Fo rsa Issue 4 Cover_Layout 1

The magazine forFórsa members

Issue No4Autumn-Winter 2018 In this issue

New entrants payRyanair cabin crew: summer of changeHousing crisis: #RaiseTheRoof Brexit and the unionsLimerick Suicide WatchFórsa Youth CommitteeBenefits of membership Fórsa Insights: Love In The Wild SNA smartphone app

Plus all the latest union news with food, music, culture, travel and competitions

forsa.ie

The Ryanair pilots’ dispute

Five daysof summer

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Autumn-Winter 2018

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Five daysof summerThe Ryanair pilots'dispute

President’s foreword

AS WE head into the autumn months, I’d like to take this opportunity to reflect on abusy summer for our organisation.

I’ve received a very warm welcome from Fórsa’s five divisional committees this year.Meeting with them has given me an opportunity to inform myself of the issues ourmembers face in their diverse range of workplaces.

September saw the dispute at Ryanair reach a successful conclusion. I visited pilotson the picket line several times during the five strike days, where there was a greatsense of solidarity and public support for their action.

It was good to see that the intensive negotiations that followed, facilitated by KieranMulvey, produced an agreement that the pilots were able to back unanimously.

It marked the completion of a lot of hard work by many in our organisation, and Iwould also like to acknowledge the assistance of our colleagues from ICTU. Inaddition, I welcome the fact that we’ve signed an exclusive recognition agreementwith Ryanair on behalf of directly employed cabin crew.

Our members in Roscommon County Council also fought hard to win their dispute onflexible work. The solidarity shown by branches and members throughout Fórsa wasextraordinary.

However, we remain concerned the scheme is not being implemented to its fullpotential. This is being monitored closely by the divisional executive and theofficials.

September also saw measures introduced to resolve the outstanding issue of newentrants pay. This is very much welcomed and the Public Services Committee ofCongress is to be commended on a job well done. It means public servants will nolonger be at a long-term disadvantage based on when they were recruited.

I want to thank general secretary Tom Geraghty for his many valued years of serviceto the union. As a friend to many in Fórsa he will be truly missed, but we sincerelywish him well in his new role as Deputy Chair of the Labour Court.

Finally, I wish to thank the branch activists, officers and union staff across all theoffices for the great work they’re doing within Fórsa.

1The magazine for Fórsa members

Editorial

Fórsa is produced by Fórsa tradeunion's Communications Unit andis edited by Niall Shanahan.Deputy editor Roisin McKane.

Front cover: Fórsa on the picketline, Dublin Airport, 12th July2018. Photo: Conor Healypictureitphotography.ie

Ann McGee, Fórsa President

October 2018


THE RESOLVE of members involved inboth the Ryanair and RoscommonCounty Council disputes was tested,and ultimately vindicated.

Our members in Roscommon CountyCouncil suspended a planned fifth dayof industrial action with less than 24hours to go, following statements fromthe National Oversight Body and arecommendation issued by theWorkplace Relations Commission.

The Roscommon members had battledon the issue of flexi-leave with theiremployer for years. In the end, takingtheir strike action into a fifth day proveddecisive in shifting management’sapproach. Nevertheless, the struggle toestablish a normal application of flexibleworking arrangements continues there.

Similarly, the Ryanair pilots’ disputedominated the daily news cyclethroughout July and August, much tothe relief/delight of the nation’s newseditors.

Aside from the attention usuallyafforded to any aviation dispute, thisone had a number of unique factors. Ittook place in high summer. It involvedfive 24-hour stoppages. Above all, ittook place in an airline where organisingworkers and engaging in a dispute had,for so long, seemed unthinkable.

In addition, getting the parties aroundthe negotiating table with anindependent third party facilitator –which the union had pushed forthroughout the dispute – was a first forthe airline.

Announcing the result of their ballot onthe final agreement in September, theIALPA branch said “pilots in Ryanairhave now firmly found a unified voice.”

Finding a unified voice turns out to bethe story of 2018 for this, the country’snewest trade union, with both Ryanairpilots and Roscommon County Councilworkers showing how five days can bedecisive.

In 2013 unions secured an agreementto merge the pre-2010 and post-2010pay scales. The latter had beenunilaterally set 10% lower. It was one ofthe many measures introduced by theGovernment during the economic crisisto reduce the public pay bill.

New entrantsMerging the pay scales in 2013 was animportant first step to removing thedisadvantage faced by new entrants. Itreceived little (if any) media attention atthe time, or since.

In September, two years earlier thanpreviously envisaged under the currentpay deal, unions secured measures tobypass the two additional scale pointsfor new entrants.

The measures will apply on the nextincrement date that falls on or after 1stMarch 2019, bringing the work ofeliminating two-tier pay to a satisfyingconclusion n

In this issue

2 Autumn-Winter 2018

FIVE DAYS OF SUMMER

NEWS..............................................................................................................................................4New entrants measures, new overnight subsistence rate & more news

RYANAIR CABIN CREW LAND CHARTER ............................................................................8A unique gathering of Ryanair crew at Forsa’s HQ led to a summer of change

RAISE THE ROOF ....................................................................................................................1010,000 gather to deliver a message on the housing crisis

BREXIT & THE UNIONS ..........................................................................................................12Could the UK unions shift the tide by backing a People’s Vote?

IALPA v RYANAIR ....................................................................................................................14Five extraordinary days, one extraordinary battle

KEEPING WATCH......................................................................................................................16The volunteer project that’s making a difference in Limerick

FÓRSA BENEFITS....................................................................................................................18Find out more about the value of your subscription

YOUTHQUAKE ..........................................................................................................................20The issues facing younger workers ....................................................................................

FÓRSA INSIGHTS ....................................................................................................................22Audience reaction to our staging of Love In The Wild

IN CONVERSATION WITH ......................................................................................................25We speak to Eoin Ronayne on the benefits available to COs

GATE KEEPERS ........................................................................................................................26A look at the work of customs officers and their canine sidekicks

TROMSØ TOUR ........................................................................................................................28Sean Purtill on his unique Arctic voyage

SNAPP ........................................................................................................................................31A new smartphone information app for SNAs

NO PLACE FOR WOMEN ........................................................................................................32New opinion column: Aingeala Flannery takes the State to task

FOOD............................................................................................................................................34Daniel Devery on edible remedies for Autumnal lurgies

TRAVEL ......................................................................................................................................36Úna-Minh Kavanagh on customs and taboos

CULTURE VULTURE ................................................................................................................38Hazel Gavigan explores the Hamilton phenomenon

PUBLIC VERSUS PRIVATE ....................................................................................................40The best music comes from council estates, not family estates

WIN WIN WIN..............................................................................................................................43Crossword, competitions and prize survey

Five days, two points, one voice

Autumn-Winter 2018

8

ITF

10

Raise The Roof

16

Limerick

Suicide Watch

31

SNA App

32

Opinion

Editorial

Niall Shanahan.

It’s been a remarkable few months for this newly formed union. Less than ayear since Fórsa’s formation and we’ve seen two very high profile disputes.Both involved facing off with employers who were determined to have it alltheir own way. More recently, the measures to address new entrants paymarks another significant result on pay restoration.


Latest Fórsa news


Unions secure measures toaddress new entrants’ payFÓRSA HAS said that newly agreedmeasures on public service newentrants’ pay successfully addressesthe task that unions undertook in 2013to resolve the issue.

Speaking in September after a plenarymeeting between ICTU's PublicServices Committee (PSC) negotiatinggroup and representatives of theDepartment of Public Expenditure andReform, Fórsa's senior generalsecretary Shay Cody said the newmeasures will mean that public servantswill no longer be at a long-termdisadvantage based on the year inwhich they were recruited.

Years“When we negotiated the HaddingtonRoad Agreement in 2013, wesuccessfully merged the pre-2010 andpost-2010 pay scales. The remainingissue to be resolved was that post-2010 recruits had two additional pointson their pay scales, which means it tookthem two years longer to reach the topof their scale.

“Under the terms agreed in the PublicService Stability Agreement (PSSA) lastyear, we achieved a commitment toresolve the remaining issue, which hasnow been brought to a conclusion twoyears earlier than originally anticipated.This completes the task we began by

Sylvia Meehan.

Shay Cody.

merging the pay scales in 2013,” hesaid.

PointsThe newly agreed measures identify twopoints on each pay scale – year four andyear eight – which new entrant publicservants will now skip.

For example, a public service workerrecruited in 2016 (currently on point 3)will move to point 5 of the scale –instead of point 4 – in 2019.

Similarly, a public service workerrecruited in 2013 (currently on point 6)will move to point 9 of the scale(skipping points 7 and 8) in 2019,meaning that public servants with morethan four years of service are not at anydisadvantage.

Mr Cody said that bypassing of points 4and 8 of the scales ensured anequitable outcome for new entrants indifferent circumstances. He said: “Weare satisfied that the measures we’vedeveloped in our discussions with theGovernment have achieved thisoutcome.”

Congress housing

lobby campaign

shows appetite

for changeTHE IRISH Congress of Trade Unions’report on its housing lobbying campaignshows strong support among TDs forradical action to tackle the housing andhomelessness crisis.

The lobby campaign focused on TDs inFianna Fáil, Fine Gael and independentsin government, and sought their supportfor the Congress Charter for HousingRights.

The Charter calls for the declaration of ahousing emergency, an end to evictionsinto homelessness, action of security of

tenure and rent certainty andestablishing a legal right to housing.

The campaign showed the strongestsupport for the measures outlined in theCharter amongst Fianna Fáil TDs, withthe overwhelming majority of theparliamentary party stating they were‘very supportive’ or ‘broadly supportive’.

There was also support among FineGael TDs and some independents forsome of the measures. The lobbycampaign took place between Februaryand June this year.

Activists as the recent Raise the Roof rally.

Congress President Sheila Nunan saidthe results of the lobby campaign“showed clear support for a significantand radical change in policy on housing,to tackle the emergency.

“We're told the land is there and theresources can be found. It now seemsclear that the political appetite for achange of direction is also there,” MsNunan said.

The report is available to download atictu.ie.

Changes to overnight

subsistence

CHANGES TO the Civil Service rate for overnight domestic subsistenceallowance have increased, from 1st October 2018, following an agreed review.The day rates remain unchanged.

The revised rate of €147.00 replaces the current rate of €133.73.

Due to the exceptionally high cost of hotel accommodation in Dublin, especially atpeak periods, a new vouched rate for Dublin was introduced last year. Previouslythe rate had been capped at €167 – consisting of the overnight rate plus the ’10-hour’ subsistence rate – for which a hotel receipt must be provided.

This has now increased to €147.00 plus the 10-hour day rate of €33.61.

Under the terms of the Haddington Road Agreement (2013), the Governmentsignalled its intention to conduct a review of how travel and subsistence rates arecalculated. The agreement committed unions and management to cooperatingwith the review, and with the implementation of a standardised system of traveland subsistence across the public service.

Sylvia

Meehan

remembered

IT WAS with great sadness that welearned of the passing of SylviaMeehan, a true champion of equality,and mother of our Fórsa colleague JohnMeehan, who works in the Municipalemployees division of Fórsa.

Sylvia studied legal and political scienceat UCD, where she was the first womanto win the UCD Literary and HistoricalAssociation gold medal in 1951. Shebegan her career in teaching, becomingheavily involved with the ASTI duringher teaching years and the Women’sCommittee of ICTU.

She served as the first chair and chiefexecutive of the Employment EqualityAuthority, from its establishment in1977 until 1992.

On her lifelong activism and pursuit ofequality she said, “As I was growing up,it was quite normal to pay women lessfor doing the same work as a man. Isuppose I always knew about it. It waswhen I became a widow with five youngchildren, as a newly qualified teacher,that it hit home. In a nearby school, aman who was separated from his wifewas paid more than me. He received amarried man’s allowance. There was nomarried woman’s allowance.

