Irish nurses give 99% strike-action mandate as 32,000 Fórsa workers set September 30 action
Boiling Points · Friday, 11 September 2026
Why it matters
The combination of a near-unanimous nursing mandate and a scheduled action by 32,000 Fórsa members creates a concrete path from pay and staffing grievances to coordinated disruption across Ireland's health and welfare services. The September 30 start date gives the dispute an imminent escalation point, while the absence of an INMO strike date means the scale of any joint stoppage remains unsettled.
What happened
More than 99% of voting members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation backed industrial action, including strikes, over public-sector pay, hospital overcrowding, staff shortages and unfilled vacancies. Separately, around 32,000 Fórsa members in health and welfare are due to begin industrial action on September 30, initially by working strictly to contract, refusing overtime, declining vacant posts and ending participation in extended seven-day arrangements; 97% of voting Fórsa members supported action. Ireland's previous public-sector pay agreement expired on June 30 without formal negotiations on a successor, while Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers said officials were prepared to negotiate and that the nurses' ballot was unnecessary; the INMO has not set a strike date.
Previously
30 Jun 2026 — Ireland's most recent public-sector pay agreement expired, with formal talks on a successor agreement not yet begun.(imt.ie)
Players & places
- Ireland
- Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation
- Fórsa
- Health Service Executive
- Tusla