Tributes to Fórsa activist Jerry King flew in after it was announced on Wednesday (6h April) that the former IMPACT president had passed away after a long battle with cancer.

A Fórsa guard of honour will be in place when Jerry’s remains leave Coady’s funeral home in Castlebar, county Mayo, at 7pm this evening (Friday), and again at his cremation ceremony at Shannon Crematorium at 2.30pm tomorrow (Saturday).

Fórsa members and activists who want to take part in the guard of honour are asked to be in place in good time.

A proud library worker and deeply committed trade unionist, Jerry was elected IMPACT president in 2014 and served a two-year term in the post. This followed his long service as an activist in the union’s Mayo branch and Local Government and Local Services Division.

He was described as a “rock of a president at a very difficult time for the union, its members and the whole country.”

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said Jerry was “an unstinting support to me, and a true friend of so many union members.”

The union’s deputy general secretary Eoin Ronayne said Jerry “played an immensely important role in bringing us all together into Fórsa. He was one of the truly good guys.”

Former Cathaoirleach of Fórsa’s Civil Service Division, Niall McGuirk, said the news was like a punch to the stomach. “He was an absolute gem of a man,” he said.

Jerry is survived by his wife Majella, sons John and Philip, sister Mary (Sr. Marian), and brother John, as well as sisters-in-law Mary and Bríd, brothers-in-law Michael and Richard, nephew Michéal, niece Michelle, cousins, extended family, neighbours and friends.

Public expenditure minister Michael McGrath has told his officials to engage with unions after unions triggered the review clause of the Building Momentum public service agreement. The two sides are expected to meet for an initial engagement next week.

The move came after Fórsa urged unions to invoke the review clause on foot of sustained high inflation, which the union said provided grounds for a review of the agreement’s pay terms. The union’s general secretary Kevin Callinan said the assumptions underpinning the agreement needed to be revisited in view of soaring inflation.

In media statements last weekend, Minister McGrath hinted that he was open to early negotiations on an extension to the agreement in light of economic uncertainty fuelled by the war in Ukraine. Unions expect to hear more detail on this proposal in next week’s meeting.

Speaking at the Siptu biennial delegate conference in Sligo this morning (Wednesday), Kevin Callinan called on the Government to engage in social dialogue with employers and unions to tackle rising prices and other aspects of the economic and geopolitical impact of the war in Ukraine.

Speaking at the Siptu conference last week, Kevin Callinan said the fallout from Russia’s war would be felt across Ireland and the rest of Europe “certainly in terms of further increases in the cost of essentials like food and fuel, and possibly in the form of a new and potentially deep recession.”

He said neither unions nor Government could ignore the impact of inflation on living standards.

“It hits the poorest first and hardest. But we also know that, against today’s uncertain background, the protection of employment must remain as big a priority for our movement as confronting the cost of living,” he said.

Kevin also called for deeper social dialogue between unions, employers and Government to deal with the economic fallout from the war in Ukraine.

“Over the last two years, we’ve proved beyond doubt our collective ability to meet challenges of this scale and seriousness. During the Covid crisis – and particularly in the early months of the pandemic – this was done through a more robust commitment to social dialogue that we’ve seen for years. Clearly, the economic and geopolitical impact of the war in Ukraine needs to be added to that list,” he said.

Fórsa met with local authority employers this week discuss the implementation of a blended work framework in the sector. Discussions are ongoing and it’s hoped that a local government framework will be agreed in the coming days.

Last week Fórsa welcomed a new policy that gave all civil servants the right to apply for remote or blended working under a new framework agreed between unions and the Department of Public Expenditure and reform (DPER). It’s envisaged that the civil service framework will be a model for local government and the wider public service.

The framework gives civil servants the right to have a decision reviewed if their application for remote working arrangements is turned down, with a view to resolving the issues that led to the refusal to facilitate remote work.

