FAO: Fórsa clerical and admin members, grades III to VI in Tusla

Dear member,

Further to my previous correspondence with you regarding the industrial action underway amongst Fórsa members who are clerical and admin workers in Tusla, grades III to VI, I am writing to update you.

Yesterday we served notice to your employer of an escalation of the industrial action underway since the 25^th of October, following a decision by the disputes committee. The escalation will commence from your normal starting time on Monday 4^th of December 2023. The detailed nature of the escalation is set out in correspondence from Fórsa to your employer yesterday. You can read that  letter here. It contains detailed instructions for members to follow. I would urge you to read it in full.

Please note this escalation is in addition to the industrial action that is currently underway, so the existing instruction continues to remain in place.

As you know our action arises because of Tusla’s breach of the 2013 Framework Agreement, specifically related to access to the job evaluation scheme.

It is our position that DPER or DCEIDY sanction is not required for Tusla to grant you access to the job evaluation scheme as it is one of the existing agreements between Tulsa and the union under the 2013 Framework Agreement. It is unacceptable for Tusla to continue to deny our members access to the job evaluation scheme.

All members in the above grades are hereby instructed (in addition to the current industrial action) that as and from your normal starting time on Monday 4^th of December 2023, you must:

1.    Not provide cover for any work colleagues in their absence, irrespective of the reason or length of time of the absence. This includes but is not exclusive to, annual leave, sick leave, maternity leave, carers leave, parental leave. Exceptions to this will now require specific approval/derogation from our national disputes committee.

• Each derogation will only be considered on an individual case-by-case basis.
• Each derogation request must be accompanied by a detailed risk assessment in each case and for each specific task required to be covered.
• Each derogation request must also set out the reason for the vacancy and length of time of the vacancy and the period for which the derogation is sought.

2.   Not to answer or make calls, i.e. phone calls or video calls outside the following hours:

• 10am to 1pm
• 2pm to 4pm

This includes not using of any phones, landlines, work mobiles, or any video calling via platforms such as Teams, Webex, Zoom, etc., outside of the times specified above

• Voicemail should be activated outside of these hours to advise callers of the industrial action.
• The instruction includes all incoming and outgoing calls from/to any internal and external sources, whether they be by phone or video platform.

The following lines are exempted from this instruction:

• Tusla’s ‘dedicated contact points’ phone lines for reporting child protection concerns
• Tusla’s ‘Emergency Out of Hours Service’ phone lines
• Tusla’s Head Office main reception phone lines

In addition to these instructions the process for seeking derogations has changed.

All derogation requests will now be centralised to the union’s national disputes committee via Tusla’s national employee relations service and must be accompanied by a detailed risk assessment for each duty or task the derogation is being sought for. The process is outlined in detail in the letter sent to Tusla which you can read here. 

Please note existing derogations must be reviewed in the context of the revised instruction and could require Tusla to seek a new derogation.

If you have any queries regarding how you should interpret this instruction, please contact in the first instance your local branch or Fórsa official who will advise you. 

An FAQ is available on our website, you can consult it here. 

For your information we will be instructing all our members working in Tusla, but not directly involved in this dispute, not to carry out the work of their colleagues who are in dispute, nor engage in activities which would be deemed to undermine a legitimate industrial action.

Should you have further questions please contact your local representative and branch. If you are unsure of who to contact, please contact your closest Fórsa office:

• Cork 021 4255 210 forsacork@forsa.ie
• Limerick 061 319 177 forsalimerick@forsa.ie
• Galway 091 778 031 forsagalway@forsa.ie
• Sligo 071 914 2400 forsasligo@forsa.ie
• Dublin Head Office: 01 8171500 healthandwelfareinfo@forsa.ie

You can download a PDF version of this letter here.

I want to thank you for your participation in this industrial action to date which is much appreciated.   We need to stand strong, hold our resolve and keep united in our actions in order to achieve our aims.  

Yours sincerely,

Chris Cully
Assistant General Secretary
National Office – Health & Welfare Division