Around 300,000 Irish Public-Service Workers Hold 24-Hour Strike
DUBLIN — Around 300,000 public-service workers in Ireland joined a 24-hour strike on October 14 over the failure to agree a new national pay deal, according to Irish Times coverage compiled by several outlets. Schools closed, hospital appointments were cancelled and court business was interrupted, while public transport was expected to operate normally according to advance notices.
The dispute centres on accelerating prices and competing pay calculations. The Irish government points to a €1.2 billion provision for pay in its budget, while unions say the bargaining process itself has lost credibility. The stoppage also affected the plans of international visitors, with travel reporting advising visitors to verify individual services rather than assume the entire country had stopped functioning.
A further strike is planned for October 21, 2026. Its eventual impact will depend on whether negotiations produce progress, which unions participate and which services are affected, with Irish officials expected to issue further announcements as the date approaches.
It was Ireland's first widespread public-sector strike since 2009: the previous national pay agreement expired in June, and unions called the action after talks deadlocked. More than 150,000 hospital appointments were cancelled on the strike day, while emergency services were maintained.
(Sources: The Irish Times, The Tower Post, Travel and Tour World compilation)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Joadl／CC BY-SA 3.0 at（Wikimedia Commons）
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