FAQs – Public Sector Industrial Action 2026

The Public Service Agreement 2024- 2026 expired in June. Exploratory talks did not lead to an agreement. As a result, public service unions have been balloting members on industrial action. A number of unions have now announced ballot results strongly in favour of taking industrial action, with ballots ongoing.

The ICTU Public Services Committee met on Friday 11^th September and agreed to coordinate industrial action.

96.6% of members who voted supported industrial action. The turnout was 64,481, equivalent to 72.6%. The majority in favour of action was a resounding 60,071.

Union members are bound by the democratic decision of members. If a majority of members vote to take industrial action, then all members are expected to follow the union instruction.

Industrial action will begin on Wednesday 30^th September.  A national strike action will take place on Wednesday 14th October 2026 with pickets to be placed on workplaces.

There are currently no talks taking place.

Preliminary engagement with Government in June didn’t convince union negotiators that living standards would be protected by the approach officials in the Department of Public Expenditure are taking to a new agreement.

Union negotiators have consistently said that Government must begin with a credible approach to pay, for 2026 onwards, that properly addresses the cost-of-living pressures facing public service workers, if they want another multi-annual pay agreement.

With no public service agreement in place, we are now in dispute with Government, as the employer of public service workers.

Our position is that talks must have a clear purpose from the outset, including a credible approach to protecting living standards, which can only be achieved by addressing pay.

For months unions have highlighted the Government’s unwillingness to address cost-of-living measures at the start of any negotiations. This failure to immediately address pay for 2026 onwards, is the primary reason that talks cannot progress.

In previous public service pay negotiations, pay has generally been the final item on the agenda, usually following a period of intense negotiations on public service reform and other issues. Unions have made it clear to Government that a different approach is needed in 2026, and that workers need certainty in uncertain times.

In recent years, public service pay has fallen significantly behind prices, by as much as 5%.

In September 2026, the CSO advised that annual inflation is running at 3.7%, while pay improvements delivered in 2026 amount to an average increase of around 1.5% across the year. This means, at a minimum, pay improvement measures need to be implemented for the latter part of 2026.

The Government side has not accepted this point and was unwilling to commit to this approach in preliminary discussions.

Until unions can secure a commitment to an approach that prioritises these pay issues, talks cannot progress.

He has been using this line since June in order to deflect from the problem we’ve identified where pay doesn’t keep up with inflation, in an attempt to generate uncertainty around the pay dispute and to try to draw us in to protracted talks without clear commitments to meaningfully address pay for 2026 onwards.

Only if it adequately deals with cost of living first and satisfactorily addresses other priority matters too, like privatisation and outsourcing, working from home, and the impact of AI.

He is cherry-picking a ‘start date’ and ignoring inflation during the austerity and pay restoration years. Our analysis clearly shows that inflation has wiped out recent increases, including the 2% from this year, as inflation is already over 3.7% for this year alone.

In the last pay agreement, unions negotiated a fixed monetary amount for some of the increases that meant lower paid workers got whichever was greater. For example, in February 2026, the increase was 1% or €500, whichever was better for the worker.

Jack Chambers fails to explain this and is instead using pay rates near minimum wage levels to make that assertion, however that doesn’t give a clear picture as the national minimum wage has increased by even more. In fact, the Low Pay Commission has recommended that it should be increased by another 5.9% next January.

There are 19 unions with members working in the public service who are part of a group called the Public Services Committee (PSC) of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU). The two Defence Forces associations are not permitted by law to engage in industrial action, but all affiliate unions support the campaign.

The PSC is clear that a coordinated approach is essential. While sectoral differences will lead to some variance in what actions are most appropriate for some workers, where possible, industrial action will take place at the same time and be of a similar nature.

For example, targeted work to rule and non-cooperation actions will begin from Wednesday 30^th September.

PSC affiliates have also agreed to co-ordinate national strike action on Wednesday 14^th October 2026 with pickets to be placed on workplaces, and if necessary, a second-strike day has been scheduled for Wednesday 21^st October.

Government haven’t changed their rhetoric since June. They don’t seem to believe we’re serious, so we need to show them that we are. Public service workers will be commencing industrial action from Wednesday  30^th September. In many cases these actions will be indefinite until the dispute is resolved. If Government have not committed to a credible approach to pay, for 2026 onwards, that properly addresses the cost-of-living pressures facing public service workers, our ultimate escalation is nationwide stoppages.

If civil and public service workers take part in a collective work stoppage it will clearly show we cannot be taken for granted, and that an agreement will only be reached if it meaningfully addresses the cost-of-living and other key claims.

