Fórsa general secretary, Kevin Callinan has responded to Budget 2021, saying a key test of the Budget provisions will be to what extent the additional spending lessens inequality.

In a video message for social media, Kevin said Covid had worsened the inequality that emerged during the last financial crisis, and welcomed investment in public services that can benefit all citizens.

Kevin said: “But now we must also see an acknowledgement of the role of public servants. Not just during the pandemic, but also through the financial crisis too.

"We must say farewell to austerity and we must negotiate a new deal for public servants that provides recognition for the present and hope for the future,” he said.

Congress response

ICTU general secretary, Patricia King criticised the Budget for failing to ensure sufficient support for low paid workers and low-income families, which she said created the risk of undermining the recovery in domestic demand.

Patricia said the Government could have been more ambitious in its approach, and criticised the decision not to restore the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) to its previous level of €350 per week.

Patricia added: “Not only will these decisions make it difficult to maintain the sense of social solidarity that was evident in the national lock-down earlier this year, by putting less money in peoples’ pockets, they will limit the recovery in domestic demand, particularly in areas that do not have significant multinational sector employment,” she said.

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

Fórsa has called for emergency funding for local authorities after Tuesday’s Budget failed to address serious investment needs, which have arisen as a result of Covid-19.

While welcoming the additional €300 million earmarked for a continuation of the commercial rates waiver, head of Fórsa’s local government and municipal employees divisions, Peter Nolan, warned that local authorities are still suffering severe economic circumstances.

“Commercial rates only account for 30% of local authority income, and the pandemic has eroded many other streams of revenue,” he said.

Peter said a huge drop in footfall has been experienced nationwide, resulting in roughly €80 million of lost parking income. He added that local authorities have incurred massive additional unforeseen expenditure as a result of Covid-19, saying substantial additional funding is required if essential services are to be maintained.

Litter fines, planning fees, income from the awards of licences, property and house rentals, and other services account for 27% of income, with expected losses of €78 million.

Peter has raised growing concerns about the perilous finances of Ireland’s local authorities at a meeting with local government minister, Darragh O’Brien. He said local authority staff had stepped up during the pandemic to ensure local authorities remain open for business and public services were provided.

Peter added: “The necessary financial supports must be put in place to ensure the provision of public services in the future.”

Industrial action by local authority vets, over a proposal to transfer them from council employment to the Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), remains a possibility in an ongoing dispute between the FSAI and local authority management. Fórsa is due to meet management today (Friday) to discuss the situation.

The dispute arose after the County and City Management Association (CMMA) and the FSAI failed to agree on the renewal of a service level agreement (SLA) which covers the cost of inspections of small abattoirs, including craft butchers and artisan food producers.

Local authority chief executives have since stated that the existing SLA with the FSAI will end on 30th November.

Under the current SLA, local authority vets provide food safety controls, including inspection of all animals before and after slaughter. They service around 600 food businesses that supply meats to retailers and establishments, including nursing homes, hospitals, hotels, restaurants and canteens.

Head of Fórsa’s local government and local services division, Peter Nolan, said the dispute is between two large public bodies about who should pay for the service: “The employment status of vets must not be used as a bargaining chip. The CMMA and FSAI should be required to enter into an adjudication process, rather than risk disruption to hundreds of local businesses.

“If there is no solution forthcoming, it is inevitable that our members will embark on industrial action,” he said.

Management have signalled their intention to compulsorily transfer 34 local authority vets by way of Transfer of Undertakings legislation, or the redeployment provisions in the public service stability agreement.

Fórsa’s local government and local services divisional executive committee flatly rejected this suggestion, and members voted unanimously in favour of industrial action last June. 

An increase in the national minimum wage of 10 cent an hour has been approved by the Government. The increase comes into effect from 1^st January 2021 and will bring the new minimum wage to €10.20 per hour.

Unions around the country criticised the move of an increase of less than 1% as being inadequate for over 120,000 minimum wage workers around the country.

Earlier this month, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) representatives withdrew from the Low Pay Commission, the Government-established body that makes recommendations on the rate of the statutory minimum wage, stating that they “could not in conscience be a party to any recommendation that did not afford the lowest-paid workers in the country an increase at least similar to that applicable in other sectors of our economy.”

