Limerick will see thousands of public servants join a nationwide walkout tomorrow in the largest public sector strike in decades.
More than 300,000 public sector workers, including healthcare workers, teachers, and court staff will partake in a 24-hr withdrawal of labor on Wednesday, October 14 which will impact multiple public services across the country, including school closures.
The main teaching unions taking part in the strike include: the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO), Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI), Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI), and the Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT). Special needs assistants who are represented by the Forsa trade union will also be on strike.
A second day of strikes is planned for next week, Wednesday, October 21.
‘Unite the Union’, the trade union representing staff at the University of Limerick, are also taking part in the strike. UL campus will remain open; teaching will move to self-directed learning.
In an email to all students, Professor Ann Ledwith outlined that “there may be limited access to campus facilities”. The UL Student Centre will not be open as a result of Student Life staff not crossing the picket. The building will reopen as usual on Thursday, October 15.
“Our services will move online, with Student Officers and staff still contactable”, they announced on their Instagram page.
The UL Arena will also be closed on Wednesday, October 14.
The cancellation of all non-urgent healthcare services across the country is also expected and thousands of medical appointments will be cancelled tomorrow due to the strike.
The Dáil will not sit on Wednesday, as staff at Leinster House are also taking part in the strike.
An Garda Siochana and the Defence Forces will not take part in the strike.
According to Breda Lynch, ASTI Deputy General Secretary teachers are taking to the picket lines as they feel unheard.
“Teachers by their nature are not militant people, but there is a very strong feeling out there that we need to be taken seriously, teacher’s pay has fallen well behind inflation,” she explained.
“Pay is the priority, but teachers have given so much in recent pay agreements, they cannot do much more… we’re struggling to get teachers into the profession,” she continued.
Meanwhile, Karen Liston, Industrial Relations Executive, INMO insisted that the public supports the nurses position.
“Nurses and midwives would always get support from the public, despite the fact the health system is constantly under pressure.”
“Certainly for staff working full-time, there were no measures to address the pinch they feel in their pocket, ” she added.
Furthermore the union rep said healthcare workers didn’t see any positives in last Tuesday’s budget for their sector.
“We would hope that Government at least will see sense, and address the pay issue, and offer fair pay.”
More updates on this story throughout the day on Limerick Voice.