Talks on new public sector pay deal enter 10th day

Updated / Friday, 30 Oct 2026 06:01

Talks on a new public sector pay deal will continue at the Workplace Relations Commission.

It will be the tenth day of negotiations involving trade unions and Government officials.

Delays in agreeing to a new public sector pay deal led to a 24-hour strike by more than 300,000 public sector workers earlier this month.

A second planned strike was suspended to allow for talks, however industrial action in the form of a work-to-rule is continuing across the public sector.

Yesterday, Tánaiste and Minister for Finance Simon Harris said he was hopeful the talks would conclude in the coming days and that there would be an agreement.

Speaking on RTÉ's Today with Claire Brock, Mr Harris said: "I'm hopeful that in the coming days we can see a conclusion and a new public sector pay agreement.

"That's really what everybody is working to try and achieve."

He said there is "really intensive engagement with the Congress of Trade Unions" and representative bodies, adding "let's try and get that done in the next couple of days".

In updates to members, unions have indicated that the negotiations are likely to conclude this week - with or without a deal.

The discussions were adjourned at about 10pm last night and will resume later.