The ninth edition of Fórsa magazine is now available and circulating in workplaces. In our Winter-Spring 2020 edition Bernard Harbor looks at the political timing, and internal moving parts, of a new public service pay deal to succeed the current PSSA, which expires at the end of the year. We look at the union’s support for health professionals regulated by CORU, equality for workers from the Travelling Community, the trend for unpaid work trials, the right to disconnect and the inclusion of social class in Ireland’s equality legislation.

We also meet a group of activists from our Dublin Hospitals branch, find out more about the education system in Palestine, and there’s helpful information on changes to the management of your taxation details at Revenue, in addition to a mix of culture, food, Raymond Connolly’s sideways look at music and opinion from writer Aingeala Flannery.

Pick up a copy in your workplace, in your nearest Fórsa office or download a PDF copy from our website HERE.

The School Secretaries branch has accepted an invitation to return to talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) about the ongoing dispute over the two-tier pay system affecting two-thirds of the estimated 3,000 school secretaries nationwide. Read more about that here and here.

A new advocacy group, launching this morning, will put pressure on politicians to commit to a referendum on inserting the right to a home into the Constitution. Home for Good, which is being fronted by former Barnardos chief executive Fergus Finlay, is calling for the protection of the right to property to be “balanced” by the insertion of a new provision declaring that the right of citizens to a “decent, affordable and safe home is fundamental to the common good”.

The GAA Club Players Association have signaled their intent to adopt a more 'militant strategy' but ruled out striking after a survey of their members showed support for such an approach. A new survey revealed that over 77% of its members would back a more aggressive approach and while a statement from the CPA does not spell out exactly what action could be taken.

The IMO has received around 240 pay claims from interns in relation to work they did prior to or adjacent to induction week in 2019. IMO Industrial Relations Officer Mr Paul Maier said this was work done outside the agreed 39-hour week for induction, for which payment was introduced last year. Activities included completing advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) courses and e-learning modules mandated by intern networks. 

The Times reports that the scale of school closures on February 4th next is set to be greater than anticipated after the Association of Secondary Teachers of Ireland (ASTI) issued instruction to members including principals and deputies not to provide cover for their striking colleagues. About 19,000 Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI) members in secondary schools, institutes of technology and centres for further education are due to stage a one-day stoppage next month, just days before the general election, in protest at the existing two-tier pay system for teachers. 

Congress General Secretary Patricia King said “the planned increases to the State Pension qualifying age to 67 years from next January and to 68 years in 2028 is a key election issue that Congress has been campaigning on for many years and she described the government policy on the matter as “wholly unacceptable”.

In US news, the Republican-controlled US Senate voted on party lines to approve the rules for President Donald Trump's impeachment trial, rejecting Democratic efforts to obtain evidence and ensure witnesses are heard.

And finally, today is the final day to register to vote for people who wish to cast a ballot in the upcoming general election, with the deadline being the close of business in local authority offices. If you are not already on the electoral register, you can be added to the supplementary register, but your application must be received 15 days before polling day (not including Sundays or public holidays), which is Wednesday. In order to be included on the supplementary register, a RFA2 form must be downloaded online and then brought to a Garda station, along with photo ID. The form must be signed in the presence of a member of the force who will then stamp it, and then it must be delivered to the relevant local authority. 

We have some easy listening as our zen this morning. On this day in 1966 The Beach Boys went into the studio to record 'Wouldn't It Be Nice', which would be the opening track on their forthcoming album Pet Sounds. Have a listen to it here. 

Have a good day folks.