“All over Ireland there was a male andfemale rate for the job. The ‘strongersex’, so-called, received a bulkier wagepacket. I resolved to do somethingabout that with other women in thepost-1960s women’s movement.”

In retirement Sylvia fought injustice andwas a founder member and President ofthe Senior Citizen’s Parliament, a boardmember of Age and Opportunity, whereshe championed and fought for therights of senior citizens.

Pay

restoration

agreement

for Section

39 agency

workers

FÓRSA AND other unions representingstaff working in HSE funded agencies(Section 39) secured an agreement onpay restoration for workers in theagencies at the beginning of October.

The measures were approved by Fórsa’sHealth & Welfare divisional executive.

Under the proposals Section 39workers will receive an additionalpayment of €1000 from April 2019.The remaining pay restoration measureswill be applied in 2020 and 2021.

Fórsa officials Catherine Keogh and IanMcDonnell said the proposals marked asuccessful conclusion to a verychallenging process to achieve payrestoration for Fórsa members workingin Section 39 agencies.

Catherine Keogh said the unions hadachieved a significant result by workingtogether, and thanked staff at theWorkplace Relations Commission (WRC)for their efforts in finalising proposals.

The other unions representing staffwere Siptu, Unite and the INMO,working together as part of a group ledby the Irish Congress of Trade Unions(ICTU).


Latest Fórsa news


School Secretaries

mobilise for pay

equity campaign

FÓRSA’S SCHOOL Secretaries branchis preparing a national campaign toimprove secretaries’ pay next year.

Under the terms of a 2015 arbitrationfinding, the payment of four separatepay rises of 2.5 per cent for schoolsecretaries and caretakers will becompleted by 2019.

The branch plans to launch thecampaign once these pay improvementshave been completed.

Fórsa official Barry Cunninghamexplained that the planning for thecampaign has gained momentum thisyear, following the union’s Educationconference event in April.

“The branch has grown by 15% over thelast year. We’ve established a workinggroup chaired by Maria Dunne andKathleen O’Doherty from our Educationexecutive” he said.

Forsa lead organiser Joe O’Connoradded, “The campaign will launch in2019 when negotiations are due tocommence under the currentadjudication agreement.

“We intend to use the interveningmonths to do the required planning andgroundwork for the campaign, develop

campaign messaging and materials, andraise awareness in the political systemof the plight of school secretaries,” hesaid.

Pay variesCaretakers and secretaries pay ratesvary, as they are determined by theindividual board of management of eachschool, and paid from the ancillarygrants paid to the schools by theDepartment of Education and Skills.

Almost all are paid below the scale paidto equivalent public service workers,including a minority of secretaries andcaretakers who are paid directly by thedepartment.

In a recent in-depth feature on thetreatment of school secretaries,

Kathleen O’Doherty.

respected journalist Mick Clifford wrotein the Irish Examiner that schoolsecretaries “have precious little power ina system in which power talks and thosewithout it must do without.”

He spoke to Kathleen O’Doherty for thearticle, describing how she had, in2001, written to the then minister foreducation pointing out the apparentdisregard for her role. “She has writtento every minister since, and each onehas quietly ignored the problem.”

Kathleen said: “We’re not fightingagainst the boards of management, weknow their hands are tied. But there isno security whatsoever. In fairness toprincipals and boards, a secretary’swages may be the last thing taken intoconsideration simply because things areso tight.”

National Museums Science &

Arts Attendants win agreement

on pay and overtime

National Museums Science & Arts Attendants branch celebrate reachingagreement in the long running pay and overtime integration negotiations. The dealwas concluded recently following a breakthrough side agreement to bring thenegotiations to a close at the PSSA talks last year. The Branch laid its first claimfor the consolidation of overtime and weekend working into basic pay nearly 12years ago. In the picture Liam Walsh (branch secretary), official Paul MacSweeney,Willie Doyle (branch chair) and Eoin Ronayne, Fórsa general secretary.

Betty Tyrrell

Collard

elected

president

of

Dublin

Trades

Council

FORMER CPSU president Betty TyrrellCollard was elected president of theDublin Trades Council in August, takingover from retired Fórsa official PatBolger.

Betty is the branch secretary of DublinCentral Clerical branch, and a memberof Fórsa’s Civil Service divisionalexecutive.

Betty said she was honoured andprivileged to take on the role: “Using theexpertise, experiences and knowledgeof the current Council executive we

Fórsa wants

higher

employer pension

contribution

FÓRSA HAS welcomed the publicationof detailed proposals for new ‘auto-enrolment’ pension arrangements,which would introduce compulsorycontributions from workers and theiremployers. But the union saysemployers and the state shouldcontribute more than workers to thescheme.

The Government proposals, which werelaunched in August, envisage that thescheme would be rolled out from 2022.

Under the current Government plans,workers would have to initiallycontribute 1% of their salary towardstheir pension pot, increasing to 6% by2027, with employers having to matchthe workers contribution. The statewould then pay €1 for every €3 theworker contributes.

Fórsa official Billy Hannigan welcomedthe move, but said it fell short in termsof employer contributions.

“It will provide mandatory pensionentitlements for all workers whereverthey are employed, and will significantlyenhance occupational pensioncoverage. But Fórsa believes theemployer’s contribution must be at leasttwice that of the worker.”

Fórsa backed Government proposals forthe introduction of ‘auto-enrolment’pension schemes for all workers, fundedby contributions from employees,employers and the State, at its nationalconference in May.

need to introduce the Council to newaudiences and groups of workers wholive and work in the city in oftenprecarious conditions.

“We need to re-engage the workingpopulation in dynamic campaigns onissues that represent an urgent priorityin their lives. I look forward to workingwith current and new Council affiliatesand with Congress to ensure that ourlabour strength grows and that we canre-emerge as a significant influence inthe city of Dublin,” she said.

Public Service

Pay CommissionFórsa is to study the first Public ServicePay Commission (PSPC) which waspublished in September.

The latest report looks into nursing,medical consultants, and non-consultant hospital doctors (NCHDs).Future reports will study recruitment

and retention issues for other publicservice grades identified by the PSPC inits initial (2017) report.

The reports are being produced to fulfila commitment in the public service paydeal – the Public Service StabilityAgreement (PSSA) – which commits thepay commission to analyse the causesof recruitment and retention difficultiesin specific areas of the public sector.The agreement also requires theCommission to recommend options todeal with these problems.

The Government approved the terms ofreference for this examination inOctober 2017, after which the PSPC

invited submissions from unionsrepresenting grades identified in itsoriginal report.

Fórsa made written submissions onbehalf of named grades in the healthsector and the civil service, which willbe the subject of future pay commissionreports.

The union put forward evidence to showthat the civil service is struggling torecruit staff in many areas becausesalaries are not keeping pace with thoseavailable in comparable private sectorjobs. It made similar arguments inrespect of various health and social careprofessions.

Organising


THE EVENT, organised by theInternational Transport Workers’Federation (ITF) saw the launch of theRyanair Crew Charter, outliningdemands on economic conditions,safety and rostering, a fair andsupportive work culture, agencyemployment, the right to sick pay andsales targets.

The summit also introduced a number ofRyanair cabin crew workerrepresentatives to assembled media toanswer questions about workingconditions at the airline, the firstengagement of its kind.

RecognitionAt the end of August Fórsa signed anagreement with Ryanair making theunion the sole negotiating union fordirectly employed Ryanair cabin crew inIreland.

The agreement was signed by Fórsaofficials, cabin crew representativesand Ryanair management.

Fórsa official, Ashley Connolly said theagreement marked a new, and verysignificant, milestone in thedevelopment of collective bargaining atthe airline.

Ashley said: “This is a very positivedevelopment and we’re proud to be in aposition now to represent Ryanair cabincrew. Together we look forward to

growing our membership and securingimprovements in terms and conditionsas the negotiating union for Ryanaircabin crew.”

Ashley is now seeking engagement withcabin crew agencies contracted to theairline.

A summer of change

for Ryanair cabin crew

Cabin crew workers from all over Europe convened atFórsa’s head office in Dublin in July for the first everRyanair Crew summit.

The summit introduced Ryanair cabin crew workerrepresentatives to assembled media to answer

questions about working conditions at the airline.

The cabin crew summit was opened byFórsa senior general secretary Shay Cody.

ITF official Eoin Coates. Eoin is a formermember of Fórsa’s cabin crew branch.

In an interview with Newstalk FM Ashleysaid: “It’s important that, for the firsttime in Ryanair, cabin crew membershave a voice. They will be to theforefront of any discussions I have andthey will be present at every meetingthat I carry out with the company.” n

A key demand is that employmentcontracts explicitly recognise nationallaw and jurisdiction in the country aworker is based.


Raise the roof


ON WEDNESDAY, October 3rd Dublinsaw roughly 10,000 people take to thestreets, calling for an end to the housingcrisis. The Raise the Roof rally tookplace outside Leinster house and wasorganised by the Irish Congress of TradeUnions (ICTU), joining forces with theNational Housing and HomelessCoalition and a number of communitygroups, trade unions, students, women’sorganisations, housing agencies andpolitical parties.

The rally coincided with a cross-partymotion in the Dáil calling on theGovernment to enact legislation tolower rents, make it illegal to evictprivate sector tenants intohomelessness and insert a right tohousing into the constitution.

Raise the roof

not the rent

The motion also called for a doubling ofthe capital expenditure on publichousing in Budget 2019 andsubsequently passed by a wide margin.

Fórsa was well represented with staffand activists out in full support. SheilaNunan, president of ICTU was the MCand speakers included Orla O’Connor,director, National Women’s Council ofIreland, Síona Cahill, president, Union ofStudents in Ireland and Fr. PeterMcVerry.

Singers Frances Black and DamienDempsey also provided entertainmentfor the vast crowd of supporters.

There are currently approximately tenthousand people who are homeless in

Ireland with children making up morethan a third of the numbers inemergency accommodation. This figuredoes not include ‘hidden homelessness’,which refers to people living in squats or‘sofa surfing’, women and childrenstaying in domestic violence refugesand people who sleep rough.

Fórsa lead organiser, Joe O’Connorexpressed his gratitude in particular tothe union’s branch campaign officersafter the rally:

“They played an integral role in thesuccess of the day both by stewardingthe stage and mobilizing Fórsa activiststo come out in large numbers.” n

Patricia King, ICTU general secretary.

Fórsa organisers Julie Healy and Bernie Aston. Éamonn de Barra and Damien Dempsey performing at the rally.

Tom Geraghty, Fórsa general secretary andShay Cody, Fórsa senior general secretary.

Gina McDonald, Keivan Jackson and Ruth Crowley.

Bernard Joyce, Irish Traveller Movement.

Aisling Hederman, Take Back the City.

Mary Keating, secretary of Fórsa’s retired members group and organiser Roisin Nolan.

13The magazine for Fórsa members12 Autumn-Winter 201812

EuropeBritish trade unions have been morerelaxed about Brexit than their Irishequivalents. That’s now changed,says BERNARD HARBOR.

AT FIRST I couldn’t put my finger on it.But, as I waited in Gatwick airport formy Dublin flight in September, I feltthere’d been something weird about thistrip to England.

I get over there four or five times a yearto visit my daughter, sisters, in-laws,nieces and nephews. Young and old.London and the country. Male andfemale. Politically engaged and not.

In the run-up to this summer excursionI’d been reading increasingly alarming‘hard Brexit’ stories in the British press.Government warnings of supplies of life-saving drugs drying up. Free-flowingmotorways turning in to 20 mile longlorry parks. Advice about storing tinnedfood. Businesses warning of huge joblosses and spurned investment.

How strange, then, that the Brexit issuenever once came up in conversationduring a four-day visit.

So weird, considering that most of myfamily – particularly the younger ones –had been disconsolate when thereferendum result landed just over twoyears ago. And chilling for those of uswho still hold out some hope that thenation and its leaders will see sense andrethink the self-harming decision toleave the EU and, particularly, theinsane notion of a hard Brexit.

