With nationwide industrial action due to start on Wednesday 30th September, Fórsa networks across the country are cracking into action. Materials are making their way into workplaces everywhere, ahead of a brewing wave of industrial action that is set to sweep the nation.
Two weeks on from the momentous ballot earlier this month, Fórsa networks across the country are cracking into action. Materials are making their way into workplaces everywhere, ahead of a brewing wave of industrial action that is set to sweep the nation.
Head of the Services and Enterprises division Hazel Nolan said: "Our members working in non-commercial state agencies are ready to stand up for fair pay and decent working conditions. We're organised and ready for this industrial action. Detailed instructions have issued for each employment involved, and members should familiarise themselves with the details as soon as possible."
To support branches and reps we have created a set of workplace materials to build visibility, and we’re encouraging members to display and distribute these across their workplaces next week and in the days leading up to the industrial action beginning on Wednesday 30th September.
Deputy general secretary Katie Morgan said: “Industrial action takes significant preparation and planning. Branches, divisions, reps and staff are hard at work across the country getting ready and planning their activities. Next week we’re encouraging all members to talk to their colleagues about why they’re taking a stand and show government how serious we are.”
“Next week is about finalising preparations for industrial action and showing we are ‘Ready for Action’. Branches and divisions are organising information meetings, sharing Fórsa materials to help increase visibility in the workplace, and helping to build awareness of the industrial action.”
Initially, the industrial action will consist of a series of work to rule and non-cooperation actions, with each of Fórsa’s six divisions devising plans appropriate to specific workplaces that are then approved by Fórsa’s National Executive Committee. Official union instructions, detailing what actions members should, and should not, take during industrial action have begun to issue to members, and will continue to do so in the coming week.
Katie continued: “We’ve also launched a website hub that hosts all the information you need. You can access posters, leaflets and a detailed FAQ, which outlines our response to government’s empty rhetoric in regard to talks and explains how industrial action works on a practical level."
Amid the preparations, the ICTU Public Services Committee (PSC) met last Friday 11th September, and agreed to coordinate industrial action. In a communication issued after the meeting, Fórsa general secretary and chair of the PSC, Kevin Callinan informed members that public service unions would be coordinating industrial action and had agreed that a one-day strike will take place on Wednesday 14th October. Fórsa’s NEC is meeting on Wednesday of next week to determine next steps.
Kevin said: “We know public service workers are deeply concerned about pay, living standards and the Government’s failure to put forward a credible basis for renewed engagement.”
“Our position is that talks must have a clear purpose from the outset, including a credible approach to protecting living standards, which can only be achieved by addressing pay.
“The Government is the State’s largest employer, and if it refuses to address pay falling behind inflation, it emboldens other employers to take the same approach, putting workers’ pay across Ireland at risk. We are resolute that collective action is what is needed now.”
Read our report from the Fórsa stand at this year’s National Ploughing Championships. Members from across the public service stop by with minds focused firmly on industrial action.
Watch our video from the National Ploughing Championships 2026
Amidst the kaleidoscope of Irish society roaming the fields in Screggan, Fórsa members have their minds focused firmly on industrial action.
At the Fórsa stand at this year’s National Ploughing Championships, members are arriving from across the public service. Some stop for information, while others want to talk about what happens next, and, according to senior membership officer Khalid El Busaidy, plenty of prospective members are stopping too.
“There’s a great buzz here, as always, great crowds. We’ve been engaging with members, and we’ve also had prospective members who work in the public service.”
It’s Fórsa’s third year at the Ploughing, and Khalid says the scale of the event gives the union an unusual opportunity to meet workers from across its membership in one place.
“We’ve come across people working in the education sector, Special Needs Assistants, in the local authorities, and in the Civil Service as well. So, there’s a whole range of workers coming in here today and having an engagement with us.”
