Irish teachers' unions vote for strikes and work-to-rule over expired pay deal

TUI ballot and escalating dispute

Members of the Teachers' Union of Ireland (TUI) voted by 98.4% to 1.6% to back industrial action, up to and including strikes. The union, which represents more than 23,000 teachers across post-primary, further, and higher education, cited the government's failure to provide a basis for negotiations on a new national pay agreement. The previous national public sector deal expired at the end of June after delivering 9.25% in general pay rises and a 1% local bargaining fund. TUI president Anthony Quinn voiced frustration over the negotiating stalemate and the pressures of living expenses on members.

The failure of Government to engage properly with unions around a new pay agreement is utterly unacceptable.

TUI general secretary Michael Gillespie stated that union members across the public sector remain united in demanding an engagement on pay. Notice will be served to employers before the phased campaign begins across educational institutions.

TUI members have given an overwhelming mandate for industrial action and all public service unions are absolutely united in their approach on this critical issue.

Work-to-rule measures and strike schedules

Industrial action by TUI members will start on Monday, 12 October, with staff refusing to answer phone calls or emails outside working hours. Second-level teachers will also withdraw from supplementary duties under Croke Park hours, which were introduced under previous public sector agreements. If the government fails to open negotiations, TUI has scheduled an all-out strike for Wednesday, 14 October, followed by a potential second strike day on 21 October. The planned action follows steps taken by other major public sector unions, including the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland. More than 100,000 public sector workers represented by Fórsa, Siptu, and the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation began a work-to-rule across civil and public services on Wednesday, 30 September.

Primary school disruption and supervision changes

The Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO), representing over 46,000 primary teachers in Ireland and 7,000 in Northern Ireland, begins its work-to-rule on Monday, 5 October. The union recorded 99.5% support for industrial action in an in-person ballot with a 60% turnout. From 5 October, primary teachers will cease using Croke Park hours outside their standard working day of five hours and 40 minutes to supervise schoolyards before 8:30 am or after classes. INTO assistant general secretary Máirín Ní Chéileachair stated that school boards of management must conduct risk assessments and inform parents if school gates cannot open before official start times.

All the public service unions have balloted their members, and they want the government to enter into talks in good faith with the public service unions to negotiate a new pay agreement.

Voluntary extracurricular activities outside school hours and standard curriculum activities within the school day, including sports matches and swimming trips, will proceed without interruption. INTO members are scheduled to join the nationwide 24-hour strike on 14 October unless Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers initiates formal negotiations.

Budget demands over class sizes

Alongside the pay dispute, INTO is using its Budget 2027 campaign to call for the recruitment of 1,000 additional primary school teachers to address oversized classes. Data from the Department of Education and Youth indicates that 2,237 primary classes hold 35 pupils or more, an increase of more than 450 such classes during the past school year. The department classifies classes of 30 or more pupils as "large" and those with at least 35 pupils as "very large". Across Ireland, 428,941 children attend classes that exceed the European Union average of 19 pupils, with nearly a quarter of the country's roughly 3,000 primary schools holding at least one very large class. In County Cork, at least 139 schools exceed the European average class size, including Star of the Sea National School in Passage West, where parent Anna Horan described a senior infant class containing 32 children.