fails to live up to this opportunity, our members will have no option but to remind them they have a strong mandate and a determination to see this through after more than four decades of effective marginalisation,” he said.

 

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Three-year vetting cycle under review
by Niall Shanahan
 

A Department of Justice review group is currently considering a new mandatory system of re-vetting people working with children. The proposed system would oblige schools and other employers to make a new application three years after the original vetting process had been carried out.


A Department of Justice review group is currently considering a new mandatory system of re-vetting people working with children. The proposed system would oblige schools and other employers to make a new application three years after the original vetting process had been carried out.

 

There is no requirement currently for someone who is vetted once to be re-vetted, unless they move job or position. However, the current procedure requires SNAs to go through the vetting process again when they move employment.

 

The proposals under consideration would allow people, including SNAs,  to move between jobs in the same grade without being vetted again when they change location.

 

Fórsa’s Head of Education Andy Pike said it was understandable that current arrangements are under review.

 

“It makes sense to look at all the ways you can maximise children’s safety. However, we know first-hand how challenging this can be for individuals who have to go through the vetting process on multiple occasions.

 

“When an SNA’s post, for example, comes to an end, their next employer has to initiate another vetting process, and sometimes this might occur in under three years, a shorter timeframe the department is currently considering.

 

“However the department’s review group addresses this, it would be helpful for them to factor in this aspect of the SNA experience. Fórsa welcomes any measures that improve child safety, and if the process of review can help to improve the anomalies experienced by some SNAs, so much the better,” he said.

 

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Haddington Road hours body set up
by Bernard Harbor
 

This week saw the formal establishment of the body charged with making recommendations to begin the process of addressing the additional working hours introduced for many civil and public servants under the 2013 Haddington Road agreement.


This week saw the formal establishment of the body charged with making recommendations to begin the process of addressing the additional working hours introduced for many civil and public servants under the 2013 Haddington Road agreement.

 

On Fórsa’s insistence, the recently-ratified Building Momentum agreement established a mechanism for addressing the hours, with significant funding set aside to commence implementation next year.

 

The new body will take submissions from management and unions representing the grades concerned, and make recommendations by the end of 2021.

 

In a communication to Fórsa branches yesterday (6th May), the union’s general secretary Kevin Callinan said he believed the timetable could be met, and added that he’d continue to work to ensure that it is.

 

The initial implementation of the body’s recommendations is set to commence in 2022, with €150 million set aside for this purpose. This means working time will start to be reduced for the grades concerned from next year.

 

Building Momentum also says that any subsequent public service agreement will address any residual action required on the issue.

 

Yesterday, the Government formally announced that the body will be chaired by former WRC chief executive Kieran Mulvey.

 

The ICTU Public Services Committee, which represents most public service unions, has nominated former IMPACT general secretary Peter McLoone and former INMO (Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation) general secretary Liam Doran to the body.

 

This is because Fórsa and the INMO represent the largest number of civil and public servants affected by the introduction of additional working hours in 2013.

 

DPER is expected to nominate two retired senior civil servants to the body, and there will also be two ‘independent’ Government nominees. It is understood that the latter will most likely be from the personal management/IR consultancy sector.

 

It is intended that the body will be broadly gender-balanced.

 

Kevin said he hoped to coordinate a single joint union submission to the body. “I believe this is the best way to underpin the united approach that has so far delivered on this and other issues in the negotiation and ratification of Building Momentum,” he said.

 

 

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

 

University status for Athlone and Limerick
by Niall Shanahan
 

Higher education minister Simon Harris granted technological university (TU) status to Athlone Institute of Technology and Limerick Institute of Technology earlier this week.


Higher education minister Simon Harris granted technological university (TU) status to Athlone Institute of Technology and Limerick Institute of Technology earlier this week.

 

This is the third TU to be created since 2019, and it means students graduating in the 2021-2022 academic year will do so with university qualifications.

 

The next step will see the minister bring forward a draft order establishing a date on which the new technological university will be legally established, and Athlone and Limerick ITs consequentially dissolved, for approval by the Houses of the Oireachtas.

 

Fórsa official Stella Griffin, who works with Fórsa members in the sector, welcomed the announcement as “great news and an education milestone for the midlands and the mid-west region.”

 

The first TU in the history of the state, TU Dublin, was established on 1st January 2019, the second was Munster Technological University or MTU (formerly Cork IT and IT Tralee) on 1st January this year.