Last year, Fórsa’s team at the ploughing were fresh off the picket following the seven-day strike by school secretaries and caretakers, with plenty of visitors keen to talk about their experiences on strike. This year, conversations everywhere keep coming back to the cost of living.
Jaws drop
And the reasons are obvious. Having been spoilt with fine weather all summer, talk of the forecast at this year’s Ploughing is quickly cast aside. There’s another subject on the tip of everyone’s tongue and that’s the astonishingly expensive food that’s being served across the site.
One Fórsa staff member reports being charged €7 for a bag of chips. “They wanted €8 for one with salt and vinegar, and someone else paid a fiver for a mug of tea.”
Jaws literally drop. Is it any wonder that last month, almost 90,000 Fórsa members working across the civil and public service voted in a national ballot for industrial action. The result was decisive: 96.6% of those who voted backed industrial action, up to and including strike action, on a turnout of 72.6%. More than 62,000 members voted yes.
Ready for action
Chair of the Civil Service division Jean Taylor is spending the day moving around the site meeting Civil Service members at their own stands and workplaces. Jean says that the ballot result matches what she is hearing on the ground.
“I think people are just fed up. They’re ready for action. They’re sick of the empty promises.”
“We’re going to the tents where the Civil Service members are working and manning the tents. We’re giving them membership benefit information. We’re telling them all the great things that are involved in being a Fórsa member.”
And she has already signed up two new members.
Back at the Fórsa stand, Khalid says the message being brought to members and the wider public is straightforward.
“We’re giving out the Better Deal leaflets. We had a ballot just concluded early this month, and members voted overwhelmingly for industrial action.”
First experience of industrial action
Industrial action is due to begin at the end of September with many employers already notified and instructions issued. But Jean says there is also organising work to do before then.
For many younger or newer members, this will be their first experience of industrial action. She says that means union organisation and communication in individual workplaces matter more than ever.
“There’s a nervousness about it because they don’t understand, they don’t know where they are. And this is why it’s more important now than ever that we have every member in every office, in every part of the country.”
The protection of a big union
One encounter at the Ploughing seemed to capture the other side of that story. Jean met a member just seven months into the job who had joined Fórsa almost immediately after coming from the private sector.
“He said, ‘I’m only seven months in the job. I joined up my second day.’ He said, ‘I came from the private sector. I was very badly treated, so I signed up.’”
For him, she says, membership had already changed how he felt at work.
“He said: ‘Now I feel I have more confidence because I have the protection of a big union organisation behind me.’”
It’s why Jean believes the coming weeks are about more than preparing existing members for industrial action. They’re also an opportunity to organise workers who have remained outside the union.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re new in the door or you’ve been in the job and you’re nearly on your way out the door. This is the time. Please join your union.”
Back at the stand, Khalid says the Better Deal message extends beyond the workers preparing to take action: “We are asking everybody out there to support workers and communities for a better deal.”
An energy
For Jean, what she is seeing at the Ploughing reflects something that has been building across workplaces during months of conversations, organising and balloting.
“There’s an energy there that we haven’t seen in a long time.”
And she says that energy is being felt across the union - among officials, workplace representatives and members on the ground.
“They are hungry for action. And they want this government to stand up and look after the workers who are keeping the country afloat on a daily basis.”
Members can access materials to boost visibility of the upcoming industrial action in their workplace here and read all about Ready for Action week here.
You know summer is firmly in the rear-view mirror when you find yourself scrambling through the Culture Night website, trying to cobble together a last-minute trail. Well, we’ve done the hard work for you, so check out our highlights from the extensive listings on offer tonight.
Culture Night takes place on Friday 18 September, with hundreds of free events happening across the country. We’ve picked out some that should be of particular interest to trade union members - from Ireland’s industrial and working-class history to housing, migration, climate change, community activism and a few things you might never have thought you were interested in until somebody persuaded you through the door.
