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Public Service Pay Agreement:

“The Unions are not hanging around!”

“THE UNIONS are not hanging around. Just days after announcing what could be a highly disruptive work-to-rule in the health sector, scheduled to start on 30th September 2026, they set dates for strikes” (Irish Independent, 12.9.2026).

Public servants are set to hold two 24-hour strikes next month unless there is a breakthrough in a dispute over pay.

It is understood that the stoppages will go ahead on October 14th and 21st, after Unions begin a Work To Rule on 30th September 2026.

The dates were decided at a meeting of the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions today.

In a video message to Union members in Local Authorities, SIPTU [Services, Industrial, Professional, and Technical Union] Divisional Organiser Brendan O’Brien said Union leaders discussed the ongoing dispute at the meeting this afternoon “due to the failure of the government to agree a new public service agreement”:

“On foot of that we are now proceeding to serve notice of industrial action to commence from September 30, which our members will engage in across the local authorities, state related sectors and the education sectors. And the details of that action will follow shortly.”

In a letter to members on Friday, 11th September, Fórsa General Secretary Kevin Callinan said the Irish Congress of Trade Unions Public Services Committee met earlier that afternoon to review matters.

He said several affiliate Unions have concluded ballots and have a mandate for industrial action.  Mr. Callinan said others are in the process of completing balloting of public service members.  He added:

“It was agreed that unions would seek to coordinate actions short of strike as far as possible… 

“Affiliates are to supply details by the end of next week.  In addition, it was decided that unions would engage in strike action on Wednesday, 14th October 2026, with pickets to be placed on workplaces.  

” A further strike, if necessary, is also planned.

“Callinan said Union officers approved serving notice on health and welfare employers as there is a three week requirement contained in a sectoral code of practice and a framework for dispute resolution in the health services” (ibid.).

He said a week’s notice is required in other sectors, and it is “intended that notice will be served on those employers in the coming days”.

The annual public-sector wage bill could reach €37bn by 2029, according to a new analysis by the Oireachtas’s independent budgetary office.  It underlines the size of the challenge facing the Government as it prepares for talks on a new pay deal.

Public Sector pay will account for over €31.2bn, or over a quarter of all State spending, this year.

Budget Estimates

The independent Parliamentary Budget Office has worked out how much it would cost to replicate the Public Service Agreement of 2024 to 2026, if it was applied to the current headcount of 403,042 public servants.

It would add just over €1bn to the pay bill next year, a 3.1% increase over the baseline.  It would add a further €1.09bn in 2028, and €835m the year after.  This means the total cost of replicating the current pay deal would be just over €6bn over three years.

However, presuming that the public sector headcount continues to rise, the cost of giving pay rises to those extra workers could be as much as €352m next year, rising to €1.78bn in 2029.  

The Budget Office concludes:

“The combination of a new Public Sector Agreement and projected headcount growth could contribute to an increase in the annual cost of Exchequer-funded Public Sector Pay of between €3.6bn and €4.7bn by 2029”.

Current Pay Deal

The current pay deal gave a basic salary increase to all Public Sector workers of 2.25% or €1,125, whichever was greater, in January 2024.  This was followed by a further 1% in June of that year, the same again in October, and then 2% in January 2025.

There were three further 1% increases between then and the end of the deal last June.

The Office concludes—

“It is important to remember that the rising pay bill for state services must be paid for either out of tax revenues or appropriations in aid, e.g. fees for certain goods or services…”

“If, for example, pay were to rise at a very high rate, the state may need to levy more taxes to pay for this, including on public sector workers.”

Meanwhile, the Government has been warned of strike action, as psychiatric nurses are set to begin a work-to-rule from the start of next month.

General Secretary of the Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA) Peter Hughes said industrial action will begin on October 1st, and warned that it will escalate to stoppages if no progress is made in this dispute over public sector pay.

A total of 19 Unions with Public Service members have balloted on industrial action following the collapse of exploratory talks on a new wage deal last June.

The previous Agreement delivered pay rises up to 10.25% over two and a half years to over 400,000 Public Servants.  It expired at the end of June.

Health Sector

SIPTU members, including healthcare assistants, cleaners, porters and catering staff, are set to begin a work-to-rule in 30 hospitals on September 30th in the same dispute.

Fórsa members working in the health sector are also taking part in a Work-To-Rule from the same date.  The Union represents staff, including clerical, administrative, health and social-care professionals, and some management grades.

They will refuse to work non-rostered overtime, or outside agreed contracted hours.

Mr. Hughes said the PNA’s decision to begin industrial action is a response to a lack of progress on a new national public service pay agreement

Historic Vote

“Over 70,000 public sector workers across several trade unions have voted in favour of industrial action, in one of the largest votes in favour of industrial action in the history of the state” (Cork Independent, 2.9.2026).

Fórsa Trade Union said that nearly 63,000 of its members had voted in favour of industrial action, accounting for 96.6% of eligible voters.  It said that the ballot saw a 72.6% turnout of its members.

Votes were also carried out by SIPTU and Unite the Union, whose members also voted in favour of industrial action.  Members of SIPTU voted 98% in favour of industrial action, and 97% in favour of strike action.

Similar ballots have been carried out by other Public Sector Unions—SIPTU members in the Public Sector have voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action, up to and including strike action.  Unite and the Prison Officers Association said their members in the public sector had voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action.

The Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI) also announced that it is to ballot its members on industrial action, up to and including strike action.

The industrial action is expected to affect Health, Local Government, and Education Services, as well as Government Departments and State agencies.  It will range from work-to-rule and the refusal of overtime, up to and including full strike action.

Fórsa General Secretary Kevin Callinan, who also chairs the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, said: 

“The result is an emphatic mandate from public service workers.  By failing to engage seriously on pay after the expiry of the last agreement, the Government has left them with no credible option but to prepare for industrial action.  

“Our members deliver essential services every day.  They did not take this decision lightly, but they have overwhelmingly backed industrial action because the current position is not sustainable.  

“Fórsa remains available for meaningful engagement, but Government must come forward with a credible pay offer that properly addresses the cost pressures facing public service workers”, he said.

The ballot was called after talks between Trade Unions and Government failed to reach any agreement on the basis for talks which would replace the recently expired public sector pay deal.

Fórsa also said that the talks did not provide sufficient assurance that a new agreement would address the cost-of-living pressures facing public service workers.

The deal, which expired in June, provided for general pay increases of 9.25% for public sector workers, along with a 1% local bargaining fund.

Minimum Wage Increase: 

“The Government has been urged by leading unions to ignore warnings from employers and approve a 79c increase in the national minimum wage (Irish Independent, 5.9.2026).

Owen Reidy, General Secretary of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (Ictu), said halting the increase would be a “smack in the face” for low-paid workers, including women and younger employees.

Siptu General Secretary John King echoed calls to reject employer demands.

It is understood that the Low Pay Commission has recommended a 79c increase in the national minimum wage of €14.15 an hour.  The increase would bring it to €14.94 next year.

In a letter to Enterprise Minister Peter Burke, IBEC Chief Executive Danny McCoy warned that an increase in labour costs of the suggested magnitude would have a serious impact for small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

He said speculation about the increase would deter employment growth and create labour force expectations of “entirely unsustainable” pay rises.

However, Mr Reidy urged the Government to accept the proposal, saying: 

“What’s the point in having a Low Pay Commission if you ignore its recommendations?”

He claimed Union colleagues viewed the Minister as a “shop steward for the business community” because of previous measures—including a decision to delay the rollout of a Living Wage.

The increase would represent a real pay rise of 2% for those on the minimum wage at a time of full employment, he added.

He also noted that there were employer representatives on the Low Pay Commission.

Mr. Reidy said the Commission did not make recommendations on the “back of a cigarette box”, and that they carried out extensive research before making any submission to the Minister.  

“I can only conclude that some employer representatives agreed to this”, he said.

Mr. King said employers were demanding that the Government ignore the recommendation and introduce a smaller increase, adding:

“Profits are rising faster than wages across low-paid sectors, particularly hospitality and retail…  

“Employers’ demands to suppress minimum-wage increases are nothing but a crude profit grab in sectors where profits are already outpacing wages.”

He said that employers were pleading an inability to pay but official surveys showed a different picture—  

“The Department of Finance’s annual business survey shows that the overwhelming majority of SMEs, including small businesses, turned a profit”.  

“Employers’ organisations make several claims, but never back them up with evidence.  That’s because there is little evidence to support their claims.

“What is particularly outrageous is that employers in the hospitality and hairdressing sectors received a massive public subsidy through VAT cuts.  

“These cuts are equivalent to up to €4,000 per employee.  Employers want to keep that subsidy for themselves, even though employees are earning below the living wage.”

Mr. King also said the Government originally intended to raise the minimum wage to living-wage level this year, but this had been postponed until 2029 following employer lobbying.

A Department of Enterprise spokesperson said the Government would carefully consider the recommendations of the Low Pay Commission when determining the appropriate National Minimum Wage for 2027, 

“in the context of prevailing economic conditions and as part of discussions on the Budget 2027, as is standard practice”.

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INTERNATIONAL LABOUR—

Volkswagen Board Approves Plan To Cut Another 50,000 Jobs.

The board of German car giant Volkswagen has approved a plan to cut another 50,000 jobs as part of the biggest restructuring in the group’s almost nine-decade history.

It brings the total number of roles the carmaker plans to shed by 2030 to 100,000, after announcing in March that it would cut 50,000 roles.

The group—which includes Audi, Porsche, Skoda as well as the VW brand—is also considering the future of four of its German plants.

The move is a “strong signal” for the future of the firm, which is “taking responsibility for our entire workforce”, VW’s chief executive Oliver Blume said in a statement on Thursday.

The firm also said that by 2035 it would cut the number of models it produces by 50% and reduce the complexity of its offering by 75%.

Jaguar Land Rover to cut 4,000 jobs globally over next two years (7.9.2026).   The company employs about 30,000 in the UK out of a global workforce of about 40,000.

British luxury carmaker Jaguar Land Rover said today it would cut around 4,000 jobs globally over the next two years as part of a broader plan to reduce costs and improve competitiveness.

The manufacturer, which has major sites in central England, said it was targeting £1.7 billion of savings, lowering its break-even point towards 300,000 vehicles.

Owned by India’s Tata Motors, the company confirmed the cuts as Finance Minister John Healey [Labour] delivered a speech in nearby Coventry focused on boosting economic growth.

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