 

The process to designate a new TU is enshrined in the Technological Universities Act (2018), which allows two or more IoTs to jointly seek TU designation. The legislation followed recommendations contained in the National Strategy for Higher Education to 2030 published in 2011.

 

The latest application for TU designation was submitted by the TUSEI consortium of Waterford IT and IT Carlow at the end of April and an application from the Connacht Ulster Alliance of GMIT, IT Sligo and Letterkenny IT is anticipated soon. Dundalk IT and IADT Dun Laoghaire are also currently working towards achieving TU status.

 

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

Clerical and admin staff to get extra 1%
by Bernard Harbor
 

Public service clerical and administrative staff will receive a 1% pay increase on 1st February 2022 after Fórsa’s National Executive opted for a straight 1% pay round under the sectoral bargaining clause of the Building Momentum agreement.


Public service clerical and administrative staff will receive a 1% pay increase on 1st February 2022 after Fórsa’s National Executive opted for a straight 1% pay round under the sectoral bargaining clause of the Building Momentum agreement.

 

This is on top of the agreement’s two general round increases, each worth 1% or €500 a year (whichever is the greater), which are payable on 1st October 2021 and 1st October 2022.

 

The additional ‘sectoral’ 1% will be paid to grades III-VII.

 

Building Momentum established a ‘sectoral bargaining fund,’ worth 1% of basic pensionable pay, which can be taken as an across-the-board increase or used to deal with outstanding recommendations or claims for specific groups of staff.

 

Fórsa is currently consulting with representatives of groups, grades and categories to determine how they want to approach the fund.

 

The union’s decision on clerical and admin grades followed consultation with the five Fórsa divisions concerned and the two ‘equivalent grades committees’ that represent clerical and admin staff.

 

The consultation also involved a large-sample representative opinion survey of members in the grades, in which over 90% of those surveyed opted for the 1% option.

 

Fórsa has also told the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) that consultation between the union and management in each sector is now required to identify the linked and analogous grades that will be covered by this decision.

 

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

Fórsa rep elected to TU board
by Bernard Harbor
 
Maggie Ryan has been nominated by the professional management and support group of unions to run for election to the TU Dublin board
Maggie Ryan has been nominated by the professional management and support group of unions to run for election to the TU Dublin board

A Fórsa activist has been appointed to represent professional, management and support staff on the governing body of one of the recently-formed technological universities (TUs). Peter Somers has been elected to the Munster TU governing body, while Maggie Ryan has been nominated by the professional management and support group of unions to run for election to the TU Dublin board. That election is due to take place in mid-May.


A Fórsa activist has been appointed to represent professional, management and support staff on the governing body of one of the recently-formed technological universities (TUs). 

 

Peter Somers has been elected to the Munster TU governing body, while Maggie Ryan has been nominated by the professional management and support group of unions to run for election to the TU Dublin board. That election is due to take place in mid-May.*

 

Professional, management, and support staff have one position on the governing body of each technological university.

 

Munster technological university was established on 1st January 2021 as the second technological university, after TU Dublin was established, two years ago. It is envisaged that by there will be five technological universities by 2022.

 

Gina O’Brien, who chairs Fórsa’s Higher Education branch, said the union was delighted at the news that one branch representative will represent the grades on the governing body of the MTU, and expressed support for Maggie Ryan's bid for election at TU Dublin.

 

“This is a very promising development and an acknowledgement of the work and commitment of our branch representatives during the merger processes,” she said. 

 

*This news item as been amended. An earlier version of the published story reported that Maggie Ryan had been elected to the TU Dublin board.

 

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Legal right to request remote work sought
by Bernard Harbor
 

Fórsa has again added its weight to calls for a legal right for employees to request remote working. 


Fórsa has again added its weight to calls for a legal right for employees to request remote working. In a submission to an official State consultation on the matter, the union said that, while some roles were inappropriate for remote working, legislation should underpin the principles of fair access to remote working arrangements.

 

The union also repeated its call for consistency and transparency in the application of criteria for deciding what roles are appropriate for remote work, and the selection criteria for employees to be allocated remote work.

 

The Fórsa submission said legislation should require employers to consult with employee representatives with a view to reaching agreement on remote working policies. Failing that, it said a formal Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) code of practice on these matters could be put in place, in consultation with social partners.

 

The Government made a commitment to establish a legal right to request remote working when it published its remote working strategy last January.

