24-hour strike by public servants
More than 300,000 public sector workers including nurses, doctors, teachers and civil servants, are engaging in a 24-hour strike on Wednesday over delays in agreeing a new public sector pay deal.
Over 100,000 Fórsa members working across local and municipal authorities, health and welfare services, education, Government departments and State agencies are taking part in a 24-hour work stoppage beginning at midnight on Wednesday, October 14.
General secretary Kevin Callinan said: “Across the country our members work in jobs that form the very fabric of our country. Today, instead of going to work as normal, they will withdraw their labour as part of a nationwide strike. In workplaces ranging from hospitals to libraries, as well as government departments, schools, cultural institutions, driver tester centres and more, our members will speak with a single voice.”
Referring to an exchange of letters with Minister Jack Chambers on Monday, Kevin said: “Monday’s eleventh-hour intervention brought nothing new. Government have had months to engage meaningfully and credibly, but instead of taking members’ concerns seriously, they have stuck with the same dismissive attitude.”
Deputy Alan Kelly said he will be supporting all public sector workers on the picket lines across Tipperary, the nurses, the teachers, the civil servants.
He said: “They have been treated appallingly by this Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Independents Government. These workers provide all our essential services across our communities and deserve fair pay for their work. It is not easy for them to have to go on strike and sacrifice a day's pay. They feel they have to in order to get the respect of this Government. They need to teach this Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Independents Government a lesson that will not forget. That lesson is don't take us for granted.
“This should never have come to this but this Government has allowed it to. They refused to honour previous agreements and refused to enter pay discussions in a timely way despite the u ions being available all year. There isn't even enough provision in the budgetary figures to allow for this pay deal to be fully paid. I'll be standing with the workers in the picket line and I'd ask everyone to support them too and to teach this Government a lesson.”
The Irish Patients Association has warned that public hospital patients face cancelled appointments and postponed treatment as industrial action escalates, while private hospital patients are unaffected.
INMO General Secretary Phil Ní Sheaghdha said some outpatient and day services will be closed or be postponed as a result of industrial action, ahead of planned public-service strikes on October 14 and 21.
Stephen McMahon, Chairman of the Irish Patients Association, said: “Public hospital patients are becoming pawns in an industrial dispute they did not create and over which they have no control. Some have waited months, even years, for appointments. Now they face further delays while private hospital patients are unaffected.
“Healthcare workers have legitimate concerns and the right to fair representation. But patients have rights too. Government, HSE management and unions must engage in meaningful negotiations with patients' interests at the centre, not leave them carrying the consequences of unresolved differences.”