Today, tens of thousands of public sector workers across Ireland are on picket lines in the first public service strike since 2009. This was not a decision taken lightly. The last pay agreement expired in June, and workers are asking for a new deal that reflects the rising cost of living. Instead, the Government has proposed a six-month pay freeze in the second half of 2026 and an increase of just 2.5 per cent next year, while the ESRI forecasts wage growth of 4.1 per cent across the wider economy. That amounts to a real-terms pay cut for the people who keep our hospitals, schools and communities running.
Hospital pharmacists should stand with them. We are central to patient safety, yet we have long faced understaffing, recruitment restrictions and unfilled posts, and have fought for fair grading and career structures. Decent pay is how we recruit and retain skilled colleagues, maintain safe staffing and protect the quality of care our patients deserve.
Solidarity is also strength. Gains won for nurses, doctors, teachers and administrators strengthen the bargaining position of every public servant. Pharmacists have much to gain from unity and much to lose by standing aside. Support the strike today.
