SIPTU Members Vote for Strike Over Public Sector Pay

Members of SIPTU employed in health, local government, and state agencies voted overwhelmingly for industrial action on August 31, with 97 percent favoring strike action. The union is demanding serious pay proposals and guarantees against outsourcing following the expiration of the previous public sector pay deal on June 30. SIPTU Deputy General Secretary Adrian Kane stated that members are approximately five percent behind due to inflation and a lack of budget adjustments to tax bands.

Kane described the impasse as a mess of the government's own making and rejected claims that the union is bluffing. SIPTU will spend the next two weeks consulting representative committees and sister unions to determine the nature of coordinated action. This movement is part of a broader campaign involving the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, with the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland and the Teachers Union of Ireland also announcing member ballots for strike action.

The Department of Public Expenditure expressed disappointment that opportunities to engage in recent weeks were not taken. The department maintained that meaningful progress requires both parties to engage without preconditions and urged a return to the table following the balloting period.