People’s VoteJust a few weeks ago, that Brexitrethink looked about as likely asSouthampton football club challengingfor a Champions League place thisseason.

But there have been some encouragingstraws in the gale recently, not leastwith the emergence of a strengtheningPeople’s Vote campaign, which ispressing for a referendum on whatevercomes out of Teresa May’s chaoticBrussels negotiations.

And events over the last couple ofmonths couldput theBritish tradeunions – sofar muchmore relaxedabout Brexitthan theirIrishequivalents –at the centreof events.

At itsSeptemberconference inLiverpool theTUC – the UKequivalent of the Irish Congress of TradeUnions – voted to keep open the optionof supporting another referendum in twocircumstances. The Government mightavoid the first – a hard Brexit scenario. Itis unlikely to even try to avoid thesecond – guaranteed protection ofworkers and preserving “tariff-free andfrictionless trade with the EU.”

Speaking ahead of the conference, TUCgeneral secretary Frances O’Grady saidunions would back the People’s Votecampaign if the final Brexit deal fellshort on job protections and workers’rights. “The TUC will be throwing our fullweight behind the campaign for a

popular vote so that people get a say onwhether that deal is good enough,” shesaid.

This when only a quarter of Daily Mailreaders – Brexit’s bedrock supporters –think Britain is likely to get a good dealfrom Brussels.

PollsAround the same time, opinion researchfound that members of the country’sthree biggest trade unions now supporta fresh referendum by a margin of morethan two-to-one.

The poll of over 2,700 members ofUnite, Unison and the GMB alsorevealed that a clear majority thinkBrexit will damage job opportunities.

Its finding that trade unionistsoverwhelmingly want to prioritise tradeover immigration controls will disappointthose who frequently paint workingpeople as anti-immigration.

Each of the three unions whosemembers were surveyed has shifted itsposition over the summer. The620,000-strong GMB has called for apublic vote on the final deal, whileUnison, with 1.3 million members, nowsays it will support a referendum undercertain circumstances.

At its national conference in Brighton,last July, Unite – which is the UK LabourParty’s largest single financial backer –said it was unlikely that the Governmentwould deliver a satisfactory deal. Theunion would then mobilise to force ageneral election. “We are also open to

the possibility of a popular vote beingheld on any deal,” it said in a statement.

Some unions, like the RMT, remainresolutely against another referendum.But in a country with much strongerlinks between unions and Labour thanhere, the change in attitude among theparty’s biggest union backers is pilingpressure on the main opposition party,which, in turn, is showing signs of asubtle rethink.

LabourIn the wake of the 2016 referendum,the Labour leadership has been solidlypro-leave, albeit with conditions that thedivided, fractious and DUP-supportedminority Tory government will find hardto meet.

The reasons for this range fromunfounded worries about an electoralbacklash from Labour-voting leave

supporters, to paranoid fears that thePeople’s Vote movement is a Corbyn-undermining conspiracy – as well aslatent anti-EU sentiment on the far left.

Earlier this year shadow foreignsecretary Emily Thornberry was arguingthat Labour would likely vote in favour ofa Tory-negotiated deal. Times havechanged and it’s now widely assumedthat the party will oppose any deal thatPM Teresa May brings to the House ofCommons, and then push for a generalelection.

In a significant, if subtle, shift, Labour’spowerful shadow chancellor JohnMcDonnell conceded in September thatthe party would keep all options open –including support for a referendum – if itfailed to force an election in the chaosthat would surely ensue.

A Social EuropeAll in all this could mean a significantchange in the UK Brexit arithmetic, aswell as a chance for British trade unions– which have lost much of their influenceover the last three decades – to play acentral role in the country’s mostimportant political drama since the Suezcrisis.

Next year will be the thirtiethanniversary of the then-EuropeanCommission president’s famous speechto the TUC congress. In 1989, JacquesDelors outlined – and won support for –a vision of a ‘social Europe,’ that wouldchampion jobs, living standards andworkers’ rights.

It was a pivotal event for Britain’s labourmovement and its relationship withEurope. Let’s hope the shift in unionthinking over this summer meanssomething similar.

Bernard Harbor is Fórsa’s head ofcommunications n

Bernard Harbor.

Do UK unions

hold key to

Brexit?

Main photo: dream

stime.com


Ryanair dispute


While industrial relations problems in the Irish aviation industry tend toattract a lot of media attention, work stoppages are relatively rare. For a longtime, the prospect of organising workers in Ryanair seemed remote. All thatchanged in 2018, as Fórsa's IALPA branch members at the airline tookdecisive action in a dispute over seniority.

Five days of summer

3rd July 2018Directly-employed pilots in Ryanair, whoare members of the Irish Airline Pilots’Association (IALPA), a branch of Fórsa,serve notice of industrial action on theairline.

Pilots had voted overwhelmingly infavour of industrial action (99%) in adispute over management’s approach totransferring pilots and accessing leaveand promotions.

The pilots announce 24-hour strikeaction commencing at 01:00 onThursday, 12th July.

5th July Pilots say they’ve seen no evidence thatthe company will engage in meaningfulnegotiations with a view to reachingagreement on the issues they’ve raisedwith the company. The union remainswilling to meet the company,emphasising the need to meet at aneutral venue, rather than thecompany’s head office.

Wednesday 25th JulyPilots announce a fourth day on Friday3rd August. The union says furtherstrike action will follow unless thecompany changes tack and negotiatesin good faith.

Ryanair issues protective notice to 300of its staff. Fórsa describes the move asa provocative act likely to harden pilots’resolve, and escalates the dispute whiledemonstrating management’sunwillingness or inability to negotiatewith unions in good faith.

Thursday 23rd AugustFollowing a 22-hour negotiation, wherethe union side was assisted by thegeneral secretary and industrial officerof the ICTU, an agreement is reachedbetween Fórsa and Ryanair in the pilots’dispute. The proposed agreement goesto ballot, and on 5th September IALPAissues a statement announcingunanimous backing for the deal,describing it as “A first step towardsproviding transparency and fairness forRyanair pilots while also assistingRyanair in recruiting and retaining pilotsin the future.”

“After decades of declining terms

and conditions,pilots in Ryanairhave now firmlyfound a unified

voice.”

Day 1: Thursday 12th July

The first day of action sees pilots picketing outside Dublin Airport, attractingstrong public support.

Despite talks with the airline the previous day, establishing some common groundon the proposal of a joint working group, terms of reference can’t be agreed. Theunion describes as “regrettable” that Ryanair management has so far rejected thesuggestion of third party assistance.

The union serves notice for two further one-day pilot strikes in July.

Day 2 & 3: Friday 20th July & Tuesday 24th July

The location of the picket on the second day of industrial action is outsideRyanair’s head office in Swords, Co. Dublin.

Day 4: Friday 3rd August

As the picket draws to a close outsideRyanair’s head office, the companyannounces it will accept independentthird-party assistance from KieranMulvey.

Fórsa, which has been calling for third-party assistance throughout thedispute, welcomes the “unexpectedand positive” development.

Day 5: Friday 10th August

Forsa issues a statement to say the company’s belated recognition of the needfor an independent third-party facilitator meant a fifth strike by the pilots wentahead.

The union says its focus will shift to the negotiations due to get underway thefollowing week.

Acknowledging that relations have beendifficult in the past between IALPA andRyanair, IALPA says its “committed tobuilding a constructive relationship withRyanair based on mutual respect and ashared future.

“While our members fully respectRyanair’s operational model, they nolonger accept the company’s highlyproblematic employment model. Afterdecades of declining terms andconditions, pilots in Ryanair have nowfirmly found a unified voice.” n

16 Autumn-Winter 2018 17The magazine for Fórsa members

Fórsa charity cycle

AS I exit the motorway to enter LimerickCity, I’m greeted by the white metallicarc over Thomond Park. I’m remindedthat this is a city with a strong sense ofpride, community and friendship,

Turning into the lane behind Costello’sTavern on Dominic Street, the door isopen at Limerick Suicide Watch. Theproject’s chair, Colm O’Byrne is sitting inthe middle of the large and neatlyordered space.

He’s surrounded by neatly placed high-viz jackets, personal flotation devices,two-way radios, branded bicycles, firstaid kits and a wall of volunteer photos.

He’s deep in conversation on the phone,laptop open, talking aboutarrangements for the imminent launchof the Limerick Suicide Watchsmartphone app.

Since its 2016 formation, the group’smain focus is to keep eyes on the river,and identify and provide support tothose in distress and who may becontemplating suicide.

PatrolsColm welcomes me with a mug of freshtea. “Our patrol teams are on dutyMonday, Tuesday, Thursday and

Saturday night, but we envisage beingon patrol seven nights a week in thenear future,” he says.

The group is currently training morevolunteers (due to the high level ofinterest, applications are currentlyclosed) which will see its currentcompliment of 67 increase to around80 by the end of the year.

research and development to asatisfying conclusion. Lucy walks methrough the various features of the app.“It’s a one-stop-shop for information onavailable support services.

“All of the in-app links are active, whichmeans you can call or email the servicesby clicking them on the app. It also hasinformation about our work, the peopleinvolved, and we can use it internally toorganise the patrol rosters,” sheexplains.

Fundraising and trainingThumbs Up For Benny is a fundraisingevent with local tattoo artists providinga special tattoo in return for a donationto Limerick Suicide Watch. It’s just oneof a series of the group’s fundraisingevents to which the people of Limerickhave responded enthusiastically.

“We depend on donations from thepublic and fundraising events to fundour work. We’re very lucky because thepeople of Limerick have been incrediblysupportive since the beginning,” Staceyexplains.

Colm says the annual cost of the projectis around €40,000. “Training is thebiggest cost, it’s quite specialised and ismandatory for all volunteers,” he says.

That training includes radio operation,child protection, manual handling, firstaid (including CPR and defibrillator),‘throw bag’ training (for river rescue) andApplied Suicide Intervention SkillsTraining (ASIST).

All three describe a time when people inthe city became accustomed to theoverhead sounds of the ValentiaCoastguard rescue helicopter.

“It was a commonplace thing. You’d besitting at home and you’d hear thecoastguard helicopter overhead andyou’d think, oh my God, somebody’sgone into the river,” Stacey explains.

The people with whom they’veintervened are as young as 13, as old as70, male and female and from all walksof life. “Suicide is not a problemconfined to young men,” says Lucy.

Fórsa’s Limerick to Killarney charity cycle took place on the openingday of the union’s national conference in May, and raised €24,000 inaid of four suicide prevention groups. One of these is Limerick SuicideWatch. Formed in May 2016, and well on their way to recruiting their80th member, NIALL SHANAHAN went to meet some of the peopleinvolved, to learn how their work has seen a significant reduction in thenumber of suicides taking place in the city’s River Shannon.

Niall Shanahan.

Supporting

positive

mental health

Limerick Suicide Watchis one of four mentalhealth charities supportedby funds raised by Fórsa’sconference charity cyclethis year.

Suicide or Survive(SOS) Dublin-based charity which acts tosupport and assist people and theirfamilies who are suffering withmental health difficulties.Established in 2003, CarolineMcGuigan set up the organisation onfoot of her own mental healthdifficulties. One of its main aims is tosupport individuals with difficulties ina way that they can harness theirown strength, and provide peoplewith the tools to improve their ownmental health.

facebook.com/SuicideorSurvive

First Fortnight Dublin-based charity that aims tochallenge mental health prejudiceand stigma through arts and culture.It began as a volunteer-led initiativein 2010, establishing the first mentalhealth arts and culture festival in2012. It also provides creativetherapies to marginalisedcommunities affected by mental ill-health.

firstfortnight.ie

Jigsaw Kerry A free, confidential support servicefor young people aged 12-25 living,working or studying in Kerry. Theorganisation operates as part of thenational network of Jigsaw servicesand aims to provide tailoredcommunity based help for youngpeople’s mental health needs. Inaddition to operating a drop in spacewhich provides support on a “call in”basis, the charity also providessupport and information to peoplewho may be concerned about a youngperson in their life.

jigsaw.ie/jigsaw_kerry

Keeping watch

Supporters getting ready for their tattoosat the Thumbs Up For Benny event.

