FAQs – Education. National Industrial Action 2026

In general, 'work to rule' industrial action involves a worker working strictly to the terms of their contract, role or function.

If you don’t have a contract or a description of your role or function, you should work to your usual role and duties and not carry out other additional duties that are outside of your contract.

Some union instructions may outline that a specific task should cease.

For example, many instructions will state that members should not cover the work of a vacant post during industrial action, even though that might be part of your normal working day.

If your job description or contract allows for ‘other tasks assigned by your manager’, you should stick to your normal duties and not take on any additional or new tasks during the industrial action. You can ask your local branch or official if you are unsure.

A work to rule also means working strictly to your scheduled working hours and not doing unscheduled or un-rostered overtime.

It also often means a withdrawal of goodwill. Some examples of this could be taking on some duties beyond your job description to ‘help out’ and generally being flexible on working hours or duties beyond your contract. How this works in practice will differ significantly from workplace to workplace. Contact your local branch or official to clarify any queries you have.

A detailed union instruction has issued to members working as SNAs. It outlines the work to rule and non-cooperation actions you should follow as part of this industrial action. It is very important that you are familiar with the instruction and understand it.

This FAQ is considered a guide to help with general queries and will be updated as a live document over the coming weeks.

This document covers questions asked to date regarding the work to rule industrial action which started on Wednesday 30th September 2026.

Following a ballot of all Fórsa members working in the Civil and Public service members, in which over 96% voted in favour of taking industrial action, up to and including strike action, the National Executive Committee (NEC)authorised the commencement of industrial action in all divisions from Wednesday 30th September on a continuous basis.

All public sector unions, including Fórsa are also planning two one day strikes, due to take place on Wednesday 14th October and Wednesday 21st October.

The work rule commences at the start of your working day on Wednesday 30th September. The work to rule is continuous and will be maintained until such time as the NEC determines that it is no longer required.

The union instruction outlines that SNA members should:

· Refuse to cooperate with the Special Needs Assistant Workforce Development Plan. This will include: withdrawing goodwill – do not assist with extra-curricular activities such as with clubs, tours or open days.

· Refuse to attend training.

· Refuse to attend student planning meetings.

· Work to contract as per Circular 0030/2014 - do not sign or accept any new contract and do not comply with the provisions of Circular 0032/2026.

· Refuse to carry out any work under the 72 hours provisions listed in Circular 0071/2011.

Each of these instructions is explained in detail below:

a) Refuse to cooperate with the Special Needs Assistant Workforce Development Plan. This will include: withdrawing goodwill – do not assist with extra-curricular activities such as with clubs, tours or open days.

As SNA members rejected the Workforce Development Plan and associated Circulars in the recent consultation ballot, the Plan and new Circulars on the Role of the SNA, the SNA Redeployment Scheme, SNA Allocations and SNA Contracts of Employment were withdrawn by the Minister at the request of Fórsa.

Members are instructed not to cooperate with any attempt to reintroduce those measures. At the moment, the Department does not intend to revisit the proposals, if that position changes and there is an attempt to reintroduce those Circulars members should not cooperate and should adhere to existing contracts and Circulars. Members are also instructed specifically to boycott extra-curricular activities such as clubs, tours or open days which are mentioned in the Workforce Development Plan.

b) Refuse to attend training

Members should not attend or participate in any form of training in the school. This includes all forms of training. If training is scheduled on an in-service day members should attend for work but not attend the training. School management should provide other duties consistent with the role of the SNA as set out in the existing 0030/2014 Circular.

c) Refuse to attend student planning meetings.

SNA members will know that participating in student planning meetings was a component of the now withdrawn new Circular on the Role of the SNA (Circular 0032/2026). As that Circular was rejected in the consultation ballot, it is not appropriate for members to participate in such activity and where this has been taking place in any school members should not attend any further meetings.

d) Working to contract as per Circular 0030/2014 - do not sign or accept any new contract and do not comply with the provisions of Circular 0032/2026.

This instruction is intended to emphasise to the Department of Education and school employers that SNA members will not, under any circumstances, accept new contracts or new Circulars that have not been agreed with Fórsa.

Members should continue to carry out the existing range of duties they have been assigned and there should be no change in existing working practices or duties.

e) Refuse to carry out any work under the 72 hours provisions listed in Circular 0071/2011.

This is a formal boycott of the 72 hours. SNA members should refuse to carry out any work associated with the 72 hours. This includes attendance in the school outside normal working hours and all other elements of the 72-hour obligation.

