IFUT Public Service Dispute Hub 2026

Members voted decisively in favour of industrial action, up to and including strike action. The Yes vote was 93 per cent.

IFUT members are taking industrial action because the Government has failed to commence meaningful negotiations with public service trade unions on a new public service pay agreement. Public service workers need a credible approach to pay from 2026 onwards that protects living standards.

The result authorises IFUT to take industrial action, up to and including strike action, in pursuit of the union's claims. IFUT has now announced the initial action on 5, 14 and 21 October. Members should act only on formal instructions from IFUT and their branch.

That will depend on the Government's response. IFUT will assess developments with the wider public service union campaign and advise members of any further action.

IFUT will issue national updates, while branches will confirm local arrangements such as picket locations, rosters, start times and other organised activity. Members should ensure IFUT holds their current contact details and should monitor union communications.

• Monday, 5 October: a one-hour work stoppage from 12 noon to 1.00 pm.
• Wednesday, 14 October: a 24-hour strike.
• Wednesday, 21 October: a further 24-hour strike if necessary.

You should assume that you will not be working and will not be paid for the work stoppage hour or for the entirety of the two strike days. You should not report for work or carry out any work on 14 or 21 October. On 5 October, you should stop work for the announced hour and follow your branch's instructions.

The withdrawal of labour must be total to maximise its effectiveness. Follow local instructions about attending a picket or another organised activity.

You should not work during the notified industrial action. All IFUT members covered by the action are expected to participate. If the institution asks or instructs you to work, explain that you are participating in official IFUT industrial action and refer any further issue to your Branch or IFUT.

Do not make that decision individually. Refer the request to your Branch or IFUT. Any derogation or exemption must be considered through the agreed union process.

The stoppage covers normal university duties, including teaching, research, student supervision, assessment, marking, administration, management duties, meetings, interviews, training and university events. It also covers work-related calls, emails and online messages.

Members should not make individual arrangements designed to remove or minimise the effect of the industrial action. Teaching timetabled during the action must not be rescheduled, delivered at another time or replaced with a recording. The same principle applies to meetings, supervision and other affected duties.

Normal work will resume after the action, but members should not undertake to recreate work specifically withdrawn as part of the action without union guidance. Refer any request to reschedule or replace work to your Branch or IFUT.

Yes. The action applies equally to members working remotely. You must withdraw your labour fully and must not answer emails, prepare lectures, mark, conduct research or carry out other normal duties from home.

Wherever reasonably possible, members working remotely should participate in person at their institution. On the 24-hour strike days, members should attend the local picket arrangements rather than treating remote working as an alternative to participation. If an exceptional reason prevents you from attending, you must still withdraw your labour fully and should contact your Branch for guidance.

No. During a stoppage, members should not attend meetings, committees, interviews, training sessions, conferences or other work-related events, whether they take place in person or online.

Your branch will confirm the precise local start and finish times and the arrangements for pickets and rosters.

IFUT will serve the required formal notice of industrial action on employers. Members do not need to give separate notice unless IFUT advises otherwise.

Contact your Branch or IFUT immediately. Members are participating in official industrial action authorised by the union, and IFUT will robustly defend members' right to participate.

A derogation is an agreed exception to industrial action, normally where genuinely exceptional circumstances justify particular work continuing. Members must not agree derogations individually with the institution. Any request should be referred to the Branch or Strike Committee and considered through the agreed union process.

No. Members covered by the action are expected to participate unless an agreed derogation or exemption has been granted.

Deliberately refusing to participate without an agreed derogation may give rise to action under the Rules of IFUT, including where the conduct is considered prejudicial to the interests of the Federation. Any matter would be dealt with under the Rules and the appropriate procedures. A member with a genuine difficulty should contact their Branch or IFUT.

Resigning from IFUT does not provide a simple route for avoiding an ongoing trade union dispute. Congress transfer arrangements also restrict another affiliated union from accepting a member who is engaged in a trade union dispute without the consent of the existing union.

If you have a genuine difficulty about participating, raise it with your Branch or IFUT rather than simply opting out.

Members should assume that employers may deduct pay for periods during which labour is withdrawn. For 5 October, that is the one-hour stoppage. For 14 and 21 October, members should assume that a full day's pay may be deducted. The precise payroll treatment may vary between institutions.

