Jack Chambers ‘hopeful’ of ‘way forward’ to prevent further public sector strike

Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers has said he is “hopeful” it may be possible to “find a way forward shortly in the national interest” to prevent further strike action by public sector workers.Speaking during a Labour Party Dáil private member’s debate, he said it was “a sensitive matter and work is ongoing”. He was “not in a position to provide specific or further detail at this time”.As union representatives observed the debate from the visitors’ gallery, he said: “I hope to be able to provide further detail shortly and as part of an agreed way forward.”“We welcome the confirmation from the unions that the established principle of collective bargaining will apply. In other words, nothing is agreed until everything is agreed.” READ MOREHe pointed out that in the last agreement from 2024 to 2026, pay rose by 9.6 per cent compared with cumulative inflation of 6.6 per cent, “achieved through the collective bargaining process”.He said “that can provide a basis for constructive engagement while ensuring all parties at the opportunity to address the issues that are important to them.”In the row over union demands to deal with pay first in negotiations, the Minister said “I’ve confirmed Government’s willingness to prioritise pay” in the talks.[ Union leader warns of ‘long and difficult dispute’ if breakthrough on pay not madeOpens in new window ]Earlier, Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee told the Dáil the Government wants to increase public sector wages but it can only happen if people get into talks.She was responding to Labour finance spokesman Ged Nash, who warned her the Government had “a maximum of 24 hours to avert next Wednesday’s planned action and the ball is firmly in your court.”Raising the issue following the 24-hour strike on Wednesday by 300,000 public sector workers, Nash called on the Taoiseach to “make a substantive and substantial proposal to unions to allow the beginning and the end of this dispute to come into view.”“Will you formally drop your arbitrary preconditions on how and when the question of pay is settled?” he asked. “And will you commit to the principle of keeping public sector incomes ahead of inflation in any putative new agreement?”As unions warned of a further 24-hour strike on Wednesday, October 21st, the Minister insisted there were no preconditions to further talks, “in the same way that any previous pay discussion or engagement had no preconditions”.[ Could the public sector strike be a one-off?Opens in new window ][ Government seeks ‘negotiation process’ to avoid second round of public sector strikesOpens in new window ]Striking workers on the picket lines “are hurting because of a pattern of gaslighting and disrespect expressed time and again since this Government took office”, he said.“They’re hurting because PAYE workers were thrown under the bus in Budget 2026 in favour of chicken chains,” he said of the VAT cut to 9 per cent for the hospitality sector.“They’re hurting because they saw you write a cheque for those who brought the country to a standstill last April, while they and their unions, people who play by the rules, were told that when their pay deal expired in June, that their lives and their work just didn’t matter as much,” he added. The Minister said she acknowledged and recognised “the invaluable and the significant contribution that our public sector paid workers make to this country, and indeed the impact that they have on all of our lives.”McEntee said she had spoken to workers on the picket lines on Wednesday. “And the very clear message that I got is that people want to be around the table. They want Government and the unions to be talking” about pay, conditions and the increased demands on services with a growing population.She said €1.2 billion had been set aside “specifically for us to be able to start these talks. That’s not the complete picture”, given “what we know from our previous public sector pay agreements”.