Public sector workers to strike for 24 hours

Strike Details

More than 300,000 public sector workers, including nurses, doctors, teachers, and civil servants, are set to engage in a 24-hour strike tomorrow. This includes over 100,000 members of the main teaching unions, such as the INTO, ASTI, TUI, and IFUT. Special Needs Assistants, represented by the Fórsa trade union, are also participating in the strike.

The strike will impact schools, colleges, and universities, with all classes cancelled. The HSE has warned of significant disruption to many of its services, with non-urgent healthcare services being cancelled. However, emergency services, such as emergency departments, ambulance services, and urgent cancer treatment and dialysis, will continue to operate. GPs, GP out-of-hours, and pharmacists will remain available in the community.

Almost all court sittings will be cancelled, with only emergency domestic violence and childcare applications, An Garda Síochána applications to remand an accused person in custody where station bail has not been granted, and High Court sittings to deal with injunctions to protect life, health, safety, or welfare, being permitted. The Dáil and Seanad, as well as Oireachtas Committee hearings, have all been suspended for the day.

Government Response

The Government is increasingly resigned to the strike going ahead after an attempt by Jack Chambers, the Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, to initiate talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) was swiftly rebuffed by union leaders. Chambers is set to brief Cabinet colleagues on what are described as 'substantial efforts' to engage with union leaders and emphasize that the Government remains ready to attend talks at the WRC in the hope of averting the strike.

An independent mediator may be approached by the Government side in the hope of getting negotiations started, but sources suggested this is unlikely to happen until one or even both of the single-day stoppages scheduled for the next eight days have taken place and there is more pressure from the public for a solution to be found.