Our top picks
1. There Is No Planet B: A Walking Tour of the IFSC in a Time of Climate Breakdown
Dublin | 5pm–7pm
Financial Justice Ireland have organised this walking tour exploring Dublin’s IFSC hinterlands and the connections between finance, the economy and the climate crisis. The tour begins at the James Connolly Memorial outside Liberty Hall, making it a fitting starting point for a trade union audience.
Expect a heady mix that joins the dots between global finance, fossil-fuel investment, data-centre expansion, housing and ecological breakdown, while exploring what a genuinely just transition could look like. There’ll be speakers from Unite, Christian Aid Ireland, Comhlámh, Friends of the Earth Ireland and CATU, alongside artists and campaigners.
And Dundalk’s Seán McKenna will be along to light a fire in your soul with a few ballad serenades and songs of struggle along the way.
The National Archives is turning the clock back a century to mark 100 years since the 1926 Census - a remarkable snapshot of an Ireland still finding its feet as an independent state. Behind the names and addresses is a country of workers, families and communities, with the census opening a window onto what people did for a living and the conditions in which everyday life unfolded.
For trade union members, it’s a chance to put a century of change under the microscope and ask just how far we’ve come in work, housing and living standards - and where some struggles might feel surprisingly familiar.
You’ll also get behind the scenes with the National Archives’ conservators, who are Fórsa members, and discover the painstaking work involved in keeping the original records alive for another hundred years.
3. The Power Behind Ringsend A Walk Through Ringsend’s Industrial History
Ringsend, Dublin | 4pm–6pm
Take a walk through Ringsend and discover the industrial history that helped shape one of Dublin’s best-known working-class communities. Codema – Dublin’s Energy Agency and the Ringsend and District Historical Society have joined forces for a guided tour exploring the people, industries and places that made Ringsend what it is today, and the close relationship between work, energy and community.
Local historians will chart the area’s changing industrial landscape, the challenges and opportunities it brought, and the community that grew up alongside it. For trade union members, it’s a chance to get beneath the surface of a part of Dublin where employment and industry have left a deep mark.
The tour starts at Ringsend and Irishtown Community Centre, with tea and coffee available from 3.30pm before setting off.
4. Bittersweet: The Rise & Fall of Carlow Sugar Factory
Carlow | 5pm–6pm
For generations, the Carlow Sugar Factory was one of the town’s major employers, and every year “the campaign” - the intense beet-processing season - brought the factory to life, drawing growers from across the region and becoming part of the annual rhythm of Carlow itself.
The factory was important not just to the town’s industrial identity, but to the ambitions of a newly independent state seeking to build its own industries and economic future. Its closure brought that era to an end, leaving behind memories of the jobs, friendships and communities that had grown up around it.
Bittersweet, Marc-Ivan O’Gorman’s impressionistic radio documentary, tells the story of the factory’s rise and fall through the voices of those who knew it, woven together with music and atmosphere. For Culture Night, former employees, beet growers and the wider community are invited to gather, share their own memories and hear excerpts from the documentary.
5. Still Not Safe: Life in Gaza during the ‘ceasefire’
Cork | 6pm onwards
Cork City Library marks itself out, once again, as more or less the central cultural force around which the whole city operates, with a frankly massive array of events taking place there tonight. There’s everything from rap to Rory Gallagher workshops to catch, but our pick of the lot is a free documentary screening.
Trócaire’s new short documentary, Still Not Safe: Life in Gaza during the ‘ceasefire’, follows Mahmoud, Yasmin and other people in Gaza as they try to hold onto hope and dignity amid extraordinary circumstances. Rather than talking about Gaza at a distance, the film centres the voices and everyday experiences of people living there. An educational stand opens in the foyer from 6pm, with the documentary screening in the Main Library at 7.30pm.
And look if that doesn’t take your fancy, you can head outside for the return of Rock the Block. Fresh from its outing in June, the Carnegie Courtyard will be taken over from 7.15pm by the Kabin Crew and a rake of simply far too talented Cork smallies ready to kick start your weekend.
