Fórsa has achieved final confirmation that working time is to be restored to pre-austerity levels for most public servants from 1st July.

Civil service circular 14/2022 which was published at the end of last month, confirms the details of the union-negotiated restoration of pre-Haddington Road working hours, albeit with a floor of 35 hours a week.

The circular, which is now set to be rolled out across the public service, implements an independent body’s recommendation that public service employees’ working time should be restored.

The body was established under the Building Momentum public service agreement after Fórsa insisted that there would be no agreement unless the Haddington Road hours issue was addressed.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said the restoration of working time removes a longstanding and debilitating drain on public service morale and productivity.

“The additional hours introduced under the 2013 Haddington Road agreement (HRA) fell hardest on women with caring responsibilities and have been increasingly counterproductive in terms of service delivery, morale and productivity,” he added.

Since its formation in 2018, Fórsa has worked tirelessly to put this issue on the agenda and get it resolved, often in the face of scepticism about the prospect of success.

“The restoration of the hours from next month will remove a deep grievance among many, mostly lower-paid, workers. It wouldn't have happened without a strategy. It wouldn't have happened without a lot of hard work. It wouldn't have happened without belief. Most of all, it wouldn't have happened without the collective strength of Fórsa,” said Kevin.

The additional working hours were imposed from 1st July 2013, when the standard working time of civil and public servants increased to 39 hours per week for those who previously worked between 37 and 39 hours, and to 37 hours for those who previously worked 35 hours or less. The hours of those working 39 hours or more were unchanged.

The return to the pre-July 2013 hours from next month, albeit with a minimum working week of 35 hours. This will unwind the final element of the HRA’s austerity measures.

Read our updated ‘frequently asked questions’ 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.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan has said pay and living standards are the “sole focus” for the union in public service talks, which formally got underway in the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) last week.

A second WRC meeting takes place on Monday (14th June), after which the pace is expected to pick up. Both sides believe the talks could be concluded quite quickly.

The talks, which were triggered by Fórsa on foot of the cost-of-living crisis, are discussing additional pay this year, beyond the modest increases set out in the Building Momentum agreement. The parties are also exploring the possibility of extending the current agreement into 2023.

Despite some media speculation, the public service talks are not discussing wider cost-of-living measures or tax and benefit changes, which are being explored in a separate process involving unions, Government and employers’ body Ibec. Early talks on this have been taking place in the Labour-Employer Economic Forum (LEEF), Ireland’s main social dialogue forum.

Last month, public expenditure minister Michael McGrath said the Government was willing to go beyond the pay terms in Building Momentum, though he has subsequently said the negotiations would be “difficult and challenging.”

The Government has also strongly indicated its desire to extend the current agreement into next year as this would increase certainty over the public service pay bill at a time of economic and geopolitical volatility. It would prefer to conclude an agreement on this in advance of October’s Budget.

In March, Fórsa and other unions triggered a review clause in Building Momentum, which says pay can be revisited if there’s a significant change in the economic assumptions that underpinned the deal. The union’s general secretary Kevin Callinan argued that nobody had predicted high and sustained inflation when the deal was negotiated in late 2020 and put to ballot in early 2021.

"Since we triggered this review three months ago things have got a lot worse. We want to see what the Government is prepared to do to revise the terms of the current agreement.

"We've made it clear that our sole focus is on pay, the cost of the living, and the way in which inflation is impacting on workers and their families. The terms of Building Momentum haven't measured up against the cost of living, and this wasn’t the intention of any of the parties when we negotiated the deal" he said.

Fórsa’s national conference, which took place in Killarney last month, heard calls for extra pay increases on foot of the cost-of-living crisis.

Subsequently, Mr McGrath said: “We are prepared to go beyond the pay terms within the current agreement, but we need to balance that against the risk of doing any long-term harm to the economy, the public finances and the competitiveness of the Irish economy into the future."

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 third of workers would move jobs if there were not able to access remote and flexible work, a new national remote working survey has revealed. It also found 33% of workers indicating that they’d change jobs even if it meant a pay cut or fewer promotion opportunities.

While more than half of respondents had never worked remotely before the pandemic, almost 80% agreed that working remotely made their job easier, while some 95% agreed that working remotely made their life easier.

