In Ireland, teachers started work-to-rule on 5 October 2026, with planned strikes on 14 and 21 October.
Timeline
In September 2026, the Irish trade union Fórsa's website announced that there were not any ongoing discussions with the Government of Ireland on a new public sector pay deal after the previous one expired on 30 June. The Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, Fórsa, SIPTU, the Association of Secondary Teachers, Ireland (ASTI), and the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO) announced that they would start work-to-rule, a job action in which employees do no more than the minimum required by the rules of their contract or job. For teachers, this meant only working during school hours, including refusing to participate in after-school meetings or parent–teacher conferences. ASTI and INTO started work-to-rule on 6 October, with one-day strikes planned for 14 and 21 October. The strikes will consist of school closures and picketing.
The Irish Federation of University Teachers (IFUT) started striking on 5 October, prematurely cancelling all lectures that day in preparation. They also plan on participating in the aforementioned strikes on 14 and 21 October. This came after IFUT and the Postgraduate Workers Organisation (PWO) voted in favour of industrial action (93 per cent of IFUT voters, and 94 per cent of PWO voters).
John Boyle, INTO's general secretary, considers the Irish Government and the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation Jack Chambers to be at fault for the disruption.
Government response
The Irish Government has said that they are "willing to enter talks but that it will not be held to a pre-determined outcome".
When announcing Budget 2027 on 6 October, Chambers mentioned the strikes, saying that he hoped that no further disruption to the public sector would occur.
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