Supervisors on Community Employment Schemes around the country are staging strike action in a dispute over pension entitlements.
The Fórsa and SIPTU unions, which represent the supervisors, say that the industrial action follows a ten-year dispute over pensions.
The unions said that the 1,250 staff concerned have no access to any occupational pension scheme despite a 2008 Labour Court recommendation.
Since the recommendation, the unions say that 250 supervisors have retired with no occupational pension.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, ICTU Industrial Officer Peter Rigney said that although the Labour Court recommended in 2008 that both sides enter negotiations on a pension, there have been no discussions in ten years.
Mr Rigney said he could not rule out further industrial action.
"We will see what comes out of today's action. Hopefully there will be some sort of move on the Government's part to to recognise the contraditcions on their own position."
A statement from the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection (DEASP) in relation to the action, states that the CE supervisors are not employees of the department, but are employed by private companies in the community and voluntary sector that receive State funding.
The department said that employers, including CE sponsoring organisations, are obliged to offer access to at least one Standard Personal Retirement Savings Account.
In terms of the disruption today's strike may cause, the DEASP said that it has written to the sponsor organisations to ensure that measures were in place to ensure participants on that day are adequately supervised.
The department also advised them that they could consider changes to the participants working pattern this week if necessary.