The new civil service framework also says departmental policies must set out a decision-making process that ensures a consistent approach to assessing applications, and which ensures “fairness across the organisation.”

It places a responsibility on managers to ensure a “fair and effective” system with strong supports, staff development, communications, and effective performance management. And it says there can be no change to a worker’s pay and working conditions on the basis that they have blended working arrangements.

It also requires employers to conduct health and safety assessments, which it says should determine specific risks and outline any information or training needs. And it says employers should provide the necessary equipment to home workers.

It envisages three-six month ‘initial trials’ once an individual is approved for blended working, and says individual remote work arrangements should be regularly reviewed.

The framework insists that customer service, standards and performance “must never be compromised in order to facilitate remote working.” An individual’s performance standards, timekeeping and attendance will be among the criteria considered when deciding if blended working will be facilitated. If refused, an employee can seek a review of the process.

The framework is currently silent on the question of flexitime accrual for those with blended working arrangements. A civil service arbitration hearing took place on this issue last week.

Fórsa wants staff to retain the right to accrue flexitime built up while working at home. But DPER proposals on a pilot process were not acceptable to the union as they would have resulted in inconsistencies in the approach of different departments, at least for the duration of the pilot.

There is no change in flexitime accrual arrangements for staff attending workplaces.

The framework does not allow for civil service departments to pay allowances towards the additional costs associated with working from home.

Instead, the policy refers staff to the recently-enhanced tax reliefs available on energy, heating and wifi costs. Fórsa says it will continue to seek the payment of an allowance in future talks, but that it has not sought arbitration on the issue now as a referral would be certain to stall implementation of the broader framework.

The head of the union’s Civil Service Division, Derek Mullen, led the union side in the negotiations that led to the agreed framework. “We have achieved a framework that meets virtually all the union’s priorities in developing a fair and transparent approach to remote working within the timeframe set down for these talks. It means we can now quickly roll out blended working arrangements in the civil service and, indeed, the wider public service.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said: “The experience of remote working during the Covid-19 emergency has demonstrated that many roles can be carried out remotely in ways that are productive, cost-effective and attractive to employers and their staff. It’s now over a year since the Government published its national remote working strategy, which said remote working would become the norm for 20% of public sector staff. As the biggest employer in the State, the public service must continue to take a leading role in making remote and blended work part of post-Covid working life,” he said.

Read the framework HERE. 

The Government has outlined details of a new auto-enrolment occupational pension scheme targeted at workers who don’t currently have any pension provision other than the State pension.

Under the scheme, workers aged between 23 and 60, who earn more than €20,000 a year, will be automatically enrolled in the scheme unless they are already paying into a pension. Employers and the Government will pay in too.

Nearly half of workers with no occupational pension have previously indicated that the State pension would be their main source of income on retirement. It’s hoped that auto-enrolment will ensure these workers will not be left behind in their retirement years.

Employers will be obliged to match the employee contributions, while the Government will add an additional €1 for every €3 invested by the worker.

When fully established, a worker earning €35,000 per year will accumulate a fund of €293,000 over their working life, excluding investment returns.

ICTU social policy officer Laura Bambrick welcomed the progress, saying just half of workers are currently saving for their retirement. This is a particular problem in the private sector.

Implementation of the scheme has been pushed back from the end of 2023 to January 2024, and ICTU has warned against any further delay.

Substantial progress on reducing carbon emissions is needed within the next three years to avoid a catastrophic 1.5-plus degree increase in global temperatures, according to the latest report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).

The report, which is signed off by Governments across the globe, contains another stark warning to halve emissions by 2030 to contain the worst effects of global warming.

Published earlier this week, the global assessment is the third in a series of major reports to inform policymakers around the world.

Limiting global warming will require major transitions in the energy sector, it says. And this demands “a substantial reduction” in fossil fuel use, widespread electrification, improved energy efficiency, and use of alternative fuels.

