The Tánaiste has ruled out significant pay rises for civil and public sector workers in the next public service agreement. Read more on that here.

This week's NPHET meeting has been moved to tomorrow, ahead of the Cabinet's decision on easing coronavirus restrictions. The expectation is that the country will move into a "Level 3 plus" from midnight on Tuesday, 1 December next week. 

It looks like more positive news on the vaccine front. Two Irish scientists, who were involved in the development of a coronavirus vaccine at Oxford University, have said the results from phase 3 of the trials are "fantastic" and "promising". British AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford have said their jointly-developed vaccine against Covid-19 has shown "an average efficacy of 70%" in trials.

Meanwhile, the Irish boss of Qantas has said it will be mandatory for passengers to get vaccinated against Covid-19 before travelling on its aircraft.

RTÉ reports that the number of people set to receive the PUP this week is 352,078 - an increase of just over 2,000 in the last seven days.The 352,000 PUP claimants do not include a further 203,172 people reported on the Live Register at the end of October.

The Taoiseach has expressed concern at “complacency” among some small businesses over their failure to prepare for Brexit and the significant new customs for trade with Britain from January 1^st, according to The Times.

RapeCrisis Midwest has said there was a marked increase in calls to its helpline during the first phase of the pandemic, many from those aged in their 40s who were confronting past sexual abuse for the first time. 

Elsewhere, anyone found guilty of sharing intimate images without consent will face up to seven years in prison under new offences to tackle the non-consensual posting of sexual images.

And finally, The Times reports that a housing rating agency says the pandemic will speed up “fundamental shifts” in the European housing market, with affordability declining for young and low income groups, despite falling house prices.

Today’s zen comes in the form of a Netflix recommendation that lured me in over the weekend. ‘We Are the Champions’ is a light-hearted documentary series which celebrates the most obscure human achievements. The short episodes explore an array of unique competitions, from the quirky to the bizarre, meeting their passionate communities along the way. Allow yourself just half an hour and watch experts in the fields of cheese rolling, championship yo-yoing, chili pepper eating and frog jumping take centre-stage.

ICTU’s Dr. Laura Bamrick has this opinion piece in The Journal on the future of work.