Fórsa members can tune in to a free retirement planning webinar, hosted by Cornmarket exclusively for the union, from 5.00pm today. The online information session will offer guidance on all aspects of retirement, from financial planning, to taking care of your mental health during the transition and will run for 90 minutes. Registration for the event is free and can be accessed here.

The Government has published a revised edition of the Climate Action Bill, which commits to Ireland becoming carbon neutral by no later than 2050. The proposed legislation includes a number of targets that would reduce carbon emissions over the next three decades in line with international commitments.

Concerns have been raised that supports for factory workers are not sufficient and are resulting in employees feeling pressured to work even while infected with Covid-19, according to SIPTU.

The Financial Services Union has called on Bank of Ireland to reconsider its position on branch closures and to provide more clarity when it appears before Oireachtas committee today. Bank of Ireland announced its plans to close 88 branches in the Republic of Ireland and 15 branches in Northern Ireland in February.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) has strongly defended the Government's proposals to boost remote working, and has hit out at calls for the right to disconnect from work to be scrapped. Secretary Patricia King raised an issue with a recent article in the Irish Times by the Head of Employment Law at Mason Hayes and Curran Melanie Crowley, in which the author said government proposals to give workers the right to disconnect could damage international competitiveness.

Elsewhere, ICTU has also said the National Minimum Wage should rise by almost 3% or 30 cent to €10.50 per hour from next January. In a submission to the Low Pay Commission, Congress describes the context for this year's review as "somewhat unique" - given the pandemic and Brexit. More on that here. 

Alice-Mary Higgins has this op-ed in the Journal on ‘Quality Public Procurement’ and how we can get more from money spent on public contracts if better use of quality criteria is made. 

In happier news, actor Ricky Tomlinson and other members of the so-called Shrewsbury 24, who were convicted for picketing nearly 50 years ago, have won a bid to clear their names at the UK Court of Appeal. Two dozen trade unionists who picketed during the 1972 national builders’ strike were charged with offences including unlawful assembly, conspiracy to intimidate and affray for picketing, with 22 of them convicted. The pickets were striking for better wages and health and safety, at a time when many workers were injured or killed on building sites.

Lastly, today’s zen marks 21 years since Sinead O’Connor’s album 'I Do Not Want What I Haven't Got' which charted at No.1 on the UK and US charts featuring the hit single 'Nothing Compares To You.’

And almost as old as the song above is this missing cat that reunited with its owners nearly 14 years after it went missing.

Have a good week everyone.