No, members are only instructed to take industrial action in the specific areas set out in the instruction. Members are not being instructed to withdraw from duties that they have been routinely undertaking, unless such duties consist of training, attending student centred planning, extra-curricular activities or work associated with the 72 hours.

No, members are only protected under the Industrial Relations Act 1990 if they adhere to the official industrial action instruction that has been issued to members. The work to rule will not protect members who decide to withdraw from other duties that are not specifically listed in the industrial action instruction.

No, if you have been routinely carrying out work outside the scope of the existing contract the work to rule does not allow you to stop carrying out those duties. If there are local problems regarding SNAs being asked to work beyond the existing National Contract those issues need to be discussed with the relevant official and addressed through the normal industrial relations mechanisms.

Your employer will take the view that you have agreed to carry out those duties previously, and you are not authorised under the work to rule to withdraw your labour from those duties. Changes to existing working arrangements need to be discussed with the school.

The INTO secured a 99% vote in favour of industrial action in their industrial action ballot. They will commence a work to rule on Monday 5th October and will be instructing teachers to boycott the Croke Park hours. INTO members will be on strike on Wednesday 14th October and Wednesday 21st October.

The ASTI has completed their industrial action ballot and secured a 95% vote in favour of industrial action. They will commence a work to rule on Monday 5th October and will be instructing Teachers to boycott the Croke Park hours, boycott the use of telephones and email and work to normal contracted hours. ASTI members will be on strike on Wednesday 14th October and Wednesday 21st October.

The TUI will close their ballots shortly and they expect a similar vote in favour of industrial action in the form of a work to rule and strike action.

No, all SNA members have been instructed to take industrial action. Special Schools will not be exempt. The INTO has adopted the same position. This applies to both the work to rule and to the strike days.

No, the work to rule will not change the role or duties of an SNA in the classroom in any way. In respect of duties in the classroom members should work normally.

Yes, this is part of your contracted hours of work. It is there to assist with reception of children from busses/taxis etc. in the morning, for dispersal at the end of the school day, and for light tidying at the end of the day of equipment being used by children with special educational needs.

These are normal duties and should continue, i.e. walking children from and to the school transport at the start and end of the day.

The work to rule includes the withdrawal of goodwill. Therefore, members are entitled to stop working on out of hours activities such as breakfast clubs.

The union rules state that strike pay is made available after 3 days of continuous strike action, strike pay is not available for one day work stoppages.

The four SNA Branches and staff are considering how to distribute placards in each region. It may not be possible to distribute placards to every single school so members have been sent placard designs that can be printed off for use on the strike days.

More information on the availability and distribution of materials will be sent members via email in advance of Wednesday 14th October. Members can also print leaflets and posters to share with the school community. These are available on the Fórsa website.

SNAs should not be supervising children without a teacher being present. If you have been providing supervision without a teacher being present, please contact us to discuss how to address the problem.

If you have been carrying out such supervision for a considerable period of time your employer will assume this is a duty you have agreed to carry out.

This needs to be addressed directly with the school, please contact us to provide details. For the sake of clarity, you are not being instructed to leave children unsupervised, you are being advised to contact the union for advice before changing existing working arrangements.

All union members working in the civil and public service will be commencing work to rule actions on Wednesday 30th September. The form of the work to rule actions differs depending on the workplace and the role of the members.

Members in the health service, local government, civil service and many state agencies will all cease cooperation with specific duties as of Wednesday 30th September. Industrial action often escalates as a dispute unfolds, and if this happens members will be updated.

A union instruction has been issued to members working in Education and Training Boards. It outlines the work to rule and non-cooperation actions you should follow as part of this industrial action. It is very important that you are familiar with the instruction and understand it.

This FAQ is a guide to help with general queries and will be updated as a live document over the coming weeks.

If a manager asks you to carry out any task or action covered by the withdrawal instruction, explain that you are following the union instruction and that the matter should be raised at national level.

This document covers questions asked to date about the work to rule industrial action that started on Wednesday 30th September 2026. A separate strike FAQ document will be issued in early October before the national strike day on Wednesday 14th October 2026.

The only reports that have been given exemption are those specifically linked to payroll and the paying of salaries/payments to staff/learners/apprenticeships.

This relates specifically to external consultants which have been engaged by ETBs to carry out work.

One such example is Project Managers. These are roles the NETB branch believes should and could be carried out by an administrative staff member of the equivalent grade after receiving sufficient training.

ETBs have elected to outsource this role without collaboration with Fórsa and members have voiced their frustration on this matter. Therefore, members are not to engage with any new consultants including the project managers on projects that have not commenced by the Wednesday 30^th of September.