The Great Debate sees Galway’s Red Bird Youth Collective take a satirical swing at the weird and wonderful world of electoral politics, with three entirely fictional parties battling it out for the public vote.
Expect campaign speeches, grand promises, political posturing, public debates and election drama as the young performers become candidates for the Pangea Party, Green Party and Other Party - each complete with its own political agenda, visual identity and campaign aesthetic.
The live political satire is the culmination of a year-long project in which the collective has built an entire political world through sculpture, costume and performance, poking fun at the spectacle of election campaigns while exploring bigger questions around democracy, media and identity.
And this isn’t a spectator sport. Audience members can question the candidates, challenge their promises and ultimately cast their votes in a mock election.
7. Echoes in the Courtyard: 140 Years in One of Ireland’s Earliest Social Homes
Dublin | 4pm–4.45pm
Tuath Housing and DCC have created an exhibition exploring the history of Ellis Court, hosted by the National Museum of Ireland at Collins Barracks. Ellis Court located on Benburb Street, is one of Ireland’s earliest social-housing developments. Through 140 years of history, it offers a glimpse into the lives of the people who lived there and the changing face of housing in Dublin.
With housing affordability and access to secure homes remaining major concerns for working people, the history has plenty of relevance today. If you can’t make it down, new dedicated Instagram and Facebook accounts for the project will share additional stories, photographs and archival material uncovered during the research.
Take a walk through more than 300 years of Black history in Dublin on a unique guided tour created by design historian, researcher and anti-racism activist Jess Majekodunmi. And if that time span surprises you, that’s partly the point: black people were living and working in Dublin throughout the 1700s, while one estimate suggests that between 2,000 and 3,000 Black people may have lived in Ireland over the course of the 18th century. Dublin was, after all, the second city of the British Empire - a Hibernian metropolis connected to a much wider world.
The tour brings to life people, communities and experiences often missing from traditional accounts of Irish history, challenging the comfortable idea that a racially diverse Dublin is an entirely recent development. For trade union members, it’s also a chance to think differently about who has lived and worked in the capital over the centuries - and how much more complicated the story of Dublin has always been than we sometimes imagine.
9. The Bohemian Cooperatives Presents: Culture Is Cooperation
Phibsborough, Dublin | 4pm - 8pm
As the old lady Dalymount enters her final days before the wrecking ball moves in for the new development, Bohs are welcoming visitors to the Spark Lab for an evening of cooperation, practical skills, music and community, exploring what can happen when people come together to make and organise things for themselves.
For a trade union audience, there’s plenty to get stuck into: an evening looking at how cooperative approaches can put workers, people and communities at the centre of economic and social life, rather than leaving everything to markets and large private interests.
An exciting month ahead with plenty on offer from the Skills Academy in the coming weeks.
There is a lot on offer from the Skills Academy over the next month. An exciting new training, the Dignity and Respect Workshop, is getting its first pilot. A not to miss course for reps looking to create a healthy work environment, where you and your colleagues can thrive.
Coming up in October, there is a great opportunity for training officers with their sights set on delivering trainings themselves, with a new Facilitation Skills workshop on offer for branch training officers.
With a season of industrial action ahead for much of our union, things are about to get busy for branch executives and reps. The Time Management and Building Resilience trainings will be a great help to anyone struggling with the added load.
With even more available there has never been a better time to take on a Skills Academy training.
Time Management – Thursday, 8th October – Woodford Office, Santry, Dublin (NEC, DEC and BEC members only)
It often feels like there aren’t enough hours in the day for an executive committee member. There’s too much to do and too little time to do it, but if you learn how to use your time wisely you can fit in everything you need to do and have time to spare.
Learn the important tricks of time management, stay on top of your work, life, and responsibilities. Task prioritisation, proper scheduling, productivity methods, the art of delegation, and more will allow you to take control of your day and avoid the stress of looming deadlines.