Friends of the Earth director Oisín Coghlan said the report shows we must “radically reduce our use of fossil fuels immediately” and pointed to the increasingly cheaper and reliable renewables as viable substitutes.

The IPCC report also sets out the massive investment increase required soon, as well as provision of climate finance for developing countries.

The findings come at a time when countries are rapidly seeking alternatives to Russian oil and gas in light of its recent attack on Ukraine.

These findings are due to loom large at UN political negotiations, which resume in November in Egypt.

The new report also highlights the potential of just transition, stating it can “build social trust, and deepen and widen support for transformative changes”.

“This is already taking place in many countries and regions, as national just transition commissions or task forces, and related national policies, have been established in several countries. A multitude of actors, networks, and movements are engaged,” it says.

Speaking at the launch of the Just Transition Alliance last month – a coalition of unions and environmental groups dedicated to achieving effective climate action without adverse impacts on jobs and communities – the Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan called on the Government to immediately to establish a ‘national just transition commission,’ comprised of representatives of Government, trade unions, employers, affected communities and civil society.

The Just Transition Alliance has said that this commission should be charged with making proposals for an economy-wide framework for a just transition in advance of the publication of legislation.

The alliance has also called on the Government to prioritise the economic sectors and regions most vulnerable to change under the just transition process.

The IPCC echoed that call in its report seeking a call to action for more jobs in the renewables sector, to help the transition. “We know that for every ten jobs in renewable energy, there are another five to ten in manufacturing supply,” it said.

The Just Transition Alliance is an ICTU initiative which includes Fórsa, Siptu, Friends of the Earth and TASC, Ireland’s think tank for action on social change. It aims to work with other like-minded organisations to put the internationally supported just transition model at the centre of Ireland’s official response to the climate crisis.

You can find further details of the report and its detailed findings and recommendations here.

It will now become mandatory for all employers to provide sick pay to employees under new laws signed off by the Cabinet last week. The Sick Leave Bill 2022 will introduce a statutory sick pay scheme for all employees phased in over four years.

But the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has warned that a qualification requirement of 13 weeks continuous employment means thousands of women and non-Irish nationals will not qualify for the paid leave.

The new legislation will initially give a minimum entitlement of three days paid sick leave a year. This will rise to five days in 2024, seven days in 2025, and ten days in 2026.

Sick pay will be paid by employers at a rate of 70% of pay, subject to a daily maximum threshold of €110.

Most Fórsa members already have much better arrangements negotiated by the union.

Ireland is currently one of few advanced economies in Europe without a mandatory sick leave entitlement. Under current arrangements, about half of all employees in the country get paid sick leave.

Introducing the scheme, Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said the pandemic exposed the precarious position of many people, especially in the private sector and in low-paid roles, when it comes to missing work due to illness. “No one should feel pressured to come to work when they are ill because they can’t afford not to,” he said.

Under the scheme, employees will have to present a medical certificate to avail of statutory sick pay, and the entitlement is subject to the employee having worked for their employer for a minimum of 13 weeks.

ICTU social policy officer Laura Bambrick raised union concerns about the requirement to present a medical certificate, which can service as a barrier to accessing the sick pay.

“Very few people who are at work today have a medical card or a GP card, and must pay €50 or more to see a GP. This will potentially act as a barrier,” she said.

Meanwhile, the last payment of the PUP was also paid at the end of last month when the emergency support came to an end almost two years after it was introduced. The remaining 45,000 recipients have since transferred over to the ordinary jobseeker’s benefit.

The PUP was one of three income supports introduced in March 2020 for workers who had their employment affected by Covid during the peak of the virus.

Fórsa has completed an operational review of the union’s progress in the three years since it was created in January 2018.

The review took place throughout 2021, and a detailed paper was tabled at a recent meeting of the union’s elected National Executive Committee (NEC), which adopted its conclusions.

The process explored a range of factors that contribute to union strength, influence, organisation and activity, including progress on negotiating and industrial priorities, supports to branches and activists, campaigning, and member engagement and empowerment.

