Galway could be set for a winter of discontent, as rumblings of strikes loom large in the sky. Up to 100,000 public sector workers nationwide are gearing up for a 24-hour strike next month. Public sector workers including nurses and teachers, prison officers, fire-fighters and public service employees, are set join the one-day walk-out, which could lead to chaos around the city and county.

Unions representing all these staff have began balloting their members locally about action and they expect to return with a decision sometime late next week.

The Gardai, who are no longer permitted to strike, have promised "appropriate action" but have ruled out any action nearing the 'blue flu' epidemic of the late 1990s.

Elsewhere, an amalgamation of Unions is gearing up for a protest march through the city's streets next weekend. On Friday 6 November, the Irish Congress of Trade Unions has announced a mass protest across the country and Galway will be the hub of the Western protest.

A local spokesperson for the ICTU said: "the last thing we want to do is strike or cause mass disruption. This appears the only means available however unless the threat of pay cuts from the government is withdrawn."

Just last Friday, IMPACT also announced a proposed one-day strike for 24 November. Currently, it is holding talks with other unions involved in the private and public sectors regarding the strike.

It looks likely now to go ahead as the spokesperson representing nurses, gardai, fire-fighters and prison officers, Mr Des Kavanagh has come out defiantly and said of the proposed one-day national strike, "it is just a taste of things to come."

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