Today’s demonstration starts at the Merrion Hotel in Dublin’s Upper Merrion Street at 12 noon and finishes at 1.30pm. Fórsa and SIPTU members, working in Local Employment Services (LES) and Job Clubs are set to demand an immediate intervention from Taoiseach Michael Martin today (Monday) at a protest outside the Department of the Taoiseach. Unions say the protest will highlight the threat to the livelihoods of their members and the vital services they provide to the community from the imminent threat of privatisation. The unions have said a Government-imposed tendering process favours for-profit providers over the current community-focussed, not-for-profit service. […]

Ireland’s school secretaries are to stage a one-day strike on Wednesday 15th September, and will gather in the capital for a national rally on the same day. Their union Fórsa said pickets would be placed on the Dublin headquarters of the Department of Finance and Department of Public Expenditure and Reform (DPER), which stand accused of blocking implementation of a Government commitment to standardise pay and conditions of school secretaries. Most of them earn just €12,500 a year, with irregular short-term contracts that force them to sign on during the summer holidays and other school breaks. Almost a year ago, the […]

Patricia King, General Secretary has written to An Taoiseach Micheal Martin TD to outline the principle concerns for the next phase of the return to work.  You can read the full text of this letter here.