More Than 11,000 Health Workers Set to Strike at 30 Irish Hospitals Over Pay Dispute

Dublin: More than 11,000 healthcare workers across 30 hospitals are due to take part in a one-day strike on Wednesday, October 14, unless progress is made on negotiations for a new public service pay agreement.

The action has been announced by SIPTU Health Division, which has formally notified the HSE and voluntary hospital employers of the planned strike. It follows a work-to-rule on September 30, when staff will carry out their normal rostered duties but withdraw voluntary additional labour, including non-rostered overtime.

SIPTU says the dispute centres on the Government’s failure to establish negotiations on a successor to the public service pay agreement, which expired on June 30, 2026. The union is seeking a formal negotiating process with public service unions.

SIPTU Health Divisional Organiser Kevin Figgis said members had shown considerable patience while continuing to provide essential services amid rising household costs. He warned that the October 14 strike would proceed if the government does not take steps towards negotiations.

INMO Has Also Voted for Industrial Action

The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) has separately secured a mandate for industrial action, following a ballot of nurses and midwives over pay.

More than 99 per cent of INMO members who voted supported industrial action, up to and including strike action. However, the INMO has not announced October 14 as a strike date for nurses and midwives.

The INMO had previously announced that it would ballot its members after the government failed to establish a clear basis for negotiations on a new public sector pay agreement.

Doctors Also Vote for Industrial Action

Doctors represented by the Irish Medical Organisation (IMO) have also voted in favour of industrial action over pay, according to the information supplied.

The vote was reported as having received 94 per cent support among those who participated. The organisation has indicated that industrial action is due to begin on October 14, although the precise form of the action has not yet been specified.

30 Hospitals Affected

SIPTU’s planned October 14 action covers 30 hospitals and hospital groups across the country:

• Beaumont Hospital

• Cavan Monaghan Hospital Group

• Children’s Health Ireland at Connolly Hospital

• Children’s Health Ireland at Crumlin

• Children’s Health Ireland at Tallaght

• Children’s Health Ireland at Temple Street

• Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown

• Cork University Hospital

• Cork University Maternity Hospital

• Kerry University Hospital

• Letterkenny University Hospital

• Louth County Hospital

• Mater Misericordiae University Hospital

• Mayo University Hospital

• Mercy University Hospital

• Merlin Park University Hospital

• Midland Regional Hospital, Tullamore

• Our Lady’s Hospital, Navan

• Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda

• Portiuncula University Hospital

• Sligo University Hospital

• St James’s Hospital

• St Luke’s General Hospital

• St Vincent’s University Hospital

• Tallaght University Hospital

• Tipperary University Hospital

• University Hospital Galway

• University Hospital Limerick

• University Hospital Waterford

• Wexford General Hospital.

The involvement of these hospitals does not mean that every service will close completely. SIPTU has said its industrial action is intended to protect essential and emergency patient care.

Patients with appointments or planned treatment are advised to check directly with their hospital for information about any changes to services as the date approaches.

The unions have indicated that the dispute remains focused on securing negotiations rather than taking industrial action for its own sake.

SIPTU has said the government can prevent further escalation by entering negotiations with the ICTU Public Services Committee on a successor public service pay agreement. The union has also stressed that its campaign could be expanded depending on the government’s response.

The September 30 work-to-rule will therefore be an important first stage in the dispute, while the proposed October 14 strike represents a further escalation if no progress is made on public service pay talks.

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