Any ETBs which have commenced the preparation work for the transfer of SCP and are included in Wave 1, may continue. Any work on any other Wave is not allowed.

If it is within your core and contracted hours then you can attend.

If this is part of your normal and regular duties then you can continue.

You may only carry out the hours you are contracted for. Flexible working arrangements may be utilised, but you should not be accruing flexi leave hours.

Yes.

Managements should honour these leave requests if booked prior to Wednesday 30^th September. You will need to ensure management have you marked off on leave for the strike days to not have pay deducted.

The industrial action is being taken by not only Fórsa but by the other unions, including SIPTU, and teaching unions. You would therefore not be alone outside your workplace.

If they are not union members then then they can be asked to cover any duty by management.

This relates to any work from the Wednesday 30^th September which directly relates to the setting up, or organising for College of the Future.

The branch will be issuing such a message, but it will be up to members whether they use it.

Members should not be carrying out any role of a higher grade in normal circumstances or during the work to rule.

This is not included in the current list of instructions but is being considered for future escalation.

Any work already commenced prior to Wednesday 30^th September can continue. Any new items pertaining to college of the future after Wednesday 30^th September should not be carried out.

If it is within your normal duties you may continue. If you are only doing this due to a vacant position, then you should cease.

The only reports that have been given exemption are those specifically linked to payroll and the paying of salaries/payments to staff/learners/apprenticeships. So this should continue.

The branch and the disputes committee will be in communication with local reps within each ETB to discuss the logistics for pickets on strike days.

You should only be covering the acting role. Your Grade 4 role should have been filled and is therefore a vacant post.

You can still assist students in this manner.

Any request to carry out ‘other duties that may be assigned’ are covered on the instruction: do not to take on any new work streams or processes.

Yes, the Public Services Committee of ICTU has agreed that all public sector unions participating in the dispute will strike on the same day for maximum impact.

Yes, official notice of industrial cation was served by the union to ETB Chief Executives.

Yes, any person who has submitted their application form is covered.

A detailed union instruction has issued to members working in Higher Education. It outlines the work to rule and non-cooperation actions you should follow as part of this industrial action. It is very important that you are familiar with the instruction and understand it.

You are not expected to interpret this instruction on your own, and you are not being asked to make a judgement call. If you are asked to do something you believe is covered, you decline it and refer it on. You do not have to argue the case, justify the dispute or negotiate the point, because that is the branch's job rather than yours. If you are unsure whether something is covered, ask your rep before you act rather than afterwards, and keep a short note of the date, who asked and what was asked.

You can use this line, in writing or in person:

"I am acting on a Fórsa industrial action instruction and I am not in a position to carry out this task. Please direct any queries about it to my union representative."

This document covers questions asked to date regarding the work to rule industrial action which started on Wednesday 30th September 2026.

Following a ballot of all Fórsa members working in the Civil and Public service members, in which over 96% voted in favour of taking industrial action, up to and including strike action, the National Executive Committee (NEC)authorised the commencement of industrial action in all divisions from Wednesday 30^th September on a continuous basis.

All public sector unions, including Fórsa are also planning two one day strikes, due to take place on Wednesday 14^th October and Wednesday 21^st October.

The work rule commences at the start of your working day on Wednesday 30^th September. The work to rule is continuous and will be maintained until such time as the NEC determines that it is no longer required.

Both. A work to rule means you carry out the duties set out in your contract and job description, during your contracted hours, and nothing beyond that. The items listed in the Instruction are the specific areas the union has identified, not the whole of the action and not the only things that change.

In practice, if a task is in your job description and fits within your hours, you do it as normal. If it is not, you decline it, whether or not it appears on the list. What is withdrawn is everything the sector quietly runs on: goodwill, favours, covering for colleagues, acting up without agreement, taking on work that was never yours, and staying late to finish.

If you are not clear what your own contracted duties are, ask for a copy of your job description, tell your rep if you cannot get one.

Yes, you can accrue flexi as usual, but you are not to perform voluntary or unscheduled overtime.

If work belongs to a colleague who is absent you should not do this work, it should remain undone.

Rostered, regular evening, Saturday and Sunday work in libraries is expressly unaffected, so a Saturday that forms part of your normal roster continues.

Contracted hours means the number of hours in your contract, not a fixed 9 to 5 pattern. Where evening or early starts are genuinely part of your normal role and sit within your contracted weekly hours, the argument is that this is ordinary duty. What stops is exceeding those hours and absorbing travel time on top of a full day.

Working from home is a matter for management. Nothing in the Instruction changes existing blended or home working arrangements. Your agreed pattern continues as it is.