The Minister for Social Protection, Heather Humphreys, has pledged to reform PRSI thresholds to reflect the increase in the minimum wage and assist employers.

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

The gender pay gap is closing so slowly in France (0.1% since 2010) that it is on course to take over a thousand years to achieve equality. Within this decade, the pay gap would end in only three countries.

Overall, it will take another 84 years for women to achieve equal pay if current trends continue, according to recent Eurostat data.

A new report by the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC) raised alarm at the widening pay gap in nine member states, and the increasing time it will take to tackle this gap.

On the basis of this current trend, the data predicts women in German and Czechia will be waiting until 2121 for equal pay. Women in a further nine countries will have to wait until the second half of this century. Meanwhile, the gap in Ireland is still rising.

Delay

The news comes as the European Commission commitment to end the disparity was further delayed. The Commission delayed publication of its pay transparency directive from 4^th November (Equal Pay Day) until 15^th December, and cast the entire initiative into doubt by marking it as “TBC” (to be confirmed).

There was also no mention in the State of the Union address of the binding pay transparency measures that President von der Leyen promised to deliver within 100 days of her mandate.

ETUC has written to President von der Leyen to seek clarity as to the reason for the delay, and assurances that the directive will go ahead in spite of pressure not to act. The ETUC also called on the Commission President to prioritise pay transparency measures that will be needed to make real progress towards equality, and offered the full support of trade unions in standing up for women.

ETUC deputy general secretary, Esther Lynch said that pay justice was urgently needed for women who worked on the frontline during the Covid-19 crisis in systematically undervalued caring and cleaning jobs.

“Ursula von der Leyen raised hopes of real change with her promise of binding pay transparency measures within 100 days, but this seems to be slipping off the agenda under pressure from those with anti-women and anti-equality sentiments, as well as the deep-seated bias that women so often face when they seek pay equality,” Ms. Lynch said.

You can find the full findings of the ETUC report including each country’s individual performance on the pay gap issue here.

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

Head of Fórsa’s local government and municipal employees’ divisions, Peter Nolan, has been elected vice-president of the local and regional government (LRG) sector of the European Public Service Union (EPSU) confederation.

EPSU, which held its five yearly congress in Dublin last year, represents eight million workers across 54 European countries.

The LRG sector will meet next month with European local and regional government employers to establish whether a broad policy on remote working can be agreed by all parties.

Almost half of undocumented migrants work over 40 hours a week in Ireland, while more than a quarter earn below minimum wage, new research reveals. A new survey has found high levels of exploitation when it comes to the number of hours worked and wages paid.

Data from the Migrant Rights Centre of Ireland (MRCI) states there are an estimated 17,000 to 20,000 undocumented people living in Ireland, including between 2,000 to 3,000 children.

The Justice for the Undocumented Group (JFU) and the MRCI yesterday (Thursday) published the results of their research into the lives of over 1,000 undocumented migrants in Ireland. Over 70% of whom were aged between 24 and 44.

The results of the survey show that over 75% of respondents have been living in Ireland for over five years, and that 93% were engaged in employment.

Many of which also form part of vital sectors such as the front lines in the response to the Covid-19 emergency. More than 27% of those surveyed worked in providing care to older people in private home settings.

Speaking at the launch, Tjanasi Jack, Chair of JFU called for a clear and fair solution to this issue. “This survey shows that undocumented people are at the heart of our communities; we are your friends, your neighbours and your co-workers,” she said.

Zaineb

Zaineb has been living undocumented in Ireland for over three years: “Sometimes I am not paid the full amount, other times I am not paid at all. If I had my status I could stand up to this. I could get a better job and give my children a better future.”

In June, the new Government committed in the Programme for Government to introduce a new regularisation scheme for undocumented workers, children and young people within 18 months of taking office.

Neil Bruton of the MRCI said schemes that offered a pathway to papers were common across the EU: “Today we are calling on the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee to bring in a scheme that is broad and inclusive, so that people can live safely and securely and thrive in their home.”