In an adjacent office, PRO Lucy O’Haraand vice-chair Stacey Markham are alsoattending to the details of the Fridaynight launch at St Mary’s Cathedral.

It’s a big night for everyone involved.The app’s launch brings months of

(L to R) Stacey Markham, Lucy O'Hara and Colm O'Byrne.

The semi-colon tattoo was designed forthe Thumbs Up For Benny event.

Lucy adds, “Everybody in the city knowsabout people going to the river,” and sothe river became the focus of thegroup’s patrols.

It’s good to talkThe group enjoys strong volunteerretention. What do they put that downto?

“Well, you know, we spend four hoursout on patrol and we talk abouteverything,” says Lucy. All three arelaughing now. “We’ve formed strongbonds with each other and, you know,we do have the craic,” Stacey adds.

Colm says one of the group’s strengthsis that it attracts people of all ages andsocial backgrounds, people who mightnot otherwise engage with each other.

Jackets, radios and safety equipment are neatly arranged for the next

night time patrol.

Volunteers do a minimum of three nightsper month, at least one Saturday(midnight to 4am). They’re required to bephysically fit, as there’s a lot of walkinginvolved while on patrol. There is a threemonth probation period and Gardavetting is also required.

Colm says the focus now is on a five-year plan in which they hope to secure apermanent base, and develop theservice to include suicide awareness inaddition to the prevention work, andoffer more services to the people theyencounter on patrol.

To find out more and support the work ofLimerick Suicide Watch, visitlimericksuicidewatch.ie orfacebook.com/limericksuicidewatch nPh

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Fórsa membership benefits

You’re

better off

in Fórsa

*Six months continuous membership is required to avail of services. Financial benefits are strictly subject to policy, terms, conditions and exclusions.See www.forsa.ie for details.

Fórsa members are entitled to*l €5,000 illness benefit when out of work for more than 12 months l €5,000 personal accident insurancel €5,000 critical illness or death benefitl €5,000 death of a spouse or qualifying partnerl Evacuation or repatriation expenses of up to €250,000

for members who die or are seriously ill abroad, including emergency medical expenses incurred for members temporarily abroad as a result of death/illness

l Free legal help in bodily injury casesl Free 24/7 legal advice helplinel Free 24/7 confidential counselling helplinel Free 24/7 domestic assistance helpline.

Members can opt in to Fórsa-facilitated financial benefits l Car insurancel Home insurancel Travel insurancel Additional pension benefitsl Salary protection and life cover.

Fórsa members can also apply for l Gaeltacht scholarships for their

school-age childrenl Industrial relations scholarshipsl Benevolent grants for members in

financial distress.

Fórsa members can save lot of money with our enhancedpackage of financial benefits provided or negotiated bythe union. Some of these are free to all Fórsa members.Others are optional benefits, available only to Fórsamembers, which can mean savings on insurance, salaryprotection, additional pension coverage and more.

With the amalgamation of CPSU, IMPACT and PSEU came anopportunity to enhance membership benefits. There are a broadspectrum of benefits available to members, varying in nature. Some arefinancial, others by means of support. With some schemes membersare automatically enrolled in when they join the union, and there areothers that operate on an “opt in” basis. It is important to note however,that members can make considerable savings through these benefits.

Adding value foryour union subSO WHAT exactly does yourmembership subscription get you?

Financial benefitsAfter 6 months in membership allmembers are entitled to the following;

n €5,000 in personal accident cover

n €5,000 critical illness cover ordeath benefit. Spouses are alsocovered under this scheme

n From 2 January 2019 a €5,000illness benefit will be available tomembers if you are out of work formore than 12 months

n For members who are seriously ill,injured, or pass away while abroad,Fórsa will cover evacuation orrepatriation expenses up to thevalue of €250,000

Fórsa has also negotiated a number ofgroup schemes for its members throughvarious providers including Cornmarket,Glennons Insurance, JLT, KennCo andLyons Financial Services, to name but afew. These providers will give membersadvice on various financial productssuch as car and home insurance,pension benefits, salary protection andlife cover.

Support servicesFórsa members can also avail of freecounselling, legal advice and support

24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365days a year, through the followinghelplines

n Free legal help in bodily injury cases1850-77-66-44

n Free 24/7 legal advice helpline1850-77-66-44

n Free 24/7 confidential counsellinghelpline 1850-77-66-55

n Free 24/7 domestic assistancehelpline 1850-77-66-44

Group SchemeAnother hidden gem is the groupscheme. This operates on an “opt in”basis where there are huge savings tobe made on everyday items. Memberscan access discounts from smallbusinesses located near their place ofwork, including restaurants, retailers,hairdressers and coffee shops

The group scheme also operates acashback system. The concept issimple; every time you shop online withone of the cashback partners they willreimburse a portion of what you spend.The money accumulates in your groupscheme cashback account, which youcan transfer to your bank account at anytime.

Fórsa organiser Bernie Aston explainsjust how important these schemes arefor members. “All of the membershipschemes are hugely beneficial. Fórsahas negotiated with a number offinancial providers to give members thebest options available. Generally, withthe likes of the financial products,members will see discounts on whatthey are currently paying.”

Bernie also highlighted the benefits ofthe group scheme. “This is a real moneysaver” said Bernie. “Members can morethan negate the cost of their unionsubscriptions through the savings andoffers available.”

For more information on the full range ofbenefits see www.forsa.ie n

Roisin McKane.

Bernie Aston.

In addition to this, provisions have beenmade for a benevolent grant formembers who are in financial distress.Gaeltacht scholarships are available formembers who have school age children.Members can also avail of industrialrelations scholarships.

Pay inequality ina two tier systemACCORDING TO Social Justice Ireland,there are over 100,000 workers inIreland today who live in poverty. Thereis no doubt that young workers are over-represented in the growing ranks of theworking poor, with a recent ICTU surveyshowing half of young workers having toforego essentials such as heating orfood in order to pay rent.

Young public-sector workers have hadthe additional struggle of adiscriminatory, two-tier payscale, whichmeant being placed on a longerpayscale with a lower starting pointsimply because of when they were bornand when they joined the public service,despite doing the same work. For aclerical officer on the post-2011payscale, this means having to work forfour years before reaching a point onthe scale equivalent to the Living Wageof €11.90 per hour. Though recentmeasures to shorten the pay scale arewelcome.

Not only is it almost impossible to makeends meet, but many cannot even affordto join a union to be represented. Iremember talking to one young clericalofficer colleague who spoke about howshe hoped to join the union when herwages were higher, as if joining theunion was some kind of perk only opento those who earn enough. Financialmeans should never be an obstacle tounion membership and representation,and if it is, the people who needrepresentation the most are beingfailed.

Resolving this issue should be theimmediate focus of public-sectorunions, but it will only be the first step intackling the issue of low pay generally,which demands that we look at the

structural factors that enable employersto keep their workers on low pay.

One such factor is that the bargainingpower of workers is weakened if there isno safety net for those who lose theirjobs. This is a huge problem for workersaged 18 to 25, as the social safety netfor this age group is nonexistent.Unemployed workers aged 18 to 24who live independently (as they mayhave to do if, for example, they grew upin state care) are only entitled to€107.70 per week in Jobseeker’sAllowance, even though the standardrate is €198. (25 year olds can get€152.80.) Creating a proper socialsafety net for all jobseekers, regardlessof age, will make workers less afraid to

unionise and demand fair pay from theiremployers.

Our opponents know that this type ofarbitrary discrimination – whether interms of payscales or welfare rates – isindefensible and so rather than trying todefend it, they instead disparage the"millennial" generation throughstereotyping and ridicule. It is importantthat millennials do not take this to heart,but instead recognise this approach forwhat it is: a means to deflect from thefact that our generation of workers isbeing impoverished to fulfil theobjectives of private profit. We mustorganise and resist this. If we allowpoverty pay to be normalised for ourgeneration, it will eventually become thenorm for all n

Osal Kelly.

Pay inequality, precarious working conditions and the housing crisiswere all up for discussion at the most recent “Youthquake” eventhosted by Fórsa’s youth network. Following on from this, chairpersonof the group Osal Kelly delves into the issues of a two tier pay systemand what it means for younger workers.

Sinéad Pembroke, Researcher at TASC discussing how precarious working conditions can be damaging to workers health at the recent Youthquake event.

(L-R): Éilis Barry, Free Legal Advice Centre; Sinéad Pembroke, TASC; Séamus Farrell, SIPTU & Take Back the City Dublin;

Mick Byrne, Dublin Tenants' Association; Michael Taft SIPTU.


Youthquake

Fórsa Insights


THE FÓRSA Insights series hosted aspecial performance of Love In The Wildin September. The play was written byLisa Walsh and performed by award-winning actor Anto Seery.

Lisa is a member of Fórsa and a socialworker with Tusla. The ground-breakingplay, about the experiences of arecovering drug addict, made itspremiere at the Axis theatre in Ballymunearlier this year.

A podcast featuring the post-showdiscussion is now available on the Fórsawebsite (forsa.ie).

Fórsa Insights is a specially curatedseries of talks and cultural events whichaims to explore a wide range of issues.Events are free of charge and open toFórsa members, ICTU affiliates andNGOs n

Love In The Wild

Audience reaction“Great night, couldn’t stop talkingabout it in work the next day” – FloraDunne, HSE Dublin South branch.

“A brilliant performance. Thanks fororganising it” – Sean Lowde, ProbationOfficers branch.

“I really enjoyed it, the actor was good,particularly when interacting with thehomeless, given his experience he wasable to relate to them and understandtheir situation, his determination toimprove on himself was real” – BintaObola, Dublin North Health andWelfare branch.

“It was a fantastic play!” – David MGlynn, Dublin Care Services branch.

“Really appreciated the developmentof Fórsa Insight series, interesting newway of engaging with the union. Theplay was so good… poignant, funny,sad and well scripted, acted anddirected. Well done and thanks” –Patrick O’Dea, Probation Officersbranch.

“Great play. Anto Seery was superb –really believable, likeable and talented.The writer did a great job bringing meinto a world I know nothing about. Thisplay made you laugh and want to cryin equal measure. Extremelyentertaining. Well done Fórsa forputting on this play, thanks” – MaryMcGuire, Fingal Local Governmentbranch.

Benefits Claim

Form

forsa_union_ie

forsaunionie

Fórsa Trade Union

Fórsa trade union

forsa_union

forsa.ie

Fórsa Trade UnionAdelaide House, 19/20 Adelaide Road, Dublin , DO2 WAOO.Tel: 01-676-5394, 661-5389, 661-5448 Fax: 01-676-2918

Members of Fórsa who are in grades formerly represented by the CPSU (ie,civil service clerical officer grades) pay a higher union subscription thanother Fórsa members and, therefore, retain access to a ‘benefits fund’ thatprovides certain dental, optical and hospital benefits formerly available toCPSU members. If they leave the grades of the former CPSU constituency,they are no longer eligible for these benefits, and their rate of unionsubscription is reduced accordingly. This application form should only becompleted by Fórsa members currently working in former CPSU grades.

Dental, optical and hospital benefits(Available to Fórsa members from the ‘former CPSU’ constituency only)

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PART ONE PLEASE FILL OUT THIS SECTION FULLY

First SurnameName please print first name and surname in full Day Month Year

Former Name (if any) Date of Birth

Home Address

Post Code Staff No. Union No.

Mobile Gender M F Year Joined Union

Personal Email

Bank/CU Name

Bank/CU Account Name

Bank/CU Account No. Bank/CU Sort Code IBAN and BIC numbers can be obtained on your bank statement

IBAN BIC

Current Department

Location/Address

Office BranchTel. No.