 

It also said it would introduce a legally-admissible code of practice on the right to disconnect, review the treatment of remote working for tax purposes, and make remote working the norm for 20% of public sector staff.

 

Fórsa’s submission to the latest consultation, which closes today (7th May), said that grounds for allowing or refusing remote working should be set out in agreements on remote work or in a formal WRC code of practice. And it recommended that, as a general rule, employees should spend some time in the workplace even if the majority of their work is done remotely.

 

The union also argued that legislation should include measures to protect employees from unreasonable surveillance and interference, and should oblige employers to inform employees of all measures intended to monitor work activity prior to the establishment of a remote working arrangement.

 

“Legislation should underpin full transparency and agreement over the use of any surveillance products or practices, and guarantee employees’ rights to privacy and a reasonable work-life balance, along with full compliance with the provisions of data protection legislation,” it said.

 

It added that employers should bear the cost of providing, installing and maintaining equipment required for the employee to perform their role, regardless of where they are doing it.

 

In a related development, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar has said he thought it would be September before Ireland saw a mass return to office-based working. He was speaking last week as the Government announced the first steps in easing ‘level five’ Covid restrictions.

 

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

Union seeks global vaccine action
by Mehak Dugal and Bernard Harbor
 

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan has written to Irish MEPs to seek their support in getting life-saving Covid-19 vaccines to struggling countries in the developing world.


Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan has written to Irish MEPs to seek their support in getting life-saving Covid-19 vaccines to struggling countries in the developing world.

 

The union has backed an international campaign to temporarily halt corporation-owned intellectual property rights from blocking the production of life-saving medical supplies across the globe. The US Government yesterday (6th May) indicated that it would support this approach, but the EU has yet to follow suit.

 

The proposed ‘trade-related aspects of intellectual property rights (TRIPS)’ waiver would allow the rapid upscaling of vaccine manufacturing by developing countries, which can’t do so at present because corporations own the rights.

 

The current second wave of Covid-19 ravaging the global south has seen record numbers of cases and deaths being recorded in recent weeks.

 

“Billions of people are sick, dying, bereaved or at risk due to the lack of vaccine coverage,” said Kevin.

 

“The rapid upscaling of vaccine manufacturing, among other crucial medical supplies, is imperative to effectively respond to the outbreaks, so that they can be made available promptly, in sufficient quantities, and at affordable prices to meet global demand,” he added.

 

Reports show several instances where intellectual rights have hindered the timely provision of live-saving supplies. The urgency of the situation is also amplified by the fact that many badly-hit countries such as India have not been predicted to have reached the peak of cases yet.

 

Fórsa, which represents over 80,000 workers in Ireland, including 30,000 healthcare workers, who like other frontline workers around the world, have been working tirelessly in response to the pandemic, has pledged its full support in the campaign for this landmark proposal.

 

In his letter, Kevin called on the MEPs to use their platform in the European Parliament to support the proposed waiver as the removal of barriers to “ensure that the entire world, including Europe, can get the virus under control and stay ahead of new variants.”

 

“There is a chance to respond to the urgent call for global solidarity,” said Kevin, who added that the Covid-19 crisis could be confined by sharing the advancements in European technology and know-how with the countries that need it most.

 

Meanwhile, Fórsa senior vice-president Martin Walsh formed part of team made up of Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien, and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney, along with the HSE and a number of other State agencies that worked closely to send emergency medical supplies to India to help deal with the worsening crisis there.

 

Ireland last week sent some 700 oxygen concentrators and 365 ventilators as part of an emergency donation, after it was reported that there was an acute shortage of oxygen and ventilation equipment in the hospitals there.

 

Read Kevin Callinan’s letter to MEPs HERE. 

 

 

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

Feature Article
India crisis: Fórsa activist at forefront
by Mehak Dugal
 

Fórsa senior vice president Martin Walsh has been working with the team established to send emergency medical supplies to India to help deal with its worsening Covid-19 crisis.


Fórsa senior vice president Martin Walsh has been working with the team established to send emergency medical supplies to India to help deal with its worsening Covid-19 crisis.

 

Ireland sent some 700 oxygen concentrators and 365 ventilators to the sub-continent last week as part of an emergency donation, after it was reported that there was an acute shortage of oxygen and ventilation equipment in Indian hospitals.

 

The Irish team involves HSE workers and staff from a number of other State agencies.

 

This week India recorded its highest daily coronavirus death toll since the pandemic began, with almost 3,700 deaths in 24 hours. But reports suggest the real figures could be much higher.