The review made comparisons between the pre- and post-amalgamation performance, while also identifying areas that require improvement or a renewed focus. This encompassed any improvements that were expected to arise from the merger, but which have yet to be realised.

Fórsa branches were invited to make submissions to the process. The review was overseen by union officials and the NEC.

Fórsa national secretary Billy Hannigan, who led the project, acknowledged the substantial work of the union to date, and said that while there is still a significant body of work which needs to be undertaken to realise the ambition which led to the creation of Fórsa in the first place.

“The new union is better than the sum of its three parts. This is particularly true even if the only measurement were against the industrial priorities advanced since the formation of the union. These represent considerable advances when considered on their own. This is more so when it is considered that they were achieved against the backdrop of a global pandemic,” he said.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan welcomed the review.

“There is a requirement that right across the union we focus our attentions on delivering the opportunities in the Fórsa strategic plan to build a better and stronger union for our members. The strategic plan commits us to be always striving to be the best at what we do. Our members deserve nothing less and I look forward to continuing our work on their behalf as we strive to deliver on the promise of our strategic plan,” he said.

Read the review document HERE. 

The professional body for human resource professionals has urged employers to consider whether their staff should continue working from home.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development Ireland (CIPD), said businesses should rethink their return to work strategies citing concerns surrounding rising rates of Covid-19 infection.

The CIPD also said businesses should carry out risk assessments to inform their staff’s return to the workplace.

“We believe that if a risk assessment shows steps such as mask wearing and working from home can have a positive impact in some workplaces, then they may be reasonable methods to take to protect employees and resources,” said CIPD director Mary Connaughton.

The organisation has also asked employers to look at re-introduction of mask wearing in closed office settings, citing the reluctance of some employees to return to a shared workspace without the health measures in place.

CIPD Ireland also said they have received a large volume of queries from managers to discuss the numbers of staff that are sick or isolating from the virus.

In recent weeks, organisations are also having to cope with a rising level of Covid-19-related staff shortages, as the country goes through a wave of the BA2 variant.

CIPD has urged employers to communicate with their employees as they finalise plans to reopen, and asked for greater flexibility to navigate this latest wave of infections.

Latest CSO figures also show that over one in five workers had not taken annual leave in the last 12 months. It said a lack of staff to cover absences was among the main barriers to taking leave.

Meanwhile, Fórsa has welcomed a new policy that gave all civil servants the right to apply for remote or blended working under a new framework agreed between unions and the Department of Public Expenditure and reform (DPER), and called for the framework to be quickly rolled out across the entire civil and public service.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has teamed up with employers’ body Ibec in a joint fundraising campaign for humanitarian aid for Ukraine. It’s encouraging workers to give one hour’s worth of pay to the appeal, and is urging employers to match it if they do.

Money raised will support the Ukraine humanitarian programmes of the International Red Cross and UNICEF Ireland.

It’s an opportunity for Fórsa members who missed the union’s recent appeal to show practical support for displaced Ukrainians.

Fórsa raised half a million Euro for two organisations providing humanitarian relief to people who’ve been displaced by Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine. The union’s Ukraine Appeal raised almost €250,000 in donations from Fórsa members and branches. The Fórsa National Executive Committee met on Wednesday and decided to top up the amount from the union’s Developing World Fund to bring the total raised to €500,000.

The proceeds of the Fórsa appeal will be shared equally between the Irish Red Cross and a special trade union solidarity fund jointly established by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) and the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). Each of these appeals is currently supporting humanitarian efforts on the ground.

The ICTU-Ibec initiative is being overseen by Mazars Consulting, and the final totals in the account will be transferred to the International Red Cross and UNICEF Ireland to support their humanitarian efforts in and around Ukraine.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan, who is also ICTU’s president said Irish people had been inspired by the principled and courageous resistance of the Ukrainian people.