Almost half said they believed remote working had no impact on opportunities for promotion.

Researchers from the Whitaker Institute at NUI Galway and the Western Development Commission carried out the survey and gathered responses on experience of remote working from more than 8,400 employees.

Their study revealed almost one-third of respondents have changed employer since 2020. Of those, 47% indicated that remote working was a key factor in their decision as their new employer offered better opportunities in this area.

However, almost half of all respondents said they clocked more hours while remote working, compared to working on-site, further proving the need for safeguards and right to disconnect for workers.

Unions have argued that remote working can play a major role in achieving balanced regional development. At a time when there are labour market shortages, remote working can help companies attract and retain talent.

Western Development Commission chief executive Tomás Ó Síocháin said the findings highlighted “a further change in the way we view remote working” and indicated that Irish workers expect to continue working remotely either all of the time or to find a balance in line with their lifestyle.

“Leaders will now be challenged to look at ways of supporting their staff and find that balance to avoid retention issues,” he said.

The survey also showed a shift in employer preferences on working patterns. Half the respondents said their organisation has confirmed how they will work in the future. Of the organisations that have confirmed their future working patterns, 61% of respondents indicated that they will work hybrid while 30% will work completely remotely and just 9% will work fully on-site.

Get the survey results 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.  

Fórsa last week presented cheques worth a total of half a million Euro (€500,000) to two organisations providing humanitarian relief to people 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 then topped up the amount from the union’s Developing World Fund to bring the total raised to €500,000.

The proceeds of the Fórsa appeal are being 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.

Almost 2,000 individual Fórsa members made contributions to the appeal, along with 98 of the union’s 200 branches.

Tim Noonan, ITUC Director for coordinating humanitarian relief effort, said the union's donation was the single largest contribution they had received. "We are working with unions across Ukraine, the largest of which has ten facilities in the country that are all currently homing hundreds of refugees and internally displaced people.

“Along with a number of unions in neighbouring countries, we are using these funds to provide humanitarian items to the areas affected by the invasion, such as food and clothes, medicines, toys, and educational backup for the children,” he said.

Charlie Lamson, head of fundraising with the Irish Red Cross, said support from Fórsa was going to people within Ukraine and those displaced to other countries including Ireland.

“Almost 15 million people have been displaced by the conflict, and six million people have had to flee to the neighbouring countries.

“The Red Cross is working to provide essential services in all the affected areas. This takes a massive coordination effort to even provide basic essentials like food, water and medicine to the refugees.

“We also provide support to refugees that have arrived in Ireland. This means support at points of entry like at the airport, to welcome them, give initial information, trauma support, and we are also working on Ukrainian centres in Ireland to provide central points of contact and information for people,” he said.

Some 32,000 Ukrainian refugees are currently here in Ireland.

Charlie echoed Tim's point about the Fórsa donation and support being "one of the largest contributions" received by the Irish Red Cross.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said he was extremely proud of the union’s members and branches.

"Within hours of the invasion, the international trade union movement responded in the form of very clear statements of condemnation and within hours after that we had the basis of an initiative to bring our members and branches into this funding appeal. We are very clear, an injury to one is of concern to all. This is the key, core message of the trade union movement,” he said.

Watch the presentation through our Facebook livestream 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.

The Men’s Development Network (MDN) has launched a major survey that aims to establish a better understanding of male concepts of masculinity and gender.

The survey, which is entirely anonymous, is also gathering insights into how men feel about themselves and their role in society in relation to their wellbeing, as well as attitudes to relationships and social issues.

The survey, which takes 15 minutes to complete, is open to all men over 18 on the island of Ireland. 

The MAN survey is being conducted with input from Equimundo, a global leader in healthy masculinities and engaging men and boys to promote gender equality and prevent violence.

The project marks the Men’s Development Network’s 25 years of work on male health, wellbeing, and transforming masculinities. The Waterford-based NGO advocates for the creation of a gender-equal society. Operating a range of programmes, it works to create better lives for men and boys, their families, friends, and communities across Ireland.

An analysis of the data in the survey will be collated for publication on International Men’s Day in November.

Men can take part in the survey HERE.

