Fórsa members overwhelmingly back strike action over pay

Members of the Fórsa trade union employed in the public sector have voted overwhelmingly in favour of taking industrial action up to and including strike action.

In a ballot of more than 64,000 members, 96.6% voted in favour.

Fórsa is the country’s largest public sector trade union and its General Secretary Kevin Callinan described today’s vote as the largest ever strike ballot by a trade union in Ireland.

Mr Callinan added that it would likely be the end of the month before any action could commence.

Members of a number of unions have voted in favour of taking industrial action over what they describe as the Government’s failure to make a meaningful offer on public sector pay.

The previous public sector pay deal expired on 30 June, and formal talks have yet to begin on a successor agreement.

Mr Callinan said that a gap of at least 5% has emerged in the wages of public sector workers as a result of inflation.

Fórsa’s national executive will meet tomorrow to sanction the union’s plans for industrial action.

“This result is an emphatic mandate from public service workers,” Mr Callinan said.

“The Government has left them with no credible option but to prepare for industrial action by failing to engage seriously on pay after the expiry of the last agreement,” he added.

The Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers said today that any form of strike action in the public sector is completely unnecessary.

Mr Chambers said officials in the Department of Public Expenditure are willing and open for substantive engagement with public sector unions.

“We’ve had two months now where the trade unions have decided to engage in a process of balloting their members rather than engaging in substantive pay talks,” Mr Chambers said.

“I’ve been absolutely clear from the very start that we want to have a fair deal for public sector workers and engage on that through substantive negotiations.”

Asked about union demands for the Government to make a pay offer at the outset of any negotiations, Mr Chambers said they will engage with unions in the normal way.

“That’s about having a constructive and collaborative engagement on what’s possible over the next number of months and in that context it’s not appropriate to have a predetermined outcome before substantive discussions commence,” he said.

“And that’s why I’d urge all public sector unions to engage in constructive talks.

“I expect trade unions to continue their balloting of their members over the coming number of days and weeks, and I suppose when that process concludes, I expect engagements to occur.

“But even prior to the balloting process concluding, the Government is willing and open to having substantive pay discussions and ensuring that there’s certainty for public sector workers into 2027,” he added.

The Public Expenditure Minister said they want a fair deal for public sector workers, but that it has to be affordable and sustainable, and has to be covered in the context of the medium-term fiscal and structural plan.