Union members strike across Limerick over pay and conditions

Hundreds of workers from a range of public‑sector unions walked out on strike in Limerick, joining a nationwide protest over pay and conditions.

Staff at University Hospital Limerick, including members of the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation, the Irish Medical Organisation, the Psychiatric Nurses Association and the Medical Scientists in Ireland Union, were on the picket line for a second time this week. Intern doctors represented by Callan Savoy said the action was intended to set a marker for future pay and conditions.

Ambulance crews also joined the demonstration outside their base, citing 12‑hour shifts, seven‑day work weeks and the pressures of frontline duties as reasons for the strike.

SIPTU representative Mark Quinn, speaking on behalf of Limerick County Council workers, identified pay as the primary issue and warned that outsourcing and a lack of in‑house apprenticeships were further harming members.

FORSA’s Chris Kilroe, speaking outside County Hall, added that the public sector had been “forgotten” in recent government negotiations.

The coordinated walkout also involved primary, secondary and third‑level teachers, local authority staff and other public employees, reflecting a broader discontent with the government’s failure to commence talks on a new public‑sector agreement amid the cost‑of‑living crisis.

Source: Limerick Post. Photo: Flavia Jacquier / Pexels.