由于爱尔兰公共部门工人要求提高薪酬以应对不断上涨的生活成本，预计周三的一场罢工将造成广泛混乱。
A strike by Irish public sector workers is expected to cause widespread disruption on Wednesday as they demand higher pay to cope with the rising cost of living.
约占总人口5%——即30万人的教师、医生、护士和公务员计划进行为期24小时的罢工，这将导致学校停课、医院服务减少、政府大楼关闭以及法庭开庭取消。
Roughly 5% of the population — or 300,000 people — comprising teachers, doctors, nurses and civil servants are planning to strike for 24 hours, leading to school closures, reduced hospital services, shuttered government buildings and canceled court sittings.
这次罢工行动凸显了爱尔兰政府面临的困境。该国拥有令人羡慕的预算盈余，财政部在上周的预算案中宣布了一项13亿欧元（约合15亿美元）的所得税一揽子计划，以及延长的能源补贴。
The strike action highlights the bind the Irish government faces. It has an enviable budget surplus and the finance ministry announced a €1.3 billion ($1.5 billion) income tax package in its budget last week, along with extended energy reliefs.
然而，该国正面临不断上升的生活成本和能源成本，同时央行也发出警告，要求将更多意外之财留作储蓄，以防范未来可能出现的冲击，例如企业税收收入的潜在下降。
However, the country faces rising cost of living and energy costs along with warnings from the central bank to save more of its windfall to protect against future shocks such as a potential decline in corporate tax receipts.
部长们在预算案中承诺明年向爱尔兰主权财富基金额外注资10亿欧元，此外还计划转入约48亿欧元。然而，增加储蓄意味着政府在向受飙升能源成本打击的工人提供更多补贴方面，余地更小。
Ministers committed to investing an extra €1 billion into Ireland’s sovereign wealth fund next year at the budget, in addition to the already-planned transfer of around €4.8 billion. Saving more, though, leaves the government with less headroom to offer more relief to workers hit by soaring energy costs.
爱尔兰政府在周二的一份声明中敦促工会参与谈判，并表示已在预算中为公共部门薪酬协议做好了准备，但工会迄今已拒绝了这些提议。
The government in a statement Tuesday urged unions to take part in talks and said it had provided provision in the budget for a public sector pay deal, but unions have rejected offers so far.
工会已呼吁就新的公共服务薪酬协议进行新一轮谈判，并称在上一份公共服务协议于6月底到期后，政府未能就薪酬作出有意义的承诺。他们还希望得到保证，即生活成本问题将通过薪酬提议得到解决。第二天的罢工定于10月21日举行。
Trade unions have called for fresh negotiations on a new public service pay agreement, saying the government failed to make meaningful commitments on pay after the last public service agreement expired at the end of June. They also want assurances that the cost of living will be addressed through a pay offer. A second strike day is scheduled for Oct 21.