“Congress fully supports their struggle for a just peace, built on respect for democracy, self-determination, and humanity. We have added our voices to calls for strong and united European and global action against Russia for as long as this illegal invasion continues. This initiative is a practical expression of that solidarity, and I urge trade unionists and employers across our island to participate,” he said.

Ibec chief executive Danny McCoy said the joint initiative would send a strong message of support to the people of Ukraine.

“In the past few weeks, we have seen the broad spectrum of Irish businesses extensively engaging with humanitarian organisations to support those impacted by the atrocities taking place in Ukraine and we are encouraging all who can continue to do so to support this deserving cause,” he said.

If you want to participate in the appeal, just make contact with your employer in the first instance, or else contact ICTU at +353 1 8897777.

Fórsa has welcomed the establishment of a working group to work on a menstrual policy for civil servants in Ireland. The decision follows news that civil servants in Northern Ireland will be provided greater support under a new agreed policy.

The new policy in the north aims to allow civil servants to ask for “reasonable adjustments” to help them cope with effects of their periods, and to eliminate the stigma around periods in the workplace.

The creation of a group to develop a similar policy in the Republic has been hailed a welcome development.

The Civil Service Employee Assistance Service (CSEAS) group has been tasked with putting together the working group.

Unions hope that it will lead to greater flexibility for staff who request time off, while creating a work environment where people feel comfortable discussing periods and other menstrual issues with their managers and colleagues.

A recent survey by Fórsa’s Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Branch also found that just over half of female staff in a large Dublin local authority have had to take time off work because of their periods. But only 12% said they were comfortable enough to tell their line manager the real reason for their work absence.

Almost 80% of respondents said remote working had improved their experience of menstruation, with almost one-in-nine saying it was a plus not to have to commute when experiencing period-related cramps or tiredness.

When it came to people’s experience of menopause, over 80% of respondents said access to flexible arrangements on ad hoc basis as required would help. Better training for managers and staff was also considered important by 81% of those participating in the survey.

Almost all respondents – 98% – said they’d like to see a workplace period-friendly policy introduced, with measures including better toilet facilities, wipe-down darker fabrics and flexible working.

Hundreds of protestors stood outside the Russian embassy in Dublin on 24th of February to protest the illegal invasion on Ukraine. Organised by Fórsa and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU), the #StandWithUkraine rally marked one month since Russian forces barged into Ukraine, kicking off an illegal invasion and a horrific war.

The massive turnout expressed solidarity with the children, women and men in all of Ukraine as well as representatives of the Ukrainian community in Ireland, who were also present at the rally.

Speaking at the rally, Kevin Callinan, President of ICTU, echoed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelentskiy’s words that the attack on Ukraine was an attack on democracy across Europe.

“This is a concept we fully understand and endorse as trade unionists. For us, an injury to one is always an injury to all.

“The peoples of Ireland and all Europe have been inspired by the principled and courageous resistance of the Ukrainian people, and by your determination to get Russia out of your country. We support peace. But it must be a just peace, built on respect for democracy, self-determination, and humanity.

“That’s why Congress is clear that Russian troops are unwelcome in Ukraine, and they must clear out,” said Kevin.

Kevin also applauded the determination of the public servants, airport workers, port staff and others, who were working around the clock to welcome refugees from the war.

“It’s humbling to see such a magnificent display of solidarity from ordinary working people as we remember those who have died, those who are grieving, and those who have lost everything because of this terrible war,” he said.

Fórsa recently announced that it had raised half-a-million Euro from union members, activists, and branches which was to be donated to the Irish Red Cross and the International Trade Union Confederation solidarity fund to support humanitarian efforts on the ground. Ukraine’s ambassador to Ireland Larysa Gerasko, also addressed the rally and gave a grave outline of the Russian military’s operations in her country and of her people’s expectations from the international community.

She also called for the expulsion of Russian diplomats in Ireland, and to hold Russia responsible for violating International law.

