Dublin City Council water and drainage crews, who have been working tirelessly to fix leaks and burst pipes on foot of last week’s weather emergency, say disruption to water services is coming under control and will be completely resolved in two to three weeks.
Unions representing health workers met with the HSE yesterday (Wednesday 7th March) to examine severe weather protocols, following last week’s status red weather notice.
The HSE staff panel of unions is composed of the INMO, Siptu, Fórsa, IMO, MLSA, Connect and Unite trade unions. Yesterday’s meeting with the HSE’s human resources staff was arranged to look at issues arising in the HSE and in HSE-funded service providers as a result of the extreme weather.
Fórsa has welcomed the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights for Persons with Disabilities. The convention was ratified by the Dáil yesterday (Wednesday 7th March 2018). The union is calling on the Government to introduce a range of measures to support employment of people with disabilities.
This month marks the deadline set by Minister for Education Richard Bruton for the review led by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) of the Special Needs Assistant (SNA) scheme.
Fórsa's deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan says the review has been shrouded in secrecy, and warns against changes away from diagnosis-driven access to SNA support. Any attempt to remove or diminish access to additional care support for children with special education needs would be a cause of grave concern for the union and its members.
Fórsa has finally agreed the introduction of vehicle monitoring in Revenue enforcement vehicles after establishing clear conditions for the operation of the system.
The re-municipalisation of privatised refuse and waste services could reduce costs for households and businesses, while improving pay and working conditions for staff, according to a new study published by the European Federation of Public Service Unions (EPSU).
Fórsa trade union’s School Secretaries' branch has launched a survey aimed at members and non-members throughout the country. The purpose of the survey is to assist Fórsa officials in gaining further insight into the many daily challenges encountered by school secretaries.
The Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) has agreed to give permanent contracts to a number of temporary staff working on its public service card project.
Fórsa has raised staffing issues linked to the extension of the Cork City Council boundary into areas now run by Cork County Council with management in both authorities. The union is strongly advocating for a joint management-union forum, involving both councils, to discuss this and related matters.
Status red weather notice UPDATED THURSDAY 1st March 2018
Health minister agrees with Fórsa re: snow absence
Following representations from Fórsa yesterday and this morning, health minister Simon Harris has agreed that “anyone who can’t get to work or whose workplace is closed will receive emergency leave with pay and will not have to make up time.”
Fórsa is seeking the same commitment from all employers.
Stay safe.
Status red
Met Éireann has issued a status red warning for the entire country until 15:00hrs Friday 2nd March.
Fórsa offices will remain closed until Monday 5th March.
Fórsa members are advised to liaise locally with employers about working arrangements.
HSE
Wednesday 28th February
The HSE staff panel of trade unions, which includes Fórsa, wrote to the HSE yesterday (Tuesday 27th February) to say the panel does not accept the HSE's position (outlined in its memo 27th February) that staff must take leave from their annual leave complement if they cannot attend work for health and safety reasons during the status red weather warning.
The panel has advised that this matter remains in dispute, and a meeting between the staff panel and HSE management is scheduled to take place next Wednesday (7th March).
The HSE staff panel of unions is composed of the INMO, Siptu, Fórsa, IMO, MLSA, Connect and Unite trade unions.
Fórsa has agreed to enter a dialogue about the future of water service delivery with the Government and employers. Like other unions however, the union has ruled out an Irish Water proposal for a single water authority.
Fórsas' engagement in the dialogue will commence when the union gets assurances that neither the Government nor Irish Water intends to unilaterally change current arrangements, which are based on ‘service level agreements’ between Irish Water and local authorities.
The cost of childcare in Dublin is significantly higher than in other parts of the country, according to a new report. Leitrim had the lowest average full-time childcare costs, while Dun Laoighaire-Rathdown is the most expensive.
The cost of childcare in Dublin is significantly higher than in other parts of the country, according to a new report. The study of the affordability of childcare in Ireland finds that full-time childcare for one child in Fingal costs 40% of a medium-earning worker’s net income.
Ireland spends less on health administration than our European peers according to a new system of health accounts. A new system of health accounts, which compares health spending to population rather than economic activity, shows that Ireland spends less than many of its peers, including Denmark, Belgium, Austria and the Netherlands.
Fórsa and other civil service unions have demanded a meeting with the Civil Service Management Board, which is made up of departmental secretaries-general, to seek an urgent resolution of problems with the PeoplePoint system.
Job evaluation assesses the skills and responsibilities required of a particular post, rather than the individual performing it. The process measures whether or not a specific post is correctly graded. Fórsa secured an agreement for job evaluation in higher education in 2015. Three years on, there’s still no movement, but the Department of Education and Skills can no longer afford to keep its head in the sand.
Fórsa has called on the Government to allocate funds to hire up to 125 additional driver testers to deal with an inevitable surge in demand for driving tests on foot of proposed new sanctions on car owners who allow their vehicles to be used by unaccompanied learner drivers. The union says measures in the amended Road Traffic Bill could double demand in the short term, potentially increasing driving test waiting times to as long as 55 weeks.
Fórsa can now engage in a process to deal with pay restoration in ‘section 39’ agencies after other organisations in the sector finally agreed to sign up. The progress followed talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) this week.
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Fórsa trade union said today (Friday) that it had decided against balloting Ryanair pilots on a company-imposed pay package after its members in the airline unanimously said it would be unacceptable to put the proposal to a vote in its present form. The pilots were consulted in a series of general meetings.
Éamonn Donnelly head of Fórsa's Health & Welfare division.
The failure of politicians and health service managers to place the health and social care professions at the centre of service planning will hamper the implementation of the ‘Sláintecare’ health reform programme, which won cross-party political support last year, according to Fórsa.
The Department of Health has committed that the HSE will bring forward a review of pay policy in agencies that are funded by the public health service, but which operate independently of the HSE (known as ‘section 39’ agencies). Fórsa said the decision to undertake the review meant that its proposed industrial action in the sector would be averted.
