Public sector strike ‘inevitable’ and will see up to 150,000 medical appointments cancelled

Up to 150,000 medical appointments will be cancelled for next Wednesday due to the strike by public sector unions, according to briefings circulated in Government.Preparations are under way for the strike, which will see more than 300,000 public sector workers undertake a 24-hour work stoppage in pursuit of a new public sector pay deal, though essential services will be maintained. Another strike is scheduled for the following Wednesday, while senior union figures are privately warning of escalation of their action in November if negotiations do not get under way in the coming weeks.A spokesman for the HSE could not confirm the 150,000 figure, but nor did he dispute it. He said that the cancellations would be among non-urgent outpatient appointments, elective surgery, community appointments and primary care clinics (though not GPs).READ MOREWidespread disruption is inevitable as schools and other public services also close. There is little expectation in trade union or Government circles that the strike can be averted at this stage, with senior union figures stressing the frustration felt among their members. Taoiseach Micheál Martin said that there was no need for the strikes and said that the €1.2 billion provision in the budget this week was a basis for negotiations. But unions dismissed the figure as insufficient. Fórsa general secretary and chair of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions’ public service committee Kevin Callinan reiterated that the unions would be seeking a pay settlement that covers the period in 2026 not covered by the previous agreement, that protects the living standards of workers in the future and that reflects the ground public sector workers had lost to inflation in recent years.He said that “a lot of resentment” had built up among public sector workers, something that has been echoed by several unions in recent days. Another senior trade union figure said that “Wednesday is inevitable and kind of has to happen now”.Unions are having discussions about potential escalation of the industrial action if no resolution comes in sight in the coming weeks. One union leader said: “Unless there is a mindset shift from [the Department of Public Expenditure] in their attitude to pay and the talks at large then all unions are currently planning for what their escalations will be in November.”Another senior union figure said that he hoped for meaningful engagement with Government after this month’s strikes. “If that doesn’t work an escalation will be inevitable,” the source said.The Taoiseach said Dáil business should go ahead next Wednesday, though Labour and Sinn Féin have said that they will not pass pickets at Leinster House. Government chief whip Mary Butler, who is responsible for proposing the business of the Dáil, told a meeting of the Dáil’s business committee on Thursday that the Dáil should sit as normal for three days next week.Last night a spokesman for Butler said the business committee would reconvene on Monday, adding: “The Government chief whip may propose that votable business takes place on Tuesday and it remains to be determined what other two days next week the Dáil will sit.”Asked about preparations in schools for the strike, the Minister for Education, Hildegarde Naughton, said that her officials had been in contact with schools about “communicating to parents”.“But if we want to see a resolution here, we really do need people to sit around the table to get a resolution,” she said. A spokesman for the Department of Public Expenditure said that the Government has “repeatedly made clear that officials are available to engage constructively to discuss the issues raised, without preconditions”.The department said that “extensive contingency planning is under way across the civil and public service to minimise disruption and maintain continuity of services. However, there is no doubt that this industrial action will have an impact on the delivery of public services, particularly in the health sector, where disruption will affect patients and other vulnerable service users.”