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

A webinar on trade unions’ role in promoting and protecting human rights and equality is taking place online next Thursday, 22nd October from 9:30 to 11am.

‘Promoting and protecting human rights and equality: The potential of the public sector equality and human rights duty for trade unions,’ aims to advance the rights of public sector workers and service users, while enhancing the quality of public policy and services.

It will be jointly hosted by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission (IHREC) and the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU).

Fórsa general secretary and ICTU vice president, Kevin Callinan will open the event alongside IHREC chief commissioner, Sinéad Gibney. UNISON general secretary, David Prentis will make the keynote address, giving practical insights into how UNISON utilises the public sector equality duty in the UK to advance workers’ rights, and improve the quality of services, particularly for vulnerable people.

To register for this event, please send an email to rsvp@ihrec.ie before close of business next Monday, 19th October.

For the full webinar programme, click here.

For more information on the public sector equality and human rights duty, click here.

Fórsa has joined tributes to respected community activist Fergus McCabe, following his death last week.

A proud son of Dublin’s inner city, and a close friend and colleague of Fórsa, Fergus was the leading community drug representative on a range of national structures dealing with the drugs crisis, and helped force the issue of drug misuse onto the national agenda.

A central figure in the Inner City Organisations Network (ICON) and, the CityWide Drugs Crisis Campaign, Fergus was involved in responding to the second heroin epidemic that shattered working-class communities in the 1990s, demanding action from Government though street campaigns.

He was also heavily involved in inner city youth projects over the decades, and worked closely with Fórsa on the union’s North Inner City fund, established to support projects in the community around the union’s Nerney’s Court office. 

Tireless

Fórsa activist Paul McKeon remembers Fergus fondly, describing his friend and comrade as a veteran community and drugs campaigner “who worked tirelessly” for decades.

Paul said: “He never gave up fighting for our community to be accepted, integrated and not forgotten about.”

Commending his commitment to the cause, Paul described how Fergus motivated him to strive for equality and social justice in his own community.

“The work of people like Fergus gave me the belief and motivation to rise above my own circumstances, and challenge the discrimination we face quite often, from the cradle to the grave,” he said.

“His work and commitment to fight social injustice is one of the reasons that inspired me to fight for the inclusion of a socio-economic status ground in our Equality Legislation,” said Paul.

‘Passionate and articulate’

Fórsa general secretary, Kevin Callinan also paid tribute to Fergus describing him as a “passionate, articulate and tireless champion for his community.”

“I was truly saddened to hear of the passing of Fergus,” said Kevin. “He was the beating heart of his community, dedicating his life to its people.”

Commending his resolve, Kevin remarked at how Fergus advanced the goals of countless initiatives to reduce the prevalence and impact of substance abuse.

“His campaign against heroin use helped transform Ireland’s laws. His legacy will not be forgotten,” he said.

Fórsa has published advice for workers who will be working remotely in the medium or long-term.

The guidance was produced as the Government’s recently-announced ‘roadmap for reopening society and business’, made it clear that many public servants and others will continue to work from home for some time.

The Covid-19 pandemic has changed the working circumstances of almost half of Ireland’s workers, with more than a third now working from home. This extended period of remote working is a new experience for most.

While some have now established a productive and rewarding remote working routine, it can be a struggle at times.

Working at home: Staying safe, connected, healthy and productive contains advice on health and safety, setting up a workspace, breaks, staying in touch with managers and colleagues, and balancing work with home life and childcare.

The guide also contains useful tips on data protection, cybersecurity, and safeguarding your mental health.

Róisín McKane of Fórsa’s Communications Unit drafted the guidance. “Many union members could be working remotely for longer than they ever expected. This information will help them to navigate home working for an extended period.

“You may be out of the workplace, but you can still rely on certain legal protections, and you should look to your employer for the supports you need to do your job safely and well,” she said.

Read the Fórsa guidance HERE. 

If you have questions or concerns about your own situation, you can contact Fórsa HERE. 

You can help us keep you up-to-date with union information, news and advice by checking your contact details and amending them if necessary. If we have your home and personal contact details (personal email, mobile phone number, and home address) we can get information to you quickly and directly. You can update your contact details HERE.

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 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.