300,000 public sectors workers are expected to take part in the strike. Alamy Stock Photo
Pay dispute
A nursing union chief confirmed no talks are currently taking place.
MINISTER JAMES LAWLESS has said Wednesday’s planned public sector strike will “probably” go ahead, with unions and the government still at odds over pay negotiations.
Around 300,000 public sector workers, including teachers, nurses and civil servants, are expected to take part in the 24-hour stoppage, which is set to cause widespread disruption to schools, hospitals and other public services.
Speaking on RTÉ’s The Week in Politics today, Lawless said the government was ready to negotiate with unions, pointing to the €1.2 billion set aside for public sector pay in Budget 2027.
“I think the strike probably will go ahead at this stage,” he said.
“I think whether there’s a day two, seven days later remains to be seen. But it doesn’t have to, and the union leadership could call it off.”
The minister for further and higher education urged unions to return to negotiations, saying pay would be part of any discussions.
“Of course, it’s going to involve pay. How could it not?” Lawless said.
He added that the government is “a good employer” and said the average wage of a public sector worker “is far higher than that of a private sector worker.”
“They don’t want to be out on the picket on Wednesday,” he said, and urged union leadership to come in and talk.
“There is pay provision there for you.”
However, speaking separately on RTÉ Radio’s This Week, Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha confirmed that no talks were currently taking place.
She said the government’s proposed basis for negotiations would not keep pace with inflation and that union members had delivered strong mandates for industrial action.
Ní Sheaghdha also pointed to a lack of trust among workers, saying previously agreed staffing improvements and workplace resolutions had not been implemented.
She confirmed that non-urgent hospital services, including outpatient appointments and some day services, would be cancelled during Wednesday’s strike.
However, essential services, including dialysis and cancer care, would continue, with unions and the HSE working to minimise disruption.
“It’s a strike, and withdrawal of labour will happen,” Ní Sheaghdha said.
Minister of State for European Affairs Thomas Byrne, also speaking on This Week, questioned the justification for industrial action before formal pay talks had taken place.
“We haven’t got a clear answer as to why this strike has taken place,” Byrne said, arguing that unions had raised a range of issues, including staffing and pay.
“I cannot see how a strike before you have talks benefits anybody,” he added.
Byrne said the government wanted to negotiate pay increases and questioned whether workers should lose wages by taking industrial action.
The dispute follows the publication of Budget 2027, in which the government allocated €1.2 billion towards public sector pay.
Unions have argued that the provision is insufficient to protect workers’ incomes against rising living costs.
Wednesday’s stoppage is expected to be the largest public sector strike in Ireland since 2009, with further strike action planned for later this month if the dispute remains unresolved.