Industrial action by Fórsa school secretaries has been suspended to facilitate talks with school management bodies and the Department of Education at the Workplace Relations Commission. The union issued a statement on the matter yesterday which has received coverage both locally and nationally. Talks are due to commence tomorrow.

Image magazine did a piece on the Four Day Week and quoted our own Joe O'Connor. While the article does identify some potential issues with the concept, it's quick to suggest ways to combat these - concluding on a positive note saying, "When you get it working right, it will be worth the effort."

Another campaign which aims to improve people's work/life balance is the FSU's 'Right to Disconnect' initiative. After the campaign's launch earlier this month, the union has set up a petition urging the Minister for Business, Enterprise and Innovation to introduce/support positive legislation mandating all employments to introduce a ‘right to disconnect’ workplace policy through engagement with their trade unions/worker representatives. You can show your support and add your name to the call here. 

It has emerged that both Leo Varadkar and Micheál Martin have cast votes on behalf of others in the Dáil. While it has also come to light that a vote was cast on behalf of Martin while he was not present in the chamber. The Taoiseach also admitted yesterday that he doesn't know why the State's chief procurement officer has resigned from the development board of the National Children's Hospital.

Up to 500 jobs will be lost in Clare as Molex Ireland announced yesterday that it intends to close its facility in Shannon by the end of next year. There may be further bad news on the jobs front in Co Cork today as staff at the Swiss pharmaceutical manufacturer Novartis have been called to a meeting at 8am this morning, where it is expected significant job losses will be announced.

Some good news on the industrial front however sees a supermarket chain in Donegal secure a new pay deal with increases from a minimum of 2.5% to 8.5%. Meanwhile, SIPTU members in Stryker, Cork had their claim for trade union recognition endorsed by the Labour Court yesterday.

For the last number of weeks I've taken to searching through my 'liked' tweets for Zen - so here's one I came across recently that serves no other purpose than to hopefully give you a smile. Behold! Possibly the world's smallest fitness instructor.