A post nobody currently holds, whether through retirement, resignation, promotion or a competition that has not concluded. Vacancies created by maternity leave and illness are also considered vacant.

No. This is not a rule about capacity. Having time available is not a reason to cover a vacant post, and the answer is the same for “just this once” and for covering only part of it.

The instruction applies from Wednesday 30th September regardless of when the arrangement began, since the work still belongs to a vacant post. Raise it with your manager and tell your rep, so the branch can see how widespread this is.

If you are contracted in the higher post, there is not considered to be a vacancy and you are therefore not covering a vacant post. You work your normal duties as long as they are not covered by other areas of the instruction.

Deal with it as a team rather than individually. Ask your manager, in writing, to set out who is doing what and on what basis. Undocumented absorption of a vacant post is exactly what the Instruction is aimed at, and a collective response is far harder to pick apart than several separate ones.

Yes. From Wednesday 30th September, members should not draft, prepare papers for, or otherwise support the development of new policies, procedures or work practices. That includes work for committees, like Academic Councils, on anything still in development.

Work on amendments to existing policies and procedures continues as normal for now. This is the current branch position and may be reviewed as the action develops. Members will be told if it changes.

Yes. Scheduled meetings, agendas and minutes for existing business are normal duties and continue.

Where the process is still being built, or you are being asked to extend into new parts of it, that is covered under the instruction and members should not cooperate.

A newly established committee is a new work stream. Decline from Wednesday 30th September, say you are acting on a Fórsa industrial action instruction, and ask your manager what grade appropriate work you should do instead.

If it is not in your job description and you have only ever done it as a favour, decline it from Wednesday 30th September. Goodwill outside your role is precisely what the action withdraws.

Running competitions is the day-to-day work of a recruitment team, so an additional competition is arguably ordinary duty rather than a new work stream. What would be included in the industrial action is a new recruitment process, system or workflow.

They are returns to the HEA and so fall within the wording of the instruction. Do not carry out this work.

As the request for the Student Accommodation Assistance Fund would directly impact students receiving payments, the Dispute Committee has decided to allow members to submit this application, and it is therefore exempted from the instruction. This means a union derogation has been granted for this work.

The Students with Disabilities return is covered by the instruction and members should not engage with this work.

This is pay-related, and the instruction already exempts apprentice pay returns on that basis.

The instruction does not direct members on preparing documents at their own desk, so you are not in breach for drafting or holding work in progress. What stops is support for the return: do not supply data, figures or input for a return that someone else is compiling, and do not complete a return for another person to submit in your place.

Be aware, other members will not provide you with data to complete your return as they are also under instruction.

Yes, this is covered under the reports and returns instruction, and no member should cooperate or return it.

Yes. What stops is the preparation and submission of reports and returns to the funder. Internal project work, queries and day-to-day administration continue.

No. Staff on externally funded contracts are university employees, paid by the university, and they continue to be paid. What is affected is the timing of the university recouping costs from the funder, which is a matter for the employer to manage.

Where a delay would put a grant itself at risk rather than just delay drawdown, raise it with the branch rather than deciding locally.

It covers material assembled for an external reviewer or auditor: briefing notes, evidence packs, collated data, questionnaire responses. Routine internal record-keeping is unaffected.

Yes, sending out exam papers is an external review and therefore members should not cooperate.

An outsourced consultant is an external firm or individual engaged by management to review, redesign or deliver work that staff do or could do, such as process reviews, restructuring, service design or systems implementation. It does not mean ordinary suppliers you deal with as part of normal operations, and it does not mean other public bodies.

Where the consultant is within scope outlined above, decline the invitation rather than attending. Do so in writing, stating that you are acting on a Fórsa industrial action instruction, and keep a copy.

Another public body is not an outsourced consultant, so ordinary joint working, including attending meetings and taking minutes, would continue.

For open days, both. The instruction covers preparation, arrangements and assistance on the day, including room bookings, registration desks, staffing rotas, catering and hospitality, and post-event activity.

For conferring ceremonies, the derogation now permits members to prepare and assist with conferring materials and arrangements within their contracted hours.

Members should continue to work their normal hours and normal workload up to 30 September.

If management ask you to prioritise conferring or open day work, that is a management decision, but you should ask which other duties should be deprioritised to accommodate the work.

Members must not work overtime, undertake unpaid work, or take on additional cover to complete either conferring or open day tasks.

Yes. Under the agreed derogation, members may prepare and assist with conferring materials and arrangements, including conferring name lists, booklets, parchments, platform party arrangements, and related logistical activities, provided this work is undertaken within contracted hours.