Claimant Signature ____________________________________________________________________ Section

PART TWO TICK WHICH TYPE OF BENEFIT YOU WISH TO CLAIM

Dental Optical Hospital Other (please specify)

PLEASE ENCLOSE:

1. Original receipt showing last day of treatment 2. Copy of current pay slip

PART THREE TO BE COMPLETED AND STAMPED BY DENTIST/OPTICIANDay Month Year

Date of Cost of examination/ treatmenttreatment (in words)

Day Month Year

Date payment received

Day Month Year

Signed Date

Please fill our this form as carefully as possible to ensure a speedy and accurate response to your benefit claim. Incorrect or insufficient information will delay the processing of your benefit cheque.

Your payroll number is printed on your paycheque and it is important to include this on our application form. Please submit claims between 1st January-31st December of current year.

PART FOUR FOR OFFICE USE ONLY

Amount paid Inputted Processed


Fórsa benefits – Civil Service Clerical Officers

“THE FUND is in existence for morethan 20 years, well before my time,”explains Fórsa general secretary EoinRonayne. “It stems from an old CPSUrule which sees members in the COgrade pay 1% of their salary to theunion in subscriptions.

“Of this 1%, 20c in each euro is ring-fenced, and goes directly into a benefitsfund which provides for certain optical,dental and hospital benefits,” he says.

The fund also provides for a specialassistance benefit which will considerclaims for financial assistance to helpcover the costs associated withalternative medicine, prosthesis andserious illness such as cancer. Thisaspect of the benefit operates on adiscretionary case-by-case basis.

“Any new members joining the union atCO level in the civil service will pay thehigher subscription rate of 1% and willsubsequently have access to the fund,in addition to the other Fórsa benefits.

“If members get promoted and leave theCO grade however, their subscriptionrate will decrease to 0.8%, and they willsubsequently no longer be eligible forthis benefit,” he explains.

Eoin explains why it was not possible toextend this fund to all members in theunion. “It simply comes down to cost,”said Eoin. “If we were to roll this out toall members it would mean increasingsubscriptions by 20% across the board.

In some cases members would see anincrease of 38% in their subscriptions,and that just isn’t feasible.”

Roisin McKane.

Dental, optical

and hospital fund

Members of Fórsa, who are in grades formerly represented by the CPSU(civil service clerical officer grades), pay a higher union subscription thanother Fórsa members and, therefore, retain access to a benefits fund thatprovides certain dental, optical and hospital benefits formerly available toCPSU members. These benefits – and the higher rate of unionsubscription – only applies if you work in one of the grades formerlyrepresented by the CPSU. They no longer apply if you transfer to a gradeoutside of this constituency. ROISIN MCKANE finds out more.

Fórsa general secretary Eoin Ronayne.

“The fund was carried throughthe amalgamation into Fórsa,

and is now available to allmembers in the CO grade or

equivalent in the civil service.”

The fund was carried through theamalgamation into Fórsa, and is nowavailable to all members in the CO gradeor equivalent in the civil service.

Eoin says the benefits fund is hugelypopular, and very important in therecruitment of members in CO grades inthe civil service. “In the discussionssurrounding the amalgamation, it wascritical that we maintained the fund forCO grades.

Any new members joining the union at CO level in the civil service will pay

the higher subscription rate of 1% and will

subsequently have access to the fund, in addition to the other

Fórsa benefits.

Standing with almost €2.5 million inreserve, the fund takes in approximately€500,000 each year. On average, thefund pays out in benefits what itrecoups in subscriptions. The fund hasbecome increasingly popular over thelast number of years, and while it hascome under some pressure in recentyears, it remains healthy.

The scheme operates on an annualbasis and all claims must be submittedwithin the calendar year. Members whowish to make a claim through the fundfor expenses incurred this year must doso by 31st December 2018.

The application form is available onpage 23.

For more information please seeforsa.ie/membership-benefits n


Civil Service


As preparations are made for Brexit, Fórsa took theopportunity of visiting our Customs members at DublinAirport. DEREK MULLEN gets to see first hand the roleperformed by customs officers on the frontline of the state.

The gate keepers

And, just in case you are wondering, alltobacco and cigarettes seized areaccounted for, sealed, collected by arecycling company and eventuallyshredded.

VATCustoms also seize medicines,counterfeit goods and prohibited foodproducts, as well as charging VAT andduty on other fiscal goods. This workgenerally takes place over at the cargoterminal. Officers are kept busy with bigcargo companies such as DHL andFedEx, landing large cargo planes on aregular basis.

There is a significant team of officers atboth terminals, in addition to the cargoterminal, helping to keep the state safe.Tom tells us there are 18 staff inprofiling and more than 40 on thechannel teams.

Profilers will look at flights particularlyfrom airline hubs such as Schiphol inAmsterdam and Hahn in Frankfurt.Passengers connecting through hubairports from locations across the worldcan often raise a red flag for the team.

Serious crimeSeizures, of a small amount of drugs forexample, will be subject to ongoinginvestigations to determine if there are

any links to serious criminal activity. Apassenger found with drugs is initiallydetained by Customs, interviewed andthen handed over to Gardaí who preparethe case for prosecution.

As I saw Linda and Lottie approach I gota tingling sense of what it must be likefor a real smuggler who has somethingto hide. Out of the side of my eye Iwatched as Lottie clambered over theluggage on the carousel, sniffingpassengers as she went beforeeventually arriving at me, detectingalmost immediately what I had secretedabout my person. Lottie sat down toindicate a positive find to her handler forwhich she was rewarded.

CashTo see all this in action is veryimpressive. There are eight dogs atDublin Airport, and they also coverDublin Port. According to their handlers,John and Linda, the dogs tend to have aworking life of approximately eightyears usually retiring to their handlers’homes where they live out theremainder of their lives.

They will perform such functions as:

n Clearing the movement of cargoimports from, and exports to,countries outside the EU

n Clearing goods in real time forimport and export

n Collection of duty and taxes

n Detention and seizure of goods

n Control of warehouses

n Control of temporary storagefacilities

n Authorisation and monitoring ofeconomic operators

n Processing refunds claims

n Public counter service

n Ensuring compliance with Customslaw and procedures.

Derek Mullen.

“The seizure of money isseen as a double

whammy against thecriminals as it gets cash

out of the system.”

“As I saw Linda andLottie approach I got a

tingling sense of what itmust be like for a real

smuggler who hassomething to hide.”

TOM BLAKE, one of our mainrepresentatives in Dublin Airport,facilitated the tour giving me a vividinsight into the work carried out by theRevenue Customs team.

According to Tom, passengers aregenerally stopped because of profiling.This can be by visual profiling (such assome sort of visual indicator), bycustoms dog indication, or simply by atip-off.

Cigarettes/tobacco from non-EUcountries, which are over the prescribedallowances, are seized. If the seizure isof commercial quantity the passengermay be arrested. Irish citizens withcommercial loads are routinelyprosecuted through the courts.

John and Josie.

Drugs are brought to a forensics lab foranalysis and kept – well locked up – byCustoms. There is also a frost toiletfacility at the airport for what’s knownas ‘stuffers’ and ‘swallowers’ of drugs.

EU to Ireland custom proceduresin Dublin Airport.

If cash is believed to be the proceeds ofcrime it is detained by Customs. Adetention order is then obtained from ajudge and the sum is lodged in a specialaccount.

The seizure of money is seen as adouble whammy against the criminalsas it gets cash out of the system andprevents an importation.

Meanwhile, discussions continue withRevenue management in preparation forBrexit in early 2019. Staffing isbeginning to ramp up with the likelihoodthat an extra 600 staff in tradefacilitation will be employed on a 24/7shift basis and with a 25% shiftallowance.

Customs officers involved in such casesare also involved in overt or covertsurveillance, and of course, the teamwouldn’t be complete without thecustoms dogs. We met two on the day.Josie with handler John Murphy, whohas the ability to detect food and cashand Lottie who works with handler LindaSmith specialises in tobacco and cash.

Training exerciseIn an event specially organised for myvisit, I was detected standing at thebaggage carousel awaiting luggage offthe Abu Dhabi flight which had justarrived.

Stuffed in my pocket was a tidy sum –€50,000 in cash – a wad of cash usedexclusively for training purposes andrendered completely unusable by beingpunched.

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Linda and Lottie.

These are changing times for customsofficers as we all gear up for Brexit.There is still a great deal of uncertaintyabout what it will look like in the end, notleast in terms of the Irish economy.

Whatever happens, there is no doubtingthe commitment of our members at theairport and ports to do their job asprofessionally as possible aspreparations shift up a gear for what islikely to be a seismic change on theEuropean political stage.

This item was first published in Fórsa’spublication CSQ (Civil ServiceQuarterly), which is distributed to theunion’s Civil Service membership n

Dublin Airportarrivals hall.


Beyond the workplace

My polar expeditionHOW ON earth did I find myself in atown 350 kilometres north of the ArcticCircle?

My adventure began in 2013, and thevisit of Teater Vildenvei to Galway.

Founded in 1996, the Oslo-basedcompany has focused on mental healthcare and addiction, performing dramas,comedies, musicals, children's theatreand poetry programmes in Norway andinternationally.

The company is composed of mentalhealth service users, a director andseveral volunteers, part-time actors,playwrights and supporters.

A friend of mine works with the group,and came to Galway with directorEdvard Myska to look around with aview to having the group perform hereand spend some days in the west ofIreland.

Of course I was delighted to be theirguide and we spent a busy couple ofdays checking out performance spaces,seeing a few sights and meeting somepeople involved in the area ofcommunity arts. Teater Vildenveiperformed in An Taibhdhearc theatre inGalway in September 2013.

InvitationWe stayed in touch after their Galwayvisit, and this led to an invitation toaccompany the group to Tromsø inNorthern Norway as a volunteer helper.

While I had previously lived in Norwayfor a number of years, I’d never been toTromsø. It’s the third largest urban areanorth of the Arctic Circle, with apopulation of around 75,000.

The group were invited to perform at aseminar on Participation in Theatre forMental Health Service Users. They gavethree performances from theirrepertoire during the course of theseminar.

I’d volunteered to help out in any way Icould, so I found myself taking a crashcourse in sound recording, runningaround with a cameraman recordinginterviews, performances and talks overthe three days.

It was a fascinating experience,matched only by the extraordinaryexperience of being in the Arctic.

Midnight sunOur visit coincided with appearance ofthe midnight sun. I proved to myself thatit was indeed possible to sit outside andread a newspaper at midnight.

Tromsø itself is a city about the samesize as Galway spread over two islandsand the mainland linked by bridges andtunnels in a sheltered inlet.

It gained its city charter in 1794 andbecame the centre for hunting, fishingand exploration in the Arctic withexplorers like Fridjof Nansen and RoaldAmundsen using it as a base for theirexplorations.

Fishing became a major source ofwealth because of its rich watersteeming with cod and a unique climate.Anyone enjoying a dish of bacalao (astew made with salted dried cod) inPortugal or Spain will probably be eatingcod from the waters around Tromsø.

Today Tromsø has the reputation ofbeing the cultural centre of the arcticwith a vibrant nightlife and manycultural events over the course of theyear. Winter draws many visitors to seethe Northern Lights and whale-watching.

StunningThe ten minute drive from the airporttakes you through the elaborate tunnelsbetween the islands. Even the smallestislands seem to be linked to eitheranother island or the mainland.

The Arctic Cathedral is a stunning whitemodern triangular building with a simpleinterior which sets off the beautifulstained glass panels. They are at theirmost stunning when illuminated by themidnight sun.

The contributions fromservice users were moststriking as they spokeabout how theatre hadtransformed their lives.However, the term‘service user’ was rarelyused here.

In the case of TeaterVildenvei, members ofthe group definedthemselves in terms oftheir role in the group: “Iam an actor”, “I am aplaywright” “I design andmake the costumes.”

Talks on professionalacting techniques werefollowed by a workshop where the entireaudience was invited on stage toparticipate in games and activities witha twist. It was a lot of fun and gave aninteresting insight into interpersonaldynamics and group behaviour.

