Fórsa’s National Executive Committee (NEC) is recommending a vote in favour of the draft Public Service Agreement 2026-2029. Fórsa’s ballot opens next Monday 16th November, and closes at noon on Friday 4th December. The NEC agreed its recommendation at a special meeting on Wednesday (11th November), and suspended all planned industrial action, including the second national strike day and the ongoing work to rule.
Fórsa’s NEC is composed of union members, many of whom are working civil and public servants, elected to the executive to represent the members of Fórsa.
The proposed agreement, finalised at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in the early hours of Wednesday morning, runs from 1st July 2026 to 31st March 2029, for a period of 33 months.
In addition to pay terms it contains provisions to protect workers amid technological change and resolve local bargaining claims.
In a message to members issued on Wednesdsay, general secretary Kevin Callinan underscored the key role of industrial action by members in reaching this point. He described the talks as difficult and underlined that the significant increases above Government’s initial offer would not have been achieved without the collective power demonstrated by members.
The agreement provides general pay increases of 9.75%, plus 1% through local bargaining, with minimum cash increases benefiting lower-paid workers, and a revised lower-paid threshold to determine those higher payments.
If members accept the agreement in the upcoming ballot, the following pay increases would apply to public service workers over its term:
- 1st September 2026: 2% or €1,200 (backdated), whichever is greater
- 1st April 2027: 1%
- 1st August 2027: 1% or €600, whichever is greater
- 1st November 2027: 1.5% or €900, whichever is greater
- 1st March 2028: 1%
- 1st June 2028: 1% or €600, whichever is greater
- 1st October 2028: 1%
- 1st March 2029: 1% local bargaining phase
- 2nd March 2029: 1.25% or €750, whichever is greater.
All industrial action related to the dispute was suspended on Wednesday, including Thursday’s planned strike and the work-to-rule action that had been ongoing for six weeks.
The proposed agreement also prioritises higher increases for lower paid workers, most of whom are younger workers. There are five instances in the lifetime of the agreement that will give lower paid workers higher increases. In addition, there has been an agreed increase in the threshold for the lower-pay provisions, from €50,000 to €60,000, which extends the reach of those protections, meaning many more workers will benefit.
Subject to acceptance, members would likely receive the backdated payments early in the new year.
Speaking to Matt Cooper on Today FM’s The Last Word on Wednesday evening, Fórsa general secretary Kevin Callinan said the minimum increases made the package significantly better for younger workers, those entering the public service and people on lower pay scales.
Kevin said members on picket lines had described rent and mortgage pressures, thoughts of emigration, and workloads intensified by rising demand and resourcing gaps. He said the union was conscious of public service workers who had said they had “nothing left to give”. Against that backdrop, he cautioned that acceptance would not necessarily be a landslide.
He called on the Government to use the agreement to address those pressures through meaningful dialogue and to “repair the relationship” with workers. He also highlighted its explicit commitment to no compulsory redundancies as the Government pursues its ambitions for more digitalisation of public services, particularly the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
He said the cost-of-living crisis had formed the backdrop to the negotiations. Inflation projections, including those from the unions’ advisers at the Nevin Economic Research Institute (NERI), pointed to cumulative inflation of between 7.5% and 8% over the agreement’s lifetime.
However, Kevin stressed that institutions, particularly the Central Bank, had cautioned about the possibility of an inflation spike. He said unions would keep inflation under review and could invoke the review clause if inflation moved significantly away from projections. For the first time ever the review clause is time limited, meaning that if either party triggers the clause, engagement must take place within six weeks.
All civil and public service Fórsa members will now have an opportunity to vote on the proposal. The ballot, which will take place online, will open on Monday 16th November, and run until Friday 4th December.
Members will receive a secure link and Unique Voter Code from Mi-Voice, an independent third party platform, which will allow them to vote.
The full agreement can be found here. An FAQ for members will be available in the coming days.
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