 

Low testing rates and the unrecorded number of people dying at home, especially in rural areas, are cited as the contributing factors.

 

This came a day India became the first country to register more than 400,000 new cases in a single day.

 

Martin works as a supplies manager in the HSE’s health business services (HBS) department, the HSE, which is responsible for purchasing equipment. He said that the original stocks of 700 oxygen concentrators were purchased to prepare for the first wave of Covid in Ireland.

 

“When we got the call to prepare the stocks, a team was quickly put together to prepare the pallets for the flight. They were all volunteers and, by Tuesday, we had filled up three 40-foot containers ready to be flown over.

 

Martin described the experience as the “best day’s work in a long, long time,” and said the team knew they were going to be making a massive difference given the scarcity of oxygen in India.

 

“Watching the flight leave on Wednesday morning was an absolutely amazing experience. We were then called back in to prepare a further 500 concentrators to be sent over, so we ended up with 1,200 concentrators being donated in total. It was an absolutely incredible feeling knowing the difference it would make,” he said.

 

The oxygen concentrators are beneficial as they provide an uninterrupted and continuous flow of oxygen that does not run out, as opposed to a cylinder which needs to be refilled after running out.

 

Another benefit of having the concentrators which extract oxygen from the air and supply it to patient at 90% concentration, is that they are far lighter than cylinders and can be moved easily.

 

Reports from India also show widespread shortage of hospital beds, with horrific accounts of people dying in car parks while waiting for oxygen or a bed. The rapidly deteriorating situation has been blamed in part to the Indian Government’s handling of the pandemic and large religious and political gatherings in the country in recent weeks.

 

The Irish consignment was made up of supplies previously purchased by the HSE to use in a field hospital setting. They have been donated as part of the European Civil Protection Mechanism, at the request of the Indian Government.

 

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

Also in this issue
MEPs urged to back low pay move
by Bernard Harbor
 

Fórsa has appealed to Ireland’s MEPs to voice support for a proposed EU directive, which aims to improve minimum pay across the continent by supporting collective bargaining.

 

In a letter to the State’s 11 MEP’s the union’s general secretary Kevin Callinan said Fórsa would publicise the outcome of European Parliament vote on the matter.

 

The proposed EU directive would require Ireland and other EU member states to take actions to increase collective bargaining coverage. But Ireland and eight other EU member states have suggested it be demoted to the status of a ‘recommendation,’ which would mean it has no legal force.

 

Fórsa argues that stronger collective bargaining rights across Europe cold underpin workplace protections and better wages for working women and men. The union says international research has demonstrated that it can also improve productivity, enhance employee innovation, and deliver greater stability for businesses and their staff.

 

“Emerging from the pandemic, the proposed Directive could play an important role for productivity, businesses, workers, and the economy generally. Better collective bargaining coverage is also proved to help to reduce inequality and the gender pay gap,” said Kevin.

 

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

Workers remembered on memorial day
by Róisín McKane
 

Fórsa joined organisations across the globe at the end of last month to commemorate International Workers’ Memorial Day, which remembers workers who have been killed, injured, or become ill through work-related accidents.

 

The message of the day was that workplace safety and health is everyone’s business and can only be tackled through a collaborative approach. 

 

This year, Fórsa joined other unions in observing a commemorative wreath-laying ceremony, which was broadcast live. You can watch back the ceremony HERE.

 

Members of Fórsa’s National Executive Committee also paused for a minutes’ silence during their meeting in remembrance of all who have died, been injured or become sick in work-related accidents. 

 

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

Marking May Day 2021
by Niall Shanahan
 

Saturday 1st May marked the international celebration of workers for #MayDay2021. With public gatherings to mark the occasion prohibited this year, most celebrations and commemorations took place online.

 

Fórsa published this blog post by Hazel Gavigan about how the battle for decent work continues, and considers where we go from here.

 

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan acknowledged a May Day greeting card sent to the union by broadcaster Joe Duffy, thanking him for “keeping the flag flying for public health throughout” a tough year for workers.

 

Fórsa Cork posted this message marking Monday’s public holiday: “As we enjoy the bank holiday this Monday, let’s remember that basic rights such as the 8 hour day were only secured after trade unions waged a bitter struggle. These struggles are continuing around the world today. By supporting their struggles, we honour the legacy of May Day.”

 

May Day was marked in Ireland as a public holiday for the first time in 1994, marking the centenary of trade unionism in Ireland. This report from the RTE archive gives a flavour of how unions and government marked the occasion.