PolariaA trip to Polaria is worth a visit. It is anaquarium containing much of the sealife from the arctic sea. The buildingitself is highly unusual as it looks like aseries of large fallen rectangular archesfrom the outside, and our visit coincidedwith feeding time for the seals.

The venue screens a film about thelandscape and birdlife of Svalbard onto

Seán Purtill.

SEÁN PURTILL is a horticulture instructor at Merlin Park hospital andchair of Fórsa’s Galway branch. In May this year Seán availed of anunexpected opportunity to take a trip to Tromsø in Northern Norway,350 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle. He volunteered with theTeater Vildenvei while the company performed at a special seminar onmental health. Here he shares his account of his polar expedition.

Arctic mountains overlooking Tromsø.

The Arctic Cathedral in Tromsø.

A cable car trip to the top of a mountainoverlooking Tromsø provides aspectacular view of local mountainranges reminiscent of the Alps. As agardener I was drawn to the plantflowering in the snow at themountaintop.

A local flower seller enlightened me.Rodsildre is a species of edible plantthat is very common all over the highArctic, and is the emblem of the region.

Teater Vildenvei director Edvard Myska.

RoleplayThe seminar was hosted by The NationalCentre for Culture, Health and SocialCare and a local theatre group. Itfeatured speakers, performances andactivities over a packed three days.Speakers ranged from local politiciansto professional actors to academics toservice users.

Polaria is housed in a very distinctivebuilding, representing ice floes pressed up

on land by the rough seas of the Arctic.

panoramic curved screens, creating thesensation of flying over the mostlyuntouched Arctic landscape.

A major theme at Polaria is theconservation of the Arctic environment.Information on climate change and theacceleration of the melting permafrostgave ample food for thought.

A wonderful experience overall, andlight years from my day-to-day work.

Sean Purtill is a horticulture instructorin the Galway Training Centre, MerlinPark hospital, under mental healthservices, and chair of Fórsa's Galwaybranch n


Fórsa resources

SNA information? There’s an app for that!THE ROLE of a Special Needs Assistant(SNA) brings plenty of challenges. Oneof those challenges is findinginformation on contracts, terms andconditions. A new smartphone app iscurrently in development, and is set toprovide a go-to point for usefulinformation for SNAs.

Much of the information specific toSNAs come in the form of governmentcirculars on the Department ofEducation website and Gov.ie. But thereremains a lack of co-ordination on whereand how circulars appear.

experience for many. Fórsa assistantgeneral secretary Seán Carabinispotted an opportunity to test a solutionfor these problems.

“There’s simply a need to gather all ofthis information in one place, for bothconvenience and accessibility. Moreimportantly, there’s a need to make thisinformation available to SNAs in aformat which is quick and easy tonavigate.

some useful union information, newsbulletins and anything else SNA-relatedcoming from the Department ofEducation,” he explains.

Diarmaid Mac aBhaird.

A new app for Special Needs Assistants, designed to provideinformation on contracts, allocations and other useful information iscoming soon. DIARMAID MAC A BHAIRD spoke to Fórsa’s SéanCarabini about his plans for the app and its origins

“There’s simply a need to gather all of thisinformation in one place, for both

convenience and accessibility. Moreimportantly, there’s a need to make this

information available to SNAs in a formatwhich is quick and easy to navigate” –

Fórsa official Seán Carabini.

In addition, these sites can be difficultto navigate, especially for new SNAs.There can be difficulty knowing whatcirculars to check, and suddenly findingan answer to a simple question canbecome a tedious and time consumingtask.

Looking for specific information aboutmore specialist issues is even morecomplicated and a frustrating

“SNAs often won’t have time to makephone calls or emails, and many end uphaving to exhaust their lunchtimes orbreaks chasing down information,” hesays.

With these challenges in mind, Seán hasdeveloped a prototype smartphone app,allowing quick and easy access toinformation compiled by the union. Theapp is due to go online in October.

What kind of useful information can youexpect to find on the app?

“For the most part, it’s all the importantnuts and bolts of contracts, Departmentof Education circulars and informationabout terms and conditions. There’s also

Séan says the app content is not ‘set instone’ and subsequent updates willallow room to expand based on userfeedback.

“This is the first version of the app sowe’ll be focusing on improving it as thenumber of users grow. We’ll be activelyseeking feedback from SNAs about theapp, and developing it further based onwhat they tell us about their userexperience. First and foremost, we’vetried to ensure the app is a really usefultool for SNAs,” he says.

Séan says the free app will beavailable initially on the Android (GooglePlay) platform, followed by Apple’s iOSand another 20 appproviders and platforms.

http://apps.appmakr.com/snaapp3 n

SNAs often won’t have time tomake phone calls or emails,and many end up having toexhaust their lunchtimes or

breaks chasing downinformation

With these challenges in mind, Seán has developed aprototype smartphone app,

allowing quick and easy accessto information compiled by the

union. The app is due to goonline in October.


Opinion


The Government recently scrapped plans for a referendum todelete the part of the constitution defining a woman’s place in thehome. AINGEALA FLANNERY finds herself captive on a long carjourney where it’s a burning issue. However, she concludes thatthe real issue is that the State has failed for generations toprovide what it has pledged to its citizens

No place for women

DEIRDRE STABS the button on the carradio with her finger. “Typical,” she huffs,“just typical.” We’re somewhere inCounty Westmeath, and according tothe five-o’clock newsreader, thegovernment will not, after all, be holding

a referendum in October to delete thepart of the constitution defining awoman’s place in the home. The decisionsends Deirdre into a rage. I look out thewindow and wonder where she gets theenergy.

We’re on our way back from our friend’smother’s funeral in Sligo. The womanwas eighty and had been sick for a longtime. Her daughter, our friend, was hercarer for almost a decade. She did thiswhile working as a teacher, and raising

her own children: three unconventionallyattractive teenagers. The husband waslooking well too, in fact, he was so trimand tanned, Deirdre reckoned he was acyclist. Our friend, on the other hand,looked entirely wretched – neither of usrecognised her in the church.

makes a beeline for the Frank andHonest coffee machine. I head for theladies, which is so clean andcomfortable I allow myself to sit forlonger than is necessary. It’s a habit Ideveloped early on in motherhood –using bathrooms as places of refuge. Athome, the bathroom is where I go for aprivate rant or a short discreet cry. Menuse bathrooms to shower and shit.

Back in the car, I’m about to share myobservation about bathrooms andgender with Deirdre, but it dawns on methat she won’t get it. How could she?Deirdre never wanted children. She haspoured all her energy into her career.People who work in her sector have toldme she’s the best there is. She knows ittoo, and is unapologetically vocal aboutequal pay for equal work. Once I heardher described as ‘shrill’, by somebodywho never would have guessed that wewere friends.

Care-giverBut here’s the thing, Deirdre has of latebeen called upon by her siblings to drivetheir elderly mother to hospitalappointments, to pick up herprescriptions and do her supermarketshopping. In time, her mother willbecome more dependant, and Deirdrewill have to prioritise family over careerto meet her mother’s ‘intimate needs’ –the dressing, washing, and feeding, thetantrums and infections, the endlesscycle of intimacy and despair, the sheerintensity and exhaustion of it all.

salary to another mother to babysit,while her own children were minded bytheir grandmother. As a single parent, Icould not work at all when my child wassick. As for ‘duties within the home’ – ourhouse was rarely less than dirty and welived on frozen pizza. One morning, aftera longer than usual bathroom cry, Idecided to change careers, taking a 60per cent pay cut so that I could workfewer and more flexible hours fromhome.

Just peopleAs we shoot down the N4, I recite toDeirdre all the things I miss about theworkplace… people to have a laughwith, or to have lunch with, people togive out about, people to run my ideasby, people to talk to… just people.

Aingeala Flannery.

“The husband was looking well too, in fact,

he was so trim andtanned, Deirdre

reckoned he was acyclist.”

There was endless tea in the hotel afterthe funeral, and two hours down theroad I am bursting to go to the toilet.Deirdre, still fuming about the deferredreferendum, says we’ll stop at the nextpetrol station. “It’s a paternalisticthrowback,” she rails. I know she’s beenreading up on it, because she’s able toquote the whole shebang: “by her lifewithin the home, woman gives to theState a support without which thecommon good cannot be achieved”…for fuck’s sake.”

PatronisingThe language is shocking, I agree. ButI’m not agreeing enough, she continuesin a quasi-judicial baritone: “mothersshall not be obliged by economicnecessity to engage in labour to theneglect of their duties in the home.”Deirdre wants to know if I’ve ever heardanything more ‘patronising’ and ‘sexist’.We are entering Ballinalack, I spy aTexaco up ahead. We zoom past it attwenty kilometres an hour above thespeed limit, my bladder heaves.

The truth is I’m opposed to the deletionof Article 41.2, and I’m in no form todebate it. Were we in my car, I could pullin where and when I pleased. But I amcaptive to Deirdre’s mood, if I don’tengage there might not be a pit stop inMullingar either. She wants the Articleerased, and I want it replaced with acommitment to compensate anybodywhose earnings are diminished becausethey’re looking after a family member intheir home. Not lip-service, notsymbolism, but payment through thesocial welfare and the personal taxationsystem.

We stop outside Mullingar, at a bigflashy garage that sells diesel and bun-burgers and cut-price CDs. Deirdre

“Deirdre has of latebeen called upon by her

siblings to drive theirelderly mother to hospital

appointments.”

Deirdre doesn’t see the correlationbetween the life stage she is headingtowards and the one I’m already at.When she arrives here, she willunderstand why women aren’tstampeding to the polls to demand theremoval of Article 41.2. Yes, they wantthe constitution to be changed. And yes,a gender neutral term such as ‘care-giver’ would be rather nice, but why getbogged down in a sideshow aboutlanguage and political correctness,when the real issue is that the State hasfailed for generations to provide what ithas pledged to its citizens.

For years I ‘engaged in labour’ outsidethe home, sometimes paying half my

“For years I ‘engagedin labour’ outside the

home, sometimes payinghalf my salary to

another mother tobabysit, while her ownchildren were mindedby their grandmother.”

Deirdre, drinking her coffee andmunching on a protein bar, says that Ishould sue the State for loss ofearnings. I tell her she has it the wrongway around.

I could have taken a case before I leftmy job because, by virtue of mywomanhood, the constitution says Ishouldn’t have had to go out to work inthe first place. The State did notendeavour to ensure that I wasn’t forcedby economic need to labour outside thefour walls of my family home.

It is astounding that no woman, sincethe foundation of the State, has comehome dog-tired after a ten-hour shift, toa filthy house, an empty fridge and amountain of laundry – and called asolicitor in a fit of pique, with theintention of suing the State. Can youimagine the queue of women outside theHigh Court if she won her case? Now,imagine the cost to the State if carersgot in on the act? That’s a chance theGovernment are not willing to take,when it’s so much simpler to just hitdelete.

@missflannery n

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Food


Daniel Devery.

THE WRETCHED lurgy lasted five daysand was no fun at all. I craved twothings. The first was a good chickenbroth, using a whole chicken, quarteredcarrots, celery, onion, garlic and somewhole chillies. It simmered very gentlyon the hob for an hour and a half on aSunday afternoon, and produced alovely clear and healing broth.

The delicately poached meat, servedwith the carrots, mashed potatoes and

broth, were just the remedy to restorestrength.

The ‘Yellow Dinner’The second craving took me back to mychildhood. There was a weekday dinner(and by ‘dinner’ I mean the meal that waseaten around 4pm, when we got homefrom school) that surfaced every fewweeks.

Its constituent ingredients couldn’t havebeen simpler. A pile of freshly cooked,fluffy mashed potatoes (the verydefinition of comfort food), with buttersalt and pepper.

Separately, we were presented with anegg. Raw and in its shell, we made a wellin the centre of the mashed spuds,cracked the egg into it, and blended theegg through the mash, giving it a velvetysmooth texture.

I loved it.

It’s a method that won’t appeal toeveryone, much less anyone who feelssqueamish at the thoughts of a raw egg.However, it gently cooks and emulsifiesin the mash, creating a soothing plate ofcomfort food.

