Unions Reject Late Government Bid; First Major Public Sector Strike Since 2009 to Go Ahead
Much of Ireland's public sector is set to go on strike on Wednesday, 14 October 2026, for the first time since the height of the country's financial crisis in 2009, after trade unions on Monday rejected a late bid by the government to avert the stoppage. Some 300,000 teachers, health workers, civil servants and other public workers plan to hold the one-day strike.
The deadlock is between unions and the government on the basis for entering talks on public sector pay rises. Unions have for months argued that pay terms must be agreed before other issues, such as productivity, were discussed, due to cost-of-living pressures. Ministers have rejected this condition and say it represents a break from previous deals. In a letter to union leaders on Monday urging them to postpone the strike, Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers said pay issues can and should be discussed as a priority alongside other matters.
The chair of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions public services committee said union leaders could not see how this represented any change in the minister's position or provided a basis for postponement, and the minister was informed of that view. The teachers' union INTO said all its members will withdraw their labour on Wednesday together with their fellow public servants.
Essential services such as emergency hospital departments will be maintained on Wednesday and public transport will also be unaffected. However, fire and ambulance services will run a reduced service, and hospitals have warned of significant and widespread disruption, with routine procedures cancelled and schools closed. A second strike day is scheduled for Wednesday, 21 October. Unions want any new deal to cover the gap between pay and inflation over previous years and ensure wages do not fall behind living standards over the duration of the deal.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 都柏林梅里恩广场一带政府建筑区。照片：David Kernan，CC BY 4.0，来源：Wikimedia Commons（Evening at Government Buildings, Merrion Square, 01.jpg）
