SIPTU public‑service members vote overwhelmingly for strike action over pay and outsourcing

# What happened SIPTU has announced that its members employed in health, local government and State agencies voted overwhelmingly in favour of industrial action, up to and including strike action. The ballots were counted in Liberty Hall in Dublin and in centres in Galway and Cork.

# The numbers to know

• 98% of those balloted backed industrial action. 97% backed strike action.

# Why members voted the way they did SIPTU framed the vote as a response to the government's failure to present "serious proposals" on pay and to provide guarantees against outsourcing. SIPTU's deputy general secretary Adrian Kane said the result reflects deep frustration that the government had not engaged meaningfully to negotiate a successor agreement after the previous deal expired.

That previous public‑service agreement expired at the end of June and had included general pay increases totalling 9.25% and a 1% local bargaining fund. SIPTU says members see their wages eroded by cost‑of‑living pressures while public services remain under strain.

SIPTU also raised concerns about the introduction of automated decision systems in workplaces, saying workers should be consulted before any systems that affect recruitment, staffing, rosters, workloads, performance reviews, access to services or employment conditions are implemented.

# What happens next SIPTU will confer with sister unions across the public service as they complete their separate balloting processes. The unions will jointly decide what industrial action is necessary to compel the government to enter meaningful negotiations on a successor agreement and on outsourcing guarantees.

# Government response

# Practical implications If unions coordinate and proceed to strike action, public services in health, local government and State agencies could face disruptions. The ballot results make a credible threat of widespread industrial action more likely, particularly if government and unions fail to restart formal talks and agree a timetable for negotiation.

# Bottom line SIPTU's latest ballot shows near‑unanimous support among its public‑service members for industrial and strike action, driven by stalled talks on pay, concerns about outsourcing and workplace changes. SIPTU plans coordinated action with other unions while the Department of Public Expenditure says it is available to negotiate a successor agreement.