Some 17 companies across Ireland are currently two months into a six-month trial of four-day week working patterns, in a campaign that’s also won Government funding for research into the economic, social and environmental impacts of reduced working time.

The Four Day Week Ireland programme is piloting genuine working time reduction, where workers get the same pay for reduced hours, but with the same output.

Elsewhere, countries like Belgium and Iceland have made huge steps. Last month, employees in Belgium won the right to perform a full work week in four days instead of the usual five without loss of salary. The new reforms also give workers the right to turn off work devices and ignore work-related messages after hours without fear of reprisal.

Belgian prime minister Alexander de Croo said that the new agreements have created an economy that is “more innovative, sustainable and digital.”

Meanwhile, Iceland has already proven that a reduce in working hours can reduce worker stress and burnout while improving life-work balance.

Between 2015 and 2019, Iceland conducted the world’s largest pilot of a 35 to 36-hour work week. The research was dubbed a success and has led to nearly 90% of the working population now having reduced hours or other accommodations.

The UK in a similar situation to Ireland, having launched a six-month pilot programme - the biggest trial of its kind - to study the impact of shorter working hours on businesses’ productivity and the wellbeing of their workers.

The trial begins in June with approximately 60 companies taking part. Several Irish companies will also take part in this study. Employees will be allowed to work up to 9.5 hours per day in order shorten their working week.

Information from these trails will help Irish and British campaigners in the fight for a four-day week.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan and other union representatives joined Dublin-based P&O union representatives at a demonstration he weekend before last.

It followed a call for justice for 800 P&O Ferries workers who were sacked over a Zoom call last month. On Saint Patrick’s Day, management gave staff 30 minutes’ notice of a Zoom meeting, where it told them their contracts were terminated with immediate effect.

The seafarers are being replaced by non-union, agency workers. The British Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT), which represents many P&o staff, subsequently claimed their agency replacements were to be paid as little as £1.80 (or less than €2.20) an hour.

It is understood that at least 60 employees impacted by the sudden termination are from Ireland.

The International Transport Workers Federation (ITF), which represents transport unions across the globe, has said the company’s callous actions were lacked “any form of basic decency” and appeared to be a violation of UK labour law and international labour standards.

It has asked for Fórsa members and other trade unionists to sign its petition to pledge solidarity with the workers.

The ITF said no one should lose their livelihood without any warning. “We won’t let this go unchallenged,” it said.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) said the company’s behaviour “sets a dangerous precedent,” which risked copycat actions by other employers who may seek to lay staff off.

The group of unions representing P&O has sought an urgent meeting with the employer and the UK Government. They are demanding respectful industrial relations and social dialogue to ensure that no worker endures being sacked via Zoom again. It also wants a guarantee that this will not happen in any other DP World subsidiary.

P&O Ferries is a subsidiary of DP World and this action is understood to be part of the parent company’s wider plan for P&O Ferries. The company has suspended sailings “for the next few days.”

ITF general secretary, Stephen Cotton is meeting with DP World in Dubai at the end of the month and will hand deliver its global protest letter directly to its chief executive officer, Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem.

Please sign the unions’ P&O Global Letter of Protest HERE.

Fórsa members can continue to avail of free counselling, legal advice and domestic assistance by contacting the union’s helplines, which now have new phone numbers. Qualified personnel are on hand to support Fórsa members 24 hours a day, seven days a week on the following lines:

• Legal help in bodily injury cases: 0818-776644
• Legal advice: 0818-776644
• Confidential counselling: 1800-776655
• Domestic assistance: 0818-776644

Fórsa members can also avail of a health information service, staffed by qualified nurses, on health and fitness and non-diagnostic advice on medical matters. Advice on allergies, the side effects of drugs and how to improve general fitness are also available as part of this service.

The health and medical information line can be reached on 0818 254164, and is available 9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday, excluding public and bank holidays.

If you call outside these times, a message will be taken and a return call arranged within the operating hours. More information can be found HERE.