Fórsa and the HSE will return to the Workplace Relations Commission early next month after a hearing yesterday (23^rd July) failed to reach agreement on financial supports for essential health workers who lost access to childcare provision following the closure of schools and creches in March.

At that time, the Government promised that childcare arrangements would be put in place for essential health staff. When this failed to materialise, the union said additional costs incurred by staff should be met by the HSE.

Fórsa referred the row to the WRC when no progress was made in direct talks with the HSE. It is now over four months since schools and childcare facilities were closed on foot of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thousands of health workers have had to make expensive provision for alternative childcare arrangements to balance their home and professional responsibilities. Many have used up limited paid leave to cover childcare emergencies.

The WRC has brought the parties together twice this month, most recently yesterday. Another hearing has been scheduled for 5^th August.

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Health staff who “gave their all” in response to the Covid-19 pandemic are experiencing burnout, which could restrict the HSE’s ability to deal with a second wave of the virus, according to Fórsa.

Speaking at the joint Oireachtas committee examining the coronavirus response earlier this week, the union’s head of health Éamonn Donnelly said improved testing and tracing had put Ireland in a better place to deal with a second wave.

But he said the health service would need more staff.

“It will be very difficult to call on the same group of people, who are pretty-much at burnout, to provide the same response. We are not going to be able to deal with a second wave without a fluid migration of people into the health service, and we have to be upfront about that,” he said.

He said mainstream health services, including cancer diagnosis and critical therapies, could not be closed down during a second wave, as they were earlier this year.

Éamonn told the all-party committee that health workers in all grades and occupations had given their all in response to the pandemic. Many became infected after being reassigned to duties in high-risk settings.

“Over a quarter of the 8,347 health staff who contracted the coronavirus worked in grades and professions represented by Fórsa. Even those with the mildest symptoms tell me they are only now approaching full recovery, three months later.

“Health workers are also living with the fear of passing the virus on to vulnerable and loved at-risk family members,” he said.

Answering a question about the 2,800-plus the infected healthcare workers who had underlying clinical conditions, Éamonn said many staff with underlying conditions had been exposed to high risk environments.

“A significant number of them asked to be reassigned but were refused. The HSE took a very hard line on the issue, and required a consultant’s certificate that somebody had a vulnerable condition. Otherwise you were asked to continue as normal,” he said.

Éamonn said the high infection rates among health workers impeded the HSE’s Covid response. “The infection of over 8,000 workers meant that 7% of the workforce were forced into absence. When you factor in normal absences, over 10% of the workforce was unavailable during a pandemic,” he said.

He praised health and social care professionals and administrative staff who volunteered for reassignment into areas like seven-day swabbing, testing, nursing homes, residential care, and high-dependency and intensive care settings.

“This required huge levels of staff flexibility, seven days a week. Workers across many grades did what was necessary on behalf of Irish citizens and they deserve great credit for their massive contribution, particularly as they did not get the childcare and eldercare supports they were promised by the Government,” he said.

And Éamonn pointed out that many senior managers worked 70-hour weeks to sustain the Covid-19 response. “This is not sustainable for long periods. It placed enormous strains on the system and left many managers burned out. Clerical and administrative staff were also placed under a similar strain in their supporting roles,” he said.

Fórsa is insisting that flexitime be reinstated for civil and public servants who have returned to workplaces following the Covid-19 emergency and are now back on their normal hours and work patterns.

Flexitime schemes across the civil and public service were suspended in March as part of the emergency response to the pandemic.

The union has raised the issue with the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER), which has overall responsibility for pay and conditions across the civil and public service.

Despite a positive response to the union’s case, DPER has not yet changed its position, even though tens of thousands of staff are back in the workplace and working normal hours.

A union spokesperson said Fórsa had accepted the suspension of flexitime as an emergency measure. “There is some logic to its continued suspension for staff who continue to work remotely, but there is no reason why workplace-based employees should be denied their previous flexi arrangements once they are working normal hours,” they said.

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Fórsa has given a guarded welcome to yesterday’s announcement of the largest ever Government-funded stimulus package, which will see over €7 billion pumped into the economy – mostly in the short-term – through supports to businesses and incomes.