You are still expected to participate in the industrial action. IFUT recognises that deductions may have a greater financial impact on part-time, hourly paid and lower-paid members, but the action has been authorised collectively and applies to members covered by the dispute. Contact IFUT if you need advice about your circumstances.

IFUT will not make strike payments for days on which members are engaged in industrial action. However, Branches have local funds and can consider individual requests for assistance in cases of financial hardship. Members wishing to make a request should contact their Branch directly and confidentially.

There is no general exemption from official industrial action because a member is on probation, on a fixed-term contract or otherwise precariously employed. Members in these circumstances are covered by the union's instructions. If you have a specific concern about your employment situation, contact IFUT directly.

Annual leave approved before the industrial action was announced should be taken as normal.

Members should not use annual leave as an alternative to taking part in authorised industrial action. If you need annual leave for a genuine reason, contact your IFUT representative before submitting the request.

Contact IFUT for guidance if you are on sick leave, maternity leave, parent’s leave, parental leave or another existing authorised absence.

Members are expected to participate fully in the strike and support the local arrangements organised by their Branch. Where a picket is being organised, members should make every reasonable effort to attend their assigned slot. The Branch will provide the location, starting time and roster arrangements. Attending a picket is not the same as reporting for work.

A closure does not remove the need for visible collective action. Branches will organise pickets at agreed entrances or other appropriate locations and will ask members to join a picket for an allocated period. Members should follow their branch's roster and local instructions.

Official pickets may include employees of the employer in dispute, IFUT staff and officers representing them, and authorised IFUT representatives. Picket locations must be agreed in advance by the branch or strike committee and IFUT Head Office.

Follow the directions of the designated picket captain. Remain peaceful, professional and courteous. Explain the dispute calmly and ask others to respect the picket. Do not obstruct access, intimidate or threaten anyone, engage in confrontation or consume alcohol or drugs on the picket line.

Contact your branch representative as early as possible. Members who cannot attend because of illness, disability, caring responsibilities or another genuine reason should inform the branch and seek advice.

Members should follow the instructions issued by their own union. IFUT will liaise with other unions where appropriate. Refer any uncertainty to your IFUT representative.

Refer media enquiries to the authorised IFUT spokesperson or Head Office unless a local spokesperson has been designated. Exercise care on social media and do not publish confidential information, defamatory statements or inaccurate content.

Branches and picket captains should take account of weather, traffic, visibility, accessibility and personal safety. Members should wear suitable clothing and any high-visibility equipment provided, take agreed breaks and report accidents, near misses or safety concerns immediately.

Download and read the full IFUT Picketing Guidelines 2026 above.

There are currently no talks taking place. Preliminary engagement in June did not convince union negotiators that living standards would be protected by the Government's proposed approach to a new agreement.

Public service unions have consistently said that Government must begin with a credible approach to pay from 2026 onwards that properly addresses cost-of-living pressures.

Talks must have a clear purpose from the outset, including a credible approach to protecting living standards through pay. Unions are seeking certainty that pay for 2026 onwards will be addressed, rather than entering prolonged talks without a credible route to resolving the dispute.

Only if it adequately addresses the cost of living first and satisfactorily deals with other priority matters, including privatisation and outsourcing, remote working and the impact of artificial intelligence.

Union analysis shows that public service pay has fallen significantly behind prices in recent years. Annual inflation was reported at 3.7 per cent in September 2026, while pay improvements delivered in 2026 amount to an average increase of approximately 1.5 per cent across the year.

The previous agreement included fixed monetary alternatives for some increases so that lower-paid workers received whichever amount was greater. For example, the February 2026 increase was 1 per cent or €500, whichever was more beneficial. This was a deliberate trade union achievement.

Yes. Nineteen unions with members working in the public service participate in the ICTU Public Services Committee. Sectoral differences mean that some action may vary, but unions are coordinating timing and tactics where possible to maximise their collective impact.

Industrial action can include work to rule, refusing to cover vacant posts, overtime bans, non-cooperation with particular systems, picketing and work stoppages of different durations. Disputes often have several phases, and members are informed when action is escalated.

Official industrial action taken following a lawful ballot attracts statutory protections. Those protections depend on the action remaining within the law and within union instructions. Members should take part only in action authorised by IFUT and should contact the union if they have an individual concern.