Fórsa votes 96% for industrial action as union warns of public sector pay dispute

Fórsa union general secretary Kevin Callinan (centre) speaking at Fórsa headquarters in Dublin. Picture: Cillian Sherlock/PA Wire  

Ireland's largest public sector union has said it voted for industrial action over a new public service wage agreement because the Government would not commit to matching inflation in any new deal.

Kevin Callinan, general secretary of Fórsa, which represents more than 100,000 public servants, said that since 2021 “there has been at the very least a 5% gap” between pay and inflation within the public sector, leading to heightened cost-of-living pressures on the union's membership.

On Tuesday, Fórsa announced it had voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action, with 96% of the just under 63,000 members who returned ballots backing the motion.

The development puts the Government in an uncomfortable position heading into the winter, with several of the country's largest public sector unions now officially on an industrial action footing and the possibility of others – such as the teaching unions – following suit.

Fórsa says pay gap must be addressed

“They've known for two and a half years when this agreement was due to expire,” Mr Callinan said of the Government's perceived lack of urgency in securing a new agreement.

He noted that little mention had been made of public sector pay in last year's budget, despite the most recent agreement only covering the first six months of this year before expiring at the end of June.

He said that the Government's line on a prospective agreement has not changed since the two parties last engaged in June, with a desire to establish a multi-annual successor agreement to the expired public service wage deal.

That would not be acceptable unless the Government offered a commitment that any such multi-year agreement would match inflation and would not leave public servants out of pocket amid the current volatile global circumstances, Mr Callinan said.

(left to right) Fórsa union representatives, Catherine Keogh national secretary, Hazel Nolan national secretary, Eamonn Donnelly deputy general secretary Kevin Callinan general secretary Katie Morgan deputy general secretary, Ashley Connolly national secretary, Rvan McKinney national secretary, at Fórsa headquarters in Dublin. Picture: Cillian Sherlock/PA Wire  

Of the Government's line on the matter, which is that it is open to negotiations, Mr Callinan said: “They wanted a repeat of what had gone before, and we said that is not going to work on this occasion.”

"It does require a willingness on their part to recognise that there is a problem that needs to be addressed," he said. "Otherwise we're simply entering into a process where they have decided basically what they're prepared to spend, and we have to suck it up. We're not going to do that anymore."

Asked if he believed the Government's perceived intransigence regarding a new deal was greater than in times past, Mr Callinan said he had been “disappointed that they waited until mid-June to initiate a process that they must have known from previous experience was going to take a lot longer than that to resolve”.

“I don't understand why that happened.”

Union warns of wider industrial action

"They knew that the only provision that was made for this year was for the first six months. So it does lead me to wonder how serious they are about negotiating a public service agreement and how much they value what those agreements have brought," Mr Callinan added.

"We're living in very uncertain times, and people have been suffering as a result of the cost of living crisis. We're getting that very loud and clear. You can see that in the ballot outcome, and not just for Forsa," he said.

"We're not making this up. This is what people are feeling."

Mr Callinan said that Fórsa's intention would be to “work closely” with the other public service unions in terms of coordinating the actions taken, with both Unite and SIPTU having announced similar plans for industrial action in recent days.

Department statement

A spokesperson for the Department of Public Expenditure said in a statement on Tuesday night that the Government remains available to engage with ICTU and other representative associations on all matters.

"It is disappointing that the opportunity to engage on a successor agreement in recent weeks was not taken," said the spokesperson. 

"Following the balloting period, it is important that both sides return to the table to work towards a public service pay agreement. 

"Meaningful progress can only be achieved where both parties are open to constructive and sustained engagement, without preconditions on either side."