 

This short video looks at the history of May Day and extends a May Day greeting to members, friends and fellow trade unions.

 

Win free car and home insurance
by Róisín McKane
 

Fórsa members, and their spouses or partners, can be in with a change of winning a year’s free car and home insurance by entering a competition organised by Glennons Insurance. Just contact Glennons to renew an existing car or home policy, or take out a new one and you will be automatically entered into the draw.

 

The competition closes on 30th June 2021 when a winner will be chosen at random – and have their premium refunded. Glennons are insurance experts with over 70 years’ industry experience. They have worked with the union for many years.

 

Get more information HERE or call 01-707-5800.

Citizens' Assembly backs stronger women’s rights
by Mehak Dugal
 

Fórsa has called on the Government to accept Citizens’ Assembly recommendations on workplace and broader gender equality issues, which were recently published.

 

The assembly, made up of 99 citizens from across the country, made recommendations on pay and other workplace issues, as well as care and childcare, violence against women, social protection, politics and leadership.

 

These included a call legislate to reduce the gender pay gap, and to align the minimum wage with the living wage by 2025. It also recommended that the deletion and Article 41.2 of the constitution, commonly known as the ‘women's place in the home’ clause.

 

And it called for improved pay and access to pensions for paid carers, changes to the carers’ allowance, and respite and pensions for family carers.

 

Fórsa official Billy Hannigan welcomed the recommendations, and said Ireland was at the beginning of a long road in the campaign to achieve gender equality.

 

“Fórsa’s own work on workplace and broader gender equality are reflected in many of these recommendations. Achieving them, including the deletion of the ‘women's place in the home’ clause, would be welcome first steps, and the Oireachtas must now respect the devotion and commitment of the assembly by accepting their recommendations and implementing them without delay,” he said.

 

Billy said recent public health restrictions had resulted in significant increases in domestic, gender-based and sexual violence. “The specific assembly recommendation on the appointment of a survivors’ commissioner, as an independent advocate and voice for victims, is a very welcome addition at this precarious time,” he said.

 

He added that assembly recommendations on childcare, gender quotas, pay, and social protection had the potential to bring about real and meaningful change.

 

Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) general secretary Patricia King acknowledged the assembly’s recommendations on improving wages and working conditions and welcomed its adoption of ICTU’s recommendation that workers be given a legal right to collective bargaining.

 

On leadership and politics, the assembly calls for introduction of maternity leave for all elected representatives, and extension of extend gender quotas for party candidates to local, Seanad and European elections, with increased penalties for parties that don’t meet the quota.

 

It also called for legislation to require private companies to have a gender balance of at least 40% on their boards, and said funding to public bodies should be contingent on their reaching a 40% gender balance quota by 2025.

 

The complete list of recommendation by the Citizens Assembly is available to view here.

 

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

Trade unions condemn Colombia violence
by Niall Shanahan
 

Trade unions in Ireland and UK have written to the Department of Foreign Affairs and British Foreign Office to express "profound condemnation of the terrible state violence currently taking place in Colombia."

 

The letter, signed by 27 trade union leaders, including Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan and deputy general secretary Eoin Ronayne, was issued yesterday (Thursday 6th May), and outlines reports of serious atrocities by state forces that have taken place since the latest round of trade union-led national strike mobilisations were initiated at the end of April.

 

“Colombian state forces have committed human rights abuses on a massive scale. According to national human rights organisations, state forces have killed at least 18 people, with some reporting up to 37 deaths, and left numerous others with permanent eye injuries. There are also several reports of sexual violence committed against detainees, while human rights observers and journalists have been attacked” it says.

 

Colombia’s Supreme Court found that state forces have acted with systematic violence towards peaceful protest, following the police killings of up to 13 people during protests in September last year. Despite the ruling and repeated warnings by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), the violence has continued.

 

Kevin commented: “I was in Colombia in 2016 when the peace agreement was ratified. This is not the peace or the country that was promised. Our government must stand up for democracy and human rights by taking a clear stand.”

 

The letter urges both governments to condemn the state-sanctioned violence: “On behalf of the millions of workers across both Britain and Ireland who our unions represent, we call separately on both our governments, in Britain and Ireland, to publicly condemn the state violence which has taken place over recent days and to demand an immediate end to the violence and full accountability for the perpetrators.”

 

Follow Justice for Colombia on Twitter.

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.