The cash injection – made up of over €5 billion in grants and €2 billion in business loan guarantees – will be funded by exchequer borrowing. Sources said the forthcoming budget would likely feature additional stimulus measures.

Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan welcomed the scale of the package and its emphasis on economic recovery over immediate debt repayment, which is now the bedrock of EU-wide response to the pandemic-provoked jobs and economic crisis. But he said citizens would expect accountability from the business community, which would be the immediate beneficiary of most of the measures.

“Fórsa and other unions across Europe have successfully made the case for a massive debt-funded public stimulus package, instead of the catastrophic austerity response we saw during the last recession.

“Citizens and taxpayers – who are ultimately underwriting this package – will want proof that it is genuinely supporting and creating jobs, with decent working conditions, and paid well enough to sustain a decent standard of living. This can’t just be about publicly-funded hand-outs to business with no accountability to society,” he said.

Kevin has consistently argued for massive public investment to meet the jobs challenge of the pandemic, with an emphasis on economic stimulus rather than short-term debt repayment.

Yesterday’s announcement came in the same week that EU leaders agreed a €750 billion continent-wide investment programme, in another significant departure from the previous austerity-based response to recession.

The measures include an extension to the pandemic unemployment payment (PUP), which will now run until next April, although it will be closed to new entrants from mid-September. Seasonal workers and new hires are covered, but the value of payments will fall.

Employers are also set to receive €2,000 for each extra apprentice they take on, along with a two-year €7,500 subsidy to hire under-30s who are currently unemployed or on PUP.

Businesses employing up to 500 staff will also be eligible for cheap loans under a €2 billion credit guarantee scheme.

Some €500 million has been made available for ‘shovel ready’ capital projects, including schools. A further €100 million has been set aside for energy retrofitting, and councils are in line for €60 million to refurbish vacant local authority houses.

However, cash-strapped local councils will need assurances that they will not have to pick up the tab for the continuing business rates holiday, valued at €60 million.

Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) general secretary Patricia King said unions had shaped many of the measures implemented to control the Covid-19 virus and offset the consequences for households and businesses.

“Government grants to businesses must be conditional on a commitment by them to decent work and to retaining their workforce. We must end the scourge of low pay and precarious work and no longer tolerate bogus self-employment that pervades the hardest-hit sectors. And we must vindicate the rights of workers by ensuring their voice is heard through access to collective bargaining,” she said.

The cost of dealing with the pandemic and its economic fallout will see Ireland’s budget deficit reach €30 billion this year, with Government spending now running €16 billion ahead of what was previously budgeted.

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.

New official guidance has clarified that civil and public servants who return from non-essential overseas travel must take annual leave or unpaid leave to cover the subsequent quarantine period required under current public health guidelines.

Government advice remains that all non-essential overseas travel should be avoided, and requires anyone coming into Ireland to restrict their movements for 14 days. This applies to travel from Britain, but not Northern Ireland.

The new guidance, published by the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER) earlier this month, also says civil and public servants should advise their employer if they intend to travel abroad.

The requirements apply to all staff, including those working remotely, so as to “ensure equity of treatment between those who, due to the nature of their work, have been able to work from home during the crisis and those who have continuously attended the workplace throughout.”

DPER says the guidance will be reviewed if there are changes to public health and travel advice.

Workers at the Caritas convalescent centre in south Dublin are fighting for decent redundancy payments after their service went into liquidation. The ‘section 39’ agency had previously followed public service pay and conditions, and Fórsa is insisting that the staff receive public service redundancy terms.

Fórsa official Seán McElhiney said over half the workers in the step-down centre had contracted the Covid-19 virus while looking after people who had recently discharged from hospital treatment.

The centre closed to patients at the end of March and its board of management voted for voluntary liquidation earlier this month.

Seán said that, prior to that, the board of management had failed to provide adequate personal protective equipment (PPE) and made no plans to contain suspected cases.

Fórsa’s local representative, Sarah Kelly, said workers were indignant, and blamed the board for shortcomings in their management and the inhumane way in which the news was made public.