We will have to wait until the Budget is announced on Tuesday 6^th October to understand what impact measures in it will have on the cost-of-living crisis.

Ministers have made comments in the media about potential tax cuts to benefit workers. Anything they do will apply across the economy, and the first thing they will have to address is their own failure to index tax bands and credits last year.

However, pay bargaining is the only way for workers to be sure that their pay can keep up with the cost of living.

In this dispute Government are both the employer and the state’s policy maker. We can’t let them confuse these two roles. The Government is the State’s largest employer, and if it refuses to address pay falling behind inflation, it emboldens other employers to take the same approach, putting workers’ pay across Ireland at risk.

Each union will determine the most effective form of industrial action for its members; however, unions are working together to ensure that action takes place at the same time, where possible, to maximise the impact and demonstrate how vital public service workers are.

There are many forms of industrial action.

Industrial disputes often have several phases, with different activities and tactics being used during different phases. When a decision is taken to move to the next stage this is called ‘escalation’ and members are informed as to what the next form of action will be.

Strikes, or work stoppages, are typically the most significant or high profile; however more targeted forms of industrial action can be highly effective. These include:

• Work to rule, this means workers strictly adhere to the duties outlined in their contracts and do not do any additional tasks or duties.
• Refusing to cover the work of a vacant post.
• A ban on overtime, this means only working your exact contractual hours.
• Refusing to engage with specific systems such as IT systems, administrative systems, or payment systems.
• Picketing, this means demonstrating outside your workplace.
• Work stoppage or strikes. These can be of varying duration, i.e. several hours or several days, or indefinite.

All employers will be served an official notice of industrial action, in writing, by the appropriate union. This is a legal requirement under the 1990 Industrial Relations Act.

The Industrial Relations Act requires one week’s notice of industrial action.

There is an agreement between the health service and health unions that three weeks’ notice is served. This notice was served on Wednesday 9^th September by some unions, including Fórsa, to allow time for appropriate contingency arrangements.

Sometimes ‘derogations’ are granted during industrial action. A derogation means that a certain type of work, or worker, is exempt from the union instruction. Usually these are only granted when maintaining the industrial action could have life threatening consequences.

For example, in the health service, when perfusionists went on strike for one day this year, a derogation was granted for emergency life-saving operations.

The employer must request a derogation, which will be assessed by the National Executive Committee (NEC), and the NEC will determine whether a derogation should be granted or not.

Trade union members in Ireland are legally protected when they take part in industrial action, if that action has been approved by a ballot of members. Simply put, you cannot lose your job for taking industrial action.

Fórsa will issue ‘union instructions’ which outline in detail what you are expected to do or not do during industrial action. Members in each division will receive an instruction.

If the dispute escalates, a further instruction will be issued.

Please make sure your contact details are up to date, so you receive all communications about the industrial action. You can do this here.

Sometimes ‘derogations’ are granted during industrial action.

All members working across the civil and public service.

Fórsa has six divisions. Our members are organised in the following areas: Civil Service, Education, Health & Welfare, Local Government & Local Services, Services & Enterprises and Municipal Employees. Each division will determine the industrial action most appropriate to the employments and members in their specific area, which will then be brought to the National Disputes Committee for approval.

Your local branch and workplace representative(s) should be able to provide you with accurate, up to date, local information on what activities are taking part during the industrial action in your workplace.

Strike Organising Committees are being established across each division. The National Executive Committee (NEC) is the National Disputes Committee and the union officers, in consultation with the Cathaoirligh of the Divisional Executive Committees as appropriate, are authorised to act on behalf of the NEC between meetings.

Branches have a crucial role to play in organising local activities during the industrial action, from answering members’ queries, to awareness raising and planning pickets.

Nationwide industrial action requires considerable preparation. Talk to your colleagues about why you’re taking industrial action and use our resources to build awareness of the industrial action in your workplace and community.

You will find all ballot resources here.

Branches are encouraged to organise activities to build visibility in the workplace in the run up to the industrial action.

Some examples of visibility actions include distributing Fórsa lanyards and pins, encouraging your colleagues to wear the lanyards and pins, putting up posters, and organising group photos during lunchtime or breaks that show you’re ready for action.

Branches have been provided with materials to support these activities.

Only union members are protected during the dispute. You should join the union. The fastest way to join is online here.

 If you have any questions, you should contact your local branch or the following email addresses:

Civil Service [email protected]

Education [email protected]

Service and Enterprises [email protected]

Health and Welfare [email protected] 

Local Government & Local Services/ Municipal [email protected]