UL UNITE are out in droves for the public sector strike taking place across the country today.
More than 300,000 public sector workers, including nurses, doctors, teachers and civil servants, are involved in the largest strike in Ireland since the 2009 financial crash due to delays in agreeing a new public sector pay deal.
UL Unite has received major support for their picket, which began at 7 am and will run until 7 pm. Catherine Fitzgerald, Branch Chair of the university’s union, said they’re grateful for the support:
“The uptake from members for picketing has been phenomenal. I have to say the support, even from the public, has been immense throughout the day, and members have been very engaged. It’s been great from our perspective.”
Yesterday, Minister Jack Chambers announced that the Government would commit to talks with the unions. However, Fitzgerald said they knew they would have to take to the streets:
“I think we knew today was going to happen for definite, and we’ll just wait and see because I think what Jack Chambers said last night, he now needs to put his money where his mouth is and actually come to the table.”
“From our meetings with head office and the other unions over the last couple of weeks, the government just weren’t engaging; they weren’t opening the dialogue channels.”
A second day of strikes is planned for next week, Wednesday, October 21, and the union feel as though they have the public’s support going forward:
“Sometimes you think, is it public versus private, but they’ve all shown their support and solidarity with us today by beeping their horns, so we’ve been dealing with that all day, which is great to see. There isn’t any animosity towards us for being here.”
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