You can ask questions about the survey 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.

The latest episode of the CAREWELL Conversations podcast looks at how trade unions can represent working family carers and help raise awareness of the challenges they face in the workplace.

The CAREWELL project, a four-year research project to examine how family carers can be best supported to balance work with care, is a collaboration between UCD and Family Carers Ireland.

The project aims to promote health and self-care among working family carers through the development of an evidence-informed workplace programme for carers working in public and private work settings.

The latest podcast episode features a discussion between Dr Majella Fahy from the CAREWELL team and ICTU policy officer David Joyce.

They discuss how trade unions can represent working family carers, how they can help raise awareness of the specific challenges they face and examine the issues arising in the workplace on the basis of gender.

They also look at the issue in relation to the draft remote working legislation currently going through the legislative process, and the EU directive on work/life balance, due to be transposed into law later this year.

In the podcast episode, David reflects on the fact that one in nine Irish workers are in position of having to reconcile caring responsibilities with their jobs.

“It’s likely this affects a similar proportion of union members across the country. I’d encourage people to engage with their unions because you know the more conversations that happen, the more likely that we are going to get the change that we need,” he said.

The CAREWELL Conversations podcast series cover a range of topics relating to the balance of work and care among family carers. Podcast episodes incorporate the views of academics, researchers, human resource professionals, politicians, trade unionists, not-for-profits, carers and other stakeholders. Visit the CAREWELL Project website HERE and you can listen to the podcast episode 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.

Members of the union-backed Just Transition Alliance met environment minister Eamon Ryan at the end of May to press for the immediate establishment of a National Just Transition Commission.

The group told the minister that a commission was urgently needed to ensure that the transition to a zero-carbon economy “is inclusive, protects workers and communities and delivers new opportunities for all.”

Fórsa is a member of the alliance, a unique coalition of unions and environmental groups dedicated to achieving effective climate action without adverse impacts on jobs and communities, which was launched in March this year.

The union says a National Just Transition Commission would involve all stakeholders, and would be charged with developing the blueprint for the transition to zero carbon based on social dialogue.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has made multiple calls on the Government to urgently establish such a commission.

The government’s Climate Action Plan commits to the creation of a commission, but the timescale set out in the plan would not see it become a reality until late next year, or even in 2024.

Ahead of the meeting with Minister Ryan, the Alliance published an open letter setting out the case for the urgent establishment of the commission.

The letter is signed and supported by 23 national and regional organisations, including trade unions, environmental bodies, civil society groups and development agencies.

It says: “We must see the urgent implementation of a just transition to protect and create jobs, to reduce emissions, enhance living standards, safeguard and restore biodiversity and generate new opportunities to help build sustainable, resilient communities across the country.

“It is our view that an essential component of such an approach would be the immediate establishment of a National Just Transition Commission.

"We do not believe that job losses and lower living standards are the automatic outcome of the zero-carbon transition, but result from bad planning and poor policy. The fastest, fairest and most effective transition is one that is inclusive." Read the full letter 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.

A new 80,000-member strong salary protection scheme was launched on 1st June. The culmination of two years of work and packed with new benefits, the Fórsa Salary Protection Scheme is a merger of four separate schemes available to members of the three unions that amalgamated to create the new union in 2018.

The merger of the schemes will also stabilise the price, while ensuring fairness and equal access for all union members. Had the schemes remained separate, it’s likely that there would have been significant increase in rates for all the schemes.

All scheme members are now covered for:

• Disability benefit up to 75% of salary*
• New death benefit, which is typically two times annual salary
• New specified illness benefit: A once-off lump sum of 25% of annual salary for 55 specified illnesses**
• New partial payment specified illness benefit: A once-off lump sum of €12,500 or 12.5% of annual salary (whichever is less) for one of the 36 less severe, but still life altering, conditions
• New children’s specified illness benefit: An additional benefit of €15,000 if your child suffers a specified illness, or €7,500 if your child suffers a partial payment specified illness
• New Fórsa MyDoc: An easy phone and online healthcare service for you, your spouse or partner, and dependent family members living with you. Book free consultations and get prescriptions, sick certs or referrals
• Terminal illness benefit: 25% of death benefit, accidental death benefit
• New breast and prostate education and preventative programme run through Beaumont and Bon Secours hospitals
• New tax return service for claimants
• New will service for members.