While our mother included this dish inthe school day repertoire, she recentlyconfessed that she never ate it herself,and was always amazed by ourenthusiasm for it.

Cheesy pastaRoughly twenty years since I’d lastmade it myself, I was coaxed back tohealth by the yellow dinner, andremembered it was one of my reliablehangover cures as a student.

This prompted memories of anotherhangover favourite. Having discoveredhow to make a basic béchamel saucewhile living in my first flat, I aimed tocreate the cheesiest of cheesy pastadishes. This is the sort of calorie-richfood for which there seems to be noconsequences when you’re in yourtwenties.

most vulnerable, and craving comfortand reassurance, this is where ourappetite takes us.

Regional variationsIn Poland, this craving may findexpression in a pot of halushki,consisting of flat noodles, cabbage andlots and lots (and lots) of butter.

Cabbage also plays a role in theJapanese comfort special, okonomiyaki,fried cabbage pancakes. The nametranslates as “how you like it” as you canadd any of your favourite ingredients,from shrimp and spring onions to friedegg and pork belly.

As the seasonal air shifted in early September DANIELDEVERY found himself suddenly struck down with aches andpains and a sore throat. When we're under the weather we wantuncomplicated food that provides nourishment and warmth,perhaps even seasoned with a dash of nostalgia. Comfort foodmeans different things to us all. But its connection to a senseof home, and being taken care of, is universal.

Home comforts

Parts Unknown

ANTHONY BOURDAIN’S untimelydeath in June came as a shock tofans of the writer and broadcaster.His 1999 book Kitchen Confidentialremains the definitive account of thegritty realities of the restauranttrade.

He went on to develop a uniqueapproach to broadcasting abouttravel and food that combined hiscuriosity about places and peoplewith his fearless palate (cobra heartanyone?) and a languid, rock starpersona. By his own count, Bourdainwas on the road 250 days of theyear.

Earlier shows, including A Cook’s Tourand The Layover, are widely availableon Netflix and YouTube, and whilethey’re entertaining, the MTV-styledediting looks a little dated. Bothfeature trips to Dublin, whichBourdain clearly enjoyed.

Where Bourdain really hits his strideis on CNN’s Parts Unknown. All eightseasons of the show are currentlyavailable to view on Netflix.

From Beirut to Addis Ababa, andfrom Bogota to Detroit, Bourdainlooks more at ease, even in the mostuneasy situations. He’s not afraid toask difficult questions, and there’s asense of wonder and joy in hisencounters that is less evident inearlier shows.

The world is poorer for Bourdain’sabsence, but he left somethinggenuinely nourishing for us to enjoy.A bittersweet legacy.

Needless to say, it’s not a sustainablediet, but I have many happy memories ofa large plate of macaroni with cheesesauce on a Saturday afternoon,bingeing on VHS copies of Twin Peaks (areference more reliable than carbondating to determine this writer’s age).

NostalgiaIf any of these dishes demonstrateanything, it’s that what we regard ascomfort food is very personal. While Ifind solace in starchy savouries andhealing broths, others may head for icecream, warm buttered toast, or saltysnacks, but they will invariably plot acourse, guided by nostalgia, for theirchildhood home.

Comfort is conjured up by the essentialqualities of home, and the sense ofbeing taken care of. When we’re at our

Japanese comfort special, okonomiyaki,fried cabbage pancakes.

Cassoulet.

A definitive recipe for cassoulet is hotlycontested within the Languedoc regionof France. This autumnal slow-cookedpot of duck confit (that’s duck leg slowlypoached in butter), sausage and whitebeans is, nevertheless, a Gallicexpression of comfort, and one in whichthey take obvious pride. It’s evenavailable to buy pre-cooked in jars andtins throughout France.

And of course, the healing power ofchicken broth, and its association withJewish households throughout theworld, is best exemplified by matzo ballsoup, a traditional eastern Europeansoup passed down through generations.

Find your comfortAs we head in to the colder, darkermonths, it’s worth thinking about thosedishes that call to mind that sense ofcomfort. They are usually very simpleand require few ingredients.

That brings me back to my yellowdinner. Its humble origins are to befound in the back yard of mygrandmother’s house in Tyrellspass,County Westmeath.

With six hungry children to feed, shekept hens and grew spuds. To this sheadded her sense of invention.

The economics of the dish are self-evident, and its comforts have cured meagain n

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Travel


Una-Minh Kavanagh.

ONE COUNTRY that takes pride in itsrules is Japan. I’m just back from thisincredible country and while there werethings I knew I had to be mindful of,there were even more things that Idiscovered I had to do (or not do).

But it’s not just Japan where certainetiquette is part of daily life. Here are afew things I’ve picked up that you cankeep in mind while on your globaltravels.

JapanI could write an essay on the list ofthings to watch out for, but two thingstourists will experience while visitingJapan is their tipping system and thepractice of eating in public.

Tipping: It simply isn’t done in Japan.Some may even see it as insulting asthey believe that their top-class serviceshould be enough. Stories abound offoreigners who left tips and the waiterchased them down to give it back.

Don’t eat food while walking. When itcomes to cleanliness, Japan is spotless.There are hardly any public bins and itsresidents are encouraged to bring hometheir rubbish. Part of the reason why it’sso clean is because people don’t eatwhile they’re walking.

You may have picked up that deliciousbarbecue skewer but it’s far more politein Japan to stand to the side and eat it

then and there rather than walk with it.While Japanese people won’t call youout on your mistakes, you may getfrowns of disapproval enough to makeyou feel like you’ve embarrassedyourself!

GermanyDon’t jaywalk. We love crossing the roadrandomly here in Ireland but in Germanyyou can be fined for it. Even inrush hour you will see peoplepatiently waiting for the greenman.

Germans are renowned for theirpunctuality and while you’rethere you should try your best tobe on time, be it a meeting withfriends or a tour. Try to arrive afew minutes early or if you'regoing to be late, text or call toexplain why.

ItalyIf you’re a coffee lover, drink yourcappuccino or any milky form of coffeein the morning, and never after a meal.Also, the Italians absolutely cringe atthe thought of people messing aroundwith their coffee with things like ‘mintfrappuccinos’. And, please note it’s‘espresso’ not ‘expresso’.

When you’re ready to leave a restaurantand want the bill, ask for “il conto per

favore” (“the bill please”). Waiters don’tusually put it on your table unless you’verequested it as this is seen as trying toget you to leave.

IndiaWhile visiting places of culturalsignificance like a temple, it’s respectfulnot to show a lot of skin. Sometimes youmay even be refused entry or scolded.Don’t wear shorts, make sure your kneesare not in sight and cover your shoulderswith something like a scarf.

As a woman, it’s useful to have a lightscarf with you, as sometimes you may

be required to cover your hair. This rulecomes into play with many countries inAsia like Indonesia, Vietnam and partsof Malaysia.

Though there are, of course, places tocater for foreigners, eating with yourhands in India is commonplace so don’tbe offended. If you do try it, use yourright hand as the left-hand is considered“unclean”. The sharing of food is alsoconsidered good Indian manners, andit’s common for people to order anumber of dishes and share themamong your party.

VietnamIf you’re trying to get someone’sattention don’t use your finger.Summoning someone with a curledindex finger, as is done in the West, isonly done by those in authority. Instead,extend your arm with the palm facingdownwards and move your fingers in ascratching motion.

History buffs note: The war in Vietnamis known to locals as the ‘American War’.It really doesn’t make sense to call it the‘Vietnam War’ as it was arguably a civilwar which was distinguished byAmerican involvement.

BrazilWe may be familiar with usingthe “Ok” symbol using our thumband index finger but in Brazil it’sthe equivalent of giving themiddle finger. It’s considered to be oneof the rudest gestures you can make.

Brazilian people use a lot of physicalcontact as part of their communicationso when talking to someone don’t beshocked if they touch your arms, elbowsor back when they’re being friendly.They also take the time to greet and saygoodbye to each person present and arenot overly concerned about being late.

FranceWhen eating cheese don’t expect to begiven crackers, it’s eaten with breadmost of the time. Don’t make asandwich out of it or use giant chunks ofbread either. Consider that the bread isjust an accompaniment, but the cheeseis the star.

The French greet those who they knowwith a kiss on each cheek. Sometimesthe amount varies but it’s easier to justgo with the flow and at least expecttwo. A pro-tip is if you’re wearing

glasses, remove them before going for akiss. It helps avoid extra obstacles.

CanadaCanadians meeting for the first timeusually shake hands to introducethemselves and may shake hands whileleaving too. Kissing on the cheek isusually reserved for the family.However, some French-Canadians do itas a friendly greeting.

Many staff in Canada rely on tips andthese are seldom included in the bill. It’scustomary in restaurants to tip around15-20% on the total bill before tax, lessfor poor service, and more if the servicewas excellent.

Some restaurants automatically chargethe gratuity for larger groups. Peoplealso tip staff in hotels and taxi drivers.It’s not necessary to tip for counterservice, but tip jars often appear there.At the end of the day, it’s your choice n

Customor taboo?

To tip or not to tip? Is it rude to makethis gesture? When it comes toetiquette while travelling, it ofteninvolves an awareness of the silent,unspoken “rules” of the community.ÚNA-MINH KAVANAGH is your guide toa range of customs and taboos fromacross the globe.

Tokyo, Japan.

Golden Temple, India.

Italy.

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Culture Vulture


My name is

Alexander

HamiltonSEVEN MONTHS of waiting and the dayfinally arrives. Myself and my group ofequally keen friends board a flight,check in at our tiny London hostel (aroom so small the six of us couldn’t evenstand up at the same time) and enthuseover what we are about to witness.

The lyrics of each song are embedded inour brains after listening to thesoundtrack on repeat for two years. Weenter the newly refurbished VictoriaPalace theatre ready to experience theperformance first-hand.

SpecialThere’s something special about theatmosphere here. Any other show I’veseen, whether it be on the West End,Broadway, in Dublin or Edinburgh,there’s never been the same level ofanticipation, the room is fizzing. We fileinto the auditorium, clutching ourprogrammes, eyes met with the widesmiles of strangers.

Finding our seats isn’t difficult. We’re inthe very, very back row. Sometimes Ichoose the ‘nosebleed’ seats in thehopes it won’t be sold out and we’d get

upgraded to the stalls. No danger ofthat happening here. The lights godown, the room falls silent and the firstseven beats of Hamilton ring out.

It no longer matters that we have ourbacks to the wall.

Who is AlexanderHamilton?What is Hamilton and why has itcaptured the world’s attention?

It’s a hip-hop musical written andcomposed by Lin Manuel Miranda. Sungfully from start to finish, it tells theremarkable life story of AlexanderHamilton, one of America’s foundingfathers. (Possibly better known as theguy on the ten dollar bill.)

Hamilton, born out of wedlock to a half-British/half-French mother on theCaribbean island of Nevis, wasorphaned at age 11. After his town wasdestroyed by a hurricane, he wroteabout this experience and, so moved byhis story, strangers collected enoughmoney to send him to King’s College(now Columbia University) in New York.

At King’s College he soon becameinvolved in the War of Independence andassumed the role of GeorgeWashington’s right hand man. Afterbecoming the first president of theUnited States, Washington appointedhim as Treasury Secretary.

CareerHamilton’s political life saw him co-writethe US constitution, establish America’sfirst national bank, forge a tradingrelationship with Britain and opposeslavery. He led a colourful life with manyhighs and lows. He found himself at thecentre of the country’s first political sexscandal and lost his eldest son, Philip, ina duel. Ultimately, Hamilton would meethis end in the same way. (That’s not aspoiler. You learn of his demise in thefirst song of the show).

This tale of a complete underdog (a“bastard, orphan, son of a whore”) hasreally resonated with audiences on bothsides of the Atlantic. We follow his riseto success, watching as he defies allodds and makes a life for himself inAmerica, laying the foundations forgenerations to come.

