Pay, artificial intelligence and remote working will be among the topics debated by members of Fórsa at the union’s biennial conference, which opens in Killarney this afternoon.
More than 150 motions will be voted on by delegates over the course of three days.
Taoiseach Micheál Martin will address the conference tomorrow.
Fórsa is the country’s largest public sector union and the resolutions relating to pay come ahead of talks on the next public sector pay deal which are expected to begin in the coming weeks.
One of the motions on wages calls for “a significant increase in member’s pay, beyond the level of inflation”.
Another states that the next public service agreement should provide for “a fairer work-life balance through agreed policies on flexible work arrangements, remote working, and a shorter working week”.
The resolution also calls for the agreement to include “targeted investment in public healthcare and housing”.
On remote working, one of the motions states that remote and hybrid work must be better protected and promoted.
“Flexible work should not become a privilege for higher paid workers, rather it should be secured and defended through national and local bargaining,” according to the resolution.
Another motion opposes “unilateral employer decisions to roll back blended working without clear evidence – informed justification or meaningful engagement”.
On artificial intelligence, one motion calls for the inclusion of AI-related clauses in the forthcoming public service pay negotiations.
These would include the right to meaningful consultation and collective bargaining on AI deployment, protections against AI-driven job displacement, commitments to benefit-sharing including the exploration of reduced working time as an “AI Time Dividend” and guaranteed access to paid, protected time for AI training and upskilling.
Another motion calls on the union to ensure workers’ rights are respected and prioritised in the Government’s rolling out of artificial intelligence systems across workplaces.