The new scheme is open to Fórsa members in hundreds of different grades, professions and occupations. And it means that members in civil service executive and clerical grades will now have access to the full suite of benefits that were previously only available to other Fórsa members.

These include life cover, specified illness, and retired members life cover.

It also means civil service clerical officers won’t have to apply to transfer to a different scheme if they’re promoted. Existing executive and clerical scheme members will benefit from the additional benefits at no charge for the first six months from the date of the review.

After that, the cost of full membership is 1.99% of gross salary with effect from 1st December 2022. But existing executive and clerical scheme members can opt out of the full benefits prior to September and maintain the income protection benefit only at a cost of 1.44% of gross salary.

Cornmarket, which administrates the merged scheme, is to write to members individually to notify them of the changes. Meanwhile, all existing schemes members will automatically transfer to the new scheme on the enhanced benefits set out above.

Find out more

If you have questions, or want to make a claim, you can speak to a member of Cornmarket’s team on these numbers:

• Queries and questions: 01-408- 6280 or spsadmin@cornmarket.ie
• Claims: 01-408 4018 or spsclaims@cornmarket.ie.

Watch a short video about the new scheme HERE.

Read the full terms and conditions, including a full list of specified illnesses and the policy definition and criteria of each illness, 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.

*Less any other income that you may be entitled to (eg, half pay, ill health, early retirement pension, temporary rehabilitation remuneration, state illness benefit or state invalidity pension).

** There is only one specified illnesses benefit and one partial claim per member per scheme.

Trade unions, charities and other NGOs are urging Fórsa members to sign a new European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) petition, which calls for an end to European Union trade with illegal settlements in occupied Palestinian territories.

Under the ECI, the European Commission is obliged to act if a million signatures are gathered from across the EU by next February. You can sign HERE. 

As well as Fórsa, the Irish coalition supporting the ECI includes Trocaire, Christian Aid Ireland, the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Action Aid, Comhlámh, NUS-USI, Sadaka, Trade Union Friends of Palestine and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions.

They hope to reach 100,000 signatures by the end of this month. More than 50,000 were gathered earlier in the year before a break in campaigning due to the war in Ukraine.

The initiative calls on the European Commission to proposes legislation to prevent the EU member states from trading with illegal settlements in occupied territories. It seeks to regulate commercial transactions with entities operating in occupied territories by withholding products originating from there from entering the EU market.

After the collection and certification of a million signatures, the organisers plan to meet with the Commission and European Parliament within three months. Sign the petition 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.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) is calling on workers to support the ‘No Profit on Pandemic’ European Citizens Initiative campaign, and sign their petition. 

The campaign is demanding the European Commission to do everything in its power to make anti-pandemic vaccines and treatments a global public good, freely accessible to all. To date, over 253,000 EU citizens have signed the petition, but they need your support.

The European Citizens’ Initiative intends to apply directly to the European Commission to propose a concrete legislative amendment. In order to do so, the petition needs one million signatures from across the EU.

No one is safe until everyone has access to safe and effective treatments and vaccines. We all have the right to a cure.

Click HERE to sign the petition. 

More information on the campaign can be found 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.

Fórsa staff and activists donned their cycle gear last month as they set off on the union’s conference charity cycle in aid of mental health charities.

The cycle, which took place on the 18^th May, saw union activists and staff bike from Limerick to the INEC in Killarney, ahead of conference proceedings.

Proceeds from the cycle will be distributed amongst four charities: Let’s Get Talking, Suicide or Survive, Jigsaw Kerry and Limerick Suicide Watch.

All are involved in suicide prevention, mental health awareness, and support for families who have been bereaved by suicide.

Fórsa official Dessie Robinson explained that these charities need our continuing support: “Mental health charities have seen a recent surge in demand for their services. They need our support now more than ever,” he said.

Suicide claimed almost 400 lives in Ireland last year, and thousands more are suffering with mental health problems. “Anything that we can do collectively to help is always appreciated,” said Dessie.