The producers made an interestingdecision to cast people of all ethnicitiesin the various roles. While it may appearstrange to see an African-AmericanThomas Jefferson (Jason Pennycooke)or a Filipino (Rachelle Ann Go) ElizaSchuyler (Hamilton’s wife), it’scompletely intentional. We get towitness American history through thelens of what America looks like today.

As its creator explains: "We're telling thestory of old, dead white men but we'reusing actors of color, and that makesthe story more immediate and moreaccessible to a contemporary audience.”

“Immigrants, we get thejob done”In a musical that’s essentially onecontinuous song, you might think itwould be difficult to pick out favouritephrases or moments.

However, there’s one line in particularthat has stayed with me. It isn’t somedramatic high note or key change. It’sjust spoken with no music behind it at

all, a casual aside: “Immigrants, we getthe job done.”

I’ve always loved that remark exchangedbetween Hamilton and the Frenchrevolutionary, Lafayette. But seeing itlive, I don’t think any of us wereexpecting the rapturous applause itprovoked.

For me, it was the most poignantmoment of the whole show. It felt likethe entire room was saying we respectimmigrants, and we recognise theirundeniable value, while at the same timerejecting the nativism of Trump, Brexitand the far right.

“Immigrants, we get the job done.” It’s apowerful moment.

That same line, you may remember,triggered a standing ovation in 2016when US Vice President-elect MikePence was in the Broadway audience.

At the end of the already deeply politicalshow, actor Brandon Victor Dixon (Vice-president Aaron Burr) acknowledgedPence’s presence and pleaded with him

to ensure the new administrationrepresents all Americans.

“We, sir – we – are the diverse Americawho are alarmed and anxious that yournew administration will not protect us,our planet, our children, our parents, ordefend us and uphold our inalienablerights. We truly hope that this show hasinspired you to uphold our Americanvalues and to work on behalf of all of us.”

ReflectionThinking about the show in an Irishcontext, we’ve nearly 5,500 refugeescurrently living in direct provision,denied the opportunity to fullycontribute to society.

At the end of our evening, we areenthralled, thrilled, exhilarated…and alittle sad that it’s over.

Hamilton has worked its magic on us.And it forces us to recognise thefundamental value of a rich and diversesociety.

Job done n

It’s the hit musical of the moment. Tickets for Hamilton are like golddust. The box office took more than $30m before it even opened onBroadway in 2015, and the show racked up a record-breaking 16Tony nominations. These seats are flaming hot. After months of sold-out shows in London’s West End, HAZEL GAVIGAN finally nabbedthose precious tickets.

Hazel Gavigan.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, the show'screator, played the role ofHamilton for two years when itfirst opened on Broadway.



Music

THE WELSH singer Cerys Matthews,front woman for Catatonia (remember1997’s iconic singles Mulder & Scullyand Road Rage?) was a contestant inthe 2007 season of (catatonic) realityTV show I’m A Celebrity Get Me Out OfHere.

Matthews concluded her time on theshow in a tryst with actor Marc

Bannerman. Each to his or her own, butit remains a personal tragedy thatsomeone of Matthews’ talent andcredibility appeared on such alamentable TV show.

Bannerman is an Irish-born actor, raisedin North London, who played Italianbeefcake Gianni di Marco in Eastenders.That Irish/Italian thing has always sat

well with me. The suburb of Finglas waspopulated exclusively by first andsecond generation Dubs, and a largetribe of Macaris from Southern Italy, inthe 1970s.

In fact, having a Macari boy in your classwas a badge of honour: “We’re mateswith the fella whose ma owns thechipper.” Macaris remains the home of

the uniquely Dublin spiceburger, a deep-fried compendium of mystery stuff inbreadcrumbs.

ClassI reference Ms Matthews becauserecently she has taken a stand forworking class music. On her BBC6 radioshow she has stopped playing recordscreated by artists from the fee-payingschool privileged classes.

Matthews has copped that they’retaking over our art. That’s James Blunt,Coldplay, Mumford & Sons and Florence& the Machine wiped out in one strokeof Welsh working class genius. Hats offCerys.

The tipping point must have been therealisation that top Indie act TheMaccabees consist of a Hugo, anOrlando, a Felix and a Rupert. Theyshould’ve called themselves The MagicRoundabout.

Matthews follows the lead of thewriter/broadcaster Stuart Maconie who,in 2015, lamented the takeover of thecreative industries waged by the upperclasses. Maconie observed: “DamonAlbarn of Blur was mocked as the poshboy of Britpop when in fact he’d gone toa comprehensive in Essex and his familywas just mildly bohemian. Nowadayshe’d be decidedly ‘below stairs’.”

Maconie also drew attention to SandieShaw’s advice, to the Commons’ cultureselect committee, that a career in pophad become unviable “unless you’reMumford & Sons and come from apublic school and have a rich family thatcan support you.” Shaw, let’s not forget,emerged from Dagenham in the regionaland social upheaval of the 1960s.

Public v PrivateI must clarify that a public school acrossthe water is a fee-paying school. Here athome, it does what it says on the tin.Public means the general public haveaccess. Private means they don’t unlessthey cough up the funds.

I marvel at how English became auniversally spoken language yet itscreators frequently fail to understandits correct usage. My own highlydeveloped Hiberno-English wasdeveloped in a non-fee-paying (i.e.public) school.

Sherlock Holmes actor BenedictCumberbatch was educated inBrambletye Boarding School andHarrow. “Being a posh actor in England,you cannot escape the class typing from

whatever side you look at it,” says he.Elementary my dear Cumberbatch. Itonly serves to remind me that, with thatname, he wouldn’t have fared too well inDe La Salle Finglas in my day.

I loved Cilla Black’s unselfconsciousconfession that she loved being put upin posh hotels. I always imagined thehotel brigade arriving to turn down herbed for the night. “Nah I’ll do it meselfChuck,” as she boomed out a verse ofAnyone Who Had A Heart. Speaking ofwhich, Doncaster’s own Sheridan Smithgives a belting performance of that tune(check it out on YouTube) in the 2014biopic Cilla.

Simon who?Pete Townshend (Chiswick) and RogerDaltrey (Hammersmith) both did so wellat their ‘11 plus’ exams that they wereadvanced to Acton Grammar School.Grammar school sounds highfalutin’,except it’s basically a non-fee-payingschool which does a bit of grammar.

Sir Raymond Douglas Davies (aka RayDavies) was the son of an abbatoirworker from Harringey (the part which isnow referred to as Muswell Hill –dangerously close to TottenhamHotspur catchment but Ray chose TheArsenal – legend). Paul (Eton Rifles)Weller attended non-fee-payingSheerwater County Secondary School.

My point is that these all-time greatshad lots of important criticalobservations to make on society, havingcome from a societal position ofdisadvantage. Add in the genius of thetunes and the result was, for me, anunbeatable mix.

The current trend, however, is areminder that all that post-war socialmobility is at an end - for now.

The most irritating evidence of all this isthat the likes of Simon Cowell wields somuch power and influence, and hastaken charge of the industrial drivel hepeddles as pop music. Cowell is an oldboy of the Dover College (£3,995 aterm in his day).

In dreamsThere was a time when kids playedstreet games in the sun and playedrecords in the rain. The demise of the45rpm 7” inch vinyl single has equallylowered the prospect of beingdiscovered by a record company A&Rman in the local working class pub,along with the dreams that goes withthat.

That leaves us with Chris Martin (£34kper year Sherborne Boarding School)singing about Roman Catholic choirs. Anappalling vista.

Don’t blink Cerys. We’re on your side n

Public versus private

In his early career as jaundiced-eyed pundit, RAYMOND CONNOLLY spentseveral summers in a pub near London’s Finsbury Park playing chess withPeter Ustinov. The pair famously fell out on a ferociously hot July day in 1976.Accounts vary. Some say Ustinov attempted an illegal move to checkmate,others that Connolly stole Ustinov’s pork pie. The real reason was that Ustinovhad attempted to argue that Eton or Harrow could just as easily haveproduced a band like the Sex Pistols. Connolly was having none of it, and hasbeen waging class warfare ever since.

RaymondConnolly.



Cerys Matthews.

Chris Martin.

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The small print*You must be a paid-up Fórsa member to win.Only one entry per person (multiple entrieswill not be considered). Entries must reachus by Friday 7th December 2018. Theeditor’s decision is final. That’s it!

Just answer fiveeasy questionsand you couldwin €50.YOU COULD have an extra €50 tospend by answering five easy questionsand sending your entry, name andaddress to Hazel Gavigan, Fórsa prizequiz. Fórsa, Nerney’s court, Dublin,D01 R2C5. We’ll send €50 to the firstcompleted entry pulled from the hat.*All the answers can be found in thepages of this magazine.

WIN €50

1. The #RaiseTheRoof housing rallywas about what burning publicissue?

a. Reopening Stepaside Gardastation

b. Public transportc. Housing and homelessnessd. The ‘granny grant’ proposal

2. In what months did Ryanair pilotsgo on strike?

a. January and February b. March and Aprilc. May and Juned. July and August

3. How much should you tip a waiterin Japan?

a. 10%b. 10% plus local taxesc. Whatever loose change you’re

carryingd. Nothing, they might even chase

you to give back a gratuity!

4. Who wrote hit musical Hamilton?a. Leonard Bernsteinb. Lin Manuel Mirandac. Andrew Lloyd Webberd. Tim Rice

5. What’s in a ‘yellow dinner’?a. Noodles and cheeseb. Bananas c. Mashed potato and eggsd. Butternut squash and cream


PRIZEQUIZ

WIN€50

PRIZE CROSSWORD

Win €50 bycompleting thecrossword andsending yourentry, name andaddress toHazel Gavigan,Fórsacrossword,Fórsa, Nerney’sCourt, Dublin,D01 R2C5, byFriday 7thDecember2018. We’llsend €50 to thefirst correctentry pulledfrom the hat.

ISSUE 3 (SUMMER-AUTUMN) WINNERS:

CROSSWORD: Jean Collier-Brownrigg, Gorey, Co. Wexford. QUIZ: John O’Donovan, Blackpool, Co. Cork. SURVEY: Helen Murphy, Dundalk, Co. Louth.

ISSUE 3 (SUMMER-AUTUMN) CROSSWORD SOLUTIONS:

ACROSS: 7. Mangan 8. Acorns 9. Glad 10. Rapparee 11. Information 14. Battle Calls 18. Team mate 19. Sage 20. Barrel 21. Greens DOWN: 1. Ballina 2. Aged 3. Ingram 4. Rat Pit 5. Coca Cola 6. Sneem 12. Oranmore 13. Elegant 15. Trails 16. Energy 17. Decay 19. Shed

Crossword composed by Peter Connaughton.

ACROSS7. Be in Naas with the former

Belgian airline (6)8. Type of paint on a tooth (6)9. Ring a friend for a gemstone (4)10. Knitwear and Welsh bay (8)11. Icelandic explorer, said to have

landed in North America 500 years before Columbus (4,7)

14. Romanian tennis player, winner of the 2018 French Open (6,5)

18. Greek dish of minced meat andaubergines (8)

19. A present for the Fine YoungCannibals (4)

20. In science, the opposite of 15 down (6)

21. A decoy to charm or attract (6)

DOWN1. Monsters with a female head and

body and the wings and claws of abird (7)

2. Hadephobia is a fear of ending uphere (4)

3. Zodiac sign between Gemini and Leo(6)

4. Given name of Ibsen and Larsson (6)5. Canadian province, capital Winnipeg

(8)6. Younger daughter of King Lear (5)12. Breed of cow from Holland (8)13. This county won four-in-a-row All-

Ireland Senior Football titles in ’18 (7)15. Poisonous acid, found in spinach,

used as bleach (6)16. James Cameron movie starring Sam

Worthington (6)17. And 19 down, Iron Pyrite for the

Stone Roses (5)19. See 17 down (4)

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8

9 10

11 12

13

14 15 16

17

18 19

20 21

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