FAQs – Industrial action by ICT workers in Local Authorities

98.4% of members voted in favour of industrial action, providing a clear and overwhelming mandate for action across the sector.

• Stopping all out-of-hours ICT work
• Non-engagement with external third parties

The industrial action will commence from 7am on Wednesday 28th January and will continue until resolution is reached.

Any ICT activity outside normal working hours, including:

● System or infrastructure upgrades
● Application deployments or changes
● Reactive support, troubleshooting, or call-outs

All such work will cease for the duration of the action.

During the action, ICT staff will not:

● Communicate with any third parties (email, phone, Teams, meetings)
● Attend third-party meetings or workshops
● Process or support third-party requests
● Enable or approve work required for third-party deliverables

Where a third party provides instructions, guidance, or actions, whether directly to ICT staff or indirectly via a user or business area, those instructions are still considered to originate from a third party. Acting on them would enable a third-party deliverable and is therefore not permitted during the period of industrial action. The route by which the instruction is received does not change its status.

Non-ICT colleagues who are union members are expected to respect the industrial action and avoid actions that would circumvent its intent, including passing on third-party requests to ICT staff. This means members should not take on work of their colleagues who are taking industrial action.

Any organisation or individual not directly employed by the local authority, including:

● LGMA
● ICT contractors and consultants
● Software, hardware, cloud, and telecoms providers
● Agency ICT staff

The action seeks the establishment of:

● Clear professional recognition of ICT as a distinct discipline
● Appropriate career, capability, and progression structures
● A sustainable ICT function, underpinned by nationally agreed professional frameworks for how ICT services are delivered and supported, capable of supporting both local and national digital services

The onus to request derogations is the responsibility of the employer and any such requests will be considered by the national Disputes Committee, provided that it is limited in nature and requested in a timely fashion. Branches will also establish local Disputes Committees to work collaboratively the national committee.

The Disputes Committee in consultation with ICT members will scope out further escalation of the dispute.

Have you thought about joining the union? Your colleagues are fighting hard for your rights. The more people who join, the more strength we have. It’s never been easier to join Fórsa.

Once your membership has been ratified, you must follow union instructions regarding the dispute.

We would encourage members to explain why they are taking industrial action to their local public representatives. You can advise elected representatives to contact the Chief Executive to urge them to resolve the dispute.

Where required, staff may use the following standard wording when responding to communication during the period of industrial action:

“Thank you for your correspondence.

Please be advised that, due to ongoing industrial action, we are not in a position to engage with external third parties at this time. This includes all communication, meetings, and activities related to third‑party requests, as outlined in the current industrial action directives.

Your message will not be processed during this period.

Please note that ICT staff are also not engaging in any out‑of‑hours ICT work for the duration of the industrial action, and requests received outside normal working hours will not be processed.

We will resume normal engagement once the industrial action has concluded.”