Fórsa, Ireland’s largest public service trade union, has today (Tuesday) opened a ballot for industrial action among its 90,000 members working in public services. The ballot follows the expiry of the Public Service Agreement 2024–2026 at the end of June, and the failure of preliminary talks with Government to establish a basis for a successor deal.
The ballot will remain open until Tuesday 1st September. Members are being asked to decide the union’s next steps in the absence of any agreement to protect their pay and living standards. The union’s National Executive Committee (NEC) has recommended a vote in favour of industrial action.
Exploratory engagements in June did not provide sufficient assurance that a new agreement would address the cost-of-living pressures facing public service workers. There is currently no agreement in place between unions and the employer, and Fórsa is one of 19 unions affiliated to the Public Services Committee (PSC) of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) now balloting, or preparing to ballot, for industrial action.
Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said the expiry of the agreement marked a serious moment for public service industrial relations: “The previous agreement has now expired, and there is no successor in place. That means there is no framework governing pay or wider workplace arrangements at a national level.
“Fórsa members are dealing with sustained increases in the cost of living, and the absence of an agreement creates real uncertainty about how their living standards will be protected in the period ahead,” he said.
Mr Callinan added that, in the absence of an agreement, unions must act to protect members’ interests: “This ballot gives members the opportunity to have their say on how we respond. It is a necessary step to ensure Fórsa members’ voices are heard and their interests are defended,” he said.
Fórsa said inflation this year has already eroded pay improvements under the previous public service pay agreement, and that members expect economic realities must be a matter of priority. The union said any renewed engagement must begin with credible solutions to protect pay and living standards.
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