Members should continue to work strictly to contract. No overtime, paid or unpaid, should be worked to deliver conferring ceremonies.

No. The instruction in respect of open days remains fully in force. Members should inform their manager that they have been instructed by their union not to undertake open day work and remain available for other grade-appropriate duties.

No change. The instruction specifically names open days and conferring. The derogation applies only to conferring ceremonies. Other events are not covered by the Instruction and may continue, subject to the requirement to work strictly to contracted hours and not undertake overtime.

No. Exam boards are academic business rather than conferring materials. The reference to "name lists" in the derogation concerns conferring-related lists and documentation. Work connected with exam boards may continue.

Neither is covered by the instruction. The live question is hours: an overnight or a full conference day will normally exceed contracted hours, and working strictly to contracted hours applies.

Routine day-to-day use of Banner that is already live and embedded is normal duty and continues.

Any new work, migration of records, amalgamation or records etc should stop.

Yes. Being asked to take on additional systems or additional instances is new work, and declining it is squarely within is instruction. Ask your manager to confirm the request in writing.

Yes. Implementing a new platform is a developing system, and data input into it is covered.

If this is an established routine transfer between two systems already in use, it is ordinary duty. If it forms part of implementing a new platform, it is covered by the instruction and you should stop.

Where the purpose of the meeting is amalgamating teams or services, it is amalgamation work and falls within the boycott. An ordinary operational meeting that happens to involve colleagues on another campus does not.

That post sits at the intersection of the amalgamation boycott and the systems boycott. Decline the work and ask for alternative grade-appropriate duties.

This turns on your contract rather than the Instruction. If your contracted base is one campus, regular travel to another is not automatically part of your role, and where you have been doing it on goodwill outside your job specification it falls within work to rule.

No. From Wednesday 30th September members should not train, brief, shadow, write instructions for, or hand over to anyone so that work covered by the instruction can continue during the action. That includes informal help to a colleague, to a manager, or to an agency temp.

This is where pressure will be applied most gently and most persistently, because it rarely looks like a request to break the instruction. It looks like being helpful.

Inducting a new colleague into their own substantive post is not the same as training someone to absorb work the action is designed to stop. This can continue.

Decline politely, and in writing where you can. Say that you are acting on a Fórsa industrial action instruction. You do not have to argue the merits, justify the dispute or negotiate the point.

Keep a short note of every request you decline: the date, who asked, and what was asked.

This is official industrial action following a ballot, and members are protected by their union. Penalising someone for lawful participation would be victimisation and the branch would act on it immediately. If you are treated differently, or feel you are being singled out, contact your rep the same day. Do not wait to see whether it develops.

The instruction applies to members. Non-members are not covered by it and are not protected by the union during the dispute. Do not put pressure on colleagues and equally do not absorb work that others decline. If you know colleagues who are not yet members, now is the time to encourage them to join.

Under the rule book, failure to act in accordance with union instructions during an industrial dispute is treated as conduct injurious to the interests of the union and can be dealt with under the disciplinary procedure. In practice the first step is always a conversation, and the branch would far rather understand why a member is struggling than pursue anything formal.

Fórsa remains open to all engagement.

Ask before you act, not after. Contact your local rep or the branch, describe the specific task and who asked for it, and wait for an answer. Nobody is expected to interpret the instruction alone, and a wrong guess in either direction causes problems: doing covered work weakens the action, and refusing work that is not covered leaves you exposed.

Members are protected by their union during disputes. Anyone who is not in the union is not protected. Applications can be made through the Fórsa membership application page, and should be done as soon as possible. New members are covered by the instruction as soon as they fill out the online application form.

Please see a list of Branch Executive members:

• Chairperson: Ben Slimm, MTU [email protected]
• Vice Chairperson: David Jackman, SETU
• Secretary: Katie Bourke, TUS [email protected]
• Treasurer: Linda McGlinchey, ATU
• Membership Secretary: Sarah Clarke, SETU
• Training & Equality Rep: Catherine O’Reilly, ATU
• Cathy McGowan, ATU
• Ruth Shortt, ATU
• Vacant (please contact emails above), IADT
• Barbara Byrne, TU Dublin
• Shay Murphy, TU Dublin
• David Dunne, TU Dublin
• Yvonne Magill, Dundalk IT
• Fiona Williams, TUS
• Caolan McCormack, TUS
• Rocky Falzon, MTU
• Kim Shanahan, MTU
• Marie Quaid, Mary Immaculate College

If you have any further doubt please email [email protected] or [email protected]