IWU Cork Branch

22/10/2026

Our national organiser will give the main oration at this years commemoration on Sunday. All members of the union, friends and comrades welcome.

REMINDER : This event is taking place next Sunday at 2pm. Come to honour and remember all those who gave their lives on hunger strike from 1917-1981.

Main Speaker : Alexander Homits , IWU National Organiser.

Colour party and piper in attendance.

All genuine republicans are welcome to attend.

16/10/2026

IWU welcomes 3% base pay increase and introduction of pay scales for 5, 10 and 20 years service. Our members and our union recognises that this would not have happened if the members did not go on strike.

However welcome the much needed increases in base pay and travel allowances are, they do not address the cost of living crisis increases nor do they correspond to the 32.73 euro per hour that the HSE has been paying to Northside Home Care Services.

The Union believes that Northside Home Care Services should present the findings of their pay review and open their books in a transparent manner.

The invaluable work of the healthcare assistants needs to be recognised with real increases in pay.

END

23/09/2026

Time to build a Fighting Union.

Postal Workers deserve safe, fair conditions. We want to hear from you on what is happening at work and what could be done about it.

✍️ If you know a postal worker or just want to support: Sign our petition
📋 Are you a Postal Worker?: Complete our survey
Take 5 minutes HERE: https://forms.gle/2CkgUxGRHbmZ87gg9
Or...the link is in our bio.
Get behind our IWU Postal Workers!
Share the post: https://www.instagram.com/p/DdnuTI7Duwv/?stkn=MTV1OG5yNDJ4dXJzYw==

15/09/2026

Final reminder all the workplace organising training will be 19th September 2.30pm in the IWU on North Main Street. *Great place to discuss ongoing workplace issues*

We will cover:

1. What is a Shop Steward/Rep
2. Organising Approach (How to bring coworkers together for action)
3. Shop Steward Core Duties

All union members & friends of the IWU welcome*!

08/09/2026

The Independent Workers' Union will be rolling out a workers rights clinic in Kanturk (and Mallow to follow) to help thousands of workers in the North Cork and wider Munster area access high quality advice and representation concerning their employment rights.

Trade union activity in the Kanturk and Munster area dates back almost 200 years to rural labourers clubs and organising that challenged bad employers and landlords.

In that tradition one of the oldest union halls in the country will be used for the very same purpose once more.

29/07/2026

Last Friday, on the 24th of July, members of the Dublin & Eastern Area Branch of the Independent Workers Union, visited numerous security officers around Dublin city centre as part of the campaign to highlight International Security Officers Day, which was inspired by similar campaigns that were launched in Australia.

The main message of the campaign was centred on the need for security officers to receive proper training, support and respect from employers especially for instances of assault and racism that security officers often face in their line of work, and compliance with legislation around TUPE and the Employment Regulation Order.

International Security Officers Day serves as a reminder to the security industry, that its workers are human beings that deserve respect and dignity in the workplace who dedicate long hours to ensure the safety of workplaces, and not simply as cogs that churn out profits for security companies.

Members of the union also highlighted the recent victories of security officers formerly of BGS Security who were awarded compensation of over €100 thousand in total of unpaid wages.

The need to rebuild a militant trade union movement is more important than ever, and security officers will play a crucial role in fulfilling this task.

As Jim Larkin once said, “The great appear great because we are on our knees. Let us rise!”

08/07/2026

THE HSE PROMISED HCAs PAY PARITY. They still haven't fulfilled that promise despite the economy booming.

After the recession cuts to public wages, healthcare workers were told you'll be given a pay rise in the future and they were: nurses, therapists, everyone up the chain got their raise but healthcare assistants were left behind, told to wait, told to be patient, told their work wasn't worth the same as others. BUT THEY HAD ENOUGH

Since January, Northside HCAs have been on strike. Not asking or begging but demanding pay parity using the withdrawal of their labour. With €3,000 raised at their July fundraiser from family and friends, they're ready to carry on this fight.

Northside Strikers have a clear message to management and the HSE: You gave it to the others. You'll give it to us because we're united, we're organized, and we're not going anywhere.

VICTORY TO THE NORTHSIDE STRIKERS!

07/07/2026

THEY TRICKED. WE FOUGHT. THEY PAID.

For months, BGS Security thought they got away with not paying our members, dodging wages, hiding behind fake excuses. They counted on us being confused. They counted on us being quiet.

They were wrong.

Because of union pressure, not polite requests, workers cheated by BGS has now been made whole. In full.

This wasn’t a gift. This wasn’t good will. This was workers standing together, refusing to back down, and forcing BGS to answer for their theft.

Let’s be clear: BGS didn’t have a change of heart. They had a change of calculation. They realized we knew their playbook and we had the strength to shut it down.

This victory belongs to every worker who spoke up, who stayed solid, and who refused to let BGS divide them. That’s the union difference. That’s what solidarity looks like in action.

Now we stay sharp. They’ll try again. They always do. But next time, they’ll know, we don’t beg. We don’t wait. We organize. We act. We win.

01/07/2026

What do we want?
PAY PARITY!
When do want it?
NOW!

23/06/2026

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/trade-union-day-school-tickets-1984957090090

ALL UNION MEMBERS & FRIENDS OF THE UNION ARE WELCOME TO OUR ANNUAL DAY SCHOOL!

Session 1 will take place from 11am - 1pm, it will take place with David Gibney, the former Comms officer for Mandate Trade Union and spokesperson for Right2Water will concentrate on the state of the trade union movement, where it's coming from and where it's going. Half of the session is a presentation, the other half is discussion/question and answers based.

Session 2 will take place from 3pm - 5pm.

Dr John Carty (former Mandate Divisional Organiser) will focus on the 'why' behind why workers in different jobs take action (or don't) for their collective interest. This concept is often referred to as 'mobilisation theory'.

There will be a q&a section at the conclusion of the discussion.

The final session from 5pm - 7pm will focus on experiences by our members in trying to unionise their workplaces and the exploitation, abuse and pushback they faced from their employers.

The speakers will include a Tesco worker, a Northside Homecare worker, a Saint Vincent De Paul worker and a security officer (names withheld for safety from employer reprisal).

The IWU is hosting a Trade Union Day school spread across three separate sessions concerning different topics. Come along, listen and debate