"There were people who hadn't been at work, and who obviously had no access to their emails. At the breakfast table, they were reading that the job they thought they were going back to, had gone. All the while, their kids were still playing at their feet," she said.

Sarah spoke about the cost of school uniforms and groceries as she explained that most Caritas workers would not be paid for the month of July.

"We're worried about pensions and redundancy payments, too. It's not just the impact of losing our jobs. It's an omnishambles. We won't be paid this month. Our redundancies won't reflect our service properly, and questions remain about pension-provision," she said.

Geraldine Noonan, another Fórsa Representative and a stalwart of the Caritas staff, called on the Sisters of Charity, who own the land, to intervene and contribute to a fund for staff who are about to lose their jobs.

"For years, we've shown our commitment to the ethics and values consistent with providing quality care for vulnerable people. We're now calling on the Sisters of Charity to do the right thing by us. The futures we thought we had are gone," she said.

Seán said: “It's far too easy for companies to walk away from their obligations to the workforce when they decide to shut the shop. Fórsa won't accept our members being treated with such deplorable disposability, and the first step will be to fight for certainty.”

Members in Caritas will value your support in the coming weeks. Please share this article on social media, and send messages of solidarity to smcelhinney@forsa.ie.

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.

More than 3,000 health workers in 79 countries have lost their lives due to Covid-19 according to Amnesty International, which conceded that the real figure is likely to be higher because of significant under-reporting.

In a report published earlier this month, Amnesty said Russia had the highest death toll among healthcare workers, with 545 fatalities. The UK followed a close second with 540 healthcare deaths.

Ireland was not included in the Amnesty analysis.

Health workers reported serious shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE) in almost all the counties surveyed. Amnesty says trade restrictions may have aggravated this problem.

The report, Exposed, silenced, attacked: Failures to protect health and essential workers during the Covid-19 pandemic, also examined the treatment of workers and the consequences they face if they speak out about their working conditions or the official approach to tackling the pandemic.

In many countries, this can mean arrest, detention, threats, dismissal.

Addressing the Oireachtas special committee on Covid-19 earlier this week, Fórsa officials Éamonn Donnelly and Catherine Keogh said over a quarter of the 8,347 Irish health workers who have contracted the virus work in grades and professions represented by Fórsa.

Éamonn told the committee that the HSE had to be fully compliant with agreed return to work safety protocols to protect its staff and service users.

“The HSE needs to be right at the top of the game in ensuring the health services are compliant with the return to work safely protocols. Right now they are behind the pace on the matter,” he said.

Catherine told the committee that home help workers were the “unsung heroes” of the pandemic, and stressed the need for community health workers to be included in future planning for dealing with a potential second wave.

“Home help workers kept many people out of acute hospitals. This element of the health service must be a part of any conversation about dealing with a second wave,” she said.

Watch the Oireachtas committee hearing HERE. 

Read the Amnesty International report HERE. 

You can see the final session in our wellness webinar series, which took place on Wednesday (22nd July) when Fórsa official and pensions guru Billy Hannigan spoke with financial expert Trevor Gardiner about managing money in these uncertain times. Trevor outlined some simple ways to save money and plan for the future, and offered some free support services to Fórsa members in financial difficulty.

The series was brought to you in association with Cornmarket, which administer two of the Union’s salary protection schemes, featured experts on a range of topics from managing anxiety to motivation at work and home. The earlier sessions are now available as podcasts, and you can listen back HERE. 

The series was informed by recent survey which found that 80% of Fórsa members experienced anxiety during the Covid-19 crisis. Half of the respondents said mental health and lack of motivation were their top concerns, with a huge proportion having trouble sleeping. A quarter of the respondents placed money concerns at the top of their list of worries.

The results reflect the stress of a period when thousands of Fórsa members have stepped-up to serve in high-risk frontline environments, with many more having to rapidly adjust to remote working.

Listen back to the wellness series HERE.

For more information on the services offered by Cornmarket click HERE.

