Public sector workers taking part in ballots this month face a clear choice. To vote for strike action to force a new public sector deal; or, to allow things to drift while the government deliberately lets the cost-of-living crisis worsen.
Militant Left calls for a clear vote for strike action. This will greatly strengthen the hand of the trade union negotiating team when talks finally begin. A government that holds the trade union movement in contempt, needs to feel the power of the labour movement. A vote for strike action will put some manners on them!
A public sector strike would shut the country down. It would be on a scale far beyond the fuel protests earlier this year. Those won concessions from the government; a public sector strike would win far more.
Micheál Martin’s government allowed the last pay deal to lapse without a successor. 420,000 public sector workers have no clear pathway to deal with the ongoing and worsening cost of living crisis.
Inflation Rising amid Trump’s Chaos
Over the past 10 year pay deals have guaranteed the capitalist establishment ‘industrial peace’ while drip-feeding small pay rises to workers – rarely above 1%. The last deal barely matched inflation. Workers in the public sector, like workers everywhere, are feeling the pinch. Inflation so far in 2026 is at 3.4% with predictions it could exceed 5% in 2027.
Trump’s reckless wars in the Middle East have destabilised the world economy. Fuel prices, and the cost of industrial inputs from the Gulf, will rise in the coming months and years. This will have a huge impact on the Irish economy.
Government’s Propaganda Offensive Flops
After years of bragging about ‘record’ corporation tax takes, the government must now suddenly shift to putting on the ‘Poor Mouth’. Their press operatives have been hard at work, attempting to seed the media with stories about the ‘cost’ of the public sector.
Yet the propaganda offensive against the public sector has failed to take off. Workers in every sector are under pressure. After 50 years of a capitalist counter revolution, working-class people increasingly understand that ‘divide and conquer’ campaigns by the state and its allies in the capitalist media serve to harm all workers. The few feeble attempts to attack the public sector have been largely ignored by all and treated with the contempt they deserve.
Public Servants Under Pressure – Strike for Fair Pay
Population increases over the past ten years have put huge pressure on public services. Workers in health and education are forced to constantly go ‘above and beyond’ to keep these sectors running, often with very challenging resource restrictions. While the housing crisis and crushing rents have massively impacted public sector workers, like every other part of the working class.
Schools in Dublin, to take just one example, continue to struggle every year to recruit young teachers; these workers are unable to afford either to buy or rent a home in the greater Dublin area. Many choose to emigrate instead.
We can’t allow the ‘cost-of-living’ crisis to become a permanent fixture. Particularly while the rich get richer every year. Workers across the economy deserve better wages, not just in the public sector. A public sector wide strike would trigger a huge crisis for Irish capitalism. We must use our power to push for better conditions for all workers, including rights to trade union organization and representation.
The money is there to pay an inflation busting pay deal – the government must pay up! A public sector strike would mark the return of the labour movement as the most powerful political force in society. Workers in the public sectors must vote to strike and then strike to win.