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SIPTU Biennial Delegate Conference

SIPTU General Secretary Elect, John King, called for: 

“a renewal of trade union activism and reclaim lost ground, to rebuild, to renew, to recapture the hearts and minds of working people” 

when addressing delegates in Galway for their Biennial Delegate Conference (November 11/13, 2025).

The Conference brought together more than 300 delegates from across the private and public sector to debate the policy of the Union for the next two years.  

John King will serve a term of six years as SIPTU General Secretary.

Mr. King, who will take over the leadership of the country’s largest Trade Union in March next year, told delegates:

“The trust you have placed in me to be your next General Secretary and to lead our great team of activists, officers and staff is not only a great honour but a profound responsibility”.

During his Address, he committed to “build a SIPTU that is not just strong, but vibrant; not just enduring, but powerful in every corner and community of Ireland”.   He added: 

“We meet at a crucial moment, on so many levels, for democracy, for social cohesion, for peace and justice, for the future world of work.  A moment of political shifts to the right, a time when our Government has abandoned the interests of working people, of global instability including a full frontal attack on democracy, and of an enduring cost-of-living crisis that is squeezing the life out of us, our families and communities.”

Mr. King continued:  “Yes, we can see the stats, our economy, on paper, is strong.  But working people don’t feel that at the checkout and watching their wages disappear before the end of every month.”

He added: 

“Our opponents have tried to write us off.  They say we are irrelevant.  To sideline and silence our voice and none of this is for the first time.  We must mobilise our entire membership to send a message that SIPTU is the voice of working people, and our voice will be heard.”

On-Line Abuse

Annette Donlon, President of the Union’s Public Administration and Community Division, said:  “So many of our members are affected by online abuse”.

The motion said recent incidents, such as the Dublin riots and the Government’s water services transformation, have seen its members subjected to abuse and threatening behaviour that was organised or promoted through online platforms.

Ms Donlon continued:

“Such behaviours—which, if carried out on the street, would not be tolerated or indeed be legal—continue on social media, primarily because on-line platforms effectively operate a self-regulation system, which is completely inadequate and urgently needs to be addressed through government action”.

Union Rights

Delegates backed a motion calling for prison terms and significant financial penalties for employers who disregard workers’ rights.

The motion called on the Government to introduce robust legislation to strengthen the ability of workers to have their views represented by a Union when employers refuse to negotiate.

Alan Lindley, honorary Vice-President of SIPTU, and who works at Waterways Ireland, said that imprisonment would be the ultimate “nuclear” option for “rogue employers”.

Greg Ennis, SIPTU Deputy General Secretary, called for a left alliance to provide an alternative government.

“Politically, I remain optimistic also, as change is clearly afoot”, he said.

Mr. Ennis declared that, less than 12 months ago in the general election, the combined vote of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael was 42pc, which is the same percentage that Fianna Fail achieved on its own in 2007.

“Today, we have the inauguration of a successive left-wing president”, Mr. Ennis added.

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Pay Transparency Directive

 (Introduction: June, 7, 2026)

Jobseekers can avoid wasting time on “marathon applications” for roles when new laws banning pay secrecy in advertisements are rolled out next year.

Employers may face fines for breaches of the provisions that will force them to be more transparent about wages.

One of the key features of a new EU Transparency Directive—which must be transposed into law in member states—is a requirement that employers reveal salary ranges in job ads or before the first interview.

They will also be prevented from asking about a job candidate’s previous earnings.

Employers may see a surge in pay queries because they will have to provide information to workers on how their pay is determined, and workers will have the right to ask for information about their own earnings and average pay for colleagues in similar roles.

Contractual clauses that prevent workers from discussing their wages will be ruled out.

Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) spokeswoman Ms Laura Bambrick said the new laws would mean candidates for jobs would not have to waste time on lengthy assignments and interviews before finding out that the salary on offer was unattractive.

Ms Bambrick added that the new Pay Transparency requirements were part of “unfinished work” to close the gender pay gap.

The ICTU spokeswoman pointed out that this gap still stood at around 10%— fifty years after the first equal-pay legislation came into force!

She stated—

“It is not so long ago, when our mothers were young workers, interviewers could feely ask them about their family planning or what child care arrangements they would make if offered the job”

“To-day, we would baulk at the idea of employers being permitted to ask such questions.”

Maeve McElwee, Executive Director of Lobbying and Influence at the employer body IBEC, said the Transparency Directive represented one of the most significant shifts in Employment Law in decades.

The EU deadline for member states to transpose the new Pay Transparency Directive into law is 7th June 2026.

However, the Government has not published the legislation yet.

Workforce 

Irish make up less than half of entrants to workforce—Irish people made up less than half of workers entering the job market here in 2024, new data from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has found (11.11.2025).

The Earnings Of New Entrants to Employment 2024 Report, released on 19th November, found that 42.5% of people who had joined the workforce for the first time were Irish—most of whom were aged between 15 and 24—followed by Indian nationals at 9%, and Ukrainians making up 5.1%.

Brazilian nationals made up 4.5% of new entrants to the workforce, while UK nationals stood at 2.8%.  Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, and Spanish nationals made up the remainder of the top ten countries for new entrants.

The data was compiled by analysing workers who appeared in Revenue’s tax data for the first time in 2024.  

The proportion of new Irish workers decreased by one point last year compared with 2023.  

Of the new entrants who were of Irish nationality, almost two-thirds (64.5%) were aged 15-24.

Michael Taft, Economic Researcher for SIPTU, told Extra.ie he believes the Report shows the importance of immigrant labour to the growth of our economy.

He said: 

“

As our society gets older, we will need more immigration to fill these skills, positions, fill the job opportunities, and have a strong working population that can pay for the things like pensions and age-related health expenditure”.

“PAY for retail staff on rise due to record demand for workers—

Pay for retail recruits is on the rise due to record demand to fill roles but the pool of managerial talent is ebbing away” (Irish Independent, 20.11.2025).

The number of new retail jobs registered in the sector in the last few months is over three times higher than at the same time last year, according to a new report.

Excel Recruitment’s “Non-Food and Fashion Salary Guide 2026” reveals a surge in hiring in non-food and fashion retail.

Competition for experienced mid-level managers has intensified.  Experienced department, store and area managers are in short supply—particularly those earning between €42,000 and €52,000.

As a result, job candidates are looking for higher pay, a four-day week, pension contributions, and roles with less weekend working.