Donations to the charity cycle are still open and Dessie is calling on those to give what they can. “We want to thank those who were, as usual, very generous. There is still time to support this worthy cause,” he said.

If you want to help, send cheques made payable to ‘Fórsa’, to Charity Cycle 2022, Fórsa, Nerney’s Court, Dublin, D01 R2C5.

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

Proposals for introducing a living wage are due to be brought to the Cabinet this month, according to a recent statement by the Tánaiste. Currently calculated at €12.90 an hour in Ireland, the living wage is an hourly wage rate capable of providing sufficient income to have an acceptable minimum standard of living.

It is substantially higher than the current legal minimum wage, which was increased by 2.9% to €10.50 last January. The Programme for Government includes a commitment to move to a living wage, though no timeframe is given.

Fórsa said that an adequate living wage would better protect the living standards of low paid workers. The union’s national conference last month passed a motion saying that no public servant should earn less than the living wage.

Mr Varadkar said he would bring a Low Pay Commission report on the issue to the Cabinet this month and initiate a public consultation “with a view to begin to make it a reality in 2023.”

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 national secretary Billy Hannigan has retired from the union after more than 36 years as an activist and trade union official.

Having embarked on a career the Department of Transport, Billy first joined the Public Services Executive Union (PSEU) as a branch secretary and, later, a national executive committee member.  He became an official in 1986, and worked with members in both the civil service and semi-state bodies.

As PSEU deputy general secretary he was integral to the negotiations on the civil service pension schemes and travel and subsistence arrangements, and he worked alongside the Irish Congress of Trade Unions developing policies such as pension auto-enrolment and state pension eligibility.

During this time Billy also worked hard to progress a range of equality matters and social justice issues, broadening the then remit of the union.

Billy was part of the negotiating team during the formation of Fórsa. He was an enthusiastic proponent of the creation of the new union and firmly believed that this was the best option for the three unions and their members.

After the amalgamation, he led the Fórsa strategic change project, which developed the union’s strategic plan and set out organisational objectives and strategies for the next five years. During this time, he also conducted a review of Fórsa, examining union strength, influence, organisation and activity.

Billy was integral to Fórsa conferences, working closely with the Standing Orders Committee (SOC) to organise and structure the conference agenda. Most recently, he facilitated a construct which works to better focus conference business.

As an avid reader and devoted GAA fan, he served his beloved Saint James Gaels as chairperson. We all hope he now enjoys the expanded time he have to enjoy his wide range of interests and all of life’s pleasures.

A much-respected, much-loved colleague, an advocate and friend of the members and a wise, knowledgeable and generous comrade, we wish Billy a very fond farewell in his retirement.

The Fórsa-backed Raise the Roof housing campaign has announced plans to hold a series of public meetings across the country over the coming weeks.

The campaign brings together a wide range of unions and other civil society bodies to demand radical new action on the housing crisis.

The housing crisis is now one of the ‘longest and most severe’ in Ireland’s history, according to campaigners.

At the launch event last week, the group announced it would be holding the meetings with a view to building broad public support for solutions to the crisis and alternative policies on housing.

The series of regional and national public meetings will hear from housing experts, trade unions, political parties, and people directly affected by the crisis. Other Raise the Roof demands include rent controls, an end to forced evictions, more secure tenancies, and a legal right to housing.

Speaking ahead of the launch even, campaign coordinator, Macdara Doyle said the policies of successive governments had failed. "We seem to endlessly repeat the same failed policies and keep expecting different outcomes," he said.

Father Peter McVerry, who has worked in homelessness services for over 40 years, acknowledged the complexity of the issue but said there were several measures the Government could take.

Among the proposals he put forward were the implementation of the 1973 Kenny Report, which would allow local authorities to compulsorily purchase land for development, paying lower agricultural land prices.

It will also propose a ban on evictions for up to three years, a 20% reduction in rents coupled with a 50% reduction in tax paid by landlords and outlawing short-term rental websites if they are not compliant with planning permission requirements and other regulations.

Fórsa and ICTU have been supporters of the ‘Raise the Roof’ campaign since its establishment. You can read more about the campaign by clicking on the following link: Raise The Roof. The first Raise the Roof campaign meeting will take place in the Dan Shaw Centre, Navan on June 1^st.