Branch Training Officers ‘Facilitation Skills Workshop’ – Thursday 15th October – Nerney’s Court, Dublin
A fantastic opportunity for branch training officers. Learn the secrets to good facilitation; how to know when to let things go and when to move things on, how to manage tensions, how to keep participants engaged, and the importance of knowing when your input is needed and when to step back.
Dignity and Respect Workshop – Tuesday 20th October – Nerney’s Court, Dublin
Dignity and respect are the basis of any healthy workplace. Learn how your behaviour and the behaviour of your colleagues impact your working environment. This training will enable you to take a look at the policies and procedures of your organisation and identify how those policies are implemented and adhered to.
Learn how to create an environment that allows you and your colleagues to flourish. Identify challenges to dignity and respect in your workplace and learn how to overcome them.
This is a pilot session, so don’t miss what might be your only chance to take this training!
Data Protection – Wednesday 21st October – Online
Proper management of your members’ data is not only a legal responsibility, but also an important part of maintaining the trust of your members.
Learn how to manage your members’ data safely, what your legal responsibilities are, and what to do if something goes wrong. GDPR violations can also come with a hefty fine along with reputational damage, save you branch from both with this training.
Branch Treasurers training - Thursday 22nd October - Nerney’s Court, Dublin
Keeping the books for your branch is one of the most important responsibilities of any committee member. There’s a lot to learn and deadlines to make. Learn what you need to do and when. Keep your branch’s finances healthy and save yourself the time and stress of figuring things out as you go.
A not to be missed training for any new treasurer or vice-treasurer.
Workplace Representative Training, Level 1 – Tuesday 27th to Thursday 29th October – Galway Regional Office
If you are a new workplace rep, or you’ve been in the role a while but want to be improve your skills then our workplace representatives training will teach you everything you need to know to excel in your role.
Over three days, you will learn all the basic skills that you will need in your first year as a rep, including:
the role and function of the workplace rep
improving interpersonal skills and building good working relations
organising your union work
recruiting members and handling problems
an introduction to equality and diversity
health and safety
Building Personal Resilience, Part 1 – Thursday 29th October – Nerney’s Court, Dublin
We never know when something will go wrong and make life more difficult. This workshop will teach you the skills and methods for weathering the worst life has to offer.
Enhance your emotional intelligence and be more aware of how you and others around you are feeling. Learn how to recognise and manage stress before it becomes a problem, and the tools and templates you need to effectively build personal resilience and reduce stress.
How to register
If you see a training you would like to take, simply contact your branch’s training officer or secretary and let them know you are interested. They will confirm your eligibility and contact the Skills Academy.
You will receive a registration link via email. Fill out the form in full and make sure you let the Skills Academy know if you would like them to secure paid release for you.
Members will be attending the Affordable Ireland protest, to call on government to take the cost-of-living crisis seriously.
Join your fellow union members this Saturday 19th September, when we will be attending the Affordable Ireland protest, to call on government to take the cost-of-living crisis seriously and take significant action to protect the country’s living standards.
The protest is scheduled for 1pm at the Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square, Dublin 1.
Fórsa members will be meeting from 12.30pm at Nerney’s Court, where we will collect flags before making our way to the protest less than a five minute walk away.
The protest is being organised by the Affordable Ireland Campaign ahead of the upcoming Budget announcement on Tuesday 6th October. The campaign is calling for a raft of measures to alleviate the effects of the cost-of-living crisis and improve the lives of people living in Ireland. These include:
Supports to help with energy costs
Price controls on food and energy
Free public transport and increased support for energy saving measures such as retrofitting
A Living Wage and inflation busting increases in wages, benefits and pension: we need to index link the income tax system
A cost of disability payment
A freeze and reductions of rents
Reductions and the abolition of fees for public services including childcare and student fees.
Fórsa’s deputy general secretary, Katie Morgan will be addressing the crowd on the day.
