Uncollected litter and cheerful schoolchildren enjoying a surprise day-off swirled through Galway’s windblown city centre on Wednesday, as the country braced for its first major, public sector strike in two decades.
Seagulls feasted on unfinished takeaways discarded on unswept streets coated in broken glass after Tuesday night’s unscheduled festivities, while grandparents clasping small hands picked their way through.
An occasional beeping car festooned with INMO flags and full of waving young women cruised through near-empty city streets, quietened by a lack of school rush traffic during a Status Yellow wind warning.
There was confusion in Galway City Council, with staff receiving conflicting information on their responsibilities during the local authority’s first major strike in 17 years. Students at the University of Galway also expressed confusion, with uncertainty surrounding whether their seminars and lectures would be held, while all library services were closed.
Scores of public servants of all grades were picketing both the city and county councils’ respective headquarters on College Road and Prospect Hill yesterday morning, as were staff outside a number of municipal buildings, and civil servants at government agencies with offices in the city.
Every school across the city was also picketed by striking staff, while union members working in the HSE across numerous facilities in Galway were encouraged to man a centralised picket in front of University Hospital Galway; hundreds were congregated at time of going to press. Huge numbers were also marching up and down the Dublin Road outside Merlin Park Hospital on the city’s east side.
Non-emergency procedures and operations were cancelled in all Galway city hospitals, and in Portiuncula, Ballinasloe. Emergency Departments are operating at reduced capacity.
The HSE said home support care would continue for people with the highest care needs, while Injury Units, doctors’ surgeries, GP out-of-hours services, and community pharmacies remained available.
Galway City Museum, the Town Hall Theatre, all public libraries, local community centres, and recycling facilities were closed due to strike action, while Galway Court House cancelled scheduled sittings and closed its public counters.
Galway County Council said many of its facilities, including all libraries, were closed. Some core activities operated at reduced capacity during industrial action, but Fire and Rescue services and emergency homeless facilities remained operational.
Staff at Galway City Council received an email late on Tuesday saying that all blended working arrangements were suspended, so staff not on strike must attend their workplace. This caused consternation amongst some non-unionised, admin staff who did not wish to cross a picket line, and were planning on quietly working from home during the one-day strike.
There was no staff working at City Hall to unlock its doors on Wednesday morning, so any staff who did attend College Road were unable to enter, according to people present.
Labour city councillor Níall McNelis called on Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael ministers to engage in “good faith” negotiations to avert further planned industrial action next week.
“Workers in Galway need wages that protect their living standards. They should not have to take strike action to secure meaningful engagement from ministers.
“Families in Galway rely on public services. Resolving this dispute requires respect for the workers who provide them, rather than ministers digging in their heels... Workers deserve a fair resolution.”