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

Fórsa’s summer series of webinars on campaigning issues continues later today (Friday), when a panel of experts discuss climate action and automation. The lunchtime session will feature contributions from Professor of green political economy John Barry, Dr Mary Murphy of Maynooth University, Fórsa’s Niall Shanahan, and consultant on climate change law Sinead Mercier.

You can join this afternoon’s webinar HERE at 1pm. 

The panel will discuss the two major economic and social transitions which are likely to accelerate in the coming decade – the transition to a low carbon economy, and the transition brought about by the revolution of digital technology. Our experts will explore how these transitions can be managed in a way that’s beneficial to workers.

Designed to equip the union’s senior activists with the skills and tools to lead local campaigns, the summer series offers opportunities to discuss and debate on some of the pressing issues of interest to Fórsa activists across a range of economic, social, equality and environmental topics.

To register for the final session, the future of work (31st July) please click HERE.

Be sure to follow the event on Twitter using the hashtag #FórsaSummerSeries.

 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.

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.

Fórsa has criticised a recent Government announcement to improve parental leave provision as the “bare minimum,” which Ireland is obliged to introduce under European law.

Parents of babies born during the pandemic are to get an extra three weeks of paternity leave under new measures.

The administration claims the change, which applies to mothers and fathers of children born after 1st November 2019, will address the challenges facing new parents in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, including absence of traditional childcare supports.

But Fórsa’s equality officer Andy Pike said the additional three weeks of parental leave would do little to help families struggling with work and life balance due to Covid-19.

“The new measure represents the very bare minimum the Government is obliged to put in place under a 2019 European Directive on work-life balance. This EU legislation obliges our Government to legislate for the additional parental leave by November,” he said.

He said the Government had passed up an opportunity to make a difference to thousands of families, who need additional support to balance work and family commitments.

And he noted that the announcement came shortly after the Government’s refusal to extend maternity leave for new mothers who have exhausted rights to statutory maternity leave and parental leave during the pandemic.

“It demonstrates that the new administration has failed to support working families who cannot access childcare. “Fórsa believes that much more meaningful steps should be taken to ensure parents who will not be able to access childcare can be supported with additional statutory leave entitlements.

“New parents with young babies who cannot access childcare are a particular concern. This measure is a bare minimum approach from the new Government, which shows a lack of imagination and a lack of leadership,” he said.

Once it comes into effect in November, the measure will mean an extra six weeks parental leave per family, paid at a rate of €245 per week.

The director of National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI), Orla O’Connor, agreed that the move doesn’t adequately address the needs of mothers on maternity leave during the lockdown.

She said the change had been expected, but the November commencement date meant many women will lose out.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has warned against an “emerging culture of hatred and intolerance,” which is being fuelled by far-right groups.

The federation criticised an increasing trend of right-wing hate campaigns that seek to discredit progressive politicians and groups.

The statement came on foot of a campaign against the Green Party’s Roderic O’Gorman, who was targeted with sustained homophobic online abuse. Fórsa and other unions expressed solidarity with the children’s minister.

In a related development, Fórsa recently joined an international boycott of Facebook advertising, which aims to force the platform to enforce stronger restrictions on hate speech and the spread of misinformation.

ICTU general secretary Patricia King said the attack on O’Gorman was a worrying example of a trend that needed to be challenged.

“There can be no place for such hate-speak in our public life. It is toxic, undermines free speech and democratic debate, and we cannot allow it to take root in our societies. As trade unionists we must be absolutely clear and forthright in our opposition to such campaigns and must challenge the shadowy groupings behind them,” she said.

ICTU called on social media companies to monitor the activities of far-right groups, and take action to stop hate speech on their platforms.

In a related move, Fórsa recently joined an international boycott of Facebook advertising organised by the ‘stop profit for hate’ campaign, which called on corporations and individuals to stop advertising on Facebook until the platform enforces stronger restrictions on hate speech and the spread of misinformation.

The union’s head of communications, Bernard Harbor, said that almost a third of the platform’s top 58 advertisers had suspended activity in July. “But small advertisers make up the bulk of Facebook’s revenue, so it was important for Fórsa to support the campaign,” he said.

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

Fórsa has published new 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. 

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.