Irish public sector strike called off as unions agree 10.75% pay deal

A draft deal ends the threatened strike

Unions and the Government reached a draft public sector pay agreement in the early hours of 11 November, calling off a nationwide strike planned for Thursday, 12 November. Talks at the Workplace Relations Commission ended at 3.30am. The pay element had been agreed on Monday night, and talks on Tuesday focused on the remaining non-pay items. The Government first offered 6.75% over two and a half years, then tabled 10.5% and raised it to 10.75% on Monday night, after an impasse that followed the expiry of the last pay agreement in June. Unions will now put the draft to their members, and industrial action is suspended while the ballots take place.

What the pay deal contains

The draft runs for 33 months, from 1 July 2026 to 31 March 2029, and totals 10.75%. It combines a general round increase of 9.75% with a 1% local bargaining payment. The first rise is 2%, or a minimum of €1,200 where that is greater, backdated to 1 September 2026. Further general increases follow through 2027 and 2028, and the final 1.25% (or a minimum of €750) is due on 2 March 2029. The total cost is put at €5.2 billion over five budgets, and the pay measures are weighted towards lower earners, with the lowest incomes set to receive up to 18.3% over the agreement.

Staff earning less than €60,000 would receive the 2% or €1,200 minimum, and the threshold for lower pay provisions is rising from €50,000 to €60,000. The remaining 1% for local bargaining will be handled through the next public pay deal, the unions and Government agreed.

Government and union positions

Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers welcomed the deal as "fiscally sustainable" and said it gives certainty to public service workers, the Government and the public.

“The Agreement reinforces the commitment to ongoing reform and modernisation across the Public Service, supporting innovation, digital transformation and greater flexibility in how services are delivered.”

Chambers said the Government would move to formally approve the deal, and he said he was "hopeful" union members would endorse it. Kevin Callinan, a senior union negotiator, announced that industrial action would be suspended so union executives could consider the proposals and put them to a ballot of members. He said the public services committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions aimed to conclude the ballots and reach an aggregate decision early in the week beginning 7 December. Asked whether the deal beat inflation, he gave the following answer.

“I think based on what we know about inflation it is ahead of the projections over the period, so we're pleased about that.”

Callinan also said a review clause would apply if inflation spiked again, and that rebuilding public servants' trust would take more than a pay offer. The Irish Times expected overall ballot results in the second week of December.

Why the timing mattered

The strike would have coincided with two major summits at the National Convention Centre in Dublin on Thursday and Friday, 12 and 13 November, with around 50 heads of state or government attending. Ireland holds the presidency of the Council of the European Union, and the Irish Independent described the security operation for the European Political Community summit as the largest in the country's history. The HSE had warned of significant disruption on 12 November and was planning to cancel all non-urgent healthcare services across hospitals and community settings. Schools, health services and government offices were all expected to be hit, and rallies had been planned across the country. The dispute followed a nationwide strike on 14 October, and a work-to-rule has also disrupted services.