Union advances preparations for industrial-action ballot following expiry of Public Service Agreement
IFUT has written formally to university presidents and senior HR leaders across higher education, advising them that preparations are under way to ballot members for industrial action, up to and including strike action.
The current Public Service Agreement expired on 30 June 2026. There is no successor agreement, no agreed pay provision for the remainder of the year and no credible negotiating process under way.
IFUT has made the position clear to employers: they can engage now in meaningful negotiations, or the union will proceed with preparations for a ballot.
The correspondence confirms that the preparations are being undertaken in contemplation of a trade dispute concerning the absence of a successor agreement and the effect on members’ pay and related terms and conditions.
Subject to the completion of the necessary legal and administrative arrangements, IFUT intends to commence the ballot on 1 September.
At the same time, the union has offered employers a direct route to resolving the matter.
IFUT is prepared to negotiate with individual institutions or through an appropriate sectoral process. Employers have been asked to respond within 14 days. Where no response is received, IFUT will proceed on the basis that the institution does not wish to engage in local negotiations at this time.
IFUT General Secretary Frank Jones said:
“Higher education employers now have a clear choice. They can engage with IFUT and work towards a fair successor agreement, or they can leave members with no alternative but to prepare for industrial action.
“We want a negotiated settlement. But the expiry of the agreement cannot be followed by indefinite delay while members’ pay remains unresolved.
“We are ready to negotiate, and we are equally determined to ensure that members are organised and prepared to act if meaningful negotiations do not take place.”
Public-service pay increases are not simply handed down by Government. They are negotiated and secured through collective bargaining by workers organised in trade unions.
That is why membership and participation matter.
In the coming weeks, IFUT will hold information and consultation sessions in each affected institution. Members will be briefed on the position reached, the purpose of the ballot and what any mandate would mean in practice.
The strength of IFUT’s position will depend on the level of organisation in every workplace.
Every member should attend their institutional meeting, ensure that IFUT has their correct contact details and speak to colleagues who are not yet members.
A union mandate is only as strong as the membership behind it.
Now is the time to join IFUT:
https://members.ifut.ie/Membership-Application