Keep up the Pressure on the Government : Call Meetings in Your Job on Monday
Public sector workers have shown they are up for a fight. They are angry about the cost of living and want real pay increases. They are not concerned about the niceties of the talks agenda but whether they are going to get real pay increases.
Union leaders have called off the action for next Wednesday, but they cannot deliver on the basis of what the Government has put on the table. Pressure must be sustained to ensure workers get at least 10% and get it now. The money is there to pay for it.
Wednesday showed how angry public sector workers are about the cost of living. It also showed that many support them including many private sector workers. They know a victory in the public sector will have an impact elsewhere and will give workers the confidence to fight.
And workers are right to be angry. Everything is going up leading to cuts in real pay for them. Inflation was running at 4.1% in September, the fastest rate in nearly 3 years and far ahead of the 3.4% predicted by the Central Bank for 2026. The basics are through the roof in the last year.
So real pay increase are needed. The facts are simple:
- Between 2021 & 2025 public sector wages fell behind inflation by 5.5%.
- In 2026 workers got 2% for the first half of the year: inflation is now 4.1%
- Inflation will be at least 3% next year.
Workers need at least 10% for the next year just to catch up and stay ahead. But they need more. They need compensation for 2026 and also protection against future jumps in inflation. There is no guarantee that inflation next year will stay at 3%. Any pay deal must include an escalator clause if inflation goes up.
Our task now is to raise expectations and ensure the great energy shown on Wednesday is used to deliver a real deal. Talks on the basis of €1.2b can’t deliver. We need further and escalated action to deliver. If one day of action can soften the government’s cough and make them accept that pay must be top of the agenda think of what an all-out strike could achieve.
Activists should call meetings across the public sector next week to demand the action continue until real pay increases are delivered. They should discuss what they can do on Wednesday to send a message to the government and union leaders. They must send a message that any deal that does not deliver will not be accepted. They must make it clear to union leaders they will campaign against any deal that does not address the cost of living crisis.