Speaking ahead of Saturday’s demo Katie said: “Our members are preparing to take industrial action because of the government’s failure as an employer to agree to a formula for pay increases that would address the impact the cost-of-living crisis has had on their income.”
“Being part of a union gives us the ability to collectively fight for better pay. On Saturday we have an opportunity to join other groups doing the same to say, ‘enough is enough’ and demand a better deal for everyone. I hope you’ll join us in doing so.”
Register now to take part in Fórsa Youth’s AGM on Friday 25th September.
Following another successful term, Fórsa Youth will host its Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Friday 25th September, 10am – 3pm, in Nerney’s Court, Dublin 1.
The AGM will provide an important opportunity for Fórsa Youth members to come together, reflect on the year gone by and, most importantly, have their say in shaping the priorities and direction of the organisation for the year ahead.
There are seven executive committee positions up for election on the day, and members can put themselves forward for any of the following roles: Chair, Secretary, Vice Chair, Public Relations Officer, Communications Officer (Social Media), Recruitment Officer, Campaigns Officer. Each position will be put to delegates for a vote.
Members interested in standing for a position, or who wish to submit a motion for consideration at the AGM, should email youthsec@forsa-rep.ie, copying youthchair@forsa-rep.ie.
Nominations must be seconded by any member of Fórsa Youth and can also be done by email, indicating the name of the person you are seconding.
As well as the elections and consideration of motions, the day will feature talks from the Dublin Council of Trade Unions (DCTU) and an information session with a Fórsa staff member on the upcoming industrial action.
The AGM is a chance for members to play an active role in determining the priorities of Fórsa Youth and ensuring the voices of young workers continue to be heard within the union. It is also a great opportunity to meet fellow members, particularly in the run up to the industrial action.
For those who are unable to attend in person, you can also join online. To take part, online or in-person, please register here.
We encourage all Fórsa Youth members to get involved, put themselves forward, submit motions and have their say at this year’s AGM. We look forward to seeing you there!
Trade unionists are invited to an evening of Palestinian culture, solidarity and song in support of the Stop the Game campaign at Liberty Hall.
Trade Union Friends of Palestine (TUFP) and SIPTU are inviting all trade unionists to join them for an evening of solidarity with Palestine from 6pm, on Friday 25th September.
Liberty Hall will play host to the event, with organisers promising an evening of Palestinian culture, solidarity and song, featuring guest performers and a special screening of the feature film Palestine 36.
The event will also be the final rally of the Stop the Game campaign ahead of the Ireland–Israel football match on Sunday, 27th September.
Despite public outcry, the game is due to go ahead in Hungary.
Chair of TUFP, and Fórsa official, Paul MacSweeney said: “Irish football must not be used to sportswash the Israeli government’s actions. The Irish people have made clear their solidarity with Palestine and revulsion at the genocide in Gaza.”
“We hope you can join us in sending a clear message to the FAI and to the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport - this game should simply not go ahead,” he continued.
Coming up next month, Fórsa’s Health and Safety Committee will host an important session on prioritising workers' mental health.
Coming up next month, Nerney’s Court will play host to an important session on ‘Managing psychosocial risk at work.’
The event is being held by Fórsa’s Health and Safety Committee who encourage members to join them, especially members serving as safety representatives or workplace representatives.
The event will provide valuable opportunities to connect with peers, learn from expert speakers, and contribute to discussions on prioritising workers' mental health.
Dr. Patricia Murray has been invited to speak as a senior psychologist and inspector with the Health and Safety Authority (HSA). Drawing on her over two decades of experience, Particia will explore the importance of psychosocial risk assessments in the workplace, the questions reps should ask, and how to ensure they are conducted appropriately.
This event will run from 11am to 3pm, on Thursday, 22nd October 2026, at Fórsa's head office, Nerney's Court, Dublin 1.
To confirm your attendance and for catering purposes, please complete the registration form here by Friday 2nd October.
