LAST UPDATE | 1 hr ago

A NATIONWIDE PUBLIC-sector strike planned for Thursday has been called off after unions and government representatives reached agreement on a proposed pay deal.

The agreement follows days of renewed talks that concluded at the WRC early this morning. The deal will cost the State €5.2 billion.

It provides for increases of 10.75% from 1 July 2026 to 31 March 2029 for over 420,000 public servants.

The pay measures in the agreement are weighted towards lower-paid public servants.

Those on lowest incomes will receive up to 18.3% over the lifetime of the agreement, inclusive of the local bargaining provision. The minimum benefit for public servants over the lifetime of the proposed agreement is 11.3%.

This includes a provision for a local bargaining payment equivalent to 1% of basic pay.

The pay adjustments are structured as follows:

2026

• A general round increase of 2% or €1,200, whichever is greater, on 1 September 2026.

2027

• A general round increase of 1% on April 2027.
• A general round increase of 1% or €600, whichever is greater, on 1 August 2027.
• A general round increase of 1.5% or €900, whichever is greater, on 1 November 2027.

2028

• A general round increase of 1% on 1 March 2028.
• A general round increase of 1% or €600, whichever is greater, on 1 June 2028.
• A general round increase of 1% on 1 October 2028.

2029

• A general round increase of 1.25% or €750, whichever is greater, on 2 March 2029.

Local Bargaining

• A local bargaining instalment, equivalent to 1% of the basic pay cost, on 1 March 2029

Speaking to reporters today, public expenditure minister Jack Chambers said the deal will cost €5.2 billion between 2026 and 2030.

Chambers said the deal strikes the “appropriate balance” in terms of investing in public sector workers and remaining fiscally sustainable.

“We haven’t changed our medium-term fiscal and structural plan. I haven’t changed how we agreed and settled the budget for 2027, and we’re still left with a contingency in 2027 to manage other expenditure pressures, which ultimately emerge in any given year,” he said.

Asked about references to digitalisation and AI in the draft public sector pay deal, Chambers said there are “really ambitious plans as a government to drive digital transformation right across the public service”.

Chambers said that changes to digitalisation, aligning rostering with service demands and upskilling will “drive reform and improve productivity” across the public service.

In a statement, the Public Services Committee of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions said the national executives of the affiliate unions will meet in the coming days to analyse the full terms of the proposed agreement, before making a recommendation to members ahead of a national ballot.

The planned 24-hour stoppage on 12 November would have affected schools, health services and government offices. Rallies had also been planned across the country.

Unions will now put the proposed agreement to their members for approval.

The dispute centred on public-sector pay. More than 300,000 workers took part in a nationwide strike last month, while a work-to-rule has also disrupted services.

Thursday’s strike would have coincided with the European Political Community summit in Dublin, where dozens of European leaders are due to gather.